Shadows of Ash (The Nameless Book 2)

by Adrian J. Smith

  “Nah. I’m an independent contractor now. Why all the bother?”

  The colonel ignored Booth’s question and turned his attention to Allie. “Don’t I know you?”

  “Not unless you fly United. I’m a captain, flying 787s.”

  “Maybe. I don’t forget faces, and yours is something to remember.”

  The two soldiers sent to search the cabin returned with their stash of weapons and food and dropped them in a pile in front of The Nameless. The colonel pursed his lips together and ushered them inside the terminal.

  Ryan was glad to get out of the biting cold and wind. He had never liked freezing temperatures and the wind from the Arctic was fierce. The soldiers directed them to a line of seats and ordered them to sit. Dudek paced in front while the remaining men grouped behind the seats.

  “You lot have left me in an uncompromising position. You see, my orders are very clear. Keep our borders safe from harm. Stop unwanted persons from entering my country. The United States of America. You and you.” The colonel gestured to Booth and Allie. “I know to be citizens. The rest of you is anyone’s guess.”

  Ryan began to speak and Dudek held up his fist, silencing him. “And here’s the real dilemma. I don’t need to tell you what happened. You all witnessed it. My problem is that the president sent out a list of persons of interest. Traitors he believes have a hand in the events of last Wednesday.” He turned and stared at Booth. “Guess who’s on that list? Yes, that’s right. You.” He raised his rifle to his shoulder and swept it over The Nameless. “I’m guessing you two are the Connors. And that would make you Sofia Ortiz. Am I right?”

  Ryan glanced at Cal. Eyes cast down, looking at the floor. He felt it too. Pain. Pain at being called a traitor. LK3 and The Nameless were the furthest thing he could imagine to traitors. For nearly eighteen years they had fought, bled, and grieved, while serving America, keeping her citizens safe. Yes, they had failed to detect OPIS and their grand plan. So had the other intelligence agencies. They had all been fooled. They still had a chance to rectify it, at least in a small way.

  “Yes. I’m Ryan Connors,” he said, squaring his shoulders. If he was going to die, then he would die proud. Proud of serving the many.

  Colonel Dudek grinned and dropped his rifle. “Good. I’m glad I found you.” The soldiers surrounding them began to laugh. Small and giggle-like at first, before it became uncontrollable.

  “Wait. What?” Booth said.

  “General Munroe out of MacLeod told us to keep an eye out for you. Said you might need some assistance. To bring you home.”

  “So there isn’t a list?” Cal said.

  “I’m afraid there is. But I’ve known Booth for years. There’s no way this guy’s a traitor.”

  “You’re disobeying a direct order from the president?”

  “Lady, have you seen what’s happened out there? Planes falling from the sky. US Navy vessels drifting in the Pacific. The Atlantic. I’ve heard reports of soldiers dressed in black roaming the cities and towns, killing citizens. People killing each other and sucking on their bone marrow. It’s chaos. Hardly anyone’s left in DC, and the new president orders us to track down a list? Something didn’t smell right. If Munroe vouches for you, then you’re not traitors. I’ll always trust a general over some paper-pushing politician. Now, what the hell are you doing in this frozen crab farm?”

  Ryan relaxed his shoulders. “How did this Munroe know we were coming?” he said.

  “You know the answer to that. Don’t ask because it’s classified.”

  Booth shook the colonel’s hand. “It’s all right, Connors. They’re here to help us.”

  Sofia held up her tablet. “I was in contact with Avondale on the flight, told him our plans. He must’ve informed Munroe. He’s the only other person who knows.”

  Cal and Ryan snapped their heads up. “Zanzi?”

  “Avondale’s not sure. Omstead is alive. Zanzi was taken to the mountains north of Sacramento, where her tracker went offline.”

  Ryan frowned. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

  “I’m sorry. You were asleep, and then I forgot when I became engrossed in the coding.”

  Dudek clapped his hands. “People, focus. What do you need?”

  “All right, then. We’re going to need your chopper, and if you have any spare uniforms, that’ll help.”

  Colonel Dudek shook Ryan’s hand. “Anything you need. Where’re you going?”

  “Makushin Bay. Two hundred clicks southwest.”

  Dudek signaled to some of his men who brought crates from the Seahawk. For the third time in six hours, Ryan redressed. At least the gray battle fatigues felt comfortable. He holstered his Glock and shouldered his backpack and satchel. He left the rifles so he didn’t weigh himself down with too much. Light and breezy. Ebony offered to stay behind with Sam and Keiko. Both Cal and Sofia accepted. If they stayed hidden in the terminal, they’d be safe enough. Better than storming into the unknown.

  “Keep out of sight,” Cal said to Ebony.

  Like Ryan, Cal trusted the red-haired woman with her nanite-assisted abilities. “Use this if you have to.” She handed Ebony the sniper rifle Allie had found back at the power plant.

  “I don’t need that,” Ebony said.

  “Just take it, for my peace of mind.”

  Twenty minutes later, the pilot guided the chopper over the airport. Soon it was sweeping over the snowy hills of Amaknak Island. A dozen or so crab boats were tied up in the harbor, awaiting their captains. Captains that would never come. The Alaskan king crabs would be spared from dinner tables and fancy restaurants for now.

  Ryan ducked into the cockpit and directed the pilots to their exact destination before turning and briefing the soldiers.

  “We’re heading to an NSA listening station. We may meet resistance. My team will try the diplomatic approach before we use force. These are still US citizens. I’ve instructed the pilots to keep trying to raise the station on the radio.” The soldiers looked at the colonel before confirming they understood Ryan’s instructions.

  Cal, using sign language, said, Are you sure about this?

  No. But let’s play it out. Protect Sofia.

  Booth leant against Allie and made sure she knew the plan. The hold fell silent as everyone escaped into their own minds, going through whatever rituals they went through before a mission. For Ryan, it was a drop into the unknown and the uncertain.

  The pilots circled the NSA station before landing the Seahawk. The station was perfect for their needs. It had an array of large and small satellite dishes, radio masts, and microwave towers. The hold doors slid open and Dudek and his men spread out. Three went right, three went left. The Nameless hung back until they were given the all-clear. The station itself was protected by a high wire-mesh fence like at a federal prison, with razor wire on top. The gate was open a meter or so. A pile of ash sat on the guard’s chair inside the small gatehouse.

  The silence and lack of movement added to Ryan’s sense of dread. Were they too late?

  The soldiers covered each other and advanced deeper into the complex as The Nameless followed.

  The main building was a squat concrete box. Having been here before, Ryan knew the real station was underground, beneath the utilitarian-looking structure. Inside was just as quiet and unmoving. The room was simple but filled with computer equipment and weather data-collecting machines. Human forms of ash sat in chairs and lay on the floor. Next to what looked like a cupboard was a frozen form, leaning back in its chair as though relaxing with a beer. A bunch of keys and a magnetic card lay on the floor. Ryan picked them up and handed them to Sofia.

  The soldiers completed their sweep and reported back to Dudek.

  “All clear.”

  “Very good.”

  Sofia moved forward without being asked, tablet in hand. She unscrewed a small keypad and attached a cord. “You would think the NSA had better security,” she said as she swiped the card. The door made a strange h
um before clicking open. Elevator doors slid open, revealing a spacious cargo area.

  “This is where it gets tricky.” Sofia repeated the process on the internal keypad and was rewarded with buzzers. The swipe card failed. “Damn,” she muttered.

  “Problem?” Dudek asked.

  Ryan shook his head. Even with no real planning and limited time, he had absolute confidence in his team. Booth acted like a goofball, cracking jokes, but his eyes were sharp and never missed a thing. His intuition was spot on most of the time. He could read a room, assess what the danger was and act accordingly. Sofia – anything mechanical or computer-based. She was the sort of person you wanted on your side: fierce and deadly when she needed to be, smart, sexy, and sweet the rest of the time. They all marveled at her technical skills. Cal – his rock, his second in command, loyal with the right amount of ethics to make the right judgments. Sure, he still struggled trying to figure out her reasons for her three-year absence, but as she had proven time and again since, she wanted to make it right. Allie – circumstances had thrown them together and she had shown her value ever since. The old members had not said it out loud, but they all liked her, all wanted her to stick around.

  Yes, there was a problem. Not that he would ever admit it.

  Sofia had pulled the panel off the inside of the elevator, exposing wiring and computer boards. She attached wires with crocodile clips and other cables that looked like the kind stuck into a router.

  After another five minutes of cursing from Sofia, and with smirks from Dudek, the elevator finally dinged, and the doors shut. There were no floor buttons to press. The colonel had left two soldiers topside to guard their backs. The lift glided smoothly to a stop. Everyone tensed and raised their weapons as the doors pinged open.

  Ryan had a sense of déjà vu. A group of Siphons snapped their heads around. They still wore the suits of agents, but their eyes were cloudy, and clumps of hair were missing. Instead of smooth skin, though, theirs was wrinkly and pruned like they had stayed in their baths too long.

  They snarled, howled, and shrieked.

  “What the hell are these?” Dudek said.

  “Aim for the head, Colonel. They’re hard to kill,” Ryan said. He flicked off the safety and took aim.

  Twenty-Six

  Scappoose, Oregon

  Lisa had seen enough. Enough of the Black Skulls disguising themselves as FEMA or National Guard. The Black Skulls drove into each town, announcing their arrival with broadcasts on local radio. At first glance, they looked and sounded the part. But their body language and mannerisms gave them away. The men were arrogant and openly leered at the women. The doctors administering medical care did so with a bored attitude like they really couldn’t care less. Any of the Rabids they saw, the Black Skulls killed them and dragged their bodies out of sight.

  Lisa and her team were parked up on the west of town, overlooking the main shopping district, observing the Black Skulls with binos. Reid had point, while Clough watched their six.

  “Radio for you, Omstead. Someone called Avondale,” Torres said, handing her the long-range radio.

  Lisa frowned and clicked the talk button. “Avondale.”

  “Director. I found The Nameless, with a little help from Sofia. They made it out of Japan alive and have just landed at Dutch Harbor.”

  “Dutch Harbor? What’s going on?” Lisa asked. “Hold on a moment.” She waved Torres over. “Go and help Reid.” Torres gave her a curt nod and jogged away.

  “Okay. Go ahead.”

  “Sofia contacted me on an old secure network we set up some time ago. She said everyone is alive, including Cal.”

  “Cal? Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  Lisa grinned. She should have guessed. The female Connors were just as stubborn as the male. For the first time in over a week she felt like something was going her way. The team was back together.

  “Fill me in.”

  “They confirmed that ReinCorp, along with YamTech and Zizer, are responsible for last Wednesday’s events. An organization she called OPIS. They also confirmed it was achieved with nanites… and it’s going to happen again. In sixteen hours’ time.”

  “Again, how?”

  “Sofia said they use satellites and cell phone towers to broadcast the signal. At zero-six-hundred tomorrow, the second wave will hit – taking out more of us, I guess.” Avondale went quiet.

  Lisa sat back with a thud and ran her hand over her head. It was a lot to take in. She’d suspected maybe a fraction of it. When Monica had discovered the nanites, Lisa hadn’t wanted to believe they were the cause. Now her most trusted operatives had confirmed it – operatives who were like family to her. It all fell into place, the degree of conspiracy this must have taken. Men and women in the halls of power, passing the right laws, covering the truth with secrets and lies, keeping the intelligence agencies in the dark. It was mind-boggling, but they had succeeded. It sickened her to even think of harming the president, but everything pointed to him being one of them. Part of OPIS. The people on that list weren’t traitors; they were individuals who could expose OPIS before they completed their machinations.

  “Director?” Avondale said.

  “Yeah. I’m here,” Lisa murmured. “Are they in Dutch Harbor trying to stop the second wave?”

  “Correct. They plan to use an LK3 satellite, crash it into one of theirs. We have no way of knowing if it will work. I’m tracking down the target now, calculating trajectories.”

  “Good. Give them all the help you can. Call in any favors you need. I’ll inform Munroe. This is priority one, Avondale. Understood?”

  “Yes. Of course. Stay off your phone, Director. We’ll just use radio from now on. Out.”

  Lisa craned her neck and stared at the cell tower on top of the hill behind her. So you little bastards helped broadcast this catastrophe.

  She rummaged through their supplies. They had a small amount of C4, easily sufficient to render the tower useless.

  It took her a few minutes to reach Munroe. He sounded agitated when he finally came on.

  “Omstead, what’ve you got for me?”

  “I’ve had confirmation that it was nanites and ReinCorp. To be more precise, an organization called OPIS.”

  “Who confirmed? Your missing team? USS Nimitz contacted them.”

  “Affirmative. They’re in Dutch Harbor as we speak, trying to stop what they call the second wave. They’re going to hit us again at zero-six-hundred tomorrow.”

  Munroe let fly a stream of expletives, including some words Lisa had never heard, let alone heard someone of his rank say.

  “How’s it going to happen?”

  “From what I understand, they use satellites and cell phone towers to broadcast the signal. I’m putting forward that my team start blowing as many to kingdom come as we can.”

  “Get on it. I’ll send some men out around here and inform the president.”

  “About that,” Lisa said. Her breath whistled as she sucked in a breath. She respected Munroe. He was a brilliant commander, always putting the soldiers’ abilities first. He wasn’t weighed down by prejudice. If a soldier suited the mission, they went. Pure and simple. What she was going to say next troubled her, but it was necessary. “I think Ward is one of them.”

  “One of this OPIS?”

  “Yes.”

  The silence dragged for so long Lisa thought Munroe had been cut off. “Ward is up my ass with this list, giving it priority over everything else. I’ve got the White House calling me every hour for an update. Because of our history and the fact I know you have integrity, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I need proof, Omstead. Real proof. You, the Connors, and several other LK3 operatives are on that list. You’re America’s Most goddamn Wanted. Whether you’re right or wrong about Ward, he’s my Commander-in-Chief.”

  “I know the location of a ReinCorp/OPIS satellite station. Can you send some bombers to take it out? It’s in the Sierra Nevada’s.”
>
  “Look, for old time’s sake, if you get me ironclad proof that those corporate scumbags are responsible, then I’ll bomb that complex so much it’ll make Vietnam look like a bloody training run.”

  “Wilco, sir. Any news from Doctor Johnson?”

  “She’s got some new fancy equipment and is doing further tests. Go dark, Omstead. Do what you must do, but until you have evidence, don’t contact me. Out.”

  It was harsh, but it was the right move. Any further contact would risk the enemy finding them. She half-smiled. Which enemy? She had so many.

  She switched to her internal comms.

  “SITREP.”

  “Citizens keep filing into the FEMA facility. No change.” Reid’s voice came through, strong and confident. Omstead glanced up, checking that Torres was with him. He was nowhere to be seen.

  “Torres. What’s your position?” The airwaves remained silent.

  “Clough? SITREP.” More silence.

  Lisa checked her immediate vicinity as her instincts screamed a warning, raising the hairs on her neck.

  “Reid. To me.” She kicked open the door and slipped out, swinging up her MP5 in one smooth motion. It didn’t take long for Reid to join her behind the SUV. There was still no sign of either Torres or Clough. It was as if they’d vanished into thin air. Reid was low and peering around the front of the vehicle when the headlights shattered into tiny fragments. Lisa flattened herself and scanned the bushes and buildings to her right. Logic told her that if they were being flanked, then that was the direction they would come from. A split-second later she caught the glint of something moving and rolled under the SUV as bullets sparked off the concrete. She returned fire to where she’d caught movement. The firing stopped.

  “We have you surrounded, Omstead. Reid, you can leave. We have no quarrel with you.”

  “I’m staying here,” Reid said. His eyes found Lisa’s and he mouthed, What the hell is going on?

  “What do you want, Torres? I guess you’re the leader. Clough doesn’t have the smarts for it,” Lisa shouted. She kept an eye on the bushes and listened for any traffic noise. Black Skulls would be trained to react and respond to any signs of fighting. She estimated she only had a few minutes to end this.