by Bradley,CD
“You got this bike?” He yelled at Paige and jumped off. “Be ready to ride!” He sent two shots eliminating the shooter and slid onto the ground beside Cyrus. Paige had moved forward on the bike and stood engine running, ready to ride.
“You alive shit balls?” Stark shook Cyrus. Blood ran from a wound in his left shoulder. Stark put pressure on the wound and scooped up Cyrus. Jayce joined them and took the other side.
“What the hell you two act like it’s the first time I’ve been shot.” Cyrus had a huge wide grin, like the junkie who just got his fix. Cyrus’ drug of choice was adrenaline. They carried him back to the rad rod and tossed him in the back. Stark took off his shirt and tied it tight around Cyrus’ oozing shoulder.
“Are you fucking kidding me.” Cyrus bellowed as Stark fixed the fabric to tourniquet the bleeding. “There wasn’t anything else you could use? If the bullet doesn’t kill those pecs will. Fuck, the last thing I see before I die is gonna be your Fabio bullshit. Fuck you let me die.”
“Not your time yet, you nine life livin’ mother fucker. And …you’re welcome.” He jumped on the bike with Paige and they raced across the desert. Cyrus, Jayce and what remained of their men rode hard behind them, leaving the chaos of hell in their dust.
Chapter 18
Kira ran up the hall to find Brooke. Over the last four days she had collected multiple vials from cattle both commercial and private. Kira hoped that they would be able to find some answers. Holt was busy cataloging the other samples that they brought back. Kira knew she would have to go help as soon as she finished with Brooke. She wanted to deliver these as soon as possible though and didn’t really want them to be a part of the official inventory yet.
She came around the corner and could hear Brooke talking to someone in the lab. Kira’s gut told her to slow down and hold back a moment.
“I don’t understand why you are taking my samples.” She could hear Brooke saying. “This is government property.”
“We are the government.” A male voice responded hastily. “Where do you keep your research data?”
“The computer here. Do you need me to down load… Hey what they hell are you doing? I have years of research on that machine. This is a government lab! What the hell are you doing! I’m calling my superior officers!” Brooke’s voice was high pitched and panicked.
Kira could hear Brooke trying to call someone and footsteps approaching the hall. She ducked quickly into an adjacent room and stood in the dark until all the commotion had passed. When she was sure they were gone Kira slipped out and went into the lab.
Brooke sat slumped at her now empty desk. All her papers, and her computer were gone. The jars of samples that had lined the back lab station had been wiped out. Brooke looked up with a tear streaked face. “I don’t understand. We are the government. Why are they taking my research? I work for them!”
“Brooke, I’m so sorry! I hate that you got dragged in to this. I didn’t mean to mess up your work.” Kira put a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s not your fault. I’ve been looking into this for some time I just haven’t had the field data to begin putting things together. I think your last report really pissed some people off. The question is who and why. We have to be really close to something or they wouldn’t have freaked out like this.” Brooke responded and looked around at the devastated lab. “Do you want to grab a drink?”
“I brought you some” Kira started but Brooke cut her off.
“Thank you for bringing me lunch! That is so sweet of you. But you know what I think I need to eat out side. Maybe some fresh air will make losing all my work for the last five years more bearable.” Brooke motioned for Kira to follow her. She took Kira to a stock room and stashed the samples.
Once outside Brooke suggested, “Let’s go for some lunch and a drink.”
“Are you sure you are ok?” Kira asked a little concerned for Brooke with all the cloak and dagger.
“No, I’m pissed off. But some food and a strong beverage in a noisy café will totally help.” Brooke replied putting on her brave face.
“Aren’t you on duty?” Kira asked confused.
“According to my commander I am officially on leave for a few days effective immediately.” Brooke’s lower lip waivered slightly but her eyes flashed a new ferocity.
“But unofficially?” Kira asked.
“Let’s go have lunch and talk about that.” Brooke said coyly. Her eyes narrowed and her half grin was almost frightening.
Kira knew Holt was going to shit a brick when she didn’t come right back to help but he was going to have to wait. Right now her friend had just lost everything she worked for trying to help. Kira needed to be there for her.
They had a short walk from the lush green base into the city. Kira still struggled with the sharp contrast between the modern parts of the city and the extreme poverty that thousands lived in. Stilted shacks that lined the river and flooded parts of the city rose above the polluted water. People lived here in extreme poverty without clean water or sanitation. In this part of town water taxi or small dugouts were the main mode of transportation. The city itself reminded Kira of the French quarter in New Orleans. Bicycle and scooter drawn carts zipped passed them. They reached the giant open air market and began to wonder down the wide dilapidated street. The giant jungle venue was best visited early in the morning but alas they had come in midday heat. After five years Brooke was a pro at fending off pickpockets and happy to explain the strange. Some of the produce was recognizable: strawberries and the many varieties Peruvian potatoes. Many items without Brooke’s guidance were mysterious: dozens of jungle fruits and vegetables never seen north of the Panama Canal, like the pine-cone-shaped sweet pink aguaje. Giant catfish and other Amazon delicacies slopped in buckets and lain across tables and tarps amid stray dogs by the dozen begging for scraps. For a few dollars, one could buy a whole turtle for dinner, from a horrid stack piled high, scraped out of shells tossed in a heap beneath the table.
They passed a booth selling live toucans and spider monkeys for 50 soles, the equivalent of $20. Kira thought the pocket monkeys were absolutely adorable but was fairly certain she would not be able to return home with one.
They made their way to the Yellow Rose of Texas in the center of the old town. This place was great for a cool beer and some street side people-watching from sidewalk pine tables. Brooke chose a table and ordered priced Tex-Mex. The owner, Gerald Mayeaux, came out to greet Brooke. Apparently, she was a repeat customer. “Brooke! Mi amor! May I bring you a camu-camu margarita?”
“Si!” Brooke answered laughing, “I am on vacation.” Then turning to Kira, “You have to try this made from the sour cranberry-like pink jungle fruit. It’s do die for!”
“Brooke I am really sorry this happened to you.” Kira started as she sipped the surprisingly refreshing and way too strong margarita.
“I have been studying the Ae. Aegypti mosquitos here for the last five years. We found that large barges are heavily infested with them. These boats provide ideal conditions for mosquitoes – cargo holds in the bottom of the boats often contain puddles that serve as mosquito breeding grounds. The mosquitoes just “hitch rides” on barges, and that boat traffic ultimately contributes to Ae. aegypti spread throughout the Peruvian Amazon. Your samples prove that some of those are the GMO mosquitos and that they are not only migrating from urban areas to more rural ones but that they are surviving and reproducing. This was very disturbing so someone. The article and research we submitted has disappeared and now they have raided my lab and taken every sample and my computer.” She paused and took a long slow drink of her margarita. “It’s a good thing I keep all my off duty research in lab journals.” She said smiling triumphantly and looked up at Kira. “If it’s not on a computer they can’t trace it. Good ole pen and paper baby!”
“Seriously?” Kira asked dumbfounded. “Wouldn’t they just take that too? How did you keep it safe?”
“Well I assumed if they ever
took my work they would search my apartment too. So I have a friend safe keeping them for me.” She raised her eyebrows obviously proud of her cleverness.
“Aren’t you worried about your friend’s safety?” Kira asked quickly thinking of Paige.
“Trust me he is not worried about them.” She beamed and looked over Kira’s shoulder. “Here he comes now.”
Kira a turned and there stood Javier. “What the hell?” Kira asked “So you two have been working together all along?”
“Not exactly.” Brooke explained. “Javier has been my friend for several years. When some Argentinian Scientist got raided and killed for doing similar research Javier agreed to stash a copy of my work in case something ever happened.”
“So was she the friend you were talking about on the boat?” Kira asked turning to Javier?
“No. But I could arrange a meeting if you really want to. So what happened Brooke? Why are you drinking in the middle of the afternoon on a work day?” Javier furrowed his dark brows in concern.
“My lab was ransacked and everything stolen.” She spat.
“Wow. Shit on a government base? That’s ballsy. Who do you think did it? Any ideas?
“My own flipping government.” She complained. “They had to be reacting to the article we published.”
“Shit.” He said and let out a low whistle. “So I’m guessing you need your notes.”
“I want to run the blood samples that Kira brought back. If they show tetracycline as I think they will then we have a huge piece of the puzzle.
“If you are right then what? What will that mean?” Kira was still struggling to understand why it was bad enough for their research to be taken. Who cared so much about these bugs?
“I’m not entirely sure yet but I’m going to do some research today into the company making them. Maybe we will find some answers there.” Brooke answered determined.
“We could talk to my brother’s acquaintance.” Javier offered.
“No!” Brooke’s emphatic response startled Kira. “We have been over this before Javier. It’s dangerous. It doesn’t matter what kind of information they might have. It’s not worth it. If Alan had…” She stopped and her eyes welled up with tears. “I have to go.” She jumped up without finishing her food and left some money on the table.
“Wow! What the hell was that about?” Kira turned to Javier. “She acted like she saw a ghost.”
“Her fiancé was involved with the Argentinian Scientist who were killed researching along these same lines. This is serious business Kira.” He answered her deadpan.
“So who are your friends? Maybe I could meet with them and help gather information to help her.” Kira offered.
“She’s right it’s too dangerous. I don’t want to put you at risk.” Javier squeezed her hand. “Maybe this one is better left alone. They are already on to you two. Everything you do is probably being monitored. Every report you turn in causing more problems. Maybe your doctor friend was right.”
“You are taking Holt’s side now?” Kira asked raising her eyebrows in surprise. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Not a chance. I just want to make sure you fully understand the risks. I can make a call. But Kira I have no control over these people You need to understand who you would be dealing with.” He looked as the dusty sidewalk.
“Ok so who would I be dealing with?” Kira prodded. She couldn’t help but feeling like they were on the very edge of something big. She couldn’t explain her drive for answers. Maybe it was after years of feeling like a victim now she was in control. She was calling her own shots and wasn’t going to be held back by anyone.
“My brother.” He said quietly and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. A loud gaggle of women with barefoot children passed making a ruckus. The mopeds and carts passed and he finally looked up. “My brother is a dangerous man Kira, but he knows people and he knows what goes on with the government inside and out. He has expressed interest in this before. He has suffered great loss from this as well so he or at least one of his acquaintances may be willing to help. But his help is never free.”
“You mean like money. I don’t have very much at all.” Kira kicked at a pebble on the walk.
“No, he has more money that you could ever imagine. But he doesn’t just help anyone. I suspect he has a personal interest or something to gain. If you do this just be very careful.” Javier squeezed her hand tight and looked deeply into her eyes. “Don’t decide right now. Just think about it for a while. If you want to meet with them I will arrange it. But think about it first. Be sure it’s a risk you are willing to take.”
Kira walked back to base alone. She tried reaching Stark again still nothing. She wondered what he would think of her meeting with these people. She knew exactly what he would think and decided if she did reach him to keep it to herself.
Holt was huffing and puffing as he cataloged samples. “Just where the hell have you been?” Holt looked up exasperated when Kira walked into the lab.
“I’m sorry Holt. Please don’t be mad I can finish from here if you have plans.” She offered as sweetly as maple syrup.
“You bet your ass you can finish from here. I am over half way done.” Holt stood up huffing. “Some officers and an MP were in here earlier looking for you. They had questions about some of your samples. Where are the blood samples you took from the cattle? I couldn’t find them anywhere. They riffled through everything we had and got all of this completely out of order. I don’t know what you did to piss them off but I told you we need to stick to protocol. Kira we have to keep our noses down and do a good job here. Both our careers depend on it” He paused at the door and looked back. Holt shook his head as if there was more he wanted to say but knew it would fall on deaf ears
Kira sat at the long lab table. The pile of envelopes and specimen containers stretched out in front of her. Joy. She could tell she was in for an exciting Friday night. Whoo hoo. Bag and Tag that was the name of the game. “Talk to me you little buggers. Help me understand this virus and the risks. Why is everyone so interested in you?”
“Captain Kira Riley?” A loud voice from the doorway broke her concentration.
Kira stood up. “Yes sir.” And saluted the officer standing in the doorway.
“At ease captain. We need to talk with you about some samples and a report you filed earlier this week.” He had a no nonsense tone.
“Yes sir. How can I help?”
“Are these all of the samples that you brought back from this trip?” He asked.
“There were also some blood samples but I guess I didn’t do a very good job collecting them because they all hemolyzed and I discarded them.” Kira lied, trying to sound as convincing as possible.
“Why did you collect blood samples that was not part of the original protocol?” He questioned.
“I was trying to be helpful sir. I was collected from a potential food source for the mosquitos. ” Kira wasn’t sure how convincing she sounded. “ When I complete cataloging these samples you will see we met every objective given and obtained additional samples could possibly be helpful. Unfortunately those hemolyzed. I’m sorry for wasting supplies. Next time I’ll stick with what I have been trained to do.”
The officer looked at all the specimens on the table. “These are the specimens you just brought back?” He asked
“Yes sir I just have to tag and catalog them to finish my assignment.” Kira answered and looked at her watch trying to indicate that she still had a lot of work to do.
“Today is your lucky day.” He said to her then turning to his men. “Bag it up. All of it. We are going to need every log from your expeditions as well. The men started taking everything she had risked her life to collect.
“What is happening here? I thought this is what you wanted us to do? We collected everything we were told to collect? This doesn’t make any sense.” Kira blurted
“Soldier in case you have forgotten disrespecting an MP can land y
ou in serious trouble.” He barked at her as his men continued to destroy everything.
Kira’s blood boiled. She stood there and with every ounce of will in her body kept her mouth shut. She knew now how Brooke felt. Except for Brooke it was everything for the last five years. When they finished they left with all of her work in tidy white boxes and left the tattered lab. Kira started cleaning up. The last thing she wanted was for Brooke to come to work Monday and find another one of her labs ripped to shreds.
She finished and pulled out her phone. She tried Stark again but was about to give up since he never called back and never left a message. She started walking back to her barrack. She was still seething from the earlier invasion of the lab. Kira pulled the phone back out and called Javier. “Hola, Javier?” She asked into the phone.
“Si Kira. Did you miss me?” He asked with a little chuckle.
“Would you like to have dinner?” She blurted
“Si! What time?” He asked with the eagerness of the first day of school.
“How about 1900 hours? Sorry I mean 7 pm. would that be ok?” Kira asked
“That’s perfect. Ok I’ll see you then.” His voice was as smooth over the phone as it was in person. Kira entered the barrack and decided since she had been forcibly given the rest of the day off she would take her time showering and getting ready. Kira tried her best to understand why they took everything. It had to do with the two reports that she and Brooke had filed. Something in those reports had inflamed someone very high up. Kira wondered just how high up it went. The answers have to be right in front of me. I must have held them in my hands. Being this close to the answer was so frustrating but having it ripped out of her hands before she could figure out the puzzle was infuriating. She knew what she had to do. She would get to the bottom of this if it killed her. This was bigger that Brooke or herself.