“If all goes well, it might be a few weeks before we can scale up production to start distribution in Germany,” Emma Fischer, one of the lead production scientists, said. The woman snapped off her blue nitrile gloves. “It will just take a few months to produce enough Phoenix Compound to treat all of Germany’s citizens. Then we can expand to other countries throughout the EU.”
Emma’s blond hair swung behind her head in a ponytail as she excitedly pointed out the steps of the manufacturing process. But Lauren’s mind was somewhere else. A few months. With a new FGL attack imminent, she wondered if the world could survive a few more months against the Oni Agent.
“Are you familiar with synthetic biology?” Emma asked, breaking Lauren from her trance.
“I am,” Lauren said.
“Me, too,” Navid said, “but I’m definitely not an expert.”
“It’s a relatively popular technique in biotechnology,” Emma said. “Basically, we use genetic engineering to reprogram harmless bacteria. We insert a piece of DNA, and that DNA will be transcribed by the bacteria just like any other DNA fragment. Only this will code for the Phoenix Compound. As the bacteria go through their normal metabolic cycle, they’ll be producing the Phoenix Compound.”
“Sounds very similar to what the groups in the US are doing,” Navid said.
“Yes, it is,” Lauren said, “but they’re using mammalian cells instead of bacteria.”
“Right,” Emma said. “The bacteria are much more efficient.” She snapped her fingers. “Very quick, too. This is why we will beat them in production.”
“And the bacteria you’re using are really robust enough to produce the compound?” Navid asked.
Emma gave Navid a condescending smile. “Synthetic biology has revolutionized biotechnology. Before the outbreak, there were companies that produced everything from lactose-free dairy products to fake rhino horns to flood the black market, all using materials produced by these bacteria.”
“Okay, okay,” Navid said, holding up his hands.
“So each of these bacteria will be a little factory,” Lauren summarized.
“They will work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week without rest.” Emma patted a microscope. “Come. See this.”
Lauren peered into the eyepieces. Thousands upon thousands of translucent, oval-shaped bacteria squirmed against a yellow agar plate. Around them were clumps of dark pellets. “Is that the Phoenix Compound they’re depositing?”
“That is exactly right,” Emma said. “Since the compound is much smaller than the bacteria, it is very easy for us to filter it out, so we will constantly be harvesting it as we go.”
“I see.” Lauren leaned back from the microscope to let Navid have a look. “What about the coating we developed to get the Phoenix Compound past the blood-brain barrier? Will you be using the same techniques to produce it?”
“Yes,” Emma said. “About half our facilities will be set up to make the coating, and the other half, the compound.”
“It’s all very efficient,” Lauren said. “But we’re pinning our hopes for Europe onto this one facility. That seems pretty dangerous to me.”
“Yeah,” Navid said. “I mean, I didn’t think power was exactly reliable during the apocalypse. Back in America, they have multiple facilities around the country getting up and running. One power outage could knock out your whole facility. You lose power, then you might get temperature raises or drops, or a massive pH shift in the cell cultures. All the cells would die. If that happens, the facility would have to completely ramp up production again, grow a new batch of cells, and restart the synthesis process.”
“Of course this is all true,” Emma said. “But bacteria are much more stable than mammalian cells. We may only have one facility up and running, as you say, but it is more reliable than ten of yours.”
Lauren wasn’t so sure about that, but Emma didn’t sound like she was being arrogant for the sake of ego. The scientist simply believed in the superiority of their methods. Time would tell if she was right.
“And when are we doing our first quality control tests to make sure this synthetic biology stuff is up to snuff?” Lauren asked.
“Right now, if you’re ready,” Emma replied, fishing in her lab coat’s pocket. She pulled out a few vials. Each held several milligrams of a fluffy white powder.
“Whoa,” Navid said. “That was fast.”
Lauren fought to hide her astonishment. For some reason, she found herself not wanting to give Emma the satisfaction. “We’ll get on it immediately,” she said.
“That is why we brought you here.” She gave Lauren a suspiciously sly smile. “I’ll leave you to it.”
Her white coat fluttered as she departed the lab.
Lauren rotated the vials between her fingers. “This is insane. They’ve already made this from the template compound we provided. Think of everything they did to get there.”
“They fully characterized the Phoenix Compound then broke it down, probably molecule by molecule. They would have needed to figure out the right DNA template that translated to the Phoenix Compound and then insert that DNA sample into a primary culture of bacteria.” His eyes met Lauren’s. “They’ve got this down to a science. No pun intended, of course.”
Lauren offered a weak laugh, but what Navid said struck a chord with her. “If they’re so efficient, then why are we here?”
Navid took one of the samples from Lauren and started to dissolve it into an aqueous solution for chromatographic analysis. “Plenty of geniuses here to go around.”
Lauren lowered her voice, eying the other scientists in the room. “I’m serious. Why are we here?”
Navid deposited one of the vials into a tray inside the high-performance liquid chromatography machine. His eyes widened. “They can probably make the Phoenix Compound even better than we could ever hope to. They could improve it on their own if they wanted.”
“Exactly,” Lauren said. “They told Kinsey they wanted the creators of the Phoenix Compound. But they don’t need us.” Suddenly Lauren’s mind turned back to the biopsy samples she’d taken from O’Neil. Her stomach twisted with uncertainty—and fear. What if their new German colleagues wanted something more than their help with the Phoenix Compound?
***
“They’re getting away with goddamn nuclear warheads!” Dom bellowed, rushing down the steps toward the exit. “Do not let them escape!”
Heat flushed through him, reinvigorating his muscles and narrowing his vision. There was no longer any need for stealth. Not that they had a choice. The hundreds of Skulls roaring through the hallways had made that quite clear. The FGL was ensuring no one would follow their escape.
But Dom was determined to prove the bastards wrong.
“Form up on me,” Dom said, jogging out of the lab and into the first corridor. Red emergency lights glowed in the darkened corridors, giving the place a ghoulish appearance. “We’re shooting our way out of here.” Jenna and Miguel took point. Andris and O’Neil joined them, and Glenn and Spencer fell into rear guard. Meredith stood beside him, reloading her SCAR-H. “Chao, you got a drone in the area?”
“Not yet,” he replied. “I can have one in your position in ten minutes.”
“Do it,” Dom said. “I don’t want to lose sight of these assholes. Frank, you stick close to them. Follow them until we get the drone back in position.”
“On it like a fat kid on cake,” Frank replied over the comms.
“Chief!” Miguel yelled. “We got company.”
Illuminated by the scarlet emergency lights, the first Skull barreling down the hall looked like something that had crawled straight out of Hell. Its horns hooked up like a bull’s, and its shoulder blades had grown wide, making it look like a beetle’s carapace. Long ropes of saliva swung from its fanged maw. Hunched down and charging, it let out a battle cry. The voices of its brethren responded in kind.
Miguel opened fire. Bullets smashed into the charging Skull. Bone chips flew, and blood spattered a
cross the wall, immediately turning the corridor into a murder scene. Still the Skull somehow carried on, propelled by momentum and anger. One of its arms hung limp.
“Die, you ugly piece of shit!” Jenna sent more rounds punching through the Skull’s armor and into its chest. A high-pitched scream escaped its lips before the Skull fell face-first and slid toward their feet.
Finally, it was dead. But the clatter of claws echoed through the winding passages.
“Exit’s that way!” Glenn said, pointing at a sign written in French.
“You got it, bro!” Miguel said, peering around a corner. He unleashed a volley into another pair of Skulls.
Shrieks sounded from behind the group. Dom helped Glenna and Spencer slow a group of five Skulls. The hail of lead beat down the first three. Their bodies crunched under the feet of the other two. One lunged, desperate to close the distance between it and Spencer. Spencer brought his rifle up in time to blast three rounds straight through its chattering jaws. Teeth and tongue blew away in a gory spray.
“To your right!” Andris called.
Dom swiveled. In another wide corridor, six more Skulls careened from the darkness. Meredith let loose a barrage of bullets with Andris and O’Neil. Dom joined in. The monsters fell in waves. But every time they destroyed one group, another appeared. Skulls poured in from every corridor, slowing their progress. They followed the signs toward the exit with increasing desperation. Everywhere they stepped became slick with Skull blood, and bullet casings rolled under the red lights.
Dom was starting to feel claustrophobic in the dark, twisting halls of the weapons research facility. But escaping the building didn’t guarantee safety. Far from it, in fact. More Skulls would be waiting for them outside. Only God knew what else was out there.
God... and maybe Frank.
“You got a visual, Frank?” Dom called between breaths.
“It’s dark as a Skull’s soul out here,” Frank said. “And the trees are making it even more difficult. I can see some heading your way. But no sign of—ah! There we go. Got some people running against the tide of Skulls. Looks like Hybrids among them, too.”
“FGL?” Dom asked.
“Got to be,” Frank said. “The Skulls are parting around them. They’re acting like the people aren’t even there...”
Frank trailed off, but his words gave Dom chills. Skulls parting around people. These Hybrids were monumentally strong.
“They’re getting into some kind of vehicle now,” Frank said. “And there it is. They’re loading something into the back.”
“That’s got to be our missing warheads,” Dom said. “Don’t let them get away!”
“I’ll do my best,” Frank said. “But I sure could use you guys with some guns up here to help me convince them to stay put.”
Dom didn’t respond. Instead, he fired into another swarm of Skulls clogging the hallway. The monsters pressed against each other, growling and snapping in their feverish pursuit of a fresh meal. Their bones clashed together with violent, jarring scrapes. When one fell, the others churned over it, pushing through the halls like flooding water.
“I see it,” Miguel cried over the roaring Skulls. “There’s the exit!”
Lightning flashed, piercing the broken windows at the end of the corridor. Skulls climbed through like overgrown lizards. Where they came from, there would be more. Even if they broke through the ranks of these Skulls, others would overwhelm them.
Dom searched the corridors for another exit. There had to be a better way out. But all the halls were filling with Skulls now. There was nothing to do but push forward. Above the clamor of the monsters rose another noise. One that sent a shockwave of desperation tearing through Dom.
The sound of an engine roaring to life.
“Frank, are they taking off?” Dom asked.
“Yes,” Frank said, not a trace of humor left in his voice. “They’re headed west.”
“Follow them,” Dom said. “Do not let them out of your sight.”
“Captain, you guys are going to need air support,” Frank said.
“Frank, you follow them until the drone arrives. We are not letting them get away. We’ll survive until you return. That’s what we goddamn do.”
The Skulls at the front of the pack hurtled over the layers of dead monsters at their feet. Miguel responded by letting loose a spray of acid from his prosthetic. The acid tore into the beasts, eating through their armor plates. The odor of singed flesh joined the rot leaching off the Skulls. Writhing beasts fell to the floor, swatting impotently at the acid splashed across them.
Another blast of thunder rolled over the facility. Rainwater rushed in through the broken windows. The water mixed with the red of the Skulls’ blood, making the floor slick.
“More of the bastards are coming from behind!” Spencer shouted.
“Keep pushing forward!” Dom commanded. “We’ve got to punch through!”
“FGL is on their way through the forest,” Frank said. “Headed straight for the bay.”
With guns and blades—and in O’Neil’s case, claws—they cut a swathe through the Skulls toward the exit. Glass shards glimmered in the near-constant lightning. The doors had been torn away, and parts of the wall hung from bent structural supports. Electric wiring and pipes jutted from the damage like exposed nerves and blood vessels. This was where the FGL had forced their way into the facility. Like everything they did, it had been violent, forsaking patience and discretion for ruthlessness and speed.
The voices of the Hunters rang out in concert with the ringing gunfire and shrieking Skulls. Dom’s vision became tunneled, focused on his sights. His rifle lingered on a Skull long enough to ensure he sent a three-round burst of bullets through it before he moved on to the next.
The beasts’ intellects were vastly limited by the damage done to their brains by the Oni Agent. It made predicting their behavior simple, especially with the experience the Hunters had. That didn’t mean it was easy. Still, they pushed through the mob of angry Skulls and emerged outside. Thunder ravaged Dom’s eardrums. Rain fell in sheets, and the sky split with lightning, illuminating the other ragged Skulls descending on Cesta. Most of them sprinted straight at Dom and the Hunters like the desperate, starving animals they were.
But there was one that did not. One that stood amid them, arms outstretched like a god among its worshipers.
A Hybrid.
“Kill him!” Dom raged. “Kill the Hybrid!”
The Hybrid laughed. The sound sent an icy wave through Dom more chilling than the rain.
Then he saw what the Hybrid had done. Two enormous beasts, each the size of a tank, barreled past him. It wasn’t just the thunder that had been rumbling through Cesta. It was a pair of Goliaths.
The behemoths trampled smaller Skulls as they ran. Their eyes blazed in the flash of the lightning, and water poured over their cracked, yellowed plates. Bullets pinged against their armor as the beasts stormed straight for the Hunters.
-19-
Somewhere behind the Goliaths, the Hybrid disappeared into the surrounding trees. Meredith hoped it was so he could catch up with the rest of his crew. Maybe these Goliaths were the only surprise he had in store for the Hunters.
“Miguel, O’Neil, Glenn, on me!” Dom bellowed. “We’ll take that one. Everyone else, get the other one!”
“Gladly,” Andris said leveling his rifle at the second Goliath. He unleashed a torrent of rounds into the thing’s chest. Some of the rounds connected with the bulging gray flesh between its plates, and the Goliath turned. It opened its tusked maw and let out a rolling howl. Hot, rancid air washed over the group.
Meredith used that moment to her advantage. The red roof of the creature’s mouth was just visible in her sights. She squeezed the trigger, and her bullets found their target.
The Goliath’s teeth snapped shut with a violent crack, and its head swiveled atop its hulking body. The monster lowered its shoulders and altered its trajectory once more, careening stra
ight at Meredith. Blood streamed from its cracked lips and splattered over its chest.
“Andris,” Meredith said, “time for some fire.”
“I like the sound of that.” Andris let his rifle fall to his side, catching on its strap. He dug through his tac vest and retrieved a chunk of C4. “Keep him off me.”
“You got it!” Meredith let loose another burst. Several of the rounds cracked the horns brimming around the Goliath’s temples.
Dom and O’Neil were launching their own assault on the other Goliath, drawing it away from Cesta and toward the broken fence. Jenna and Spencer focused on holding back the smaller Skulls.
The Goliath roared again. Spittle roped from its mouth and splashed over Meredith. She was close enough that its voice slammed into her eardrums with palpable pain. From the corner of her eye, she saw Andris setting the fuse to his improvised explosive. The Goliath began to swing toward him, its huge fist scooping up a Skull. It let the monster fly.
“Andris!” Meredith yelled.
The squawking Skull tumbled through the air. Andris dove out of the monster’s path and hit the ground, rolling. He lost the C4 as the Skull smashed into the spot where he had been. The beast’s neck cracked beyond anatomical limits, and its limbs went still as it settled in the grass like a broken toy plane.
Andris tried to retrieve the explosive, but the Goliath was on him now. The thing’s huge fists cut through the air in wide, scything paths. It knocked away small trees and Skulls alike. One of the tumbling trees knocked Andris over.
Meredith watched in horror as the Goliath’s fist began to come down on Andris. She fired at the monster’s arm and shoulder and head, riddling its side with bullets. But nothing would keep the giant from its prey. All the times they had partnered up on missions flashed through her mind, from the Congo to Boston. He had always trusted her to have his back. And here he was about to be smashed like an insect, too far for her to do anything but shoot and pray.
Then she saw another figure. Someone that had been closer, keeping an eye on her and Andris the whole time.
Spencer.
The Tide: Ghost Fleet (Tide Series Book 7) Page 14