She perched her eyebrows high on her forehead. She wanted to know.
“Plus, then I’d have to kill you.”
Her disappointment was easy to see, but he couldn’t tell her about Babel, he mother tongue or how the world was nearly enslaved by Ridley.
“What’s important for you to know is that your name isn’t on any agency list. There are no warrants for your arrest. You’re not even on a no-fly list. You’re clean.”
“So you really aren’t looking for me?”
“Me, as in the U.S. government? No. Me, as in me? Let’s just say I’m not disappointed to have found you. Though the circumstances could be improved.”
Remembering they were hiding from a killing machine similar to the Hydra sobered Knight. He moved on in silence, hoping to continue the conversation later, if they survived.
20.
Phillip Cho peered down through the lens of the Zeiss and Olympus microscopes at the sample of Hydra DNA. Then, he re-examined his notes. If only the sample he had collected hadn’t degraded as he made his escape from the Manifold Alpha facility or if he could have procured Todd Maddox’s actual findings. Or, he thought in disgust, if he had been given access to the equivalent of five NSA Cray Triton supercomputers capable of handling three hundred twenty billion instructions per second as Maddox had.
He cursed and shoved the papers from the lab station. The area around him contained some of the most sophisticated genetic research equipment in the world: automated karyotyping and fluorescence in-situ hybridization stations, low-temperature freezers, barocyclers, automated Vysis VP2000 slide processors, Axon Scanners and Thermotrons. Despite all of the fancy equipment though, he couldn’t find a way to retain the benefits of the serum without inducing the terrible side effects, namely turning into a human-reptile hybrid like his pet, Huangdi.
Creating Huangdi hadn’t been easy, but with Salvatori’s help, they were able modify a porcine circovirus—a single-stranded DNA virus—for use as a carrier. The virus crossed the cell membrane of the host cells and infected them with the DNA alterations from the Hydra-derived serum. The infected cells divided, the virus spread and the host was transformed on the cellular level. Huangdi had been the product of several generations of trial and error, but Cho still couldn’t determine the specific genes necessary for regeneration only. Todd Maddox had cracked the code, but Cho hadn’t been one of the inner circle, so he wasn’t privy to the genius’s methods. The truth was that he had never been much of a scientist, but he refused to allow those shortcomings to rob him of his true destiny.
His creature, who had once been a Chinese soldier, was named for the first legendary emperor of China. At the end of his reign, the original Huangdi was said to have been immortalized into a dragon that resembled his emblem, and then ascended into heaven. Cho’s pet dragon had an undeniable usefulness from a military standpoint, but the serum could be used for so much more.
It could quite possibly grant immortality.
It could change a man into a god, if only he could harness its power and filter out the negative effects. But his handlers within a small, but powerful cell of the Chinese government were short-sighted and ignorant. They didn’t care about furthering that line of research at the moment. They were preoccupied with the concept of an indestructible army of monsters that could crush their enemies. What they refused to consider is that countries and borders come and go, but with his serum, he could be eternal. He could be like the first emperor. He could become a dragon, figuratively speaking, and ascend to heaven.
He had been briefed on their ultimate plan. First, they would smuggle his super soldiers into the United States and position them at strategic locations across the country. Then they would strike from within and cripple the superpower. While the majority of the Chinese government, controlled by cultural elitists who viewed anything non-Chinese as barbaric, was satisfied with simply maintaining control of China, the splinter group he worked for saw things differently. They didn’t just want to expand Chinese control of other nations; they wanted to destroy those nations, claiming their land, resources and wealth for the exclusive use of the ever growing Chinese population. That Chinese laborers working for American corporations couldn’t even afford proper housing was infuriating enough. But when their own government loaned the United States $1 trillion dollars, the group saw this as a grave betrayal—one that required a bold response. Once the war began, the rest of the government would fall in line and the Chinese people—all of them—would benefit from the reclamation of the wealth they were now giving away.
Once their biggest barrier was eliminated and America was reduced to rubble, they would sweep over the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. At which time, their ultimate goal of a one-world communist government would be complete.
And, of course, Cho would have his pick as to where he wished to be regional governor. He would be a king. But somehow, that just wasn’t enough for him. Why be a king when you can be a god?
But he would also need an army to enforce his will, and before they would provide him with the resources necessary to birth his children, they wanted an insurance policy. They were afraid of what could happen if they built an indestructible army, even they had no method of combating. It was sound thinking, and Cho couldn’t mount any argument against it. He wondered if they suspected his true motivations.
Either way, he had no intention of developing their anti-serum that would halt the rejuvenating capabilities of his soldiers. Instead, he had focused all of his time and energy on creating a new serum that would transform his weak, mortal body.
He knew that Salvatori held the key, but the old man was too stubborn. Although, Cho had already considered a few methods that he could employ to open the old man’s mind and make him more cooperative.
He looked to the clock and wondered how long it had been since he had slept. He supposed that it didn’t really matter. The moment for resting was long past. Time was against him now, and he couldn’t allow it defeat him. He couldn’t allow himself to fail when he was so close.
Almost with a mind of its own, his hand shot out to his desk drawer and retrieved his supplies. He laid the mirror on the workstation and dumped out the white powder. Then he sliced it into neat lines and snorted it up one nostril. He dabbed the excess onto his finger and rubbed it into his gums. His head dropped back against his chair, and his eyes fell shut. He sat there for a moment and let his medicine do its job.
When his eyes opened, he felt much better. He felt ready to take on the world. With the press of a few keys, the images on his bank of monitors changed to views of the empty streets of the city. He pressed another string of keys to bring up Huangdi’s location using his GPS tag. The screen showed that no signal was being received from Huangdi’s tracker.
Unfortunately, he had been unable to find a way to create indestructible communication hardware for use with his indestructible monster. Although Huangdi’s flesh would heal, any radio or tracking devices could easily be destroyed.
He dialed up the recordings for the areas surrounding the SAS camp. A click of the mouse and the images spun backward in high speed. Another click and the screen showed Huangdi’s attack on the British encampment. Cho marveled at the creature’s abilities and its brutality. It was truly an efficient killing machine. Maybe he could find a way to leave intact some of the Hydra DNA code that related to strength and agility in the final serum.
He watched on the recording as a small group escaped from Huangdi’s grasp and made their way into the sewer system. It was hardly of any concern. Huangdi would hunt them down and finish his mission. Cho had no doubts about that. It was what the creature had been conditioned to do: complete the mission at all costs.
But the escape wouldn’t look good on his video reports, so he pulled up the files in a video editing program and cut off the last section before sending it on to his superiors. Then he moved to another workstation within the lab that had been equipped with the most recent in vide
o conferencing hardware and software.
A light blinked on next to the camera, and within another few seconds, General Kuan Yin appeared on the screen. Cho bowed respectfully to the General and said in Mandarin, “General, the field tests are proceeding very well. I’m sending over a set of video files that demonstrate the potential of the weapon I’ve created. As requested, for this final weapons test before we move into production, I have drawn in some of the most elite fighting men that our enemies have to offer. We attacked two clandestine bases operated by the U.S. and Great Britain and then allowed them to track us back here. They reacted as we had anticipated and sent in teams from Delta and the SAS. As you’ll see from the videos, the skills of these men made little difference. No human being can stand against my soldiers.”
The General gave a curt nod. “Very good, Dr. Cho. But how is the anti-serum progressing?”
“It’s very near to completion, sir.”
The general’s eyes narrowed into slits. “You’ve been telling us that for a while now. I hope there have been no setbacks in your work. We need that anti-serum immediately, or we will be forced to terminate the program.”
Cho fought back his disgust and forced a smile. “Everything is moving along well. You’ll have the anti-serum in hand very soon.”
“Very good. You are a true patriot, doctor. And you will be rewarded as such, once your work is complete.”
Cho bowed graciously and then cut the connection. As soon as the light blinked out, he spit onto the blank monitor. Rewarded.True patriot. He suspected once he outlived his usefulness and delivered the serum and anti-serum, the general or one of his lackeys would erase him from existence. After all, they couldn’t have him giving away any of their secrets to a rival government.
Yes, they would try to kill him. Unfortunately for them, he was one step ahead.
21.
Knight’s radio chirped to life, and the sudden sound in the dark, quiet space caused him to instinctively step back and reach for his weapon. The voice on the other end said, “Knight, we’re getting really scared. We can’t see you on any of the TVs. Are you okay? Are you coming to get us?”
He grabbed for the radio and said, “Everything’s fine, Ling. I told you that I’m a monster hunter. And I think we’ve found a way to kill this particular monster. Once it’s over, we’ll all be able to go home.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Ling said, “We have no home.”
Knight winced. Of all the insensitive, asshole things he could have said, he picked one of the worst. He thought of Fiona—the adopted daughter of Chess Team’s field leader, King—and the love that every member of the team shared for the girl. But despite his affection for Fiona, he had always been glad that the true burden of being her father had fallen to King. It wasn’t a job that he had ever wanted or even considered. His comment cemented the fact.
He wished he could offer them a solution, but he wasn’t child services. He was a Black Ops soldier fighting monsters—human and non-human around the world. Fiona had been forced into their world by the threat on her life, but Chess Team wasn’t an orphanage. Still, he felt for the kids. He knew what growing up without parents was like. But they were tough. And they had each other. They’d pull through.
When he opened his mouth to speak, his voice sounded dry and cracked. “Umm…we can talk about that once we’re all safe.”
He looked up to see Beck watching him from the corner of her eyes. She was grinning. “You’ve got a beautiful smile,” he said. “Wouldn’t mind seeing it on a more regular basis.”
The eyes narrowed, but the grin remained. “I bet you would.”
“After all this is over, maybe we could take a little trip together. I know a private spot in the Cambodian jungle where two waterfalls meet. At sunset, the rays of light shine through the falls and create the most beautiful rainbow you’ve ever seen. I’d love to show it to you.”
Beck stuck her finger down her throat and made a gagging sound.
“Okay…I could take you to Montana instead. We could kill a grizzly bear.”
She cocked her head to the side. Her brown hair fell over the side of her face. “You’re getting closer, but I don’t know. I’ve never dated a guy that’s shorter than I am.”
“I could wear heels if it helps.”
She chuckled. The gesture projected a softness into her eyes. “It might.”
Donahue cleared his throat loudly. Knight noticed for the first time that the SAS commander was limping slightly and favoring his left side. Donahue coughed and said, “We’re here. If you love birds are done twitterpating, maybe we can kill that bloody creature now.”
22.
Knight scanned the area above the manhole cover using a fiberscope. Nicknamed a snake cam, the device was a long, flexible bundle of fiber-optics with an eyepiece at one end and a lens at the other. It was an invaluable tool used by spec ops soldiers to recon a room or area without alerting the enemy to their presence. He saw no sign of the beast on the street above and grabbed for his radio. He was getting used to having Ling and Jiao watching his back. They were beginning to remind him of miniature versions of Deep Blue.
“Ling, are we clear to move up?”
“I think so. But we don’t see the monster on any of the other monitors, either.”
He knew that just because they couldn’t see the creature, didn’t mean it wasn’t up there somewhere waiting for them. But he had little choice but to proceed despite the risk. The last of Donahue’s men, a corporal named Jenkins, joined Knight on the ladder, and they pushed the cover free of the opening. The group moved cautiously over the street and up through the parking garage. Apparently, their escape through the sewer had been successful in throwing the beast off their trail. Once on the roof of the parking garage, Donahue set to work at dismantling the warhead. Knight, Beck and Jenkins kept their eyes on the perimeter. But there was no sign of the creature. The air was calm and still. The city, despite its warren of roads and skyscrapers, was eerily silent.
After a few minutes, Donahue called Knight over and gestured toward the open contents of the thermobaric weapon. “The warhead’s remote detonation control circuitry is fried, and the power source is shot to hell. I might be able to rig something up and bypass the damaged circuitry, but the power source is out of my hands. We’re going to have to find a replacement.”
“Like what? What can we use?”
Donahue shrugged. “Almost anything above a flashlight battery could work. It doesn’t need that much power to spark the detonation.”
He thought for a moment. “What about a car battery?”
Donahue nodded. “That’d do the trick. Too bad there aren’t any left in this bloody parking garage.”
“That would be too easy, but I do remember seeing an abandoned car down the road a bit near where I first encountered the creature.” He put a hand on Donahue’s shoulder. “Get this thing ready to blow, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
“You got a deal, but you had better get those little legs of yours pumping. It’s only a matter of time before that thing tracks us here.”
“Little legs?”
Donahue shrugged and turned back to the warhead.
Knight climbed into the Osprey. The interior was the same jumbled mess that he had seen earlier, but this time, he knew where to look. He had seen the items he needed when he had broken into the weapons locker. He retrieved a small box from the cockpit and a can of emergency fuel attached to the back of the dead ATV. He dumped out the regular gasoline from the can and went to the side of one of the Osprey’s reserve fuel tanks. Then, using a hydraulic hose taken from the wreckage, he siphoned out some of the craft’s JP-8 jet fuel.
As he dropped down from the side of the ruined aircraft, Beck’s eyes passed over the items in his hands. “What’s all that for?”
He smiled. “A little surprise for our big-ass friend.”
23.
The beast watched from high above the streets of the g
host city, scanning for its prey. It burned with hatred for the small things that kept stopping it from completing the objective. Why did the small things keep hurting it? All it wanted was to complete the task that the master had assigned. The objective was all that mattered, all that it had left.
There was a time when there was more. Strange, fuzzy pictures like something from a dream occupied its memory. It saw images of a man, a soldier, a proud patriot. It saw the soldier as a boy fishing with his grandfather on Taihu Lake, and his mother taking him to the Temple of Heaven—a sacred place in southern Beijing where emperors in the Ming and Qing dynasties worshiped and offered sacrifices. Then it watched the boy grow to manhood and train to serve his country. It saw the soldier with a woman and a baby.
But after that, the only memories it could recall were pain, rage and the objective.
It remembered all these things, but it couldn’t make the connection as to why. Where did these images come from? What were they? It felt deep sadness and anger, but it didn’t truly understand either emotion.
All it knew was that it had to obey the master. It had to kill.
A scent carried on the wind drew its attention, and it leapt from rooftop to rooftop, tracking down the source of the smell. Then it saw the small thing running along the road below. This one was the worst of all the small things. This one had caused it much pain. But no more.
It was time to complete the objective.
24.
Salvatori tapped furiously on the keyboard. The glow of the single flat screen monitor illuminated his pale and weathered features. All around him, Cho’s equipment hummed with life. A part of him pitied Cho. The man didn’t realize that, despite all of the technology in the world, a person couldn’t solve a complex puzzle without a keen mind and a clear focus. He knew that Cho was little more than a wannabe scientist with a drug addiction and possessed none of the qualities necessary for true success.
Callsign: Knight - Book 1 (A Shin Dae-jung - Chess Team Novella) Page 6
