“Why the hell are they doing this to us?” Thomas asked no one in particular.
Lauren’s thoughts turned to Glenn, stuck in the VPPL with the other Hunters. All comms were lost. They were on their own.
***
“Huntress, do you read?” Dom barked.
Still no answer. He thought of his daughters and crew on the ship. Had something happened to them? He’d never lost communication with his ship like this. There was no reason their signal should be blocked.
He tried Meredith and Andris. Again, only silence. Dom cursed and paced in front of the Hunters. They shifted nervously as they watched their captain.
“Frank, you there?” Dom asked, fearing the silence that would follow.
“Still read you, Captain.”
“Thank God. Do you have any word from the Huntress?”
“Negative.”
“Meredith and Andris?”
“Also a negative.”
Dom adjusted his grip on his rifle. He scanned the facility and then looked at his Hunters. “Facility’s secure. As far as I’m concerned, we’re—”
The wail of an alarm cut him off. Red lights flashed from the ceiling and over the exits. Klaxons screamed. The bioreactors hummed to life with mechanical groans, and computer monitors along the walls lit up. And then the sets of double doors leading into the room slammed shut, followed by the reinforced safety doors.
“Juice is back on!” Glenn yelled over the cacophony.
“Frank,” Dom said, straining to be heard. “Did they return power to the whole NIH complex?”
“Negative, Captain,” Frank said. “Just you guys. From what I can see, looks like it hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
Dom’s stomach twisted. “Hunters, we need to get the fuck out of here! Move!”
“Captain, you’ve got Skulls coming every which way around your building,” Frank said. “Facility’s completely surrounded. You’re—”
The line went silent.
“Frank, you there?” Dom asked.
No answer.
“Goddammit!” Dom yelled.
Miguel and Glenn started prying open one of the doors leading to the hall, but it was resisting their efforts. Lauren had briefed Dom on the facilities, and he recognized the signs: the bioreactor was going into containment mode. As far as the automated computer system knew, the bioreactors were compromised.
“We got to use explosives!” Spencer yelled.
“Careful!” Dom said. “Don’t hurt the bioreactors.”
“Captain,” Frank’s voice finally called over the comm link, sounding defeated. “I...I have to land. They’re forcing me down. Gonna shoot me out of the air if I don’t.”
Anger flooded Dom. This mission had been a complete setup. One big ploy to take him and his crew down. And for what? What the fuck did Kinsey hope to accomplish?
-30-
The Judge smiled nastily. “How long are we going to do this? Just tell me what I want to know.”
Shepherd just glared at him as he kicked the table. It slanted again. Shepherd’s head slammed against the wood. The wet cloth went over his face.
When the man finally let Shepherd breathe again, he gasped, “I don’t know anything!”
“You know what? I’m starting to think you really don’t know jack shit. How about we try a different question. Tell me about your ties to Meredith Webb.”
Shepherd couldn’t hide his puzzled expression. “Meredith Webb?” It took him a moment to place the name. She’d been the CIA agent with Captain Holland. Other than meeting her at Detrick, he hadn’t seen her before or since.
The Judge shook his head slowly. “Don’t play dumb. We’ve got recordings of your reports to Kinsey.”
“How do you have access to those conversations?”
“Kinsey gave us the recordings, of course.”
“Who’s ‘us’?”
“My, aren’t we chatty all of a sudden.” The Judge sighed. “I like this. I’m CIA, Shepherd. That’s the United States Central Intelligence Agency. We’ve got intel that implicates Meredith Webb and Dominic Holland in the Oni Agent Outbreak. And you’ve been aiding and abetting them.”
“They’re trying to stop the goddamned bioweapon!” Shepherd yelled. “They’re on our side!”
“Your grasp of the sides in this situation seems tenuous at best. At the time of the outbreak, Holland went to the Amanojaku Project’s latest headquarters at Webb’s request. Every step of the way, he and Webb have been at the center of this mess. And then there’s you. Acting commander of the bioweapons base where that project originated. Are you really trying to tell me that you, Webb, and Holland are innocent?”
“You’re fucking right that’s what I’m telling you!”
“Wrong answer.” The Judge reached for the bucket and cloth again, but a sudden scream echoed outside the door. The man’s ears perked. Another bloodcurdling scream rang out, followed by the throaty howls Shepherd had grown to know far too well.
Skulls.
The door to the interrogation chamber burst open, and the two men in suits rushed in. “Subject Two’s restraints were compromised.”
The Judge’s face turned red with rage. “I told them we shouldn’t be keeping those things down there.”
“Well, the doctors said the labs weren’t equipped to—”
“I don’t give a shit. Goddammit, Lawson’s going to get an earful when—”
The Skull’s cries faded, and they all turned as they heard the click of claws against stone.
The Judge looked at Shepherd, then the dark hall. “Get him back to his cell. I’m going to go handle this. Fucking Lawson...”
Pulling a handgun from his chest holster, the Judge hurried from the room. The two suits unstrapped Shepherd and forced him to his feet. More yells and gunfire assaulted his ears. The suits shoved Shepherd before them.
“That doesn’t sound like just one,” the first suit said.
The other grunted in agreement. A man came running down the corridor, his face ashen. Footsteps followed him as another two people came running. Screams and the sound of bodies hitting the floor. More gunfire, and then silence.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” the first suit said. “Those things’ll kill us.”
“Lawson is going to kill us if we don’t take care of this asshole. Let the guards handle the test subjects. Always have before.” The second suit shoved Shepherd forward. “Come on, buddy. Let’s get a move on.”
The suits urged him on until they all broke into a slight jog. The second suit had tried to sound brave, but Shepherd could tell he was as anxious as the first. He thought about trying his hand at bringing the two men down. But that wouldn’t help prove he was indeed on the side of the angels—if this place really was under the control of Kinsey and the US government. And that name that he kept hearing...Lawson. He knew he’d heard it before, but had a difficult time placing it. Who did he know by that name? Had someone else mentioned the name before? If he’d had to guess, he would bet money that Meredith Webb could tell him exactly who this Lawson was.
More gunshots. Shepherd could sense the tension between the two suits as they guided him down the last corridor to the cells. One moved to unlock Shepherd’s cell. Then he froze. Down the corridor, a figure came charging. Shepherd could tell it hadn’t been a Skull for long. It still wore combat ACUs and had a rifle strapped across its back. In fact, it looked like a normal soldier except for the glowing, bloodshot eyes, and the claws starting to grow from its fingernails.
“What the fuck are you doing, Wallace?” one of the suits said, drawing his pistol on the soldier-turned-Skull. The recently infected monster leapt at him before he could get a shot off. It bored down on him with snapping teeth and bit into his neck. It tore a chunk of flesh away, and blood spilled from the wound.
The other suit dropped the prison cell keys and fumbled for his sidearm.
The Skull stood, let out a bellow, and charged Shepherd. He braced for the impact
and lowered into a crouch. The Skull careened into him, but Shepherd grabbed the monster’s wrists and used momentum to help fling it past him and into the door of another cell. The Skull’s head cracked against the steel door, and the surviving suit plugged the creature with three shots in quick succession. The Skull’s chest heaved, and it roared in pain. It swiped, and its budding claws ripped into the suit’s arms and his chest. His pistol went flying.
Shepherd jumped to recover the sidearm and then swung it around on the Skull. But he was too late. The Skull’s claws stabbed into the man’s abdomen. It ripped away first his shirt, then his skin. Organs glistened in the dull amber glow of the cell block lights. The Skull buried its face in the wound, feasting on what he’d uncovered.
All the while, the suit wailed in agony as he was eaten alive.
Shepherd fired over and over again. The creature’s body fell back. Its vacant, dead eyes stared back from a face covered in scarlet like demonic war paint.
“I...I...” the suit stammered. He coughed, a rattling sound deep in his throat, and then his eyes rolled back. Shepherd didn’t have to check for a pulse to know the man was gone.
Shepherd stood alone a moment, wondering where he should go, what he should do.
“Someone! Let me out of here!” a young female voice called out. He’d heard that voice before when he’d first been brought here. She was one of his fellow prisoners. He hesitated a moment, considering the myriad of reasons she might’ve been imprisoned. Then he decided whatever she’d done couldn’t merit starving to death behind that door or becoming dinner for the Skulls once they broke into her cell.
“Hold on!” He grabbed the keys from where they’d fallen next to the disemboweled suit. His fingers shook, still weak from his torture and the attack he’d just endured. Still, he managed to get the key into the lock and open the door.
“Thank you,” the young woman said, rushing out. She looked, wide eyed, at the carnage. “What in the hell happened out here?”
“Skull attack. You run into them before?”
Her face turned grim. “Seen plenty of them at Kent Island. I’m Midshipman Rachel Kaufman. You?”
“Commander Jacob Shepherd of Fort Detrick.”
The midshipman blinked in surprise. “Dom told me about you! Were you a prisoner here too? What gives?”
“Dom, as in Dominic Holland? Wait a sec, you’re one of the midshipmen from the Academy, aren’t you?” Shepherd’s suspicions of the young woman started to ebb as he put the pieces together.
“That’s right. They’ve got Rory locked up, too.” She cupped her hands over her mouth. “Rory? Where are you?”
“Rachel!” a muffled voice called from under another door.
They sprinted to Rory’s cell and freed him. He burst out and hugged Rachel.
“I hate to break up this reunion,” Shepherd said, “but when you met Dom, did you also meet Meredith Webb?”
They nodded.
“Yeah, she was the redhead with him, right? One of the Hunters?” Rachel asked.
“A lot more than just a Hunter,” Shepherd said. “Apparently, they think she and Dom are traitors.”
“What?” Rory asked. “That’s ridiculous.”
“The bastards running this place believe Dom and Meredith were involved in planning or causing the outbreak.”
“No way,” Rachel said. “That doesn’t make sense. They risked their lives to save us!” She put a hand on her chest. “Why the hell would they do that if they intentionally caused this mess?”
More gunfire sounded, this time closer than before.
“No idea why Meredith and Dom are suspects,” Shepherd said, “but we don’t have time to figure that out now. Let’s get the hell out of here!”
***
Kara looked up from her computer screen. More alarms sounded in the mess hall, but she didn’t want to abandon her work. Her final simulation was almost complete, and she’d thought this time she’d have a molecule that would work. She’d been so close before. Her score had risen from fifty-five to eighty then a ninety percent match. This molecule from Boston, whatever it was, it looked like a winner.
“What’s going on?” Sadie asked, hugging Maggie close.
One of the nearby crew members turned to them and said, “That’s the alarm for an unauthorized boarding. You three stay here!” She rushed out of the room, leaving Kara, Sadie, and Navid staring at each other.
Kara stood while the progress bar on her laptop continued to cross the screen. She glanced at it then at Navid and Sadie. “No way we’re going to stay here, are we?”
“I think we should,” Sadie said.
“We can help,” Kara insisted.
Navid seemed to mull it over for a second and then held up his injured hand. “Normally, I’d be game to do whatever I could to help out. I owe my life to everyone here. But they said boarders. I’m happy to fight against the Skulls, but people? I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”
“Damn.” Kara paced, knowing Navid was right. She’d killed the monsters before, but she didn’t know how to defend the ship against ordinary people.
She sighed, staring at her screen. Ninety percent complete. Just a bit more to go.
The hatch to the mess hall flew open. Maggie immediately barked at the intruder. Navid, Kara, and Sadie all turned, but Kara’s heart settled when she recognized the familiar beard and nerdy glasses. Adam tossed each of them a pack already filled with items.
“Come on! To the cargo hold!”
“But—” Sadie started to protest.
“We need to move!” Adam said, gesturing toward the passageway. He rushed through the corridor with the others at his heels. Kara snatched her laptop before she left.
“Military is on our ass. Least they say they’re the military.” Adam spoke between breaths. “Lost contact with everyone on the outside.”
“What? My dad too?” Kara said.
“I’m sorry,” Adam said. “Last we heard, he was okay. Had the VPPL secured. But now, all our comms are down.” He pushed open the hatch to the cargo bay and ushered them inside. After securing it again, he handed them each a comm link. “It’s not going to work on the ship. They’re blocking all outgoing and incoming signals using our own equipment. But once we’re outside the interference zone, we should be able to contact your father and the other Hunters.”
“What’s going to happen to the boat?” Navid asked.
Adam shut the lights off in the cargo bay, and they were bathed in darkness. “Don’t know yet. But it doesn’t look like they’re dropping in for a friendly chat. Come on, help me with this.”
He pushed one of the Zodiacs toward the massive bay doors. The others helped. Maggie’s tail remained between her legs, and she whined.
“Maybe it’s a false alarm,” Adam said. “Maybe we’re reading this wrong, but we wanted to get you three off this ship.”
“What about everyone else?” Kara asked.
“You all aren’t on the crew manifest. Can’t take too many of us, or they’ll get suspicious and start searching for us. Then no one escapes,” Adam said. “Load your packs on the Zodiac then stay close when you jump out. Understood?”
Kara nodded. Sadie and Navid looked frightened, but they too bobbed their heads in agreement.
“Okay.” Adam depressed a button on a panel, and the bay doors started sliding out. “You three need to jump out first. We don’t have the crew available to lower the Zodiac like usual.”
“You aren’t coming?” Kara asked.
“I’ll follow you shortly. Ready?” Adam asked. “On my count, get the hell out of here! One, two, three!”
The trio ran out of the bay. Each had a hand on the rope around the Zodiac’s gunwale. Maggie faithfully bounded after them. For a second, Kara kicked her legs in the air above the murky waves. Then water splashed around them, grabbing them in its icy grip.
“Sadie? Navid?” she called.
“Here!” Sadie called back.
“Go
t it,” Navid said, struggling to pull himself up with his one good hand. Kara watched Maggie paddle over to the man. Even with her healing paw, she managed to push her body against his until he wrapped his broken hand around her furry shoulders. “Thanks, pup.”
The cargo bay doors started to close, groaning slightly. Kara thought for a moment that Adam had abandoned them. But before the doors met, she saw him wheel out above the water. The man swam against the waves, struggling to keep his head above water. He soon caught up and gasped for air as he grabbed hold of the boat.
“Everyone okay?”
“We’re fine, I think,” Kara said.
She could hear the others splashing and gasping. Icy water sloshed along her body, and her fingers started to turn numb.
“Load up!” Adam yelled.
Kara yanked herself into the boat. Water sluiced off her. She reached over the side and pulled in Sadie. Adam hoisted himself over and helped her lift Maggie and Navid. Maggie shook herself off, sending droplets of freezing water from her soaked fur. Navid’s lips were blue, and his limbs trembled. His injured hand looked bad, and Kara could see his face twist in pain. Maggie seemed to sense his discomfort and nuzzled against him. Her tail wagged slowly. Adam positioned himself near the tiller and primed the Zodiac’s motor. It gurgled to life, and he directed the craft away from the ship.
Kara could see shapes moving along the upper deck of the Huntress as the choppers hovered above it. She shivered, not from merely the cold but from the new unknown they faced. Her world had already been turned upside down once again. The Skulls had destroyed the life she once took for granted. Now she was being driven from her new home. She put an arm around her sister and pulled Sadie close.
A couple of gunshots cracked over the water. Kara couldn’t tell who had fired or why. Adam grimaced but kept facing forward, guiding the Zodiac on its course. Soon the ship was out of sight. They churned on in silence for what seemed like an hour. Adam occasionally surveyed the shore with binoculars but did not say what he was looking for. Her thoughts turned back to the others left on the ship, wondering how they’d fare. A heavy weight settled over her as she realized how close they’d been to discovering a cure. All of that progress, all of those efforts to save humanity, might now be lost.
The Tide (Book 3): Salvage Page 22