Countdown Zero

by Chris Rylander

  “We have a lot to tell you,” Agent Nineteen said. “We can go over it on our way down to the mobile unit.”

  Agent Blue nodded.

  “Don’t you need to go back and get us excused or something?” I asked.

  “There’s no time, we can deal with that mess later,” Agent Blue said. “Stopping Phil from releasing that virus is significantly more important than worrying about covering for your absence. There’s too much at stake to waste any more time.”

  THE AGENCY’S MOBILE BASE UNIT, OR MBU, WAS DISGUISED AS a UPS truck. It was parked on a side street in a nearby tourist town named Keystone just down the mountainside from Mount Rushmore. The four of us took a small car that Agent Blue broke into and stole from the monument parking ramp.

  “It’s in the interest of national security,” Agent Blue said when Danielle gave him a disapproving look as he started the car using some high-tech key device. “It would take too much time to walk.”

  Ten minutes later we arrived at the truck, which was parked behind a row of gift shops and restaurants.

  The inside of the truck itself looked a lot like Agent Nineteen’s secret office at school: high-tech, slick, and expensive. As soon as we entered, the agents disappeared to the front of the truck to get some equipment prepped.

  “Wow,” Danielle said, looking around, her eyes wide.

  I’d forgotten that this was her first exposure to this kind of stuff. Well, her first exposure when not in immediate peril. The situation at the base inside Roosevelt’s head hadn’t left us with much time for sightseeing.

  “Isn’t it insane?” I said. “It’s, like, even cooler than in the movies.”

  She didn’t say anything back. She just stared.

  “The Agency Headquarters in Minnow is even more amazing,” I said.

  “You’ve been inside the headquarters?”

  “Yeah, and you’ll never guess where it’s located.”

  “I don’t even know if I want to know!” she said. Her brain seemed in danger of completely overheating, so I gave it a few seconds to catch up before spilling the details.

  “It’s under the school.”

  “What? Like in a secret room in the basement?”

  “No, underground. Like, way underground. Also, a bit of advice: Don’t ask them too many questions about the Agency. They’ll tell us what we need to know, and pretty much nothing else. They’re obsessed with secrecy and stuff.”

  “I’ve noticed,” she said.

  Agent Blue and Agent Nineteen came back into the main compartment of the truck. Agent Blue was wearing short brown shorts, a brown shirt, and brown hat marked with the UPS logo, the standard UPS driver uniform.

  “Seriously?” I said.

  “Yes,” he said. “Don’t you think it would look suspicious for people to see someone wearing jeans and a T-shirt driving around in a UPS truck?”

  “Good point,” I said. “So, how are we going to even track them down?”

  Agents Nineteen and Blue ignored my question. Or maybe they hadn’t heard me. Instead they sat down at the computers inside the truck and started typing stuff. They seemed pretty focused, so I just took a seat at the small conference table in the center of the room. Danielle sat across from me.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I asked her.

  “I already saved your life once today, remember?”

  I grinned. “Yeah, good point.”

  “I still just can’t believe you kept this from us this whole time,” she said.

  I looked down at the floor, feeling horrible all over again. “I had to,” I said. “And I know you understand, deep down. We just lied to Dillon a few minutes ago.”

  She hesitated before responding.

  “I get it, but . . . I mean, it’s all so shocking and cool and unbelievable. I think I’d have found it impossible not to tell my best friends from the beginning. Especially someone like Dillon, who would be the only one to believe it. I guess I’m just not sure if I should be really impressed or really hurt and offended. Or both.”

  “It’s more complicated than that,” I said. “I really do trust you guys, that’s what made it so hard for me. I wanted to tell you so many times, but if I did, you could have been in danger.”

  She shrugged and then smiled. “I know. But you could have at least told us when we were helping you infiltrate the secret enemy hideout at the fairgrounds.”

  I was about to plead my case again, but Agents Nineteen and Blue began talking. Danielle and I quieted down so we could listen in.

  “What about Jake’s involvement?” Agent Nineteen said. “What does it mean? Do you suspect his mother might be involved, as well?”

  “It’s possible,” Agent Blue said. “But I don’t believe that’s the case. Ms. Tyson-Gulley has never been red flagged in any of our investigations into the local community. If she’s involved, she has as clean a cover as I’ve ever seen.”

  “But if so, how could Jake have been recruited?”

  Agent Blue merely shook his head, then glanced up at Danielle and me.

  “Do you two have any ideas?” he asked.

  “Not me,” I said. “We told you everything we know about him back on the mountain. What about Phil? Do you know how he could have been compromised?”

  “We don’t,” Agent Nineteen said. “I’m going to assume it is related to the Medlock breach, but that’s purely speculation.”

  “So how in the world are we going to find them?” I asked.

  “We already know where they are,” Agent Blue said calmly.

  “What? How?” Danielle asked.

  “There’s a tracking device inside the virus receptacle, of course,” Agent Nineteen said.

  “Man, you guys track everything,” she said. “Don’t you trust anybody?”

  “We can’t afford to,” said Agent Blue. “It’s a necessary, if unpleasant, reality of the Agency’s purview. Suspicion, surveillance, background checks, these things are standard Agency procedure for all our employees, targets, and assets. It’s in the very nature of counterespionage and national security to trust no one and suspect everyone. It would be naive and dangerous not to.”

  “So you two don’t even fully trust each other?” asked Danielle.

  Agents Blue and Nineteen glanced at each other uncomfortably.

  “Look, we’re wasting time here,” Agent Blue said. “So I will say one final word on this: We trust each other as much as we can within the parameters of what it means to be an agent. In this context, that’s enough.”

  “Okay, well, let’s get back to the topic at hand, then,” I said, anxious to change the subject. All this talk about secrets and trust was suddenly making me really sad for some reason. “We know where Jake and Phil are, thanks to the tracking device. So, where are they?”

  “Snaketown,” Agent Nineteen said.

  SNAKETOWN WAS ONE OF THOSE PLACES THAT YOU OFTEN find in areas near big tourist attractions. Like the Black Hills, which housed one of the country’s most recognizable national monuments, Mount Rushmore. There was the Dinosaur Park, Bear Country USA, the Cosmos Mystery Area, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and Snaketown, among many others.

  Or at least that’s what Danielle told me during the sixteen-mile drive there. I’d never been to Snaketown before, since I’d never visited the Black Hills. She and Dillon had been down here on a family vacation once, maybe six or seven years ago, but they hadn’t visited Snaketown. Dillon had refused, convinced that the employees would turn out to be Snakepeople, a race of half snake, half human mutants trying to lure in reptile-loving purebred humans to use for baby food. Snakebaby food, that is.

  “So we never went. Instead, we ended up going to Bear Country,” Danielle said.

  “And Dillon didn’t have any sort of problem going to a zoo made up entirely of bears?”

  Danielle shook her head and shrugged.

  The agents were coming up with a plan to get the virus back, but they hadn’t told us anything about it yet.
All we knew was we’d have to act soon, before Phil and Jake sold it to some terrorist group, used it for blackmail, or simply released it themselves and watched the world crumble around them.

  Agents Nineteen and Blue were both up in the front of the MBU discussing details as Agent Blue drove, which left Danielle and me by ourselves at the small conference table in the back. Without windows, the motion of the truck jumbling and weaving through the Black Hills was sort of disorienting. Like a slow-burn carnival ride.

  A few minutes later, Agent Nineteen came back and sat across from us at the table. He looked at us evenly for a good fifteen seconds before saying anything. I got the feeling that he might be trying to assess our current mental states or something like that. Like he was giving us a full psychological evaluation just by looking at our expressions.

  He smiled thinly. “I will admit,” he finally said, “that there is still a lot we don’t know. And, as such, our plan is littered with question marks.”

  “Great!” I said. Danielle smacked my arm.

  Agent Nineteen continued, ignoring my sarcasm and Danielle’s justifiably violent reaction to it.

  “The good news is that we know the virus is still nearby,” he said. “The bad news is that we still don’t know what they intend to do with it. As far as we can tell, they have been sending various communications from Snaketown, but both the content of these messages and the identity of their recipients have been encrypted. The virus might already be airborne for all we know.”

  Danielle and I exchanged glances. This time her expression mirrored how I felt: scared, anxious, and maybe, just maybe, a tiny bit excited.

  “Either way, given all those unknown variables, there’s only one option now: We must attempt to retrieve the virus immediately. Taking out the Rushmore base was likely a key move in their plan: Not only did it make it possible to steal the virus, but it completely depleted the Agency’s presence for hundreds of miles in every direction. We cannot wait for reinforcements. We’ve got Agency Obsidian choppers en route from Minnow, but they’re still well over an hour away. We also cannot wait for the enemy to make the first move. We must simply go in, now, while they’re contained in this remote area, and get the virus back. Director Isadoris has given us the go-ahead. And so we’re headed directly to Snaketown as we speak.” He stopped to check his watch. “ETA, three minutes.”

  I spoke first. “And you want us to wait here and watch your backs while you two infiltrate the base, take out all the bad guys stealth-style, have a big showdown with Phil, and recover both the virus and the antidote?”

  “That’s perhaps a bit more colorful than we would have put it, but that’s more or less what Agent Blue and I had in mind, correct. But I’d still like to review the mission with you both, since we’d like for you to monitor a few things from here.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said. Danielle and I both breathed a sigh of relief. But I had to admit, deep down, I kind of felt oddly disappointed.

  “Good,” Agent Nineteen said, unrolling a large schematic on the table, not unlike the one that I used to infiltrate Teddy Roosevelt’s head. “The reason we don’t think we’ll need your help is a simple matter of logistics. The decision to use Snaketown as a base or hideout is actually quite genius of them. The entire structure was built with security in mind; after all, it houses thousands of snakes, including several of the most deadly species in the world. Keeping things in and out of certain areas of the building was of the utmost importance when it was designed and constructed. Because of the building’s construction, there’s really only one possible way into the building: right through the front gate.”

  “You’re joking,” I said.

  “You really think this is a good time for jokes, Agent Zero?” he said sharply.

  I shook my head, feeling bad.

  “The problem is,” he continued, “the virus is currently located in a room deep inside the main building, and there are guards stationed throughout the compound.”

  He drew red Xs on the blueprints with a marker to represent the guards. He marked off over a dozen, both inside and outside the compound’s main building, including several on the roof. Then he circled three possible entrances into the compound.

  “How do you know where the guards are?” I asked.

  “A combination of satellite imaging as well as a live feed of their security camera uplink systems,” he said. “As you can see, the layout of the compound and positions of the guards leave the front entrances to both the facility grounds and central building as the only viable entrances, even if we are slightly outnumbered.”

  “Slightly outnumbered?” I said, panic forcing the words out of my throat. “It’s almost ten to one! You’ll never make it! Plus, there could be more guards you can’t even see. It’s a suicide mission!”

  Agent Nineteen nodded slowly. Almost too slowly. As if he knew very well that this was a major flaw in the plan, and yet there was nothing he could do to change that.

  “Yes,” he finally said. “It will be a risky mission. However, we have two key elements on our side: the element of surprise; and progressive knowledge of their defensive positions. With those two major tactical advantages, we just may be able to pull this off.”

  “Let us help! I can use a gun!” I said, even though I’d never before fired a real gun in my life.

  “No,” Agent Nineteen said, “we just can’t, in good conscience, bring you directly into such a risky mission. It’s simply too dangerous.”

  “But we can’t risk the virus getting out!” I pleaded, not even sure why I was arguing to go on such a mission so fervently. “You said so yourself. It’s why you initiated the self-destruct sequence inside the base.”

  “I’d tend to agree with you, Agent Zero,” he started, “but the advantages gained by bringing you in on the front-gate assault do not outweigh the risk factors associated with either of you getting harmed. If either of you are injured or killed, it very well may distract Agent Blue or me enough to put the whole operation at risk of failure. Given your lack of experience and training with assault weapons and tactical incursion strategies, I just don’t think you’d be able to provide any real assistance. But there are several things we’d like for you to monitor from here.”

  I just sat there as the truck bounced along, too shocked to say much. On one hand, he was right—I didn’t even have remotely close to the same training and experience as they did. But just as he said how worried he’d be about me and Danielle going on the mission, I found I was just as worried about him and Agent Blue. I didn’t like the idea of them going in on their own, and there being nothing I could do about it. He was right, and yet it still hurt. So I just sat there and stared at the blueprints, once again counting the number of guards they’d face on this suicide mission of theirs.

  And that’s when I noticed something.

  “I do have one skill to offer that neither of you do,” I said, finally. “A third major tactical advantage that they’ll never see coming.”

  “Let’s hear it,” Agent Nineteen said, sounding skeptical but slightly curious.

  “I have experience crawling into small spaces,” I said. “What if, while you guys try to enter through the front, I sneak into the compound here, then up the side of this building, and enter though this small vent on the roof?”

  “But there are two armed guards right there, Carson,” Danielle said, pointing to two red Xs on top of the compound.

  “Yeah,” I said. “But I would also have the element of surprise, and I bet there is some sort of weapon or gadget that I could use to incapacitate a few unsuspecting guards. And two attempts to infiltrate would undoubtedly be better than one, especially if one of us is discovered, as it would open up an opportunity for the other. Right?”

  Agent Nineteen nodded slowly as he stared at the blueprints, likely visualizing my plan in action. He just kept nodding, not saying anything.

  “And, Danielle,” I said, turning, “you’ll stay back here and monitor st
uff like in the original plan.”

  “No way!” she said. “I’m going, too. You’re going to need me.”

  I shrugged. She was probably right. And it would be nice to have help again.

  “Wait here,” Agent Nineteen finally said. He got up and went to the front of the truck, closing the door behind him.

  “You’re sure you want to come with?” I asked.

  “Assuming they actually let us help, yeah, of course,” Danielle said, though the look on her face completely contradicted her words. “Besides, someone will need to help you read those blueprints and navigate the ventilation system within the building.”

  I took a deep breath. The more I thought about it, I wasn’t even sure if I was ready for this myself. Then again, did anybody ever really feel ready for a dangerous, crazy mission to infiltrate a secret enemy hideout inside a facility housing thousands of deadly snakes?

  Oh, man. I’d forgotten about the snakes.

  Before either of us could say anything else, the truck pulled to a stop. Several seconds later, Agents Blue and Nineteen joined us in the back of the MBU. Neither of them sat down.

  “Agent Zero,” Agent Blue said, “I’ve been filled in on your proposal. Having one student involved in all this was bad enough. Now we’d be asking that of another, while a third is also involved in a capacity we don’t even fully understand. This has already gone way beyond what the Agency ever wanted or intended, and far beyond what either of us can frankly stomach. The fact is, it is happening, and now we just have to deal with that. All of that said, are you sure you’d be up to the tasks as described in your proposal, knowing very well that anyone participating in this operation might be injured or killed?”

  It seemed to me that his miniature sermon was more for his own peace of mind than for Danielle and me, but I didn’t say anything about that. I was exhausted, scared, nervous, yet somehow also completely wired, likely from adrenaline. It was an odd combination of feelings and emotions and I was struggling to deal with it appropriately.

  Which is why I nodded and proceeded to make another terrible joke at another terrible time.