by JT Sawyer
He kept firing until his Glock was down to its last magazine—and yet they still came. He had killed over a hundred of them here, and many more than that on the street, but still they came. Maybe Nash and them didn’t make it after all. He shoved away the thought. Hell, that redneck bastard’s never let me down before.
He dumped another six rounds downrange, splintering skulls and filling the pavement with creamy discharge filled with worms. Never thought I’d die in Taipei of all places, he thought as a faint grin crept out from the corner of his mouth. He grit his teeth, counting down the bullets in his 15-round magazine as a wisp of smoke poured out from the smoking barrel of his Glock, forcing himself to remember to save one precious hollowpoint.
A brilliant red light tore through the darkness to his right, feeling like it scalded his face. He raised an arm up to cover his eyes for a second. The creatures swiftly turned away, their shrill sounds ceasing. Reisner saw the red flare continuing upward then igniting above the bridge. He turned to his left and saw Connelly holding a flare gun in the boat below him. Reisner felt the pressure on his ribs ease as he looked at the familiar faces.
The gunfire and noise from the creatures had prevented him from hearing Nash’s approach, but now he rushed to the guardrail and stepped up, taking a leap into the frigid waters below.
A few seconds later, he felt himself being yanked from the water by Porter and Santos, who hauled him on deck as Nash sped off. Reisner slid his exhausted body back and rested against a cabinet, staring at the bridge from the other side as they retreated. “Sure glad you had room for one more on your little cruise,” he said in between trying to catch his breath.
He glanced around, making sure everyone was present, his feeling of victory short-lived, seeing Selene’s tense face as she stared back at the flames near the hospital.
Reisner stood up and rested his hand on Nash’s shoulder as the man navigated through the Tamsui River towards the inlet.
“This is one we’ll be talking about at the bar for a while,” said Nash with a smile as he looked at Reisner.
“Yeah, well, maybe you can buy the beers this time.” He patted Nash on the back and then glanced at his watch. It was nearing the time that Admiral McKenzie had said the extraction team would be arriving. Let’s hope for one miracle today.
Chapter 36
Fifteen minutes after arriving at the mouth of the Tamsui River, Nash took the boat out to calmer waters to the west. To their surprise, they saw the flashing beacons of not one, but two Blackhawks approaching. Connelly reloaded the flare gun and sent up another signal.
Within thirty minutes, everyone had been lifted to the safe confines of the lead Blackhawk. Reisner was the last to enter and was met with a hearty handshake from SEAL Team 3 Lieutenant Tom Ivins.
“Damn glad you fellas could drop in on us,” said Reisner as he sat down next to Ivins. The operator had a rounded face with a horseshoe-shaped mustache. Once they were all strapped in, Ivins gave the pilot the go-ahead to leave. Selene sat motionless to Reisner’s right, never glancing at him.
Reisner looked at each of the other six SEALs on board and gave them an appreciative nod, then leaned over towards Ivins, shouting above the rotor wash. “Did you get my message from McKenzie about the others?”
“Yeah, but we need to get the hell out of here. This is too close to Chinese airspace, and who knows who is running the show over there now.”
“Dr. Tso and his staff back at the biolab will be a great asset to Dr. Munroe’s research. He’s a key player in understanding this, plus he’s one of the Agency’s assets.”
Reisner drew his thumb along his neck. “I had to drop two Chinese agents earlier at the lab who were after Munroe and probably Tso. You really want him falling into the hands of the Chinese? Once we can eliminate the other agents up top on the building, my guys and I can run down and grab Tso and the rest.”
Ivins leaned back, speaking with the pilot, after which the two Blackhawks made a beeline for downtown Taipei.
Selene sat up and turned towards him, her mouth hanging open. “You planned all along to get them out.”
“I told you before, I didn’t know how many birds Admiral McKenzie was sending. I wrote a note to Tso telling him to be ready in case we could get to them.”
Selene bit her lip and shook her head. “You could’ve told me.”
“And burned up another fifteen minutes trying to rationalize with you. I did what was necessary. Look at what happened with just trying to get the six of us out, let alone over a dozen people, some of whom are kids.”
She rested her head in her hands then massaged her temples. “God, I just want this day to be over with.”
As he heard one of the SEALs slide open the door and prepare the minigun, Reisner glanced over towards a faint sliver of blood orange cresting the eastern horizon. He knew it would be a while before anyone greeted another sunrise with any sense of relief, but he was certainly glad to be off the streets below.
A few minutes later, they encircled the hospital and saw that the Chinese agents and helicopter were gone. Reisner also saw that the extensive rigging of C4 charges were absent from the exit door.
“Looks like they pulled up stakes,” said Ivins, whose eyes were darting around the rooftops of nearby buildings. “I don’t like it. Means they’re either staked out somewhere nearby waiting to ambush us or…”
“Or they know we have Selene and plan to track us,” Reisner said.
“Sounds more likely. The Chinese military could have targeted us from offshore already, so either they’re too tied up with their own problems or want to see where we’ll lead them. We’ll have to scramble our GPS signature on the return trip to prevent that, and alert McKenzie to probable satellite tracking so his cyber-security staff can cloak our return.”
Ivins leaned closer to Reisner, lowering his voice. “Don’t get me wrong with what I’m about to say—I’m damn glad you all made it out, but I just hope Munroe is worth it. My teams are stretched thin and we had to adjust our earlier plans to extract an ambassador and his family from Seoul because the admiral said she was higher priority.”
“Understood. We’re all beyond grateful for your efforts, Lieutenant.” Reisner let out a long exhale while thinking about the implications of Ivin’s orders—the innocent lives that had just been sacrificed for what was supposed to be the greater good. In this case, Selene’s hopeful role in battling what the human race was up against. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few now. Reisner found himself wrestling with the mindset that the survival of the species could be used to morally justify abandoning the ambassador. He knew from his own harrowing command decisions in the field that that’s what McKenzie and Ivins were probably telling themselves with each passing hour. They had made a necessary decision based upon the intel Runa had relayed to them about Munroe’s background, but it still didn’t make it right. As the Blackhawk touched down on the roof, Reisner gave a silent nod to the survivors in Seoul who probably wouldn’t live to see another sunrise, then looked over at Selene as he prepared to disembark, wondering if she realized the weight of the world that everyone was about to put on her shoulders. I hope you’re as strong as you seem.
Chapter 37
Jonas Runa climbed out from under a pile of roof timbers that had collapsed after Lipscomb had tossed a grenade into an oncoming horde of creatures. The three-story house outside of Alexandria had provided enough cover for them to reduce the influx of creatures, but the battle had been costly and Runa recalled most of the other agents getting killed or dragged off just as the grenade exploded. His Sig Sauer pistol was depleted, and he tucked it in his waist and then retrieved a hefty two-by-four off the ground, clutching it like a bat as he moved. So many of my men, my friends, dead in one night. How can all this be happening?
He staggered forward, coughing from the dust in the air that was lit like white glitter in the morning sun. The scene reminded him of a cave in Afghanistan where he and his team had su
rvived a nighttime assault from the Taliban in the months following 9/11. Only that time, they had air support and a Blackhawk to pull them out the next day. As he looked around the shell of the house and the surrounding front yard for other survivors, all he saw was body parts and innards from both humans and the monsters that had attacked them. The rest of the homes along the formerly upscale cul-de-sac were either smoldering or looked like they’d been hit by a hurricane.
He carefully climbed down the rickety staircase and surveyed the street ahead. Runa saw the abandoned convoy of trucks they’d used to get out of Langley after the attack on the Agency headquarters. He ambled along the sidewalk, still dazed from being unconscious and from the continual ringing in his ears from the firefight.
Runa heard a grating sound coming from the other side of a Honda Accord that had smashed into a large maple tree along the curb. He gripped the two-by-four and cautiously moved around the bumper, where he saw the stout man who had been dragged from his house and infected with worms by one of the creatures. The figure’s legs were missing and his entrails dragged along the lawn as he dug his nails into the soft earth.
“How the hell is that thing still alive?” he whispered as he held up his improvised club. The creature stopped moving and used its arms to flop on its back. He wasn’t sure if it had heard him or if it had sensed him somehow. The creature stared at him with an intelligence to its discerning gaze. He had seen some of the other infected creatures on the streets—the ones that moved like locusts, devouring everything before them. Those had a mindless, almost robotic expression in their eyes. This one appeared to be examining him, like an interrogator who studies his subject for weakness.
Runa felt pity, not for the creature, but for the man he felt he could still see trapped inside. The beast’s lips parted and it started to emit a shrill sound. Runa swung his club swiftly, flattening the forehead, then delivering a second strike which caused the skull to splinter apart at the temples. Dozens of worms began streaming out, and Runa saw one land on his boot, inching up towards the eyelets. He jumped back and dragged his instep across the bark of the maple tree, crushing the fragile parasite. Then he did a quick once-over of his arms and legs to make sure there weren’t any others. Maybe bludgeoning isn’t the safest way to kill these things?
Runa slunk back into some shoulder-high bushes and studied the street ahead, making sure the creature’s shrill sound hadn’t alerted any others. After he was certain the area was clear, he darted from lawn to lawn until he came to an intersection. He lowered his bloody club and felt his ribs constrict when he saw the miles of abandoned and bloodied vehicles clogging the roads in every direction. Runa looked up and saw that the sky was empty except for some vultures circling overhead near the neighborhood he’d just left.
Where did everyone go? Where the hell did all the creatures go? He wasn’t going to learn anything standing here in the sun, and his chances of survival were slim without having a place to hole up. He needed weapons and a way to gain information on what was going on in the rest of the world. He trotted back to the third house on the left, where he had seen an open garage with a dirt bike in it. He knew of an ideal retreat, but it required him to move quickly so he didn’t risk getting trapped in another neighborhood at nightfall. As he looked over the Yamaha, he just hoped that Will had kept his house in the country stocked with all the essentials so the trip would be worth it.
Chapter 38
As the helicopters approached the aircraft carrier, Reisner could see two destroyers and a cruiser flanking the vessel, which he knew was standard protocol for a carrier strike group. There were eleven such strike groups in the navy, nine of which were based in the United States. The four-acre flight deck of the Reagan was just over a thousand feet long and contained close to sixty aircraft. The sight of firepower on such a grand scale was a relief, and Reisner soaked in the surroundings below that would soon be their temporary home. What surprised him was the presence of close to thirty civilian frigates and ships with foreign markings. Reisner surmised they had probably latched on to the sight of the naval leviathan after fleeing their own doomed countries. He studied the whitecaps below, wondering if there were also one or two of PAC-COM’s nuclear submarines hidden beneath the waters or several nautical miles away, paralleling the Reagan, but his propensity for being hopeful had diminished in recent days and he wondered if this rag-tag band of survivors was all that was left in the entire Pacific.
Their arrival aboard the USS Reagan wasn’t met with much recognition. The deck was brimming with frenzied activity, as several other rescue missions had recently returned and were busy ushering the influx of passengers and supplies towards the lower level. Stepping out of the Blackhawk, Reisner followed Ivins towards a statuesque figure clad in navy whites who was approaching. Admiral McKenzie hastily introduced himself and then instructed Ivins to take Tso and his people to the medical bay while he motioned for Reisner and his team along with Selene to follow him. The man reminded Reisner of Byrne with his barrel chest and broad shoulders, only the admiral was in his late fifties with salt-and-pepper hair.
The entire group was provided with their own assistant, who showed them to their bunks, accompanied them to the mess hall, and helped them navigate through the floating airport that was home to nearly five thousand naval personnel and hundreds of civilians.
That afternoon, McKenzie introduced Selene and Tso to his medical staff, who were briefed on patient zero in Taipei and the autopsy results. Armed with the knowledge that Selene and Tso had been at the forefront of the outbreak, McKenzie instructed a cadre of his engineers to begin construction on a small biosafety lab that would allow her and Tso to continue their research. Until then, she pored over the laptop and files Reisner provided, hoping to navigate through the maze of questions that kept flooding through her beleaguered brain.
Reisner wasn’t sure what details Runa had shared with Admiral McKenzie about the nature of their mission in Taiwan and in the South China Sea. He knew that many officers in the military viewed the CIA as an intrusive presence, and the admiral would surely want further information about the Chinese agents that were present in Taipei. Reisner also knew he would have to decide how much he was going to reveal to the admiral once he had determined the extent of his knowledge of Siegel’s clandestine operations.
Chapter 39
That evening, Reisner was sitting in a corner in the mess hall when the rest of his team arrived. They weren’t there to eat. Instead, everyone grabbed some coffee and sat down beside him as they waited for the rest of the tables near them to clear out.
Making sure no one else was within earshot, Reisner leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Just so we’re all on the same page—I turned over select intel we retrieved on the Atropos to Doctor Munroe, specifically regarding elements of Hayes’ research.”
The others took occasional sips of their coffee as they took in Reisner’s briefing. “All she will discover is that Hayes was the mastermind behind this virus and he conducted his research on the Atropos, which fortunately for the Agency is at the bottom of the ocean.” He paused as he thought of the watery tomb that had enveloped Byrne and Dominguez. “I’ve redacted some documents so that none of this leads back to Siegel or the Agency.” He sat upright, letting out a long exhale.
“Don’t you think that will come out eventually?” said Nash. “I mean, obviously the Chinese know about the connection or they wouldn’t have sent their operatives to the ship or to Taipei.”
Reisner rubbed his hand over his cheek. What a mess Siegel had made, leaving him and Runa to clean up after him.
“Look, for now, I need to control the flow of information until I can figure out how to present this to Admiral McKenzie.”
“If it’s discovered that the Agency was behind this, everyone on this ship is going to paint a bullseye on our backs, not to mention the loss of morale this would place on our already strained military,” said Porter.
“Agreed,” said Re
isner. “So, I’ve given Munroe just enough to get started on her research and keep her and Tso busy. In the meantime, I suggest you hang out in your bunks for now and keep a low profile so no one is striking up a conversation with you. At least until I find a way to handle all of this.”
Everyone nodded, then slowly got up and dispersed, leaving Reisner to ponder the upcoming briefing he knew he had to have with McKenzie. He was exhausted, but sleep was the farthest thing from his mind. He didn’t know what the current capabilities of the Chinese government were, but he was certain that they had information connecting the CIA to the bio-attack. They would put it together and then launch their own attack on what remained of the U.S. There was nothing preventing them from doing so now other than the uncertainty of the U.S. military’s capabilities.
Siegel was dead and Langley obliterated. It was up to Reisner to foster good relations between what was left of the Agency and the ranking military officials. Otherwise, he and his team would be painted as Siegel’s martyrs and end up in the brig for crimes they didn’t commit.
He finished his coffee, barely noticing it had grown tepid. Reisner got up and strode down the long corridor, then ascended until he was at the stairs leading up to the command center. He approached the bridge and was greeted by the XO, Kyle Spencer, who escorted him to the admiral’s quarters two decks below.
Reisner entered the chambers and was left alone with McKenzie.
“I was told you’ve been looking for me.” The admiral motioned to a leather seat next to his small desk. “I had planned for you, Ivins and I to meet later and debrief on the events surrounding your arrival in and eventual extraction from Taipei, but I have been slammed with meetings with my staff and constant video conferences with our remaining forces around the world.” He rubbed his fingers along the side of his right temple. “What can I do for you?”