Fast (61 page)

            ‘Enter the arming codes and start the countdown.’

            ‘Yes, sir.’ The Chief Warrant Officer took the paper without raising his eyes. He left the chamber to personally carry out the President’s instructions.

            Three minutes later, a coded signal left the communications array of the
Coronado
. The signal was received by a camouflaged micro-antennae concealed in a dry grassy tussock six miles south of the Biological Solutions Research Complex.

            The antennae led underground to a signal-booster buried twenty feet under the desert surface.

            All the radio signal jamming technology in the world couldn’t stop technology as basic as the telegraph.

            The booster sent the signal through six miles of underground direct line and three small underground repeater stations. Each repeater station checked the code’s authenticity against its own unique set of parameters and then forwarded the signal on.

            A fraction of a second after reaching the surface antennae, the signal had been checked four times and arrived at its destination in a cement bunker under the research Complex.

            The small bunker was insulated from the aquifer and had only one occupant. The occupant had been asleep since it was sealed in the bunker. But it had just been told to wake up.

            With a single blinking red eye, the weapon came online.

#

‘What exactly does that mean?’ asked Vanessa suspiciously. She pointed at the super bullet. ‘Now that our message got out, shouldn’t reinforcements be deploying to help us?’

            Coleman took a deep breath.
She deserves to know the truth. She’s part of our team now.

            ‘I have some bad news,’ admitted Coleman. ‘This isn’t a sit tight and wait-for-the-cavalry type of situation.’

            Forest and King both knew what Coleman meant.

            ‘We’re on our own here?’ asked Vanessa incredulously. ‘What about David and the others!”

            ‘From a military point of view, we’ve been quarantined since we arrived,’ started Coleman. ‘That was all explained to us during our mission brief. But now the
Coronado
has confirmation that there are biological weapons onsite and that terrorists are in the process of stealing them. Sending more Marines isn’t the answer to countering an unknown biological agent. They don’t have many options really.’

            ‘So what will they do?’

            Coleman thought for a moment. ‘I’m afraid you’re not going to like this, because it probably confirms a lot of the suspicions you’ve had in the past. And
I’m
probably not the best person in the world to tell you this, because of our history.’

            Vanessa watched Coleman steadily. ‘Just say it. I might not trust the military, but I trust you. Say what you have to say.’

            Coleman nodded, appreciating her effort. ‘We never discussed this, but have you ever heard the rumor that there are nuclear weapons pointed at every major research installation on Earth?’

            Vanessa raised an eyebrow. ‘We never discussed it because I thought it was too stupid even for military minds for condone.’

            ‘Well, it’s not true. Missiles can be intercepted before they reach their target. Missiles aren’t the most reliable method of delivering a warhead.’

            ‘Then what is?’ she asked.

            ‘Hiding the weapon at the target long before you need to use it, then activating it remotely when the time comes. The warhead is already here.’

            Vanessa rolled her eyes. ‘You think there’s a nuclear weapon already hidden in the Complex? No way. I helped design this place. I know every inch.’

            ‘You don’t know how the security system works.’

            ‘That’s different,’ she countered defensively. ‘I don’t understand the security technology, but I’m pretty sure I would notice a nuclear weapon stashed somewhere.’

Coleman decided to try a different angle. It was important that she understood. Unfortunately, he knew exactly how to convince her. ‘Vanessa, who was in control of the site before you took possession?’

            ‘The mining company. I’ve already told you that. They hit the aquifer and the site became unprofitable.’

            ‘That’s not completely true,’ corrected Coleman. ‘They did hit an aquifer, but the site wasn’t passed straight over from the mining company. It was temporarily in the possession of the U.S. Military, right?’

            ‘Well, yes, of course,’ she stuttered. ‘The site had to be inspected before it could be handed over on an international research charter. But that was just a formality.’

            Coleman could see her logical mind starting to join the dots. ‘Why do you think the Complex was approved for construction in the middle of nowhere? In a desert, no less. You can’t believe that this place wasn’t constructed without a failsafe countermeasure.’

            ‘It was the perfect site because of the mine and the aquifer,’ she offered. ‘The lack of species in the surrounding desert restricts genetic pollution and….’

            Her arguments teetered out. ‘It’s true, isn’t it? The weapon’s in the aquifer, right? That’s the only place they could have placed it before our construction started.’

            Coleman nodded. ‘I believe so. They must have a direct line to the weapon to activate it through the C-Guards. It will be designed towards irradiating all life. It’s probably an enhanced radiation weapon.’

            ‘You’re talking about a neutron weapon,’ she reasoned.

            Coleman nodded. ‘You understand what they do?’

            Vanessa examined her hands, her voice registering shock. ‘I know what they do. Its shell would be made from chromium or nickel so the neutrons generated by the fusion reaction can escape. Neutrons are a penetrating type of radiation. Shielding won’t stop them. And their neutron energy is quickly attenuated by the atmosphere, so the destruction would be focused on this Complex. They’re most effective in low-humidity environments, like this desert. They kill all life with a minimum of explosive destruction. How could it have all come to this?’

            ‘Vice Admiral Tucker won’t have a choice,’ said Coleman. ‘Even if we could somehow eliminate Cairns’s force, that would still leave the creatures. The creatures are the real problem. They have to be stopped by
any means necessary
. If we could somehow stop the creatures, Tucker wouldn’t need to detonate the ER warhead.’

            Coleman put his hand on her shoulder. ‘I only know one person in the world who could possibly stop the creatures in the time we have.’

            Vanessa didn’t look up. The answer was obvious. ‘Me.’

#

Cairns stood in the bottom of the west stairwell in waist-deep water.

            He had five gunmen.

            In the east stairwell, Bora had four more gunmen.

            This represented the last of their original force. Cairns keyed his radio. ‘Bora, are you in position?’

            Bora’s reply was dead-pan. ‘We’re ready.’

            Eleven men
, thought Cairns.
How could I have lost all but eleven men?

            He wasn’t counting Gould.

            Gould was standing halfway up the stairs, shaking his head at the water.

            ‘It’s madness,’ Gould repeated, his voice breaking like a pubescent teenager. ‘We can’t go in there. They’re going to be on us before we even open that door!’

            ‘Don’t make me drag you,’ warned Cairns, checking his weapon. ‘Step into the water, Dr Gould.’

            Two gunmen trained their weapons on Gould. It proved all the motivation he needed. He grimaced as he waded down into the cold water.

            ‘You feel that?’ Cairns asked over his shoulder.

            ‘I do,’ answered Gould, placing his hands in the water, fingers splayed apart to feel the vibrations. ‘What is that?’

            ‘That’s what’s keeping us alive. I never trusted you could control the creatures. I designed a backup plan.’

            Gould’s eyes flickered in the direction of the freight lift. ‘The machines in the containers?’

            ‘The same.’

            ‘The creatures will be tearing them apart. Nothing can last long against that kind of assault.’

            ‘Correct.’ Cairns held up his arm. He rolled up one fatigue sleeve. Strapped to his forearm was the slim black box with a snub-nosed antenna. ‘Two green lights means were still alright.’

            ‘What happens when the creatures finish with the containers?’

            Cairns turned in the water and locked an uncompromising stare on Gould. ‘We’ll have the templates by then. If you’ve done everything exactly as I’ve told you, then the timing should be perfect.’

            ‘I did what you asked,’ confirmed Gould warily, checking his watch. ‘The countdown is set to start in eighteen seconds.’

            Cairns smiled. ‘Everyone will see it?’

            ‘Everyone. They couldn’t miss it. It’s a nasty little head-game you’ve started for them. Once they see the countdown, they might want to negotiate. We may not have to go in there at all.’ Gould pointed towards the basement.

            Cairns’s laugh was a nasal snort. ‘Oh, they’ll be preparing to negotiate alright. I’d say we’ll be joining the first round of violent negotiations in minutes. As long as it takes us to reach their position.’

            Cairns pushed open the fire stairs door. He scanned the flooded corridor beyond.
I wish I had more men. Even five more men would make a big difference.
The Marines could be waiting in ambush. Cairns wouldn’t rule out anything. The debris-littered corridor headed east, straight towards the only dry section of the basement. The Marines would be stupid not to have withdrawn to the dry and defendable position. And these Marines were anything but stupid. On Cairns’s forearm, one of the green lights flickered for a moment and then died.

            ‘I just felt the vibration drop,’ warned Gould. ‘They’ve already broken into one of the containers. One container isn’t going to distract them all. Some of them are going to be drawn towards us.’

            Cairns activated his radio as he started surging down the corridor. ‘Bora, go, go, go. Full assault right now!’

#

‘It’s a countdown!’ blurted Dana, making sense of the new information being broadcast from the administration hub’s intranet.

            ‘Countdown to what?’ asked Harrison, raising his eyebrow from across the room. He had two hands planted on the antechamber table where he’d been scanning the schematic maps.

            ‘It’s staggered to activate different systems at time intervals. The first routine will start in less than forty seconds. It all looks local. Okay, I’m bringing up the details now –’

            Dana jerked up ramrod straight in her seat. ‘They can’t be doing this. They’re going to kill us all.’