“Indeed, she does. Miss McKelly has been fighting the Blister Wart disease almost as long as she’s worked here. There was a freak accident in the labs a few years back, and unfortunately she wound up being the only victim.”
Poor girl, Keith thought, realizing how young she had to have been. Silently he wondered if he could have found the strength to continue living if he’d been in her place.
“She’s your next assignment, Tagawa.”
Keith shut the folder, the chief’s words drawing his attention back. “What’s the mission, sir?”
“Escort duty. You’re to meet her in hanger number eight at sixteen-hundred. Once in the swamp your orders are to babysit and, if necessary, provide fire support while she does whatever it is she’s planning on doing out there. These orders come from the CEO himself. So I’d make sure I was prepped and ready to roll on time, if I were in your shoes.”
Keith rose from his chair, “Sir, what about my men? I’ll need good backup for a mission of this nature.”
“Way ahead of you, son. Your team is assembled and awaiting your arrival in armory number two. There’s been some heavy Swamper activity in the area, so I would suggest going in equipped for a full assault.”
“I understand completely, Chief. Don’t worry. Miss McKelly is in good hands.”
The chief cracked a half smile. “I certainly hope so, Agent. Godspeed.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Keith snapped a quick salute, turned on his heel, and strode out of the room, making his way to the lift leading down to the armories.
Chapter 8
Luna had arrived at the hanger a half hour before she was supposed to, fully expecting to immediately climb aboard one of the aircraft. Instead she was greeted by an agent named Rosa who walked her through a lengthy section of liability paperwork and requisition forms before escorting her to something she referred to as a prepping room. Luna had thought little of it at first, but when the woman had told her to roll up her sleeve, she began to get suspicious.
“What are you doing?” she asked the agent, who was disinfecting an area on her left arm.
“Just implanting a tracer chip. Try to relax.”
“Tracer chip? What—”
A loud hiss and a sharp pain in her arm made her jump.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“It’s a precaution we all take—just in case something unexpected happens and we get separated. Don’t worry. One of the docs will remove it when you get back.”
I sure hope so, Luna thought, massaging her arm. She was certain she could feel the thing moving around under her skin. She decided it would be best to try and ignore both the mental and physical discomfort. Maybe she would forget all about the chip during the grueling hours of swamp combing that lay ahead.
Rosa walked to a large locker and removed a tightly folded dark gray bundle, which she handed to Luna. “Here, put this on. I’ll wait outside until you’ve changed.”
Luna unfolded it, surprised at how heavy the jumpsuit she held in her hands was.
“What’s this thing made of?” she asked the departing woman.
“Mostly Kevlar. But it also has a water-resistant nano-fiber layer and a kinetic gel lining to make it bulletproof. That’s what I remember anyway. They covered it all in detail back in basic training. But that was so long ago I hardly remember any of the details. Sorry.” The Agent shrugged then walked out of the room, leaving Luna to change in privacy.
Luna quickly undressed and slipped into the tight fitting jumpsuit. She then folded her work clothes neatly and placed them in a nearby footlocker along with her handbag and other personal belongings.
“All right, you can come back in now,” she called, fidgeting awkwardly with the jumpsuit in an attempt to make it somewhat more comfortable.
The woman returned to the room and sealed the door behind her.
“It looks like that one fits you about right,” she said, looking Luna over.
“Are you sure about that? It seems a bit tight.”
“Tight is good,” the agent replied, opening a locker adjacent to the one the suit had been stored in. “Even though it’s pretty much impervious to bullets, it can still rip if you catch it on something just right. And if you get a suit rupture in the swamp, you might as well kiss your butt goodbye. Out there, this suit is your life.”
Luna watched the agent unpack several large pieces of equipment from the locker, silently wondering what they were for. Her answer came when Rosa began attaching the oddly shaped pieces to Luna’s suit. When Rosa was finished, Luna found herself encased from head to toe in overlapping layers of padding and ballistic-rated armor laced with high-tech circuitry and environmental controls.
Finally, Rosa placed a padded helmet over Luna’s head. She heard a hiss and click as the suit’s collar seal locked into place. A series of small lights switched on inside the helmet, illuminating both her face and the holographic heads-up display being projected onto the helmet’s transparent faceplate.
“Wow … this suit is really something,” Luna said with a wide smile, feeling unusually safe within the warm confines of the pressurized suit.
“You get use to them. Are you right or left handed?”
“What? Oh. Right. I’m right handed.”
“Good. That makes it easy,” Rosa replied, strapping a sidearm to Luna’s right hip.
“Wait. What’s the gun for?” Luna inquired, surprised that she—a woman who’d spent most of her time staring through a microscope—was being issued a weapon.
“It’s dangerous out there. The swamp is full of wild animals, Swampers, looters … If you’re going out there, you need to have some sort of protection.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Luna agreed, letting Rosa fasten the weapon to her armor—though she desperately hoped she wouldn’t have to use it.
“All right, you’re all ready to go, Miss McKelly. Stay with the other agents, and whatever you do don’t get lost.”
“Thanks. I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
Luna followed the agent out of the prep room and stared at the squadron of V-244 Stratocruisers lined up throughout the hanger.
A distant descendant of the V-22 Osprey, the V-244 had replaced both the helicopter and the antiquated C130s of the twenty-first century—along with most other civilian and military aircraft. In place of wings, the gigantic aircraft sported a pair of independently moving rotors, each one safely enclosed within a thick titanium support ring. A set of powerful jet engines were mounted within their massive hubs, allowing for rapid acceleration and maximum maneuverability.
Luna had seen many of the powerful aircraft flying in and around New Denver and the Unitech complex, but she’d never been so close to one before. The sheer size of them was unnerving. Each aircraft measured over eighty feet from the dome of their double cockpits to the tail rotors nestled within their tall stabilizer fins.
Rosa led Luna to one of the Stratocruisers parked near the hanger bay’s main doors and presented her to the five men who would be protecting her. Each one was clad in the same environmental suit that she wore, their only distinguishable features being their dimly illuminated faces. One man, whom she assumed was their leader, stepped forward and extended his hand in greeting.
“Miss Luna McKelly, I presume?”
She smiled and took his hand. “That’s me.”
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Agent Keith Tagawa, and these,” he said indicating the men standing behind him, “are Agents Fox, Patterson, Rush, and Perkins. I’m sure you’ve probably already been told this, but we’re going to be acting as your escorts today.”
Keith Tagawa? Luna thought, wondering if he was the same man Bridget had been telling her about. For a brief moment she considered asking him. Then she thought better of it. She would have to talk to Bridget about it when she got back.
Luna turned to the lead agent. “Thank you. I could probably use a few extra hands when we’re out there. After all, the more eyes we
have combing the swamp, the quicker we can find what we’re looking for.”
“That sounds like a plan. I think everyone here will agree that the sooner we get out of the swamp, the better.”
Luna looked around the group, saw their looks of affirmation, and then nodded to the V-244. “Is that our ride?”
“Yes, ma’am. Everything is aboard and ready to go. All we need to do now is get ourselves strapped in and we’ll be on our way.”
“By everything, I take it you mean my field equipment?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Keith replied, nodding.
“All right then. Let’s get this show on the road,” she said, walking toward the Stratocruiser’s rear loading ramp with the agent team falling in behind her.
The interior of the aircraft was brightly lit and spacious with plenty of room to move about freely. Luna walked past a number of built-in storage compartments and the metallic crates containing her field gear. She seated herself in one of several reinforced seats built into the aircraft’s fuselage. Since the high-backed chairs faced each other, and she had no idea whether or not she would be susceptible to airsickness, Luna had deliberately chosen a seat directly across from one of the Stratocruiser’s two small windows.
She took hold of her seat’s shoulder restraints and pulled them across her body, securing them firmly with an audible click.
Keith took a seat across from her, and the man introduced as Agent Perkins seated himself beside her.
“All right Fox, we’re all set,” Keith’s voice called through her helmet speakers.
“Roger that, Keith,” Agent Fox replied. “Starting main engines now.”
Luna anxiously gripped her seat’s padded armrests as the aircraft begin to vibrate while the rotors powered up.
“Ever flown before?” Keith asked, amusement in his voice.
Luna gulped, “No, sir. This is my first time.”
“Don’t worry. Terence Fox is one of Unitech’s best pilots. You’re in good hands, Miss McKelly.”
Luna nodded. She was actually quite excited. But as the chopper turned and began taxiing out onto the runway, Luna screwed her eyes shut and uttered a muffled half squeak, drawing curious glances from the men seated around her.
Why do I always have to make a fool of myself? Why? she thought, picking up the sound of a stifled laugh through her comm system.
“Miss McKelly?” Keith called to her. “You do know we’re in the air now?”
She slowly opened her eyes and released her death grip on the armrests. “We are?”
Keith nodded, obviously fighting back the urge to laugh, “Yeah. We are.”
Luna glanced out the window and saw the cityscape of New Denver dropping away beneath them. She smiled and peered out the window with renewed curiosity—her fear quickly replaced by an overwhelming sense of ecstasy. She was flying!
“May I have your attention please?” Agent Fox said, his voice echoing through the team comm. “This is the captain speaking—”
“Just get to the point Terence,” Agent Rush replied, sourly. “I’ve had enough of your shenanigans in the past year to last me a lifetime.”
“All right, fine. Have it your way … fun hater.”
“What do you want, Terence?” Keith said.
“Well, I wanted to say that we’ll be reaching our destination in just under twenty minutes—thirty tops. Everything looks good right now as far as the weather’s concerned.” There was a slight pause, “But there may be a storm coming in later this evening.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem, Mr. Fox.” Luna said, figuring out how to work the team comm. “If everything goes as well as I hope it will, I’ll have all the samples I need within an hour or two. We can be home in time for dinner.”
The ensuing silence was defining.
“What? Did I say something wrong?” she asked, looking around at the others.
“Never say ‘we’ll be home in time for dinner’,” Fox replied. “Haven’t you ever watched old movies? That’s like the jinx of all jinxes!”
“Come on guys. Forget these idiotic superstitions!” Keith cut in. “We’ll do exactly what the lady said and be back home in no time. End of discussion.”
A flurry of yes, sirs echoed through the comm system, and then there was silence.
“All right, team,” Terence’s voice called out some time later, “we’re approaching the landing zone approximately one mile from Lab Station 121. Touchdown is in three minutes. Copy?”
“We hear you,” Keith replied. “What’s the status on that storm front?”
“So far so good, but it’s too early to say for sure. I’ll tell you one thing though, I’ll feel a lot better when you guys are all back aboard and we’re in the air again. I hate sitting on the ground.”
“I hear you there.” Agent Patterson, a tall black man, cut in.
“All right, I’m beginning my approach. Stand by for landing.”
The Stratocruiser began loosing altitude, and Luna felt a sickening, sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. She grabbed onto the armrests again, but this time she kept her eyes open, focusing on the foggy swampland racing by the small window. The chopper lurched once then settled onto its hydraulics, easing to a stop as Terence cut the engines.
“Welcome to the swamp,” Rush said, unbuckling his harness.
Keith shrugged off his harness’ shoulder straps and stood up, addressing Luna. “Now that we’re here, would you mind telling us what it is we’re looking for, Doctor?”
Luna fumbled with her restraints until she found the release button. “First of all, I’m not a doctor. I’m just a researcher. But I guess that’s beside the point. We’re looking for a species of protozoa native to this area. It secretes an enzyme vital to my research, so we need to find a lot of them—just in case a few don’t make it back to the lab.”
“Okay, do we have any idea how to locate one species of microorganism among billions? This is a swamp we’re talking about,” Agent Perkins chimed in.
“Alex has provided me with a map to the location where the first sample was taken along with a genetic analysis of the microbe we’re looking for.” Luna walked to one of the crates containing her equipment. She popped the lid open and removed several sample cases, which she handed to the agents along with a small holo-pad containing Alex’s data.
“Here,” she said, punching in a few commands on the small handheld device, “I’m uploading the details of my research to your heads-up displays. If you see anything that looks like a glowing yellow cloud in the water, mud, or foliage, it’s most likely the microbes. Scoop up a sample with the kit I just gave you, and put them in their corresponding containers,” she said, demonstrating each step.
“Is that all there is to it?” Agent Rush asked.
Luna nodded and strapped her own kit to a magnetic utility clasp on her armor.
“All right then. Let’s get to it, men,” Keith said, walking to one of the Stratocruiser’s storage compartments. Luna watched him type in a quick series of numbers, and the door opened, revealing a rack filled with 9mm submachine guns.
She took a step toward the chopper’s loading ramp, doing her best to ignore the weapons. She had never liked guns, and she was finding it hard to keep her unease in check.
Easy. Calm down. The swamp is dangerous—you know that, Luna told herself, watching the ramp slowly lower into the boggy ground outside. Those guns are for your protection. You wouldn’t want to get eaten by something out here, would you? No, I didn’t think so.
She forced herself to forget about the arsenal behind her and began to concentrate on completing her task.
“There was a Swamper attack here not that long ago,” Agent Fox said over the comm.. “The area may still be hot, so watch your step out there.”
“Understood, Terence,” Keith said, shouldering his weapon. “Just man the scanners and keep me informed. If anything so much as blinks the wrong way, I want to know about it.”
“Will do, Keith
. I’ll keep the engines warm.”
Luna stepped off the ramp and immediately felt her feet sink into the bog. She grimaced and pulled her boots out of the thick muck with a loud sucking sound.
It’s like it doesn’t want to let me go! she thought, fighting to take another step. She struggled out from under the Stratocruiser’s tail section and took in the bleak scene spreading out around her.
They had landed on the fringe of a long since drowned forest; its massive moss-covered trees reached into the sky like gnarled hands begging the rain for mercy. She shuddered and looked away from the haunting sight, but everywhere she looked she saw more of the same: fog and rain obscuring the muddy browns and greens of tangled swamp plants and rotting trees. As she walked into the swamp, tiny droplets of rain and mist accumulated on her faceplate, rolling down its slick surface into the dank water sloshing around her feet.
She ran a gloved hand over her visor to clear her vision and stared off into the swirling fog. There were other objects, too, not just trees. Luna strained to see through the gloom, activating her HUD’s built-in magnification screen to get a better look. She sucked in a startled breath as the blurry objects snapped into focus. They were buildings. Ruined skyscrapers of a long-abandoned city that had been claimed by the swamp.
“Hey, there’s a city over there!” Luna said through the team comm, pointing at the ghostly ruins.
“You’d be surprised how many ruins there are out here,” Agent Perkins replied. “A lot of cities went down when those terrorists screwed up Cathedral. Compared to back East, this ruin is nothing.”
“Not quite,” Keith said, trudging over to stand beside Luna. “According to Alex’s readouts, that city is where Laboratory 121 is.”
“Well, I guess that’s where we’re going.” Luna replied, struggling to free her feet from the thick swamp muck. “If the team there found this sample, then that’s the best place to look. There may still be some research data in their system’s mainframe. Maybe even some live samples—if we’re lucky.”
Agent Perkins cursed under his breath. “Just make it quick. These ruins give me the creeps.”
Rain Saga Page 5
