46
Dattar, Khalil, Manhar, and Rajiid had taken three steps toward the exit, when the lights went off.
The blackness shocked Manhar and, for a moment, he thought the world had come to an end. He heard shuffling and a smothered oath from Khalil.
“What did they do? Shut the rail down again?”
“The lights are on a different system.” Rajiid’s voice came from Manhar’s right. “This is more extensive than just the station.”
“You have a flashlight?” Dattar’s harsh voice grated on Manhar’s ears. He thought he heard a soft splash from behind him, and it made his skin crawl. The rats were jumping in the water.
“There’s one in the cooler. Let me get it.” Manhar heard Rajiid making his way to the trash bin. The total dark was disorienting. He heard the sound of a siren far in the distance and the steady drip of water that still fell from the hose. A hollow sound and then another oath, this one from Rajiid.
“What’s the problem?” Dattar’s voice came through the dark.
“I stubbed my toe on the damn cooler.”
I hope it’s broken, Manhar thought.
After some scratching noises, a light blinked on. Rajiid ran the beam over the area, highlighting Khalil, Dattar, and Manhar.
“Where is she?” Dattar said.
Rajiid moved the light all around the platform. Nolan was gone.
“She has my money,” Dattar shrieked. Manhar couldn’t see Rajiid’s face, but he heard the man make a small, irritated sound.
“She must be in the tunnel. Khalil, could she have gotten past you and up the stairs?”
“Not at all,” Khalil’s voice came from the area near the stairs.
“Find her. Now. She has my money,” Dattar said. “Manhar, into the tunnel.” Manhar tried to think of any possible reason not to enter the tunnel.
“We don’t know which way she went. You need two, maybe more, to go in both directions. And flashlights.”
“She’s in there in the dark and if she can go there, you can too,” Dattar’s voice was harsh. “Rajiid, give him the flashlight. Khalil, go with him. Find her.” Manhar started toward Rajiid, who still held the flashlight. When he got to the man, Rajiid handed it over with a grimace.
“How long before the bacteria sour the tunnel?” Manhar asked.
“Forty minutes if the rail is off, less if the rail is still on.”
“And then?”
“Ten minutes will see it double. At that stage you’ll still have to stand directly over the areas where you applied it. At twenty, it will reach fifteen feet in every direction. At forty it will reach ninety feet each direction.”
“What does it carry?”
“Mutated virus of H5N1. Pandemic strength.”
“Does anyone survive it?” Manhar said.
“Three percent do. Ninety-seven percent do not. If you get it, don’t bother going to the hospital. They can’t help you. Only time will tell if you survive or not.”
“Get moving!” Dattar yelled.
“I will, but first I need a weapon.”
“I want her alive, you idiot,” Dattar said.
“Give me your knife. I won’t kill her.”
Dattar made an irritated sound and shoved the knife and a gun in Manhar’s direction. He took both, and snatched the flashlight from Rajiid. Cowards both of them, Manhar thought. They won’t go into the tunnel to do their own dirty work.
Khalil walked up. “Let’s go. I’ll use this.” He turned to Dattar. “You’d better not leave. Anything happens in the tunnel and I’ll expect you both to jump in and provide backup.”
Dattar waved a second gun in the air. “I’m not leaving without her. I thought I made that very clear.”
Khalil grunted and switched on a stick lighter. The flame flickered. Manhar thought it was ridiculously weak, but Khalil was an expert tracker and huntsman and he presumed the meager light was enough for him. He jumped down onto the track, splashing water as he did. He focused the flashlight down to his left, in the direction where they had discarded the body, and saw nothing. He swung it right and again saw nothing.
“We both go left,” Khalil said. “She’s headed that way.”
“How do you know?”
Khalil pointed to the edge of the platform. A few drops of red glistened in the light beam.
“Ah, you’re right. I’d forgotten she was bleeding.”
Khalil shot him a smirk. “You first,” he said.
Manhar didn’t want to go first. He didn’t like the idea of Khalil at his back with a gun in his hand.
“We walk together,” he said.
Khalil shook his head. “I’m not walking near the third rail. Who knows when it will switch back on?”
“Then I’ll take that side.”
“As you wish.”
They started forward. Manhar didn’t bother to cover the sound of his feet splashing through the water. Let her hear him coming, he thought. As he trudged, he flashed the light from side to side, covering the area. There was nothing. No sign of the woman and no noise of her either. In the distance he heard sirens. They came even with the dead body. Khalil didn’t glance at it. They took a few more steps and Khalil stopped. He held up a hand and Manhar stilled as well. From somewhere in front of them came the noise of splashing. For an instant, then all was quiet.
Khalil stepped to his left and hugged the wall.
47
Smith and Russell kept moving. She tapped him on the shoulder.
“Me first,” she said. “When they start shooting, you need to be behind me. Remember?”
Smith backed off, and she slipped past him. He lined up behind. Every so often the tunnel wall was cut away, either with a narrow archway that looked like a window that had been cemented up, or to a small alcove with a metal staircase that led upward. Graffiti covered the walls. The taggers must have run into the tunnel between arriving trains. Russell slowed before each opening, making sure that no one was waiting to ambush them before taking the risk of stepping even.
They had advanced twenty feet when Smith got the overwhelming sense that someone was in front of them. He put a hand on Russell’s shoulder. She paused. He put his mouth to her ear.
“Someone’s out there.”
He felt her nod. She turned her head to whisper into his ear. “I’m going to lay down rifle fire. Let’s head to an opening and get low.” He crouched down with Russell, moving in tandem.
“I’m ready. Tell me when. I’ll switch on the light.” He moved flush against her left side and prepared to flick on his flashlight.
“One,” she whispered. “Two. Three.”
He turned on the flashlight and Russell started firing the Uzi. He felt her body vibrate with the weapon’s recoil and the noise pounded his eardrums. The light gave a gray glow and her shots pierced through the tunnel. Smith saw bits of her muzzle flash and two men standing about fifty yards into the tunnel.
Seconds later they returned fire. He could see muzzle flash only from the one on the right. The plaster in front of Russell’s face exploded and he heard her grunt as bits hit her face. He switched off the light and used his body to push her into an opening to the right. A bullet winged past his ear.
“How many did you see?” Russell said.
“Two. But only the one on the right was shooting.”
“Let’s continue to lay down fire in spurts and take it in sections. This time run to the left and when we reach the next opening get inside. We need to get to the bacteria. The station is behind them.”
Russell nodded. “One, two, three.” She stepped back into the tunnel and laid down some more fire, racing across to the left side. This time Smith didn’t turn on the light but kept with her, firing the AK-47 on semiautomatic to conserve bullets. The return fire was quick and raked to the right. Russell jogged forward and Smith did as well, firing and praying that a stray bullet from the two in front didn’t hit him dead on in the chest. He kept looking for a recessed section, but could
n’t find any.
“One, two…” Russell wasn’t letting up. Smith didn’t either. She started moving right again. This time Smith didn’t see any return fire. He kept shooting. They jogged ahead. He breathed a sigh of relief when the muzzle flash revealed another opening, this one without a ladder, but deep enough to provide cover for both him and Russell. They’d managed to reach this section without seeing any return fire. Right before they stepped into the tunnel, Smith thought he saw motion from inside the recessed area. He put an arm out to hold Russell in place, moved his back against the wall, inched his way forward, and led with his gun, arm stretched out. He stepped into the opening and flicked on his light. His muzzle was three feet from Nolan’s face.
“Don’t shoot, it’s me,” Nolan said.
Smith swallowed as relief went through him. She stepped up to him and put her arms around his waist. He placed an arm around her neck, felt her temple at his lips and kissed it. She moved in close and gripped his waist harder. He could feel her shaking and, because she’d never shown fear before, he knew that it meant the situation was dire.
“How many are there?” he said.
“Four. And a crew upstairs.”
“I’m Russell. Are they all armed?” Russell’s voice came in a whisper through the darkness.
“Likely, yes. Khalil and Dattar for sure. I don’t know about the other two.”
“Did they hurt you?” Smith asked. She was silent. His anger spiked and his face felt hot as he flushed.
“I’m alive,” she said. “And still in one piece.” She sounded a bit more like herself, but she still gripped him tightly.
“Did he get the money back?” Russell said.
“Not yet. They wanted to set up their attack first.”
“Tell us,” Russell said. “But make it quick. They’re out there.”
Nolan ran down the story, and as she did Smith was both relieved and sickened that the theory he’d reached was the right one.
“How much time?” Russell asked. Smith touched the glow button on his watch.
“Seven minutes.”
“What happens then?” Nolan said.
“The third rail switches back on.”
“Do you know how many more recessed areas there are before we hit the platform?” Smith said.
“Only one. And there’s a body in there.” Nolan’s voice cracked on the word “body.”
“Whose?” Russell said.
“An MTA employee. He stumbled into this mess.”
“Ready?” Russell said.
“We’re going forward. You stay here. When you think it’s safe, run in the other direction.” Smith reached into his jacket and pulled out the Beretta. “Take this. It has a full magazine and a laser sight. Do you know how to shoot?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“And take this.” He handed her his phone. “As soon as you get a signal, call the Anacostia Yacht Club from the contacts list and tell the man who answers that Smith’s theory was right. Tell him Dattar’s here and to send in the police to surround the station, but under no circumstances should they descend into it without face mask protection.”
“How far down on the third rail did you place the bacteria?” Russell asked.
“Twenty feet at least. That means it’s at least one hundred feet from where we’re standing. One of Dattar’s crew thought some was already dead, though.”
“We’ve got to move,” Russell said. “One.” Smith felt Nolan’s palms on either side of his face. One was warm and the other held the gun. The metal was cool against his cheek. She brought his head down and kissed him.
“Two,” Russell said.
“Please don’t die,” Nolan whispered.
“Three.” Russell stepped out with Smith right behind her.
They fired in unison, jogging ahead. Smith reached out and tapped Russell on the back. When she stopped, he pulled her down into a crouch next to him.
“No return fire. I don’t like it,” Smith said.
“I agree. They’re cooking something up.”
“Ideas?”
“None.”
“Then just keep it going,” Smith said.
“One, two, three.”
Smith and Russell started in again. Smith estimated that they were halfway to the next alcove when Smith saw a row of three muzzle flashes of return fire. This time he heard Russell grunt. She staggered back and he grabbed her around her waist with his left arm while he continued to fire with his right. He dropped to one knee, dragging her with him, and felt bits of stone and shrapnel rain down on his head. In front of him and to the far left he saw muzzle flashes from a new shooter targeting their attackers. Howell, Smith thought. He heard a scream as one of Howell’s shots hit home. Russell rolled out of his arm and regained her feet.
“Retreat,” he said. “Aim to the right. Don’t hit Howell on the left.” He fired round after round while he crab-walked backward. Russell was to his left and slightly behind him, and she fired along with him. They made it back to the alcove where Nolan had been hiding. She was gone.
“You hit?”
“Yes. Vest stopped it. Still hurts like hell when they land, though. Knocked the wind out of me for a moment.” There was a fizzing sound. Smith thought he could hear the harmonics of the third rail as the electricity poured through it. He looked at his watch.
“Time’s up.”
48
Dattar heard the third rail come to life and he moved back behind a small portion of wall that jutted out from the stairwell. Khalil, Manhar, Rajiid, and two others from his crew, one bleeding from a shoulder wound, huddled in the space. While he wanted to keep firing, the addition of the shooter from the right as well as the two from the left required that they all take cover.
“The rail’s back on,” Rajiid said. “Let’s go.”
Dattar could barely make out the man’s features in the dark, but it was clear that Rajiid expected him to agree.
“Who do you think is crawling through that tunnel and firing at us? It’s Smith.”
“You can’t be sure,” Rajiid said.
“I saw his face for an instant. I think it was Smith,” Khalil said.
“If he’s here, then he knows about the bacteria. He’ll derail the plan.”
“We need to go.”
“Not without my money. We get Nolan.”
“Forget the money! It’s lost. The rail is back on, didn’t you hear me? The bacteria will start multiplying. Soon you’ll have ten times more than she stole. We need to get out of here. Now.”
Dattar couldn’t believe his ears. “Forget the money? Are you insane? Smith is a microbiologist. He’ll know how to neutralize the bacteria. The plan will fail and I’ll have no money at all.”
“What good is money if you’re dead, I ask you?” Rajiid said.
“What good is being alive without it?” Dattar shot back. “I have to pay back Amir, or did you forget? I’m a hunted man. You are a hunted man. Do you have any idea how much it requires to drop out of sight?”
“Is what she said about the sapphire mine and utility company true?” It was Khalil who asked, and Dattar paused, his mind racing to find the right answer. Finally he decided on the truth. Perhaps if he told Khalil that he needed Nolan to be able to pay his debts, Khalil would stay and assist.
“Yes. The mine is depleted. And the utility company manager is dead.”
“I’m staying,” Khalil said. Dattar felt the tip of Khalil’s gun against his skull. “I expect to be paid.” Dattar knocked the muzzle away.
“You’ll be paid.”
The two crew members were silent through the whole exchange, and for a moment Dattar was concerned that the suicide pills had taken them, but just as he had the thought, one of the men shifted.
“We’ll need to hold this platform if we expect to find her,” Khalil said. “She’s in the tunnel.”
“Rajiid?” Dattar said. “Are you staying?”
Rajiid’s watch lit up as he check
ed it. “We have twenty minutes. No more. By then the bacteria will have filled this station. There will be no turning back.”
“Who are we facing, do you think?” Khalil said.
“Smith for sure. Probably Howell as well. The third could be anyone. I need to get upstairs and acquire a signal on my phone.”
“Where are the police?” Manhar said.
“That’s what I need to find out. Stay here,” Dattar said. He felt Khalil’s hand wrap around his bicep.
“You take off and I will hunt you down.”
Dattar shook him off. “I’m not leaving without my money.”
Khalil let go and Dattar jogged up the stairs. The air above felt fresh and cool after the humid atmosphere in the subway. Dattar’s phone acquired a signal. He called a number and heard his informer answer.
“I’m under attack at the drop location. Three shooters. Why aren’t the police coming?”
“What are you talking about? I heard nothing about this.”
“What the hell am I paying you for, if you can’t complete the simplest job? I’m being attacked at the location. Three shooters. I think two are Smith and Howell. Are you telling me that the CIA hasn’t heard a thing about this? I thought you had contacts in the New York City police and the FBI.”
“I do. If there were a mission at the tunnel, I would know about it.”
“I’m telling you there’s a mission at the site. Get on the phone and call your contact at the NYPD. Tell him to get some officers here, now. Tell him to kill them. Make up some story that they were resisting arrest. I don’t care what you say, but get them gone. And make it fast.”
“Hold on. I’ll make a call.”
Ten minutes later Dattar’s phone rang.
“My contact knew nothing about it as well—”
“He lies!”
“Wait! I’m not done. He started calling around. Seems there’s been an order, from somewhere, for the police to stand down.” Dattar wanted to reach through the phone and strangle the man.
“Countermand it. We’ll hold them in place until the police come and then get out of sight while they’re arrested. I need the tunnel cleared so that I can track Nolan.”
The Janus Reprisal c-9 Page 29