‘You bastard,’ she screamed.
Cossack grabbed her face firmly; his hand covered her mouth and nose. He pushed his face against hers, cheek to cheek. He licked her ear and then bit down on it, hard. Ella tried to scream; she writhed and struggled under him.
All the lights went out. This time they stayed out. The alarm stopped ringing. Complete darkness descended on the tunnel. Black and silent.
‘Damn it,’ Cossack cursed, his words echoed in the gloom.
He released his grip on Ella and sat up straddling her just below her rucksack. He kept one hand on the back of her neck to pin her down.
Ella breathed short, rapid breaths. She struggled and twisted under his weight.
With one hand, Cossack took out his Zippo lighter from his suit. In one swift move he flicked it open and pulled down on the metal wheel. The flint sparked and the flame came to life. A soft, orange glow lit the immediate vicinity.
Cossack frowned. Something didn’t make sense. He found himself staring down the barrel of a SIG-Sauer P229. At the end of the weapon was Ella, her head twisted around in an awkward position. Her mouth was screwed up in concentration, her eyes burned with fury.
Cossack flicked the Zippo closed and darkness fell once more.
There was a bright flash and a loud bang that echoed down the tunnels for what seemed like an eternity.
Then there was silence.
Ella felt the pressure on her release. She heard Cossack fall to the floor, but couldn’t see him. There was a strange gurgling noise; she pointed the gun in the direction of it. Something hit her arm, hard, and the gun fell out of her hand and scattered on the floor. Frantically, Ella kicked her legs along the ground and pushed herself back towards the wall. Something grunted and scuffled close to her, it sounded like a wounded animal.
From the side was a creaking sound and a thud. A brilliant bright white light exploded into the corridor. A dark figure stood behind it. Like a searchlight the circular beam swept along the floor until it found Ella. She squinted, the light remained on her for a moment, and then it swept the area again. It stopped when it lit up the man on the floor. Cossack was clutching his neck with one bloody hand, a thick stream of blood was jettisoning out from between his fingers. The floor around him was covered in the sticky substance. Cossack, pale faced, lifted his head and looked into the light. His eyes were wide, he mouthed some words but no sound came out. He reached out with his other hand.
A brief but intense blast of bright yellow flame exploded out from the muzzle of the PDW. Then another. And another.
Cossack slumped where he lay, his head fell back, his eyes and mouth open. The blood from his neck stopped jettisoning out. A final slow hiss of breath escaped from his bloodied mouth. And then there was silence.
William rushed over to Ella. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked. He detached the torch from the rifle and used it to check over her. ‘You’ve been hit. We need to get you out of here.’
‘William,’ she said looking up at him with watery eyes. ‘Calm down. It hurts, but I’m okay.’ She reached her good arm up to his cheek and smiled against the pain.
William slid his Bergen off and discarded it. Carefully, he took off Ella’s rucksack and threw it over his shoulder. He reattached the torch to the PDW and held out his hand to Ella. She took it and he gently pulled her up. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder, she winced and groaned, but stood.
‘Come on, let’s go,’ he said.
With the torch illuminating their way, they walked slowly through the dark, silent, complex to the main exit.
*
When William and Ella emerged from the shadowy tunnel into the entrance area, they were momentarily blinded by half a dozen torch lights. Paddy and the troopers had been waiting for them. Max sat in an open area outside with his equipment and uploaded the data to the satellite. The place was crawling with Marines who had followed them in by sea and air and taken up defensive positions all around the island. Prisoners were being dealt with. Anyone who tried to escape by boat was quickly intercepted.
‘I need medical help here,’ William shouted. Ella had her arm loosely around William’s neck. Pale and delirious, she could barely keep her head up. Her once white suit was covered in blood.
Paddy and Rupert rushed over with a medical kit. They sat her down against a wall and tended to her. She screamed in pain and drifted in and out consciousness.
‘Stay awake, Ella,’ William prompted. ‘Stay with us.’
Rupert turned away and spoke into his radio. ‘Requesting an immediate med-evac at my location,’ he said.
Paddy gave her a shot of morphine. He took out a marker pen and wrote a large M on her forehead, next to it he wrote the time.
‘I’m scared,’ Ella whispered, her voice was weak and shaky. ‘It’s cold.’
‘You’re in good hands. It’s going to be okay, trust me.’ William smiled to reassure her, but he knew the injury was serious.
While William put pressure on the wound to stop the blood flow, Rupert pulled out a bag of blood substitute solution and pushed the needle into her arm. Gently, he squeezed all of the liquid into her.
Ella moaned, but gradually the morphine kicked in and she settled down. Once the wound was dressed, William fed her some water from his flask. She gulped it down. Gently, he cleaned some of the blood off her face and neck with a rolled up bandage.
‘It’s all over now,’ he said calmly to her. ‘You made it. You’re going to be okay.’
Ella looked up at him with a hazy, drunken grin. She raised her hand to his face. ‘No. It’s not over,’ she said softly.
William frowned.
She patted the rucksack on William’s back. ‘It’s only just begun.’
Epilogue
The moment the Defence Laboratories had received the crucial data from Max, they went to work synthesising the vaccine in mass quantities. Instructions were issued to every factory in every country capable of doing the same synthesis, and thus began the biggest global vaccination programme since the eradication of smallpox in 1979. Concurrently, Governments around the globe activated their well practised pandemic emergency plans; vaccination centres sprung up in cities and towns the world over.
The WHO made the prudent decision to be open and honest with the public from the outset. The truth about the infection, and particularly its source, was released to the global media. Within minutes the entire world learned how close they had come to virtual destruction. However, acting under the influence of western governments, the WHO did make one little white lie: they reported that any hard narcotic could have been infected with the virus, not just cocaine. Every drug user was encouraged to hand their hoard in for incineration and proceed immediately to their local vaccination centre.
Drug users and anyone showing the symptoms of a cold or flu were given priority for vaccination. Within a few days enough of the population had been protected to stem the spread of the disease. Having been successfully contained, it was only a matter of time before it was eradicated completely.
Later, it was calculated that the virus had claimed more than five-million souls. Most of the casualties were from the developed nations, a high concentration were from the cities, the economic hubs. The initial victims were the users of the doctored cocaine, then their family, their friends and close colleagues. From there the virus spread like wildfire across the planet.
Once confirmed that the pandemic threat had been eliminated, the world returned to normal. It was business as usual – well, almost. There were some surprising, and notable, absences from the world stage. The entertainment industry had been hit particularly hard, as had many blue chip organisations. City banks and law firms lost swathes of their best and brightest. Inevitably, a global recession ensued. The recovery was slow and had its own casualties.
There was, however, one positive outcome reported by all law enforcement agencies: the global market for hard drugs collapsed virtually overnight. Subsequently, crime rates fell dramati
cally in every country.
Despite their hard work, F-Branch was never mentioned in any public material relating to the incident. Full credit for the discovery of the virus, and its vaccine, was given to the Defence Laboratories. Colonel Ackers was knighted. Max was promoted.
After a month in hospital, Darren made a full recovery. His knee was rebuilt, but he would never play rugby again.
The truth of what had happened was soon lost amongst the ubiquitous conspiracy theories. Some said that it was a deliberate act by a western government to collapse the drugs trade. Others claimed it was a plague sent by God to punish a corrupted world that had forgotten its place. But others knew better. A few knew the truth.
*
Six months later – Central London
Sat by the window of his new office, William turned and gazed out onto the snow covered road beyond. A haze of brilliant white snowflakes, illuminated by the street lights, danced randomly in the wind as they fell.
He glanced at his watch; it was getting late. Ever since Ella had gone he had stayed later and later at work each night. There was little else for him to do, and it took his mind off things. He opened his drawer and took out a quarter-full bottle of whisky and a small glass. Gently, he worked the cork out and poured a modest amount of the yellow liquid. He swilled the glass around and brought the rare malt to his nose. Inhaling deeply, he shut his eyes and enjoyed the sweet aroma.
‘To life and love,’ he said, and took a sip. He let the liquid settle in his mouth, allowing him to enjoy the multitude of flavours and sensations before he swallowed it down.
Getting back to work, he took out his tablet computer from his drawer, and opened the IMS secure document store. There was a case file named Operation Greek Fire, he pressed on the icon and the document opened. Emblazoned in large red letters on the first page were the words “Top Secret – Orion”. He flicked through the pages until he found the small photographs. There were eleven people that he had come to recognise like old friends, faces that he had first seen on the walls of Ella’s father’s study all those months ago. Just as he had thought, none of the cult leaders, other than Hades, had perished on the island. They had all vanished as if they had never existed at all. He zoomed in on one image and smiled. He knew he’d met the attractive woman face to face in the tunnel all those months ago. A lifetime ago, it seemed. He looked up from the screen and contemplated the memories.
His mobile phone rang; he looked at the caller name and answered. ‘Hello gorgeous,’ he said. ‘Nice of you to keep in touch.’
‘William, I’ve found it,’ Ella said excitedly. ‘I really think I’ve found it this time.’
‘Calm down. Where are you? You sound distant.’
‘I’m in Baghdad. You need to come, there’s no time to waste.’
‘Baghdad? What the hell are you doing there? I thought you were in Cairo?’
‘I was, but I’ve found something. William, it’s amazing. It’s wonderful.’
‘What is it?’
‘The first marker, the first clue on the road that leads to Atlantis.’
William winced when she spoke that word. ‘Ella,’ he said calmly, ‘be careful of what you say. Remember what we talked about?’
‘Trust me, I’ve been very careful,’ she assured. ‘No one knows why I’m here or what I’m really looking for.’
William wasn’t so sure, but he held his tongue.
‘Please come,’ she asked desperately. ‘I need you here.’
Taking a deep breath, William spun his chair around and looked out of the window. He rolled his head back, shut his eyes and breathed out slowly.
‘William?’ Ella prompted. ‘Please, for me?’
‘Okay, okay,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘I’ll come.’
‘Yes,’ Ella squealed. ‘I love you.’
‘Love you too,’ he said gently.
He finished the glass of whisky, put his coat on, and walked out into the cold.
The End
* * *
The Secret of Hades' Eden Page 36