* * *
"That little hellion," Colonel Hunter complained the moment we were inside the vehicle. "All this time she's been publishing under two pen names."
"I like Carol Dane's books," James muttered. "Almost as much as I like, well, fuck. Corinne writes both."
"James, I want information on any property transactions, rentals, you name it, that you can find for Carol Dane," Colonel Hunter demanded. James began the search on a small tablet immediately.
Ten minutes later, we were on our way to the nearest air base. We were flying to Myrtle Beach, and I hoped Corinne would be there when we arrived.
"Last book she published as Carol Dane was six months ago," James reported as we swung onto a highway. Nick knew his way around; that was easy to see.
Colonel Hunter was on his phone quickly, ordering a military jet for our flight. It would take roughly an hour to get there. Once again, I hoped Corinne would still be there. She'd bought herself the beach house she wanted under a second pen name. It was exactly what I would have done.
* * *
Corinne
I hadn't slept the night before, so I decided to attempt a nap. I woke minutes after I'd fallen asleep. I knew two things. One had to come first, though.
Maye, get everybody out of the villa, I shouted mentally. Do it now. Don't wait!
* * *
Notes—Colonel Hunter
Halfway between the air base and Myrtle Beach, I received word from Shaw. The villa was now a pile of smoking rubble. Everybody had gotten out after Corinne warned Maye.
Everybody except the two prisoners, that is. There hadn't been time to get them out. Mary Evans and the clone were dead.
Twice now, Corinne had saved lives, although I felt she'd be upset that Mary Evans was dead. That source of information was gone. The clone had given us everything he could, but that wasn't much.
"The villa has been destroyed," I announced while the plane descended toward the airport. "Corinne warned Maye, so the prisoners were our only casualties."
"Mary Evans' backer had enough information from that fucking chip," Rafe muttered. "Next time, I want to be more difficult to find."
"I'm with him," Richard nodded in Rafe's direction.
"Right now, an underground bunker sounds really good," James hunched his shoulders.
"I hope you backed everything up," I told him.
"I always do," James said. "We just lost paper copies, that's all."
* * *
Corinne
I had a car—I could have driven away.
They would have found me eventually—the car was registered to Carol Dane and they had that identity, now.
I'd played my hand. I'd lost this round.
I waited for their arrival, feeling exhausted, hungry and defeated. Auggie was in a hurry—it took him twenty minutes to get from the airport to my condo, and that included getting a rental car.
* * *
At least they knocked first before kicking the door in.
"What the hell is that?" I yelled as they stood outside my condo. "I was on my way to open it for you." I pointed at the door, which now lay flat on the entryway tiles. Ten seconds earlier, it had been happily connected to the door hinges, guarding (ineffectively) the entrance to my condo. "You're gonna pay for that," I shouted at Colonel August Hunter.
He didn't have time to reply. Rafe stalked in, but Ilya pulled me into his arms. I cried while he whispered soothing words.
* * *
"The others are at the building in Arlington," Auggie sighed as he studied my empty refrigerator. "Corinne, when did you eat, last?"
"I don't remember." I wiped my face as Rafe let me go.
"Fuck," Rafe said.
"I was going to order something," I defended myself.
"Load up, we'll find a diner somewhere and then decide what to do while we eat," Auggie said. He'd been on the phone with Leo Shaw and the President almost from the moment he walked in. He was looking for something to drink after his conversation. He found an empty fridge instead.
"Cori, you look exhausted," Auggie said as we walked out the door. Nick had fixed it as well as he could, but the door would still have to be replaced.
"Yeah."
"Your car still here?"
"Yes."
"Good. Rafe and I will ride with you. Nick will drive Richard and James."
"I'll drive," Rafe pulled the keys from my hand.
"Don't trust me?" I asked, frowning at him.
"Cabbage, you look as if you could collapse at any moment. Generally, it is wise to stay alert while driving."
"Yeah."
* * *
Auggie ate while studying a list of potential locations for the Program. James sat beside Auggie and read the same list. Richard and Nick discussed replacing what had been replaced after the Mansion bombing.
Rafe and I watched and listened to the others while having turkey sandwiches and soup. "Want dessert?" he asked softly.
"No. I'm already stuffed," I said.
"Then we'll have ice cream later."
"That sounds good."
"While we talk."
"Yeah."
* * *
"We only need half the building for this division of the Agriculture Department," the Vice President pointed out. "The rest is forty thousand square feet of updated and unused space."
"That could provide a front for the Program," the President studied the diagram on her computer. "It's on the outskirts of DC, so it's an ideal location. Plenty of parking area around it, so it will be easy to protect."
"It's your call, Madam President."
"Then let's do it. Get someone working on furniture and supplies. Is there room for a cafeteria and a dining hall?"
"Here," the Vice President pointed. "There's a smaller, executive kitchen and dining room here." He pointed to a second location. "We can combine spaces to make suites, and most of those spaces already have a bathroom and shower installed."
"Not much of a view," the President frowned.
"It will do until we find something better."
"True. Send a message to Colonel Hunter."
* * *
Corinne
By nightfall, we had newly assigned quarters—in the ugliest brick building imaginable.
The front portion was taken up by a division of the Agriculture Department, and all of it was surrounded by a large parking lot. The others were spending the night at the building in Arlington—the one that looked as if the Mystery Machine should be parked out front. At least they had beds, even if they did have ugly, outdated bedspreads.
Auggie wanted to check out the new digs, so we'd be sleeping on the floor. "Cori, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I'm placing you in an interior suite. I caught your window-climbing act, you know," he said.
"Then stop being an ass," I bristled. "You think I can't get away from you again?"
"I knew this was coming," Auggie muttered. "Look, can we table the shouting match until we get this mess sorted out? I have to make a report to the President, and I don't want to get her hackles up, too."
"Madam President can kiss my ass," I said.
"Cori, don't go there."
"Yeah? Tell me again about my free speech."
* * *
Leo Shaw arrived around midnight with Maye and a trunk full of sleeping bags. If he hadn't, we'd be forced to sleep on tiled floors.
"You should flee while you still can," I told Leo when he hefted his sleeping bag over a shoulder and began searching for a sleeping space.
"Corinne, it isn't the end of the world," he said. "Thank you for saving our asses again, by the way."
"Well, as asses go, yours is at the top of my to save list," I said. "Auggie dropped several notches."
"I heard that," Auggie shouted from down a narrow hall.
"I don't care if you did," I shouted back.
"Corinne, perhaps you should refrain from aggravating everyone and help me find a suitable suite of
rooms," Rafe said.
"Oh, are we rooming together again?" I asked. He frowned at me. "We will talk," he said, taking my elbow. "Now."
* * *
"I was angry," he admitted. "Very angry. Until I realized I have done similar things in the past—allowed one to live when I needed information. I warn you, however, that if I find him, he will die."
"I understand that," I said. "I wouldn't ask you to do otherwise."
We sat in separate corners to have our discussion. He wanted to hold onto me. I wanted to see where we stood with one another, first.
"What will you do if I kill him?" Ilya asked.
"Try to find the next source of information," I shrugged. "There will be others; I just don't know how many people will die in the interim."
"This troubles you."
"Yes. I can't say who, but I'm uncomfortable now," I said. "The morning may bring terrible news and I don't have information or images to stop it."
"Cutter was not aware of whatever it was?"
"No. See, when someone withholds information from a source, I can't see it at all. Especially if I've never seen the source. If I've seen both, it becomes so much easier."
"A disturbing flaw."
"More than disturbing. Extremely dangerous. When I warned Maye to get everyone out of the villa, it's because I saw their deaths coming, not who was facilitating those deaths."
"Corinne, you will remind me not to interfere with your abilities from now on."
"Ilya, I don't want to interfere with how you feel. That's up to you. If you're mad, then you're mad. Just like anybody else."
"Including you."
"Yes. I was pissed at you and Auggie. Still am, actually. You have no idea how much that hurt."
"He and I may be more willing to listen to you from now on."
"Hmmph."
"I have ground to make up."
"You both do."
"Will this be our suite?" he asked, looking around.
"I hate the whole building," I grumped. "And no window? That's a requirement for my writing. I had an ocean view—for a whole day."
"It still belongs to you," he pointed out.
"And it may as well be on the moon."
"I believe your door will be repaired soon."
"Right."
"My love, I know you are not happy. I would make that otherwise, if I could."
"Corinne?" Leo Shaw knocked on the door and called out.
"Just a minute." I rose stiffly from my corner and went to let Dr. Shaw in.
"I wanted to set up an appointment with you for tomorrow," he said.
"I don't know whether that will help," I observed. "My insecurity inbox is getting crowded."
"What would make it better?"
"A trip to the office supply store."
"They're all closed at the moment. I'll see what I can do for later."
"Cool."
"Corinne suspects that bad news may come with the morning," Rafe said. "So we may have to plan carefully."
"Do you have any idea?" Leo began, offering a concerned frown.
"None, and that's extremely upsetting. I feel uncomfortable, though, and that's never a good thing."
"She hasn't seen the ones responsible, so she can't say what they are planning," Rafe offered.
"I guessed as much. Look, I can give you something to help you sleep."
"I'd prefer not to do that," I said. "I can't warn anybody if I'm knocked out."
"Point taken. I'll go have a word with Colonel Hunter," Leo said. "Corinne, don't escape again. I'm not sure my heart can take it."
After he closed the door, Ilya stepped up behind me. "My heart cannot stand such a blow again, either."
"You started it."
"Are we pointing fingers, now?"
"Yes. I'm tired, grumpy and somebody moved out without letting me explain."
"I regret that."
"Fine. I regret not telling you that I wanted to keep Baikov alive for personal reasons."
"I understand that, just as you understand me."
"Understood."
"Good. Very good. Might I remove your clothing, now?"
"As soon as James is done with us."
"What?"
The knock on the door came immediately. "Come in," Rafe called out.
"Colonel Hunter wants to see both of you," James said.
"What time is it?" I asked, surprising James.
"After midnight. Why?"
"So it's early morning?"
"Technically speaking."
"Yeah."
We followed James down the hall until we reached the rooms August claimed for his office. A cell phone was in his hand and a stunned expression was on his face as Leo Shaw stood nearby, unsure as to what to do.
"Colfer, Montana was the target," Auggie said. "Only twenty people survived, and some of them aren't human anymore."
Chapter 16
Notes—Colonel Hunter
"Somehow, they introduced a variation of the drug into the water supply," Madam President informed us. Shaw and I sat in her office while she explained what she knew. The media was going nuts with the information that nearly two thousand people had died the night before. A few residents hadn't drank water or bathed in it, and those had already been moved away from Colfer.
Initial reports leaked intentionally by the White House said the cause of the deaths was mass poisoning. In a way, that was true. "I suspect they chose that particular town because it was close to the Canadian border and they had sufficient amounts of the derivative drug to test on Colfer's water supply. Face it—Cutter died in Canada, so it makes sense they had a base there."
"Where do you suppose these perpetrators are, now?"
"They could be anywhere—they'll know we can make that connection, so it's likely they've abandoned the site. Once inside the U.S., they could go anywhere. They've had time to drive or fly away from Colfer after delivery of the drug. Corinne mentioned a small plane before, when Cutter was on his way to Canada. If they had something like that waiting, they really could be anywhere."
"I've ordered all departments to begin a search, but we don't have any specific targets. This is impossible," Madam President rose to pace. The rest of us rose with her—it wasn't proper etiquette to sit while the President stood.
I'd had my meeting with Rafe and Corinne much earlier—their guesses coincided with mine, so I felt comfortable presenting them to the President. Richard Farrell was on his way to Montana with three of his former collaborators—they'd be in charge of testing the Colfer water supply and sterilizing it afterward.
"What are we going to do with the ones who survived the drug?" the President asked.
"Are you sure all of them will live?" I asked.
"Roughly half of them are experiencing breathing problems. Those are the ones who don't look human anymore. Three of those can't speak. At least not in English."
"What do you think we should do?"
"Make them comfortable and let nature take its course."
"I think we ought to let Corinne decide."
"I want her kept away from this. It's upsetting enough for me. What do you think it will do to her? I sure as hell don't want her taking an unplanned vacation, again. We have to keep a tight leash on her and her abilities."
At that moment, I wanted to shout at the President. She considered Corinne an object—a tool to keep her alive and in office. If Corinne escaped, she couldn't control that asset. It made me angry. I reined that in and nodded my acceptance.
From then on, I planned to give Corinne as much free rein as I could. So far, she was the one keeping all of us alive. I knew enough to be grateful. Those around Cori cared about her. Madam President needed to get her thinking straight on this one.
I knew what Richard said the moment he learned there were survivors. "They wanted to kill everybody," he'd said. "But they rushed the use of the drug without testing it thoroughly. It's probable that they only used a limited sampling of victims. W
hen all of them died, they determined the experiment a success."
If we didn't report what actually happened, then the ones behind the massacre would attempt to do it again. I had no idea how long it could take to produce enough of the drug to test it on a larger population, or whether it had to be placed in the water supply or could be delivered another way. I needed to speak with Richard again.
Soon.
* * *
Corinne
Auggie was exhausted when he returned from his meeting with the President. I knew there had to be some survivors who'd ingested the drug—the odds were in their favor. Madam President didn't want anyone to know. It wouldn't be difficult—hide the information and stick them somewhere so they couldn't get to anyone else.
That would present problems and Auggie knew that. The perpetrators would think their massacre a total success, when that wasn't the case. People had survived. Whether they could now comfortably live on the planet was anybody's guess.
"Cori," Auggie said. He'd found me sitting on the floor next to Rafe in the smaller kitchen, clutching a cup of coffee as if it were salvation in a world gone mad.
"Auggie?" I said, turning my eyes up to him.
"Let James know what you need in the computer department. Whatever you want, he'll provide. You'll have access to departmental files from anywhere my codes will work. Look at people. Anybody and everybody that you want. Tell me if there's anything I ought to know. While James is getting your equipment, try to get some sleep."
He turned and walked out of the kitchen without another word. "Thanks, Auggie," I called out softly.
* * *
Furniture and beds were moved in not long after, and Ilya and I made ours up. He pulled me onto it and settled my head against his shoulder.
Both of us were troubled by the events in Colfer. I worried about what could happen next—the possibilities were terrifying. "Cabbage, try to sleep," he murmured before kissing my forehead. "We cannot save the world if we do not have the strength."
* * *
Notes—Colonel Hunter
"I can't say for certain that they won't find another way to distribute the drug to a larger population," Richard said. He'd phoned back after I placed the initial call. "The victims here are similar to those we examined before—few are intact inside."
"You've seen this before—I mean before those we asked you to examine recently."
Cloud Dust: RD-1 Page 21