Stone cast me an incredulous look. “That’s it?”
I shrugged, as far as that was possible in the suit. “As I said, we didn’t come here to get anything except information—and maybe revenge. Old habits are hard to shake, so I bet I will find what I need in the lab journals your scientists kept—and you said yourself, you have no clue what their day-to-day work was. You don’t know where Decker is, so there’s that. I’m content to watch you useless piece of shit bleed out in here. Maybe not the most satisfying ending, but somehow, real life seldom gives you those grandiose movie finales.”
I did another check-in with the guys. Nate, changing his mind, cleared his throat. “How did you get here without losing half of your people every single time? I presume the scientists only got here after you cleared a path.”
Stone seemed amused, and I already knew I wouldn’t like the answer, even if it might prove useful to us. “You presume correctly,” he snarked, looking downright nasty. “We haven’t had a single casualty in transport in over a year now. How does that compare to your experience?” I was considering how well pistol-whipping would work with the positive pressure suit I was in, but Hamilton, surprisingly, jumped into the breach.
“All in acceptable range,” he provided. “And last I looked, we will be the last ones standing, while you did our work for us. Tell me how exactly that’s a bad outcome?”
Stone narrowed his eyes but continued to prove jovial with the answers he was ready to provide. “The tunnels,” he offered. “If you go through that airlock over there, you’ll find our vehicles at their charging stations. The tunnels leading north from here go up well past the Dallas city limits. The exit is in a storm drainage system up in Plano.”
For the first time since we’d entered the facility, I felt like swearing up a storm. If I had my Texas geography right, that put that exit only a handful of miles away from where we’d left our cars. So close, and we’d lost so many people for nothing!
“That does it,” Hamilton muttered, me probably the only one close enough to hear it. He then turned toward me. “Let’s end this.” Since we’d already reached that conclusion, I didn’t feel like protesting. He glanced at Stone, then back to me. “Exactly how does the cleaning system in here work? I remember you babbling something about cycles, back in Paris.”
It was probably too much to ask for him to ditch his penchant for verbal abuse even once, but right now I didn’t feel like jumping at his throat for it. “Pretty much like the decontamination shower, only on a widespread level. Vaporized formaldehyde and shit like that, plus hours of UV radiation.”
“You can activate that from the outside?”
I nodded. “As long as the inner door of the decontamination shower is closed, the cycle is activated with a simple push of a button. And you can override it.”
Hamilton looked pleased. “We can lock that door, too?”
“When the other side of the airlock is open, it’s on auto-lock—and you can’t override that.” I paused, although I had a good idea where he was going with this. “Why?”
Hamilton gave me a nasty smile. “Sounds like a fitting end for a rat, wouldn’t you say?” He turned back to Stone, raising the pistol in his left hand, but not like he was going to shoot. “This is way too good and easy for an asshole like you.”
I would have panicked at the idea of biting it like that, but either Stone hadn’t fully grasped what was going to happen to him, or was beyond caring. “The only regret I have is that I won’t be there when you come face to face with Decker and realize that your entire world just went to hell.”
I might have shot him for that claim but Nate and Hamilton exchanged one last look and then turned to go. I considered lingering for a moment—and maybe taking the index of the tank samples with me, for later perusal—but decided against it. I hadn’t been lying when I’d said we weren’t here to get anything, and I couldn’t exactly decontaminate that shit. Stone watched us leave, his skin color so pale now that he didn’t contrast much with the beige wall next to him. The last to exit, I pushed the vault door shut with a satisfying click.
Nobody said a word as we made our way back to the airlock, my interest in exploring the rest of the lab squashed for good. We suffered through the chemical onslaught of the decontamination shower in equal silence, but that was also due to the fact that I hadn’t bothered with handing out the suit com units, and the torrential rain coming down on us was too loud to allow normal communication. We exited the shower once the inner door unlocked, and I welcomed the sweet relief of the world having me back as soon as I could tear open the zipper of the suit. Richards was still waiting for us, eyeing us askance but was happy to help us out of the suits first. Hamilton didn’t bother with anything except getting the suit open and the top half flopping behind him as he stepped up to the control panel, and after a moment’s perusal hit the—clearly-labeled—button to start the lab cleaning cycle. Through one of the viewports I saw the lights change as the normal illumination powered down and the violet UV lamps came on. I held my breath, listening for movie-magic screams, but realistically, there was too much space and reinforced walls between us and Stone to make that possible. Hamilton had a certain satisfied expression on his face as he set to getting out of the suit. I mostly felt empty. Nate—surprise, surprise—gave me nothing as he pushed Richards aside so he could help me peel off the tape around the socks and gloves. If he noticed the downright caveman behavior—for Nate’s standard—Red didn’t show.
“You got whoever fled in there, I presume?” Richards finally asked when nobody volunteered any information.
“Yup,” I offered. “And also anyone else who could have been hiding in there.” That said, I still checked on the number of suits, finding all accounted for. It was theoretically possible that someone had taken a backup suit in, but I doubted it. Stone had made it sound as if the scientists had all been on board with their suicide pact, however idiotic it had been. I was sure Stone had performed a final head count before he’d given his firing squad the go-ahead. Somehow I didn’t think he’d gotten his hands dirty with that, personally.
“Anything happen while we were gone?” Nate wanted to know.
Red shook his head. “We checked all the corridors again. No stowaways as far as we can tell. Cole’s taken over the control room, but he already reported that what data storage they’ve had, they completely wiped. Maybe we’ll find a flash drive or two among their personal things, but I doubt it.”
“They left paper copies,” I pointed out. “If we have time, I’d like to go over some of that.”
Nate looked amused at the notion that we were on a running clock. “Let’s retreat and regroup. The cafeteria sounds good. The medical station is close by, and it’s easily defendable. I for one could do with some sleep myself. We’ll decide later how long we need to stay here, but a day or two for recovery won’t hurt.”
I couldn’t help it. My gaze dropped down to the wound in his side. He still held himself upright but there were more bloody splotches visible on the gauze now, and I wondered how close to simply keeling over he really was. If anyone was stubborn enough to keep that from happening on his will alone, it was him, so I didn’t ask.
I also didn’t ask myself if this had been worth it. That had never really been the question—and not my main concern, I realized, when I watched Nate and Hamilton both trot out of the lab in front of me, tired as hell but their heads raised high.
Chapter 16
Since I was among the less wounded, I got first guard shift—four hours of leaning around, listening to the ventilation system drone overhead and not much else. Nobody shot at us, we had food and water aplenty, and no zombies anywhere in sight—it was as close to a vacation as things could get. Exhaustion kept my mind mostly blank of guilt and curiosity, and when it was time to hit the sack, I crashed as hard as I dared—which turned out a full five hours of comatose state that didn’t feel refreshing, but at least my body and mind were functioning again once I prie
d open gritty eyes.
To make sure that no ninja guards were still hiding anywhere, Nate set a patrol pattern through all parts of the complex, but Cole confirmed from the camera feeds—and there were a lot more of them than we’d expected—that except for us, the corridors and rooms were empty. The first—and only—good news came from him as well, a few hours later. He not only managed to crack the last airlock where four electric cars were waiting for us—no. He went as far as checking the SatNav systems for all of them, and after comparing years of data, came back with a single location all cars had been to at least three times where, as far as we knew, nothing was located. Nothing as in no settlement, no town, no base—from after the apocalypse happened and before. It could be nothing—or something as simple as a navigation point to get anywhere else—but Nate and Hamilton both agreed that it was too good a lead not to follow up. A good two days of driving south of Dispatch, it would be easy to justify swinging by there either way.
The sight of the cars annoyed me for the most part, even if it was, in fact, a huge advantage. If Stone had told the truth—and there was no reason to think he hadn’t; the SatNav data also confirmed the entry and exit vectors they had taken in the past—we’d be out of this hellhole within hours, and we’d scored four additional vehicles that were perfectly fine to keep. There was no way we could have known about how far the tunnels reached or where exactly the exit was. People who killed themselves just to keep vital information from us were unlikely to have left someone behind who we could have pounded the information out of. But, damn, what a colossal waste.
Sonia was still busy patching people up, but thanks to the cars we would be able to take everyone with us who made it. The fact that we didn’t need to find a much less pleasant solution lifted some of the weight off my chest. Getting torn to shreds by shamblers had many disadvantages, but at least it didn’t leave anyone behind who was suffering and needed absolution. Gunshots weren’t so merciful.
We did a thorough search of the personal quarters first, but all too soon I felt myself gravitate toward the lab spaces deeper into the complex. Richards offered to tag along—and Nate made sure to tell the patrols to check in with me whenever they passed—but, frankly, I was glad to have some time on my own. Anyone could go through personal shit and raid the pantry; they didn’t need me for those tasks. And since it only took me two hours of searching in Walter Greene’s office to happen upon the documentation of everything they’d sent to the camp and tested out on the scavengers and prisoners, I could also provide a list of chemicals someone could pick up from the older labs that hadn’t seen use in ages. It was a short list—and the things Nate confiscated because they could be used to craft more explosives was miles longer—but it was something.
When Cole managed to establish a satellite link for communications, I knew that list was too important to let it burn a hole into my back pocket.
Nate and I debated how much, if anything, to share—not because we were super paranoid but because there was real danger lurking out there, and the last thing we needed was to flag anyone previously operating under the radar. There were two obvious exceptions to that—the Silo and Emily Raynor.
We contacted the Silo first since with Blake we had someone who needed to report in, anyway. I went as far as to suggest leaving the room as not to scare off anyone at the other end of the line. Nate cut that attempt at diplomacy short right there but agreed that the three of us—including Hamilton—were better off lurking in the back. The radio tech looked surprised to get a call over video, and wasn’t alone in that, judging from the peanut gallery of people assembling in the back where they thought the camera might not pick them up any longer. Commander Wilkes made an appearance in under five minutes, and while I was sure he noticed us, he didn’t react.
“Sgt. Blake, good to hear from you. Considering your surroundings, I take it your mission was a success?”
Blake looked somewhat astonished by that assumption, and started by delivering the bad news that his team had been reduced to half strength. One of the techs in the back ran out of the room, making me guess that he’d been close to someone they’d lost. Wilkes took the news with the same stoic expression as the recount of the mission that followed. Blake ended it with a quick explanation why we were still here—to check up on possible resources, and information that I was looking for.
“Anything I should ask our squints about?” Wilkes asked when Blake was finished.
Blake cast a sidelong glance in my direction. “I’m afraid I’m not qualified to answer that,” he replied. “Dr. Lewis remains the resident expert for these things.”
Wilkes grimaced, but it was less like he’d bitten into a slice of lemon, and more of the “here we go again” kind. “Then why don’t you let her relieve you, Sergeant? I will inform the relatives of the deceased.” He paused as if he was ready to walk away, but then turned back to the camera. “I presume you will want to stay along for the ride?”
Blake gave a curt nod. “Unless it is of vital importance that we personally deliver whatever we take with us from here, I would like to rendezvous with Sgt. Buehler and her people. We have a vested interest in seeing that Miller and his people succeed.”
Wilkes looked amused by what sounded a lot like a reminder of a previous conversation between the two of them. That made me wonder how much convincing it had taken for Blake to agree to work with us. Buehler had always seemed friendly toward us—and her enthusiasm in getting to work with Zilinsky had been undimmed, getting shot or not—but Blake hadn’t been my biggest fan in the past when he’d had to babysit me. Apparently, he’d changed his mind.
Just then, two familiar faces appeared behind Wilkes, giving the commander a good excuse to leave. Dom and Sunny hadn’t really changed since I’d last seen them—an eternity and several appendages ago, I remembered, not without an unhealthy shot of wry amusement. Blake looked ready to bolt himself so I took pity on him and stepped forward, trying for a diplomatic exchange. Before we’d been banned from the Silo, I would have considered them friends, but considering the shit that had gone down since then—with and without my involvement—I felt like I was skating on thin ice again.
I needn’t have worried, I realized, when they both looked a little anxious but decidedly happy to see me. “Hi, Bree, how are you doing?” Dom asked.
Ever the diplomat, Sunny had to follow that up with, “We heard a lot about what you’ve been up to in the meantime.”
Hell, but I was glad I was still wearing my gloves. I was aware that his utter lack of tact was part of the package with Sunny, but I’d never be able to look past the fact that he’d been annoyed with my inability to deal on a rational, scientific basis with the results yielded from him dissecting the unborn child I’d thought Nate had buried behind that fucking motel.
“None of that’s as interesting as what I’ve found earlier today,” I said, then cut myself off to change tracks. “I presume that, although your people are damn glad they didn’t get inoculated with the serum because of the unexpected side effects, you’d still like the data on that, if only for scientific purposes?”
Sunny nodded impatiently as if even having to ask was unreasonable, while Dom frowned. “What side effects? They did tell you that you’d all end as viral walking bombs before they shot you up, right?”
“Hard to miss that since it was one of the perks, not a bug,” I offered acerbically. “But none of us was aware that the immunity to the zombie bites was only temporary. By now, there’s not a single one of us around who hasn’t been bitten, scratched, or worse.” I figured there was no sense in singling the Ice Queen out, particularly if her immunity was still at a hundred percent.
Dom looked horrified, giving Sunny the opportunity to take over. “What news do you have to share?”
Bless him. “Blake has updated you on what’s been going on with the scavengers, the drugs, and that damn camp altogether?” Dom nodded, still too stricken to regain his voice. “Turns out, we now have the master
list of the changes made to the serum, and another list of substances that have been confirmed to cut through the protection the serum provides. Since we believe it’s practically useless as a weapon but might save lives when used responsibly, we are happy to share that with you.”
That they knew about that shit—and how it had been verified—became apparent when both men glanced at Nate then, who did a great job ignoring their curious expressions. I figured that pretty much concluded that topic.
“Need anything else from a moderately well-stocked lab that won’t go bad in the heat? I checked—they didn’t have much in terms of antibiotics, but your everyday lab chemicals might be in stock.”
“Nah, we’re good,” Sunny was quick to reply. “Wilkes is regularly sending out the marines to go raid everything they can carry. We have stocks that will last into the next century.” Dom gave him a vexed look that made me guess this hadn’t been knowledge to be shared, although I didn’t see the harm in it.
“Good for you,” I told them. “That’s it from us. Unless you want to know anything else?”
Dom shook his head, but Sunny piped up. “I’m really curious how bad the necrotizing—”
That’s as far as he got. Before I could give Cole the cue to cut the signal, the screen went black. Cole barely glanced in our direction as he muttered, “Oops.” I had to admit, I was surprised by that unexpected show of… whatever that had been. Respect? Loyalty? Disdain for someone’s nosiness he liked less than me?
Emily Raynor was next. Not without some amusement we shuffled Richards in front of the camera, who looked like he would have much rather been anywhere else, including the streets of Dallas above us. As it turned out, none of the soldiers had actually been stationed at that base for much longer than it took to grab us and leave, and they’d only returned for the debriefing. Hamilton only had a deadpan stare for me when I asked where they had been in the meantime, and his silence got the other three to clam up for good.
Green Fields Series Box Set | Vol. 4 | Books 10-12 Page 69
