The Tide_Dead Ashore

by Anthony J Melchiorri

  Ronaldo motioned to a station with an empty seat. “Satellite phones, radios, whatever you need, at your disposal. I will leave you to it.” He paused at the door. “I’m going to monitor my scout teams. I’ll be back as soon as we have any news.”

  “Thank you, Colonel.” Shepherd took a seat at the station. He wasn’t sure what the proper communication protocol would be at this point. Since Fort Detrick had reestablished communications with the rest of the US military, he had largely been out of the loop. But his time as army garrison commander gave him a starting point. He dialed the priority line at Detrick.

  “Fort Detrick,” a voice answered. Thank God, Shepherd thought. It wasn’t just any communications officer—he recognized that voice. He was pleasantly surprised to hear Lieutenant Vasquez was still at her old post.

  “Vasquez, Colonel Shepherd at Lajes Field. It is good to hear your voice.”

  “Better to hear yours, sir! I have so many questions, but I assume this isn’t a call for chit-chat.”

  “You assume correctly, Lieutenant,” Shepherd said. “I need to reach General Kinsey immediately.”

  “Last we heard, he’s bunkered down at the Pentagon. What’s left of it, anyway. Virginia was hit hard by both Skulls and militia.”

  He’d known things were bad. Shepherd had been there in some kind of military prison complex when it was overrun by Skulls. But it still physically pained him to hear the center of what had been the world’s most powerful military was in a state of collapse.

  “What about the current administration? Who’s running the country?”

  “That, I’m not privy to,” Vasquez said. “We’re still operating under the assumption Vice President Herbert has taken office, but there are rumors about who is really in charge. Frankly, I think the DOD is still trying to figure out who in the hell they report to, sir.”

  “Here’s to hoping we find out soon.”

  “Amen to that, sir. Can I patch you in to Kinsey’s line now, sir?”

  “Yes, Lieutenant.” He paused and then added, “It was a pleasure to serve with you, and I hope to do so again very soon.”

  A click sounded over the line, followed by a buzz indicating Shepherd had been transferred. Talking to Vasquez had raised his spirits. If even a small part of the Pentagon was still standing, that had to mean something. The government hadn’t just retreated to their mountain bunkers while the rest of the country withered away.

  No, there was some order emerging from the chaos.

  “Operation Reclaim Center, please identify yourself,” a male voice answered. Definitely no one Shepherd recognized.

  “Colonel Jacob Shepherd, former commander of Fort Detrick’s army garrison, hailing from Lajes Field, Azores Island.”

  “This is an emergency line, Colonel. What is the emergency?”

  “The emergency is that I need to speak to General Kinsey,” Shepherd said. He wanted to tell him that the whole goddamned world might be at risk from a second wave of the Oni Agent outbreak. But he wasn’t sure whom he could trust with that information. Even telling Kinsey seemed risky, but he had to let someone in charge know.

  “General Kinsey is unavailable.”

  “You tell him Colonel Shepherd is on the line, and I guarantee you he will suddenly find himself available.”

  “Colonel, this line is strictly for authorized personnel only.”

  “Do you value your career in the military?”

  There was a second hesitation as Shepherd caught the officer unready. “Yes, sir. Now more than ever.”

  “And we need you now more than ever,” Shepherd said. “But if you do not tell Kinsey that I’m on the line with time-sensitive intel, I guarantee that even if you are the last communications specialist in the Pentagon, you will be discharged.”

  “Sir, excuse me for saying so, but—”

  “Look, son, unless you want more of those claw-fingered, grotesque monstrosities barging in on the Pentagon—hell, unless you want to become one of those abominations yourself—you’re going to get me Kinsey right fucking now.”

  There was a beat of silence on the line. Shepherd decided to keep pressing the comms operator.

  “Imagine your flesh wasting away, bones jutting out of your skin, and plates bursting from your chest,” Shepherd said. “You got family left? You got any friends? Imagine you’re responsible for killing them. Imagine knowing that you’re a monster who ate your goddamn family. That’s what’s at stake. And if I do not talk to Kinsey in fifteen seconds, that’s going to be your godforsaken reality.”

  “Yes sir, I’ll see if he’s available.”

  “He will be.”

  Ten seconds later, Shepherd turned out to be right.

  “Shepherd, you slimy son of a bitch,” Kinsey growled. “What in God’s good name are you doing?”

  “Trying to stop the Oni Agent from destroying the United States,” Shepherd said.

  “You’re too goddamned late for that.”

  “Let me correct that. Trying to stop the Oni Agent from destroying what’s left of the United States.”

  “You’re a goddamned fugitive. Do you want me to bring you in for questioning again?”

  “Maybe I give a damn about my country and my duty to it,” Shepherd said. “Do what you want with me, but we’ve discovered something you need to know. A couple somethings, in fact.”

  “We?” Kinsey asked, suspicion dripping from his voice.

  “Is this line secure?”

  “As secure as it gets nowadays.”

  “You might be surprised to hear I’ve found Captain Dominic Holland and CIA intelligence officer Meredith Webb.”

  “Goddammit, Shepherd. I was almost ready to believe you were on our side again. My men told me...no, no, this is bullshit. If you’re with those terrorists, I don’t want to hear it.”

  “They’re not terrorists,” Shepherd said, doing his best to sound calm. He could already picture Kinsey’s face turning red and the man’s chest puffing out like a taunting gorilla. “I have evidence to prove it. We should be working with them, not against them.”

  “They fired on our goddamn ships, Shepherd. Almost killed US armed forces personnel.”

  Beside him, Dom heaved a visible sigh of relief at the word almost.

  “You tried to get them killed and took their ship, if I recall. But that’s neither here nor there. I’m confident you did what you thought was right, sir. But we’ve uncovered some intel that shows you were mistaken.”

  There was a long, drawn-out pause. “I’m afraid you may be right.”

  Shepherd had been expecting a lot of things from Kinsey. But he hadn’t been expecting that. The sudden shift in Kinsey’s tone had him flummoxed. Was the man testing him? Luring him into a trap?

  “Excuse me, sir?”

  “I’m not comfortable describing everything we’ve discovered like this. I don’t know who else is listening in on us. But what I will say is that certain events have made it more apparent that a few false flags may have been planted.”

  Shepherd was at a loss for words. He thought he’d be dealing with a blustery Kinsey, full of vitriol, but now this was turning into an actual, constructive conversation.

  “That being said, the jury’s still out on that Holland character and the CIA bitch.”

  Dom growled, reaching forward as though he wanted to grab the microphone and give Kinsey a piece of his mind, but Shepherd held up a hand to forestall him.

  “I hope I can convince you otherwise,” Shepherd said.

  -13-

  Dom had spent his career trying to make the world safe. He had chased bioweapons and terrorist threats across the oceans in death-defying missions the US was afraid to send its own personnel to do. No one ever thanked him or his crew for their service; no one even knew the sacrifices they had made. The only person that had known what they had done was Meredith, and now her name was being dragged through the mud with his.

  His fingers curled as he listened to Kinsey. He wanted
to reach through the speakers in the cramped communications room and strangle the general. It took every bit of self-control he had not to curse him out as Shepherd tried to convince the man they were on his side. The only thing that really seemed to get the general’s attention was when Shepherd mentioned a possible second wave of Oni Agent.

  “I’m listening,” Kinsey said, “but this better be good.”

  “I have reason to believe that the Oni Agent has been altered and the individuals responsible are planning to release this new strain,” Shepherd said.

  “I see,” Kinsey said. “And you expect me to believe this isn’t some bull-headed attempt for you and Holland to weasel your way back into our good graces?”

  Ronaldo’s men and women continued their work beyond the glass partition. They toiled at computers and other communications equipment but stole occasional glances back at Shepherd and Dom. They, too, must have understood what was at stake in this conversation.

  “I don’t expect you to, no,” Shepherd said. “Why don’t I let Captain Holland try to convince you?”

  “You’ve got that bastard there right now?”

  “Hello, Kinsey,” Dom said, taking a handset.

  “Captain fucking Holland. Even if you have nothing to do with the Oni Agent, you put lives at risk. You fired on one of our vessels. There are standing orders to shoot you on sight should you dare set foot on American soil again.”

  “Believe what you want, but you owe it to the people you’re defending to hear me out.”

  “I owe it to them to kill terrorists like you.”

  Dom’s fingers tightened around the handset until the plastic creaked, but he held his tongue. Any progress Shepherd had made with Kinsey had drained away, like water shifting through sand.

  “I’ve got more important things to do than talking to you,” Kinsey continued. “So if you’ve got something to say, say it.”

  “Fine,” Dom said. “My team discovered a cure for the original strain of the Oni Agent. We were forced to test it on ourselves, and I can report that it works. Side effects are yet to be determined, but we’re all alive and survived direct Oni Agent infections.”

  “Interesting,” Kinsey said. If the man was surprised or at all relieved, he certainly didn’t show it. Dom couldn’t tell whether his lack of enthusiasm was part of the poker game he seemed to be playing or unadulterated skepticism.

  “Has there been any progress at Fort Detrick or the NIH on a cure? If so, maybe what we discovered can complement it.”

  “Don’t waste my time,” Kinsey said, deflecting the question. “I’m not going to share the details of our work with a traitor.”

  “Then I take it you don’t care for us to share our findings with you.”

  “I didn’t say that,” Kinsey said. “You trying to strike some kind of deal here?”

  “Not at all. After this call is over, I’ll forward you and the people at Detrick everything—I mean goddamned everything. I can even send you the template materials—a seed sample of the Phoenix Compound—so you can start producing it right away. I don’t give a rat’s ass if you believe me, Kinsey. I just want to help.”

  “Captain Holland, I know your type. You think you’re some hero with a manifest destiny to save the world. You think I’ll come crawling back to kiss your ass just because you have intel? It ain’t going to happen.”

  “I would prefer to keep your lips off my ass,” Dom said. Shepherd gave Dom a knowing smirk. “And you can believe whatever the hell you want. That’s not important to me. But there is something I need from you.”

  “I thought you said there wasn’t a deal. I’m not in the mood to negotiate with terrorists today.”

  “I’m not negotiating,” Dom said. “I’m telling you what’s going to happen. Colonel Shepherd wants to get back to Detrick. I’ve got a couple of other navy midshipmen aboard who want to go home, too. We also rescued some civilians from a hospital in Boston. I want to get them to the safe zone we established on Kent Island. They’re medical professionals. Should be useful.”

  “Anything else, Captain?” Kinsey asked. Dom could practically see the sneer on the man’s face. It took everything in him to remember that Kinsey was not the enemy. The man was only acting this way because he still wasn’t sure about Dom. Both of them were dedicated to saving their country. If only Kinsey could see they were on the same side.

  “I’m sending one of my Hunters, too,” Dom said. “He lost both legs, and he needs more medical attention than we can provide. I’m entrusting him to you.”

  There was a beat of silence. Kinsey probably hadn’t expected that. Dom hoped the general understood the underlying sign of trust. At the same time, he despised himself for using Terrence as political leverage.

  “I can’t guarantee anything,” Kinsey said.

  “In return, I’ve got one last gift.”

  “Meredith Webb? I would love to sit down and have a conversation with her.”

  A flame burned in Dom’s chest. Conversation? He had no doubt what Kinsey meant by that. The last person he knew that had had a conversation in person with Kinsey’s people was Shepherd, and the man had been tortured half to death. “No, Meredith’s staying with me. I’m sending you the original architect of the Oni Agent. Dr. Shigeru Matsumoto.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “See for yourself when the plane lands,” Dom said.

  Another pause. Dom could tell he had Kinsey interested now. “I’m not letting your people land anywhere near Detrick. For all I know, this is some ploy to set off a dirty bomb and derail everything we’ve fought for.”

  “I’m not a threat. I’m telling you the goddamned truth. You need us, and we need you.”

  Kinsey seemed to consider this for a moment. “I’ve got a runway at Andrews. If we suspect anything, we will shoot that bird out of the sky before it has a chance to land. The 113th Wing is located there, and the F-16s are ready to defend our airspace.”

  “Damn it, Kinsey,” Dom said, his frayed temper threatening to snap. “I’m not the guy you think I am, but if you cross me, I’ll become him.”

  To Dom’s surprise, Kinsey laughed. It wasn’t exactly a friendly laugh, nor was it particularly menacing. “Spoken like a true hot-blooded American.” Then the laughter was gone. “Captain Holland, if you deliver me the goods as promised, I’m still not letting you on American soil. But I’ll tell my people out there not to fire on you. At least, not right away.”

  Dom was surprised. Not by Kinsey’s apparent mercy, but by his admission, however minor, of operations outside the US. “You have people out here?”

  “We may not have been as isolated as I initially led you to believe.”

  “Then maybe you’re already working to stop the Forces of Global Liberation and their imminent weapons launch. Maybe you don’t need our help, and I can just sail away and disappear.”

  Again, silence. Dom had hit a nerve.

  “I’m not telling you what we found or how we found it. I still don’t trust you, Captain. But if you want to prove your worth, if you’re so goddamned determined to save the world, I can tell you this. I think your timeline is wrong. I think the delivery of this new Agent will be rolled out in two days. And while we’ve got people mounting operations in various parts of the world, things haven’t exactly gone our way.

  “We can’t just bomb the shit out of these assholes in case the Agent gets into the atmosphere or groundwater. Because we, like you, believe an airborne Oni Agent would be a death sentence for all of us. As it stands, we have limited capabilities to launch on-the-ground missions.”

  “Are you trying to ask me for help?” Dom asked.

  “Captain Holland, if things are as bad as you seem to think they are, then yes, you can proceed with your investigation. If you turn out to be right and you’re successful, then I might be able to convince the powers that be to forgive your indiscretion in firing at our Coast Guard ships.”

  Goddamn, Dom thought. He really is desperate. Things
must be worse than I thought.

  Could he and the Hunters really make a difference?

  We’ll goddamned try.

  “Fine,” Dom said. “But I want to know everything.”

  Kinsey laughed. “There isn’t much to tell. Communications at the end of the world are unreliable, and several of the teams in Europe, Africa, and Asia have gone dark. Inexplicably fucking dark, Captain.”

  “Are you saying we’re supposed to handle this ourselves with no intel?”

  A pregnant pause. Then an audible sigh. “Yes, Captain, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  The door swung open with a crash. Ronaldo appeared by Dom’s side again. His face was ashen. “We don’t need his intel. We may have found the site of the distribution center. It is...not what we expected.”

  Not good news, Dom thought. He covered the handset’s mouthpiece. “What happened?”

  “My people saw massive amounts of activity in the Tangier harbor. Many boats. This is strange because the Moroccan government hasn’t spoken to us in weeks. We got some photos of the port, but our pilots were shot down. If I had to guess where something important was going on, I would put my money there.”

  “Morocco?” Dom asked. He let the thought sink in. Tangier wasn’t too far away. The attack choppers could have been sent from there even without a ship to follow the Huntress.

  “General Kinsey,” Dom said, speaking into the mic again. “We’ve just got word that the Oni Agent distribution center may be in Tangier. Did you send a team there?”

  “We did,” Kinsey said. “I had an entire SEAL team in the area. We haven’t heard anything from the region in a couple of weeks.”

  “And you did nothing to extract them?”

  “Of course we did,” Kinsey said, fire returning to his voice. “But I told you resources are limited overseas, and communications have been unreliable. All extraction missions failed. This was not the only place where we lost recon teams, damn it.”