Hatcher ground his teeth in frustration. “Fine. Except for one thing.” He grabbed the bag back and pulled Shelly’s photo out of it. He stuffed it into his shirt and tossed the bag back onto his desk. “The rest can burn.”
Candy stuck her head into the office. “There’s a chopper coming in.”
“And that would be our ride,” Vickers said with a smile.
“After you.” Hatcher waved toward the door and watched Vickers exit. He actually fantasized about sinking a knife into the man’s back as he walked out of the station.
“We have less than thirty minutes before the strike,” Vickers stated. “Cutting it a little close, I know, but what is life if you don’t have a little excitement?”
“What about your troops?” Hatcher asked.
“They’ll be far enough away. They’re sending a MOAB, but it’s what is known as a Big BLU. An earth penetrating, thirty thousand-pound bomb.”
Hatcher shook his head, confused. “I’m not following you.”
As they walked out the door and watched the helicopter approach, Vickers explained, “We needed this to actually appear like a natural disaster. So, in order to throw up enough dirt and debris, they decided to send a ‘bunker buster.’ Something that penetrates deep into the ground and explodes with enough force that it looks like a natural disaster.” Vickers smiled. “Only an explosive forensic expert would know the difference, and since this place is basically a giant volcano, nobody would think to send one here.”
Hatcher grabbed the man’s arm and spun him around, “Is there any chance it could actually trigger a volcanic eruption?”
Vickers shook his head. “That’s why I directed them to the highest point and not the lowest. The crust would be thinner in the low areas and thicker in the higher areas.”
Hatcher’s mind was spinning. “Where did you send them?”
“To the top of a high hill. Up by some hot springs.”
Buck heard gunshots and he froze. The soldiers must be shooting the slow, stupid zombies…except, he thought he was farther away than that. He paused and looked back up the hill. He couldn’t see anything moving up the hillside and he had been travelling along the creek for a while. Unless his sense of direction was way off, he should be making a wide circle around the center. But he should be able to see some of the slow-moving zombies if they were still climbing the hill.
All hell broke loose and gunfire echoed throughout the low area that he was in. Buck instinctively lowered himself behind a tree and tried not to imagine the carnage the soldiers must be unleashing on the zombies stupid enough to wander into their camp. He shook his head and for a moment, even felt sort of sorry for the creatures. The ones he had encountered meant him no harm, he was certain. They seemed much more interested in getting somewhere, just, not in any kind of hurry.
Buck finally let out the breath he was holding when the shooting stopped. He stepped out from behind the tree once more and stood there a moment, thinking about what he was doing. He was alone in woods full of zombies. Army soldiers were out here, and they were shooting at anything that moved. His only weapon was a knife and as his grandpa used to say, only an idiot brings a knife to a gun fight.
Buck slumped down at the base of the tree and looked out at the creek he was walking by. Why did he have to be so stupid and run out on the ranger and Skeeter? Just because he had been crying and…his mom had…
Buck pushed the thought from his mind and stood up again. He wiped at his face and gripped the knife tighter. He’d go and find his dad. They’d fight their way out of the woods together and then come back and get Keri.
Yeah. That was as good a plan as any.
Buck stared up at the sky and tried to get his bearings again. Glancing up at the hill where he was sure the ranger station was, he began trekking off in the general direction where he was sure the RV had been left.
He hadn’t gone very far when he heard another helicopter in the sky. This one sounded close…like it was coming in for a landing.
The helicopter set down in a soft patch of grass outside the staging area. Numerous military vehicles and tents were already set up, people busily working. Vivian stared out of the helicopter as the pilot finished the shutdown sequences. “Thank you for flying Pterodactyl Airlines, be sure and put your seats back in the full upright position and your trays up in the locked position.” The pilot grinned at her.
“Will I have cell service now?” she asked, obviously perturbed.
His face fell at her ignoring his favorite joke, and he nodded. “Yes, ma’am. You should, if there is any signal to be had.”
She looked at her phone and sighed at the sight of two bars. She quickly pulled the headphones from her ears and dialed Joseph’s number. The phone rang until it went to voicemail. She cursed silently and tried again with the same result. “Why won’t you answer?”
The pilot turned in his seat and shrugged. “They could be busy, ma’am. Remember, they’re trying to get out of that place. Could be that he simply can’t hear it.”
She glared at him for butting in to her business and reached over to pull open the side door. As she stepped out of the helicopter, she hit the button on the phone again and listened for him to pick up. Again, the phone rang and went to voicemail. “Dammit!”
Vivian snatched up her bags and marched away from the helicopter, angry for being stuck out in the middle of nowhere, angrier that she couldn’t be at the site and able to help the people that were supposed to be used in the experiments, and even angrier that the military was planning to blow up the site and wipe away all the evidence.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowd at the staging area, Vivian considered her options. She watched as soldiers, medics, and people she couldn’t identify hurried about her. She decided it was time to take Neils up on his offer.
She stepped away from the noise and confusion of the busy and growing crowd and dialed his number. It was time to tell him everything she had learned. She may not have any evidence to back it all up, but he needed to know where things stood in case anything happened to her.
Vickers walked out of the front door carrying his satchel with Maggie right behind him. She stepped in front of the colonel and opened the front door of the chopper for him across from the pilot. Vickers climbed in and began buckling up while Maggie secured the door from the outside. Hatcher and Candy stood outside with Skeeter, bowing slightly to keep below the spinning rotors.
Maggie waved them over to a side door that she slid open and helped lift Skeeter into the back of the helicopter. Candy entered next and sat next to Skeeter, helping her to buckle in. Hatcher watched as trucks began to pull out of the makeshift military compound, heading out toward the park entrance.
Maggie tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and Hatcher started to get in. Maggie stopped him with a hand on his chest. Hatcher halted and looked at her. She held out her service pistol to him, her back blocking the view of anybody in the chopper. She said nothing, not that he could hear it if she had, but her eyes told him everything he needed to know: Don’t trust Vickers.
Hatcher accepted the weapon, tucking it neatly in the back of his pants before he stepped into the chopper and buckled his own safety harness. Maggie got in across from him and pulled the door shut, latching it behind her.
The ride to the staging area was short and bumpy. Hatcher had never ridden in a helicopter before, and although they appeared smooth and fast on TV and in movies, this one seemed slow and choppy. They travelled as the crow flies and arrived fast enough, but he felt as though he had been sealed in a trash can and rolled down a hill. It didn’t help that the seat had little to no cushioning and the pilot was keeping the craft low to the ground. It was almost as if he was trying to adjust for every tree top that he met.
When they finally came to the clearing outside the park where the staging area had been set up, Hatcher nearly gasped at the number of military personnel on-site. A large white tent with a red cross ablaze across t
he top was set up in the middle of the area, surrounded by numerous other green and tan tents. Military vehicles of all types were scattered about, and the place literally crawled with people.
Hatcher glanced up at Maggie, his eyes wide. How would Vickers dare get rid of the three of them with this many witnesses.
As the chopper circled the camp and came to a grassy area near other aircraft, it began its descent. Hatcher’s heart began to race as he considered their options. Could they possibly make it to a vehicle and escape? Could they hide among the many tents and perhaps slip away and back into the woods unseen?
The chopper set down and rattled his teeth, the gun at the small of his back suddenly feeling easily detectible. Hatcher reached around and unbuckled, pulling his shirt loose to fall over the weapon, concealing it. He looked to Maggie who was opening the side door and stepping out.
Hatcher followed her out and bent low again, stepping away from the rotors overhead and toward another chopper sitting idly by. He turned and waited for Candy and Skeeter.
Vickers marched up to him and shouted above the sounds of the helicopter winding down. “There’s a medical tent over there,” he said pointing. “Have your people checked out and get something to eat. Major Chappell will have you a tent assigned so you can get some rest.”
“What happens after?” Hatcher asked.
“After?” Vickers repeated.
“You know…after the bombs hit.”
“Ah.” He glanced around to the numerous troops and indicated them with a wave of his hand. “My men and I come in to render aid, declare it a disaster, find you and yours alive and the only survivors. You will be properly debriefed and once we are certain you will never breathe a word of what truly happened here, you’ll be free to go.”
Hatcher stared at the man. “And how will you know that?”
Vickers gave him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Nothing sinister, I assure you. Professionals from another branch of the federal government will come and speak with you. Once you have signed a fully-binding non-disclosure statement.”
“A statement that says the official story is the real story.”
“Exactly.” Vickers smiled again.
“I should have known.”
Vickers glanced at his watch. “There’s still time to have you returned to your station,” he offered. “Barely.”
Hatcher glared at the man a moment longer. “Don’t you have a third world government to overthrow somewhere?”
Vickers smiled again and turned on his heel. “I thought you’d see things my way.”
Chapter 12
The C-130 that suddenly dropped in altitude and aligned for the sight had a crew of eight for this mission. Using satellite imagery, the locator beacon was zeroed in on, and the first images were brought up as the plane began lining up to drop its payload.
The tech sergeant adjusted the gain in the image and sat back. “Uh, Lieutenant?” he called. “There are a TON of civilians at the target sight, sir.”
“Those are tangos, Tech Sergeant,” the lieutenant called back. “Carry on.”
The tech sergeant felt his guts tighten as he transferred the coordinates to the bomb’s internal navigation system. A slight whirring sound verified that the gimbal system was active as the motors activated and the coordinates were accepted. Somehow, he couldn’t accept that American civilians were now tangos. Especially American civilians at Yellowstone National Park. Hell, it could be some of his family down there.
As the plane shifted slightly, the tech sergeant felt the pull of gravity against the restraints of the seat as the plane came around and settled in for its run. The ventilation system increased the internal atmospheric system in preparation for the opening of the huge rear loading door.
The tech sergeant typed in the commands and waited while the satellite magnified the image twice more. He nearly gasped as the image clarified and the tangos came into view. Bloody faces, torn and ragged clothing, missing body parts…images all reminiscent of a Romero movie now played on the screen in front of his eyes. “Dear God in heaven,” he muttered.
“Cut the chatter,” the lieutenant ordered. “Prepare for release.”
The tech cleared the image and sat back in his chair. He couldn’t have seen what he had just seen. It couldn’t have been real. Surely this was a training exercise to see what the serviceman’s reactions would be.
Wasn’t it?
* * *
*****
* * *
Colonel Vickers walked through the camp toward what would be his command center. As soon as he stepped into the tent, a woman in a business suit approached him, “Excuse me, are you the one in charge here?” Instantly, he was annoyed by her accent, but he had to admit, she was easy on the eyes.
“Yes, that would be me, but I’m too busy to—”
“You need to call off this bomb of yours!”
Vickers stepped back and looked down his nose at her. “And you would be?”
“My name is Dr. Vivian LaRue. I worked with Dr. Andrews. I am the one who co-discovered the virus,” she said rapidly. “Colonel, if you allow this bomb of yours to happen, you run the risk of—”
Vickers held up his hand, stopping her. “I cannot stop the bombing if I wanted to, Doctor.” He tried to sidestep her, ignoring her complaint.
“You do not understand, colonel!” She grabbed his arm. “Colonel!” she screamed. “You will not contain the virus, you will spread it!”
Vickers paused and turned on her. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” she said, lowering her voice. “The virus is thermophilic. It likes heat. It lives in hot, moist environments. That is why it survived here in this thermally active area for hundreds of thousands of years, unchanged!” she tried to explain. “If you use a bomb like your soldiers are talking about, one that goes into the ground and explodes with a lot of heat, you will vaporize—”
“Yes.” Vickers smiled. “We will vaporize the virus and be done with it.” He clapped his hands and again tried to walk away.
“No!” She stepped in front of him again. “This virus lives…no, it thrives in waters heated by the earth’s core. It lives in waters heated by magma. Do you really think that your little bomb will vaporize it?” She set him back. “No, your bomb will simply spread it.”
“But, it’s supposed to kill the people, not—”
“Where is the bomb supposed to go off?” she asked, already knowing the answer. She had heard enough from the soldiers here to know exactly what was happening.
“At the hot springs at the top of the mountain,” Vickers replied softly.
“Precisely. A hot springs. An avenue for the very virus we are trying to control to escape, and you want to superheat it, vaporize the water, allow it to rise as steam and form clouds,” she explained. “It can then condense and be carried…where?”
Vickers stared at her a moment then glanced around the room. “Where are the prevailing winds blowing?”
One of his soldiers looked up from a computer and said, “Wait one, sir.” After clicking a few keys, he looked up again and replied, “Toward the west, southwest from here, sir.”
“You are about to send this virus along the Western Seaboard, colonel,” Dr. LaRue stated. “Call off the bomb!”
Vickers looked at his watch, then lifted his eyes to hers. “It’s too late.”
* * *
*****
* * *
Bill was laying back in the rear of the boat enjoying the breeze off the lake. For the first time in a long time, he was smiling. “I think we might actually make it, buddy.”
Richard turned the pilot’s seat around and grinned back at him, “It’s about damned time something went our way.”
Jason finally came to the rear of the boat from the open bow. He climbed into his grandfather’s lap and hugged him. “Can we just go fishing, Grandpa?”
Richard leaned back so that he could look at his grandson’s face. “What?”
“Can’t we just fish for a while?” Jason’s voice barely audible over the sound of the boat’s engine.
“Why would you ask something like that, buddy?” Richard asked.
A flash of light behind them caught Richard’s attention and Bill turned around so fast, he nearly put a crick in his neck. “What the hell was that?”
Richard quickly throttled down the boat and both men stared back behind them as a mushroom cloud began to form on top of a high ridge behind the lake.
“Oh, my God,” Richard muttered.
“Th-the volcano didn’t…”
“No,” Richard said adamantly. “That’s an explosion. And it’s forming into a mushroom cloud.” He gave Bill a panicked look. “Does that mean it’s nuclear?”
Bill shook his head. “No. If it was a nuke, it would have vaporized the lake.”
“Please, Grandpa.” Jason said with tears in his eyes. “Can’t we just go fishing for a little while?”
Richard turned his attention to the boy and stared at him for a moment. The boy had tears running down his cheeks. Richard stole a glance at Bill. Bill’s face fell as the realization hit him. There was no way out this time.
Bill turned a forlorn eye to Richard and simply nodded. “Let’s fish,” he said quietly.
Richard pulled Jason into a tight hug. “Yeah, buddy,” he said, his voice growing tighter. “Let’s do some fishing.”
Bill stood up and lifted the lid from the bottom of the boat and began pulling out the fishing gear while Richard killed the engine. “Fishing sounds like a heck of an idea.”
* * *
*****
* * *
Buck had worked his way around the station and was still following the creek up the hill. He knew that a creek wasn’t far from where they had left the RV. He just hoped and prayed it was the same creek he was walking next to. He felt fortunate he hadn’t seen any more zombies or soldiers since the chopper left, but he also felt it odd he hadn’t heard any kind of wildlife, either. He could understand not hearing or seeing any of the larger wildlife that was indigenous to Yellowstone, but he expected to hear some birds once in a while.
Caldera Book 2: Out Of The Fire Page 20