“Are they the ones?” Nanako asked, coming to stand beside me.
“Sure are.” I continued singing ultrasonically, studying their surprised faces one by one until I found the boy and girl I met the night Madison and I broke into Newhome to save them from the Japanese Rangers.
“Excuse me,” the boy said, moving to the front of their group, as though trying to protect the rest of them from me. “You’re the Custodian Sergeant we met before, aren’t you? The one who claimed he can echolocate.”
“That’s me, yes. And I can echolocate – you just heard me doing it.”
The boy frowned. “I did, but I don’t understand. After you saved us last year, Dr. Jeong said we were mistaken, that you couldn’t echolocate because Korean children are the only ones to have evolved with this ability.”
“There are a handful of others who have the ability too. I’d love to talk to you about it more, but we don’t have time right now,” I said. “Tell me, do you know which truck the chancellor is riding in?”
The boy viewed me suspiciously. “Why?”
“I need him to stop General Cho from doing something that will hurt a lot of people.”
“General Cho? What are you talking about, why would he hurt anyone? And what’s going on with the Custodians? Why are they fighting each other? Why did you stop our convoy and make us get out?”
“Sorry, mate, I’ll answer your questions later. For now, I need to talk to the chancellor urgently. I won’t harm him, I give you my word.”
The boy stared at me defiantly.
“Seriously, Ethan? That is so not the way to find out,” Nanako whispered in my ear. She stepped closer to the assembled children and spoke in a loud voice. “Children, please listen carefully: whatever you do, do not look at the truck the chancellor was riding in.”
Over half the children, mostly the younger ones, glanced at the first truck in the convoy.
“There you go,” she said.
“You’re a legend,” I said to Nanako.
“Don’t you forget it.”
My team and I darted back to the first truck. It had narrowly missed crashing into a G-Wagon that had stopped unexpectedly in front of it. When we got there, we examined the Korean men beside the truck with echolocation and torchlight. But to no avail.
“He’s not here,” Nanako said.
“Come on, lads, he must still be in the truck,” Shorty said. He pushed his way through the Koreans to get to the back of the vehicle, accompanied by David and Leigh. Two-dozen Korean men and women – some looking terrified, others incensed – immediately blocked his path.
I summoned a squad of Armbands and the path to the truck was soon cleared in spite of the very vocal prostrations. Leigh yanked the truck’s rear doors open, sprang inside, and offered a hand to help Shorty climb in with him. I didn’t tell them to be careful, because our unit had extensive experience searching vehicles and buildings for raiders who could be waiting in ambush.
They reappeared moments later, accompanied by four extremely irate, mature Korean men. Having met him previously, I recognised the chancellor immediately. He was a tall but slight, frail man with age spots and thinning hair dyed black. Seeing him like this, it was hard to believe that he was the same submarine captain that founded Newhome over a century ago.
“They were hiding between the seats at the back,” Shorty said.
“The chancellor and councillors. Good job, boys,” I said. We joined the Armbands in giving them a hand getting down from the truck. However, as soon as the chancellor’s feet alighted upon the asphalt, one of the councillors bailed up an Armband sergeant and went apoplectic.
“What is the meaning of this outrage, Sergeant? How dare you attack the chancellor’s convoy? Each and every one of you swore an oath to serve and protect the chancellor! How can you betray the one to whom we owe our very existence? Order your men to stand down immediately!”
“That’s enough, Councillor,” I snapped, stepping forward to stand face to face with the chancellor. “It’s over, sir, the entire town is now in our hands. I demand that you contact General Cho immediately and tell him to cease his attempts to release the virus.”
The chancellor stared at me with undisguised contempt and made no attempt to speak.
“Ethan Jones – traitor and terrorist,” the councillor said incredulously. “This contemptible rebellion is your doing?”
“You left out the bit about my being an illegally genetically engineered male,” I said.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Having no time to play pointless word games, I turned to separate the chancellor from his companions when my phone rang.
It was Chelsea Thomas making a video call, but something was wrong. Her face was covered with blood.
Chapter Twenty-One
~ Chelsea Thomas ~
Ethan answered on the third ring, his expression harried and brow knitted in frustration. His eyes widened in shock when he saw my bloodied face.
“Ethan!” I said.
“What happened? Are you okay?” he said.
“We failed.”
“Explain.”
“They’re about to release the virus.”
“You can’t stop them?”
“No.” I panned the phone around the elevator, letting him see what was left of our unit.
Jones swore.
“Detonate the nuke,” I said, and then had to steady myself so I wouldn’t fall over. Just hearing those words come from my lips sent my senses reeling. Considering how strongly I believed that there was no justification for using a nuclear weapon, I couldn’t believe I was advocating the use of one now. But there was no other choice, and I knew it.
“Chelsea, we stopped the convoy and captured the chancellor, the modified children, and the rest of the Koreans. The chancellor's not cooperating, but I think I can get him to order Cho to stand down if I have more time.”
I looked up at the general and doctor in the sealed laboratory. They were taking vials from the opened canisters and plugging them into an adjacent device – a device that was no doubt connected to the town’s water supply.
“Cho and Jeong are only minutes from releasing the virus,” I said. “So detonate the nuke. I know you said you didn’t bring it, but I don’t believe you. It’s the only way to destroy the virus if they release it.”
A myriad of expressions passed over Ethan’s face as he seemed to war with himself. In the end, the fight left him and the fire went out of his eyes.
“David! Over here, quickly,” he said.
“What’s up?” I heard David say.
“Arm the nuke,” Ethan said softly. I guessed there would be a riot if the people near him realised what he was about to do.
“You sure, Jones?”
“Do it, quickly.”
“But I thought we won!”
“Arm the blasted nuke, David!”
“Fine!” There was a pregnant pause. “It’s armed,” David said.
“Set the timer to five minutes and start the countdown.”
“Done. Countdown commenced,” David said, his words coming out in little more than a whisper.
A shadow fell across me and I looked up in alarm, then jolted in fear when I saw it was Anna. Her heavily bandaged right arm was in a sling, and going by the stiffness to her posture, her torso was strapped up as well.
“What did Jones just say?” The pistol in her left hand was pointing at my head but her eyes were wide with terror.
“In less than five minutes, Newhome and its surrounds will cease to exist,” I said.
“What? No! Jones said he didn’t bring the nuke!” Anna shrieked.
“And you believed him?”
“No way, Chelsea! It can’t end like this, not when I got a ticket out of here. Not when you consider what I had to do to get that ticket!”
“You lost, Anna. You and your murderous masters,” I said.
Shaking her head frantically, she stepped over
the bodies of my companions sprawled on the elevator floor and knelt before me. Holstering her gun, she snatched my phone.
“You’re bluffing, Jones, you have to be,” she shouted.
“Stop Cho and Jeong from releasing the virus, and then surrender – that’s the only way I’m stopping the countdown,” Ethan replied.
“Just stop it anyway, Jones!”
“Three minutes.”
Panicking, Anna darted from the elevator, grabbed a phone on one of the workstations and hit the intercom. “General Cho, you can’t release the virus!”
Cho glanced in her direction but made no attempt to reply.
Gasping in pain from the effort, I placed my good arm against the elevator doors behind me and clawed myself to my feet. Unable to put more than a modicum of pressure on my right leg, I limped slowly around my downed comrades, sniffing back tears at the sight. I wanted to check on Ryan, Bhagya and Romy and treat their wounds, but there simply wasn’t time. One thing was for sure, though – if we survived this day, I was going to kill Ryan for shielding me from that grenade. I told him not to do that!
As I hobbled across the room towards Anna, blood ran down my lacerated arm and dripped from my fingertips, leaving a trail of blood in my wake.
“General Cho!” Anna shouted, “Jones just told his people to set off a nuke. He said he’ll only stop the countdown if you don’t release the virus, and we’ve got less than three minutes until it detonates.”
That got Cho’s attention. “What nuke, Specialist? You told me he didn’t bring one!”
“He lied. Please, General, stop what you are doing and surrender – quickly,” Anna pleaded.
“They’re bluffing, Anna – surely you can see that!” Cho bellowed. He and Jeong continued to plug vials of the virus into the distribution device. It was slow going for the general because of his arm being in a sling.
“General – we’re all going to die!”
Finally reaching Anna, I stumbled heavily into the side of the workstation and used it to brace myself. Seeing that she was rapidly going to pieces, I snatched my phone back from her.
“General Cho!” I shouted into the intercom. “The chancellor’s convoy never made it out of the town. Jones’ captured the chancellor and the Koreans, including all of the genetically modified children. In less than two minutes, that nuke will go off and they’ll die with the rest of us. If you want to save your race, cease your efforts to release the virus and surrender right now!”
“The chancellor’s convoy is still in the city? That’s impossible!” Cho said. All the same, he stopped loading vials into the virus distribution unit and faced me.
“It’s true, General! Quickly, do as she says or we’re all going to die!” Anna shouted.
“Jones, pan the camera over the destroyed convoy, the chancellor, and the Korean children,” I said, ignoring Anna. I staggered over to the glass partition separating the work area from the laboratories and pressed the phone against the glass.
The look of fierce determination on the general’s face was slowly replaced by rage so powerful that he began to shake.
“Put me on loud speaker – it’s the speaker symbol – and let me talk to Cho,” Ethan said.
I half hopped, half fell back to the desk, and held the phone next to the intercom.
“You’re aware of this bomb’s destructive power, aren’t you, General Cho?” Ethan said. “You know, it’s the 350-kiloton warhead from a P-5 Pyatyorka cruise missile that you so kindly donated to Hamamachi. When it goes off, it will create a one-and-a-half kilometre-wide fireball at 93 million degrees Celsius. There will be 1,200 kilometres-per-hour burning winds, a hundred square miles of utter devastation …need I continue?”
“No,” the general said at last, his left fist clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “Stop the countdown – we surrender.”
Following Cho’s lead, the doctor also ceased his endeavours and glared at me with undisguised loathing and resentment. Beside me, Anna fell heavily into a chair next to the workstation, breathing heavily.
Heart racing, I couldn’t turn the phone around fast enough to make sure Ethan heard what Cho said. I needn’t have worried, though, because he was already telling David to stop the countdown.
“Pause it, don’t stop it!” I said.
“Why?” Ethan asked.
“What?” Anna said, looking at me as though I was insane.
“Don’t cancel the countdown until they’ve safed the virus,” I said.
“Agreed – pause it, David,” Jones said.
“Done. Countdown paused at thirty-five seconds.”
I quickly told Cho that the countdown would not be cancelled until he and the doctor returned the vials of the virus to the biohazard containment unit. To my relief, they complied immediately if somewhat begrudgingly. Although my strength was waning rapidly, I watched them like a hawk, giving frequent updates to Ethan as they worked.
They were returning the canisters when the door to the external stairwell flew open. Cho looked over hopefully, but his face fell when he saw who it was – Smithson and his men had finally made their appearance. Rushing inside with guns couched and pointed in our direction, they quickly took in the scene. Many gasped in horror when they caught sight of the bloodbath in the elevator.
“Captain – the elevator – they’re all wounded. Please help them!” I gasped.
“Good grief, girl – how are you still conscious? Medic, see to Specialist Thomas,” Smithson said as he stared at me, eyes wide with concern. As the man hurried over, the captain glanced at the elevator and his face paled. With a flick of his head, he sent a handful of Custodians to tend to Ryan and the others. I just hoped they weren’t too late. What if Ryan, Romy, and Dukas had bled out while I was on the phone with Ethan?
“And secure her,” the captain said, indicating Anna, who was still sitting beside me.
Two Custodians approached her warily and pulled her out of the chair. One aimed his gun at her while the other struck the backs of her legs, forcing her to her knees so he could cuff her hands behind her.
After giving Anna a quick once-over, Smithson suddenly became all action when he caught sight of the general and doctor in the laboratory. Shoving Anna roughly aside, he spoke into the intercom.
“General, Doctor – cease what you are doing and come out here with your hands on your heads,” he bellowed.
“It’s okay, Captain, they’re returning the canisters with the virus to the containment unit,” I said, resisting the medic’s attempts to make me to sit on the chair desk. Giving up, he set about cutting away my sleeve so he could tend my arm.
“And how would you know that? They could be preparing to release the virus right now,” Smithson said.
“Cho and Jeong surrendered when they found out that Ethan stopped the chancellor’s convoy and took the Koreans prisoner,” I said.
“That’s not why they surrendered at all,” Anna said. “Captain, you have to stop Jones – he’s completely mad! He’s got a–”
“Specialist Thomas, answer my question – how do you know they’re not preparing to release the virus?” Smithson said, louder this time.
“I watched them taking it out to release it, sir. That’s why I know they’re putting it back into the containment unit now,” I said.
“You’d better be right, girl.”
“I am, sir.”
“Captain – listen to me!” Anna said, becoming even more animated. “Jones has got a nuke! He paused the countdown to detonation with just thirty-five seconds left on the clock and he said he’ll set it off if Cho doesn’t safe the virus and surrender. Quickly, order your men to confiscate the controller from him before he sets it off accidentally!”
Smithson fixed me with a baleful look. “That true, Specialist Thomas?”
“Yes, sir,” I said, too ashamed to meet his gaze.
“Where’s the bomb? Where is Jones hiding it?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
/> “Not pleased, Specialist Thomas.”
“It was the only way, Captain,” I said and then yelped in pain when the medic pulled a sharp fragment of the grenade from my arm. The captain fell quiet and joined me in watching Cho and Jeong return the last of the canisters to the biohazard containment unit and lock it.
“Tell Jones to safe the nuke, Chelsea,” Cho said into the intercom, his steely gaze not leaving my face for a moment.
“Not until you come out here and give yourselves up,” I said.
Spitting at me in anger, Cho led the doctor from the sealed laboratories. Custodians pounced on them the moment they passed through the last glass door to join us in the office space.
“It’s over, Ethan. Virus has been safed and Cho and Jeong are in custody,” I said, lifting up the phone so he could see them handcuffed and under guard.
“You sure they didn’t release the virus?” he asked.
“Positive.”
“Good job, then. David, stop the countdown and deactivate the nuke.” Ethan spoke wearily, revealing he knew just how close everyone had come to dying, his wife and family included.
“Done,” David replied.
Smithson took the phone from me and met Ethan’s gaze. “That bomb somewhere safe, Jones?”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ll be having us a conversation about this, next time we meet.”
“As you wish.” Jones broke the connection.
“Blasted fool,” the captain said. He turned to one of his men. “Corporal, get some ambulances over here, pronto.”
Having completed dressing the wounds and lacerations to my arm, the Custodian medic tapped me on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Specialist, but I’m going to have to cut away your trousers to tend your leg. May I assist you to the other side of the room so you can have some privacy?” In a town where women always wore ankle length dresses, the thought of cutting away my trousers and exposing my leg in public was causing him no small about of discomfort.
Forager - the Complete Six Book Series (A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Series) Page 142