“Maybe. But Eddie believes in you. And since I believe in Eddie, I’m going to give you a second chance, too.”
Peter mouthed, Thank you.
“You’re welcome,” Jamie said. “But right now, we need to get you medical help.”
Peter shook his head again. “The nearest hospital is too far away.”
“Then we’ll take you to the stables and Eddie will treat you.” Jamie looked over to his husband. “There’s enough medicine in that vet cabinet, isn’t there?”
“Probably, but the stables are out of bounds.” Eddie pointed across the compound. The Faithfuls had infiltrated the barn. Several of them were carting away bales of hay, probably to use as kindling for the bonfire. A couple of the others were emptying all the animal medicines onto the ground.
“It looks like we’re out of options,” Jamie said. “We need to escape.”
Eddie shook his head. “Yeah, we need to get out of here. Unfortunately, all the vehicles are locked up tighter than Fort Knox.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Peter said.
“Sorry to contradict you,” Jamie countered, “but we don’t have a key to the motor pool gate.”
Peter still grinned. “A key would be useless, anyway. The Brethren uses electronic locks, and you have to punch in a PIN number.”
“I know that,” Jamie said, slightly aggravated.
“But the locks are run by a computer system, and computers are hackable. If we can get into their network server, we can get into the motor pool.”
“Great. Now you’re telling me we need a computer genius.”
“I used to hack computer systems.” Peter smiled.
“Okay.”
“I’m not lying,” Peter said.
“Then let’s get going.”
Peter rose and grabbed Jamie’s hand.
“But where’s their server?” Eddie asked.
“In Saul’s office, of course.”
“In Saul’s office? He’s just Mordecai’s administrative assistant, a paper jockey.”
“He’s a lot more than that. And all the servers are in his office.”
“Really?” Jamie thought for a moment. “Because if we’re going to convince the police to stop Mordecai, we’ll need a lot more than just getting into the motor pool.”
Peter nodded. “When it came to money and contracts, Saul had his hands in everything.”
“That’s good to know,” Jamie said. “So Saul’s place is probably the second most secure building in the entire compound. Right after Mordecai’s own office.”
Eddie nodded. “And I’m sure Saul didn’t leave the doors unlocked.”
“Probably not,” Peter said. “But I can figure out the password he used.”
Jamie got suspicious again. “How could you do that? Did he trust you enough to give the passwords?”
Peter averted his gaze. “No, he didn’t trust me. But I think I can remember the pattern he used.”
“A pattern? Those locks are extremely sophisticated and require a lot more than a pattern of numbers. Those numbers have to be timed just right.”
“I know,” Peter said. “They need a rhythm. And that’s nothing more than a pattern of tones. And how does someone ensure the rhythm is done correctly? He sang a melody.”
“A song?”
“Yeah. Saul’s code was a song.”
“If you say so, let’s try it.” Jamie started walking, but Eddie stopped him.
“We still have a problem,” Eddie said. “On our way out, we’ll have to drive past all the Faithfuls.”
“Shit, you’re right. So we’re still screwed.”
“No, we aren’t,” Peter said. “We can barrel through them, like in the movies.”
Jamie shook his head. “Yeah, but we’re in a zombie movie. And those zombies won’t move out of the way for a speeding truck. And we can’t run them over.”
“Well, then we have to scatter the zombies first.”
“How are you going to do that? Scare them so they’ll run away?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” Jamie folded his arms across his chest. “And how are you going to do that?”
“Just follow me.”
Chapter Forty-seven
Their trip to Saul’s office was still fraught with danger from the zombie Faithfuls. Every time they encountered one of their swarms, the three would hide in the shadows until the coast cleared. Then they would make a mad dash to the next building. They crept along, building by building and swarm after swarm, until they reached the office.
At the entrance, Peter looked at the keypad’s worn buttons and nodded. “Yep. I remember the song. ‘Oh, when the Saints come marching in, oh, when the Saints come marching in.’”
Jamie shook his head. “Saul would sing something that stupid. But I think it needs to be faster. He’d be in a hurry to get into his office, so he’d sing it faster.”
Peter picked up the beat and punched in the access code. 1369 1369- 1369-3-1-3-2. The bolt made an unhinging sound and the door opened.
Carefully walking inside, they were surprised to see their images plastered over a bank of six security monitors, each twenty-two inches high. The images quickly changed to a video shot inside the chapel. Then it continued to rotate through different locations around the compound.
“Shit,” Eddie said. “Looks like security at Yankee Stadium.”
Jamie was surprised, too. The cameras were so well hidden he’d never spotted them around the compound. The other side of the office had rows of computers lining an entire wall.
Jamie wondered why he didn’t get caught when he and Eddie had surveyed the area earlier. Was Mordecai waiting for a better reason to catch them? He didn’t have time to figure it out. Peter sat down at the computer desk, rolled up his sleeves, and promptly said, “Shit.”
Jamie ran to his side. “Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, something’s wrong. I forgot about Saul’s dongle.”
“I don’t know what that is,” Jamie said. “But if we need it, we’ll find it. What does it look like?”
“It sort of looks like a flash drive, and it slips inside a USB port.”
Eddie interrupted. “If it’s so important, wouldn’t Saul have taken it with him?”
“It wouldn’t do him any good, except here, for this specific computer.”
“Okay,” Jamie said, thinking. “Then he would store it nearby, and in a safe place, right?”
“No,” Peter countered. “He’d keep it close at hand, like on a keychain.”
“Or how about in his clipboard?” Jamie picked up Saul’s portable office and opened the bottom compartment. Hidden beneath a bunch of miscellaneous paperwork, Jamie found a little plastic piece with a metal knob at the end. “Kind of small for such a big computer system, isn’t it?”
“The size doesn’t matter,” Peter said, smiling. “It’s what you do with it that counts.” He inserted it into the port. The familiar startup chord played, and the computer demanded a password.
“Shit,” Jamie said.
“Not this time.” Peter smiled and shook his head. “I bet Saul used the same password over and over again, like most people do.” He hummed the hymn again, and punched in the password. They waited in suspense as the monitors went from black to white to blue.
Jamie patted Peter on the shoulder. “You’re a digital whiz, aren’t you?”
“Kind of. Growing up, I spent lots of time on computer newsgroups, learning how to hack systems.” Peter bent over the keyboard and typed in a command. Nothing happened. He typed it again. Still nothing happened.
“What’s wrong?” Jamie asked.
“I can open the motor pool locks, no problem. But all the other documents you wanted are gone. Saul must have wiped his hard drive clean.” Peter quickly typed in more commands, but the computer gave him the same response. “Saul erased all the other drives, too. Even the backups.”
“Can you recover any of the information?”
>
“Maybe, but it would take a lot of time.”
“Shit,” Jamie said. “Time is something we don’t have.”
“You’re right.” Eddie pointed at the security monitor. The Faithfuls were ransacking the dormitory, and the chance to get past them was getting less likely. “We got to get out of here. Now.”
Peter’s face brightened. “Don’t worry. I have a solution.” He hunched over the keyboard, launched an Internet browser, and started surfing away.
“Saul didn’t erase the web browser?” Jamie asked, incredulously.
Peter didn’t take the time to look up. “He couldn’t. A browser is an intricate part of every operating system. Even if you think you’ve uninstalled it, it’s still there, lurking in the background.”
“Then let’s give him some room to work,” Jamie told Eddie. They moved to the back of the room while Peter did his thing.
*
After several hours of nonstop work, Peter announced, “I’m ready.”
Jamie and Eddie scrambled to his side and hovered over his shoulder. “Are you sure this will buy us enough time?” He shrugged his shoulders and punched the play button on his computer. Loudspeakers throughout the compound burst into a static-filled tone—the kind the Emergency Broadcast Service plays to get people’s attention before announcing a public emergency.
Jamie looked over at the security monitor and saw the Faithfuls, like a herd of sheep, begin listening as an electronic voice replaced the static tone. “This Emergency Broadcast Service alert has been activated by the president of the United States. This is not a test, and normal programming has been suspended. Please stay tuned for further instructions.”
“Oh, this is great!” Eddie said.
“It doesn’t have to be great,” Jamie added. “It just has to work.” He looked down at Peter. “This is going to work, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” Peter confessed. “But we’ll find out soon enough.”
It didn’t take long for the Faithfuls to react. They began running around the compound, yelling and screaming.
Then the loudspeaker continued. There was a rattling sound of a microphone being moved.
“My fellow Americans, this is your president. We have encountered a disaster of biblical proportions. Thirty minutes ago, terrorists shut down our country’s defenses and currently occupy the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines. In a matter of time, they will have overrun the entire nation. Our country’s only chance of survival is with the American people. Please, if you love your country, gather supplies and armaments. Take shelter in the wooded wilderness and start a militia. It is our country’s only chance for survival against the godless—”
The announcement came to a halting stop. The Faithfuls stopped running around, too. They scattered.
A loud alarm rang and the security monitor quickly shifted to a shot of the main gate. Jamie saw the Faithfuls approach the gate as if they were going to storm it. “Oh my God,” Jamie yelled. “We’ve got to shut off the power to the gate.”
Peter searched the network to find a program to control the gates, but he couldn’t find anything. Jamie and Eddie watched the monitors, helpless.
As the first Faithfuls arrived at the gate, they grasped the chain links like they were going to climb the fence. Cracking sounds came over the audio, and a flash of flames accompanied by horrid-sounding screams. Most of the Faithfuls fell off, their hands burned. The ones with a strong grasp on the fence weren’t as lucky. The skin on their palms fused with the fence’s links. They finally fell, dead. Jamie could see pain and fright on their charred faces.
The electrical current took a toll on the fence, and the connections burst into flames. The lights around the gates flickered and burned out. The only thing Jamie could see on the monitors was the blurry mound of dead bodies. But that didn’t stop the rest of the Faithfuls. They climbed over to escape to the other side. Others pushed at the burnt gate until it swung open, and the rest of the Faithfuls ran through.
Jamie opened the door and looked outside. The compound was abandoned. He shot a look back at Eddie and Peter. “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter Forty-eight
Peter reached the door first, his hand on the keypad ready to go. But Jamie changed his mind. He took Peter’s hand away and blocked the exit. “We can’t leave. Not yet.”
“Why?” Eddie asked, pointing to the security monitors. “The Faithfuls aren’t a threat anymore. You saw that for yourself.”
“I know, but we still need provisions.” He turned to Peter. “Do you know where our cell phones are?”
Peter hunched his shoulders. “Yesterday Saul called his contacts and sold them on the black market.”
“There’s a black market for cell phones?”
“Yeah. Especially the new ones.”
“Then we’ll pick up a couple of throwaways on the drive to Boston.” Jamie pulled out the handgun Andy had given him. “Next, we need more weapons. This is the only gun we have between the three of us. We need at least two more. With lots of ammo.”
Eddie nodded, and Jamie asked again, “Peter, do you know where the guns and ammunition were stored?”
Again, he shrugged. “Saul used me to program his computers, not to fight.”
“That’s okay,” Jamie said. He took the lead, running to the Disciples’ quarters. Eddie and Peter followed. They were careful in case any Faithfuls were still roaming the compound. But the coast was clear, and they reached the Disciples’ quarters. The Faithfuls had broken the windows and torn down the doors. Inside, it looked like the Faithfuls had fought terrorists. Cushions were ripped apart. Cupboard doors dangled on broken hinges. All the food had been taken, and streaks of blood ran down the walls. “Where would they have kept the weapons?” he asked. The Faithfuls couldn’t have taken them all. Where would the Disciples hide spare guns? Somewhere within easy reach in case they needed them in a hurry. He scoured the rooms. He looked under the beds and pulled out the dresser drawers.
If the Disciples thought the authorities might infiltrate them, they would have built well-disguised places to hide their weapons, he realized. He started looking for trapdoors under the carpets and false backs on dressers. He noticed a closet in the main room. From the outside, it appeared to be very large. But when he opened the closet doors and looked inside, it seemed much smaller.
“I need a sledgehammer. Or a crowbar,” he cried out. After a moment, Eddie returned with a couple of hammers. “Well, it’s better than nothing,” Jamie said, and started knocking down the plasterboard. Eddie joined him. They found a false wall concealing about a dozen handguns and rifles and several cases of ammunition.
They ran to the motor pool. Jamie was surprised the gate opened so easily, but the only vehicles left were a couple of rusted-out vans.
They picked out the biggest one, and Jamie asked Eddie, “Will you drive?”
Eddie nodded, and the three climbed inside. There wasn’t much room—boxes filled the back of the van. “What are those?” Jamie asked.
Peter gave him a shrug and started taking out the boxes. “Looks like a bunch of medicines for farm animals.”
Jamie practically jumped with happiness. “Let’s go through them and see if there’s something to treat Peter with.”
“Yeah,” said Eddie. “But let’s do it after we’re outside the compound. So, who has the keys?”
Jamie slumped over the dashboard. “Damn!”
From the backseat, Peter suggested, “Check the ashtray.”
Eddie slid it open, and they were there. “How did you know where they’d be?” he asked.
“My father once took over a used car dealership. That’s where they kept the keys.”
Eddie started the truck and drove to the main gate. The charred remains of the Faithfuls disturbed Jamie. He looked over at Eddie, sitting behind the wheel, his head turned away from the carnage. In the backseat, Jamie saw Peter sitting quietly, yet quivering.
“Am I responsible for th
eir deaths?” Jamie asked.
“No,” Eddie replied. “Mordecai is responsible for all of this.”
Jamie said, “We can’t be disrespectful to the dead. Let’s find another way over the fence.”
Eddie turned the van to the left and followed the fence until he spotted a battered section. He backed up the van a good distance away from the section, put the vehicle into drive, and gunned the engine. It rammed into the fence, which crumpled to the ground.
As they neared the public road, Jamie asked him to pull over. “It’s safe. Let’s see if there’s any medicine that can help Peter.” He climbed into the back and read the names as he pulled out the little boxes. It sounded like he was speaking a foreign language. “Colvasone. Deccox. Ketamine hydrochloride.”
“Was Mordecai becoming a drug dealer?” Eddie asked. “On the street they call ketamine Special K. It’s popular at all-night dance parties.”
“Well, we’ll put that one away.” Jamie took out another bottle. “I think we’ve found the one we need. Vetericyn. Bovine Eye Wash.”
“For cows?” Peter asked.
“Just lay back, Elsie. The label says the formula was cleared by the FDA to treat humans.” Jamie gently placed Peter’s head in his lap and flushed his eye with the solution. “How do you feel?”
Peter sat up and blinked a couple of time. “Better, I guess. Thanks.”
“Great.” He handed the bottle to Peter. “It also says you should apply it as often as necessary. Let’s hope it works.”
Eddie started the van and continued down the hill. When they got close to where they’d hidden the rental car, he looked over at Jamie.
“We can’t stop,” Jamie said. “We don’t have the time. You know that.”
“I do. But we have to make the time,” Eddie said firmly. “When we get to Boston and go to the police, we’ll need identification. Without it, the police will think we’re homeless lunatics.”
Jamie nodded. “But we can’t take much time.”
Peter spoke with a shaky voice. “You can’t get your IDs, anyway.”
“Why not?” Jamie asked.
Deadly Cult Page 15