by Sean Liscom
“C’mon, let’s go meet him at the gate,” I started to get up.
“You still got 10 minutes; you better finish your dinner before Megan shows up! You know she’ll sit in here and give you hell, guest or no guest!”
Tuesday, September 5th, 2017
The ARK.
It took Melissa a full 20 minutes to get herself under control. Once the tears were wiped away and the trembling had faded to minor tremors, she opened her laptop again. She finally pinned down what was bothering her, the vaccine. If Jack was so confident in his plan to destroy the missiles, why would he be concerned about getting the vaccine back to the ranch? Was it a ruse on his part? Tell her that he was going to destroy them but not follow through? If there were a half million doses of it here, why not send it out as far as it would go?
Nate and his men were planning on scattering when they left here, why not send some vaccine with them and let them inoculate as many people as possible? The other question she never got around to asking was also nagging at the back of her mind; where were Ruiz and Wilcox? She looked up from her computer screen and looked around the room. Her eyes settled on the security workstation.
She slipped from her chair and worked her way to the desk that had three monitors arrayed on the desk. She pulled out the chair, sat in it and wiggled the mouse. To her surprise, the station came to life. After the monitors came on, they were filled with images from all over the interior and exterior of the ARK.
She found Jack, still in the cafeteria, sipping coffee and writing on a notepad. Nate and Sharkey were in the garage on the first level. Going level by level, she accounted for the rest of his men but couldn’t find Ruiz or Wilcox. As far as she could tell, they weren’t in the ARK. She began to use the external cameras but couldn’t see much in the shadows of the early twilight.
Much to her delight, those cameras could be switched between normal viewing, infrared and the green glow of night vision. She switched to infrared and scanned the images for the two missing men. What surprised her wasn’t the fact that she couldn’t find them, it was that she couldn’t find anyone outside of the ARK. Not even the Special Forces guys that were supposed to be there.
That was bothersome but it actually made her plan work a little better. She checked to make sure Jack was still sucking down coffee and then retrieved her laptop. As she feverishly searched for the storage room containing the vaccine, she kept an eye on Jack from the corner of her eye.
“BINGO!” she said loudly when she found the it on the third level. Taking one last look she saw Jack still seated at the table and Nate in the garage. She jogged out of the control room and to the elevator. Punching the button for level one, she tapped her foot because the door couldn’t close fast enough. When she finally emerged on the garage level, she called to Nate and jogged in his direction.
“We still haven’t found Ruiz or Wilcox,” he reported as she got closer.
“You won’t, they aren’t in the ARK and they aren’t outside either. The Special Forces are gone too.”
“How do you know this?”
“Nate, this place has cameras up the wazoo. They’re gone, all of them!”
“You’re sure?”
“Hell yes I’m sure!” she said with a little indignation. He turned to Sharkey.
“Round everyone up, it’s time to blow this taco stand!” he ordered.
“Wait! I need you to do something before you leave,” she reached out and touched his arm.
“What?”
“Come with me, I’ll explain on the way,” she started back to the elevator. He reluctantly caught up to her after telling Sharkey to get everyone together in the garage.
“What’s this about?” he asked as the doors closed.
“Did Jack tell you anything about his plan? About why we’re here?”
“He promised us supplies so we would stay on as security for Blair. He’s made good on that so now it’s time for us to go.”
“It’s more than that, Nate. A whole lot more!” she stepped from the elevator on level three. “You were vaccinated against the biological agent the ARK was planning on using, right?”
“Of course, we all were.”
“You’re families too?”
“Yeah, immediate family anyway. Why?”
“What about all of the people you’ve picked up since the EMP? Have they been vaccinated?”
“No, they haven’t. Where are you going with this Melissa?” he stopped in the middle of the hallway.
“Listen to me, please. The missiles that were supposed to deliver the biological agent are being moved into launch position. According to Jack, we’re going to launch them and then destroy them in mid-flight.”
“Okay?” he questioned.
“I don’t think Jack’s got full faith in his plan. He gave me a satchel of vaccine to take back to the Elko ranch, just in case things go wrong. I plan on taking as much as I can carry.”
“That seems a reasonable contingency. I’m still not getting where you’re going with this.”
“Nate, there are a half million doses of the vaccine here. If this goes bad....”
“Jesus….” he whispered.
“No shit! I want you to get the vaccine that’s here and distribute it when you leave.”
“Melissa, listen. We’re just going to vanish after this. Most of us are headed for parts unknown. I can’t....”
“You can and you will! Just hand it out on your way to wherever it is you’re going. We CANNOT let this go to waste. If Jack manages to destroy those missiles, great. If not, then you get to save a half million lives. Some of those could be your own people!” she pleaded. She could see his jaw muscles flexing under his beard.
“I take it, you don’t have faith in his plan either?” he finally asked.
“I’m praying to God he can pull it off!”
“But?”
“There’s a lot of moving parts to this plan of his, a lot! If even one little thing goes wrong, we’re screwed! Not just me and you, Nate.... All of us!” she started walking toward the storage room again. He reluctantly followed.
Tuesday, September 5th, 2017
The Ranch.
I had just finished scarfing down the food Jill had brought me when we heard the single engine plane fly overhead. I wiped my hands and face on the napkin and pushed myself away from the desk. Jill nodded her approval as I gulped down the lukewarm coffee.
“Feel better?”
“Yes. Much better, thank you! You ready to go meet this guy?” I asked, rubbing my full belly.
“Yep. Hopefully he’s not as charming as he sounded on the radio,” she smirked and headed for the door.
The two of us stood on the deck of the security shack and watched the Cessna make a banking 180o turn and line up with the long driveway from the main road. He settled it gently on the gravel, finally rolling to a stop outside the main gate. A little bit of throttle and he pivoted the plane so that it was out of the way yet pointing back down the driveway. No doubt it was in case he needed to make a hasty exit.
I’m not real sure what I expected, but the man that stepped out of the plane certainly wasn’t it. When Isabella greeted him, I noticed right away that his stocky frame was at least four inches shorter than her 5’10’’. His jet-black beard hid his neck and I think it actually made him look a little shorter than he actually was. The only weapon on display was a handgun on his left hip.
He engaged Isabella in a short conversation, motioning to the cast on her right arm numerous times, before she escorted him toward us. I also noticed that his gait was, for lack of better terms, determined. It looked as if he could walk right through a brick wall without slowing down.
As they approached, his eyes locked on Jill who was standing next to me and they never wavered. I was dismayed when he reached his hand out to her first, as if to shake her hand. When she reached out, he took her hand by the fingers, slightly bowed, and gently kissed the back of her hand. She glanced at me, wide eyed.
He released her hand as he stood erect again.
“Miss. You’ll have to excuse me. It’s been a very long time since I have been in the company of such beautiful, stunningly magnificent women,” he glanced at Isabella and then returned his gaze.
“I ... uh ... okay….” she stammered. Her face was turning red from embarrassment. He knew when enough was enough and turned to me, hand extended. I started to return the gesture but paused.
“You’re not going to kiss my hand, are you?” I grinned. His white teeth showed from under his bushy moustache.
“Not a chance in hell!” he laughed, and he shoved his hand into mine. “I’m Tyler Banks and you must be Jason Sterling!”
“I am. This is rather unexpected, Tyler,” he finally released my hand from his vice-like grip.
“Don’t be shy, Jason. It’s okay to call me Colonel. Let’s just say you got my knickers in a knot with that cryptic radio call of yours this morning so I had to come down here and see what was going on,” he looked back to Jill. “And I must say, I’m glad I made the flight.”
“Let’s go inside and talk, Tyler,” I turned and reached for the door handle. He was still looking at Jill.
“Miss, my ass has been parked in that plane seat for over 10 hours, is there any chance I could trouble you for something to drink while Jason and I have a little chat?”
“Sorry to hear about your ass, but no, I won’t get you something to drink. However, I’d be happy to show you the coffee pot in the security shack,” she replied sweetly, turned sideways and pointed toward the door I was holding open. The grin on his face only got bigger.
“Thank you, miss,” he nodded and walked onto the deck.
“One more thing, Tyler.” she said to his back. He stopped and turned.
“Yes?”
“It’s missus, not miss. You can call me Jill OR Lieutenant Colonel Sterling. That young lady,” she pointed to Isabella. “She goes by Isabella or Major Sterling,” she said with a straight face. Not losing a beat, he gave a half bow.
“My apologies Isabella and Jill. It would seem I’ve been in the backcountry far too long and forgotten my manners,” he stood up, did an about face and walked into the shack. Jill rolled her eyes and followed him inside. Once inside, he headed straight for the coffee pot.
“So, Jason. Mind telling me what that radio call was all about this morning?” he asked, taking the chair across from the desk. “I don’t know you from Adam but apparently you know who I am. You feed me some cryptic crap about Jack, you want to send some of your people in my direction.... Ya got my nose to the wind now and I wanna hear what ya got.”
“Alright. It goes something like this....” I began telling the tale from the night Jack and my sisters arrived. No detail was spared from the telling.
CHAPTER 24
Tuesday, September 5th, 2017
The ARK.
T-Minus 20 hours until launch.
“That’s a lot of crates….” Nate said in awe when the door to the storage room opened.
“No kidding!” Melissa pushed her way into the cavernous room. She did a quick count of the briefcase sized cases on each shelf of the first rack she came to and then she counted the number of racks. “One hundred per rack times…… 25 racks.... 2500 cases times,” she paused her count to pull one of the cases out and open it. “Let’s see, 250 doses per case.... That’s 625,000 doses!”
“Melissa, this is more than we can haul. Our rigs are already overloaded.”
“Then unload them!”
“I’ve got people counting on those supplies! I can’t leave ‘em out there swinging in the wind!” he barked.
“Then move them into the ARK!” she countered sharply.
“What?”
“Leave the supplies and bring your people here. It’ll probably be safer here even if Jack is successful!”
“But…… Bloody hell!” he shook his head. “What if Jack locks it down again? What if he seals the doors and sucks all the air out?”
“Then we can’t let him! This,” she pointed her finger at the racks. “This is more important than all of us!”
“Dammit! You’re putting me in a real bind!”
“Nate! We get one shot at this. If this goes bad....”
“Yeah, I know!” he clenched his fists and got right in her face. “There are almost 200 people hiding out in Lancaster. If this takes a shit and those people die, it’s on you! Make no mistake, Melissa, if that happens....” he growled through clenched teeth.
“You’ve got my word, Nate.”
“If it comes to that, I want your life. AM. I. CLEAR?”
“Crystal.”
“Come on, let’s go tell the boys there’s been a change of plans,” he turned and froze mid-step. They had been so busy coming to an agreement, neither had noticed Jack standing in the doorway.
“Ya know, if you’d have thought to include me in your plans, I could have made this a lot easier,” he smiled.
“Jack, we were….” Melissa started but he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
“You don’t have much faith in me, do you?”
“There’s a lot that can go wrong....”
“Yes, there is and you’re not wrong to make contingency plans. It’s what I’d do if the roles were reversed. I just don’t believe you two have thought this all the way through.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a smart girl, Mel. Right now, you’re being an idealistic idiot. What do you think is going to happen if you send out trucks, loaded with cases, and one or two men as an escort? Seriously, I’d be surprised if they made it 100 miles in any direction before they were attacked. Do you really think marauders really care about what’s in the cases? Hell, for all they know, it’s some really good shit to get high on. All you’re going to do is get men killed and equipment lost. Your precious vaccine will be lost as well. What then?”
“But, we made it all the way from Elko to here without being attacked,” she protested.
“We did, but we also traveled through the no-man’s land. You want to send your vaccine right into the heart of population centers. Do you really think that’s going to work?”
“We gotta try, Jack. We can’t just sit on all this, we gotta try!”
“Then try. I won’t stop you. Just remember what I said when it doesn’t work out.” he looked at Nate. “Since Mel has been so kind to offer you the use of the ARK, I’ll change my plans and let you have it. After all, it makes more sense for it to be used for good instead of an oversized tomb. When you’re done loading the vaccine, come see me and I’ll make sure you can come and go as you please,” he started to turn away but stopped.
“I’m an evil man, Melissa. I have been for longer than I care to remember. But along with that, I’m also a loyal man who repays loyalty in kind. Remember that the next time you think about going behind my back. You can wrong me once but there are no second chances in that department. Do you get what I’m saying?”
“Yes, I do,” she replied. “Can I ask another question?” she decided to push her luck.
“Anything, my dear.”
“What happened to Ruiz and Wilcox? They’re not here, are they?”
“No, they’re not. They fulfilled their end of the deal and I fulfilled mine.”
“Can I ask what that deal was?” she persisted.
“They covered my six for the entire journey, from the time we left Fortuna, until we arrived here. They did so with no questions asked. For their loyalty and sacrifice, they were rewarded with certain knowledge. A knowledge that will prove very useful to them and very deadly for their foes.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“When we were driving here, do you remember that screeching noise coming from the radio?”
“Yeah?”
“That was Blair calling her forces to action. They had a longstanding plan to activate sleeper agents to wreak havoc against the survivors of the pandemic, before they set off the EM
P. Since I screwed up their plans, she went ahead and activated them anyway. I guess she figured she might as well strike while she could. I guess I really did get under her skin when I killed Nigel.”
“Ruiz and Wilcox, they are beginning their mission of destroying the sleeper agents. It won’t be a fast process, by any means, but they will exact a heavy toll I suspect. While it’s true that the damage will already be done, they will have forfeited their lives by carrying out Blair’s orders. Ruiz and Wilcox will see to it. Those two are unparalleled when it comes to the art of war.”
“What about you? What are you going to do once the missiles have been destroyed?” Melissa asked.
“You mean, since I’m going to give Nate the ARK? I don’t know yet. I might just take a trip back to Costa Rica.”
“Why? There’s nothing left down there.”
“That’s precisely why. The ones that destroyed Fortuna, they’re gonna need killin....” he walked out of the room.
“Ya know, Melissa, I’ve seen and been through a lot of shit in my life. I’ve been in firefights in Afghanistan, Iraq and a few other places we were never in. I’ve seen some cold-blooded men and I’ve seen some with their souls of fire, but that man…. That man scares the bejesus out of me. I have no doubt there are a bunch of people down there that are already dead and don’t know it,” Nate said once Jack stepped into the elevator at the end of the hall.
“I guess we should be glad he’s on our side,”
“Are you sure he is?
“I should’ve said; I’m glad we're not on his bad side,” Melissa replied.
“Yet….” Nate muttered.
Tuesday, September 5th, 2017
The Ranch.
T-Minus 18 hours until launch.
“You really think he’ll launch the weapons?” Tyler asked.
“It was scribbled as the last entry in his journal. It wasn't there before he showed up. But to answer your question; I think he’s gonna do it!” I answered. Tyler looked into the bottom of his empty coffee cup. He then glanced at his watch.