“The code,” Scott said, pressing his pistol against the side of the director’s head.
The director grinned. “Guaranteed safe passage and immunity for myself and my team.”
“Not going to happen,” Scott said. “What’s going to happen is you’re going to give us the code and call off your sniper.”
“No, Mr. Evers, you don’t understand. What’s going to happen is Mila and I are going to get on the chopper and fly out of here. When we’re safe, I’ll give you the code.”
Scott took a long breath. Gritting his teeth, he fought the urge to discharge his weapon. One bullet was all that was needed to decide everything. He settled for throwing the director across the room.
“Washington,” Edie said over headset. “Twelve hundred yards due west of my last position, top of the rise. Go get him.”
“On it,” a voice said back over comms.
It was Scott’s turn to grin. He didn’t know whether Edie was bluffing but he went with it. “You’re bargaining chip is expiring. The code now and you have my word you and Mila end up somewhere other than maximum security lockdown for life.”
“The virus is out, Mr. Evers. Time we waste is time that could be spent producing more antiviral.”
Edie stepped to Scott. Her voice low, she said, “Chopper’s five clicks out. Air support is coming as well.” She paused, her eyes somber. “Command wants the lab where the antivirals were made.”
“Lab?” Scott said, glancing at the director. He hadn’t even thought about where the antivirals came from or how the doses in the box would be used.
Outside he heard the roar of jet engines. Then a sudden explosion—a missile strike—followed by heavy machine gun fire.
“The cavalry,” Edie said.
As the sound of jet engines moved away, the sound of swirling chopper blades grew clearer and closer. Scott swiveled around the soldier caring for Mila and pulled her up off the floor. “Last chance to do this the easy way,” he said to the director. “Now, I’m only going to ask once. The code?”
“Five five six eight seven three,” the director said softly.
Scott pushed Mila away, back into the soldier’s hands. Edie punched the keys. A light on the box turned green. Inside the box, she found a shielded specimen container. Inside the container, she found the antivirals. Rows and rows of them.
Scott pulled Edie to him and kissed her. “Best damned day ever,” he said, his eyes fixed on hers.
“It…” she began, the words catching in her throat. “You know it is. It really is.”
Chapter 20
Mediterranean Sea
Late Evening, Wednesday, 20 June
In a holding cell at Malta International near customs and control, Scott sat across from Kathy Schneider. She was finished crying, but there were still tears in her eyes. “What happened?” Scott demanded. “Tell me again.”
“I’ve already told you three times,” Kathy said. “The story’s not going to come out any different.”
“So you admit it’s a story?” Scott said, jumping up.
Kathy rubbed at her eyes. “No, no. I made a judgement call. The Kid died because of it.”
“And Angel?” Scott said.
“Angel had us all fooled. We didn’t know what we were stepping into. Like I said, it was her idea to follow the boat after everything that happened. Her idea to watch the ship when it anchored, but my decision to go in.”
Flustered Scott ripped away the table between them and jumped up. “You’re one of them. I know you are. Admit it.”
The commotion brought Edie. She came running in. “Everything okay in here?”
Scott bristled at the interruption, his eyes fixed on Kathy’s. “You did this. You caused this.”
More tears. Scott stormed out of the room with Edie stalking after him. They hurried around to the other side of the two-way glass to watch Kathy. His thoughts ran to everything that happened after leaving the abandoned airfield and taking the director and his people into custody. The director was able to get a plea deal for himself and Mila in exchange for full cooperation and that cooperation came in a gush of stunning admissions about what the director knew and when he knew it.
The lab where the antivirals were made turned out to be Christensen’s, which was located and locked down within twenty minutes of signing the deal. After that, it was simply a matter of using what they had and knew to manufacture enough doses of the antiviral to treat everyone exposed. The director’s hundred vials gave them plenty of materials to start with, saving them many precious hours. Scott and Edie helped with the distribution, going to the President’s Palace with the first batch of ready doses.
Each eventually got their shots as well. Once the last of those exposed were treated, it was over—well mostly. Hospitals and medical facilities across Malta were to remain on alert for cases of patients exhibiting symptoms that were out of the ordinary. A temporary all ports quarantine was to remain in effect for twenty-four hours. After that, it would truly be over.
Impatient for more answers, Scott’s musings led him to Kathy and their present situation at the airport.
“You believe her story, don’t you?” Edie said.
Scott blew out a slow breath. “I do, but I don’t want to. Lian is dead. Angel is dead. Kathy’s the only one who lived. That didn’t happen by accident. I don’t want to believe it. I won’t let myself believe it.”
The End
See where Scott’s story begins:
Read The Pieces of the Puzzle.
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Robert Stanek is author of the #1 bestselling RUIN MIST CHRONICLES, an epic fantasy series, currently comprising five books, which has been translated into twelve languages; the #1 bestselling MAGIC LANDS, a young adult series comprising two books and counting, which has been translated into seven languages; and the #1 bestselling POCKET CONSULTANTS, a computer technology series comprising 35 books and counting, which have been translated into 21 languages.
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