The Ark: A Novel (34 page)

The guards must be patrolling the central compound, ready to rush to any sensor that detected movement.

"What do you think?" Locke asked.

"We'll have to cut through the fence."

"Then what? It's about 500 yards to the central compound from the fence. Lots of opportunities to set off the sensors if we miss one."

"We'll have to risk it. My men are trained to spot and disable them."

"Then we just barge in the front door of the hangar building, guns blazing?"

"You got any other options?" Turner said.

Locke thought about it, but he didn't have any. "Maybe we'll see something with the UAV." It would be another ten minutes before the full dark would allow them to use the UAV without it being seen.

Grant, who was using Locke's binoculars, nudged him and handed them back.

"Take a look at the fence. Two o'clock, at the base of post."

Locke focused on the spot with the binoculars. It took him a second, and then he saw what Grant was talking about.

"Crap."

"What is it?" Turner asked.

"The fence is wired."

"But with high voltage..."

"Not high voltage. Just a sensor wire." One of the wires had become exposed, just slightly, but enough for Grant's eagle eyes to see. "If we cut the fence, they'll know immediately."

"Can we bypass it?"

"Maybe, but it would be tricky," Locke said. "These guys are good."

"So the concrete doors would close instantly as soon as the fence was breached?"

"Unlikely. They'd want confirmation of an intrusion before they did something that drastic. But as soon as they saw the hole in the fence, or us crawling through it, they'd sound the alarm. Then we're toast."

"Maybe we should try a full assault through the front gate," Turner said. "Catch them by surprise."

"Same problem. When they suspect their guards are taken out, the alarm goes off and they shut themselves in."

"You're not being very helpful, Locke."

Locke knew he sounded pessimistic, but when you eliminated all of the obvious choices, less obvious choices suddenly made themselves known.

He concentrated on the fence again. He had laid the binoculars down while he was talking to Turner, and the lens was covered in water from the high grass. He paused to wipe it off, then stopped. He dug his gloved finger into the soil, which was soaking wet. His finger plunged through up to his top knuckle as easily as if he'd pushed it into pudding.

Locke looked up at the tree next to him, a giant evergreen over 150 feet tall.

"Captain Turner," Locke said, a big smile spreading across his face, "I'm about to be helpful. I believe I have a way to get us through."

* * *

Sebastian Garrett checked his laptop to make sure the inventory for Oasis was up to date and then radioed Cutter. The device on the Genesis Dawn should be in full operation by now. He'd wanted an immediate lockdown, but not everyone had completed the move from the main house into the bunker. Once the bunker was sealed, it would open up only once more: the next morning when the three prion-emitting devices were ready and their bearers were sent off to LAX, Kennedy Airport, and Heathrow in London. When they were gone, Oasis would be closed off from the rest of the world for three months, the time he expected it would take the Arkon-C to run its course worldwide. The men delivering the devices would have to be sacrificed, but they didn't know that. They were told that they would be let back in, but Garrett couldn't take the chance that they would be infected.

"How are we coming?" Garrett asked Cutter.

"Another twenty minutes, sir."

"What? Why is it taking so long?"

"We've still got equipment to move down that is crucial to our operations."

Oasis was equipped with positive-pressure airlocks and hazmat suits for external forays in emergencies, but Garrett didn't want to use them if he didn't have to. The bunker was powered by two generators, and an enormous fuel tank buried next to it, with enough diesel stored for the entire three month stay. Water from the desalination plant ensured a sterile supply, and the food stockpile contained twice what they should need.

"All right," Garrett said. "But when the equipment is inside, close it up. Tell everyone so there are no stragglers."

"Yes, sir."

He put the radio back on his desk. A knock came at his door.

"Come!"

A head peeked in his door. It was his replacement pharmacologist, David Deal.

"What is it, Deal?"

The man came in, stopping at the threshold. He looked nervous.

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but..." He hesitated.

"Come on, Deal. We're busy trying to close up."

"I know that, sir. That's why I'm here. They told me I would need your permission."

"To do what?"

"Well, with all the rush, you know, with my new Level 10 status just the last few days, and then the quick move down here, well, I left some things at the main mansion that I need for my work."

"What?"

"They're some critical notebooks. In the rush, I left them behind. I was told that to go back and get them, I would need your approval."

"How long will it take?"

"Just a few minutes. I think I know where they are."

"You think?"

"They're quite important."

Garrett considered it. To keep his people happy, he needed to make sure they were engaged, and Deal was a last minute addition.

"Very well. But be quick about it."

"Yes, sir."

Garrett radioed the guard at the entrance chamber to let Deal out.

Night had fallen, giving the assault team the cover of complete darkness. A corporal opened what looked like an elaborate laptop computer. The main difference was the pair of joystick controls at the base of the panel. He would pilot the UAV from this terminal.

Captain Turner nodded, and the soldier who had prepared the UAV backed away. The corporal tapped a button, and the helicopter whirred to life. The sound was no louder than a hair dryer set on low.

"What's the battery life on this model?" Locke asked.

"Thirty minutes, tops," the pilot replied. "Depends how much maneuvering I do."

The UAV rose into the air neatly, and it was soon out of earshot. The pilot kept it ascending until the UAV was higher than any of the trees. The only reason Locke could see it was because it occasionally blotted out a star. As long as it remained high up, no one would notice it.

Locke, Turner, and Grant focused on the video feed coming back from the onboard camera. The Starlight scope showed the helicopter flying past the fence and then over more trees. In two minutes, it passed over the first lights at the outskirts of the compound's main area.

The UAV flew over the hangar farthest from the main house and then circled it. No activity. Same for the second hangar. Arc lamps like the ones that lined city streets lit up the compound.

At the last hangar, the one closest to the main house and large hotel-type structure, a dozen men could be seen hauling equipment from a truck through a large delivery door. The UAV maneuvered to get a better look inside, but the angle was too high.

"Should I take it lower?" the pilot asked.

"No," Turner said. "With all those people, we'd never get in unobserved that way. Let's keep looking."

Next to the truck, two armed guards, both in black caps and clothes, stood by a Ford SUV, their rifles slung at their sides. Another SUV pulled alongside, and one of the guards went over and spoke to the driver.

The UAV circled the compound to find more guards. Three more SUVs were spotted, as well as five guards on foot. Fifteen so far. There were probably more inside one of the buildings. All of the lights were out at the main house. A few were still on in the hotel. Other than the guards and the men working at the truck, the compound seemed deserted. Locke could only guess that most of the rest of the residents were already in the bunker. They didn't have much time.

The UAV came back over the central part of the compound, and a lone man could be seen walking out of a different door in the hangar.

"Another guard?" Turner asked.

"I don't see a weapon," Grant said. "Or a black cap."

"And he's wearing khaki slacks," Locke said. "It's one of their civilians."

"What's he doing?"

"Heading to the building that looks like a hotel. This may be what we've been waiting for."

"What do you mean?"

"If we try to take any of these guards alive, they're not going to help us, no matter how much we threaten them. I've already had two of them kill themselves right in front of me. But a civilian might be another matter. If we can get to him fast enough, he could be our ticket inside the bunker."

"Then I guess it's time to try your idea. You really think this will work?"

"Depends who we get out here. If it's Cutter, we're screwed. Someone else, we might catch a break."

"Very well," Turner said. "Let's see that bag of tricks of yours do some magic."

* * *

Justin Harding, an ex-Ranger who had been recruited by Dan Cutter, was leaning against the passenger side of the SUV when he heard a loud crack come from the north end of the compound. It was quickly followed by a crash that reverberated through the woods.

He looked at the driver, Burns, and was about to report it in when he got a radio call from Cutter.

"Echo Patrol, this is Base. We just detected a breach in the north fence. Get out and find out what's going on. Bravo Patrol will meet you there. Report back. If there are hostiles, report back and engage."

Cutter gave them the exact location of the breach.

"Affirmative. Echo Patrol out."

Burns fired up the SUV and screeched out of the central compound. The SUV bounced up and down as Burns weaved through the trees.

When they were within 100 yards, they came to a stop and dismounted. If there were hostiles, Harding didn't want to barrel right into an ambush.

He and Burns, another ex-Ranger, advanced with classic covering positions. When they reached the tree line, he scanned the fence with his infrared. No bodies, human or animal in the vicinity. He switched on his flashlight and immediately saw the problem. He stood up and lowered his weapon.

"Not another one," he said to Burns. "And right on the fence this time."

He radioed to Jones, who was driving the second SUV.

"Bravo Patrol, pull up to the fence and shine your headlights on it."

The SUV pulled forward, and the fence was brightly illuminated.

"Damn!" Jones said as he got out. "Smashed right through it."

A huge pine tree had fallen from the tree line outside of the fence and rammed a 20-foot-wide section of the fence into the ground.

"Just what we need tonight." During the storm two days ago, a tree had fallen in the wind storm, setting off the alarms, but that one had been in the woods and merely caused some noise. This one was a much bigger problem.

"Base," he radioed, "we've got another tree down."

"Where?"

"Right on the fence. That's what set off the sensors."

"Can you fix it?"

"No chance. It's crushed."

"We can't attempt large-scale repairs until tomorrow. You and Burns stay there to keep guard. Send Bravo Patrol back to the central compound. They'll relieve you in a couple of hours. I want status checks every 15 minutes."

"Roger that."

Harding replaced the radio.

"You heard the man," he said to the three other guards, who were all standing in front of the SUV, staring at the massive tree. "Looks like we're pulling shit duty tonight."

Harding heard a faint pop from the opposite tree line. Burns' head flew back, and Harding smelled the blood shooting from Burns' mortal wound for only a moment before his world went black.

* * *

The driver in Echo Patrol was the first to be taken out by the assault team's snipers. Locke saw them adjust their silenced PSG-1's and take aim at the other three guards. It was all over in less than two seconds, far too quickly for the guards to react.

The assault team had been monitoring the radio calls, so they knew when it was time to take the shots. The plan had worked just like Locke envisioned.

The ground was so wet that the trees' roots were grasping at the soil to stay upright. He had remembered the windstorm that hit Seattle while he was gone had damaged trees all over the Puget Sound. With the ground still soaked, it wouldn't take much to topple another tree.

He had selected one that was already tipping in the direction of the fence, enough to make sure he could control the direction of the fall. Then it was a simple matter of burying explosives from his bag of tricks in strategic locations around the base of the tree. He picked several with small charges so that they would sound like the crack of a rotten tree trunk when they went off. Using the ground-penetrating radar, they found the biggest roots. The shape-charges were placed so that they focused down at the largest of them.

The pine had fallen right across the fence. Literally in one fell swoop they had already cut a way through the fence, taken out four guards, had two vehicles at their disposal, and circumvented the motion detectors.

The team quickly crossed the 50 feet to the fence and went through the opening.

Locke saw the four bodies of the guards lying at the front of the SUV. The headlights were still blazing, showing the gory detail of the takedown. Locke felt no remorse for the surprise attack, not after all he'd been through in the last week.

"You heard the man on the radio," Locke said to Turner. "We've got 15 minutes before they have to check in."

"Right," Turner said. "Let's go."

The Lodge, as everyone called the Hydronast hotel building, was lit only sparingly. Once the main power to the Lodge was cut off, it would be completely dark. Given how many times he'd been in the Lodge before, David Deal thought he would be comforted by the building, but now the emptiness of it seemed disturbing. He had an eerie feeling that any minute the visions he'd had before would come back with a vengeance, and this time they wouldn't be so benevolent.