The Tide (Book 5): Iron Wind

by Anthony J Melchiorri

  “I know you will.” Lauren offered a reassuring smile and squeezed his shoulder.

  An excited bark drew Navid’s attention to the hatch. Maggie entered, her tail wagging, with Kara and Sadie in her wake. Sadie looked frightened as Divya dabbed a spot on her arm to prepare her for the chelation treatment shot. Kara held Sadie’s hand. Navid’s anxiety that he wasn’t good enough to complete this research fell away at the sight. People’s lives depended on him.

  Kara’s life depended on him.

  “I’ll get the Phoenix compound and albumin shell synthesis running by tonight,” Navid said. “That’s a promise.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Lauren said. “And as soon as we’re finished out there, we’ll join you in the lab to help.”

  Navid donned a white lab coat and took a deep breath. He had been pursuing a PhD in the hopes of someday developing treatments that could change the world and save thousands, if not millions of lives. Today was the day he would do just that.

  -40-

  “You know where the people are who created the Oni Agent?” Dom asked. He’d had to ask Kofi to repeat his statement. He couldn’t believe this man held the answers he had almost lost his team to discover.

  Alizia shook her head, her braids waving. “No, that is not quite what he said.”

  “To be clear,” Meredith said, “you all know these are not demons conjured by warlocks, right? These demons—Skulls—result from a biological agent created by scientists.”

  Kofi laughed. “Yes, of course. While a few of the people here might believe in witches and magic, we are not so superstitious.” He placed a hand over his heart. “I was trained in medicine. I’m a nurse by trade. I studied through an exchange program in Johannesburg.”

  “And I was a human aid worker. A member of the local Red Cross,” Alizia said. “Only I learned very quickly that aid packages and foreign money wouldn’t stop the bandits and bastards.” She slapped her palms against the table. “But that’s not what we really want to talk about now, is it?”

  “No,” Dom said, “you’re absolutely right. We are here to discuss the future. The future of your country, the future of mine. The future of the whole human race, if we’re lucky.”

  Alizia folded her hands together like a practiced diplomat. “Agreed. Which brings us back to our first question. Who are you, and why are you in the Congo?”

  Dom considered the long version of the story, from his initial investigation of the abandoned oil rig, to General Kinsey’s betrayal in Bethesda, to their decision to single-handedly pursue the origins of the Oni Agent to the ends of the Earth. They had learned much over the past weeks, and they had sacrificed more.

  In the end, he simply said, “We’re the people who want to drag all these demons back to hell.”

  Alizia rubbed her hands on her knees. “Ah, now we are talking the same language. You all are American. There is no doubt about that. But judging by your unorthodox mode of transportation, you don’t belong to the American armed forces.” She paused then added, “Or if you are, you’ve been abandoned out here.”

  Dom wanted to trust these people. But he would not forget the lessons he had learned from Kinsey. Maybe they wanted something from him. Maybe they would even betray the Hunters. But at this moment, there was precious little he could do about it. The Hunters were at the mercy of the CDF’s superior numbers, and any attempt at armed conflict would end in a slaughter—both for his people and theirs.

  “Fairly accurate observations,” he said. “To make a long story short, we are intelligence and special operations contractors. For the sake of our self-preservation, I would prefer not to go deeper than that. We used to be in the employ of the United States government, but we’re currently operating independently.”

  “Running away?” Alizia asked with a raised brow.

  “In part. But mostly we’re after the people responsible for the Oni Agent. It might be the only way anyone back home believes we aren’t the enemy.”

  “And why would they believe that?” Kofi asked, his eyes narrowed. One of his hands slipped toward a pistol holstered at his hip. How in the hell was Dom supposed to convince these people they’d been framed?

  “I was an officer in the CIA,” Meredith said before Dom could answer. She motioned to the Hunters. “This is the team that ran my contracts. Right before the outbreak, someone planted damning false information in intelligence agencies around the globe. We’ve narrowed their location down to two possible targets. One of them is a compound near Bikoro.”

  Meredith gave Dom a sideways glance, and he waved a hand for her to continue. Cat was already out of the bag, he thought. She flicked a button on her touchscreen smartwatch and used the miniature projector to cast an image on the table before them. It showed a summary of everything Chao and Samantha had discovered, ranging from the subversion of intelligence groups around the world to the strange activities reportedly going on in Bikoro and Baghdad. “I know this isn’t definitive proof, and I understand your doubts. But we’re desperate to stop these people. We aren’t with them. I swear it.”

  Alizia’s expression gave nothing away. She cupped her hand over Kofi’s ear, and the two conferred for a moment. Dom worried they were about to be kicked out of this stronghold. At least their bellies had been filled first.

  But to his surprise, Alizia smiled. “Yes, we figured you weren’t part of the group conjuring our demons. Those men and women come in on helicopters. Nothing so unreliable as a river ferry.”

  “Then will you tell us where those people are?” Dom asked. “We need to infiltrate their base as soon as possible.”

  Alizia leaned across the table, her expression turning serious. “We will do better than that. We will take you to them.”

  “And then”—Kofi smashed his fist into his open palm—“we will destroy them.”

  “My people operate on their own,” Dom said. “Working with another group we’ve never trained with may prove hazardous to both of us.”

  It was an understatement. Trying to rein in amateur fighters—no matter how determined—would be like herding cats. He wouldn’t be able to predict when they would charge heedlessly into a gunfight or when they might run, leaving the frontlines of a battle hopelessly unsecured.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not a fool,” Alizia said. She clapped Kofi’s shoulder. “Not like this one. Most people here have no formal military training. I’ll give you that. But we have something you do not.”

  Dom raised a brow.

  “We know these jungles. No maps will help you. You may be good at infiltrating military bases and computers and God knows what.” She placed her hand flat on her chest, and her disfigured nose flared. “We can help you. Let us.”

  “All right,” Dom said hesitantly. “I want to thank you for your hospitality. For taking us in and protecting us from the hordes out there. But I need to discuss this with my team.”

  “Of course,” Alizia said, already standing. Kofi joined her. “We will give you all the time you need...as long as that time is no more than a couple of hours.”

  Dom nodded as they left. He understood the message. She didn’t have the supplies to host their group forever. Not when she had her own people to take care of. But if they agreed to achieve their shared goal of eliminating the base or lab or whatever it was in Bikoro, then her investment of time and resources toward the Hunters would be worth it.

  When the door shut, Miguel piped up at once. “Let’s do it. Chief, we’ve got ourselves an armed escort straight to the enemy.”

  Glenn folded his thick arms across his chest. “I don’t know. What if they’re unreliable? What if they shoot us in the back? I mean, where they hell have they gotten all these supplies from?”

  “She was a foreign aid worker,” Jenna countered. “She probably knew where all the corrupt government officials in the area were keeping the supplies that were supposed to go to these people in the first place. Besides, you saw their hospital setup. They wouldn’t waste resour
ces on children, elderly, and invalids if they were like Rick’s people.”

  The group went on debating the merits of working with Alizia’s group. Eventually, Dom put a hand up to silence them.

  “The most important thing to consider,” Dom said, “is that Alizia and the CDF are not working for our real enemies in Bikoro.”

  “I doubt it, Chief. They’re relying on foreign aid leftovers and shit they took from local militias, not supplies from some well-funded government agency,” Miguel said. “Unless this is all a real damn good ruse.”

  “Yeah, my gut tells me they’re legit,” Jenna said, running a hand through her short hair.

  Creases formed in Glenn’s brow. “I want hard facts, not gut feelings. But I’m not sure how the hell else we can really vet them short of getting a polygraph down here. On the other hand, why not just take us captive now? Drug us or shoot us or something, right? Unless they want to walk us right into this base they’re talking about and hand us over for some kind of bounty.”

  “Possible,” Meredith said. “If that’s the case, this might be our only chance. Do we shoot our way out and follow the river back to the Huntress? Or keep on heading to Bikoro?”

  Dom nodded. “We’ve already lost Renee, and I’m not losing anyone else. We need to minimize risk. Maybe Alizia and the CDF are on our level—but if they’re not, we’re screwed.”

  “We just talking our way out of this, Chief? Tuck our tails between our legs and go home?”

  “No way in hell. The CDF is just another variable we need to consider. But no matter what, we’re getting into those labs, and we’re taking all the intel we can.” Dom turned to Meredith. Together, they had infiltrated homegrown fanatic groups in Oregon. Delved into Soviet-bloc countries to sniff out Gorbachev’s remote bioweapons research labs. Acted like James Bond in Egypt to scout out Iranian counterintelligence agents. There was no one else he’d rather have at his side during a tricky operation. “You up for playing spies again?”

  -41-

  Meredith wanted to demolish the people responsible for the Oni Agent as much as anyone else in the room, but the Hunters’ mission didn’t end in Bikoro. They needed to know who they were bringing to justice, and she doubted this was the only place they had set up shop.

  It was time for a little intelligence gathering.

  “I am happy to hear you will work with us,” Alizia said.

  “We share the same goals,” Dom said. “We want these people removed from your land. And preferably from the entire goddamned planet.”

  Kofi smiled at that.

  “But before we dive in, there are a few things we need to know,” Dom continued. “Meredith is our expert in intelligence matters.”

  “Right,” Meredith said, smoothly stepping into her role. “We’ll need time to scrape as much data off their intranet as possible. That means access to any computers on site.”

  “Of course,” Alizia said. “The CIA officer wants her intel before we get our revenge.”

  “You got it,” Meredith said, recalling when she had first sent Dom and his group to the IBSL. They had discovered no one there except for a lone survivor who had proved useless in providing any information pointing to the real culprits of the Oni Agent. “I thought we’d caught these bastards once already. But they’re like cockroaches. Scattering and then showing up somewhere else. I want to know where else they’re hiding so we can stamp them out for good.”

  “That’s reasonable,” Alizia said. “So how can we help?”

  “We’re not going to run in there with guns blazing,” Dom said. “As soon as they realize there’s a security threat, they’ll lock everything down.”

  “So we want to do this quietly,” Meredith said. She noted Kofi’s disappointment. “I promise you’ll have plenty to blow up later. But first, we need the lay of the land.”

  Alizia unrolled a hand-drawn map on the table. “We’ve had a few opportunities to explore around the base.”

  Meredith was skeptical. “And they haven’t spotted you?”

  “No,” Kofi said. “Like she said, we know the jungle. They do not. They thought they could establish this base and the jungle wouldn’t notice. But the jungle notices everything.” He grinned. “And we listen to the jungle.”

  “That’s great. What do you know about their defenses?” Dom asked.

  “Right to the point, like a good American.” Alizia drew a rough map of the base and the forest surrounding it. “No water access. Only a single roadway that ends here.” She pointed to a spot almost a mile away from the actual base. “I believe they have a helipad here. Most of the base is built below the ground, so there aren’t any obvious electric fences or lookout posts.”

  “I’m sure they’ve got cameras, though,” Dom said. “Got to have some way to keep an eye out aboveground.”

  “They do,” Alizia said. “We’ve sent a couple of patrols through the area. We found cameras here, here, and here.” Her index finger stabbed the map at various spots. “But we tried not to make it too obvious we were snooping. So I’m sure there are plenty we did not see.”

  “That’s probably true,” Meredith said. “If I were securing a place like that, I’d have backups for every damn camera out there.”

  Dom frowned at the map. “So if everything is underground, how do you get in?”

  “There are several entrances controlled by what looks like keypads.” Alizia indicated those entrances. “And there are these two entrances as well.” She circled a large circular door that opened to the sky. “This is where we believe the helipad is. And this”—she drew a large rectangle—“is for those giant demons.”

  “The Titans?” Meredith asked, nonplussed. “Like the one you caught in that trap?”

  Kofi nodded.

  “Why in the hell are Titans crawling in and out of that place?” Miguel asked, rising angrily to his feet.

  “You’ve been around the Skulls for a while, right?” Alizia asked.

  “You could say that,” Dom responded.

  “Then you’ve no doubt noticed the creatures you call Titans are different,” she continued. “We’re not sure what they are. Humans turn into demons. We’ve seen the animals of the forest perverted by the agent, too. But those Titans...they are something entirely different.”

  “That’s what we were afraid of.” Meredith tamped down her excitement. Now they were starting to get somewhere. “I wouldn’t call them geniuses, but the Titan we encountered seemed smarter. More poised and cautious than your typical Skull.”

  “That is what we have observed,” Alizia said. “They seem to lead the Skulls around them, and the smaller monsters are naturally attracted to them.”

  Meredith’s eyes scanned over the massive door on the map that Alizia had drawn. “Do you know how many of these things there are?”

  Kofi let out a sigh. “No. We kill one, and then they release a new one from that gate.”

  “How many have you killed?” Dom asked.

  “Four so far,” Alizia answered. “And each time, within a couple of days, one comes lumbering out again, like they’re growing them in vats down there.”

  “They probably are,” Miguel said.

  “Wait, wait,” Meredith said. “How do they know when one of those things dies? Do they track them somehow?”

  “It would seem so,” Kofi said. “We dissected one and found some kind of electronic devices. We don’t know what they were for. Tracking? Mind control? There’s no limit to the evil these men will do.”

  “Do you have any samples of the devices?” Dom asked, leaning forward, his eyes keen. The tests and data Samantha and Chao might run on those devices would be priceless.

  “No,” Alizia said. “We destroyed them. We feared they could be used to find us.”

  Meredith’s shoulders slumped. “Fair point. So we can approach—” She stopped mid-sentence. All eyes turned to her, and she had to remind herself to breathe. “Holy shit. If they replace those Titans every time one comes out,
that means they’re going to open that door again soon.”

  “What, you want to run in under the feet of one of those Titans?” Terrence asked. “Even I ain’t that brave or stupid.”

  Miguel’s eyebrows rose. “And that’s saying a hell of a lot.”

  Terrence shook his head and gave Miguel a light punch in the shoulder.

  “It’s risky,” Dom said in a flat tone. He leaned over the table and gestured to the other doors Alizia had drawn. “What about these entrances? What are they like?”

  “Mechanical doors. Guards,” Alizia said. “Usually three to four of them nearby.”

  “And the keypads?” Dom asked.

  “About chest-height on the frame of each door.”

  Meredith combed a hand through her hair as she considered what they had learned. Her fingers came away coated in dirt, and she brushed them on her pant leg. Maybe using the Titan’s gate was too suicidal. Besides, the base would no doubt have all eyes on the giant as they released it. And if the swarms of Skulls drifting through the jungle were attracted to the beast, then the people guarding that might have extra reinforcements on those doors.

  An idea popped into her head. “Do they still guard the other doors when they release a Titan?”

  Alizia paused to consider the question. “No, I don’t think so. Last time, they released a Titan, our scouts didn’t see any patrols near the normal entrances.”

  “Too scared of the Skulls to stay outside,” Kofi said.

  “Okay, good,” Meredith said. “I think I’ve got an idea. And if it works, we should be able cause a distraction that doesn’t arouse too much suspicion.”

  “And how do you think we’ll do that?” Dom asked.

  A grin spread over her face. She couldn’t help it. The plan she had in mind might not be perfect, but given what they were working with, it was their best shot at success. She’d used a similar strategy once before, when she’d tasked the Hunters with infiltrating a network of mines in Syria. They’d tapped into the emergency alarms and simulated a fire deep within the mines. Most of the extremists roosting in the mines had run straight for the exits even though there wasn’t a hint of smoke. They would need something like that to draw people out of the base. Something that would force their hand.