Rachel and Yamada were stunned.
“Come again?”
Masten raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t figure that out?”
“Figure what out?”
“John’s antifreeze.”
Rachel looked at Reiff.
“How … did you do it?”
“I didn’t do anything,” replied Masten. “But I know what they did.”
Rachel was breathless.
“The NIH did it. After pulling you from that river, John. They were the ones who kept you. For years.”
Reiff’s reply seemed unfazed. “Of course.”
“Back then, they wanted someone who was frozen before death. Not after. A body was arrested in its functioning state.”
Reiff looked at Rachel.
“Where did they take him?” she asked.
Masten shook his head. “I don’t know. That was way before my time. But they were the ones able to keep the crystals out of his cells by changing his DNA.”
“How?”
“Ever hear of the crucian carp?”
“No.”
“It’s a fish that freezes in the winter and comes back to life. Apparently, the NIH had identified the carp’s unique genetic compounds, and by the time John was in his accident, were ready to try splicing it into a human genome.”
Rachel stared at him, astonished. While Waterman grinned and leaned forward to say into Reiff’s ear, “If it’s any consolation, that probably puts you back in the one-in-a-million club again.”
“Wait,” Rachel said, shaking her head. “That’s not possible. If he was frozen, his system was suspended. The virus couldn’t circulate through the systems. Through his blood or tissues.”
“My understanding is that they found a temperature cold enough to keep his system suspended while still allowing viral load absorption. Very slow, but still able to spread.” Masten looked at Reiff. “You were their test subject.”
“To see whether it would prevent the ice crystals from destroying his cells.”
“Correct,” he replied, then looked at John. “Your visions were a total surprise.”
Rachel shook her head and covered her mouth with her hand.
Masten was still focused on Reiff. “I want you to know I had nothing to do with any of that. I just wanted to bring you back. I swear.”
“That doesn’t make us any less complicit,” said Rachel.
“That may be,” sighed Masten, “but for the record, I never fully understood Duchik or his motivation. Cryonics is not immortality. It doesn’t roll back the clock.”
“Then what is Duchik after?” Reiff asked.
“I have no idea.”
The van calmly passed historic Williams Park and turned onto Grandview Avenue. Where it accelerated and passed through multiple intersections until reaching Copper Street, then slowed and turned again.
Once outside the room, Waterman turned with a dubious expression. “That didn’t feel overly helpful.”
Rachel nodded. “I know, it still doesn’t answer what Duchik is up to. Or why he wants us dead so badly.”
“No ties,” Reiff replied simply. “The man wants no ties. We’re evidence that he wants to get rid of.”
Waterman nodded and began climbing the wooden steps. “He obviously doesn’t want anything connecting you three to him. At this point, the reason why is irrelevant.”
On the street in front of the antique store, the yellow van pulled to a controlled stop, and its large side door was pulled open from the inside, revealing the two men. One facing out, with a heavy leather harness around his chest, supporting the Minigun at waist level. Aiming directly at the store, he gripped his hand around the thick trigger handle and squeezed.