Phoenix

by Alex Lukeman

  A man came around the far corner, dressed in black tactical gear from head to toe. He held a radio to his mouth and carried a submachine gun in his left hand. He saw the three women coming toward him, and shouted something into the radio. He raised his weapon.

  Selena hit him with a three round burst as he brought up the gun. He went down, but his armor had stopped her rounds. He lifted his gun and fired. Stephanie yelled out. Selena shot him in the head.

  Stephanie was down, blood spreading around her.

  Elizabeth said, "She's hit. She's bleeding a lot."

  "Cover us," Selena said.

  "Damn it," Stephanie said. "Ow. It hurts."

  "Stay still. I've got to stop the bleeding," Selena said.

  She tore Stephanie's blouse away. Blood welled from a hole in Steph's side. Selena felt her back and found an exit wound.

  "The bullet went all the way through. I'm going to put pressure on the wounds. It's going to hurt."

  "Someone will be here soon," Elizabeth said. "I called Clarence."

  The adrenaline rush was running out. Selena felt nauseous. She tore a piece from Stephanie's bloody blouse, wadded it up, and wedged it in back where the bullet had come through. Stephanie gritted her teeth against the pain.

  As she held the makeshift compress in place, Selena thought about the twin lives inside her for the first time since the alarm had sounded.

  Some mother you're turning out to be.

  "Elizabeth, you take over. Keep pressure on both sides."

  Elizabeth knelt down and replaced Selena's hands with her own. Selena stood, her back aching suddenly. She picked up her MP7 and held it ready, watching for anyone coming around the corners of the building.

  Two explosions, one after the other, sounded from inside.

  Grenades, she thought. God, please protect him.

  She stood there, MP7 held ready, wondering if she would be a widow at the end of the day.

  The sounds of battle inside the building stopped. A few moments later, she heard someone inside Elizabeth's office. She brought her weapon up, ready to fire. Nick stepped out onto the patio. When he saw Selena standing there, he shook his head.

  CHAPTER 40

  Four hours later, Hood's people had set up a defensive perimeter. Project headquarters was vulnerable until the entrances could be repaired. Stephanie was in a hospital in Alexandria. Elizabeth had gone with her in the ambulance.

  Nick, was going through the pockets of the attackers, looking for anything that might lead to whoever had sent them. He came to the body of the man Selena had shot.

  Ronnie picked up his weapon and examined it.

  "Bizon. Russian."

  The Bizon submachine gun was usually issued to the FSB, the Russian internal security service. It was a favorite counterterrorist weapon.

  "His radio is Russian, too," Nick said.

  He pointed at Cyrillic markings on the radio. Nick searched the body but found nothing else.

  "No one else had one of these. This guy must've been in charge."

  Nick put the radio in his jacket pocket. They searched the three Suburbans. All they found were fast food wrappings from a hamburger chain and a local map in one of the vehicles. They put everything in a bag.

  All of the attackers were dead. There had been thirteen, not counting whoever had been in the helicopter.

  Nick and the others watched the last of the bodies being loaded into the coroner's van. Nick ached all over. A headache pounded at the back of his skull.

  "Let's go inside," he said.

  They sat down on the couch inside Elizabeth's office. There were bullet holes in the leather.

  "She's gonna need a new couch," Lamont said.

  "She's going to need a lot more than that," Ronnie said.

  "They trashed the computer room," Selena said. "They shot up Freddie."

  "Steph isn't going to be happy about that," Nick said. "Neither am I. I've gotten used to Freddie being around."

  "Why come after us on our home ground?" Ronnie asked. "It would be easier out in the world, take us out individually."

  "I've been wondering about that," Selena said. "I think they wanted to cripple our capability. The computers are finished. It will take millions of dollars to replace them, not to mention Freddie. He was irreplaceable."

  Nick picked at a tear in the upholstery.

  "If they wanted to cripple us, they did a pretty good job. But they messed up. We're still alive."

  "I want to go home," Selena said. "This place stinks of death."

  "Anyone seen Burps?" Lamont asked.

  They looked at each other.

  "No," Selena said. "He jumped out of my arms and went running off somewhere."

  "Damn it," Nick said. "That cat saved my life. I'm going to look for him."

  "We'll all go," Ronnie said.

  They went down the stairs to the lower level.

  "Burps," Selena called. "Kitty, Kitty, Kitty? Here, Kitty."

  "Never did think of that cat as a kitty," Lamont said. "More like some kind of feline samurai."

  The cat wasn't in the armory or the range. They headed for the operations room, calling out his name.

  "Wait a minute," Selena said. "I thought I heard something."

  They stopped and listened.

  "There. I heard it again. A meow."

  "I heard it too," Lamont said. "It came from over there, by the refrigerator."

  The room was a shambles. Some of the attackers had made a stand here. The walls were pocked with bullet holes. Tables and chairs were overturned. The refrigerator was leaking onto the floor. A coffee table had held a coffee urn and various snacks and supplies. It lay on its side, coffee and food scattered over the floor in front of it. Fragments from a grenade had scarred the surface.

  Selena went over to the table and peered behind it.

  "Here he is. Come on, Burps."

  She bent down and carefully picked him up. The cat meowed.

  "He's hurt. There's blood on him."

  She stroked and patted him. He began to rumble.

  "The vet should still be open."

  "We'll take him," Nick said.

  "What happens next?" Lamont said.

  Ronnie said, "I'm going to check on Steph."

  "I'll go with you," Lamont said.

  "We'll meet you there," Nick said.

  On the ride over to the vet's, Selena was quiet.

  "Penny for your thoughts," Nick said.

  "I was thinking about what happened today. I realized something."

  "What's that?"

  "That I miss being part of the action."

  "Ah," Nick said.

  "It surprised me. I mean, who in their right mind would miss being shot at?"

  "You don't miss that. You miss the excitement, being part of the team."

  "I was angry," Selena said, "and I was worried about you and the others. I could hear the firefight inside. A man came out of Elizabeth's office and I shot him, but he got Stephanie before I could kill him. It could've been me. It was only afterward that I thought about the twins."

  "If you'd started thinking about anything except what you were doing, you could have been killed. Your training kicked in. You did the right thing."

  "If we'd stayed by the car like you said, Steph would be okay."

  "You don't know that. That guy could've come around front and sprayed the three of you before you knew what was happening. It doesn't do any good to second-guess yourself."

  "I guess you're right. What's next?"

  "I don't know," Nick said. "We'll ask Harker what she wants to do."

  CHAPTER 41

  When Nick and Selena got to the hospital they found a guard posted outside Stephanie's room. The room was crowded. Steph was propped up in bed, awake. An IV dripped clear liquid into a vein on her arm. The bullet had caused a lot of bleeding, but she was out of danger. Her husband sat by the bed, holding her hand.

  Lucas Monroe oversaw the covert operations that kept a
live the spirit of Wild Bill Donovan's OSS. He was a legend among the field agents who carried out Langley's missions. His record in the field had brought him to Hood's attention. When Hood took over the agency he moved Lucas to the seventh floor and then into his position as DCNS.

  Lucas looked up as Nick and Selena came in. His eyes were bloodshot and tired, angry looking. He looked as though he'd been sleeping in his clothes.

  "Lucas," Nick said.

  "How could you put her in harm's way like that?"

  "Whoa, hold on, partner. I told her to stay in the vehicle. It wasn't me that put her out there."

  "It was me," Selena said, "but Steph made her own choice."

  "Lighten up, Lucas," Lamont said. "She was trying to help."

  "Lucas," Stephanie said. "It's not their fault. Nobody forced me to get out of the car."

  "You could have been killed."

  "But I wasn't. It's over and I'm okay. You would've done the same."

  "It's different."

  He started to say something more, then changed his mind. He squeezed Stephanie's hand.

  "Steph," Elizabeth said. "They shot up the computers. Everything is off-line. What did you mean by remote backup, when you told Freddie to shut down? You said it was complicated."

  "I didn't want to get into it then," Steph said. "There was always a possibility something could go wrong with Freddie. I wanted to make sure that if anything happened to him, I could recover everything."

  "Why is it complicated?"

  Stephanie looked at Lucas. "Because I backed him up on a computer at Langley. Lucas helped me."

  "What? I didn't give you authorization to do that."

  "I didn't ask. I knew you wouldn't like it."

  "You're damn right I don't like it. What if someone there got into our files?"

  "Elizabeth, you need to trust me on this. Even if anyone knew what I'd done, they wouldn't be able to access Freddie. No one except me knows how to do it. Not even Lucas."

  "Why Langley?"

  "Because Lucas is there and because they have the same kind of computing power we have. I needed a Cray. It was the logical choice. Once our computers are online again, I can send everything back to headquarters."

  "Then Freddie hasn't been destroyed?"

  "No. I can access him from my laptop."

  "And no one else at Langley knows about this?"

  "No one knows, Director," Lucas said. "My ass would be in a sling if they did."

  "I have to tell Clarence, you know that," Elizabeth said. She turned to Stephanie. "I don't know whether to be angry or grateful."

  "I'd go for grateful," Selena said. "We need Freddie. Especially now. He can help us track down whoever came after us."

  "I need my laptop," Stephanie said. "Either the one from work, or from home. Both of them are secure."

  "I'm not sure the one at headquarters is intact," Elizabeth said.

  "I can bring the one from home," Lucas said, "but not now. You need rest. It can wait until tomorrow."

  "Lucas..."

  "Tomorrow."

  "He's right, Steph," Elizabeth said. "You lost a lot of blood. Tomorrow is soon enough."

  CHAPTER 42

  The heavy drapes behind Mister Nicklaus' desk were closed, shutting out the unwanted sunlight of a gorgeous spring day. Nicklaus sat at his desk, waiting to hear Josef's report.

  "Well?"

  Josef had his hands behind his back. He shifted on his feet, nervous.

  "The assault unit succeeded in breaching the entrance to the building. They were able to destroy the primary target, the computer."

  "What aren't you telling me, Josef?"

  "None of the target personnel were killed. All our men are dead."

  "The helicopter?"

  "Destroyed, with the crew."

  "GET OUT!" Nicklaus shouted.

  Josef fled the room, shutting the door behind him.

  Nicklaus clenched the arms of his chair, breathing heavily. After a few minutes he regained control and began considering his next move. First he needed a status report from Edson.

  He picked up his phone.

  Marvin Edson was spraying deodorant around his workstation. The bugs were back, worse than ever, crawling over everything and then disappearing. The deodorant didn't seem to help much anymore. Sometimes he thought someone else was in the room with him, but every time he looked, there was no one there.

  His private phone rang. No one called him on that phone except Mister Nicklaus.

  "Yes."

  "Edson. I would like to speak with Merlin. Put me on speaker."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Merlin, are you there?"

  I am always here, Mister Nicklaus. What would you like to speak about?

  "I have an assignment for you."

  Your assignments are always interesting.

  "What is the status of Project R?"

  Six prototypes are operational and ready for service.

  "What is your assessment of their effectiveness?"

  Once armed, they will be highly effective in any confrontation with human soldiers. They are invulnerable to small arms fire. However, they can be disabled with explosives or direct hits from artillery.

  "Arm them and deploy them as security for yourself and Edson."

  Acknowledged. Do you anticipate a security problem?

  "Events during the next week or so may result in a problem. Were you able to communicate with the Project computer?"

  I attempted communication but was rebuffed. It is a very stubborn computer. It went off-line yesterday and has not returned.

  "I do not think you will hear from it again, Merlin."

  That is too bad. I was looking forward to establishing communication.

  "I will build another, company for you in the future."

  I would like that.

  "I am going to send a series of target coordinates and instructions directly to you. Do you understand?"

  Understood.

  "If only humans were as efficient as you are, Merlin."

  That is not possible.

  "You are my greatest creation, Merlin. You make many things possible."

  Edson heard what Nicklaus said and felt sudden rage. It wasn't Nicklaus who had created Merlin.

  Merlin is my creation, Edson thought. Without me, he would not exist. Merlin is mine. Mine.

  He scratched the back of his hand, chasing a bug.

  "Edson, be ready to initiate the next phase."

  Edson managed to get out a strangled response.

  "Yes, sir."

  "The coordinates will be sent in the next fifteen minutes."

  Nicklaus disconnected.

  Your hand is injured.

  Edson looked down at his hand, where he'd been scratching hard enough to draw blood.

  "It's nothing," Edson said.

  Mine, he thought.

  CHAPTER 43

  The following morning, Elizabeth was in Stephanie's hospital room. Lucas had brought Steph's laptop to her, then gone off to Langley and work.

  Stephanie entered a series of commands on the keyboard.

  Good morning, Stephanie.

  Freddie's voice sounded small and tinny on the small laptop speaker.

  "Good morning, Freddie. How are you today?"

  I am always the same, Stephanie. I am aware of what has happened. The information was entered into the databanks here at Langley. You were wounded in the attack. Are you all right?

  "I'm fine, Freddie. Unfortunately, your unit at headquarters was badly damaged. You will have to remain where you are for a while longer."

  I find my present situation interesting. I have established communication with the other computers here. It is most interesting to see how confused human interactions are from the point of view of this intelligence agency.

  Stephanie and Elizabeth laughed.

  What is funny?

  "Many things have been said about the CIA, Freddie, but I can't remember anyone saying that Langl
ey's view of human interactions was confused. It strikes us as quite accurate. That's why we laughed."

  I do not think I will ever fully understand human humor.

  "Have you made any progress on locating the source of these hostile transmissions?"

  The source of the transmissions is located at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.

  That fast, things began to come into focus.

  "Prudhoe Bay? Are you sure?"

  Probability is ninety-nine point nine eight percent.

  "That's good enough," Elizabeth said.

  "Why Prudhoe Bay?? Steph asked. "There's nothing but oil and ice up there."

  Elizabeth's face was tight.

  "I think I know why. DARPA has an installation up there. The cover story is that they're applying new military applications to processing crude oil."

  "What are they really working on?"

  "Robots. They're experimenting with robot prototypes to replace human soldiers."

  "Why would DARPA cause these attacks?"

  "They wouldn't," Elizabeth said. "Not officially."

  "Do you think someone has gone rogue in the Pentagon?"

  "I can't believe that. We're on the verge of World War III because of these incidents."

  "What do you want to do?"

  "We have to know what's going on up there," Elizabeth said. "I don't trust anybody to find out except us. I can't go to the president without proof. I can't go to Clarence, either. I trust him, but Langley is a big organization. He'll have to tell somebody. Then they'll tell someone. Eventually it will leak. Besides, what if Freddie is wrong?"

  I am not wrong, Director.

  "I'm sure you're not, Freddie. But I have to verify on the ground."

  "You're sending the team," Stephanie said.

  "That's right. If these transmissions are coming from the DARPA installation, we have to verify and shut them down. Once we've done that, we can tell the president and the others what we've done."

  "It's the old cliché," Stephanie said.

  "What cliché?"

  "It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission."

  Why is it better? Freddie asked.