“Parris, I didn’t-”
“It’s okay, I’ve had this conversation before. My mother died when I was young and I never met my father. My aunt raised me.”
Fox hesitated for a moment, wondering how appropriate it would be to continue talking about this. “Do you ever wonder where your father is?”
Parris shook her head. “No, and I don’t want to either.”
“To say the least. I haven’t spoken to either of my parents, or Jessica’s, since…the incident.”
“Why?” She then took his right hand. “Do you blame yourself for her death?”
He pulled himself from her grip and turned away from her. “I should’ve seen it coming. After all the training I’d undergone. I’d learned so much about assessing a situation. Yet I couldn’t spot something suspicious about the company Jessica worked for.”
“We all make mistakes.” Parris walked up to him and turned him around gently. “I’m sorry I was so nasty to you yesterday. You were right. I was listening to you play the piano. I understand that you were trying to make up for the past-I just didn’t want to accept it then. For the record, I’m not mad at you anymore.”
Fox again felt a warmth in her voice and he responded by holding both her hands. “After what happened to you…I mean…the night I stood you up and you being assaulted and all. Don’t you regret becoming a field agent as a result of what I did to you?”
Parris smiled at him. “You’re not the reason why I’m here. I’m here because I want to be here.”
Fox didn’t say anything else. She was the first woman since Jessica to come close to making him come out of his shell. But he would never allow himself to get too close to her. Walsh’s attempt at taking both of them out at the fish market was a stark reminder as to why he could not allow himself to fall in love again, not while people like Ares and Dr. Marx were out there. He looked over the equipment in front of him. It was time to finish this.
Fox assisted Parris for the first half hour until there were no more compounds to collect, at which point Parris continued on her own. While Parris worked, Fox sat at the computer and reviewed the information she stole from the safe that she didn’t have time to read during the ride.
Parris then held up a one-thousand-milliliter beaker with a blood-red solution within it. “I’m done. Now we need to test it.”
The casual observer would mistake it for tomato sauce, but it wasn’t as thick. She carried it to the counter in front of the isolation chamber where she put it down. Fox watched her as she picked up a scalpel. Alarms went off in his head when he saw the blade pointed inward towards her opposite hand. Without another thought, he snatched both of her wrists.
She looked at him with her mouth agape, as though perplexed. “What are you doing?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Pandora feeds on human red blood cells to self-replicate, so I’m volunteering myself. For heaven’s sake, I’m no longer under the effects of Clarity. Would you rather I cut you instead?”
Fox looked into her brown eyes. Yeah, I’m overreacting. He smiled and released her wrists. Parris jabbed herself in the heel of her left palm and held it over a Petri dish. Six drops of blood fell into it. She opened the first-aid kit she had on the counter behind her and helped herself to the rubbing alcohol, cotton, and a Band-Aid.
Below the window, on the far left side of the isolation chamber, was a small slot with a button beside it. Parris pressed it and the door flipped outwards. An inner airlock door also opened, making a hissing sound. Ten seconds later, a tray slid out on which she placed the beaker with the serum, and the Petri dish with her blood onto the tray. She also reached into her breast pocket and took out the metal container which held Pandora. Parris momentarily hesitated as she held it. She looked at the beaker with the serum and then placed Pandora between the serum and the Petri dish. She pressed the same button and the tray slid back, the door closed, and the tray reappeared on the other side of the window a few seconds later.
Parris walked to the console and picked up a glove with several metallic pieces attached to it from off a plastic rod that was attached to the console. The glove controlled the mechanical arm inside the isolation chamber. It weighed much more than an ordinary glove. It was wireless and it gave Dr. Parris complete freedom of movement when she wore it. She pressed a button on the glove that was located under the base of the palm to activate the robotic arm, which then mimicked her hand and finger movements.
She looked inside the chamber as she brushed a few strands of her hair that dropped to her left eye. “Here it goes.”
Fox stood beside her as they watched what went on inside the chamber.
The robot arm mimicked Parris’s movements and picked up the Petri dish and poured the blood on top of the metal container. She then brought the mechanical arm above it, made it point the index finger downwards, and then lowered it to crack it open. Blood leaked into the container and within seconds a reaction was evident. The combination of crunching and rattling sounds grew louder and a thick, smoky red cloud streamed from the container.
With the robotic arm, Parris picked up the smoking container and dropped it into the beaker, where it floated on the surface of the serum. Parris curled her fingers but kept her index extended and held the robot arm above the beaker with its index finger pointing downwards above the container. She then directed the robot arm to push the container to the bottom of the beaker. She raised the robot arm, pressed the button on the glove to deactivate the robot arm and placed the glove back onto its rod. The beaker shook as it bubbled and belched out the red smoke in huge puffs. It wasn’t too long after that the entire chamber filled up with the red cloud. Nothing else was visible it was so thick.
Both Parris and Fox looked around as their surroundings were illuminated by a bright red, much like the cloud that swirled in front of them on the other side of the window. Parris pressed the off button on the glove and returned it to the console as the inner chamber filled to capacity with the red cloud.
A minute went by and the red cloud was still there. Parris slammed her right fist onto the counter in frustration and spun around with both hands on her hips. “This should’ve worked! Now what are we supposed to do?” She put both hands to her temples as she paced the room.
Fox remained silent as he continued to stare into the isolation chamber. “I’d say you should make some more of that serum. Take a look.”
Parris turned around and swallowed hard when she saw another chemical reaction occur inside the chamber. The cloud began to fade, along with the sound of crunching and rattling. Several seconds later, all that remained were trace amounts of leftover serum inside the beaker, the cube inside it, and an empty Petri dish. Her arms dropped to her sides as she looked up at the ceiling and breathed out a big sigh of relief.
Fox then turned to her. “How soon can you prepare more of the serum?”
“I’ve already done so.” She smiled as she gestured to the side counter where she had a rack with two small vials and picked them up to show him. “From the notes I read, vials similar to these in both shape and size will be used. They’ve built a device, ironically named Pandora’s Box, which will be used to disperse the microbe. These vials are to be inserted into the device. We’ll each carry one.” She walked over to the counter and brought back the vials, their stoppers, and two small metal cases. She then handed one to Fox. “You’ll also need one of these to hold it in, just to make sure you don’t break it.”
Parris handed him a small metal case. Fox took it, opened it and saw that the vial was meant to fit inside it diagonally on a padded surface. He put the vial in, closed it and dropped the case inside his inner jacket pocket. Parris did the same.
Parris then looked at him, suddenly remembering something. “By the way, I hope your JTF2 duties included knowing how to fly a helicopter?”
“You bet.”
“Good. Because we’ll have to steal one from the lot.”
Chap
ter 31
The island was approximately one square kilometer of rocky terrain and was surrounded by a hilly coastline, giving it a bowl-like formation. To the average person, it was nothing more than a deserted rocky island. There weren’t any trees or grass, the coastline was too rocky and too hilly to be of any use. However, the Soviets had exploited it several years before, during the Cold War. It housed one of several secret bunkers that were built to protect Soviet political leaders in the event of a nuclear war.
Its mountainous surroundings made it a natural barrier against the most devastating weapons which would have to penetrate several hundred feet below the rocky surface to do any damage. Along the shoreline, big waves crashed against the shores, sending a salty mist into the air, making it difficult for ships to sail too close. The island had never been used, and no one in the Russian military or the government would ever admit that the bunker even existed.
Roaring from the sky came five Sikorsky H-92 Superhawk civil transport helicopters. This version of the H-92 seated nineteen passengers comfortably in an airliner-type cabin. They were painted gray on the exterior with a single horizontal blue stripe across the middle with the Hexagon company name written in bold white Japanese and English characters along the stripe.
Clouds of dust formed as they touched down in a clearing within several feet of the blast tunnel. All of the necessary equipment for their planned takeover was inside the bunker, where a team of scientists had spent the previous day setting up. A task force dressed in traditional black ninja jump suits leapt from two of the helicopters. They were each armed with Russian AK-74s and a few throwing stars.
The recruits rode together in one helicopter with a few ninjas, while Marx, Hashimoto, and Tanaka were in another. They emerged from their helicopter and led the way towards the bunker.
As they walked, Hashimoto shook his head. “Shouldn’t we have heard from Dr. Parris, by now?”
Marx turned to him. “Don’t worry. Whether she’s found Ares or not, won’t make a difference at this point.”
“But there’s still the issue about Fox?” Tanaka looked at Hashimoto. “When I last checked with headquarters, his isotope tag wasn’t transmitting. Secondly, your man was supposed to report back when Fox had taken the bait. Why haven’t we heard anything?”
Hashimoto stopped before both Tanaka and Marx did the same. He then looked at both of them. “He’s right. How do we know that he sent Fox in the wrong direction? What about the CIA? We should’ve just killed him when we had the chance.”
“And in doing so, Ares would’ve been more difficult to handle.” Marx then walked up to Hashimoto. “As for the CIA, I doubt that they’ll know where to start. Their unit’s suffered some casualties. They’ll never be able to scramble another one in time.”
“To add to that,” said Tanaka, “headquarters reported that no calls have been made by either one-”
“Then how do we know where they are?” Hashimoto’s eyes widened as though he were agitated. “We should call Commissioner Yushida to have him send out his entire force to locate Fox and shoot him on sight.”
Marx sighed. Goddamnit, does he have to be this paranoid? “It doesn’t matter at this point. What’s important is that they’re not here.” Marx accentuated this by pointing to the ground. “We’re less than an hour from inheriting the Earth. Think about it. All the problems in the world which you preach about will soon be gone. My Pandora will see to it.”
The first staccato shots from the hills dropped five ninjas to the ground. Screams erupted from the teenagers and young adults. Some ran for their lives, others were so frightened by the sounds of bullets ricocheting that they were immobilized.
The ninjas went on the defensive, unloading several shots from their AK-74s toward the hills. Those that did not take part in the gunfight rounded up the entire group and whisked them behind a nearby set of boulders. Marx, Hashimoto, and Tanaka, each led by a ninja, were herded with the others. Once they were safe, the ninjas rushed back out and joined in the fight.
The attackers streamed down the hillside in beige camouflage, blending into their surroundings. Marx looked over at the tunnel entrance several feet away. There was no chance of her making it over there without being shot. At that moment, she heard a body slam into the boulder on the other side of where she was. She crawled around and saw it was the ninja who had escorted her to safety. He stared back at her pleading with an outstretched arm, his chest and stomach torn open.
It was time to end this. She reached out and grabbed his AK-74.
“Dr. Marx, what are you doing?” yelled Hashimoto.
“What does it look like? I’ll be damned if I am going to lose Pandora again!”
“This is insane. Come back, please.”
She ignored him and took aim at two Ares soldiers on the slopes, fired, and dropped both of them. Why should they be surprised that I know how to use a gun? I grew up with bombs exploding around me for God’s sake.
With each side intent on annihilating the other, no one noticed the Sikorsky S-76 Hexagon helicopter that had landed on the coast. Fox and Parris took advantage of the chaos to reach the summit of the hill that bordered the coastline.
As they crouched and watched the gunfight from the opposite side of the canyon, Fox looked over at the pumps that Parris held in her hands. “Tell me. How did you manage to climb with me up this rocky hill so quickly barefoot?”
“You’d manage, too, if you had the calf muscles.”
“What do you know about my legs? You have been checking me out after all.”
“Sure, fine, whatever.” Parris looked at the helicopters below. “From what I see, I don’t think that they’re carrying much cargo. The new variant of Pandora could’ve been brought here earlier, but we can’t know for sure. If Ares succeeds in this battle, they’re sure to get it.”
Fox looked towards the blast tunnel. “It would’ve been easier for them to wait inside the bunker instead of trying to ambush them out here.”
“Unless the access codes to the bunker were changed. They’d need someone alive to give them up.”
“And then execute everyone else.”
“Exactly. Any ideas as to how we sneak around them and get into the bunker?”
Rocks and dust flew up all around them with a backdrop of staccato noises nearby. Instinctively, Fox grabbed Parris by the arm and pulled her up with him until she was able to run on her own. The shots bit at their heels as they bolted along the top of the hill with Fox leading Parris down into a crevice that took a sharp turn to the left. When Fox whipped around the corner, he got a big surprise-there was nothing but a huge drop.
He skidded to a stop. However, he heard sliding behind him seconds before he felt Parris crash into him. Being unable to grab onto anything in time, Fox plummeted over the side with her. Although he leaned slightly forward as he dropped, he managed to keep his feet below his center of gravity. It was then that he realized that the drop was less severe than he previously anticipated, his feet hitting the ground seconds later. Fox tumbled down a rocky incline until it leveled off. He rolled onto his back as Parris came sliding behind him. She too managed to get on her back and Fox caught her with both his legs, wrapping them tightly around her, under her arms. He released her and drew his Sig from its holster just as an Ares soldier appeared at the top of the drop.
Fox fired three shots into his kneecaps before he emptied the Sig’s chamber-but another four shots plugged the soldier in the chest. Like a chopped tree, the soldier’s legs gave way beneath him as he fell sideways and then head first over the edge. He didn’t cry out as he fell, but Fox heard a distinct snap as he hit the rocks below, headfirst. His head was twisted more than ninety degrees. It was then that Fox noticed Parris had her HK drawn. “I still can’t believe I dated you.”
Parris lowered her gun and got out from between Fox’s legs and looked at him as though she was ready to kick him. “You’re a mess.”
She reached out to help him stand. Fox t
ossed the Sig to the side and walked over to the man, frisked him, and removed an M-11 Bayonet along with its scabbard. He then looked at his boots. “You think those will fit you?”
Parris glanced at them. “Forget it, they’re too big. I’ll be fine for now.”
Fox picked up the AK-108 assault rifle that lay beside the soldier, walked over to Parris, and handed her the M-11. “Take this, we’ll have to split up.”
“Why?”
“While we were running I saw two men with a rocket propelled grenade launcher. I’m going after them. Do you think you can find a way down below into the valley?”
Parris nodded. “It shouldn’t be a problem. Just keep them from firing any grenades at me.”
“I’ll try to. One more thing.” Fox extended his hand to her. “Let me borrow your sat phone. You still have it, don’t you?”
Parris removed it from its belt clip and handed it to him. She had the same issue satellite phone that the technicians at the Office of Science and Technology developed. It was smaller than most satellite phones and could easily pass for a regular cell phone.
Fox dialed the number for headquarters. The phone rang once and then he heard the recorded greeting: “Welcome to Spade Insurance. Please listen carefully for our menu options have changed.” Fox dialed in his code, 062176. The voice recording ended and there was a short pause. He then heard Marie Vasell’s familiar voice.
“Fox, where are you? You’ve had us all worried.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t use my phone for the time being. Go ahead and track the SIM card on this phone and get some backup over here ASAP, ‘cause Parris and I are going to need it.”
“I’ve zeroed in on the location of Dr. Parris’s sat phone. Military assistance should be on its way. Be careful, both of you.”
Fox turned it off and dropped it back into his pants pocket. “You don’t mind if I hold onto this, do you?”
“As long as I get it back,” Parris replied.
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