Stark Shadows (Stark Trilogy Book 2)

by Bradley,CD

  Once inside the dilapidated remnant of a building, Stark followed Cyrus through a dusty maze of ancient furniture to a set of cellar doors. “No offence Cyrus, but there is no fucking way a hundred year old stairs are holding our big asses.”

  Cyrus turned to him with a wild smile, wiped the desert off the ancient doors and opened them. Stark couldn’t believe his fucking eyes. The steps looked brand new. Cyrus turned on a flashlight and pointed the way. They followed him down the steps into a weapons room. He went back leaving them in the dark and secured the doors to the cellar from the inside, then turned on the lights.

  Holy fucking shit they were in a walk in vault. This was a weapons cache that would make even his special ops team jealous. One wall held every type of auto and semiautomatic weapon you could imagine along with countless magazines. Another wall held hand guns of every shape and size. The opposite wall contained shotguns, knives, and ammo. He even had a section for larger weapons. Stark didn’t think Cyrus would be blowing up any tanks or aircraft anytime soon but with Cyrus you never knew.

  “Everything in here is untraceable. Do not take your service weapon or your personal weapons with us. Everyone needs to take something from down here.” Cyrus was pacing around like a Master Sergeant preparing his team for war.

  No matter how bat shit crazy Cyrus was, Stark had to give him credit for being the most prepared fucker on the planet. He had no doubt that if there was ever a zombie apocalypse Cyrus would be ready.

  The men loaded up, each selecting weapons that they were most familiar with and had trained extensively on. Cyrus had some expensive fucking shit. Stark couldn’t help but be impressed. He knew better than to ask how Cyrus amassed such a collection. Once thing he was sure of was that this wasn’t Cyrus’ only stash. Colorado had over 1500 ghost towns. He wondered just how many Cyrus had prepped.

  Once they were ready, they built a fire in the dusty street and camped around for the night. Tomorrow they would ride into hell. Cyrus busted out a bottle of whiskey. He held the vessel high. “Gentlemen tomorrow some of you will return to the dust from whence you came. When you get there tell the devil he can go fuck himself.” The men erupted in a cheer and passed the bottle around.

  The fire with in each man was unquenchable. They knew exactly what they were walking into and were going in fucking prepared. They were fearless. They might be walking into hell, but they were going to dance with the devil before they kicked his teeth in.

  Chapter 14

  Brooke was evaluating mosquito larvae with a large microscope when Kira walked in the lab. They were just about to leave for their fourth trek into the jungle. “How’s it going?” Kira asked trying to get a peek at the sample. She had spent most half the morning trying to reach Stark. Though they weren’t together she really wanted to know if there was any update on Paige. And well yes she wanted to hear his voice.

  “Disturbing. These shouldn’t be here.” Brooke stepped back from the microscope and rubbed her temples. “I have been evaluating DNA samples from the mosquitos and larvae that you brought back.” She motioned for Kira to look at the sample.

  “I know they are annoying but that’s expected right? What are you seeing that’s worrisome?’ Kira stared at the insects suspended on the slide. To her they looked like mosquitos. Squished ones at that.

  “These are the ones you brought back.” Brooke motioned for her to follow to the next scope. “Now look at these.”

  Kira peered into the microscope. “Mosquitos.” She raised an eyebrow and looked at Brooke. “What am I missing?’

  “Have you ever stained an eye with fluorescein to look for a corneal scratch?” Brook asked raising her eyebrows expectantly.

  “Yes of course in the ER. We use a woods lamp to see the uptake of the fluorescein. The dye sticks to the scratch and lights up with the UV light.” Kira responded excited to discuss something she was familiar with.

  “Ok great. Hand me that light.” She pointed in the direction of a portable UV light wand. “Now turn out the lights.”

  Kira turned the lights down and came back to where brook was standing. Brooke turned on the light and held it close to the sample on the closest to them. “They still look like mosquitos.” Kira was starting to feel frustrated.

  “Correct, these are typical native Aedes agypti mosquitoes. Now look at the ones you brought back.” They held the light to the first scope. The mosquitos lit up like the fourth of July.

  “What the hell?’ Kira sat back puzzled and then looked again. They were as bright as a corneal abrasion. “Are they dyed?”

  “The genetically modified insects and their offspring were designed to express a fluorescent protein that can be seen using a UV light.” Brooke looked at her and smiled. “It’s a monitoring technique that Ecoteck developed to see how many modified mosquitos and how many wild pest mosquitos there were in a given population.”

  “So wait, genetically modified mosquitos, why? Why would they want to make mosquitoes? I thought we were researching ways to get rid of them.” Kira asked still staring at the glowing insects.

  Brooke turned the lights back on. “They were designed to help reduce wild populations. The modified mosquitoes are all male. They are engineered with a metabolism flaw that causes them to die without supplementation of a specific enzyme. The idea being that they would mate with wild females and the offspring would die in the larval stage.”

  “That sounds reasonable I guess. I mean in theory that should work well provided they can out compete the natural males. These are adults, did they just release them?” Kira began to put the pieces together.

  “That’s just it, there haven’t been any released in the areas you were sent. And from what I can find they haven’t released any close enough for an adult to have traveled in what should have been their lifespan. These have to be offspring.” Brooke was writing furiously as she spoke.

  “So not only did they reproduce but the offspring lived to adulthood and migrated? Kira moved followed Brooke to a large map of South America.

  “It doesn’t make sense but it seems like that is a distinct possibility. The red pins on the map are known areas where the mosquitoes have been released and the flags indicate the dates. The blue pins are areas where your samples have been positive for the marker.” Kira could see the new species spreading like a wave.

  “How is that possible? I thought you said they were engineered to die in the larval stage.” Kira was starting to get a very bad feeling about this. “How did they survive? What is the enzyme you said had to be supplemented?”

  “They mosquitos are implanted with two genes in their DNA. One is the fluorescent marker the other causes them to be infertile by making them require supplementation of a tetracycline for survival. The larva not having any tetracycline die off before reaching maturity. Brooke explained matter of fact.

  “You have got to be kidding me! I swear to god if an old man with a cane and his two grandkids come walking through that door I am out of here!” Kira ran her fingers through her hair. “You are shitting me. Why even make them dependent on a supplement what’s the purpose in that just make them sterile”

  “Money my dear… the root of all evil. They needed to be able to rear millions of males per week, so they engineered the mosquito to make production cost effective. If the mosquito larvae in the production unit are given tetracyclines, these act as an antidote inactivating the self-limiting gene. The antidote is not present in sufficient quantities in the environment to allow inactivation of the self-limiting gene, so offspring of the Ecotek mosquito will not reach adulthood.”

  Kira laughed and nearly fell off her lab stool. “So they engineered super mosquitos and released them in the wild. What could possibly go wrong?” She shook her head unable to believe the idiocrasy of what she was hearing. “Have they not seen the dinosaur movies? This does not turn out well for humanity.”

  Brook adjusted her perfect Tiffany’s glasses and smiled. The glint of the diamond accent on the side spa
rkled in the light. “Don’t be too dramatic. They have been releasing them since 2014 in an attempt to reduce populations for the Olympics. We don’t know that there is officially a problem yet. It is expected that about 5 to 10% of offspring may find a way to survive. Maybe this is an isolated sample. A single outlier in the data that doesn’t really imply a problem.”

  Kira sighed and began to twirl a loose strand of hair in frustration “Ok so let me just lay out what we have so far. In 2014 there are mosquito problems but mostly with dengue fever, malaria, etc. Zika comes to Brazil via the world cup but it’s still not a major problem. Brazil gets the bid for the Olympics and suddenly they are trying to get rid of every bug in site so that more tourists will come to the games. They start spraying the shit out of every body of water in sight and releasing millions of super bugs into the environment.” Kira paused and looked around and grabbed a pencil to make notes as she talked. “So with their efforts underway about 15 months later people in Brazil begin to develop Guillain Barre Syndrome and microcephaly. Zika virus, despite their efforts, is on the rise and gets the blame. So is Zika really the culprit or is it the toxins in the drinking water? Or if the virus why did it change so rapidly? Could it have anything to do with the superbugs that are spreading like wildfire through the jungle? And how are the damn things surviving?” Kira’s pencil lead broke and she looked up at Brooke, cheeks flushed.

  “Looks like we have more questions than we do answers right now.” Brooke laid her paperwork on the lab counter. “Let’s start from the beginning and see what we can dig up. This is outside our protocol so we are going to have to keep our snooping quiet. Looks like it’s you and me Nancy Drew.”

  “Why does everyone keep calling me that? I mean that is what we need though. Where the heck are Woodward and Bernstein?” Kira looked up at Brooke who gave her a confused look. “Geeze. The fact that our generation has no idea who they are makes me sad. Ok then, what about Anderson Flipping Cooper or some other annoying but persistent investigative reporter. Do they not exist anymore? Are they all just content with their cushy studio jobs giving shallow opinions on whether Olympians should be wearing makeup or if the president should have a comb over?” Kira grabbed her papers and prepared for her assignment. They were leaving in half an hour. “Tell me what you need me to get.”

  “Get the samples you have been bringing as per protocol. But also, if you are able, bring me blood samples from any livestock you encounter. I have an idea.” Brooke smiled, her eyes shining as if a flame had been lit.

  “There you are! Captain Riley we have to go we are going to miss our boat!” Holt bellowed into the lab stopping midstride in the hall when he spotted her. His welts from the last trip had finally gone down. His fare skin back to its natural alabaster as opposed to the oompa loompa he would become after the first day in the field. She wondered how he would have even survived in the desert. The sun was not his friend. Of course the bugs didn’t help either. Kira would feel sorry for him if it wasn’t for all the tender loving care he had been receiving from the base nurses.

  “I’m right behind you Captain I was just discussing some of our samples and getting direction for additional specimens this time around.” Kira gathered up the vials and syringes Brooke was laying out for her and set out after Holt.

  The rest of their gear had already been loaded so Kira and Holt were able to head straight to the boat and board. This was no luxury cruise. The aged boat reminded Kira of an old house boat. It was a ferry with two levels and white railing to keep them from falling off. Although Kira wasn’t sure they were still strong enough to hold anything back. She searched for a place to hang her hammock on the first level. This trip they would be living on the boat trudging inland at each village along the way. If Holt inquired about her vampiresque activity with the cows she would tell him the truth that the lab had requested blood samples, just not elude to the reasoning.

  Just as she finished securing the rope of her hammock to a post on the lower deck, Kira was aware of someone watching her. She looked up and caught the eye of Javier leaning against the railing on the other side of the deck. He smiled and started walking toward her, weaving his way through multicolored hammocks. Swinging canvases of bright purples, blues, pinks, oranges, and green were bending and shaping rays of light shining in from the sides of the deck. Above her suspended in metal railing below the upper deck were orange life vests. Kira said a silent prayer those stayed as dusty as they appeared. He reached her and leaned against the post closest to her.

  “You are all settled in, no?’ His chocolate eyes were warm and inviting. “Come the river is alive here. So much to see.” He took Kira’s hand and led her to the upper deck. “la vida está en todas partes.” He stretched his hand out over the water toward the jungle.

  “What?” Kira looked at him and shook her head. Damnit why didn’t I focus more in Spanish class. “Javier I don’t speak Spanish very well. I’m sorry I don’t know what you are saying.

  He leaned in closer standing almost behind her as she looked out over the rail. The scent of his skin was amazing. It took her breath. It was like nothing she had ever smelled. Clean and fresh with a sparkle of mandarin, bergamot, and a hint of black pepper. But what rang out, causing all her senses to heighten was a scent she couldn’t place. Sweet and deep it was addictive and she found herself leaning closer to encounter more of the subtle magic. I have lost my mind. Movement in the tea colored water startled Kira from her brief trance.

  “What was that?” Kira peered over the rail and tried to make out the orange shapes. There was a group of them swimming along the side of the boat. They almost looked like dolphins. Just then one jumped out of the water. A bright pink river dolphin flipped just a few feet away splashing Kira as it reentered the water. Kira squealed and laughed. They were incredibly beautiful and acrobatic. Like they were dancing in the sparkling water. The amazon was truly something to behold, like no other place on the planet.

  “Boto.” He started “River dolphin. Do you know the legend de la Encantado?” His voice flowed through the jungle in smooth Spanish.

  “No.” Kira answered still mesmerized by the beautiful creatures. As they crested the water they were a bright pink but plunged beneath the water they almost glowed orange. The seemed to be playing along beside the boat.

  “The legend says, el encantado, the boto, swims in the river by day playing and catches your eye. By night this magnificent creature transforms into a man with lust of the gods and comes out of the waters. Leaving his home in Encanta in search of a beautiful woman. Once he spots you he will not let you go. El Encantado is a forceful and magical lover that will enchant you and take you with him or leave you loco.”

  “Beautiful and dangerous.” Kira breathed. This was not what she bargained for. Shape shifting river gods and sexy drug lords were not part of the mission.

  “Captain Riley.” Holt’s curt annoyed voice interrupted her high. “We are docking in the next village.” Kira turned and he shot her a look. Kira stepped past Javier to address Holt directly. He was one to scowl. She had seen him with more than one olive skinned nurse back on base. Kira was not going let his putrid demeanor ruin the magic of this tropical paradise.

  “My gear is ready and by my hammock. I can be ready to load up the moment we dock. I guess that’s my que” she turned back to Javier but he and the dolphins had gone. Kira looked over the edge into the brown water. Encanta.

  The boat docked and Kira followed Holt and the team into the jungle. They met with leaders of the village for permission to explore and obtain samples. This particular village allowed them to examine ill children while most did not. Kira took blood samples from the children and the few cattle that belonged to the villagers. As they began to board the boat again she saw the spray group moving in behind them. Kira cringed. She paused and noted a white and gray frog. It opened its blue mouth and extended a pale blue tongue to catch an insect. A large blue butterfly with black around the edges of its large wings land
ed on a broad leaf. The sun rays that penetrated the canopy seemed to phosphoresce the magnificent creature. This place was otherworldly. With a heavy heart Kira boarded the boat and tried not to think of what they were doing to this scientific wonderland.

  They continued traveling and came to an area where a commercial cattle group had their animals grazing and drinking from the river. Guards with riffles stood by to keep crocodiles from getting their precious herd. “Stop!” Kira yelled. “Pare! Alto!” Kira desperately tried to remember which Spanish word for stop was the verb.

  “What the hell is going on? What’s wrong with you?” Holt came from the lower deck in response to her shouts. “Kira are you ok?”

  “Yes, just look at those cattle. It’s a commercial outfit but we have been instructed to collect cattle blood samples. What if that is what they need?” She frantically pointed toward the bank as they passed. Then men on the edge of the river looked at her as if she had lost her mind. The river boat captain shared their expressions.

  Holt rolled his eyes but motioned to the captain and spoke in fluent Spanish. What the hell when did he learn that? “You owe me Riley.” He said quietly grabbing his bag as the boat slowed and changed course for the bank. “You and I both know that’s not in our official orders.” They approached the bank and Javier came forward from the rear of the boat.

  “Why are we stopping here?” He asked abruptly. “This is not a scheduled stop. We need to keep going to the next village. We have no business here.” Javier stood firm and the river boat captain looked unsure what to do.