“Good morning,” Ringgold said.
“Good morning Secretary—I mean, President Ringgold,” Kate said.
Ringgold smiled and placed a headset over her ears.
A squad of Marines guarded the aircraft as they waited. Two minutes later, a female Navy officer with cool blue eyes ducked under the rotors and climbed inside the chopper. A four-man squad of Marines bearing the look of battle-hardened warriors piled in behind her. Kate avoided their gaze, and looked at the woman across the troop hold.
“President Ringgold, Dr. Lovato. I’m Lieutenant Davis. Captain Humphrey has asked me to escort you to the meeting on the Cowpens.” Davis took a seat and put on her headset. “Good to go,” she said to the pilots.
The rotors fired, thumping overhead on their first passes. Kate turned to look out the open door as the bird climbed into the air. Below, a small armada of Zodiacs ferried a group of soldiers across the waves to the Navy cruiser.
Kate still hadn’t seen the labs on the Cowpens, and she was anxious to begin her work. She wasn’t, however, excited about the idea of working with a new staff. Since the outbreak had started, she had become accustomed to working with Ellis. He was her friend, and a trusted colleague—the only one she had left.
The Marines piled out of the chopper the moment it landed. Davis offered her hand to help President Ringgold out of the craft, but Kate jumped out onto the deck unaided.
“Watch your head Madame President,” Davis shouted. She helped Ringgold cross the deck in a hurry. Boots tromped behind Kate, their Marine escort following close behind. The entourage entered the ship in a hurry.
Inside, the cruiser seemed darker than the aircraft carrier. The passages were dull, but spotless. Everything reeked of bleach. Sailors went to and fro with their heads down. Kate got the feeling they didn’t like visitors. It reminded her a bit of her first impressions of Plum Island.
“This way,” Davis said.
They passed the berthing areas and the galley at the same hurried pace, like Davis was worried she was going to be late. The farther they got into the ship, the more Kate wondered if this was the normal pace the woman walked.
Davis picked up speed when they got to the brig. Steel plates covered the porthole windows on the hatches lining both sides of the passage. Over the heavy scent of bleach was another smell that hung in the air—rotting lemons and sour fruit. A chill went up Kate’s spine as she looked at the steel shutters. Had they kept Variants here? Were they still keeping Variants here?
“Hurry, please, Doctor,” Davis said. She craned her neck and waved at Kate.
At the end of the passage, two Marines stood guard. They straightened their backs as Davis approached, and offered a salute. The lieutenant hardly acknowledged the men, and increased her fast walk into a jog, as if anxious to leave the brig. Kate wanted to ask about the shutters, but Davis stopped in the next passage outside a hatch that read Authorized Personnel Only. Hazmat and radiation symbols marked the bulkhead.
“This is your new lab, Dr. Lovato. I’ll show you inside later.” Davis jerked her square chin. “We’re almost there.”
She continued to a hatch guarded by two Marines in the next passage. They avoided eye contact, threw up meticulous salutes, then opened the hatch. Inside, Kate’s eyes instantly gravitated to Beckham. He was in the back of the room with Chow and Horn, behind a table full of officers and scientists.
“Good morning,” Vice President Johnson said. He stood and gestured toward a chair. “Have a seat, President Ringgold and Dr. Lovato.”
Kate took the chair next to Ringgold and crossed her legs.
“I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Kevin Yokoyama and Dr. Jon Carmen. They have been with the GW Strike Group since the beginning,” Johnson said. “Dr. Yokoyama is the lead of our science team here on the Cowpens, and supervises a staff of twenty.”
Yokoyama bowed his head slightly, exposing graying roots in a head full of wavy brown hair. He wore a pair of rectangular black glasses. If Carmen nodded, Kate didn’t see it. The bearded man’s face was accentuated by crow’s feet and deep creases. Both men were old enough to be her father.
“This is President Ringgold and Dr. Lovato. They will be an integral part of the science team from here on out. President Ringgold has been placed in charge of the science division, and Dr. Lovato will be working with her to help coordinate the deployment of Kryptonite on a worldwide scale,” Johnson said.
Kate appreciated his emphasis of the word, but it was going to take more than that for her to trust him.
The Vice President took a seat. “Alright. You all know each other, so I’m going to jump right into new developments. Earlier this morning, one of our Force Recon teams returned from Atlanta where they had discovered juvenile Variants and a Variant leader they are calling the White King. This creature possessed communication skills unlike any other documented in the world.”
Kate’s stomach dropped as Johnson explained what Sergeant Garcia and his men had encountered. The icy rock in her gut seemed to expand with every word.
When he finished, he paused to let the information sink in. Kate resisted the urge to look at Beckham, questions swimming through her mind. She should have seen this coming, but once again, the evolution of the Variants shocked her.
“That’s what we know for now,” Johnson continued. “Before Phase 2 of Operation Extinction can commence, I need to know more about these Variant offspring. How fast do they grow? How tough is that armor? How many of them are there? And, most importantly,” Johnson narrowed his eyes at Kate. “Will Kryptonite kill them?”
Kate had anticipated the question, but she didn’t have a solid answer. “Mr. Vice President, I would need a—”
“We’re working on getting you a specimen,” Johnson interrupted. “Over the next couple of days, we will be training and sending strike teams into coastal cities to gather a juvenile Variant. We’re calling the mission Operation Condor.”
This time Kate couldn’t help but look at Beckham, her heart beating so hard she could hear the drumming in her ears.
“The Variant Hunters and Team Ghost have been tasked with training these teams,” Johnson said.
Kate let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in, and raised her hand.
“Go ahead, Doctor.”
“If you can get a live specimen, I can tell you if Kryptonite will work on them, sir. But time is of the essence. Each Variant is born with genetic mutations, and this means the proteins could change slightly from the last generation. Kryptonite targets the Superman protein. If the antibodies can’t bind to that protein, the drugs can’t get into those cells and kill the Variants.”
Johnson shifted subtly in his chair. “I see.”
“We need to deploy Kryptonite as soon as it’s ready,” Kate said. “The faster we get it in the air, the more chance it will work on the offspring.”
Johnson nodded. “Make no mistake, Doctor, when Kryptonite is ready, we will deploy it. But if what you say is true and the antibodies don’t bind to proteins in the new generations of Variants, then I will need something else that will.”
“There can’t be that many children,” Ringgold said. “Surely the military can defeat those that remain if Kryptonite kills the adults.”
Johnson’s gaze flitted to Ringgold. He laced his fingers together on the table. “Forgive me President Ringgold, but are you aware of how many humans are left out there?”
Ringgold shook her head. “No, I’m not.”
Johnson looked at Davis, who stepped forward and said, “As of yesterday, projections put the human population at approximately five million. In two weeks, that number will be less than one million. In a month, we will number in the hundreds of thousands. A month later, and that number drops dramatically, and continues to drop. In six months—”
“Extinction,” Kate interjected. “Which is all the more reason it’s imperative we not only deploy Kryptonite here as quickly as possible, but that we also help other countr
ies start production so they can, too.”
Kate’s words seemed to echo in the room. No one replied. Ringgold’s jaw was clamped shut as she processed the information. She had been locked away in the Raven Rock Complex. The numbers were enough to take anyone’s breath away, but this information was all new to her. And now she was the leader of the country. Kate couldn’t blame her for not responding right away.
“So there are five million people left worldwide?” Ringgold finally said. “And there are half a billion Variants?”
“One hundred Variants for every human survivor,” Davis said. She paused, and then said, “Not counting the offspring.”
Ringgold stared at the table. “Vice President Johnson, where are we in regard to connecting with other labs?”
The Vice President gestured to Dr. Yokoyama. The scientist pulled off his glasses and held them in his hand. “So far, we have only been able to reach a few countries.”
“How about Italy, have you been able to contact Italy?” Kate blurted.
“I’m afraid not,” Johnson said. He must have sensed his response bothered her. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t survivors in other countries, far from it. And we won’t give up on contacting them.”
Kate nodded, and tried not to think about her parents as Yokoyama continued briefing them on other labs. She was listening, but her thoughts strayed back to the White King. There was more to worry about than Kryptonite working on the juvenile Variants, or finding labs in other countries. If the Alpha Variants were using human collaborators, then they had a way of infiltrating strongholds of survivors. Nowhere on the planet was safe. Not even the GW Strike Group.
After Yokoyama finished, Kate said, “Vice President Johnson, can you tell me more about this White King? If there is one, that means there are others,” Kate said.
“Yes,” Johnson said. “There are.”
Kate sat up straighter in her chair. “You have documented cases of other Variants like the White King?”
Johnson nodded. “Yes, Doctor. In fact, we have one on this ship.”
“You have one of those things on board?” The icy knot in Kate’s gut melted, her insides suddenly on fire as she recalled the hatches back in the brig. Was it really possible they had passed Variants earlier?
Johnson nodded proudly. “We’ve been calling him Patient Zero, but you may know him by a different name.”
Davis stood and gestured to the door. “Who wants to visit Lieutenant Brett?”
According to documents, Lieutenant Trevor Brett was seventy-five years old, but at first glance he looked like he was closing in on a century. Kate cupped her hand over her mouth and stared through the small window into his filthy quarters. His emaciated body was stretched into an X by chains. Skin sagged off his bones, gravity tugging at what was left of the poor bastard. His head, slumped against his chest, was covered in varicose veins. There wasn’t a single hair on his naked body. But it was the extensive scarring on his flesh that was the most disturbing. His arms, legs, torso, and even his groin were covered in scars.
One by one, the group took turns looking through the thick glass window. Horn, Chow, Garcia, and even President Ringgold glimpsed inside. The sight seemed to revolt her the most. She stepped away, shaking her head.
“How?” Kate whispered.
“Why?” Beckham asked at the same time.
Johnson clasped his hands behind his back. “I’m not sure why Colonel Wood kept Brett alive over the years. All of this happened before my time. I didn’t even know until I was evacuated from Offutt AFB. If it were up to me, we would have put Brett out of his misery decades ago.”
“He’s a tough son of a bitch,” Davis said. She leaned next to Kate, peering through the window.
Dr. Yokoyama took his turn at the hatch. “I’ve been studying him for weeks now. That dose of VX-99 in 1968 killed the man he was, but ironically, it gave him the closest thing to immortality. As you can see, Brett doesn’t have all of the adaptations the other Variants have, but his healing abilities are truly remarkable. Over the years, Colonel Gibson and Colonel Wood tweaked the chemical formula to make it even more potent.”
Kate studied the scars. Some looked fresh.
“Have you been experimenting on him?” she asked.
Ringgold shot Yokoyama a glare. In the corner of her eye, Kate saw Beckham tense his right hand into a fist.
“We have been studying him,” Yokoyama replied, hesitation in his voice. “I was under strict orders from Colonel Wood.”
“And now you’re under strict orders from me,” Kate said. “No more tests. No more torturing him.”
Yokoyama looked to Johnson for support, and Kate was relieved to see the Vice President nod in her direction. He earned a little more of her trust in that moment, and she hoped it wouldn’t come back to haunt her.
Kate stepped back to the hatch. “Can he still speak?”
Davis motioned for one of the guards. A Marine with a key stepped up behind Kate without hesitation.
“Please move, Doctor,” the man said.
Kate did as instructed, but Beckham grabbed at the man’s wrist, stopping him mid-stride.
“What the hell are you doing?” Beckham asked.
“It’s okay,” Johnson said. “We’re not opening the door, just the window. Besides, chains like that have held him for over fifty years. They’re not going to break now.”
Beckham’s jaw moved, but no words came out. He looked at Kate, but curiosity prompted her to nod. She needed to see this—she wanted to see this.
The Marine unlocked the window and slid back the glass. Lieutenant Davis moved up to the hatch and cleared her throat.
“Lieutenant Brett. Can you hear me?”
The chain holding Brett’s right arm rattled, but he didn’t look up.
“Lieutenant,” Davis said, her voice raised.
Brett struggled to raise his head. He slowly looked up, blinking like he couldn’t focus. A groan escaped his mouth, and his head slumped back against his scarred chest.
Davis shook her head. “He’s probably coming off the tranquilizers.”
Johnson joined her at the window. “Lieutenant!” he shouted.
This time Brett’s head shot up, but instead of the crazed, bloodshot eyes Kate remembered from the video Ellis had uncovered, there was only the sad basset hound face of what had once been a man.
And then Kate knew.
Brett wasn’t just different from the Variants physically. Somewhere over the years, all that rage and bloodlust had drained out of him. Now he looked sad and almost afraid.
“Lieutenant,” Johnson continued. “How are you feeling today?”
Brett cocked his head to the side, groggy but comprehending. He pulled weakly at his chains.
Turning to Davis, Johnson said, “When’s the last time he spoke?”
“A few—”
A tormented howl cut her off. Everyone took a guarded step backward as Brett let out a second roar and stiffened in his chains. His eyes widened as they explored the dark room. He pulled at his restraints, every lean muscle in his body flexing. The veins in his neck bulged like the thick roots of a tree in dry soil.
“Ka,” Brett said, coughing. He pulled harder at his chains, staring at his observers now. The wild look Kate had seen in the video was returning. She froze, for one horrified moment thinking that the monster was trying to say her name.
“Ka-i-ll,” Brett choked. He twisted his wrists, the chains whipping back and forth.
Kate felt Beckham’s hand brush up against hers.
“KILL ME!” Brett shouted.
Ringgold glared at Johnson, her jaw set with rage. “I don’t know what the hell you have been doing here, Johnson, but unless Dr. Lovato can give me a good reason to keep this man alive, I want him put out of his misery. Now.”
Yokoyama raised his hands, “With all due respect, Brett has provided us with valuable insight into the Variants. We need him.”
“No,” Kate said. “No
, we don’t. He can’t tell us anything we don’t already know. What we need is a juvenile Variant.”
Ringgold was already walking away. She paused to glare at Johnson. “You heard Dr. Lovato. I want Brett put down and given a proper military burial. After all, this man was the creation of the government, was he not?”
Johnson opened his mouth to argue, but Ringgold stopped him with a look. “That’s an order, Mr. Vice President.”
Beckham skipped lunch after seeing the atrocity that was Lieutenant Brett, but by dinnertime he finally had his appetite back. He carried a fully loaded tray to an open table in the mess, and took a seat next to Horn. The man was wolfing down a pile of orange slop that was supposed to be carrots. Chow slid his tray onto the table a few minutes later and sat down facing Beckham and Horn.
“Looks like shit,” Chow said. “I figured they would have better food than we did at Plum Island.”
“Me too,” Beckham said. He finished chewing a piece of rubbery chicken and scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes. The cold mush went down easier than the meat.
“What you think, Boss?” Horn asked. “About this White King?”
Beckham shrugged. “Doesn’t surprise me.”
Horn shoveled the last of his carrots into his mouth and looked over his shoulder. Satisfied no one was listening, he said, “And what do you think of Johnson?”
“Still trying to get a read,” Beckham replied. “So far, I’m cautiously optimistic.”
“Yeah, me too,” Horn said. “I’m more worried about these Variant kids. Those things can really fuck?”
Chow laughed. “Apparently.”
“Kate’s right; it changes everything,” Beckham said. “Means the enemy can increase in numbers, and the rate they are growing is even more fucked up.”
Horn held a spoon in front of his mouth. “Maybe I shouldn’t have left my girls on the island after all.”
Beckham patted Horn on the shoulder. “They’re safe with Meg and Riley. Fitz will keep an eye out for them too. Try not to worry. There’s more firepower on that island now than ever.”
Extinction Evolution (The Extinction Cycle Book 4) Page 18