“Barely got it open. I convinced people in a town hall meeting that it would cut down on the horrible bootlegging problem we have here.”
“Is it working?”
“I think they are just recruiting customers here. The entire thing might have been a bad idea. I just wanted a little piece of home here. Guess I didn’t think it through. Never wanted to make things worse.”
King set down the ice and finished his drink. “Thanks for the ice. And the drink.” He pulled out some cash.
Cali rushed over. “Oh no. Put your money away.” She nodded to the cut on his forehead. “You already more than paid for it.”
“Thank you.”
“And don’t feel bad. Ryker has worked over some of the toughest guys in Alaska. It wasn’t a fair fight.”
King almost laughed, but he kept it to himself and just gave her a smile as he wrapped his scarf around his neck.
“Okay then. Off to work. Have a nice night, Cali.”
Cali gave him that smile that helped his decision to come back to the bar tomorrow. “Night, X. See you tomorrow.”
Chapter Four
King swiped his badge to clock in and walked over to the security desk. It had been a long time since he’d been in uniform and the first time wearing a cop-like security getup. Volkov Mining was a massive place. The wall of thirty camera monitors in front of him would have told him that, even if he’d never actually seen the rest of the site. The area consisted of a large building, which he was in, and then ten smaller wooden buildings constructed around it in a circle. If the site were a body, he was in the brain. Each of the small buildings had one security camera on the outside of them. The rest were scattered around the large building he was sitting in, watching hallways, as well as around parts of the outside.
During his training, he’d seen the inside of every building, except for one at the far end, the only one of the wooden buildings that was attached via a hallway to the building King was sitting in. It had its own security door that would only open for certain management. It was the reason King knew it was important. Clearly a very important building because it also had three extra cameras on the outside, and Arnie, the other guard on site, made a face when he said the word restricted. When King asked why, Arnie gave the standard, “above my pay grade,” and moved on.
There were four other guards employed at Volkov, but they always worked together in pairs. So King would only see them at shift change. Arnie was his “partner,” as Arnie called it. King got the short version of how Arnie had always wanted to be a cop, but because he wasn’t one of the “good ole boys” in Barrow, they didn’t let him on the force. Therefore, he was relegated to security. A job he takes “very seriously.” King smiled thinking about it. Arnie was a good guy, but quirky. As King set on to investigating the Volkov facility as he was sent there to do, he felt he could manipulate Arnie to keep him from interfering. Arnie reminded King of a chubby Barney Fife. His heart was in the right place; it was the rest of him that wasn’t.
It was midnight now and all was quiet. Arnie had said that there was usually only one person that would sometimes come in to work at that time of night, but no one ever really knew when. His name was Dr. Semenov, a supposed oil and natural gas scientist, but King could tell that Arnie really had no clue. The outer door buzzed and King jumped, not ready for that noise to break the silence.
King moved his head to the monitor watching the main entrance. A white-haired man in a white lab coat was removing a parka as he stared back at him, and King was shook. The last thing he’d expected to see was a familiar face that night, but sure enough, one was looking him right in the eyes.
Dmitry Kuznetsov.
King had studied and memorized the profile of this scientist of infectious diseases and world-renowned virologist before he burned it. Kuznetsov was the central theme of the reason King had been sent to Barrow. And there was no mistaking this man. His nose was big enough to have its own zip code, and his white eyebrows each looked like the hair on a troll doll. He had a very worried look on his face. King was shocked that he would already be able to report back to Sam and President Gibbons that Kuznetsov was in fact in Barrow.
This put King square in the belly of the beast.
Right where he wanted to be.
Kuznetsov shouted into the camera in a Russian accent, “Come on! I haven’t got all night!” Then he held up his badge to the camera as if he understood that maybe the new guy wasn’t sure of who he was. He seemed as though he was in a hurry.
“X, what are you doing?” Arnie rushed over and pressed the button allowing Kuznetsov to enter the front door.
“Sorry,” King said. “Wasn’t expecting anyone to buzz in this late.”
“Well, this is the exact guy you don’t want to piss off. You’ll be gone in no time if you do.”
Kuznetsov walked through the front entrance, then scanned his ID badge so the internal doors would open. On the computer screen in front of King, the ID card flashed up. It was in fact Kuznetsov’s face, but unsurprisingly, his name was different. The badge read Doctor Ivan Semenov. King could feel the adrenaline seeping into his system for the first time since he’d arrived in Barrow. Until that moment, no one was certain that Kuznetsov had disappeared to Alaska; it had only been speculation. Now it was reality. And King was ready to dive headfirst into throwing a wrench in these Commies’ plans.
Arnie rushed over to the glass doors that opened when Kuznetsov scanned his badge. “I’m sorry, Dr. Semenov, Xavier is new. It won’t happen again.”
Kuznetsov walked right by Arnie and stared King down as he passed. “It better not.”
“Yes, sir,” Arnie said as he chased behind him. “It won’t, right, X?”
King didn’t speak. Kuznetsov was already on his way through the security door, so there was no reason to. He was walking the hallway to the only building King hadn’t been allowed to see, and it didn’t surprise King at all—because they weren’t studying the land for oil or for gravel extraction; they were building a weapon. An invisible killer that would give the Russians back world power that every American involved in the intelligence community had known they’d been looking to gain since the Cold War.
King felt a hard slap on his shoulder. “Well, you blew that one, didn’t you, buddy?” Arnie had a big goofy grin on his face. “Don’t worry, I covered for you.”
King smiled. “Thanks, Arnie.”
“Hey, nice cut on your forehead you got there. I heard you went down like a lead ball off a high table when Ryker hit you.”
“How did you already hear about that? It just happened a couple of hours ago.”
“Nothing happens here without everyone knowing about it. Especially when the new guy gets pummeled trying to hit on Cali.”
“I wasn’t hitting on Cali.” King put his hands on his hips.
“Well, seems Ryker was definitely hitting on you. Does he hit as hard as they say he does?”
“Aren’t there some doors you need to make sure are locked or something?”
“I knew he did. Just glad you’re okay. Wouldn’t want to lose you before you really even get started.”
“I think I’ll make it.”
“All right,” Arnie said. “I’m gonna go check the eastern buildings. Try not to break anything while I’m gone.”
“I’ll do my best.”
As Arnie walked away, King watched the monitor as Kuznetsov walked toward the forbidden door. He didn’t know what it was, maybe it was the fact that he was sent to Barrow to investigate that made him long to go through that restricted door, but he really felt it was something even deeper. Something buried in the human DNA that when someone tells you that you can’t have or see something, it makes you want it that much more. Either way, King needed to find a way to see what Volkov Mining and Dmitry Kuznetsov were hiding. And he needed to do it fast.
With so much security, and so many cameras focused on that forbidden door, it was going to be near impossible. King was a lot o
f things, but an expert in evading cameras was not one of them. The viral videos of his efforts in London and his fight with Husaam Hammoud in Athens were perfect examples. He was going to need help. He didn’t know anyone in Barrow, but fortunately you don’t have to be in the same place to take out digital cameras. He needed a techie.
The good thing was, he and Sam kept one on call: Dbie Johnson.
King glanced over his shoulder to make sure Arnie was gone. Thankfully he did know enough about video equipment to know how to rewind. He did so until Kuznetsov appeared on the screen again, and paused it when Kuznetsov held his ID badge up to the camera. King pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the ID. He now at least had proof that Kuznetsov was there in Barrow. And he knew where to go to find what Kuznetsov was working on. The hacking into the cameras part to keep King from being seen would be up to Dbie.
Either way, for the first time since he’d flown into Barrow, King felt like his reason for being there was being realized.
Now all he had to do was stop a deadly global pandemic before it started.
No pressure.
Chapter Five
Washington, DC
President Bobby Gibbons finished nuking his popcorn and was adding in some dark chocolate chunks. He didn’t care much for the chocolate, but his wife, Beth, loved the salty sweet combo. It was rare that the two of them were able to sit down and enjoy a movie together, so he was really looking forward to it. It had been a whirlwind of a year already, and it was only the last of January.
He and Beth were still getting used to their new home. The White House was old, but you wouldn’t know it by the living quarters. It had all been remodeled to Beth’s specifications before he was sworn in a week ago. The only real request Bobby had was that there was a movie room. Movies had been a way for him to escape ever since he was a kid, and he was excited to take two hours and think of nothing but the story he was being told as he nibbled on some popcorn.
Bobby walked down the hall, and at the end was the movie room. He walked in and Beth had already queued up the movie. The room was basically just a couch and a massive hundred-inch television fixed to the wall in front of it. The sound system was state of the art, something he was ready to put to the test.
“You’re sure this is the movie you want to watch?” Beth said. “You may not get another for a while. Aren’t these kinda cheesy?”
She was referring to the movie Fast and the Furious 9. Last year, amongst the hysteria over COVID-19, all major houses had postponed their releases. This movie wasn’t set to come out until April of this year, but being the president does have its perks.
Bobby rounded the couch, leaned down, and kissed her on the lips. She was as beautiful as the day he met her. “Cheesy? Come on. Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“You know me, honey, I’d watch a girly movie every time. But you don’t get to do this often, so this is fine.”
“We can watch something else if you want. But then you’d miss Vin Diesel flexing his muscles. I know you like that.”
“You don’t have to sell me, I really don’t care what we watch. I’m here for the popcorn.”
“Mmm hmm,” Bobby said with a smile.
He took a seat on the plush couch, pressed the button on the side to recline the chair, pressed the button on the remote to dim the lights, and took a satisfied exhale.
“Excited?” Beth smiled as she grabbed some popcorn.
“Very.”
Beth pressed play, and the graphic of the earth appeared on the screen with the word universal wrapping around it. Just as the studio logo disappeared and the first action scene began full throttle, the phone on the wall began to buzz. Bobby’s heart sank. He’d instructed everyone to give him an hour unless there was a critical update. Bobby didn’t mind the hours that he had to put in to be the president of the United States, but he could already tell what he was going to hate about the most important job in the world: there was rarely good news.
“Just leave it,” Beth said.
“I don’t have that option anymore, sweetheart.”
Beth hit pause and Bobby walked over to the phone.
“Hello.”
“Mr. President,” his secretary said. “So sorry to bother you, but you’re needed in the Oval Office.”
“Update on Alaska?”
“Yes, sir. Critical. I’m assuming you haven’t seen the news?”
Bobby’s stomach turned.
“I haven’t.”
“Someone leaked the story about the town in Alaska.”
“Shit. All right. Be right down.”
Chapter Six
After a quick change of clothes, and a minute to pick popcorn from his teeth, Bobby walked into the Oval Office. His press secretary, the secretary of health and human services, and the secretary’s virologist tasked with helping the investigator in Koenig, Alaska, were all waiting for him. They were gathered around a television watching an anchor deliver the news.
“Mr. President,” they all said as they stood to greet him.
“Have a seat. Let me see what they’re saying.”
A graphic of a biohazard symbol was floating beside the man’s head as he spoke to the camera. The look on his face was worried. Bobby knew then that the shit was hitting the fan. The use of the biohazard symbol already got his blood boiling. The sensationalism of the media, right and left, made him about as angry as anything in the world. He took a deep breath and listened to the report.
As you know, with everything the world went through with the coronavirus last year, this couldn’t be more terrifying. Again, the source has not been confirmed, but the body count in Alaska absolutely has. In case you missed it, an entire town in Alaska mysteriously died last week. All one hundred and three of them. And the report from a city close to them is that it was from some sort of a virus. That’s all we know at this time. Please do not panic, but stay tuned as we will be updating this story the second we get more information.
Bobby slammed his fist down on his desk, and the three people in the room all jumped to attention.
“I can’t believe this bullshit. Who leaked this story? I want their head on a stake.” Bobby walked around his desk and stood directly in front of the three of them. “And can you believe the irresponsibility of that report?” He was shouting. “The source has not been confirmed, but everyone is dead. But don’t panic! Just stay tuned!”
Bobby walked away and made a lap around his desk.
“We need to get out in front of this,” Linda Morales, his press secretary, said.
“Well no shit!” Bobby turned around and saw the shocked look on Linda’s face. He took a deep breath and changed his tone. “Sorry, Linda. That wasn’t directed at you.”
“I get it. This is bad.”
“This is worse than that. After last year, people are going to panic. And with reporting like that, I can’t say I blame them.”
There was a knock at the door; then it pushed inward. It was his secretary. “CIA Director Lucas here to see you.”
Robert walked in, a solemn look on his face.
“Perfect timing,” Bobby said.
“Mr. President,” Robert acknowledged.
“We have to issue a statement,” the press secretary urged.
“Any suggestions, Andrew?” Bobby looked at his secretary of health.
Donna Ingram—the virologist—spoke instead. “You could say their water was tainted. Wouldn’t be the first time something like that has happened in a rural area.”
“I can’t lie to the American people.”
It was his knee-jerk reaction.
“Can you afford not to, sir?” Robert said.
Bobby was quiet for a moment. He really didn’t want to lie to the people. But with the kind of irresponsible reporting that was going in the media, they had almost forced his hand. He knew that every president at some point in their time in office dealt with this sort of thing, but that didn’t make it any easier. He was going to hav
e to develop thicker skin.
His press secretary cleared her throat. “If it makes you feel better, I can allude to the fact that the water tainting is just one of the possibilities we are investigating. And that there is no evidence yet that this was viral.”
“Okay,” Bobby said. “I like that better. Let’s calm people down.” Then he looked at Robert. “And I want to know who leaked this, you hear me? Right. Now.”
“I’ll get on it,” Robert said. “In the meantime, I just received an update and we need to talk in private.”
Bobby looked at everyone else in the room. “You heard him. Can we please have the room?”
“Of course,” Andrew said, “But we were here for a reason, Donna has an update from Koenig.”
“Go on.”
“We’ve had the first death,” the virologist said, getting right to it. “And many others are losing the fight with whatever virus was unleashed on them.”
Bobby couldn’t believe his ears. This was really happening. Someone was weaponizing a virus, and he had no idea if they’d already brought it to the lower forty-eight states.
Donna continued. “This one is worse than the first town, Mr. President.”
“How?”
“Because the incubation period is much longer. And the beginning symptoms were barely that of the common cold.”
Bobby understood what that meant, but he wanted confirmation. “So someone can not only infect a lot of other people before they even know they’re sick, but they think all that is wrong with them is just a common cold?”
“Yes. And according to my virologist in Koenig—the only person there not infected—it’s the perfect virus to weaponize because of that. And the fact that only just a couple of days after very mild symptoms, it morphs into this killing machine inside the infected person’s body. Quickly taking them from okay to dead.”
“So everyone will think they have a cold—”
“Then they will drop dead.” Donna was blunt.
Alexander King Thriller Series: Books 1-3 Page 26