Spectrum

by Ethan Cross

  Chapter 95

  Nic passed through the glass front doors of the dead casino, surprised that any of the glass was still in place. A few of the twenty-foot glass panels had been busted by vandals or strong winds, but almost all of them were still intact. He supposed it was a testament to Black Dog and their now-deceased commander that they had taken such good care of the abandoned structure.

  The interior of The Jade Dragon was truly impressive. Marble colonnades supported a horseshoe balcony. The ceiling had been painted to look like a blue sky and the effect was amazing even in its darkened state. It made Nic feel like he was actually outdoors. The part he found unsettling was the 2,000 terra-cotta soldiers lined up in front of them like a defending army. The outer rim of the lobby was empty, clearly designed to hold gaming tables and slot machines. But the center was the realm of the emperor’s soldiers.

  Behind the army was the statue that would have given the casino its name. The massive dragon statue made from pure jade was supposedly the largest jade sculpture in the world. Nic was surprised it hadn’t been removed, but he supposed someone still held hope that the doomed project would get off the ground. But even he had heard that the structure had fallen into such disrepair that it would take more money to remodel than it would to blow it all to hell and start from scratch.

  It was a shame. He could see the original vision for the place even now, and it would have been truly impressive. He could imagine the feeling of being transported to the ancient orient, a place ruled by emperors and dragons. But he supposed vision didn’t matter when money was involved.

  Nic and Carter took up the far rear of the group of men, staying close to the front entrance as the SWAT team wove their way in and out of the rows of soldiers, using the statues as cover as they approached the front desk of the hotel and ultimately the elevators and stairs that would take them to their target.

  Nic watched as the FBI team moved in unison. They reminded him of one of the Chinese dragons, one flesh, a curling snake of power and mighty force, not separate men but connected in mind and body. For a SWAT team leader, it was a thing of beauty and elegance, and even in this brief glimpse, he could see how these men were superior to his Henderson PD team. It was more than discipline and training. It was unity. A group of men who thought and moved as one.

  That beauty was shattered when the sound of a high-caliber machine gun burst to life and the point men of the FBI group were cut down by a string of lead and fire.

  The team leader screamed, “Cover!”

  Each member of the team, including Nic and Carter, crouched low behind one of the terra-cotta soldiers, which would provide little protection against what Nic guessed to be the work of an M60 machine gun, firing 7.62x51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. The machine gun was likely fed by boxes of armor piercing rounds that wouldn’t run out anytime soon. They had walked into a trap.

  Nic could hear the groaning of the three wounded point men. Two of the others tried to help their teammates, but they were also cut down by automatic fire, joining their comrades in agony.

  This time, however, Nic watched for the muzzle flashes and caught a brief glimpse of the shooter.

  “Is it Black Dog mercs?” Carter asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Nic replied, pulling out his night vision scope. He scanned the balcony above their destination and saw the two sentries. Not men, but technological enemies. A pair of M60s, one on each side, mounted on swiveling tripods. Sophisticated technology, but not really a surprise coming from an experienced and resourceful mercenary like Kruger.

  The sentries were automated protection, machine guns controlled by a computer program and a motion detector and connected to what was likely a virtually endless supply of ammunition.

  Nic keyed his radio and said, “Commander, I spot two automated sentry guns on the balcony. M60s. Probably armor piercing.”

  “My men are dying up there. We have to try to pull them back.”

  “Hold that order. I have an idea.”

  “I can’t do that. My men are dying!”

  Carter keyed his own mic and said, “Listen to Nic, commander. That’s an order.”

  Carter looked at Nic. “You better have a damn good idea,” he said.

  “We’re outside the range of the motion sensors where we are. We can pull back safely. Most units like that are going to being using active infrared scanners. And I have an idea on how we can bypass infrared.”

  Carter thought about that for a moment as he leaned against the likeness of a long-dead Chinese warrior.

  “What if it’s not using active infrared to detect the movement?” he said.

  Nic considered that. “Then we’re screwed and both of us will die trying to save those men.”

  Carter shook his head and replied, “You could at least try to sugarcoat it for me.”

  “Sorry, boss, it’s your call.”

  Carter grinned, despite the circumstance. “I trust you, kid. Make me proud.”

  Nic smiled back, a strange sense of warmth welling up inside him. He wasn’t sure how to describe the feeling. He wondered if this was what it was like to have a real father. He keyed his mic and said, “Commander, hold position. Don’t move.”

  “Affirmative.”

  Then Nic and Carter retreated back out the front glass doors. Nic wasted no time. He ran to his BearCat and threw open the backdoors of the cab.

  “What’s going on in there?” Burke said.

  “What blocks infrared rays, Dr. Burke?” Nic asked.

  Burke, sitting in the driver seat of the BearCat, said, “Glass would be the most common item, but it depends on the type of infrared. Infrared radiation spans a wide region of wavelengths. The middle band of wavelengths, generally referred to as thermal infrared, is infrared light produced by matter around room temperature. That causes atoms in molecules to jiggle, and jiggling atoms generate heat. This radiation is strongly absorbed by matter and will not pass through glass.”

  Nic understood none of what Burke had explained but said, “So glass will block active infrared sensors.”

  “In theory.”

  “That’s all I needed to hear.”

  Nic grabbed two sets of glass cutters and two pairs of high-strength suction cups from the back of the BearCat. Then he ran to the front of the building where he had asked Carter to wait for him.

  “We need to cut out pieces of these front glass windows,” he said. “Big squares, as big as you can.”

  Handing the suction cups and glass cutters to Carter, he said, “We’re making an infrared shield.”

  “Where the hell did you learn something like this?” Carter asked.

  “MythBusters.”

  Carter rolled his eyes. “Great. Because you can believe anything you see on TV.”

  “Mr. Wizard back there confirmed the science.”

  Carter laid a hand on Nic’s shoulder. “I’m just kidding, son. I trust you with my life. Now, let’s save those men.”

  Nic felt the warm rush of emotion again from deep in his core, but he fought back any outward signs of pride or elation. He simply started cutting glass from the massive entry doors.

  Within a few moments, Nic and Carter had cut out two glass squares, each seven feet tall and several feet wide. They used the suction cups to hold the massive panes of glass. Nic hefted his easily, but Carter grunted loudly as he lifted his.

  “Don’t blow out an o-ring, old man,” Nic said.

  “Smartass. You can take that old man crap and stick it up your muscular little ass.”

  Nic laughed and keyed his mic, “Commander, we’re coming toward you with shields. Fall in step behind us, and we’ll get your boys out of there.”

  “Loud and clear,” the SWAT team leader responded.

  Nic and Carter held the two panes of glass up in a wedge formation and moved toward the fallen men. The team leader and two of his other men fell in behind the shields, staying low to make sure they were under the protective
cover.

  Carter said, “If this gets me killed, Nic, I’m going to haunt your arrogant—”

  “A little faith, boss. I got this.”

  They reached the fallen men without any fire raining down on them from the sentry guns. The commander and his men grabbed their fallen teammates, and Nic and Carter backpedaled out of the building to provide them with cover.

  Once his men were safe and receiving treatment, the FBI SWAT commander grabbed Nic by the arm, looked him straight in the eyes, and said, “Thank you. More than you’ll ever know. Now let’s take this son of a bitch down.”

  Chapter 96

  Assistant Special Agent in Charge Samuel Carter had mentored a lot of young men and women over his career. He had felt a strong connection with several of them. But nothing like he had felt with Nic and Burke. He had only known them both for a short period of time, but there was a bond between them that he couldn’t deny.

  Nic never had a real father. His biological father was a pure psychopath, and his surrogate, Uncle Romeo, wasn’t much better. Nic was a grown man, a capable and impressive man, a leader and a hero. But there was still a part of him that needed the approval of a patriarch. Carter could feel it from him. And God or fate or destiny had brought them together.

  And then there was Burke. He had never known another person like the young doctor. He was so intelligent and yet so lost. Like all of us, God had given Burke inherent gifts and inherent challenges. Burke’s challenges were merely greater than a normal person’s. And intrinsically, his gifts were proportionate with the level of his pain.

  Carter felt a strong calling that God had put him in such a place as this for such a time as now. A time when two great men needed his wisdom and experience to achieve their true potential.

  He just hoped that he could rise to the challenge and guide these two men onto the correct paths. To be the father and friend that they both needed so desperately.

  As they ascended the stairs to the thirty-third floor, which was no easy task for his aged body, he thought of his wife and the way she had burned her art. The point had never been her own glorification, but the raising up of others. She wanted to inspire others to follow their dreams, to find their callings, to dare to achieve greatness. Not for their own egos, but for a higher purpose, to honor God and to honor humanity as a whole.

  He realized as he ran up those stairs that Burke and Nic were his paintings. Not to be burned, but to be nurtured for the glory of others. If he could help these great men to stand on his shoulders to achieve even greater heights, then his life would have meaning. He would have left his mark on the world. A mark that would affect generations to come. And it didn’t matter if those future generations ever recognized his influence. Knowing that he had left the world better than he had found it would be enough for him.

  The SWAT point men reached the door to the thirty-third floor first. They used a snake cam to check inside for threats and enemy combatants. They gave the all-clear sign and picked the locks to the door. A moment later, the whole group traversed a hall and checked the half-completed rooms. The point men reached a closed door and checked again with the snake cam. Finding nothing but still cautious, the team went in hot and fast.

  They had definitely found Kruger’s hiding spot. Equipment, computers, and weapons cases littered the half-finished space.

  The SWAT team swept the room like a group of angry hornets, ready to sting, itching for battle. Carter heard several calls of “Clear” from various team members, until one called out, “We have a live one!”

  Carter rushed toward the SWAT agent’s voice, Nic close on his heels providing protection and cover.

  The redhead was propped against the wall in a small pool of red. Her eyes were glassy but still responsive. Her midsection oozed blood, but somehow, through sheer determination, the woman held on tightly to life.

  She was unarmed, not that she would have had the strength to raise a weapon in her current state.

  When Carter reached her, he immediately took her hand in his and looked deeply in her eyes. “You’re not alone. Kruger?”

  “Gone,” she muttered.

  “Where?”

  Her eyes seemed to glaze over as she stared into the distance.

  “The hostages. The ones you infected. Is there a way to help them?”

  “I was a scientist. I was going to make the world a better place. Raise humankind to the next level of evolution and enlightenment.”

  “I know, darling. Here’s your chance. How can I help the people infected with your bleeding virus?”

  “I always thought I was a good person. Thought … right thing.”

  “You are a good person. You can save the lives of a lot of people. What could be more noble than that? It’s not what we’ve done, my dear. It’s what we choose to do right now.”

  She stared off a moment, but then said, “Bag. Large. Gray. Liquid-cooled. Beside the window and the gun cases.”

  Nic didn’t need to be asked. He ran to the window and retrieved the bag she had mentioned. Bringing it back, he handed the bag to Carter, who opened it and showed the contents to the dying woman.

  “Tell me how to help the hostages. This is the moment. Your chance to prove that you’re a good person.”

  With great effort, she raised her arm and touched a few of the vials containing a clear, liquid solution. “Rogue protein will slow the spread,” she said. “No cure, but may allow treatment to take hold.”

  Carter smiled and squeezed her hand. “Thank you. You did the right thing. The good thing. Find comfort in that. We’re never defined by single choices or even the sum of those choices, but instead by what’s in our hearts. I can see you have a good heart, doctor.”

  She tried to smile, but didn’t seem to have the strength. Carter called out for the team’s medic and for them to bring up a stretcher, but he knew that it was too late. The woman was at death’s door, and all that could be done was to comfort her in her final moments.

  To Nic, he whispered, “Tell Burke that Kruger’s gone. Have him deduce where he may be headed. Then tell the commander to find the trail and pretend he’s a damn bloodhound. We just missed that bastard. Run him down.”

  Chapter 97

  When Burke had returned to the BearCat before Nic and Carter entered the casino, he noticed that Isabel’s hands were now bound in front of her. He could have sworn that she had previously had her hands behind her back, but he supposed it didn’t matter. He had a gun now and was no pushover. He was experienced and wasn’t about to let some foreign woman overpower him. If she had other plans, she would be sorely disappointed.

  All he could do now was wait. He was out of the action, on babysitting duty. He hated waiting. Not because of the relativity of time, but because his mind couldn’t help but run through thousands of scenarios, most of which involved the worst possible outcomes. Reality was almost always less frightening than what he could imagine, but the thorns in his brain kept pressing in and making him assume the worst. He would be in a constant state of panic and grief until the true outcome was revealed. If only he had further data points to compare, but the only information he possessed was a strange question from Nic regarding infrared radiation.

  Isabel shifted in her seat, and he said, “Don’t get any ideas, or I’ll plug ya.”

  Stupid, he thought. Plug ya? When did he suddenly become a 1930s mobster?

  She gave him a strange look and leaned against the window. “Are you a cop?” she asked.

  “No. I’m a Criminal Patterns Analysis Consultant for the FBI.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  He had been thinking about an answer to that question. “I’m a freak,” he said. “Most of the bad guys are freaks too. I can better understand their perspectives than all you ignorant neurotypicals who only see the world through a limited pinhole of your own viewpoints.”

  The South African constable didn’t respond. Burke wasn’t sure whether that meant his explanation w
as an apt one or an appalling one. Either way, it stopped the conversation, which was always good. Regardless, further testing and refinement of his new job description was necessary.

  Burke’s phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it free. It was a message from Allanon: I tracked down the key card you found in Ty Loria’s wallet to its source. It was for a cosmetics research and development facility in SA. The place not-so-coincidentally burned to the ground a couple of days ago. The company website listed Julia Raskin as an employee. She seems to match the description of your mysterious redhead. Also, Loria owns a large portion of the company through a shell corporation.

  Burke typed back: Thanks, oh great and powerful mage, your wisdom and counsel are indispensable to the twelve kingdoms.

  Allanon quickly responded: Obvi, which Burke knew was short for obviously.

  Then another message came through: Also, dug into Yoshida’s personal finances and found that he just bought the domains freepowerforall.com and batteryofthefuture.com and hired a dude who used to work for WikiLeaks to design a site for him. Used your logging software on the spook’s phone and found a message from Yoshida telling the designer that he’d be sending all the data tonight and wants the site live and redundant asap. You owe me big time!

  Burke considered the implications. Loria was obviously neck-deep in all of this. He wasn’t merely the CEO of GoBox. He was complicit in all the illegal activities that Yoshida had orchestrated. Loria knew about not only the battery, but the bioweapons research. And Yoshida had some pretty significant plans of his own brewing.

  Burke reached into his backpack and retrieved his iPad. This new data needed to be added to his sketch notes and the sum of all the parts reanalyzed. He stared at the mural, and all of the pieces seemed to be lined up now. Although, he had little proof and a lot of conjecture.

  His handheld radio came to life, and Nic’s voice said, “Burke, you were right on the location. But Kruger’s in the wind. We did find the redhead, and she gave us something to help with the dying hostages.”