The Project Eden Thrillers Box Set 2: Books 4 - 6 (Ashes, Eden Rising, & Dream Sky)

by Brett Battles

When he reached the door, he stopped and listened again.

  KUSUM WAS ALMOST caught while transporting the first two boxes to the safety of the building outside the compound.

  She was only a block away from her destination when a car came around a bend. She barely had time to dodge into a narrow gap between two stores.

  The car drove slowly down the road, flashlight beams shining out the open windows onto buildings and parked cars.

  Kusum knelt down, intending to go all the way prone with the boxes beside her when she remembered the distinctive yellow and black tape. If they saw that, they would stop for sure. She snatched up a pile of food wrappers and newspapers and covered the exposed ends of the boxes, hoping that would be enough. Then down she went.

  A few moments later, through the corner of her eye, she saw the wall beside her light up, less than an arm’s length above her head. She tensed, ready to make a run for it if the light dipped any lower, but the car kept moving, and the muted glow of the flashlight beam quickly faded.

  She waited until she couldn’t hear the car anymore, and then jumped to her feet and ran the rest of the way.

  She hid the two boxes in a storeroom of a first-floor shop, concealing them behind a stack of dresses and children’s clothes. Then she headed back to the compound to help Sanjay bring the others.

  But when she arrived, Sanjay wasn’t there yet.

  She nearly crawled into the hole, thinking he might need help, but stopped herself.

  He’s being careful, she told herself. He’ll be fine.

  She wasn’t sure if she believed that or not, but she knew if she went back in, there was as much of a chance she’d make things worse than better.

  She grabbed two more boxes and started back for the building.

  He’ll be here when I get back.

  He’ll be here.

  BOTH THE OFFICE and the conference room were empty. Van Assen even went ahead and checked Dettling’s office. No one there, either.

  So, which door had opened?

  He looked around the hallway again.

  One of the storage rooms? No one should be in any of those, not this late at night, and especially not on a night like they were experiencing. But those were the only places he hadn’t checked.

  There were four of them: the weapons locker he’d been in, a maintenance closet, the medical storage room, and the telecom equipment room. The medical storage room was closest, so he went there first.

  SANJAY HEARD FOOTSTEPS approaching the storage room. Not knowing if the door had automatically locked when he shut it, he grabbed the knob and held it tight.

  He realized too late that he should have put the boxes down first so he could use both hands, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

  The steps stopped right outside, and then the knob shook, but it didn’t turn. It was locked, he realized with relief. As soon as the other person let go, he did, too, and thought, Go look somewhere else.

  But instead of steps moving away from the door, he heard the rattle of metal, followed by the sound of a key slipping into the lock.

  VAN ASSEN INSERTED the J key into the doorknob and turned it. As he stepped forward, something grabbed his arm, yanked him inside, and shoved him to the floor.

  As he looked back, he saw the culprit flee the room. But the man wasn’t one of the Project’s people; he was an Indian. And he was carrying two boxes sealed with yellow and black tape.

  Van Assen pushed himself to his feet and rushed over to the back corner where the eight boxes of vaccine had been stored.

  They were gone.

  Every last one of them.

  SANJAY SPRINTED DOWN the hallway toward the exit, knowing the man he’d thrown to the ground would be after him in seconds. He’d recognized the guy. The man had been one of Dettling’s subordinates, but Sanjay had never known his name.

  Faster! he ordered himself, sure that a hand was about to clamp down on his shoulder.

  He knew he should have dumped the vaccine—it was slowing him down—but the idea of leaving any of it behind was not acceptable to him.

  “Hey! You there! Come back here!” the man yelled behind him.

  Sanjay kept running until he reached the door. As he banged it open and rushed outside, he would have collided with Mr. Dettling if he hadn’t spun at the last second out of the way. While the move saved him from hitting the man, the top box slipped from his grasp and fell on the ground.

  “What the hell? What’s going on?” Dettling said. As Sanjay leaned down and picked up the box, Dettling narrowed his eyes. “Sanjay?”

  “Leave me alone,” Sanjay said as he started to run again. “Leave all of us alone. Haven’t you and your Project Eden friends killed enough?”

  VAN ASSEN SHOVED the door out of the way. When he exited the building, he was surprised to find Mr. Dettling standing just outside, staring at the receding form of the intruder.

  “He’s got the vaccine!” van Assen yelled.

  Dettling had no reaction.

  “Mr. Dettling, did you hear me? He has the vaccine!”

  “The vaccine?” Dettling said, as if not comprehending the words.

  “Yes! He’s taken all of it!”

  More silence.

  Whatever was wrong with Dettling, van Assen wasn’t about to let it take him down, too.

  Pushing past his boss, he headed after the thief.

  SANJAY DIDN’T EVEN bother trying to hide. The faster he got out of there, the better chance he had of remaining free.

  He weaved his way through the compound and into the back junk area. When he reached the barrels sitting in front of the hole, he risked a look back. He didn’t see anyone, but knew he couldn’t count on that for long.

  He shoved the first box into the hole as far as it would go, then used the second one to push the first, and then he followed it. The first box cleared the other end, but the second seemed hung up on something. He pulled it back a few centimeters and wiggled it forward, hoping to avoid the obstruction. For a second, it felt like it would get stuck again, then it was free, and…

  …pulled from his grasp.

  As the hole above him cleared, he saw Kusum looking down. “What took you so long?”

  “Go! Run! They are chasing me!”

  Instead of running, though, she grabbed his arm and helped him out.

  “Come on, come on,” he said, grabbing two of the boxes.

  Kusum picked up the other two that were there, and they ran.

  VAN ASSEN’S ENCOUNTER with Dettling ended up causing him to lose the intruder. He ran in the direction he thought the man had gone, but could not find him. When he ran into the junk area, he noticed that the barrels covering the hole by the wall had been moved.

  Dammit!

  Without hesitating, he dropped into the hole and squirmed under the wall. It was a tight fit, but he was just able to make it. When he climbed out the other side, he whirled around.

  But there was no one there.

  DETTLING STARED INTO the night.

  Sanjay. My God.

  The last time he’d seen the kid, Sanjay was holding a gun as he forced Dettling and several other managers into a storage room. And now here he’d been again, not only saying words that Dettling had often thought himself, but actually using the name Project Eden. Where could he have heard that?

  Dettling knew he should have been running right behind van Assen, knew they should be doing everything they could to retrieve the vaccine, but the final straw had broken him.

  What have we done?

  He numbly walked into the building and down to his office. From one of the desk drawers he pulled out a bottle of whiskey, intending to drink himself into a stupor. He was halfway through the bottle when he thought about the gun in his other drawer.

  The first shot went wide as his head swayed from the alcohol.

  He was smarter the second time, and had the gun’s barrel firmly planted against the top of his mouth when he pulled the trigger.

&n
bsp; “I DO NOT see anyone,” Kusum whispered.

  “Neither do I,” Sanjay said.

  They were lying on the roof of the building where the boxes were hidden, scanning the streets between them and the compound.

  “I think we are okay,” he said.

  She slapped his shoulder. “Not okay. Why did you let him see you?”

  “Because I thought it would be more fun that way.”

  She slapped him again.

  “We need to talk about you hitting me so much,” he said.

  “What is there to talk about? If you stop doing stupid things, I will stop hitting you.”

  “And you are the judge of whether the things I do are stupid or not?”

  “Of course.”

  He frowned. “I am not sure I am enjoying marriage so much.”

  “You are enjoying it fine.” She turned on her side. “Now come here and put your arms around me.”

  He snuggled into her. “We really should be going,” he said. “The sooner we can get all the boxes to where the others are, the sooner we can leave the city.”

  “Soon,” she said. “But not yet.”

  Twenty-Four

  WALSENBURG, COLORADO

  5:18 AM MST

  THE VEHICLES HEADING south into New Mexico were lined up in the hotel parking lot, their engines running. Ash, Josie, Brandon, Chloe, Dr. Gardiner, and Ginny stood outside the lobby shaking hands and wishing everyone good luck. Rick was up in his room. According to Ginny, he was sulking about being kidnapped, but wouldn’t fight continuing on with them.

  “Be safe,” Ash said to a couple of the men coming out of the hotel.

  “You guys, too,” one of them said.

  “Take care.”

  “Same for you.”

  Lily Franklin came out. “Wish you guys were coming with us,” she said.

  “I hope you’re bored to death and don’t need to patch anyone up,” Ash said.

  “You and me both.”

  Matt came out with the last two men. “Davis and Sorrento here will be your drivers,” he said.

  The two men didn’t look happy about being left out of the raid, but they nodded to Ash and Chloe.

  “If you guys get going here pretty quick, you might be able to make it all the way to Salt Lake City tonight,” Matt said. “But don’t push it. Stop when you’re getting tired.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Ash said.

  “Anything else you need?”

  Ash shook his head. “Don’t think so.”

  “No,” Chloe said. “Think we’re good.”

  “All right, then. I guess we’ll be off.”

  Before he could turn away, Ash held out his hand. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks, Captain,” Matt said, shaking it. “If we can pull this off, we all might have a chance.”

  “Then I suggest you pull it off.”

  After Matt had climbed into his Humvee, Ash said to Chloe, “You could have loosened up a little. At least said good-bye.”

  “Yeah. I could have.”

  In a mighty roar, the convoy turned onto the road toward the interstate.

  As soon as the last truck disappeared onto the on-ramp, Ash said, “Ginny, get your cousin. It’s time to leave.”

  ASH ASSIGNED RICK to ride in the snowplow with Davis, which seemed to suit the kid fine. The rest of them piled into the Humvee. For the first time since they’d left the Ranch, Ash took the front passenger seat.

  Sorrento, a skinny guy in his late twenties, seemed to have shrugged off the disappointment of missing the main mission, and smiled as he checked to make sure everyone had a seat.

  “All right. Let’s get going,” he said.

  “Just a second,” Ash told him.

  Sorrento paused, his hand ready to shift the truck into gear.

  Ash sat motionless for a moment, running everything through his head again.

  “Captain?” Sorrento said.

  Ash glanced at him, and then picked up the handheld radio they were using to communicate between their two vehicles. He switched to the same band Chloe had set the radio in the plow to—one they were confident Matt would not be using—and clicked the talk button.

  “Davis?” he said.

  “Yes, sir,” Davis said. “Ready to go when you are.”

  “I think for this first part, you just follow us,” Ash said. “If we run into any problems, you can swing around and take care of them.”

  “Okay, sir. If that’s what you’d like.”

  Ash looked at Sorrento. “Let’s hit it.”

  Sorrento put the Humvee in gear and drove them toward the parking lot exit.

  “Go left,” Ash told him.

  Sorrento slowed the vehicle. “Sir?”

  “Change of plans. We’re taking the interstate.”

  “The exit for 160 is only a mile or so down,” Sorrento said, confused. “It’s actually quicker if we go through town.”

  “We’re not taking 160.”

  “We’re not? But Mr. Hamilton said—”

  “I don’t care what Matt said.”

  “Okay, but if you’re thinking we should go through Albuquerque and head west from there, that’s kind of the long way around.”

  “We’re not going to Nevada,” Ash said. “Not yet, anyway.”

  Sorrento looked completely lost now. “I’m not sure I—”

  “We’re going south.”

  “But Mr. Hamilton thinks we’re going to Nevada.”

  “That, he does.”

  The truth of Ash’s intent seemed to slowly dawn on Sorrento. Brow unfurrowing, he tilted his head back. “We’re going to follow them?”

  “Now you’re getting the picture,” Ash said. “Won’t be a problem, will it?”

  Sorrento eased off the brake and smiled. “Not at all, sir.”

  “Hold on,” Dr. Gardiner said from his seat behind him. “Did I hear you right? We’re heading into New Mexico?”

  The Humvee rumbled onto the street and turned toward the interstate.

  “That’s correct, Doctor.”

  “No, no, no! We’re going to Nevada. That’s where my family is.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll get you there eventually,” Ash said. “At the moment, your services may be needed elsewhere.”

  “Uh-uh. No way. I didn’t sign up for this.”

  “You didn’t sign up for anything,” Chloe said. “We saved your ass. I saved your ass. You and your family would already be dead otherwise.”

  “This isn’t the old world anymore,” Ash said. “We don’t get to sit around in our living rooms while someone else fights our fights.”

  “I don’t consider what I’ve been doing just sitting around a living room,” the doctor argued.

  “No, that’s true, but there’s more work to be done. What Matt and the rest of the team are planning will go a long way to saving a lot of people. They’ll be putting themselves in harm’s way, which means they will very likely need medical attention, probably more than Lily can handle on her own.”

  “So we’re following them because they might need me?”

  “No,” Chloe said. “We’re going because they will definitely need Ash and me. You are an additional benefit.”

  Davis’s voice came over the radio. “Weren’t we supposed to take that?”

  Ash glanced outside. They had just passed the US 160 exit off the I-40.

  He picked up the radio. “Change of route,” he said. “I’ll explain when we take a break in a while.”

  “All right, sir.”

  Ash looked back at the doctor. “Is this going to be an issue?”

  He knew Gardiner was a good man who was still trying to come to grips with all that had happened. The doctor wanted to be with his family, to know they were safe. But these days, the best way to keep loved ones safe often meant risking one’s life. Ash was sure that on some level, the doctor understood this.

  A few moments later, his hunch paid off.

  “No,” Gardiner said.
“Not an issue.”

  ISABELLA ISLAND, COSTA RICA

  7:02 AM CST

  “ROBERT, YOU UP?”

  Someone knocked rapidly on Robert’s door.

  “Hey! Come on. Wake up!”

  Robert forced his eyes open and checked his watch. It was already after seven. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept that late.

  “Robert! Wake up!”

  He recognized Renee’s voice now.

  “Just a minute,” he said.

  Estella stirred beside him, her body draped over his side. “What’s going on?” she whispered.

  “I’ll check.”

  He extracted himself from the bed as Renee began pounding on the door again.

  “I’m coming,” he said.

  He grabbed his shorts off the floor and pulled them on as he moved out into the small living room that made up the rest of his apartment. Since he was now in charge, he could have moved into Dominic’s larger place, but that seemed wrong.

  “Robert!” Renee yelled.

  He pulled the door open and stepped onto the threshold in case she had been planning on coming inside. But the moment she saw him, she turned and started walking away.

  “Come on,” she said, hurriedly. “We’ve got to go.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Another plane,” she said. “They just radioed and said they’ll be here soon.”

  “The UN?”

  “Yes.”

  “Give me a second.”

  “I’ll be in the radio room.”

  Robert ran back inside to grab his shirt and sandals.

  “What is it?” Estella asked.

  “The UN. They’re coming back.”

  She pushed herself up. “With the vaccine?”

  “I don’t know. I would think so. Look, I’ll, um, meet you at the bar in a little while.”

  “Sure. Okay.”

  Robert went over to the bed, gave her a deep kiss, and ran out of the room.

  AFTER GIVING THE plane instructions to land in the lagoon, Robert and Renee—and pretty much all the rest of the island residents—headed down to meet it.

  The plane buzzed overhead as it did a flyby of the lagoon before coming in and landing smoothly on the calm waters. The engine noise increased again as the aircraft taxied across the bay to the main pier, where Robert and Renee were waiting. A few of the others were also on the pier, while most remained on the beach, with a mix of wary and excited looks on their faces.