by Peter Hoole
Larissa was expecting the coordinates to lead her to a city in South America, one of the larger metropolises – Rio, Caracas or even Lima. But, the details she had found did not point to any of those.
The coordinates indicated an area off the coast of the Georgetown, Guyana. As Larissa looked for more information on her tablet, the location was specifically pointing to location in the North Atlantic.
Larissa had her concerns, the most apparent being the location at sea.
As she looked further, she decided she needed clarification regarding her mission, and she contacted Catherine.
She dialled the phone she had been given by her mentor, and as was always the case, it was answered within moments of her pressing the send button.
“Yes Larissa, what is it?” asked Catherine on the other end of the phone, “Did you receive the details?”
“Yes,” Larissa responded, “But I’m not sure I follow.”
“What is it?” Catherine asked, seemingly annoyed by her protégé.
“The target coordinates are a little bit off. They indicate the North Atlantic.”
“They are correct.” Catherine replied matter-of-factly.
Larissa was silent on the phone, and could sense Catherine’s impatience.
“Just go there. Go to the drop box, pick up your equipment and head to the target location. Once you are there, I will send you more details. You still have the Shark?”
“I do.” Larissa replied.
“Good.” Catherine responded, “Now get moving.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Are you sure it’s the right move?” Darcy asked Caleb.
After Jace had revealed his intention to accompany them to Haven, Darcy had urged Caleb to return with her to the room; to give them time to discuss it in private.
“I’m not sure, babe.” Caleb replied, still second-guessing his decisions.
Darcy looked concerned. She had always thought Caleb to be in control of the situation, despite what had happened.
Then she remembered the coffee shop. When the thought initially came into her mind, she was struck by how long ago it had seemed, even though it was only a matter of days earlier.
It was a simpler time, sitting in the fifties-style diner. While Darcy was worried, it was a time before they knew what they were really up against, and whom they were really fighting.
It was a time before she had met Murphy and Casey, and before they had been to Seattle.
She remembered what she had said to him, when he seemed to be unsure of what to do next.
“You need to trust your instincts, Caleb,” she said, “They have served us well so far.”
Caleb looked her in the eye, and she could see her words did not have the same effect as they previously had.
“I don’t think they have, Darc.” He began, “We’ve barely made it here alive…”
Darcy put her arms around him, and brought him close. The burly, strong Marine Captain was anything but as she drew him closer to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and nuzzled the side of her face into his chest. As she held him tight, she felt his emotions getting the better of him as loud sighs emanated from him.
“It’s ok, babe,” she said, trying to comfort him.
After a few moments, Darcy gently pushed him away.
“Your decisions have brought us to where we are, and we still have a chance. We can stop them.”
Darcy paused before continuing, “You need to suck it up and lead us, Caleb. You need to be the one. Murphy, Casey… even Dunleavy. We’re all looking to you to guide us through. They trust you. I trust you.”
Caleb was listening intently. Once again, Darcy was unsure how much of an impact her words had had on her partner.
But it did not last for long.
After a few more moments of silence, Caleb leant in and kissed Darcy. While not a passionate as the embrace they had had in the room the previous night, Darcy was still able to determine his intent.
After the kiss, Caleb grabbed her by the hand, and lead her out of the room. Darcy pulled him back.
“Babe, you still haven’t answered my question... Should we be bringing him along?” Darcy asked, again referring to Jace.
Caleb stopped moving towards the door, and turned back to face Darcy, “I’m not sure we can trust him, but it’s the only choice we have.”
“Is it a risk we can take?”
“I think so...” replied Caleb.
Darcy realised that was as good an answer as she was going to get from him. She stepped forward, and it was her turn to lead them out the door.
Caleb was relaxed, more so than he had been for the past twenty-four hours. Part of him had always felt more comfortable with Darcy, as though there were no problems in the whole world that could not be solved.
He was grateful to her, for she had once again shown him the way to be able to focus.
And all she had done was to hug and hold him.
It was the part of her he loved the most – her ability to completely and utterly calm him down. It was why, after all he had seen throughout his military career, he was always drawn back to her. Not through any kind of obligation, but out of love. The true and undefinable love that he felt for Darcy, and he knew that she felt it for him too.
It was that love that, for the moment, would once again be enough to sustain him for the next part of their mission.
As Darcy led the way, Caleb regained his focus.
They made their way down the short corridor and into the room where the others were waiting.
Jace, previously in whispered conversation with Dunleavy, swung around as Caleb and Darcy entered the room.
“Look... Captain...” Jace began, his blonde hair falling into his eyes before he was able to brush it away.
But before he could continue, Caleb spoke.
“You’re coming with us...” Caleb said, “And Dunleavy, Murphy and Casey are heading back to the states.”
“Good...” Jace said, seemingly relieved.
As he spoke, Jace’s attention turned to outside the house. A new day had dawned over the inner-city suburb, and Caleb moved to the window. As he drew back the curtain, Caleb could see clearly what had drawn Jace’s attention – a black SUV had pulled out the front of the house.
Caleb reached down to his holster. As he did, Murphy and Casey did the same, almost immediately springing to attention.
Jace placed his hand on Caleb’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, Captain. They’re here for us.”
Caleb paid little heed to Jace’s advice and took out his gun anyway. Murphy and Casey did the same.
Caleb moved to the opening-side of door, with Casey and Murphy taking up positions facing the doorway.
With only three people, it was the best way to guard against any unwanted guests. Additionally, Caleb was able to position himself to see through the window and observe as Jace’s people exited their vehicle.
Both were young - younger than thirty.
One of them – a man - had strong build, with short, dark hair. The other was a woman, equal height of the man, but with long blond hair in a pony-tail. Her physique was lither, but she still looked like she could fight if needed.
“Jesus…” said Dunleavy, “Where’d you get these kids, Jace?”
Jace smirked, “The best place there is… straight out of the training.”
Caleb was reminded of how he was recruited by his former commanding officer. He too was pulled aside during his initial training. Caleb realised it must be to do with the rawness of the people. In the academy, or boot-camp, or wherever a person was trained, a trainee was a clean slate, and as such would be easily malleable to the whims of their mentor.
Sometimes, it would be for good and pure reasons. Others, like those of the Colonials, had a much more dishonourable motivation.
So when Jace said he recruited them straight from training, Caleb knew he could trust them… or at least as much as he trusted Jace.
This
did not weaken his alertness, however. While he did not perceive an immediate threat, the lessons learned over the past few days, and indeed his entire career, had forced him to expect the unexpected.
As Jace’s team moved around the front of the house, Caleb watched them. They made their way around the fence, and up the side of the house to the entry way. For a matter of a few seconds, Caleb lost sight of them as the approached. The only indication they had reached the door was when they knocked.
Jace, without hesitation, moved towards the door and opened it. Casey and Murphy tensed their guns at the ready and pointed towards the door. Caleb moved into a defensive posture, his weapon pointed at the head level he predicted of the incoming agents.
The two walked through the door. It was evident they were not expecting a hostile reception. As the man walked through, he quickly raised his hands.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… easy there mate.” He said, directing the comment to no one in particular.
His female partner similarly had her hands raised.
Jace turned to Caleb, “C’mon, Captain, put the gun away.”
Caleb did as requested, seeing no immediate threat from the two arrivals. He did motion for Casey to go out the front to check there were no more of them. Casey, not wanting to draw any undue attention, put his gun behind his back, and went out the door, around the front and checked the surrounds.
Caleb watched as Casey checked the car. After a quick look around the vehicle, Casey turned back to the window and motioned to Caleb that they were all clear.
With that, the Sergeant headed back towards the house.
Caleb relaxed. All signs had shown they were indeed trustworthy, as far as he could determine at that moment.
Caleb moved his hand away from his weapon, and called on Murphy to do the same.
As the agents realised the weapons were gone, they lowered their hands, and exhaled as though they had held their breath for the last few moments.
“So… What’s going on sir?” the man asked Jace.
“Yeah…” said the woman, “The message was a bit cryptic…”
“It had to be…” replied Jace, “I won’t bore you with the details just yet, but I need you to give these folks a lift.”
Jace motioned towards Murphy and Casey, having just returned from outside.
“Alright.” said the man, “Where to?”
“They need to get home, back to the States.”
“Alrighty then… but the cars not bloody waterproof.” replied the agent, attempting humour.
Caleb, ignoring the joke, wanted more detail, “Where are you going to take them?” he asked.
“There’s an airfield just outside the city. We’ll be able to get you home from there.”
“I know the one…” said Dunleavy as he turned to Caleb, “We’ve used it before, Caleb.”
Caleb remembered the airfield he was extracted from a few years earlier. As Australia and United State relations have mostly been friendly, he was unconcerned about using the base.
But again, this time was different, and he wanted assurances.
“Last time we used it, we walked onto the tarmac, in full view of everybody. This time,” Caleb began, “This time we’re gonna need some cover.”
“Don’t worry, mate.” Jace said, “It’s all been sorted. These two are some of the best people we have, and your team’s covers have already been sorted. Remember, no one knows who you are yet. At least as far as I can tell.”
“As far as you can tell?” Caleb asked.
He was about to continue, when Murphy interrupted, “Don’t worry about us, Cap. We’ve gotten through harder situations than this. We’ll be fine.”
“Fine,” he said, “When do you leave?”
“No time like the present. Let’s pack our gear and head out.” Jace said.
Caleb saw little other reason to delay.
He knew Murphy and Casey understood their mission, and he had every confidence they would complete it.
But then it occurred to him – they needed a way to communicate.
He turned to Jace, “We’re gonna need some burner phones. International capability.”
Jace had a grin on his face, as though he had anticipated the question. Without saying a word, he looked at the male agent and nodded.
“Here you go mate,” the agent said as he reached into his pocket and brought out a phone, “Not the most sophisticated thing there is, but its clean and it’ll get the job done.”
As Caleb took the old Nokia phone, the female agent handed a separate phone to Murphy.
“You’ve programmed in the numbers?” Jace asked his people.
“Yeah boss. They’re the only numbers in there. Kept it simple.”
“This isn’t our first rodeo, Captain,” Jace said to Caleb, “We’ve sorted as much as we can.”
“Thanks, Jace.” Caleb said.
“No worries,” said the Australian, “But I think it’s time we got a wriggle on ‘ey.”
Caleb nodded, and turned to Murphy. Without saying a word, Caleb motioned for Murphy to get ready, which she did without hesitation.
He then turned to Darcy, “I think it’s time we left, babe.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The men stood in the laboratory.
For several hours, they had been monitoring the progress of the latest experiment. Over time, there had been slight degradation in the subject’s vital statistics, but nothing truly noteworthy.
It had been hours since the initial infection, and the men were getting nervous.
“Are you sure this will work?” asked Robert.
“Of course it will work,” Saunders replied.
It took most of his concentration to hide his nerves. For such a long time, Saunders had been in the shadows, working in secret away from the major decision makers. But now that Phase Two was underway, and Phase Three was on the cusp of beginning, Saunders knew it was his time to prove his real worth.
He had often felt jealous of those in power. As he had seen with others, the chance for real progression through the ranks was difficult. It was rare for positions to open up, and it was often about timing.
Saunders could feel this was about to change. With the completion of Phase Three, there would be openings throughout the Colonial infrastructure.
Leaders would be needed once the world was theirs, and Saunders knew this was his chance to prove himself to those that made the decisions.
And that is why he was nervous. If he was able to pull off what he had described to Robert earlier, he would be credited with the perfect implementation of the plan.
But fail, and he would go back to where he started from.
Or worse.
The two men had been standing at the observation window for several hours. Once the injection was provided to the blonde subject, Saunders had sought some rest. After a quick kip, he had returned to the bio-lab and waited.
So far, the results had not been forth-coming.
They did their best to mimic the course of a real day, at least as sleep and rest went. They had given the subjects food – two full meals so far. They had even given them quality food, the same as the rest of the colony was provided.
After some more time, they provided the pair with a television and movie player. While the choice of movies was from the late nineties, it provided entertainment and ensured they would not be able to access any news.
After Saunders felt the subjects had their needs attended to, he went back to observing. As he watched, he had been joined by one of his technicians, a young man whose name he often forgot. He paid him little heed, as he was anxious to see the results of his work come to fruition.
Saunders looked at his watch, and saw the time elapsed click over the twelve hours.
Almost on cue, the door at the rear of the laboratory burst open.
It was Robert.
“What’s the situation?” Robert asked abruptly.
“What… no ‘How are you’?’�
� asked Saunders.
Robert looked at the doctor with distain.
“There are more important things going on right now than you state-of-mind. Give me an update. It’s been twelve hours now.”
Saunders motioned towards the window, specifically the men on the other side.
“No real change so far… but I’m optimistic.” He stated.
“We need more than optimism, Saunders, we need something more…”
“Patience, Robert. It’s only just gone twelve… let’s just wait and see.”
Robert let out a sigh, and Saunders turned his attention back to the subjects, focusing on the blonde man.
Only a few moments past before, suddenly, there was activity on his technician’s tablet. The reading was making the beeping noise Saunders had been waiting for. He grabbed the tablet from the technician, and held it tightly with both hands.
One of the subject’s heartrates was spiking, indicating the first stage of the virus. The formerly placid expression on Saunders’ face turned into one of joy. A smile beamed across his face, a mixture of delight and relief.
As he looked up, he saw something he did not expect. The blonde man was not in pain at all. In fact, the only movements he made were through some form of concern for his cell-mate.
The taller, chubbier man was writhing around on the floor, clutching at his chest. Saunders could not imagine the pain the man was going through, and nor did it bother him. While the result was not one he was expecting, Saunders was still content with how it was playing out.
He nonchalantly looked away from the man and back to his tablet. The tablets readings were reflecting what Saunders was seeing.
“Why is he going first?” asked Robert, posing a question that Saunders had himself.
After a few moments thought, Saunders figured the answer.
“It looks like it affects people in different ways, Robert,” he said as he turned to his superior, “Obviously subject two is more susceptible to it than subject one.”
“So how long until subject one is affected?” asked Robert.
“I can’t be certain. It should be soon though.”
As Saunders spoke, the unmistakable sound of the heartbeat stopped on his tablet, and a long beep began. The second subject showed no further signs of life.
