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“They were touting numbers from studies coming out of both India and Taiwan. Both studies attempted to discern variations in results on black-market organs. Gathering black-market data is quite difficult. For obvious reasons. Anyway, I compiled a report on all black-market transplant surgeries versus both live and dead organ transplant surgeries in the United States and the United Kingdom and prepared a discourse on the variations and how lab grown organs would not suffer the same results as those in alternative countries. I also located more recent data on our server from non-specified locations. The location field had been deleted, but I located the source file. The results were noteworthy and worth peer review. It appears survival rates on black-market organs are trending downward in specific source regions. The cancer rates for three years post-surgery for recipients with organs sourced from specific regions in Asia were extraordinarily high. Twenty to thirty percent higher than standard norms. Obviously, it needs to be shared broadly. Peer review. I might have missed something. Tabulated something incorrectly.”
“Did you share this report with anyone?” Tristan asks.
“No. The psychopath arrived before I double-checked my analysis. I’d been working on it for days. I saved it to the server, but I wanted to review it again before sharing it with my boss.”
“Did you talk to Anton Solonov about your work?”
“No.”
“Did he inquire about your research?”
“No.”
“So, what happened? After you left the lab?” Sage prods.
“I woke up vomiting in the bottom of a boat. I thought I would die. When we made it to land, I told him I would do anything as long as he didn’t make me ride in a boat again.”
“I thought you said you didn’t get in the car–”
“I didn’t. He gave me a water bottle. The last thing I remember is him driving alongside me while I walked my bike on the sidewalk. I could see the marina, but I was so tired. He must have drugged the water.”
“How did you end up in Cambodia?”
“We docked somewhere and boarded a small plane.”
“Did you…did he touch you? Hurt you?”
Sloane shakes her head slightly. “I couldn’t stop vomiting. Dry heaving.”
“What about the people in Cambodia?”
“Anton told them he’d be back to get me. He told a guard no one was to hurt me. Before you ask, I don’t know why. Whoever his boss is gave specific instructions I wasn’t to be hurt. I heard him instruct more than one person.”
“Were you ever held against your will in the Caymans?”
It’s a point I’ve been curious about, so I’m glad the Interpol officer asks.
“No. How quickly can we get flights home? I need to get back to the lab.”
Sage places her sister’s hand, the one without an IV, on her thigh. She’s leaning on the bed, and she seems to be working to get her sister’s attention. “They believe you resigned.”
“I didn’t resign. I need to get back.”
“Not so fast, love,” Tristan says with quiet calm. “Anton Solonov is a known assassin. There’s what’s called a Red Notice placed on him. Which means he’s considered to be highly dangerous. We’ve been quite aware of him for years. Someone hired him. Someone with extensive means because he doesn’t work for just anyone. Can you think of any reason someone would hire him to abduct you?”
“No. I mean, I figured out why they had me doing blood tests.”
“Why?”
“Organ matches.” She licks her lips, and Sage gets up to get her water. “The people in the compound will be harvested for organs. Or at least, that’s my assumption based on the records they were keeping on them. But anyone could do those tests. Once I figured out what they were doing, which was like on the first day when I saw the data they were collecting, I refused to be a part of it. But then they told me they’d hurt Sage.”
“And you don’t have any idea why they picked you?”
Sloane shakes her head, lips firm and tight, gaze downward.
“Could it be this report you created? Is there someone who wouldn’t want it shared? Data, perhaps, that someone might not want uncovered…”
Sloane takes the glass of water from Sage and sips. She closes her eyes and rests her head against the pillow. “It wasn’t our research. I accessed a database we pay to access. Multiple parties contribute data. I was making the case to the investors that organ development will be profitable because I overheard one of them questioning the financial return. If anything, the risks inherent in trafficked organs will be absent from lab grown organs. And based on the data I was putting together, the risks of black-market organs are increasing. Significantly high cancer rates. Like I said.”
