Project Apollo
Page 17
Her eyes fell to a lone fifth grader in a preparatory uniform, looking up at her with a quizzical expression.
“Which branch of the military are you?” the boy asked.
“The Air Force…” She forced a smile through her rush.
“Do you fly fighter jets?” The boy smiled in excitement. Stacey stopped and allowed the smile to cut through her hard exterior. She leaned over to him, face to face, with a warm grin.
“I have… but now I work here…”
“What do you do here?” the inquisitive child asked further.
“If I told you… I’d have to kill ya…” Stacey arched her eyebrows in jest. Then, a school teacher popped her head around the corner.
“Christopher?” Her beckoning call carried an exasperated quality with it. The fifth grader scampered off to catch up with the tour.
Back in the Navy Mess, the memory dematerialized. It shocked her how vivid the memory was. It was not like anything she had ever experienced. Her thoughts were racing so fast it hurt. Her headache pounded on her temples as her gaze returned to Minick’s eyes.
She could see that he pitied her. And she was completely vulnerable, exposed in all of her weakness as her body continued to surrender to the infection. Then, Stacey’s face jerked to the side sharply.
The twitches had begun.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Seamus slammed an empty pint glass down on the bar and exhaled the after-burn. Xander’s head raised from the newspaper and shot him a critical glance.
“What? It helps me focus…besides you’re the smartest guy I know, I think you can solve a crossword puzzle on your own.” Xander shook off Seamus’s typical antics and focused back down on the puzzle opened on the bar. Ashton hovered over his shoulder.
“To complete a search. 4 letters…”
Find
Xander scribbled his answer.
“Ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.”
“Pi,” Ashton answered, but Xander had already started writing it.
“Prokaryotic Microorganisms” Xander muttered to himself. After a split second of thought, his pen formed the word Bacteria. The clues weren’t difficult to solve but Xander had no idea yet what it all meant. He continued down the path of the puzzle unsure of where it would lead them.
Ashton asked aloud. “What the hell does all this mean?”
“It all means something, we just have to put the pieces together…” he answered as he wrote the word Steals next to 10 Across.
“Good one,” Ashton responded to his answer.
Then Xander stopped – his pen stood still.
Ashton’s gaze turned from the paper to Xander. Their eyes met and they slightly shook their head in a stumped stalemate. Xander read over the next clue again.
“Comes in A’s C’s and D’s but no B’s…” After counting the blocks, Ashton confirmed. “It’s nine letters…”
Xander sat back on the barstool and pondered.
What the hell is this one?
Another slap of a pint glass sounded down from the bar. Xander’s eyes raised to a fully dressed operative with an MK17 hanging from his shoulder, wiping his mouth of Guinness suds.
“Seamus, if you’re done being… you… can you help us with a clue?” Seamus changed demeanor immediately. He sauntered over with a swagger.
“So, let me get this straight… the omniscient prodigy needs help from little old me?” Seamus soaked in the moment, while his fellow Spartans shot him disapproval.
“What comes in A’s, C’s and D’s but not B’s?” Ashton cut to the chase. The revelation flashed over his face immediately.
“I can’t believe this… I know one that you don’t… Sorry for the delay, I just would like to relish this—”
“Seamus!” Xander interrupted.
“Batteries…” Seamus answered in obedience. Xander arched an eyebrow at him.
“I told ya’ it helps me focus.” Seamus shot a wink in their direction as he lifted the glass to his lips once more.
The Spartans continued the puzzle and filled in the remaining blocks. The remaining answers were scribbled onto the Post.
Across:
3) To Complete A Search: 4 letters
-
Find
6) Ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter: 2 letters
-
Pi
9) Prokaryotic Microorganisms: 8 letters
-
Bacteria
10) Officiators of the Diamond: 7 letters
-
Umpires
12) Comes in A’s, C’s and D’s but no B’s: 9 letters
-
Batteries
13) Apple Computer Brand: 3 letters
-
Mac
15) Only Prez to have also
been Chief Justice - 4 letters
-
Taft
17) Ender’s Author: 4 letters
-
Card
20) To make taller: 8 letters
-
Heighten
24) October 1962 – Cuba’s Missile: 6 letters
-
Crisis
26) King’s Killer Clown: 2 letters
-
It
27) Musk’s 1st Business Pay-____ - 3 letters
-
Pal
Diagonal:
2) Middle Linebacker Keuchly: 4 letters
-
Luke
4) 360 degrees: 6 letters
-
Circle
5) Octopus’ weapon: 3 letters
-
Ink
7) Measures of Electrical Resistance: 4 letters
-
Ohms
16) Thank God It’s _______ : 6 letters
-
Friday
19) Armpit, anatomically: 6 letters
-
Axilla
21) Me possessive: 2 letters
-
My
23) Lorne’s 40 year enterprise, abbrev…: 3 letters
-
SNL
25) Kubrick/Spielberg Collaboration: 2 letters
-
AI
26) South American Rodent: 4 Letters
-
Paca
Down:
1) Morrison’s Resting place: 5 letters
-
Paris
2) MacDonald’s Home: 4 Letters
-
Farm
8) Small Woody Plant: 5 letters
-
Shrub
9) The Cleaning Type of Boy: 3 letters
-
Bus
11) The Man Behind the Brush: 6 letters
-
Artist
14) Players in a story: 10 letters
-
Characters
18) Pluto’s Greek Equivalent: 5 letters
-
Hades
22) Slang: An emotional person: 3 letters
-
Sap
28) Pb in some tables
-
Lead
“There is no readily determinable pattern to the answers,” Ashton noted, surveying the completed crossword.
“You would think there would be a hint, hidden in these answers. It couldn’t be more random. He has references to Anatomy, Business, American History, football… No common theme,” Xander analyzed aloud.
With no lead in sight, Xander checked his watch to only see time ticking away.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Harak Khan’s echoing footsteps made their way further into the gallows of the tunnel, past piles of dust and rubble. A distant hum could be heard as the Dupont metro ran overhead. After the train had passed, he could hear a distant cacophony of voices. By way of flashlight, Khan proceeded through many chambers of the subterranean tunnel system until he turned a corner to be met by a man in military fatigues. Standing guard, the man eyed him up and down, confirming his
identity. With a nod of the head, Khan passed through into a large abandoned trolley station that opened up before him. Dim lamps lit the space to reveal a makeshift laboratory.
A team of scientists and mercenaries worked on the plague bacteria through a number of different mechanisms. Khan’s eyes settled on a series of Petri dishes and then a chemical filtering through a funnel into a large test tube. A middle-eastern bearded man approached Khan.
“Salam alaikum. We have produced what has been asked of us. They are stored over there in that refrigerator. Help yourself,” the scientist informed.
“Thank you,” Khan responded as he walked by him to the refrigerator. Opening it, a fog rolled out of it and a blue light illuminated its contents. Trays and trays of vials, stacked atop each other. The top shelf of the refrigerator had one red tray, while the other shelves had blue trays.
“Production ran smoothly, our other four scientists have cooperated.”
“Good.” Khan’s mouth grinned widely at the sight of the stacks of vials.
“They’d like to know when they can be released,” the scientist added.
“All in time…” Khan answered over his shoulder. He plucked a vial from the red tray on the top shelf. Khan pocketed one of the few red vials in his coat.
“And this?” he asked, nodding at a black case standing next to the refrigerator.
“That is ready, as well.” Khan nodded to the scientist and grabbed the case. He turned quickly from the refrigerator and walked through the laboratory and out of the trolley station. After another series of chambers, he came to a sunlit stairwell, ascending out of the tunnel. He climbed the stairwell and opened the gate at the top, popping out onto the main street of Dupont Circle.
Parked in a garage alongside the street was the Hyman Seafood Truck. He hopped in and placed the black case on the passenger seat and cranked the ignition. Before pulling out onto the road, he checked his watch. Another cigarette stained smile came over him.
“Right on time…” He pulled down the gear shift into Drive and started driving toward the next target. He banged twice on the back compartment to send a message through the truck’s walls to the infected man in the back.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Mohammad Azir attempted to contain the bleeding from his nose. He consulted his watch to see the hour as his vision immediately grew crimson. Blood had begun to fill and run through his tear ducts. He coughed a nasty wad of clots and gasped for breath. His body was in full revolt. Despite his physical panic, his heart rate remained slow and steady as it rested on his approaching martyrdom and the splendors of eternity that he had been guaranteed for it. He knew that his time was quickly arriving.
Chapter 34
BNA Studios
Washington, DC
1:30PM
Porter Nash straightened his posture at the news desk, illuminated in the studio spotlights, before the live camera. Seated at a round table with Adam Nichols, the show’s host, the two had spent the last hour providing background and commentary on the current crisis.
“We are awaiting word from the President regarding the threat, but for the moment let us update you. If you are just now joining us, there has been an unknown plague bacterium released in the city of Washington, DC and our network here at BNA has been hacked. Video evidence of the break-in was presented by whoever hacked our studio. It has yet to be determined if the group behind the terrorist attack and our hacking are the same people – it should be noted that those that hacked us claim to not be behind the attack. The hacking could have been done by a hacker group, not a terrorist cell. We are not sure yet. The President has since called in the National Guard and the beltway has been sealed off,” Nichols exhaled the load of news off his chest.
“So, we have a lot to get to but first the video…” Nichols opened the topic of discussion for Porter, as if he were an expert.
“Well I know the video was alarming to us all, but in my opinion, it seems like we have some guardian angels on our side. This Collective has given the American public vital information that was not being shared with us by the White House. No matter how they disseminated that knowledge, no matter how unorthodox, they must be considered as having the people’s best interest at heart,” Porter posited to the agreement of the host. Nichols nodded his head and then turned his line of questioning to a television monitor with an older man on it via satellite.
“So, Agent Henry, what will the FBI typically do with a situation like this?”
As the older man began to speak, a banner labeled him.
Special Agent Henry Grant – Retired FBI
“Yes, so what the FBI typically will do in any situations where they receive a video message from someone, whether it be a ransom or a terrorist propaganda piece, is to investigate every aspect of the video. Everything from distant sounds that are possibly behind the distorted voice to light shifts to anything that could indicate a time. They will dig through that video frame by frame to find anything and everything,” the retired FBI agent added.
“What about the spreading of the disease, Mary Anne? How could it spread, should people just go home and stay inside?” Nichols asked the health expert on the panel. As she answered the question Porter could see through the glass FBI agents barging into the control room, flashing their badges. Rachel Norton ascended to her feet and confronted one of them, but after being talked to and handed a small stack of paper, she complied.
What the hell is going on? Is the FBI taking over here? Can they do that?
“Yes, the NIH has released a list of symptoms and specific instructions. That literature is posted on the NIH website as well as BNA’s. Among their instructions is to stay inside and calm—” Nichols interrupted her.
“Hold on a second, Mary Anne, I’m getting something in my ear…” Nichols listened intently through his earpiece.
“The White House Press Secretary is now taking the podium, let’s cut to her,” Nichols announced. The feed showed a well-dressed and beautiful woman with long brown hair and green eyes. She was Kimberly Gannon, the Press Secretary, and as soon as she walked into the briefing room the press corps began shouting and snapping photos immediately. She stood at the podium and waited for every journalist to silence. Only then, did she move on to her prepared statement.
“At 11AM Eastern time, an armed terrorist broke into the National Institute of Health and stole a deadly bacterial agent. Since then the bacteria has been transported to Washington, DC, where it was released at two targeted locations. The first of which was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There has been one fatality from that attack; no others at the location are exhibiting symptoms at this time. The second targeted location was here, at the White House. It is currently unclear how many may be infected. As a precaution, we are in lockdown status.
There has been expressed intent to release the contagion in two more locations, although we currently do not know where. It is important for everyone to stay inside. The President is issuing an Executive Order for workers to be released from their place of employment so that they can return home.
The Beltway has been locked down as a precaution. Anyone living outside of the Beltway will have to remain in the city. There are emergency quarantine areas across the city, including the Kennedy Center, the Convention center and Nationals Park. The American Red Cross is there and will be checking for any infected people at the entrances. For those of you who live in the city, it is of paramount importance for you to stay in your homes.
Please see the NIH and CDC websites for details regarding symptoms and what to do in case you start exhibiting symptoms. So far, the bacteria, although released in two locations, has remained contained. There has been no outbreak of the disease. You will all be safe if you stay in your homes and allow our armed men and women and intelligence officers to do their job.”
As soon as she concluded her statement the briefing room erupted in questions. Gannon collected her notes and walked away from the podium.
The BNA news
feed returned to Adam Nichols who was shaking his head in disbelief. A genuine moment of despair broke through Nichols’ professional demeanor, as his heavy eyes lifted to the camera. With great difficulty, he spoke over the growing fear that had broken through his reporting of the story.
“We’ll be back after these messages…”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“He’s letting everyone out of work?” Xander asked over the comm, hung up on the directive.
“He wants everyone in their homes,” Hardy responded in his ear.
“But what about the hundreds of thousands of people who live outside the Beltway?” Xander asked the obvious question.
“They will have to go to the emergency quarantine centers,” Hardy explained.
“You think they are going to do that! When there is a deadly plague in the city, why would anyone willing go to where thousands of people are? It’s going to lead to panic in the streets!” he exhaled in grief, returning to the crossword puzzle with a renewed urgency.
“How’s it going out there?” Hardy asked into his ear.