Particle Z (Book 1)

by Scott, Tim

  While sitting at a red light, waiting for it to turn, Mike had a premonition that today would be unlike any other day he had experienced. He was hopeful this feeling meant good things were just over the horizon for him and Marlee.

  Growing bored with the slow pace of traffic, Mike reached down and turned the radio on, searching for a good rock song to boost his mood. Instead, he was inundated with more news from Europe and reports of violence in a Portland suburb.

  What the fuck’s going on now? He was really starting to think the media and government were covering up some real ugly shit. He didn’t buy into conspiracies under normal circumstances, but that didn’t mean he thought the government always told the truth either.

  Mike decided to fill his truck up before going into work. He hated stopping on the way home. For once, gas prices were dropping; in fact, he hadn’t seen gas this cheap in years. The truck was running just above half, which was his signal to top off. Like his dad, he never liked it to fall below half at any given time. Mike loved his truck and wouldn’t trade it for the world. It had a ton of power, was a real head-turner, and there wasn't much his truck couldn’t do when pushed. The only downside to owning a truck was the frequency at which he had to fuel up.

  Mike mashed the gas as soon as the light finally turned, heading to the nearest gas station. Minutes later he was pulling into a Kwik Mart just inside the city limit. He circled the pumps a couple times looking for a spot to fill up and ended up parking next to a pretty young blonde, who was filling the tank of a sharp red convertible. Exiting his truck, Mike quipped, “Hot out today,” to the blonde. She ignored Mike altogether.

  Still got game, Mike, he inwardly laughed to himself. Truth be told, he was actually in good shape for a man who had put forty-five summers behind him. He stood just over six foot, with a lean, muscular build from a decade of service in the Army and a lifetime of exercise and hard work. He had been told he was easy on the eyes by many over the years.

  With the truck topped off and with a lighter wallet, Mike continued his traffic-snarled commute. It wasn’t long before he pulled into the parking lot of one of many non-descript office buildings that dominated the downtown skyline. The building he worked in was city-owned and full of municipal workers. Contrary to common belief, most government workers were hardworking, honest people. His co-workers were the primary reason Mike continued to show up every Monday morning, even with a successful entrepreneurial business making him very comfortable financially. A professional engineer by trade, Mike was in charge of keeping the city’s infrastructure in peak condition. This was enough to keep things interesting for him, and he enjoyed working alongside his co-workers and employees. He wasn’t ready to leave them yet and dedicate himself full-time to his business.

  Mike worked closely with a handful of good people he’d met over the years. Eric was Mike’s best friend, Army buddy, and a silent partner in their business venture. Eric was the guy everyone knew and liked. His outgoing personality made him the perfect fit as the marketing guru for Mike’s side business, and their fledgling success was in no small part due to Eric’s boundless energy, network of contacts and work ethic.

  Reid was a short, powerfully built man thanks in part to his dedication to a healthy lifestyle and a gym regiment he never deviated from. His tanned skin contrasted with the shock of jet black hair he kept neatly combed back off his face. Mike had first met Reid when he started with the city, and even though the two men seemed like opposites at first brush, they complemented each other well and had quickly become good friends. Reid was a GIS analyst for the city; he wasn’t involved with Mike’s side business in any sort of way, but his love of physical fitness made him the perfect test subject for any new products or equipment they wanted to market.

  Ashley was another one that he had met after his employment with the city began. She was a planner by trade, and the most detail-oriented person he had ever met. They all had some degree of military training. Ashley had been an Army communications specialist and Reid had done a stint as an Air Force medic. Eric had done his time in Infantry alongside Mike.

  Mike parked the truck in his reserved space and took the service elevator up. It was always faster than going to the lobby and waiting for one of the public elevators. Slowing to a stop, the doors slid open on the thirtieth floor and Mike stepped out. He navigated the monochrome gray cubicle maze, arriving at his corner office which boasted a spectacular view of the bay. He never grew tired of that view no matter how many times he gazed upon it. Holding the title of Lead Engineer for the Public Works Department had its perks.

  Mike slid down into his chair and looked over a desk adorned with nothing more than a laptop, television remote, and phone. He then noticed something strange: the absence of sound floating into his office from his normally chatty and boisterous team. In fact, he hadn’t seen anyone in the cubicle farm. If nothing else, Eric would have been in his office with coffee minutes after his arrival, but he was suspiciously absent this morning. Worst of all, the morning’s coffee was also nowhere to be found.

  “Eric?” Mike called out in the general direction of his colleague’s office, but received no response.

  Mike was going to have to do a little recon to locate his missing team. Although close in proximity, Mike was shielded from his staff’s direct view by tall cubical walls that provided him as well as his team a small modicum of privacy. Mike was soon staring into Eric’s empty office. Where the hell is everyone, Mike thought, as he continued to hunt for his staff.

  Mike’s other team members, Reid and Ashley, like Eric, were also missing. It wasn’t like them not to be at their work stations; they were dedicated professionals, after all. Mike started to wonder if they were setting him up for some sort of prank. Ashley had always been the practical joker, although when it came to crunch time she was as serious and intense as they came. Reid was more of the quiet type, with a very dry sense of humor. He only added to the conversations when he felt he had something profound to say, but at other times he was just plain inappropriate.

  Mike navigated around the cubicles in search of the break room. He was at a loss as to where everyone was.

  “Eric … Ashley … Reid?” he called. Again, no response.

  With the break room was in sight, he finally spotted Ashley and Eric, facing away from him and intent on something. He was dying to know what had them so engrossed this early in the morning. More bad news, he was sure, if they had all felt the need to watch a news report during business hours. Noticing a flickering light, Mike thought, Yep, watching TV. As he got closer, he was able to confirm his suspicion: his friends were watching the local news.

  “Hello …?” Mike called out again.

  This time, Ashley and Eric turned when they heard Mike’s voice. Ashley looked nervous, her piercing blue eyes locking on his, and Eric looked confused. Reid was still staring at the TV when Mike walked in.

  “What’s so interesting that it caused you to leave your work stations?” Mike asked, more from curiosity’s sake than any other reason.

  “There seems to be a problem in the Gulf,” Ashley said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

  “Mike, I think the cruise ship Marlee is on is under some kind of lockdown,” Eric carefully stated.

  “Lockdown? What the hell do you mean? Why ... how would you lock down a cruise ship at sea,” Mike retorted, his stomach starting to perform nervous cartwheels.

  When no one answered him, he shifted his gaze to the news report to find an answer. Mike was able to make out a number of Coast Guard Long Ranger Interceptors, or LRIs, positioned around what was clearly a large white cruise ship. The banner running along the bottom of the television was reporting that the Sunset Rose was being intercepted due to suspicions the ship had been overrun with a life-threatening virus or bacteria of some kind. Mike’s stomach churned as his worst fear stared him dead in the face. The Sunset Rose was the ship Marlee was on.

  “Don’t worry, Mike, Marlee’s a smart girl and knows ho
w to take care of herself,” Reid said.

  While Mike tended to agree, there was only so much taking care of yourself one could do while stuck in the close quarters of a cruise ship, even as large as the modern ships were. He wanted to know why there had been no news before this, no calls or even an email. He suspected the media had stayed quiet at the government’s request and the ship’s communications had been shut off. Transfixed by the television, Mike felt fear and anger rising. He would make someone pay if Marlee was hurt or sick. His friends stood silently beside him, knowing there was no point in filling his head with fabricated encouragement or telling Mike it would be okay. He had never appreciated comments said simply to provide false hope when everything pointed to a different result. He had always been a man of action, not words.

  Eric broke the uncomfortable silence. “Mike, we should call the cruise line and see what they can tell us.”

  “Thanks, good idea,” Mike agreed tersely. “Let’s get back to my office and see what we can find out. Grab your stuff on the way,” he practically barked as he strode off with determination and fear driving each step.

  More city-workers had arrived by this time and many were staring at Mike, wondering what had gotten into him. Others were looking at cell phones as local news alerts started to ping. As soon as the team was inside Mike’s office they grabbed chairs and fired up their laptops and cell phones.

  “I’ll check the cruise line’s website,” Ashley volunteered. She pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail and set to work.

  “While she checks their website, I’ll call and see what I can find out,” Reid said.

  They were already slipping into their mission personas. Eric pulled a chair up close to Mike’s desk. He would provide the moral support Mike would need. Reid looked for the main number to the cruise line so he could make his call while Ashley banged away on her laptop, searching for any nugget of info she could find. Mike knew Eric was looking at him and guessed he was trying to figure out if Mike wanted to be left alone or talk through the situation. Eric must have decided he needed a few minutes to himself, because he got up and walked over to see how Ashley and Reid were coming along with their tasks.

  Ashley looked up at Eric as he walked up to her. She shook her head, indicating no new information. Eric turned to see if Reid was faring any better.

  Reid looked back at Mike and silently mouthed the words, “All circuits busy.”

  Mike picked up the remote from his desk and flipped on the large television bolted to the office wall. The media was still covering the drama unfolding in the Gulf, and they now had a helicopter airing detailed footage of the various decks along the Sunset Rose’s sizable flanks. One immediate and eerie abnormality that caught Mike’s attention was the lack of passengers visible anywhere. His next thought was how quickly the helicopter had arrived on location. That could only mean the Sunset Rose wasn’t far offshore.

  “Do either of you have anything yet?” Mike asked again, looking at Ashley and Reid.

  “Can’t get through on the landline, Mike,” Reid told him.

  “The cruise line website has nothing related to the Sunset Rose posted, Mike,” Ashley said, sounding perplexed.

  Mike knew full well that in this case, no news was bad news. As Mike glanced back at the television, the loud booming thrust of multiple F-16 fighters taking off from MacDill Air Force Base brought them all to their feet, and they rushed to the window.

  “What the …” Reid and Eric exclaimed at the same time.

  “Why the fuck are F-16s taking off from MacDill?” Mike said, sounding alarmed.

  “Yeah, this shit is getting real serious real fast if the military is now involved,” Reid said, echoing the thoughts coursing through everyone’s mind.

  “Mike, those F-16s are headed into the Gulf,” Eric said, stating the obvious yet worrisome truth of the situation.

  “Maybe she is okay if this is a hostage situation. Do you think the sickness report was inaccurate?” Mike asked, hoping to trade real bad news for incrementally better bad news.

  “Maybe,” Eric said slowly, not convinced of anything at this moment.

  Too many things are happening, Mike thought. Coast Guard LRIs and F-16s? And worst of all was the total lack of communication coming from the ship’s crew or passengers. It meant nothing good. Maybe the Sunset Rose was within the range of the mainland’s cell towers. On a whim, Mike took out his cell phone and called Marlee.

  “Hello, you have reached Marlee. Please leave a message,” her voicemail message cheerily informed him. He hung up in disgust. Mike and the rest of the group looked back at the television and within minutes the news crew on the helicopter was tracking the F-16s as they buzzed the Sunset Rose.

  “Sitting just offshore as suspected, Mike,” Eric said.

  “Might as well be on the moon,” Reid gently stated.

  Mike could only nod his agreement as he stared out the window in the direction the F-16s had zipped off in. Without warning, the television went dark with a message stating the channel was offline.

  “That’s odd. What caused that?” Ashley said, her face twisting into confusion as her brain refused to process what her eyes had seen.

  At that precise moment, Mike’s cell phone started to ring. He immediately dug into his pocket for his phone. “It’s Marlee!” he shouted to the group when he saw the number. “Marlee, what the hell is going on out there, are you okay?”

  “MIKE,” Marlee sobbed into the phone. “EVERYONE STARTED ATTACKING EACH OTHER!”

  “ATTACKING? Who is attacking people, Marlee … terrorists?” Mike asked, his voice betraying his concern. Marlee was sobbing hysterically as she tried to speak and Mike couldn’t understand a word she was saying.

  “Marlee, calm down, please sweetheart, please calm down and tell me what is going on,” Mike tried to say as calmly as he could, hoping it would in turn quiet her down.

  “No Mike, not terrorists, people just started to go crazy,” she wailed.

  “What happened, are you alone, where are you?” Mike asked, peppering Marlee with questions. His urgent tone and line of questioning had gained the rapt attention of Eric, Ashley, and Reid.

  “I don’t know what’s happening, Mike. A few hours ago people just started to act funny and then started attacking each other,” Marlee said again.

  Mike could hear her sniffling and sucking air in ragged gasps, a clear attempt to calm herself down before she spoke again. “I’m on the top deck near the adult pool. I barred the door so no one can get in,” she said in a slightly steadier voice. “People are going crazy everywhere, Mike, please get me off this ship,” she pleaded.

  “I will,” Mike promised, not knowing how he would keep a promise like that. He then heard the unmistakable sound of a jet fighter in the background, then a click and the call ended suddenly.

  “Marlee!” Mike yelled into the phone, but he knew the call was already lost. He slowly placed the phone on the desktop and looked into the eyes of each of his friends.

  “What now, Mike?” Ashley asked.

  “Now we get Marlee off that fucking ship,” Mike said with a calm he wasn’t feeling.

  CHAPTER 2

  Strange Visitors and Hope

  The office phone rang. “Hello,” Mike answered as he brought the receiver to his ear.

  “Hey Mike, Chief Travis here and I need a hell of a big favor.”

  “Shoot.”

  “I need a place to land a helicopter that’s away from the prying eyes of the press,” Chief Travis asked him. Mike knew that something was up; Travis never asked for favors. Mike understood the chief well enough to know he would be tight-lipped with any information he might have access to, so he didn’t pry.

  “They can use the roof of the City Government parking garage; it’s wide enough to land a helicopter and we can control access,” Mike suggested.

  “You sure a big ass helicopter will have enough space to land?” the chief asked.

  “Yep, it�
�s the backup for Tampa General’s Life Flight’s,” Mike reassured him.

  “I’ll be in touch. Thanks big time, Mike,” the chief said as he hung up.

  Knowing Reid was familiar with the inner workings of the system, Mike turned to him. “Reid, go over and make sure the top deck of the parking garage is clear and that the landing strobes are working,” he requested.

  Mike shifted his focus to Ashley. “Ash, hunt down any supervisors in the building and get them in here. We need to prepare for road closures and whatever else hits the fan.”

  Ashley and Reid nodded and stated in unison, “Yes sir!” as they hurried out of the office.

  Mike wasn’t clear on what was occurring aboard the ship. What in the hell could make an entire ship full of people go nuts and start attacking each other? The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that no known chemical or biological agent would cause a reaction like that. Deep in thought, Mike was jarred back to reality as three short, uncomfortably loud tones sounded from the building’s intercom system.

  “ATTENTION: All employees must immediately shut down their work stations and leave for the day. Follow standard recall procedures for future reporting instructions.”

  Startled, Mike looked over at Eric, who shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows, Mike, that’s a first!”

  Reid ran back into Mike’s office. “Strange shit is going down in the lobby. There are a bunch of guys down there making sure everyone leaves. I had to duck into the stairwell so they didn’t see me,” he gasped, out of breath from his quick ascent. Mike and Eric shared a quick glance and Mike gave him a barely perceptible nod.

  “Eric, grab the go bags, load my truck, and move it next to the secure area in the parking garage across the street.” Mike tossed him the keys. He then looked at Reid and said, “Find Ashley and meet Eric at the truck.”