Catalyst (Breakthrough Book 3) (38 page)

89

By the time the agents turned the truck around, Qin had already landed in Beijing.  After being found and freed with the other soldiers, all he had to do was find a phone.

Less than a minute after his helicopter bounced lightly onto the tarmac, the side door was flung open by two airmen outside.  Once on the ground, Qin was quickly escorted to a vehicle which sped across the base to a nearby lab.

He ordered the airmen to remain outside while he pushed through the double doors and ran up a flight of stairs.  When he reached the room, a single technician was waiting for him with a very confused look on his face.

Unsure, the technician saluted and returned a nervous hand to his side.  “You asked to see me, sir?”

Instead of replying, Qin closed the wide door behind him and locked it.

“Listen very carefully.  You are not to repeat a single word of this conversation to anyone.  Is that clear?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Qin’s cold eyes bore into the man.  “And any results you find will be erased.”

The technician nodded nervously.

With that, a wry grin spread across Qin’s face as he reached inside his jacket.  He removed a red rag and began unwrapping it.  When he uncovered the final layer, he held his hand below and rolled three clear glass tubes into his palm.

Qin waited impatiently.  He watched as the young technician removed samples from each tube and used a swab to carefully place them on the ATP meters.  Once in the luminometer, they watched the computer screen as the results were captured and displayed.

Qin squinted, trying to understand what he was seeing on the screen.  Multiple lines rose and fell across a horizontal list of molecular compounds.  It was clear that two of the compounds were in much higher concentrations than the rest.  He pointed at them.

“What are those?”

The technician’s confusion was growing.  “Those are Selenium and Iron.”  He pointed to the others.  “These, however, are all bacterium.”

Qin stepped closer, excitedly.  “What sort of bacterium?”

“They’re called coliform.”

Qin paused and turned toward the technician.  “You’ve seen them before?”

“Yes, sir.  Many times.”

“What do you mean?”

The technician shrugged.  “They’re common.”

Qin froze. 
Impossible
.  Deep down a sudden panic began to grow.  “How common?”

“Very common.  We find it in almost all forms of ground water.”

The panic was now overtaking Qin.  “It’s water?”

“Yes.  Judging from the Selenium and Iron, I’d guess a water source in close proximity to a mining operation.”

90

The CIA agent stumbled down the rocky path, keeping the flashlight pointed straight ahead.  With one hand on the wall, he moved as quickly as he could without tripping over the larger stones.

The damp tunnel continued to descend for several hundred feet before he spotted the glimmering water.   The agent hurried to the edge, and without the slightest pause, waded into the icy pool.  He forced himself to remain still and scanned each side, until spotting a large boulder nearby.  He crept forward and used the light to study a crevice between the boulder and the wall.  Wedged into the middle of the crevice was a small drinking canister. 

Exactly where Clay said it would be.

91

The blast was almost beyond comprehension.

As if in slow motion, the orange mushroom cloud had curled under itself, gradually turning red, then violet, then black, before finally dissolving into the night sky.

The impact of the world’s largest conventional bomb was devastating.  A full thirty meters of the top of the Acarai summit was simply gone.  Rocks, trees, everything…vaporized into nothingness, along with every creature within the radius of a quarter mile.

Salazar and his army, along with Otero and Russo.  Every living thing was gone.  Including Corso and Juan.

Further down the mountain, the shock wave flattened trees for another full mile, setting nearly half of what remained on fire.  The rest was left smoldering.

Much further down, and inside the cave, there was no sound.  Dirt and rocks covered the floor, while thick wisps of dust were being sucked outside into the hot air.

On the floor, a single spot of dirt finally moved.  Several seconds later, it moved again, but this time, growing larger.  Slowly, something pushed upward, causing the loose dirt to fall away before taking the shape of an arm.  Dirt moved in another area and Steve Caesare’s head emerged.

He wiped the dirt from his eyes and looked around, into blackness.  He thrust his arms back into the dirt and found his flashlight, pulling it out.  It was still lit.

Caesare climbed to his feet and held the light up, looking for the others.   He helped the rising shapes of Dulce and DeeAnn, then began searching for monkeys.

“What the hell was that?” DeeAnn coughed.

“A bomb.”

Thirty minutes later, they stood at the cave entrance, peering out in shock at the sight before them.  Against the moonlight, warm ash fell silently to the ground.  Higher up on the mountain, a raging wall of fire ringed what was left of the summit.

A numb DeeAnn stared up at the flames.  Tears appeared and ran down her cheeks, creating tracks on her dust-covered face.

Caesare pointed his flashlight at the ground.  His voice was somber.  “We have to get out of here.  That fire can spread.”

With Dulce on his back and DeeAnn following behind, Caesare came to a stop and lowered his flashlight.  He studied the sight in front of them with curiosity.  Almost a hundred yards ahead, something was glowing, and brightly.

He raised his light and continued forward until he realized what the object was.  Then he began running.

It was a vehicle, a Humvee, lying on its left side with two wheels in the air.  It was pinned beneath two flattened trees, and miraculously, one of the headlights was still functioning.

Caesare reached the small truck and dropped Dulce to the ground.  He turned and held up a hand to them.  “Stay here.” 

He circled the front of the vehicle, taking large steps through the flat brush, then stopped and shined his flashlight through the shattered windshield.  Behind the myriad of cracks, he could see the barrel of a gun pointing directly at him.

“Tiewater?”

At the sound of his name, the SEAL let his hand fall with a groan.

Even seeing the man’s face covered in blood, Caesare couldn’t help but smile.  He climbed up onto the vehicle’s upturned side and peered down through the open window.  “Son of a bitch, you’re alive!”

Tiewater, unable to move his head, moved his eyes instead.  “Good, because this sure as hell doesn’t feel like heaven.  Somebody nuked us.”

“I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t a nuke.  Can you move?”

Tiewater clenched his teeth and tried.  “Not much.  I think my legs are broken.  And maybe my arm.”

Caesare nodded.  He looked around the inside at all the silver-colored airbags, now deflated. 

“You might be the best commercial yet for the airbag companies.”

“Lucky me.  Now get me the hell out of here.”

“Hold on.  Let me figure this out.”

“Wait,” Tiewater said, straining to look through the window frame.  “What about Corso and the kid?”

Caesare frowned and shook his head.

92

Wil Borger never saw the explosion.  He was instead gripping the sides of his seat, white-knuckled, as the Sea King helicopter reduced its altitude and began to slow.  The bright lights of the Pathfinder could be seen less than a mile away, floating eerily on what resembled a sea of blackness.

When the helicopter touched down, he unbuckled and grabbed his bag in one hand.  The door was opened from the outside and a young navy officer motioned him down onto a metal stepladder. 

When he reached the deck, he noticed several others standing and waiting, carrying something.  It was a wire basket stretcher.  In it was a man who looked like an unconscious Chris Ramirez. 

Borger forgot about his anxiety and watched the team quickly move in behind him, sliding Chris into the helicopter.  A doctor climbed in next to him and slammed the door shut.

Only when Borger turned around did he see Alison standing on the deck several feet away, tears in her eyes.

“Alison?”

Slowly, almost reluctantly, she turned to Wil.

“What happened?”

“An accident.  Chris is being airlifted back to Trinidad.”

Before he could ask, Alison choked back sobs and answered his question.  “It doesn’t look good.”

“My God, I’m sorry.”

Alison didn’t respond.  Instead, she merely watched the helicopter as it roared back into the air.  She continued watching until the helicopter’s lights faded into nothingness before turning back to Borger.  Her face was dour.  “Did you bring it?”

“I did.”

Alison took a deep breath and looked up at the star-filled sky.  She couldn’t hold it in anymore.  The fear was still there, but she had to ask him.  She had to ask him the question she was terrified of hearing the answer to.

“How is John?”

She watched the look on Borger’s face change.  He struggled, staring at her uncomfortably.  “Uh…”

“Just tell me,” she said.  “I know something is wrong.  I can feel it.  Just tell me the truth.”

Borger blinked and remained still, then finally nodded.  “The truth is…I don’t know.”  He slowly shook his head.  “I don’t know how he is, or even where he is right now.  Not exactly.”

“What does not exactly mean?”

“He’s in China.  But I’ve lost contact with him.  A rescue team has been sent in…”

Alison pursed her lips together.  Borger could see the glistening of tears in her eyes.  “A rescue team?”

He nodded, hoping she wouldn’t ask who.  Explaining that the CIA was trying to find Clay probably wouldn’t help matters.

“It must be bad.”  Alison's chin quivered slightly.  “He’s usually the one doing the rescuing.”

“He did save someone.  A young girl.  That much, I do know.”

She nodded and tried to blink away the tears.  “Do you think he’s dead?”

“No.  I don’t.”

“Why?”

Borger let a small grin escape.  “Because Clay is my friend.  And I know that if the situation were reversed, he would never give up on me.”

Alison stared at Borger before finally grinning with him.  “You’re right.”  She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.  “Thank you.”

He nodded and looked around at the men waiting nearby.  “Now what?”

She took another deep breath.  “Neely Lawton is waiting for you upstairs.  They’ll take you.”

“What about you?”

She turned and looked back at Tay and Lightfoot, both waiting patiently.  “I have an appointment.”

Borger noticed the SCUBA gear behind the men.  “What did you find?”

“The plants are the same.  Just like we saw on the mountain.  But how it happened here, I haven’t the slightest idea.”

Borger’s face became serious.  “Then there’s something I need to tell you.”

Alison.  You back.

“I’m back,” Alison nodded.  “Just like I promised.”

We happy for you back.

Alison looked over her shoulder and smiled at Lightfoot floating next to her.  “So are we.”

You come for plants.

“Not this time.”  Alison reached down and retrieved a small device from a pocket on her BCD.  It was the device Borger brought.

They knew what they were dealing with now.  The plants were the same, which suggested the cause had to be the same.  Just like at Acarai, something was in the water.  Now they just needed to find the source.

The device in her hand came on automatically and glowed with a soft blue light.  On the mountain, it had measured the concentration levels of a very special compound, which ultimately led them to the secret vault.  Now they were trying to find the second source:
the ship.

Alison twisted around, studying the display.  She kicked forward, traveling twenty yards, but there was no change. She turned and swam further still, but could not see anything different.  Then it hit her.

In the jungle, it was easier.  There was a flow of water, and it was one directional.

“What’s wrong?” Lightfoot asked.

“It’s not working.”

“Why not?”

“Because what this is looking for isn’t in front of us, or behind us.  It’s
everywhere.
”

Alison began to call up to Lee, but stopped when she spotted Dirk and Sally, floating patiently in place.

No plants.

“No.  Not the plants this time.”

Come Alison.  Come now.  We show.

Both dolphins thrust their tails and moved past her and Lightfoot, who both turned and followed.  Together they descended back into the darkness and watched as the green glow eventually reappeared below them.  The effect was both eerie and breathtaking.

The dolphins continued downward, pausing to allow Alison and Lightfoot to catch up.

Hold us.

Alison glanced curiously at Lightfoot before wrapping her hand around Sally’s dorsal fin.  Then he did the same to Dirk.  The dolphins continued, diving deeper into the expanse of dense vegetation.

When they reached a small drop-off, the dolphins dropped with it, skimming over the tops of enormous sea plants, all shining brightly under their headlamps.  They suddenly ducked beneath long waving tendrils, and saw a dark yet thriving dip in the coral.  Leading the way, Dirk slowed and approached the area carefully.  Yet when he reached the wall of plants, Dirk didn’t stop.  Instead he continued forward smoothly, passed through the vegetation, and disappeared inside.  Alison barely had time to blink before Sally did the same.

Both human passengers watched incredulously as the underwater growth extended through a small passageway –– through coral tight enough that it caused them to bump repeatedly against the sides.

Gigantic green plants billowed before them, brushing their masks and rolling past harmlessly.

Still holding tightly onto Sally, Alison remembered her device, brought it up to her face, and then gasped.  The concentrations were off the chart!  It was from here that the nourishing compounds were emanating.

The dolphins reached the other side of the passage and emerged into something much larger.

With her mouth open, Alison let go of Sally and slowed.  Just several feet ahead, Lightfoot instinctively did the same upon seeing what lay before them.  

Neither moved for a long time.  Instead they remained, floating still in the water.  It was a cavern.  And it looked as though the coral had grown over it, sealing the cavity off from above.  The area was approximately fifty yards across with thick columns of coral twisting and extending below in places, providing a natural support system.

And as small as the cavern was in width, it extended much deeper below them, covered in even thicker vegetation. 

But it was what the vegetation had attached itself to that left Alison and Lightfoot completely speechless.

Enveloped within a vast green glow was something metal.  Manufactured.  With powerful looking gray walls and a smooth surface, the structure extended less than a hundred feet before it was completely consumed by the vines and tendrils of plant life around it.

Along one side, and partially obscured, were strange markings.  Reminiscent of what Alison had seen in the mountains of Guyana.

Lightfoot pushed himself forward, mesmerized.  He closed in, studying the wall of metal.  “It looks perfect, without a mark on it.”  He reached forward and gingerly touched a finger to the object.  A green glow rippled out in a small circle, then disappeared.

Lightfoot turned and looked back at Alison, hovering just behind him.  He then pressed his entire hand against it to see a larger circle ripple out, before fading again.

Alison peered down through the water.  The ship’s hull descended further than she could see.  She reached out and brushed her hand across the surface of the wall, watching as a green trail briefly followed her glove.

Sally and Dirk floated next to them, barely moving their fins.

This you look Alison.

Alison blinked behind her mask and smiled.  “Yes.  This is what we were looking for.”  She continued staring in awe.  It was unlike anything she had ever seen.

Borger was right.

Two hours later, Langford picked up his ringing cell phone and answered it.

“Langford.”

On the other end, Wil Borger stared at the phone in the middle of the small table.  Sitting in the room with him were Captain Emerson, Neely, and lastly, Alison, sporting wet but neatly brushed hair. 

“Admiral, it’s Borger.  I’m here with Captain Emerson, Alison, and Neely Lawton.”

“Good morning.  I hope you’re calling with good news.”

“You could say that.”  He turned to Neely and nodded.

“Admiral, this is Commander Lawton.”  She leaned forward, toward the phone.  “I’ve confirmed that the samples we’ve recovered here on the sea floor contain the same genetic properties as the plants from Guyana.”

“You’re sure?”

“There are still a few more tests to run when we return, but yes, sir.  I’m sure.”

“Thank you, Commander.  That is good news.”

Borger frowned slightly.  The admiral’s tone sounded more somber than he was expecting.  Even for him.

“Is everything all right, sir?”

“Everything is fine,” he replied.  “Captain Emerson, under the circumstances, I’d like you to hold your position and await further instructions.”

“Aye, Admiral.”

Borger cleared his voice.  “Uh, Admiral.  We also have something else to tell you.”

“Go ahead.”

Borger glanced around the table at the others.

“Sir, for this…I think you’re going to want to sit down.”