“I told you to get to your damn shelter,” Presley said. “And Captain…”
His words trailed off as an officer whispered something to him.
“God dammit,” Presley said, upper lip curling. “Deploy all of the strike teams. We have to make sure not a single Variant gets in.”
“What about the team guarding the mastermind?” asked an officer.
“All the strike teams,” Presley repeated.
“No,” Beckham said. “You can’t do that.”
The commander glared at Beckham.
“You aren’t in charge here, Captain,” Presley said. “I’ve got the situation under control, and frankly I’m getting sick of you interjecting.”
“You also thought you had the collaborator problem under control.”
“All due respect, but Captain Beckham’s right,” Fischer said. “If what I just saw is happening around the outpost, then things aren’t even remotely under control. We’re straight up shit’s creek without a paddle.”
Presley stiffened, raising his jaw proudly. He motioned to two guards standing at the doorway.
“Get these men out,” Presley said. “They’re no longer authorized to be inside any military facility.”
Beckham looked at the two guards, then back to Presley.
“You’re making a mistake, Colonel. We have to protect the science building at all costs!” he shouted.
Presley nodded at the guards who grabbed Beckham by his upper arms. He shook out of their grip, glaring at Presley.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” Presley said.
Beckham marched out and Fischer followed him. The door shut behind them, sealing them outside with Tran and Chase.
“What the hell just happened?” Tran asked.
“I reckon the end of Manchester,” Fischer said with a sigh.
Beckham was already walking away.
“Captain, where are you going?” Fischer called out.
“To protect my wife and make sure she finishes the job we came here for,” he replied. “You’re welcome to join me. I might need some help.”
After what Fischer had just seen, he had no doubt that the Variants were coming for the mastermind now. He just hoped the scientists had enough time to finish their work before the beasts infiltrated the outpost.
He tapped his holstered .357 revolver.
If it turned out that the scientists didn’t have enough time, he would buy some for them. Even if it meant he didn’t make it out of here alive.
***
Kate could only hear the chirp and hum of laboratory equipment, but she knew from the reports, there was a battle going on at the border. She had expected as much, but knowing her family was out there put her on edge.
She wasn’t the only one.
Guards nervously shuffled around the perimeter of the massive space. They weren’t just concerned about keeping the mastermind in here anymore—they were afraid of what might try to make its way in from the outside.
Several of the soldiers had already left to guard the passages and entrance to the lab. Only four remained in the space. The sergeant in charge assured the science team they were safe.
He stepped over to Kate. “Colonel Presley just told me he’s handling the situation, and to keep working.”
“What exactly is happening out there?” Carr said. “We deserve to know.”
“Just a few isolated attacks,” replied the sergeant.
“Get back to work,” said another guard.
“Back off with those machine guns, and we will,” Carr said firmly.
The sergeant motioned his men back, and Kate huddled with her staff.
“Should I try and get in touch with Reed?” Kate whispered. “He’ll know what’s really going on.”
“They said they have it under control,” Sean said.
Kate was surprised by the normally timid lab technician’s response.
“We’re almost done,” Sammy said. “I just need a bit more time to focus.”
“We need you here, Doctor Lovato,” Carr said. “Trying to track down your husband will take far too long. Besides, he’s probably in the shelter with your family, where they’re safe.”
He was right, and Kate trusted Beckham to show up if there was an issue. He had never let her down in the past.
“Let’s finish the job,” Kate said.
The other lab techs and engineers scattered throughout the room back to their assigned stations. Kate went with Sammy, Sean, and Carr back to a computer terminal.
They were so close to finalizing the lexicon they would need to seamlessly communicate between the masterminds.
Kate did her best to concentrate on work and remind herself that Beckham and Horn were looking after the kids, but it was almost impossible.
Sweat dripped down Sammy’s forehead behind her plastic mask.
“Okay, my natural language algorithm is in sync with the collaborators’ software,” she said. “We really just need to run through a few more commands, and then I think we can have the algorithm figured out.”
As if in answer, an animalistic howl rumbled from the abomination.
“There isn’t a word that this thing has uttered now that I haven’t been able to decipher,” Sammy said. “I’m operating at one-hundred percent translation success now.”
“Good,” Kate said. She peered into the bioreactor with the red webbing that was transmitting their signals from Sammy’s computer to the tendrils attached to the mastermind.
“What’s the current success rate for communicating back?” Carr asked, holding up a tablet to document the data.
“About eighty percent of my commands are being understood successfully,” Sammy replied. “The simpler stuff is no problem. More complicated inputs are proving difficult.”
“Give me an example.”
“Complex information about enemy movements. Sometimes it believes me, sometimes it realizes we’re actually the enemy. I’m not quite sure what the difference is between those instances, but with a little more time—”
The mastermind moved again, rattling its chains. The four soldiers paced, watching the beast.
“It’s acting like it knows what’s happening outside,” Kate said.
“How?” Carr asked. “The beast isn’t connected to the Variant network, and no way this thing has ESP.”
“It can’t know,” Sean said, nervously eying the IV lines with the sedatives. “It’s just agitated.”
Kate narrowed her brows at the uncharacteristically overconfident young technician, but then went back to examining the shackled beast. Huge muscled arms dangled slackly against its bulbous sides. The monster’s eyes were still half-closed beneath the folds of pink flesh covering its ugly head.
“Just keep the thing under control, okay, Sean?” Kate asked.
Sean glanced between her and the monster.
“We’re running out of time,” Carr reminded everyone.
Kate checked the attachments on the micro-electronic array attached to the bioreactor. “Re-check everything. Make sure nothing is interfering with Sammy’s work.”
“And the sedatives?” Sean asked. “Do you think they’re holding things back?”
Sammy looked up at him from her computer. “Honestly, maybe. If the thing’s brain isn’t functioning at full capacity, that might be an issue.”
Kate didn’t like the idea of pulling back on the sedatives and was surprised Sean suggested it, but they all wanted to finish. Anything to expedite their research now might be worth the risk.
“If you think it can help, then do it,” Kate said.
Sean nodded, adjusting the dials on the IV drip.
“What are you doing?” asked a guard.
Kate explained, and the men moved closer, their weapons cradled.
“Please, back up,” Sean said as they circled around. “I need some room.”
Kate turned her attention back to Sammy’s monitor as the computer engineer typed out a few mo
re queries to the mastermind. It took several minutes, but sure enough, the responses started to come back slightly faster, and clearer.
“Ask if it has identified any enemy contacts in its location,” Kate said.
Sammy typed in the request.
“I am uncertain of my current whereabouts,” said the mastermind’s computerized reply that came over the speakers. The monster’s eyelids suddenly flipped open and swept the room. “Unfamiliar contacts are holding me prisoner. Hostiles. Ten of them.”
Sammy looked up at Kate with a proud grin.
“Now, let’s see if this thing really believes we’re its master or not,” Kate said.
“Those contacts you see are your allies,” Sammy typed.
The chains holding the mastermind rustled as it rotated slightly.
“Some are allies, true,” came the reply over the computer screen.
“See?” Sammy said, her grin widening.
Kate was too nervous to smile. Her family was out there, in the middle of an attack, and she had no idea what was happening behind the lab walls.
The sound of distant gunfire reverberated, but how was that possible?
The lab was basically soundproof. It had to be her ears playing tricks on her. They would know if there were hostiles in the building.
Kate returned her attention to Sammy. The young technician stared at the computer screen, her smile gone.
“Something isn’t right.” She tapped at the keyboard. “It just said the connection has been terminated.”
The chains rattled again, the clank echoing. The soldiers closed in.
Sean walked over to the sealed door and used his keycard to open it. Before Kate could ask him what he was doing, the door opened, and another soldier walked in.
He handed Sean a rifle. Both men aimed their weapons at the other guards. None of the four soldiers even had a chance to raise their rifles before they crumpled under a spray of automatic bullets.
The gunfire echoed in the space, nearly deafening to Kate. Sammy screamed, and the other techs darted for cover. Carr was the only one that remained standing by Kate.
“What are you doing!” he yelled at Sean.
Sean swung the rifle at Carr. “Shut the fuck up, and don’t move.”
The soldier that Sean had let in hurried toward the shackles holding the mastermind in place.
“No,” Kate said. “You can’t do this.”
Sean laughed. “You’re more naïve than I thought, Kate Lovato.”
“Sean, please,” Sammy begged. “It’s not too late to stop whatever it is you’re doing.”
“Shut up, you dumb bitch,” Sean said, angling the weapon at her.
The soldier used a key to unlock the first of the shackles on the mastermind.
“Neither of you get it, do you?” Sean said, his voice booming. “You used science to try and save us, but all you did was make them stronger.”
He angled his weapon at Kate. “You created the Variants. The new gods.”
“That’s not true,” said Sammy.
“I said shut your mouth!” Sean said.
Kate reached out to the technician just as Sean fired. Sammy slumped to the ground, holding her stomach.
“NO!” Kate shouted. She glared at Sean, nerves firing with anger. “You monster.”
“Call me what you want, but you created the real monsters.” Sean shrugged. Then he backpedaled to the mastermind, holding a gun on them.
Carr and Kate bent down next to Sammy.
“What do we do?” he whispered.
“I don’t know,” Kate said.
She put pressure on Sammy’s wound, the only thing she could do.
The other technicians and engineers hid behind their stations, trembling. They could all storm Sean and the soldier but she wasn’t sure they could get there without all being killed.
Kate knew there was no way they could talk Sean and his partner out of what they were doing. The only way to stop them was to fight or hope the rest of the guards got here in time. She thought back to the gunfire she heard earlier.
It must have been real after all.
The man with Sean had killed the other guards. There probably weren’t any other men left out there.
“We have to do something,” Carr said. He stood and faced Sean again. But before he could even open his mouth Sean shot him through his face.
He hit the ground next to Kate, his eyes still open.
— 25 —
Beckham stopped at Outpost Manchester’s civilian shelter on his way to the lab. People clustered around, asking questions about what was happening outside. He waved them off and pushed through the crowd until he found Horn trying to keep the kids calm.
“Dad!” Javier shouted. “Please don’t leave again.”
“Sorry, buddy,” Beckham said. “I promise everything’s going to be okay.”
“So you’ll stay?”
Beckham hesitated, but his son was tough. He would understand. “I’ve got to go check on your mom. Once she finishes her work, we’re all going to leave this place.”
“Good,” Tasha said.
“Can’t wait,” Jenny said with a snort.
Once the kids returned to their cots and chairs, Beckham pulled Horn aside. He found a corner they could whisper in without the kids overhearing.
“How bad is it out there?” Horn asked.
“We got hit by a bunch of rogue juveniles. Seems like they’re really pressing the defenses now, and Presley kicked me out of the command building.”
“That son of a bitch weasel. I had a bad feeling about him.”
Beckham thought back to the kid collaborator in the jail. He had a feeling there were more of them out there, waiting to strike.
“I’ve got good reason to believe this is going to get a lot worse,” Beckham said. “We have to get out of here.”
“Jesus.”
“President Ringgold will send an evac as soon as we call for it,” Beckham said. “If things go south, and I can’t get back here, you take the kids and the dogs to the tarmac, okay? Leave without me if you have to.”
“Screw that,” Horn said. “We ain’t going anywhere without you.”
Horn had a look in his eye that Beckham recognized. Like he wanted to roll outside with the M249 and mow everything down.
“The kids, Big Horn. You’ve got to stay with them and stay calm.”
Horn clenched his jaw, but nodded, finally relenting. “Fine. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to the lab to make sure Kate’s good. She told me they were almost done.”
“Okay,” Horn said. He put a hand on Beckham’s shoulder. “Be careful, boss.”
“You, too.”
Beckham said goodbye to the kids and dogs before returning to the street where Fischer waited with his men. The sound of distant gunfire rattled in the night, but it was more sporadic now.
“Everyone okay?” Fischer asked.
“For now.” Beckham jerked his chin. “Let’s go.”
They set off with Tran and Chase down the empty road. Even the routine patrols had been called off to other areas.
When Beckham reached the lab building, it wasn’t guarded by a single vehicle or soldier. He wanted to march back to the command post and knock Presley out.
Chase halted on the sidewalk. “They didn’t even leave a single damn guard outside?”
“That stupid son of a gun,” Fischer said. “What in Sam Hill was he thinking?”
“He’s lost control, and shits about to hit the fan,” Beckham said. “Come on. Let’s find a way in.”
They tried the front entrance, but it was locked. Knocking didn’t help. Beckham cupped his hands over his eyes to peer through the windows in the door. No one stood guard inside either.
He circled around the building and found a side door, but it too was locked and no one answered his knocks.
“I know Presley’s acting like a dumbass, but it’s still strange no one is in there, right
?” Chase asked.
“Sure as hell seems strange to me,” Tran said.
“Think you can pick it?” Fischer asked him.
“If by pick you mean shoot, sure,” Beckham said. He motioned for them to get back. Then he aimed his M4 and fired at the lock. The well-placed round did the trick, and he kicked the door open.
Tran went in first, keeping his rifle angled at the ground, just in case there were friendlies inside. He stopped right in the entrance.
“Why are the lights off?” he asked.
Beckham moved inside. “Something’s not right.”
Shouldering his rifle, he took the lead. Emergency lights glowed in the nook of the ceilings, providing just enough light to guide him down the hallway.
Every step he took, his pulse raced faster.
God, even Presley wasn’t actually bullheaded enough to leave this place completely unguarded. Something was definitely wrong.
Very wrong.
Please be okay, Kate.
He stopped at an intersection and held up his prosthetic hand. Then he checked the leftward hallway. Seeing it was clear, he looked to the right.
His stomach flipped. Two bodies lay crumpled. Dark blood pooled over the tiled floor, but he didn’t see any sign of gashes or torn flesh to indicate Variants were inside.
“Collaborators already got here,” he whispered.
Fischer came up next to him to have a look.
“On me,” Beckham whispered. “Tran, watch our six. We’ve got at least one hostile shooter.”
Without hesitation, Beckham led the way, his rifle up and finger hovering over the trigger. The lab entrance was at the end of the passage, not far from where the soldiers had fallen.
He kept low, hugging the wall, barrel aimed at the door to the lab. When he reached the bodies, he halted to examine them.
The men had both been shot in the back. They probably never saw the attack coming. One of their weapons was gone, which told Beckham the shooter had probably taken it to give to someone else.
Judging by the looks of things, the shooter had taken the extra weapon straight to the lab.
Beckham swallowed hard and kept walking. A tremor shook the ground as he passed the dead Raven guards. He almost stopped, but pressed on to the windows.
Extinction Cycle Dark Age (Book 2): Extinction Inferno Page 31