The rest of the lab was running smoothly as well. All of the students were now wearing lab coats like Dr. Spellman. The microbe area was completely set up and clean. All of the equipment had been tested and they were stockpiling growth media.
The harvesting and purification section of the lab also seemed ready to go. The centrifuges, which appeared to Alex like big top-loading washing machines, had been cleaned and tested. Racks of one-gallon storage containers were ready to receive their deadly cargo. And the large freezer on the wall was ready to store them.
Until what? A refrigerated truck came to came to pick them up and delivered death to the rest of the world?
Well, whatever happened today, that would not come to pass. By the end of the day, this lab would be shut down. With luck, it would be in ruins. Even if things went badly, the terrorists wouldn’t get any finished virus out of it for a few days or weeks. By then, maybe her father and Zeta would be able to find it and shut it down for good.
And yet her only regret now was that Jason deserved better than this. He had followed her into this mess and now he was in the same danger as all of them. Alex could take a page from her father’s book and throw herself at that danger, but it might not be enough to save him, or Karen, or the surviving members of Dr. Apocalypse’s sad little cult.
A better agent might be able to save them all and take out every terrorist. Alex had no illusions of being that agent. She could only do her best and hope that it would be enough to make sure the world didn’t suffer for her failure.
Some of the other students were heating up water for macaroni and cheese and instant noodles. Like the odd routines they had developed after a very short time here, it was strangely normal. After all, they were college students and this was their regular diet.
Alex couldn’t decide if it was a sign that they were completely clueless about what was really going on here, or if they were simply doing what people did in extreme circumstances: carrying on as normally as possible. Just living.
She decided it was both of those things.
Karen and Jason sat down with her at the table with their cereal. They were the only three people who knew that, one way or another, today was the last day in the lab, and they didn’t pretend otherwise.
Alex got right to it. “I’m ready when you tell me everything is in place. I know the guards’ routine, such as it is. Give me a little warning and I’ll be close enough to one of them to take him down when it begins. Is everything in place on your end?”
“Yes,” Karen said. “Jason has collected everything I need and I’ve mixed the compounds. When you give the word, we will place them in the microwaves and pressure cookers. He and I have also made some alterations to the two centrifuges. They will fail, somewhat spectacularly.”
“Define spectacular,” Alex said.
“I’ve compromised the O-rings around the rotor, added some steel wool to the shaft to create extra friction. I’ve also overloaded each unit and set it to run at an unsafe speed. Finally, I disabled the safety cutoff switch. Once the unit is activated, it will be impossible to shut off without unplugging it. And there will be very little time between the time the unit starts shaking and the rotor fails. The result will be explosive.”
That was good. Even if one of the guards had the presence of mind to go for the shutoff, it would take time to realize something was wrong with that and try to cut power. By then, hopefully, it would be too late.
“What about the timing for the other units,” Alex asked.
“I can adjust the microwaves to go in about five minutes, the pressure cookers will be about twenty minutes. The centrifuges are the trickiest. As I said, it won’t be long once they start to shake but they may have to run for twenty to thirty minutes for that to happen,” Karen replied.
“Great work just the same. This is an improvised operation, the key is to set things in motion and then I’ll move when I think we have achieved maximum chaos,” Alex said.
“What are you going to do?” Jason asked.
“I can take one of the guards, I’m sure of it. Once I have a weapon we all have a chance,” she said.
“Maybe we could all just wait and see how much damage our sabotage does?” Jason said, obvious concern on his face.
“Jason, look, I’ve trained for this,” she said.
He gestured around them and said, “How does anyone ever train for this?”
“Alex is proficient in a number of—”
“I can do this,” Alex said, interrupting. “But it will be easier if I know you both are safe, so when it starts, get down and stay down. People are going to die. Even if we succeed, these men will start shooting. Please don’t give them any extra targets.”
“Okay,” Jason said.
Then Karen did something unexpected. The older woman reached out and took Alex’s hand. Alex saw that Karen and Jason were scared. Of course, she was scared too and she had no doubt that it showed on her face.
Her father had taught her that fear came before and after a fight. During the fight itself, things like fear and anger melted away, replaced by logical thinking, specific movements, and next steps.
Well, that was all the more reason to start the fight as soon as possible.
The trio finished their cereal and threw out their bowls as soon as Kattab announced it was time to get back to work. As they headed to the lab, she felt Jason’s hand on her shoulder.
She turned to him as he was leaning down. “Just in case,” he said.
Closing the distance between them she met his kiss. It was short and sweet. Then they broke apart and headed out. Alex made sure she went past the pressure cookers. She made a show of examining them, turning on each one. That was it, the fight had begun. There was no going back now.
She saw Karen switch on the centrifuges.
How long now? A half hour? Less?
Jason helped her mix growth media for a few minutes as the rest of the lab settled into its routine. Minutes passed.
The time was getting closer, she could feel it. She kept a careful eye on the nearest terrorist, judging his alertness, looking at the way the gun was slung on his back.
Even if she took him down, it would take too long to untangle the rifle. She’d have to go for his pistol and do what she could with that. Once she’d taken him out along with any other immediate threats she could go back for his rifle.
The handgun was a Colt .45. She knew the gun well and could find the safety in the dark. That would help. The hip holster was also simple, with extra straps or ties that would hold it down. She could pull the weapon free in a single motion.
Alex rehearsed all of the necessary movements in her head. Her father was right, the fear was gone.
Alex watched as Jason carried a tray with four specially prepared beakers to the bank of microwaves. Each beaker had some steel wool sitting in a chemical stew that Karen had put together. It would be more flash than bang but it would draw a lot of attention when the microwaves blew out.
They had stacked a ready supply of extra scrubs and lab coats nearby. With luck they would catch fire and—”
“What are you doing?” someone called out. Then louder, “What are you doing with that?”
It was Avery. He was looking at Jason loading the microwaves. To his credit, Jason ignored him and loaded the last two microwaves, switching them on. Now all of the units were running.
“Stop! Don’t do that. You’re not supposed to do that!”
By now Avery had reached Jason, and grabbed him firmly.
“It’s okay buddy. It’s all okay,” Jason said calmly.
Then Alex saw that the guard she had been scoping had taken an interest in the commotion.
“Jason,” she said, feeling helpless.
He turned his head to her calmly, shot her a quick smile, and started pulling Avery away from the microwaves.
The guard yelled something to them in Chechen and Avery shouted, “He put something in the microwave. He’s going to ruin everything!” Then Avery turned back to Jason and screamed, “We have to do this! Margaret died for this!”
At the end of his rope, Jason gave Avery a good, hard shove backward and Avery fell, landing hard on the floor. By now, the other guards had taken notice and Kattab was making his way from across the lab.
They had barely begun and things had fallen apart already. This wasn’t supposed to happen. One or more of the devices were supposed to go off and then Alex was going to capitalize on the confusion to get a gun. At that point, she would be able to take the terrorists out. At any rate, they would either be dealing with her, or with the explosions Karen had arranged. Now, two of them were focused on Jason.
The guard was yelling at Jason in Chechen and pointing to the microwave, and Jason was responding with an explanation she could not hear.
This was going to a bad place and Alex had to put a stop to it before it did. She strode over to the two men as the gunman leaned down toward one of the microwaves.
Jason tugged on the Chechen’s shoulder with his left hand while he made a fist with his right and brought it around in an arc. It was a solid punch and caught the man square in the mouth. Not bad for an amateur, Alex thought, though it would have been even more effective if Jason had put a little more shoulder into it.
Still, the terrorist went down.
Alex was close and desperately tried to calculate whether she could get to the man before he drew his gun. Two more steps and she’d be able to dive for it.
And then a single shot rang out.
Jason grabbed his chest and Alex saw red spreading beneath his lab coat and scrubs. Then he went down.
It was bad. Not exactly center chest, and the bullet had probably missed his heart, but it had certainly hit a lung. It might be survivable if it happened near a hospital, but out here…
All of a sudden, Alex found she couldn’t walk and fell to her knees. Someone was screaming, it was a woman’s voice.
Then Alex realized the voice was hers.
* * * *
They were close, Morgan saw, less than a mile away.
As they got even closer he saw a road that branched off to the left. That was the way to the building on the satellite image. That road followed a gradual incline to the structure that was maybe a hundred feet below them.
Perhaps a tenth of a mile down the road was a shack. He couldn’t see anyone there but there was smoke wafting up from the back of the small building. Next to the shack was a gate that blocked the road down to the facility.
“Someone is there,” Morgan said, pointing to the structure.
“Stop the car,” Dobrynin said. The Russian sniffed the air. “This is them, the Chechens.”
“How can you tell? You can smell them?”
“Djepelgesh,” he said. “It’s Chechen. They are cooking it.”
That was it then. This was the place. That meant the building down below held the lab, and Alex.
But between them and the lab was a shack with one or more terrorists who Morgan assumed were armed. If they were guarding the only entrance to such an important operation, they would be heavily armed.
“We could wait. Bloch and her Tach team will be here in—”
Morgan cut him off with the wave of a hand and listened. Sound was coming from the building. He heard shouting and a single gunshot down below, then more shouting.
He was driving before he realized he had made his decision. “We’ll approach slowly. For all they know we are just stopping for directions.”
A man stepped out of the shack dressed in black. He had a rifle slung across his back but he wasn’t wielding it yet. The man held out his hand in a universal stop gesture.
Morgan kept moving, but more slowly. They needed to use the road. Finding another road down would take too long. And if they climbed down the incline they would be too easy to pick off either from above or below.
“He wants you to stop,” Dobrynin.
“And I don’t recognize his authority,” Morgan said, adding a little speed.
Now the guard was pointing his rifle at them and waving them off. Morgan put on more speed as he saw another man stumble out of the shack.
The first bullet hit the front of the vehicle and Morgan had a decision to make. He could blow past the gate easily enough but that would leave hostiles behind him. And there might be more men or weapons inside the shed. Morgan and Dobrynin didn’t have time to stop the SUV, take cover behind it, and clear the guards. He needed a faster solution.
A bullet slammed through the windshield, and then another. Morgan leaned down, seeing that Dobrynin was doing the same. Then he turned the wheel, aiming for the small building.
Seconds later, they were almost on top of the shed and the two guards were firing steadily into the SUV. It wasn’t a Zeta vehicle and was not hardened against gunfire. It was just a rental and Morgan was fairly certain that he wouldn’t be getting his deposit back.
Before he barreled into the shack, he saw a third guard in the doorway who almost made it out before the vehicle slammed into the structure.
The impact didn’t stop the SUV but re-directed it hard to the right. They ended up in a skid and while turned sideways, the passenger side facing the two remaining guards.
Morgan didn’t waste any time, he pushed open his door and threw himself out, shouting for Dobrynin to follow him, as gunfire peppered the side of the vehicle. The Russian dove after him and seemed to be in one piece.
The SUV was decent cover, particularly behind the engine block, but Morgan didn’t have time for an extended firefight.
He hit the ground with his Walther out. He noted that Dobrynin was on the ground with him. From under the car, he pointed his Walther at the legs of the two terrorists who were now standing in the open. Dobrynin followed suit and then both men fired into the lower legs of the Chechens.
There were shouts as more than one of their shots found its target. One of the men fell, then the other. Then Morgan and Dobrynin emptied their clips into the terrorists, who went still.
As soon as that registered, Morgan was on his feet and slipping a fresh clip into his Walther. The vehicle was totaled. They would have to get to the lab on foot.
“Wait, we’ll need weapons,” Dobrynin said, gesturing at the SUV.
“Then I’ll meet you there,” Morgan said, as he headed down the mining road at a sprint. He heard the Russian shout “koshmar” and then race after him.
Chapter 34
Someone was shouting at her to get up.
Alex turned and saw that it was Kattab and he had his gun pointed at her head from a few feet away.
“Now!” he screamed.
Alex knew she had to do something but her legs wouldn’t obey her commands.
“Wait,” another voice said and then Karen was standing between them. “I need her. We need her. We can’t lose any more technicians.”
Then Karen spun and grabbed Alex by the upper arm. The woman was stronger that Alex would have given her credit for, and Alex found herself getting pulled upwards.
“Alex we need you. If you don’t get up this is all over,” she said.
It was already all over for Jason. She didn’t have to look to know he was already dead.
“The mission,” Karen shouted into her ear.
Yes, over for him but not for the rest of them. Alex shook her head clear and was on her feet when Kattab shouted, “What is that?”
She scanned the microwaves, which were running but not doing anything unusual. Then she saw Kattab was pointing at the centrifuges, which were shaking like overloaded washing machines.
“They must be malfunctioning,” Karen said.
Kattab shouted at one of other guards, who gra
bbed a student and dragged him along. The Chechen and the student stood in front of one of the centrifuges.
“What is it?” Kattab yelled over the noise of the machines, which were now rocking back and forth.
Alex realized she recognized the guy in the lab coat. He was one of Spellman’s grad students, Steven something-or-other.
“Turn it off!” Kattab shouted. Then he yelled something in Chechen and the guard next to Steve shoved him toward the machine on the right.
The grad student slapped at the cutoff switch but the machine simply bucked harder. Then it shuddered once and, suddenly, the spinning steel rotor—which was about the size of a rotor on a car’s wheel—tore through the front of the machine and caught Steven square in the chest.
The guard in front of the other centrifuge watched uncomprehendingly and turned to Kattab just as the machine came apart and sent its own rotor flying out. This metal disc was ejected from higher on the unit and screamed toward the Chechen’s head.
The rotor nearly missed the man, but clipped the side of his head. The terrorist crumbled face first onto the floor and Alex could see he was dead before he hit the ground.
Nevertheless, she leapt toward the body and made a show of checking for a pulse with her left hand while her right reached around for his hip holster and drew his Colt.
In a single smooth movement she brought the gun around and pointed it at the first black-clad figure she saw. It was the terrorist that Jason had punched. Alex was pleased to see that he was bleeding from his mouth. From her sitting position, she managed to put two rounds into the man’s chest, and he went down.
Instinctively, she rolled away as bullets tore in her direction, striking the body of the fallen terrorist. The nearest lab table and cover was still too far away so Alex continued her roll and brought herself up to a kneeling position as she scanned for Kattab.
He was pointing his AK-47 at her and ready to fire while she was still bringing her own weapon around. It would be close, she thought, but she wouldn’t make it.
Threat Level Alpha Page 28