Catalyst (Breakthrough Book 3)

by Michael C. Grumley

  Those were the last words spoken before Becca, followed by both men, turned back to the mouth of the cave and disappeared into the night.

  By the time Steve Caesare arrived, it was too late. His flashlight searched the cave floor and walls until he spotted DeeAnn leaning against a rock. Next to her was Dulce, and both were surrounded by the capuchins. He slowed and studied DeeAnn, who was holding one of her arms.

  “You okay?”

  “I will be. I had a run-in with our Brazilian friends.”

  “What happened?”

  “I tried to stop them from taking one of the monkeys and lost.”

  Caesare tucked his light under an arm and bent down to examine her. He checked her arm and it didn’t feel broken. He shone his light around them, scanning the inside of the cave. “What is this place?”

  Despite her injured arm and some scrapes on her face, she managed to reach down and turn the vest back on. “I’m not sure.” Once the blue light appeared, DeeAnn grinned. “What do you say we find out?”

  87

  Just twenty-five percent below Mach One, the Chinese Y-20 cargo plane thundered over the southeastern border of Venezuela and headed directly for the Acarai Mountains.

  At fifteen minutes out, two crewmen began unlatching the straps holding the giant bomb in place. They then used the hold’s loading assembly to slowly roll it back to the edge of the aft ramp, securing two heavy chains to each side.

  Once in position, one of the crewmen picked up the phone on the wall and spoke loudly over the Y-20’s powerful turbofan engines. After a pause, he replaced the phone and closed the metal cover.

  It took less than thirty seconds for the bomb’s panel to light up and begin its remote programming.

  Seven minutes later, the giant aircraft approached the Acarai summit, hidden thousands of feet below in the pitch-black jungle. The plane gently increased its pitch and began a slow upward climb.

  Inside, the crewmen attached one final powerful cable to the device, with an electronic release in the middle nearly the size of a bowling ball. They promptly removed the side chains and moved further up the cargo bay’s wall, attaching themselves to nylon safety lines.

  There they waited, watching the wall until a bright green light signaled their position.

  One of the men looked to the other, who nodded back. He then opened the clear cover and slammed his hand down on the giant button.

  Overhead, several red flashing lights filled the cargo bay, accompanied by a loud siren, as the ramp door disengaged and began to lower. The bomb slid backward toward the tail of the plane until it was halted by the thick cable.

  It took two full minutes for the ramp door to fully open and provide a smooth path out the rear of the plane.

  Then at last, when over their target, the strap disconnected. The long, elliptically-shaped bomb abruptly accelerated, leaving the ramp and disappearing into the night.

  The Russian thermobaric bomb detonated at one thousand feet above the Acarai peak, releasing a brilliant orange mushroom cloud into the dark sky, along with a supersonic shockwave hot enough to evaporate solid rock.

  88

  A jolt from the truck’s old suspension shook John Clay from his unconscious state. His head rocked side to side from the continual shaking of the bumpy road, making it hard to focus. He could hear rocks pelting the inside of the wheel wells, indicating a rapid speed over a dirt road.

  His eyes closed again for a moment before he was able to find the strength to force them back open. As the light began to sharpen, he tilted his head to see what appeared to be the dark shape of the driver against the bright front windshield. A second person was ahead of him in the passenger seat.

  His next sensation was the pain. Every part of his body screamed out from under a thick wool blanket which covered all but his face. He tried to move but couldn’t. Not anything. Instead, he tried his mouth and managed a slight whisper.

  On his third attempt, the passenger turned around and looked down at him.

  “You’re awake.”

  Clay fought to make his lips move again.

  “Don’t talk, save your energy.”

  The driver glanced over his shoulder at Clay and quickly turned back to the road.

  A severe dip sent a wave of pain through Clay’s limbs, causing him to moan.

  “Hang in there, man. We’re all trying to get you out of here.”

  “W-what happened?” Clay whispered.

  The Chinese passenger shrugged. “Hell if we know. Someone at the agency hit the panic button. Instructions are to find you and then get the hell out.”

  Clay blinked slowly. His memory was a jumble of images and he was struggling to put them in order.

  “Where’s Li Na?”

  The other man looked at the driver before replying. “We don’t know. She escaped and disappeared into the forest before we could stop her.”

  Clay shook his head. He could see the girl’s face, frightened and alone. “Stop.”

  “What?”

  “Stop the car.”

  “Sorry, can’t do that. We have to get out of the country. There’s a team waiting for us in Huludao.”

  Clay shook his head. “We have to go back.”

  The driver abruptly pulled the truck over to a stop. He twisted around in his seat and Clay recognized him from Qin’s team. “Look, I don’t think you understand what’s happened here. A lot of covers just got blown to find you. Agents who can now be traced to a lot of others all over this region.”

  The second agent in the passenger’s seat nodded in agreement. “Our only priorities are you and this case.” He held up the metal case.

  Clay managed to angle his head and stare at it. “Did you open it?”

  The agent lowered it. “Nope. Not authorized.”

  Clay’s memories were coming back. “Check the case.”

  “Sorry. I can’t do it. Our instructions are to get you, and this thing, out.”

  “Listen to me,” Clay said louder. “We have to go back.”

  The driver shook his head and put the truck back into gear. “I think you got hit one too many times in the head.”

  Clay gritted his teeth in pain and took a deep breath. “If you won’t go back, then at least check the goddamn case!”

  The agents both looked at each other. The second agent reached down and brought the case back up. After contemplating, he turned it sideways and opened the clasps, pulling the cool metal case open. He stared inside before turning it for the driver to see.

  It was empty.

  89

  By the time the agents turned the truck around, Qin had already landed in Beijing. After being found and freed with the other soldiers, all he had to do was find a phone.

  Less than a minute after his helicopter bounced lightly onto the tarmac, the side door was flung open by two airmen outside. Once on the ground, Qin was quickly escorted to a vehicle which sped across the base to a nearby lab.

  He ordered the airmen to remain outside while he pushed through the double doors and ran up a flight of stairs. When he reached the room, a single technician was waiting for him with a very confused look on his face.

  Unsure, the technician saluted and returned a nervous hand to his side. “You asked to see me, sir?”

  Instead of replying, Qin closed the wide door behind him and locked it.

  “Listen very carefully. You are not to repeat a single word of this conversation to anyone. Is that clear?”

  “Y-yes, sir.”

  Qin’s cold eyes bore into the man. “And any results you find will be erased.”

  The technician nodded nervously.

  With that, a wry grin spread across Qin’s face as he reached inside his jacket. He removed a red rag and began unwrapping it. When he uncovered the final layer, he held his hand below and rolled three clear glass tubes into his palm.

  Qin waited impatiently. He watched as the young technician removed samples from each tube and used a swab to carefully pla
ce them on the ATP meters. Once in the luminometer, they watched the computer screen as the results were captured and displayed.

  Qin squinted, trying to understand what he was seeing on the screen. Multiple lines rose and fell across a horizontal list of molecular compounds. It was clear that two of the compounds were in much higher concentrations than the rest. He pointed at them.

  “What are those?”

  The technician’s confusion was growing. “Those are Selenium and Iron.” He pointed to the others. “These, however, are all bacterium.”

  Qin stepped closer, excitedly. “What sort of bacterium?”

  “They’re called coliform.”

  Qin paused and turned toward the technician. “You’ve seen them before?”

  “Yes, sir. Many times.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The technician shrugged. “They’re common.”

  Qin froze. Impossible. Deep down a sudden panic began to grow. “How common?”

  “Very common. We find it in almost all forms of ground water.”

  The panic was now overtaking Qin. “It’s water?”

  “Yes. Judging from the Selenium and Iron, I’d guess a water source in close proximity to a mining operation.”

  90

  The CIA agent stumbled down the rocky path, keeping the flashlight pointed straight ahead. With one hand on the wall, he moved as quickly as he could without tripping over the larger stones.

  The damp tunnel continued to descend for several hundred feet before he spotted the glimmering water. The agent hurried to the edge, and without the slightest pause, waded into the icy pool. He forced himself to remain still and scanned each side, until spotting a large boulder nearby. He crept forward and used the light to study a crevice between the boulder and the wall. Wedged into the middle of the crevice was a small drinking canister.

  Exactly where Clay said it would be.

  91

  The blast was almost beyond comprehension.

  As if in slow motion, the orange mushroom cloud had curled under itself, gradually turning red, then violet, then black, before finally dissolving into the night sky.

  The impact of the world’s largest conventional bomb was devastating. A full thirty meters of the top of the Acarai summit was simply gone. Rocks, trees, everything…vaporized into nothingness, along with every creature within the radius of a quarter mile.

  Salazar and his army, along with Otero and Russo. Every living thing was gone. Including Corso and Juan.

  Further down the mountain, the shock wave flattened trees for another full mile, setting nearly half of what remained on fire. The rest was left smoldering.

  Much further down, and inside the cave, there was no sound. Dirt and rocks covered the floor, while thick wisps of dust were being sucked outside into the hot air.

  On the floor, a single spot of dirt finally moved. Several seconds later, it moved again, but this time, growing larger. Slowly, something pushed upward, causing the loose dirt to fall away before taking the shape of an arm. Dirt moved in another area and Steve Caesare’s head emerged.

  He wiped the dirt from his eyes and looked around, into blackness. He thrust his arms back into the dirt and found his flashlight, pulling it out. It was still lit.

  Caesare climbed to his feet and held the light up, looking for the others. He helped the rising shapes of Dulce and DeeAnn, then began searching for monkeys.

  “What the hell was that?” DeeAnn coughed.

  “A bomb.”

  Thirty minutes later, they stood at the cave entrance, peering out in shock at the sight before them. Against the moonlight, warm ash fell silently to the ground. Higher up on the mountain, a raging wall of fire ringed what was left of the summit.

  A numb DeeAnn stared up at the flames. Tears appeared and ran down her cheeks, creating tracks on her dust-covered face.

  Caesare pointed his flashlight at the ground. His voice was somber. “We have to get out of here. That fire can spread.”

  With Dulce on his back and DeeAnn following behind, Caesare came to a stop and lowered his flashlight. He studied the sight in front of them with curiosity. Almost a hundred yards ahead, something was glowing, and brightly.

  He raised his light and continued forward until he realized what the object was. Then he began running.

  It was a vehicle, a Humvee, lying on its left side with two wheels in the air. It was pinned beneath two flattened trees, and miraculously, one of the headlights was still functioning.

  Caesare reached the small truck and dropped Dulce to the ground. He turned and held up a hand to them. “Stay here.”

  He circled the front of the vehicle, taking large steps through the flat brush, then stopped and shined his flashlight through the shattered windshield. Behind the myriad of cracks, he could see the barrel of a gun pointing directly at him.

  “Tiewater?”

  At the sound of his name, the SEAL let his hand fall with a groan.

  Even seeing the man’s face covered in blood, Caesare couldn’t help but smile. He climbed up onto the vehicle’s upturned side and peered down through the open window. “Son of a bitch, you’re alive!”

  Tiewater, unable to move his head, moved his eyes instead. “Good, because this sure as hell doesn’t feel like heaven. Somebody nuked us.”

  “I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t a nuke. Can you move?”

  Tiewater clenched his teeth and tried. “Not much. I think my legs are broken. And maybe my arm.”

  Caesare nodded. He looked around the inside at all the silver-colored airbags, now deflated.

  “You might be the best commercial yet for the airbag companies.”

  “Lucky me. Now get me the hell out of here.”

  “Hold on. Let me figure this out.”

  “Wait,” Tiewater said, straining to look through the window frame. “What about Corso and the kid?”

  Caesare frowned and shook his head.

  92

  Wil Borger never saw the explosion. He was instead gripping the sides of his seat, white-knuckled, as the Sea King helicopter reduced its altitude and began to slow. The bright lights of the Pathfinder could be seen less than a mile away, floating eerily on what resembled a sea of blackness.

  When the helicopter touched down, he unbuckled and grabbed his bag in one hand. The door was opened from the outside and a young navy officer motioned him down onto a metal stepladder.

  When he reached the deck, he noticed several others standing and waiting, carrying something. It was a wire basket stretcher. In it was a man who looked like an unconscious Chris Ramirez.

  Borger forgot about his anxiety and watched the team quickly move in behind him, sliding Chris into the helicopter. A doctor climbed in next to him and slammed the door shut.

  Only when Borger turned around did he see Alison standing on the deck several feet away, tears in her eyes.

  “Alison?”

  Slowly, almost reluctantly, she turned to Wil.

  “What happened?”

  “An accident. Chris is being airlifted back to Trinidad.”

  Before he could ask, Alison choked back sobs and answered his question. “It doesn’t look good.”

  “My God, I’m sorry.”

  Alison didn’t respond. Instead, she merely watched the helicopter as it roared back into the air. She continued watching until the helicopter’s lights faded into nothingness before turning back to Borger. Her face was dour. “Did you bring it?”

  “I did.”

  Alison took a deep breath and looked up at the star-filled sky. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. The fear was still there, but she had to ask him. She had to ask him the question she was terrified of hearing the answer to.

  “How is John?”

  She watched the look on Borger’s face change. He struggled, staring at her uncomfortably. “Uh…”

  “Just tell me,” she said. “I know something is wrong. I can feel it. Just tell me the truth.”

  Borger blin
ked and remained still, then finally nodded. “The truth is…I don’t know.” He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know how he is, or even where he is right now. Not exactly.”

  “What does not exactly mean?”

  “He’s in China. But I’ve lost contact with him. A rescue team has been sent in…”

  Alison pursed her lips together. Borger could see the glistening of tears in her eyes. “A rescue team?”

  He nodded, hoping she wouldn’t ask who. Explaining that the CIA was trying to find Clay probably wouldn’t help matters.

  “It must be bad.” Alison's chin quivered slightly. “He’s usually the one doing the rescuing.”

  “He did save someone. A young girl. That much, I do know.”

  She nodded and tried to blink away the tears. “Do you think he’s dead?”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “Why?”

  Borger let a small grin escape. “Because Clay is my friend. And I know that if the situation were reversed, he would never give up on me.”

  Alison stared at Borger before finally grinning with him. “You’re right.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “Thank you.”

  He nodded and looked around at the men waiting nearby. “Now what?”

  She took another deep breath. “Neely Lawton is waiting for you upstairs. They’ll take you.”

  “What about you?”

  She turned and looked back at Tay and Lightfoot, both waiting patiently. “I have an appointment.”

  Borger noticed the SCUBA gear behind the men. “What did you find?”

  “The plants are the same. Just like we saw on the mountain. But how it happened here, I haven’t the slightest idea.”