Abomination (3 page)

“He runs forty miles per hour and can lift a small car,”
said Tom. “How the hell are we going to put cuffs on him?”

“Let me be crystal clear answering that question,” said
Ryan. “I’m going to ask him once to put his hands on his head. If he doesn’t
comply, I’m going to shoot him. I’m going to shoot him a lot. He’s a deadly
weapon regardless if he’s holding one. Do any of you have issue with that
approach?”

“I very much like that approach, Boss,” said Dallas.

“I’d even consider skipping the hands on the head part,”
said Tom.

“I’m with Tom,” responded Michelle.

“Okay,” said Ryan. “I need to call the deputy director
and give him a status report before we mount up. I’ll need the room, please.”

With that request, the team left the room and started
their final equipment checks with the group outside. Ryan closed the door, took
a seat, and looked at his cell phone. He had been hunting Arrington for nearly
four months and was confident he would finally be closing his file by sunrise.

But he couldn’t overlook his gut feeling that certain
aspects about the mission were a little off. He had more questions than answers
about why he was hunting U.S. Marines on American soil. Ryan’s only point of
contact was the deputy director of the FBI. All his information, orders, and
reports came and went directly through the deputy’s office in Quantico,
Virginia. It was a very unorthodox procedure. Agent Ryan Pearson always
followed orders with few questions unrelated to successfully completing his
assignment. He shook off the uncomfortable feeling and dialed the number which
never went to voicemail.

“Director Donaldson, this is Agent Pearson,” confirmed
Ryan.

“
Hello, Ryan. The brief went well?”

“Yes, sir. This will be my final call prior to the
raid.”

“My prayers are with you, son. I wish I could send
you every assault team in the Bureau. How are you and your team holding up?”

“We’re good to go, sir. Well rested and well-armed.”

“
Good to hear. Ryan, I know this has been a strange
assignment and you’ve performed better than I could’ve hoped. I know I’ve asked
much of you this past month. It can’t be easy going after Marines from your old
unit. Especially with one of them being your friend.”

“Sir, he was an acquaintance, not a friend. And it’s
just circumstance we went to the same high school. I have no issue with doing
the job when the time comes. It won’t affect the result if it dictates I put
one between his eyes.”

“
Your ability to do the job has never been a
question, Ryan. But I do need to cover a few items again for my own
satisfaction.”

“Yes, sir.”

“
After the assault, you and your team are to either
take him into custody or put him in a body bag. I have a very strong feeling
it’ll be the bag. Make every possible effort to limit contact with Arrington to
your team only. If any other agent even makes eye contact with him, they’re to
be quarantined until the Didache team arrives. Are you clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you have any questions?”

 “No, sir, but may I speak freely?”

“Of course.”

“Sir, I appreciate the sensitive nature of this
assignment, but I have to admit I’m having an issue with not being able to
provide full disclosure of Arrington’s condition to my team.”

“Ryan, I can assure you his affliction is not
contagious. I wouldn’t willingly send any of my agents unprotected into a
situation which may expose them to an unknown deadly pathogen. It may not sit
easy with you, but you simply have to trust me.”

“I do, sir. But I’m about to send nearly two dozen
agents into harm’s way without being able to explain what they may witness.”

“Containment is a priority. Please don’t confuse its
meaning with cover-up. There are extremely detrimental ramifications if the
public was aware at this point. Remember, we still have three out there and no
idea where they’re hiding. A public panic would greatly reduce our chances of
finding them. That may go against conventional wisdom, but everything about
these men defies logic. I concur with my boss this is the best course of action
we can take. I’m sorry I can’t make the situation clearer. I’m still working on
understanding it all myself. What I do know is, you’re about to save countless
innocent lives by taking Peter Arrington down.”

“That’s the plan, sir.”

“Call me the moment you complete the mission. It’s
critical we allow the scientific team access to the scene as soon as possible
to process Arrington. Dead or alive, they believe he’ll provide clues to the
whereabouts of the other three.”

“
What about the victim? Am I to quarantine her as
well?”

“Absolutely. Anyone having contact with him must be
quarantined with the only exception being your team. But as we discussed, all
of you are to stay with the scientists until they release you. Understood?”

“
Yes, sir. Do you have anything else for me?

“I do. Good luck and Godspeed, son. Send that monster
to hell if he doesn’t comply.”

“Will do, sir.”

The assault and sniper teams were dropped off at various
entry points nearly a mile away from the target farmhouse. They used satellite
imagery to plan routes that focused on avoiding roads, houses, and any human
contact. As the sun was setting, the teams arrived at their staging areas
surrounding the property.

The snipers created blinds rendering them nearly
invisible. A passerby would have to step on one of their heads to know a human
was under his feet. Each shooter had a kill zone around the house they were
responsible for covering. The zones overlapped, ensuring there wasn’t an inch
of space left unseen by their high-powered scopes. The technology used in the
optics turned pitch black night into clear day. Each sniper passed the time by
locking his site on small rodents scurrying back and forth between the
dilapidated barn and the abandoned farmhouse.

Assault Team Bravo staged in a wooded area resembling an
island on the edge of a dying cornfield. They were less than fifty yards from
the front door of the house. It took nearly two hours for them to silently
crawl the hundred yards through the open field to reach the cover of the trees.
The withered stalks of corn would provide excellent camouflage when the time
came to quickly close the distance to the door.

Ryan’s team, Alpha, and Charlie team quietly made their
way along a shallow creek bed that snaked around to the back of the farm.
They’d stay hidden behind the steep bank until nightfall. Once the blanket of
darkness covered the landscape, Alpha and Charlie would rise out of the muddy
staging area and take positions along the tree line separating the house from
the creek. From their vantage point, they could easily spot the target’s
vehicle approaching the farmhouse. His approach was the signal for all three
assault teams to begin moving in closer.

Since radios couldn’t be used to transmit execution orders,
hand signals were their only option to maintain silence on the approach. Each
FBI agent was equipped with the latest generation of military grade night
vision goggles (NVGs) with zoom lenses. It was critical Charlie team maintain
visual contact with both Alpha and Bravo prior to the raid. When Ryan’s team
entered the house, Charlie would signal Bravo to move to the front door and
start the sixty-second clock. Charlie would then take its position at the back
door. The green light for the snipers would be observing the assault team’s
positioning at the doors.

None of the teams came across any trip wires, motion
detectors or other hidden detection equipment which would alert Arrington to
their presence. Ryan observed the house from the creek bed and noticed there
were several open windows without covering. If the farmhouse was Arrington’s
sanctuary to perform his sick ritual, the highly skilled Marine did an
unusually poor job of securing his playground. Ryan began to wonder about the
intelligence they were working with which pinpointed that particular house as
the killer’s lair. All indications from the outside were they were staking out
an abandoned farm unoccupied by anything except rats and mice. As the hours
passed, so did their hopes of putting an end to the nightmare.

Four hours after Alpha and Charlie moved up to the tree
line, Ryan observed a faint light on the horizon in the direction of the
entrance to the driveway. Moments later, it was clear that a vehicle was
approaching the house. It was shortly before two o’clock in the morning.

It took nearly three minutes for the Jeep with tinted
windows to make its way down the rarely used half-mile long driveway. The
vehicle circled the house once and then stopped less than ten feet from the
back door. It was impossible to see inside the Jeep. To Arrington’s advantage,
the headlights were pointed in the direction of Alpha and Charlie teams’
position. Not one agent dared move an inch while the area was illuminated;
their NVGs were useless. They’d only amplify the headlights and temporarily
blind anyone looking towards the vehicle. They were essentially pinned down as
if someone was firing a heavy machine gun over their heads.

Ryan immediately thought the odds of the vehicle
circling around and illuminating the exact area where they were hiding by
accident were questionable. Arrington was a super soldier. Ryan suspected their
position had been compromised. The one thing which would render them
ineffective would be to take away their vision, and Arrington seemed to make
that happen. The only agents who could positively identify the man behind the
wheel were the snipers who were ordered not to break radio silence under any
circumstances. Ryan slowly lifted his hand and poised his finger over the
transmit button on his collar microphone. He was going to break silence and
order the teams to pull back. As his finger tensed to press the button, the
lights on the vehicle went dark. Ryan moved his finger away from the microphone
and turned on his NVGs. A green hue filled the screen, and Arrington’s face
came into focus.

The target was sitting motionless behind the wheel. It
was if he was staring directly at Ryan. The agent felt a cold chill invade his
body. He was beginning to wonder if the killer was toying with him, daring him
to stand up and take his shot. Ryan was still nearly fifty yards away from
Arrington, but it wasn’t an impossible distance with his assault rifle. For a
moment, Ryan hoped one of his snipers would break protocol and end the monster
before he even exited the vehicle. But the FBI wasn’t in the assassination
business. They had to give the killer a chance to surrender. It seemed like a
ridiculous policy knowing what the evil bastard was about to do to another
innocent woman.

With that thought, Ryan took his gaze off of Arrington
and tried to verify there was another person in the vehicle. He only saw the
driver still motionless in his seat. Another eerie minute passed before
Arrington opened the driver’s door and stepped outside. He went out of Ryan’s sight
for a moment as he raised the hatchback of the Jeep. He came into view again on
the other side carrying a bound and gagged woman effortlessly under one arm and
a large duffel bag under the other. He entered the house apparently confident
he was alone, letting the screen door clap loudly against the frame.

Every muscle in Ryan’s body wanted to propel him towards
the house. Every second Arrington was out of sight, he could be dealing
horrific pain to his powerless victim. He had to calm himself down by remembering
the superhuman speed and strength of the Marine. He knew he had to wait until
the monster was about to engage in the first act of his sick addiction. He had
to wait until Arrington’s otherwise razor sharp mind and senses were overloaded
with the ecstasy of the moment. It was the only time the soldier would be weak
enough to overpower.

The five minutes he waited concealed in the tree line
seemed like five hours to Ryan and his team. He looked to his left and right to
give a non-verbal signal to the other three that he was about to move. Ryan
rose out of his cover and quickly traversed the open area between the staging
position and the back door of the farmhouse. Dallas, Michelle, and Tom followed
in close quarters with their weapons aimed at the house. The single file line
of swiftly moving agents was the signal for Bravo team to advance to the front
door. Charlie team followed Alpha once they confirmed Bravo was on the move.
Charlie took cover behind the Jeep as Alpha waited for them to set into position.
The countdown started. Ryan had sixty seconds to get inside and find the Marine
before Bravo team kicked in the front door.

Once again, Ryan was slightly baffled by Arrington’s
behavior. He had left the back door ajar. The window the team assumed they’d
need to breach was also left open. Ryan easily removed the loose screen from
the window frame. He quietly placed it on the ground and took a moment to
assess the room inside. There were no obvious signs of traps, tripwires or any
devices to alert the Marine of an intrusion. There seemed to be no preparation
at all.

The agents entered through the window into the large
open room and cleared the space in seconds. The only sounds produced by the
team were heavy breathing and the occasional creak of the old wooden floors. An
archway separated the cleared room from an even larger area which seemed to be
a living room. Once cleared, they silently moved into a hallway connecting the
front door to the back. The scientist had informed Ryan that, even though Arrington’s
eyesight was incredibly sharp, he only possessed a slight advantage at night.
The geneticist still hadn’t discovered how to effectively give the Marines the
ability to see in the dark. When Ryan entered the hallway, his NVGs alerted him
to a light source emitting from the bottom of a closed door. It was faint, but
definitely man made.