Sying entered the room, her open robe showing a long, semi-transparent nightgown. Her fingers danced across the back of Ming’s neck. “Come back to bed. It’ll be hours before anything happens.”
Ming’s retinal display pulsed: Anthony. She pulled away from Sying’s touch and slung the feed to the wall screen. Sying perched on the back of the couch.
“Anthony, I’m seeing the newsfeeds of the Independence . What’s going on?”
Her business partner had a twisted smile on his face, half-exultant, half-fearful. His son, Tony, hovered in the background. His expression was less sanguine .
“We did it, Ming. The ship is headed out to sea. Once they make open water and submerge, we’re home free. The president is going to make an announcement as soon as they leave the sound.”
“What about the final trajectories and the dispersal testing?” Ming said. “Can we still test all that if they’re underwater?”
“You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want,” Anthony replied.
“I’ll assume that’s an American saying.”
“It means—”
“I know what it means, Anthony.” Her company’s involvement with the American project had been a closely held secret. How would China’s political class react? How would her board react? If the Vatican Project failed, Xi would have all the ammunition she needed to take Ming down. “We won’t get a second chance at this.”
Anthony cracked his neck. “Or a third, in my case.”
Ming had to laugh a little at that. She was so nervous, it was either laugh or cry. Not too long ago, the entire endeavor had been a secret engineering project. Now, the whole world was watching. Success would vault Qinlao to the apex of global manufacturing companies: the one percent of the one percent. But failure would have devastating downsides. For everyone. Everywhere.
“We agreed that more testing—” she began.
“It’s out of my hands, Ming. This is a political decision. It will work, I know it. And if not, then we get Viktor to trigger the kill switch.”
Ming reached for Sying’s hand. “Isn’t that what they said about the Titanic ? ”
At that moment, Viktor joined the call. It looked as if Anthony had rousted the Russian out of bed. His appearance was even more disheveled than normal, his round face puffy with sleep.
“No Titanic !” he boomed. Then, stifling a yawn, “Enough with the negativity, Ming.”
“Good morning, Viktor,” Anthony sang out. “It’s time to change the world, my friend.” He filled in the Russian on the sudden change in plans. The older man’s face came to life in a giddy smile.
“This is wonderful news,” he said in his heavy accent. “I have good news to share as well. In the latest manufacturing process, I upgraded the nanite controls. Even if the dispersal is not perfect, we will have the ability to modify the bio-cloud in situ. Last minute change, but very useful to us now.”
“You still have a kill-switch, right?” Ming asked. As an engineer, she hated last-minute changes. Humans made last-minute changes. Humans made errors.
Viktor nodded. “Absolutely. Unbreakable quantum crypto, the best in the world. There are only two keys in existence. This is one.” He held up a slim silver suitcase.
“Where’s the other one?” Anthony asked.
Viktor smiled slyly. “Someplace where no one will ever find it.”
Cryptic answers like that one only encouraged Ming’s nervousness. She made her goodbyes politely but quickly and ended the call.
Sying slid her arms around her. “You’re cold,” she whispered. “Come back to bed. ”
Ming allowed herself to fall back into the warmth of her lover’s embrace, but the chill stayed with her.
The whole world was watching.
• • •
Anthony Taulke • San Francisco, California
After the call, Anthony stretched his arms over his head. It was good to be home. Good to see the sun again after weeks of dreary Seattle and the smelly shipyard.
He peered over San Francisco Bay from his private office. Not a cloud in sight. Just the way he liked it. A positive portent of things to come, perhaps.
He drew another breath of pure, air-conditioned atmosphere. That Seattle shipyard had been like something from another age. Anthony expected modern war machines to be sleek, futuristic, laden with cutting-edge technology. The engineer in him looked forward to the chance to see the submarine up close. What he’d found were welded seams and painted metal, ancient technology better suited for the twenty-first century. And the smell! Everywhere, the dank scent of rotting seaweed and industrial grease with a steady undercurrent of sweaty workers. He’d destroyed the clothes he’d lived in there as soon as he returned home.
The captain had asked Anthony to “put to sea,” as he called it, on the Independence . He seemed uneasy about Colonel Graves’s grasp of the new technology. It was all Anthony could do not to laugh in his face. The closest he wanted to get to an ocean was to look at it from his eightieth-floor private office window .
He savored another sip of his personal coffee blend. That was perhaps the worst part of the whole experience. It was bad enough that the coffee inside the shipyard was terrible, but even if he brought coffee inside the drydock, the taste of the place permeated everything.
By this time the Independence would probably be somewhere underneath the waters of the Pacific Ocean, safely hidden while the president reassured the UN about the bio-seeding project. Anthony shivered. Hundreds of meters underneath the water in a steel coffin was not his idea of a life well-lived.
His virtual notified him of an incoming call. Anthony rejected it. No calls. Today was for contemplation and reflection. He’d done his part in saving the planet. Today was me-time.
“Emergency override.”
Anthony grumbled but accepted the call.
President Teller’s head and shoulders filled his retinal screen. He wore no makeup and his face looked tense, strained. “There you are. We have a problem.”
Anthony blinked. “What happened? I thought they were at sea?”
Teller’s face was worried. “They are. Well, trying to get there, anyway. Independence is in the Sound, but factions are trying to stop it.”
“Factions?”
“Some congressmen have convinced the governor of Washington to hold the sub in port while they file an emergency injunction in court. Somehow they got the Coast Guard roped into this. I still command the military, but this is tricky. My poll numbers are all over the place. I can’t get a read on public opinion. ”
Anthony did his best not to roll his eyes. “It’s a modern submarine. Can’t they force their way to sea?”
“Starting a shooting war with ourselves is not a way to improve my standing with the public.”
“Okay,” Anthony said. “Why are you calling me, Mr. President?”
“I want to launch now. From Puget Sound.”
Anthony swallowed. Hard. “Now? We only have prelim targeting loaded. These are ICBMs. If another country thinks we’ve launched a nuclear weapon—”
“I’ll make a public announcement. The other countries have already agreed in principle to the bio-seeding, and to launching the missiles from the Independence . If we have to go back to port, that sub will never get to sea again. It has to be now.”
“Mr. President, that seems … overly bold.”
“That’s exactly the point, Taulke. Bold. World-changing. I’m on the ropes here, politically speaking. I need a big win to get re-elected. What’s bigger than this?”
“Sir, I don’t think—”
“Do you believe in your technology or not, Taulke?” Teller demanded. “You assured me this is fail-safe. If we see any problems, we can shut it down, right?”
“Yes, sir, that’s correct.”
“Well?”
“I guess … I support your decision, sir.”
“You guess?” Teller’s dark skin took on an angry red undertone. “Are y
ou with me or not, Taulke? Yes or no?”
“Yes,” Anthony replied in a firm voice. He was an engineer, and the numbers added up. Whatever else was true, that was the simple fact of the tech. “Vatican works, and we know how to control it. ”
“Good.” The president composed himself. “Oh, and one more thing, Taulke. I’m changing the name of the project. I don’t like Vatican.”
“Okay…”
“I’m calling it Lazarus. The Lazarus Protocol. We’re taking a dead world and bringing it back to life. The name polls well, too.”
The call ended. Anthony spun his chair to look out over the serene Pacific.
The Lazarus Protocol… It did have a nice ring to it. Pseudo-biblical, but with a pop culture spin. And weren’t they resurrecting his bio-seeding tech to work a miracle for the planet?
A smile of satisfaction bloomed. Closing his eyes, Anthony made note of every sensation, trying to lock this moment in his memory forever.
This is the moment I saved the world .
Chapter 22
Remy Cade • Earth Orbit
“I’m asking you to trust me, Remy.”
Elise’s voice was soft but determined. She was dressed in her UN uniform, the seal of the Office of Biodiversity stitched over her left breast. The high collar and her long hair hid the New Earth tattoo on her nape.
“Remy, please.” She placed a hand on his arm. He wanted to stay mad at her, but her touch thrilled him, like always.
“This is a bad idea, Elise. Using your UN credentials to help these guys? That’s a big step. Something you don’t come back from.” He took her hand and was rewarded with a warm squeeze of her fingers.
She shook her head. “Cassandra has ordered the attack and assigned me to lead it. I’m committed. What I need to know is whether you’re committed to me.”
Remy pulled away and paced the length of the station’s observatory. The panoramic view of Earth rolled out under the windows. The Neos were convinced they were saving the planet, and behind it all was the ever-present Cassandra.
He’d give anything to meet this mystery cult leader in the flesh. She seemed to have unlimited access to everyone on the station, but in the days he’d been here, Remy hadn’t seen or heard from her even once. She only talks to the faithful, was all they would say.
“I need you, Remy,” Elise drew closer. The shadow line on the planet approached. “Especially now. This is going to be dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” Remy knew she was playing on his fears for her safety. He knew it but it didn’t matter, not really. His job was to protect Elise, and he took his work very seriously.
“Hattan is leading a raid—”
“A raid?” Remy turned to stare at her. “Now there’s a raid?”
She placed a firm hand on his chest to stop the impending rant. Her palm was warm, her eyes a deep smoky hazel that made his breath catch in his throat.
“We’re using the UN dropship to get past their security. I’m going and that’s final. I want you with me. I need you there.” Elise slid her hand down to his hip, and pulled him close. “Please. For me?”
Remy felt his resolve release with his breath. Her eyes, her voice, her touch. Nothing else mattered. “For you, then.”
“For us .” Elise kissed him, hard.
Nothing else matters , Remy thought, drunk on her taste, her scent.
The door to the lift opened and three men stepped out, dressed in UN military gear. Remy recognized Hattan, Brother Donald and Rico, the UN sergeant who’d shot him in Alaska. Rico nodded in recognition, a smirk ghosting his lips.
Remy set aside his temptation to kill him on the spot. The priority now was Elise. Time enough for Rico later.
Hattan ran the briefing using the holographic image projector in the ceiling. Remy studied the four-story circular structure with a red Greek letter epsilon emblazoned on the airlock door. Military-grade construction with built-in defensive gun emplacements.
The general spoke in clipped, precise terms. “What we have here is a Level 4 bioweapons facility surrounded by a state-of-the-art drone defensive perimeter. No way we’re getting through that kind of hardware.”
Remy glared at Elise who ignored him. This was just getting better and better.
“We’re going in subtle. Under the guise of an unscheduled UN inspection visit, we’ll use the commandeered UN vehicle and Secretary Kisaan’s bona fides to get us safely to the dock.” Hattan indicated a port on the top level. “We’ll be wearing full face shields, except for the secretary, and transmitting false ID vitals to gain entrance to level 0. Remy and I will stay on the dock level to deal with security and safeguard the escape route. The rest of you will travel through the core elevator to secure the objective. We’ll do nothing—I repeat, nothing—to create suspicion. If security suspects anything, they have the ability to lock down the entire station.”
“No,” Remy said. “I stay with Elise. Period.”
Hattan shot a look at Elise, who nodded.
“Very well. Then Donald and I will stay topside and deal with security. Rico and Remy will accompany the secretary. ”
“What’s this objective you keep talking about?” Remy asked. “Some kind of world-ending bioweapon?”
Another glance at Elise. Another nod. “A computer key.”
“Not just any computer key,” Rico said. “The biggest, baddest piece of code in history.”
“Enough,” Hattan snapped. “Need to know.”
Remy pleaded with his eyes at Elise, who seemed not only relaxed but anxious to get started. He knew that look and she was going on this mission with him or without him. Best get his head in the game, then.
“This place is remote?” he said. “What if we need backup?”
Even Hattan cracked a smile. “No backup needed. Trust me, Remy. It’s remote.”
“Where?” Remy was getting tired of all the cloak-and-dagger bullshit. If he was in, he was all the way in.
“On the dark side of the Moon,” Elise said.
• • •
The Moon grew in the shuttle’s forward window. They’d taken a circuitous route, filing a false flight plan that traded authentication codes with several space stations as they passed.
In spite of himself, Remy was intrigued. The headline for years had been that LUNa City was mankind’s next home. He’d never had the opportunity to visit it himself. Although, a clandestine raid on a Level 4 lunar facility hardly counted as a visit.
Remy was once again impressed with the Neos’ attention to detail. The UN military uniforms were genuine, as were the standard-issue sidearms. He hoped their ability to fool the orbiting security drones was just as good.
“Don’t get too used to the weapons,” Hattan said. “Protocol says we’ll have to leave them in the shuttle. No projectile weapons allowed in the facility.”
“So we go in naked?” Remy asked.
“Nope, we go in old school,” Rico replied. He opened a bag and pulled a blade out, then stuck it in his boot. He handed one to Remy.
“This knife will get past security?”
“Carbon smartglass,” Hattan said. “As tough as a regular blade but scans bend around it. The latest in personal military stealth tech.”
Remy accepted the blade. Perfectly balanced. He slid it into his boot sheath with no small feeling of trepidation. It had been a long time since he’d fought with a knife.
Elise touched his elbow and pointed out the window as they exited the lunar traffic lanes. “Look, Remy, an extractor.”
Still tiny at this distance, the machine looked like a mechanical dinosaur with its broad, flat snout buried in the dirt. Through the surrounding dust cloud, Remy could make out a wide trail of lunar regolith entering the maw of the beast, and far behind it, a swath of rejected material. A yellow strobe winked at them as they passed over. He knew the machine was the size of a small town, but it was difficult to understand the scale of what he was seeing until a person stepped out of a tiny lunar vehic
le. He gaped.
Hattan’s expression was bleak as he studied the monstrous extractor. “We strip-mined Earth, now we’re working on the Moon. They mine rare earth metals and Helium for fusion reactors up here. Anything to keep the great human experiment running.”
The ship passed over one of the company towns that housed the lunar miners, a sad collection of surface buildings bermed with loose regolith. Most of the facilities were located underground to minimize the radiation, Remy remembered from a YourVoice documentary.
Elise took Remy’s hand as LUNa City appeared on the horizon. Underneath the massive clear dome, a series of high-rise buildings were already growing up from the Moon’s surface. The UN promoted the international lunar community as mankind’s first step to the stars, but in Remy’s opinion, they were losing the PR battle to Taulke’s Mars Station.
The traffic thinned once they’d passed the beehive of LUNa City. After they crossed the sunline into the Moon’s shadow, theirs was the only ship flying.
“Alright, people,” said the pilot, “we’re in range of the security drones. Sending our UN ID. Standby.”
Remy thought he could see dark shapes outside the ship slipping by against the starlight. His pulse quickened. The familiar tingle of near-term action prickled his skin.
“We’ve been cleared. Passing the drone perimeter, approaching dock.” The pilot’s voice was far too relaxed for Remy’s liking. He could see the multi-story facility approaching, the large Greek letter epsilon shining under the tracking lights of the shuttle as it slowed to line up with the docking port. There was a brief quivering of metal as the clamps locked on. “Docked. It’s all yours, General.”
Hattan stood, pulling his regulation face shield into place, leaving only his eyes exposed. “Alright, just like we briefed. Secretary Kisaan, lead the way, please.” Remy moved to Elise’s side, feeling naked with only the knife in his boot to protect her.
The light on the door blinked green. There was a hiss as the facility shared its air with the ship. The doors parted.
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