Malik’s finger was inches away from the doorbell when the front door swung open. Dr. Patel was standing there in pajamas and a robe. “Hurry inside, you two.” He closed the door quickly behind them.
“So you know that the Biotech tracers are after me?” Malik asked.
“An alert was sent out statewide saying that you were a potential carrier of a new strain of the virus,” Dr. Patel said. “Knowing your medical history and your daily test results, I knew that wasn’t true.”
“Why is this happening?” Malik asked, almost rhetorically.
“It’s not because of your alleged new strain of the virus,” Magaly said.
“What do you mean?” Dr. Patel asked.
“They didn’t seem to want Malik,” she said. “They lunged after him as soon as he pulled out that pen. The same pen that guy tried to buy.”
Malik had assumed that the Biotech tracers reached for his pen in error. Maybe they thought it was a knife or something. Could it have been for the pen itself?
“May I see the pen again?” Dr. Patel asked.
Malik handed it to him. Dr. Patel examined it and then nodded as if confirming a suspicion. “Yes, the Singularity Group only made a handful of these. They were testing the mycelium to see what could be made from it.”
“So, is it something about the mycelium?” Magaly asked.
“Well, this pen is different,” Dr. Patel said. “You notice how half of the pen is black, and the other half is white. The black part is holding ink, and it’s stored externally in these grooves. It’s a trade secret why the pen doesn’t leak ink.”
“Which is why I think it’s cool,” Malik said, “but why would they care?”
“Look at how thick this pen is. But why?” Dr. Patel continued, not awaiting their guesses. “Other pens need the space inside to keep things like the spring and the ink chamber. But for this pen, everything needed is on the outside. So haven’t you ever wondered what’s inside?”
“Not really,” Malik admitted.
“Where did you get this pen?” Dr. Patel asked.
“It was my grandma’s. She used to take it with her everywhere she went. Back when she was talking and had lucid moments, she gave me the job of making sure that I never let her lose this pen. She said that it was her lucky pen. When she stopped using it, it became my lucky pen.”
Dr. Patel nodded and looked more closely at the pen in his hands. Then he squeezed each end simultaneously, and the middle popped ajar. He pulled the pen apart to expose a USB drive. “Malik, I need to show you something.”
Dr. Patel walked them back to his home office. On his desk was the box from the storage unit that the delivery person dropped off earlier that week. Dr. Patel searched around inside and pulled out a magazine. He sifted through several pages until he landed on one. It was a man with dreadlocks sitting on a desk with his arms crossed. “Do you know who this is?” Dr. Patel asked as he pointed to the picture.
Both Malik and Magaly shook their heads.
“That is Zach Carver,” Dr. Patel said, nodding as if the name should be familiar to them. “You know, the person who designed the system that the Biotech contact tracers use to identify who’s infected.”
“ZC,” Malik whispered to himself. He didn’t know why, but something made him take note of those initials. Malik knew the name, but he’d never seen a picture of him anywhere.
“These were items left behind by my previous partner, Dr. Wen Shen. She knew the virus better than anyone, and she didn’t believe that Confidence Biotech found a cure. She believed that they were kidnapping people who were immune or were asymptomatic and using their DNA to create an antidote. She was constantly looking for proof.”
“She’s a legend.” Magaly nodded.
“There’s more.” Dr. Patel pointed to a name on the page. “Look at who wrote this article.”
Malik saw the name “Jessica Ifill.” “Grandma?”
“It gets better.” Dr. Patel lifted the magazine and shifted his finger onto a different spot on the page. “Look closely.”
Malik and Magaly both leaned in. “What?” Malik wasn’t sure what he should be looking at.
“No way,” Magaly said. “Look at what’s plugged into the computer.”
Malik finally realized that the item plugged into the computer looked a lot like his lucky pen. Putting the pieces together, Malik said, “Zach built the program that is fundamental to Confidence Biotech’s contact tracing capabilities.”
“That’s right,” Dr. Patel encouraged. “Do you know what happened to Zach?”
“They say that he was a mad genius, and shortly after the system went live, he had a mental breakdown and was institutionalized.”
“That is what they say, isn’t it?” Dr. Patel seemed doubtful. “His technology was brilliant. I remember when it was first launched, you could identify anyone around the world based on what they exhaled.” Dr. Patel’s eyes grew wide. “It worked with such precision and accuracy. Then the rumors started spreading in the medical field that the system became less accurate over time. A few even questioned if the system worked at all. But by that time, the Global Breadth system was so ingrained in the fight to control this virus that anyone who questioned it was silenced.” Dr. Patel looked at Malik. “Rumor had it that Zach never fully trusted Confidence Biotech and that he built a flaw in the system, just in case his mistrust was founded.” Dr. Patel put the pen back together and handed it to Malik. “If this is your grandmother’s pen, then there could be something vital on it. It could even be the key to the Global Breadth network.”
“Which would explain why those guys wanted it so badly,” Magaly said.
THUD THUD THUD. The loud pounding on the front door made Malik and Magaly jump.
Magaly looked at Malik wide-eyed. “Do you think they followed us here?”
“If they are after that pen, then they are probably searching everywhere to find you two. It would only make sense to check here since I live so close.” Dr. Patel replied, walking behind his desk, then grabbing a leather crossbody bag. He quickly threw the contents from the box into the bag. “Follow me.” Dr. Patel led them downstairs to his garage and gave them a set of car keys.
“Your Jag?” Malik asked.
“They won’t be looking for you two in a Jaguar, at least not for a while.” Magaly sat in the passenger seat, and Dr. Patel handed her the bag. They heard the pounding on the door again. “I’ll talk to them.” He pointed to the small windows at the top of the garage door. “I’ll turn those lights on when I answer the door. Once I turn them off, that means they’re gone, and you are safe to go. You two need to go someplace where no one would think to look.”