The White Iris

by Susanne Matthews

  “I know, and you’re scared, which is exactly what he wants. Don’t give it to him. Trevor and Jacob will find us. Talk to me, and I’ll come over to you.”

  “He wants to kill us,” Lilith’s voice was clogged with tears, but it was louder, which meant she’d probably sat up.

  “Wanting and being able to do something are two very different things,” Julie said, hoping she sounded more convincing than she felt. If the Prophet’s sole purpose was to kill them, they’d be as dead as Owens by now. “He doesn’t do his own dirty work, right?”

  “No,” Lilith answered, hiccupping. “But he enjoys torturing people and watching them suffer.”

  “And that’s why you can’t let him know he’s winning. He can’t know we’re scared.”

  “I’d be fine if it wasn’t so dark,” Lilith said, and Julie heard the bravado she’d injected into her voice. “At least it isn’t cold.”

  “Trevor can’t stand the cold, and he’s not too fond of the dark, either,” she said. “He got caught out on the range in a snowstorm as a kid—lost both his father and brother. He told me about it just a few hours ago.”

  And what had it cost him to tell her? She grimaced. She could’ve been more understanding. Fear was real, not always rational, but often crippling.

  “When we visited Sitton’s Cave, he was absolutely miserable,” she continued. “It’s a wet cave, and we spent hours crawling on our hands and knees in the mud and cold water. He wouldn’t even consider going into the Glory Hole Cavern. I’m pretty sure he still thinks I’m crazy for wanting to do it, but you wouldn’t believe how beautiful it is down there.” Her leg hit the side of the cot. “I’m here. Sit up and put out your hands.”

  Julie groped in the darkness and found Lilith’s hand. “Move over and let me sit. There, see? We’re both fine.” Her words sounded far braver than she felt.

  “Doesn’t the dark bother you?” Lilith asked, curious, her voice a touch less terrified, and Julie smiled. She might not be able to fight her way out of a paper bag, but she had this.

  “Nope. Nana said I could see as well in the dark as in the light, although I really can’t make out much in here. She used to take me into the caves in the foothills. We found some beautiful drawings, pictographs that had to be a thousand years old. But caves are damp; it’s hot and dry in here, and the ceiling is well above my reach. We’re in a mine. We’re safe.”

  “That doesn’t help,” Lilith said, her voice filled with desperation. “If we’re underground, my GPS won’t work. Jacob won’t find me.”

  “Of course he will. He’s not going to let anything happen to you or your child, and you know it. Trevor is the best there is at his job.” And she realized she meant every word. “If they don’t see the signal, that’ll tell its own story. If there’s one thing I’ve learned working with him this past month, it’s that he’s like a dog with a bone until he finds what he’s looking for. He never gives up. Take Mr. X, for example.”

  “Who’s he?”

  “One of the bodies I recovered from the Chinook Cove location. He couldn’t identify him, so he looked outside of Alaska and discovered an Icelandic architect reported missing six months ago. He had to have been kept prisoner somewhere, but he was in good shape, so they looked after him. What didn’t fit was how much worse his reaction to the virus was than the other corpses I had. I figured it out just yesterday. He got a double dose of the immune system-boosting drug. He didn’t die in the fishing camp; he was dumped there, probably by whoever was monitoring the place, watching how the flu spread and waiting to see how long it took people to die.”

  “What do you think he was doing in Alaska?”

  “According to the man’s wife, the last contract he took was almost a year ago, when he went to work for White Iris Petroleum designing a research facility near Ketchikan. Apparently, White Iris was looking into geothermal energy on state land. The Misty Fjords Monument is huge and supposedly riddled with pockets of geothermal energy. We know Parsons made a number of flights there in the last six months. Cartwright’s men have reported a base with Quonset huts. But I think there’s more. I wanted to run this by Trevor on the plane, but we got to talking about the day his dad died and I didn’t get the chance.” Keeping Lilith focused on something other than the dark would make this ordeal easier on her. “Now that we know Hamilton is the Prophet, I think that project could be a cover for the Promised Land.”

  “That actually makes sense,” Lilith said, sounding more confident and in control of herself. “Faye said the Promised Land was in a flat area surrounded by mountains, and they haven’t seen anything in the Rockies from Canada to Mexico. No one thought to look in Alaska.”

  “And Cartwright also said the man had regular supply drops. This place has me thinking it might not be the Quonset huts at all. What if the Icelandic architect designed an underground complex similar to this one? People would have heat and energy. It could be the perfect place to hide. The Prophet wouldn’t want anyone around who could let that secret out, and as they say, dead men tell no tales.”

  Before she could continue, the room was flooded with blinding light and a door opened. Julie closed her eyes to stop the pain.

  “I see you’re awake. I hope the aftereffects aren’t too uncomfortable,” Dalton Rush said. “Mother Mary has brought you something to eat and drink.” He indicated the tall, thin woman in black holding a tray beside him. “Afterward, she’ll see that you take a shower and are properly dressed according to your status. Julie, you’ll join my stable. I’ve just lost a concubine, and you’ll replace her. If you play your cards right, I may allow you to continue to work in a lab, since you have skills that would enhance my research. Of course, you’ll get no credit for any discoveries you make. Women, as such, don’t exist in the new order for any purpose but servitude. I caution you not to speak impetuously. Mother Mary takes care of my stable and rules with an iron hand.”

  Julie glared at him and was about to say something scathing, but the warning in Lilith’s eyes silenced her.

  “What about me?” Lilith asked, no doubt feeling more like her old self now that there was light. “If I’m going to be tortured and killed, why bother feeding me?”

  Julie frowned. Was making him angry really a good idea?

  Dalton chuckled. “There are many ways of achieving that goal, Mariah. You’ve earned a reprieve. Cummings, the Homeland Security agent in Salt Lake City, informed Father he was being watched, and he earned a place into the Promised Land. Cummings likes redheads, so Father gave him both you and Quinn. He may have Elisa, too, after she delivers, if she settles down. After you tell him where the Chosen children are, he’ll collect them and the recalcitrant mares. Ruth is too valuable to kill since twins are a special blessing, and I hear Mary bore a son.”

  “The name is Special Agent Lilith Munroe, and I’ll die before I tell you anything,” Lilith said through her teeth, but Julie wasn’t so sure.

  Dalton was a brilliant researcher with, among other things, a master’s degree in chemistry. He’d know exactly which drugs to give her to get the information he needed, whether Lilith wanted to tell him or not. They had to buy time. Trevor would find her, just like Rob had found Faye and Jacob had found Lilith previously. As Cassie had reminded her only a few days ago, she had Hope, and if she ever wanted to see her again, Julie had to have faith in Trevor.

  “Did I forget to mention, Cummings is trained in retrieving information? He and Pierce were close. You do remember Pierce, don’t you? Now, eat up. It isn’t poisoned or drugged. You’re half a mile underground. You aren’t going anywhere. We’ll stay here for a few days before we leave for the Promised Land. By Christmas, people will be begging my father to take over the country. I’ll release the antidote that neutralizes the virus…”

  “You mean the immune system-boosting drug, the one that turns a person’s own body against them,” Lilith interrupted. “I know all about your so-called virus. I just don’t understand why you’d do this.”<
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  “Well done. I don’t know how you figured it out so quickly, but bravo,” Dalton said. “I couldn’t let all the constraints the FDA puts on testing stop me. I needed to know what would happen in all circumstances. Yes, my immune booster does a fantastic job of killing cancer cells, but that’s not what this is about. Eden has enemies. Creating a biological weapon is easy. I needed to create one to see if I could stop one, and I can. I’m brilliant.”

  “You’re insane,” she said through gritted teeth. How had she ever considered this man attractive?

  His concubine? Not as long as there’s breath in my body.

  He shook his head. “Professional jealousy. I’m flattered. Fine. Some of the greatest researchers have been labeled monsters because they pushed the so-called boundaries of decency. In the end, I’ll be vindicated. No matter. You’ll learn respect and humility soon enough, and if you don’t, I’ll just give you something to make you compliant. I enjoyed our discussions, but in the end, you’re just another mare.” He turned and left the room.

  “Eat or I’ll force-feed you,” Mother Mary said, reminding Julie of the nuns she’d seen in old movies.

  Lilith nodded, and she picked up the spoon. The stew was bland but filling.

  “I need to go to the bathroom,” Julie said, finishing the weak tea that had accompanied the meal, praying she could actually keep the food down. Dalton was stark raving mad. Why hadn’t she noticed it in his intensity?

  “If you’re done, we can leave,” Mother Mary said. “You can attend to your needs, shower, and get dressed. I find the devil’s clothes offensive. You’ve got studying to do this afternoon.”

  Lilith snorted, back to being her sarcastic self, a quality Julie had noted a time or two in the computer conferences. “You mean the manifesto on how to be a good mare? No thanks. I’ve already read it once, and it sucks. For the record, these are two-hundred-dollar jeans, and I’m not taking them off to put on some old-fashioned dress, and if you think I’m giving up these kid leather boots, forget it.”

  “Ouch,” Julie cried as a small whip came down forcefully on her arm. “Why hit me?”

  “Because hitting that one wouldn’t shut her up,” Mother Mary said. She turned to Lilith. “Now, do I beat her or will you obey?”

  Lilith mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

  “You win,” she said. “There’s no reason to hurt her.”

  Julie rubbed her arm where it stung but didn’t say anything else. It looked like the Prophet and Dalton weren’t the only ones here who enjoyed inflicting pain.

  • • •

  “You were right,” Susan said. “The bomb squad found the doors rigged with explosives and enough TNT to level the place. This building is empty, and based on the dust, I doubt it was ever used. We’ve found a tunnel entrance, but it’s been collapsed at this end. Sergeant Riley, the explosives expert, says it happened no more than seven or eight hours ago.”

  “Are the others still watching the research facility?” Trevor asked.

  “They are, but things are quiet now. What do you want me to do?”

  “Jacob and I should be there shortly. Make your way over to the center, and we’ll decide how to proceed from there.” Trevor ended the call. “They’ll be waiting for us. Now, are we all agreed on the plan?”

  Jacob nodded.

  “Remember. We need to be careful. It’s possible with all the comings and goings today that they’ve evacuated this place and plan to take it down, too. Hamilton knows the jig is up. He wouldn’t have come after Lilith otherwise. Getting Julie was a bonus. Owens was conscious only long enough to name the bastard before they took him into surgery. If the Prophet is taking charge of his own dirty work, he’s given up the pretense. Anyone left there will be expendable. Bottom line, if Dalton Rush isn’t there, we get the hell out before 5:00 p.m. That gives you half an hour. Pull the fire alarm if you have to, but we can’t let the place blow up with people inside, no matter who they are. I’ll try to check for explosives in the usual places, but let’s go in with the assumption that the building is rigged. Better safe than sorry. No one else is going to die today.”

  “Agreed. While you’re in there,” Larson said, “I’ll send up an aerial surveillance team. They can look for heat signatures. They may not be able to see underground, but if these guys have gone to a mine, as you suspect, there’ll be guards on duty. Basically, since those mines are abandoned, at this time of day there shouldn’t be anyone around.”

  “Makes sense,” Trevor said.

  Dear God, let them find a sign that Julie and the others are there, because if I’m wrong and they aren’t, I don’t know where the hell to look for them.

  “Okay,” he said, pulling on his professionalism like a cloak. “Let’s go, and remember, if they open fire, shoot to wound. A dead man can’t help us.”

  The twenty-five-minute ride to the rehab center seemed twice as long as it was. In Trevor’s mind, all he could see were the bodies of the men and women killed on the Prophet’s orders: the pink marble angels he released, those with slashed throats or garroted by Pierce, the Boston College coeds poisoned and exsanguinated, the one girl’s neck gaping open while someone used her warm blood as ink, Lenore, murdered in her bed, and Iris O’Connor, naked and frozen in a freezer. He’d never felt so helpless in his life. How had Rob been able to function when Faye was in the cult’s hands? No wonder Jacob had lost his temper when Lilith hadn’t been where they’d thought she’d be. He chewed two more antacid tablets, but it was the pain in his heart that tormented him most.

  Larson parked the vehicle about a hundred yards from the facility doors. Micah, Susan, Diego, and Evans materialized out of the brush at the side of the road.

  “Dr. Rush’s car is still in the parking lot at the pharmaceutical facility, along with half a dozen others. Riley reset the timers as you said. The bombs are set to go off around 5:15 p.m. He claims there’s enough plastic there to level the place,” Susan reported. “After we talked, I had another look around. They haven’t used that building in months. What we saw coming out had to be made elsewhere. Best guess is that it came from here through that tunnel.”

  “That’s a hell of a charade for months before we even started watching them,” Trevor said.

  “But having the plant explode and Dr. Rush supposedly die would be a great way for him and God knows how many others to disappear, and if everyone in Reno thought it was a chemical accident, then after the Reno Fire Department says there isn’t any danger, it’ll be yesterday’s news.”

  “You’re right. Jacob, are you ready?”

  He nodded. “Micah, you’re coming in with us,” Trevor said, quickly outlining the plan.

  “We’ll wait for the signal,” Susan said.

  Larson pulled the phone away from his ear. “The bird’s in the air.”

  “Would he really blow up a facility filled with the sick?” Micah asked. “I know his father is a monster, but the boy I knew wasn’t like that.”

  “I don’t know,” Trevor said. “Julie had a hard time believing Dalton or Adam or whatever his name is could be implicated in this. While Jacob keeps the receptionist busy, we’ll check out the rooms. Look to see if you recognize anyone. I’m not convinced he still doesn’t have eyes on us. If anything doesn’t look right, we’re out of there.”

  Stepping through the main doors, Trevor was struck by the silence. He’d been in hospices before, places where those too sick to survive went to die, but this place felt like a morgue already.

  “May I help you?” the woman at the desk, dressed in a pale green nurse’s uniform, complete with a cap that had gone out of use forty years ago or more, looked up and gasped, obviously surprised by Jacob’s appearance.

  “I’m here to see my cousin, Dalton Rush. I have an important message for him.”

  She blanched. “Dr. Rush isn’t here. He left early this afternoon…” She seemed confused.

  “Our plane was delayed,” Trevor said. “We got here as soon as we could.
Jacob, I need to use the men’s room. See if you can find out where we can meet Dalton. He won’t be happy if we don’t deliver his message. Where is it?”

  The nurse pointed down the hall. “Please be quiet. The patients are in bed for the night.”

  “A little early, isn’t it?”

  She frowned, her face went blank, and she smiled pleasantly. “It’s the way of things,” she answered as if the line had been fed to her by a voice only she could hear.

  Trevor, followed by Micah, hurried down the hall.

  “Check the rooms on that side, and be careful. My gut tells me something just isn’t right.”

  Micah nodded, opened the first door, gasped, and started to cough.

  “What is it?”

  “It smells like rotten eggs in there. There’s a man in the bed…”

  Trevor covered his mouth and nose and opened the door, moving quickly to the bed. The body was red, not unlike the Harvester’s early victims, but this wasn’t cyanide. There was natural gas in the room. The patient must’ve been sedated and then the gas was turned on. He hurried out.

  Micah came out of another room.

  “They’re dead—all of them dead.”

  “Let’s get Jacob and get out of here. One spark and this place is gone.”

  “Grab the receptionist,” Trevor yelled, stepping back into the foyer with Micah on his heels. “The gas has been turned on. Everyone’s dead.”

  “Come on,” Jacob said, stepping around the desk. “We’ve got to go.”

  “No, I can’t leave.” She pushed him away.

  “Look, lady, if we don’t get moving, we’re all dead.”

  “No. I can’t go. I can’t leave. The master will be angry.”

  “Enough of this,” Micah said. He tossed the woman over his shoulder as if she were a sack of grain. “Let’s get out of here.”

  They were no more than thirty feet outside when the building exploded, the force of the blast knocking them all to the ground. Larson and the others rushed over.