The arm of the gate was down and they were closing fast. Three hundred feet, two hundred feet, one hundred, fifty, twenty-five, impact! The Humvee plowed through the metal gate arm.
Out the window Travis saw bodies lying on the ground.
Martin made the hard turn right and onto the tarmac.
The gun battle at the gate had drawn an army of soldiers and DHS agents out of the terminal buildings. None of them seemed to notice as they sped past them.
Another sharp left and they drove into the lower parking structure and deep into the bowels of the airport.
Travis knew exactly where he was. “Stop, drop me right here!”
“No, we have to set up the device!” Martin yelled.
“Drop me here. The brig is just a level up, over there,” he hollered.
“No, you’re coming with me to set up the bomb. This is our mission.”
“Stop the fucking vehicle!”
Martin slammed on the brakes. The Humvee howled as it slid to a stop. “Get the fuck out! Just don’t be late for the extraction; I’m not waiting for your ass!”
Travis grabbed his radio and jumped out.
Martin hit the accelerator and sped off deeper into the airport underground levels.
A single door stood calling Travis. Through here, he’d find an elevator, and just past that, he’d find Lori, or so he hoped.
“Wake her up,” Horton ordered Mueller.
Mueller slowly injected the contents of a needle into an IV that sprouted from her left arm. The audible beeps on Lori’s heart monitor increased in tempo as he continued to inject the clear fluid into the line.
Horton clapped his hands loudly several times, trying to wake her up.
Her head began to bob around and she slowly opened her eyes.
“Wake up, Lori. Get up!” Horton yelled.
The intercom kept repeating over and over again that the base was under attack.
Horton was concerned about the incident, but he wasn’t about to allow it to stop him from the pleasure he was about to experience.
She opened her eyes wide each time he yelled at her, but quickly closed them.
“Wake her up, damn it!” Horton ordered.
“Not everyone responds to sedation the same way. It might take her a few minutes,” Mueller said, standing to the side in his white lab coat.
“Give her more, get her up!”
“But that might not be safe,” Mueller foolishly said.
“Might not be safe, are you joking? Look at what you just did. Do you think I care?”
Mueller grabbed a small vial and inserted the needle.
“What is…where…?” Lori mumbled.
“Hi, sweetheart, how are you feeling?” Horton asked mockingly.
She forced her eyes open and looked at him. “What…?”
Horton snapped his thick fingers in her face.
She opened her eyes again and blinked repeatedly to focus. Her vision was blurry but coming back after each blink. When he came into focus, her facial expression changed from confusion to anger, with the heart monitor registering the change for all to hear. The straps on her arms prevented her from reflexively striking out at him.
“Settle down,” he said.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’ve got a couple questions for you,” Horton said.
“I’m not telling you anything,” she said angrily.
“Why don’t you hear what I have to offer you?”
“What do you want?”
“I’m so sorry we never had a chance to talk, you know, to see why you came back.”
“Where’s my family?”
“I’ll make you a deal. You tell me everything I need to know and I’ll reconnect you with your family. You’ll be free to be with them.”
“What did you do to me? I feel numb; my legs are numb.”
“Do you want to be with your family again?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Then tell me why you came back.”
“To kill you.”
“I guess that was an easy question, but you came here with the most unusual weapon to kill me. The great Dr. Mueller here said the substance you tried to poison me with is called polonium-210. That is a very rare substance. Who gave it to you?”
“I found it.”
“Do you want to see your family again?”
“Let me see them now and I’ll tell you where I got it.”
“My dear Lori, you fail to see that I hold all the cards.”
“Let me see my son and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Horton curled his right eyebrow, intrigued by her offer. “That would be easy, for me to show you Eric, but you seemed to forget I’m the one in control here. Let me know what you know and I’ll give him an antidote.”
“You can save them?”
“Tell me who gave you the polonium.”
“Let me see my son,” she insisted.
He tensed up, clenching his fists, and walked towards the holding cells where he had seen the woman poisoned earlier in the week.
“Doctor, raise her up and wheel her over to the second window,” Horton ordered and walked towards the small holding cells in the laboratory.
After raising her, Mueller wheeled her over to the darkened window. As she noticed her white hospital gown, she again asked, “What are you doing to me?”
“You clearly don’t understand what’s happening. Maybe you’re a visual person. Dr. Mueller, turn on the lights.”
Mueller flipped the light switch.
The light turned on in the room and revealed to her Horton’s true evil.
When her eyes looked upon the horror in the room, she cried out, “No, no, no, ahhh, no!”
“Look hard, Lori, this is what happens to people who defy me. This is what you have brought upon yourself.”
Tears burst from her eyes as she watched David and Eric crawl around on the floor, naked and covered in their own feces, urine and vomit. She looked at Eric and cringed as he shook violently after vomiting up bile and blood.
“Turn off the light,” Horton ordered.
Mueller followed his command and the room went dark again.
“I can reunite you with them and ensure you’re given an antidote; all you need to do is tell me where you got the polonium.”
Lori slowed her breathing and thought about his offer. Inside she was experiencing an immense struggle. If she didn’t tell him, her family would die for sure. If she did tell him, he’d kill many innocent people and quite possibly her and her family anyway. Trusting him to stand by his word was asking a lot, but allowing your child to die before your eyes was too much to deal with. “Pine Bluffs, Wyoming.”
“Pine Bluffs, Wyoming. Where the hell is that?” he asked.
“A man runs the town, I don’t know his name, but he goes by the name the magistrate.”
“The magistrate? Hmm, I wonder who that is?”
“He asked me to do it. He knew everything about you.”
Horton folded his arms and tapped his fingers on his mouth.
“Now please give them the antidote,” she begged.
“Lori, do you believe in consequences?”
“Give them the antidote. I told you where and who I got the poison from.”
“Who is this magistrate person? Tell me, tell me everything you know.”
“I already did.”
“Turn on the light.”
Mueller flipped the switch again.
The scene in the room horrified her; she needed it to stop. “I don’t know his name, I swear, but he knows you. He used to be in the Order.”
This shocked Horton. He leaned over her and asked, “What’s his name?”
“I don’t know, I never heard it, he only went by the magistrate.”
“What does he look like?”
“Um, he’s tall, dark hair, lean.”
“That can be many people. Did he have something unique about him?”
Lori struggled to answer his question. She had given up on protecting Pine Bluffs and the magistrate; all she wanted now was to save her family. “I know, he spoke very proper, like he was from the last century, seemed like old proper.”
That was the clue he needed. He knew who it was.
“Now help my family,” she pleaded. “I told you everything I know.”
“Lori, you’re a fool. There is no antidote for polonium. There’s nothing I can do, but I will honor my word and have you join them, all of them.” Horton’s inhumane behavior knew no end. He grabbed her by the neck, turned her head to the right and said, “Say goodbye to your entire family!”
“Ahhh!” Lori screamed when she saw the small bloody form on the floor near David. At first she had thought it nothing but a collection of blood and feces, but upon his insisting she focus on it, she knew exactly what it was, her unborn baby.
“Oh my God, no, no, no!” she screamed. With all her strength she tried to free herself, but the restraints were too strong.
With his grip still on her neck, he turned her head towards his and said, “This is what happens when you mess with the chancellor!”
She spat at him and barked, “You’ll get yours, you son of a bitch. You will burn in hell; that I promise.”
“You’re powerless against me,” he taunted her.
“I didn’t tell you everything; I didn’t tell you that the second part of our plan was to blast you and this place to hell. While you’re busy torturing me, you’re not paying attention to what else is happening. This place will be nothing but a cinder by tomorrow and you along with it.”
He grabbed her face and screamed, “You like to run your mouth.”
“Right now a nuclear bomb sits, hidden, but soon it will go off and you will die when it does.”
A thought crossed his mind that she was bluffing, but then he remembered Calvin. If there was a man who was smart enough to get polonium-210, then he could get a nuclear weapon.
“Where’s this weapon?” he asked.
“You can torture me all you want; I don’t know where it is. That was kept from me on purpose.”
He pushed her face away and grunted.
The brutal show had even affected Mueller, who was purposely not looking.
“Doctor, give her the rest of that tainted whiskey and put her in with her beloved family. When you’re done with that, grab the new virus, the Lazarus antidote and meet me topside at the helicopter pad,” Horton ordered and walked away.
“Sir, what about patient zero?”
“You’ve gotten what you need from her, correct?”
Mueller nodded.
“Kill her.”
As he walked the corridors back to his residence, Horton thought about the evening’s events. Every word he had uttered tonight came from the heart, specifically the one about not crossing him.
Wiping out Lori and her family brought him great joy. After she embarrassed him, he could not put her and the thought of getting back at her out of his mind. Tonight also gave him greater confidence that he could be successful against his enemies.
Digging into his khaki pants, he pulled out his mobile phone and dialed a number. A voice suddenly appeared on the other end. “Wendell, listen carefully. Gather your family and meet me at the helicopter pad. We’re leaving immediately; there’s no time to discuss it.”
Travis stood in the bright elevator carriage and wiped the sweat from his brow. He had his rifle slung and his pistol holstered. Running around like a madman was not the way he thought he should go now; drawing attention to oneself would not work.
The elevator shuddered and stopped, a bell rang and the doors opened. Ahead of him was a long hallway with several doors that entered onto it. At the very end was a large reinforced metal door. Beyond that door sat the brig and hopefully Lori. What was noticeably missing at the door was a guard.
He stepped out and hesitated for a moment. “Where is everyone?” he asked under his breath.
A loudspeaker in the ceiling crackled to life. “Attention, attention all personnel. Code Red. Mandatory evacuations are underway. Repeat, mandatory evacuations are underway. Report to your nearest unit commander or supervisor for further instructions.”
“That’s where they are,” he said out loud. He brought the M4 rifle to his shoulder and steadied it with his stump and moved down the hall. If anyone at all stepped out of one of those doors, he would put a round in them. No more talking or negotiation, this was now about killing and moving.
His radio boomed, “Priddy, this is Martin! Over.”
Travis jumped for a nanosecond but kept proceeding. He had no time to talk and couldn’t handle his rifle and respond anyway, the difficulties of having only one hand.
“Priddy, this is Martin. Come in! Over.”
Travis reached the door; he lowered his rifle and tried the handle. With a loud click the handle moved right and the latch freed; it was unlocked.
“Priddy, Lori is not in the brig. She is in the lab. Come now!”
Travis’s heart skipped a beat. He let go of the cold steel handle and grabbed the radio. “Where are you?”
“Lab.”
“Where’s that?”
“Too difficult to explain; go back to where I dropped you. Follow the parking structure down to the bottom. I’ll meet you there, and hurry! Over.”
Travis didn’t respond. He raced as hard as his legs would take him to the elevator. After waiting what seemed like an eternity for the elevator car, the door chimed and opened, but now it wasn’t empty. On board were two DHS guards, fully dressed in their black uniforms and masks.
Not expecting to run directly into anyone and not knowing if he would be their target, Travis broke leather and pulled out his pistol. He shot the man on the right in the face.
The other guard raised his H&K MP5, but Travis rushed him.
With his left elbow he jabbed the man in the throat and pinned him against the wall of the elevator. He jammed his pistol under the man’s chin and pulled the trigger.
Parts of the man’s skull, brains and Kevlar helmet erupted onto the ceiling.
Pulling his arm away, Travis let gravity take over, and the man dropped straight down.
Adjusting himself, he turned around, exhaled deeply, hit the desired button and said, “This is going to be a long night.”
Charleston, South Carolina
The shockwave from the blast was intense; it hit Tess and Devin like a sledgehammer.
The explosive force from the tank had exceeded what was necessary for the effect.
Dazed from the enormity of the blast, they pulled themselves up and headed towards the creek to begin phase two.
In the Humvee, Devin couldn’t stop laughing.
“What the hell is so funny?” Tess chided.
“That back there was crazy. I mean, c’mon, were you expecting that? I think we’re lucky to be alive.”
“No, I wasn’t expecting that. I think I almost had a heart attack.”
“If that doesn’t get their attention, I don’t know what will.”
Tess drove hard, making each turn without slowing down. The last thing they wanted was to run into any of Renfield’s men. They wanted to make their introduction on their terms.
Without any encounters and moving as swiftly as the darkness would allow, they parked the Humvee at a small boat dock.
“Let’s check our gear quickly,” Tess said.
Devin took inventory of his equipment. He patted his tactical vest and felt for the grenades and extra rifle and pistol magazines. He hadn’t used his pistol and knew it was in condition one, ready to fire, his rifle was the same. “You good to go?”
Tess was tense, but that was normal for her. She never displayed nervousness overtly, but if she were ever honest, she’d admit to being scared. “All good, let’s go through the names of the kids one more time,” she said and began to call off each name.
She’d say a name and he’d recite it, trying to
burn it into his mind. They had been lucky enough to have gotten photos from the boys, but they knew the reality of finding them all was difficult if not outright impossible. Their long conversations and planning had settled on just bringing home any child they encountered.
Devin reached out and felt her chest.
She swatted him away and stepped back. “Just because we kissed doesn’t give you the right to grab my boobs.”
“No, no, I was making sure you had your trauma plate in.”
“I took it out. It’s too big for me, uncomfortable.”
“Please put it in.”
“I hate it.”
“For me.”
“No.”
“Then do it for the kids.”
“C’mon, let’s go,” she said, brushing him off and walking briskly towards the boats.
He jogged up beside her and was about to talk when she stopped.
“Just wait, one sec.” She turned around and went back to the Humvee.
He could hear her digging and talking to herself. Thirty seconds later she ran back. “Okay, I’m good. Let’s do this.”
“What did you forget?”
“Ah, nothing,” she answered, then punched him in the arm.
As was typical in their relationship, she took control and he let her.
He sat at the bow, keeping watch as best he could in the darkness as she slowly navigated the creek.
With the tank on fire, it added a second glow to the northeastern sky. The hoots and hollering of a joyous and boisterous group were now replaced with yelling and screaming mixed with sounds of heavy equipment, men running, and vehicles driving to and fro.
She pulled the small boat right up on the shore.
Devin jumped out and pulled it farther and tied off the bow to a large tree. The second boat floated behind the first one, tied to the aft.
They hustled through the thick brush and uneven terrain for fifty feet before reaching the southwestern corner of the shipyard.
The ship sat moored not three hundred feet in front of them. Massive floodlights shined on the black hulking sides, and all the lights on board were on. More sounds of people coming and going with urgency, no doubt in response to their explosion. The music that had been blasting was gone; the events for the evening were put on hold, no doubt making some of Renfield’s men unhappy.
The Death: The Complete Trilogy Page 45
