V Plague (Book 17): Abaddon

by Patton, Dirk

  “Where are you going?”

  Damn it! She was way too good at suddenly appearing without a sound.

  “Gotta make some calls,” he said, hand on the door knob. “After that, I’ll figure it out as it comes.”

  “Dangerous,” she said, shaking her head. “They will be monitoring everyone you might contact. That will pinpoint where you are. Where I am. Someone will come for you. That I am okay with. But those same people will be coming for me, too.”

  “So, what exactly was your plan?” Black asked, exasperated with the woman. “Come hide here for the rest of your life?”

  “I rented this house shortly after I first arrived in Hawaii. It was an escape route. I am an illegal. No diplomatic cover. If arrested, I can be sent to prison and my government would not acknowledge me. If your FBI ever began closing in, I would come here and stay hidden until my people could extract me.

  “And it works both ways. If my government decided I was a liability, I would come here and stay hidden. Call the FBI and offer myself and what I knew in exchange for protection.”

  Black stared at her, understanding the concept but struggling with how anyone could willingly live in that kind of world. Ready to change allegiances at a moment’s notice. She was watching him, seemingly understanding the thoughts going through his head.

  “You do not understand me,” she said. “I do not expect you to. It is a life in a house of mirrors when you are an intelligence officer. Sometimes, I would forget who I was.”

  “They why did you do it?”

  After a long silence, Viktoriya shrugged her bare shoulders.

  “It is all I have ever known. I was selected while still a child for one of the schools that prepares illegals to be sent to America. The choice was never mine.”

  Black mulled that over for a time, slowly nodding his head. Not in understanding. He was miles away from being able to comprehend how someone could live the life she had. He nodded in acceptance of her explanation. Either way, the tension between them was slowly ebbing.

  “I have a secure method to contact whoever it was you want to speak with,” she said.

  His eyebrows went up in surprise.

  “Why would you help me?”

  She sighed and pushed loose hair out of her face.

  “Because my government has placed a target on my back. The Mafiya do not give up, especially when given a job by the GRU. I have nowhere else to go.”

  After a moment, Black threw his head back and laughed. Viktoriya frowned but didn’t say anything as he looked at her with a smile.

  “And you think I can help you? Did you forget the part where I’ll be arrested on sight?”

  “No,” she said. “But with my help, the men who have betrayed your country can be exposed. When they are; when I have helped you, I expect to be given a fresh start. In Arizona.”

  For a beat, Black was unsure he’d heard her correctly. She held his eyes with an intense gaze as he processed what she’d just said.

  “Arizona?” he asked numbly after fumbling for the right response.

  “I know about the coming global blight,” she said. “And so does Barinov. That is why we have to stop him before it is too late.”

  “Too late for what?”

  “To save everyone. American and Russian.”

  38

  Jessica stared at the screen in frustration. She was in an engineering lab deep beneath Nevada at Groom Lake. A pair of Marine Raiders wearing TALOS suits stood near the only entrance. Their sole purpose, at the moment, was to ensure that she was safe.

  Vance had landed the Hornet on the installation’s runway with zero fanfare after an absolutely terrifying race across the Utah and Nevada deserts, sometimes at less than fifty feet of altitude. But for as frightening as it had been, it had also been exhilarating. For the first time since Captain West had told her where she was going, she’d been able to forget about the infected.

  The F-18 had quickly been directed into a massive hangar where they were greeted by Lieutenant Joe Tread. Along with his squad of Marine Raiders, he was wearing a powered exoskeleton. Jessica and Vance had both been amazed when one of the men gave them a quick demonstration of the device’s capabilities by lifting a two-hundred-pound piece of equipment as if it were nothing.

  After that, they were quickly escorted to the hangar that held the entire reason they were at Area 51. Vance had checked out the adaptive camouflage, hypersonic transport jet when he’d been with Major Chase. He was over the initial shock that such a machine existed, but it took Jessica some time to wrap her head around the fact it was reality and not science fiction.

  “Radar absorbing, visually adaptive camouflage,” Vance had explained as she stared up at the giant plane with her mouth open.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Radar absorbing means it can’t be detected. Adaptive camouflage means it can’t be seen. It adapts, changes, to mimic the surrounding environment like a chameleon. Watch this.”

  He walked over to a service panel on the wall and threw a large electrical lever. The brilliant overhead lights went dark and for all intents and purposes, the plane disappeared. Jessica caught her breath in delight, hurrying forward to touch the skin of the aircraft. Where her hand contacted the surface, it changed to match the color of her skin.

  “Oh, my God! And it flies?”

  She turned to face Vance, excitement on her face.

  “If it will, we can be in Australia in two hours. It’s hypersonic.”

  “Two hours?” Jessica marveled, then realized what else he’d said. “What do you mean, if it will?”

  “That’s why you’re here,” he explained, knowing Captain West hadn’t given her many specific details. “It looks like it’s ready to go, but there are two command modules missing from the main avionics controller. Best guess is it was being tested and they pulled them for an update or debugging.”

  “Debugging or they had a hardware issue,” she said immediately. “No reason to pull the modules for an update.”

  “Okay,” Vance said, deferring to her expertise.

  “So, where are the modules?” she asked, looking at the Marines who had gathered around to hear Vance’s explanation of the aircraft.

  “Lieutenant?”

  Vance turned to look at the Marine officer.

  “We’ve identified five different engineering labs, sir, and we’re still searching the facility. Each of the labs has electronic components that resemble what we were told to look for, but I cannot say that we’ve found the specific units that are needed.”

  “Alrighty, then,” Jessica said, looking up at the aircraft. “How do I get inside? I need to see where the modules came from so I know what I’m looking for.”

  Vance began to lead the way to the belly mounted door, pausing when Lieutenant Tread called out.

  “One thing,” he said, waving a pair of Marines forward. “We are encountering the occasional infected inside the facility. It is simply too large to be cleared properly with the manpower I have available.”

  “Infected?”

  Jessica’s eyes were wide with fear and there was a noticeable tremor in her voice.

  “Unfortunately, Chief. That’s why Sergeants Reese and Trevor are going to stick to your side like glue. Where you go, they go. You will be safe under their care.”

  Jessica looked at the two large Marines, taking in their stoic expressions and the TALOS suits that had basically turned them into supermen. After a long moment, the one named Reese gave her a subtle wink. That bit of humanity made her feel better and she nodded her head.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant,” she said. “Commander, can you show me how to get inside now?”

  That had been several hours ago. In a most unusual twist of fate, Jessica had found the two missing modules in the first lab the Marines had escorted her to. They were as amazed as her at the luck. Things like that simply never happened, at least not when you’re in the military.

  But her luck ha
dn’t held. As soon as she’d hooked up to the hardware, she was greeted with a request for an encryption key. And to her great surprise, she’d been unable to find a way around. Over a data link the Marines had set up before her arrival, she was in communication with the Navy’s cyber warfare systems in Hawaii which were busily working on finding the key. And she was at a standstill.

  “How’s it coming?”

  She jumped in surprise at the voice behind her, whirling to face Tread.

  “It’s not, sir,” she said, then explained what was happening.

  Tread nodded and looked over his shoulder at the two men assigned to protect Jessica.

  “Ten minutes,” he said.

  They both nodded and hurried out of the room. He looked back to see a quizzical expression on Jessica’s face.

  “Even Marines have to use the head,” he explained with a shrug. “So, how long is this going to take?”

  “I have absolutely no idea. The computers in Hawaii could break the code in the next thirty seconds, or it could be tomorrow. And that’s just to get in. Then I have to find out why they had been removed from the aircraft. The Commander reviewed the maintenance logs with me, but there’s no record of these having been pulled. I’m starting from scratch.”

  He nodded in thought.

  “So, you’ve got some time?”

  “Uh, sure. Sir.”

  Jessica’s tone and expression spoke volumes.

  “Sorry, Chief,” he said with a disarming smile. “Just that we found something else we’re not quite sure what to make of. Was thinking that if you’re in waiting mode, maybe you could take a look.”

  Visibly relaxing, she smiled in embarrassment.

  “I’d be happy to, sir. What did you find?”

  The door clanked and the two Marines walked into the room, resuming their post by the entrance.

  “Better we show...” he started to say, pausing to listen to the radio bud in his ear.

  “On my way,” he said, spinning and hurrying for the door.

  “What’s going on?” Jessica called, her fear of the infected fueling her imagination of what might be so urgent.

  “Company,” Tread called. “Stay put, Chief.”

  He disappeared through the door and she sighed in relief that the infected weren’t attacking. Checking her computer’s display, she rolled back a few feet and turned to her escorts.

  “Don’t suppose there’s anywhere outside I can go have a cigarette?”

  “Sorry, Chief,” Sergeant Reese said. “It’s not secure out there.”

  Jessica nodded her head and stood up.

  “Then how about you show me where the head is,” she said, pulling a pack of smokes and a lighter from her bag.

  ---

  Titus Bull wasn’t happy. Sitting in the front of the Black Hawk, he glanced at Martinez as she piloted them toward Groom Lake. Aware of the Russian CAP, she was keeping them close to the ground.

  In the back, Anna smiled to herself. The cranky old man and the young woman flying the helicopter couldn’t have been more different, but it was obvious they’d formed an improbable bond. To listen to them reminded her of a father and daughter.

  “Ain’t too sure ‘bout this,” Titus grumbled.

  “Could’ve stayed behind with the others if all you’re gonna do is bitch,” Martinez said pointedly.

  He snorted and shook his head.

  “Damn stubborn women-folk think they’s gonna be okay stayin’ hidden in the hills. Don’t wanna be there with ‘em when the infected come by for dinner. And you could show some respect for yer elders, Missy,” he shot back.

  “They’ve got the right to make their own choice, and they aren’t interested in leaving. And, respect? I haven’t tossed your miserable old ass out the door, yet. Even when you say something like women-folk. What the hell year is it anyway? 1850?”

  “Not rightly sure how the Major put up with your mouth.”

  “I’m an acquired taste,” Martinez quipped. “Now, be quiet and let me concentrate. We’re about to cross the outer boundary.”

  Despite Anna’s assurances that there were no operational anti-aircraft systems protecting the base, Martinez was still nervous about arriving unannounced. Ahead, a grouping of large hills provided exactly what she was looking for and with a fast turn, she flared the Black Hawk and brought it down for a gentle landing at a spot shielded from the surrounding terrain.

  “Walking from here,” she said, shutting down the engines.

  Titus mumbled a complaint under his breath as he climbed down. Martinez smiled to herself, forgetting about her injured leg and leaping to the ground. She cursed quietly in Spanish when it nearly collapsed and he hurried around the nose of the helo to check on her.

  “I’m okay,” she said, the look on her face belying her words.

  He stared at her a moment, frowning, worried, then shook his head and wandered off to relieve himself behind a bush. Martinez moved forward a few yards, Anna following her.

  “You up for walking? It’s still quite a ways.”

  “Wish people would quit worrying about me,” Martinez said, irritation clear in her tone.

  “Not worried about your comfort, Captain,” Anna said firmly. “Concerned that your injury could be a liability.”

  Martinez stared at the older woman, several responses springing to mind. Then she reminded herself that Anna was a General. Retired, maybe, but that didn’t matter to her.

  “I’m good to go, ma’am,” she finally said.

  Anna looked at her for a few beats and started to reply when Titus joined them.

  “Which way, Missy?”

  Anna dismissed the conversation and walked back to the side door of the Black Hawk. Their weapons had ridden in the troop compartment and she passed them out before getting hers settled on its sling.

  Martinez pointed, adjusted her rifle and led the way. They moved single file with good spacing. It was a crisp morning, the desert sunshine slowly dissipating the night’s chill. With the favorable weather, they made good time.

  Somewhat more than an hour later, they worked their way around a low rise and stopped in the sand near the edge of a long runway. There was no sign of the Black Hawks from a few days ago, nor the jet they’d heard during the night.

  “Plenty of hangars they could be in,” Martinez observed, even though no one had commented on the absence of the aircraft.

  “Entrances there, there and there,” Anna mumbled, pointing out each location to Martinez.

  She didn’t respond, just lay there and scanned the distant structures through her scope.

  “What’s that?” Titus asked.

  He was pointing at a low mound of rocks in the vague shape of a pyramid. Anna stared at it a minute. Remembering.

  “That’s where the Major buried his wife,” she said softly.

  Martinez’ head snapped around to look at Anna, then slowly turned to face Katie’s grave. Taking a slow breath, she said something in Spanish before making the sign of the cross. Neither Anna nor Titus asked her to translate.

  “What we doin’,” Titus asked after several minutes of silence. “Gonna just walk up an’ knock?”

  Anna and Martinez traded looks, shrugged, then got to their feet and started forward. Titus slowly stood. Pausing, he looked down at Katie’s final resting place, took his hat off and held it over his heart as he said a silent prayer.

  Turning away, he hurried to where the two women waited for him. Martinez’ eyes were damp from watching him pay his respects. Wiping them with the back of her hand, she headed for the closest entrance.

  39

  The eastern horizon was steadily lightening as I drove away from Coober Pedy. The sun comes up fast in deserts and I expected it to be full daylight well before I caught up with the herd. Glancing at my watch, I tried to figure out if I was going to arrive before they did but gave up after a few minutes. I didn’t know the distances to be covered well enough to hazard a guess.

  Blasting
down the dirt road, the huge truck was throwing up a plume of red dust that would be visible for miles around. I’d never stopped to wonder if the infected would be able to associate the rooster tail with a vehicle, but I wasn’t particularly worried if they were. There was also the chance of other survivors out there who might decide to follow and see what they could take. They could try, but they wouldn’t like the way things worked out.

  A little more than an hour later, the sun was fully up and it was getting hot in the cab. I leaned forward, looking at fresh tire marks cutting across the berm on the edge of the road. They were from the ATV I’d ridden through here a few hours ago. After a moments’ thought, I jammed on the brakes and skidded to a halt. A massive cloud of dust instantly enveloped me and there was apparently no wind to clear the air.

  Grinding gears, I shifted into reverse and roared backward until I was past the track. Stopping again, I squinted through the dust and bounced off the road, following the path I’d taken earlier. It would cut the corner off the route I had to follow and save some time. If the truck could maintain speed on the rougher terrain.

  I pushed it hard, frequently getting bounced so bad that my ass left the seat. When this happened, I was thankful that the tour operator had been satisfied with a stretched canvas cab cover and hadn’t opted for installing a hard top. If they had, I’d probably have cracked my skull open.

  Reaching the same mesa where I’d stopped during the night and seen the herd, I skidded to a stop and climbed out onto the hood for an elevated view. In the distance, almost directly in line with Lucas’s compound, dust from thousands of feet marred the perfectly clear morning. They were close to his house, I just couldn’t tell how close.

  Scrambling back inside, I hammered the throttle and roared forward. Speed was the most important thing, now. Arriving ahead of the herd and evacuating everyone before they became trapped. That was the only option.

  Sure, it was always possible that everyone inside could remain still and quiet enough for the herd to pass through the area without becoming aware of their presence. But counting on that was betting the life of everyone in the house. One sound at the wrong moment and thousands of infected would have them surrounded and trapped. And once they have prey cornered, they don’t stop. They don’t leave.