by Michael Bray
Trying to ignore the giddy somersaults in his gut and the prickle of fear which had given him goosebumps, he turned back to the folder, checking his theory for the tenth time and getting the exact same cast iron results. There was no doubt in his mind.
Goodall came back through the curtain, wearing a frown which echoed his own.
"There's no contact from the lab, which is odd. I got in touch with Homeland to see if they can get a team out there. What's so urgent?"
"I need to check my findings with Genaro first, but if I'm right, this is a lot worse than I thought," He said, glancing out of the window as the plane banked slightly towards its final destination.
"Can't you give me the short version?" she said, not hiding her irritation as she sat opposite him.
"According to these notes, Genaro wanted to control the virus."
"Virus? You mean Project Apex?"
"It's still a virus whatever you call it. It was designed to enter the bloodstream and alter the host's DNA and with it the traits which go with the virus itself. He knew human antibodies were never going to be strong enough, and so did all he could to engineer a virus which was non-contagious as a safety measure."
"That's a good thing, right?"
"It is and it isn't. You see what he didn't take into account was the tendency of nature to change in order to adapt to its circumstances. We see examples of it the world over. The virus is so strong, so bonded with its host that it has the capacity to change, to mutate from its initial state."
"I'm sure Genaro would have seen and adapted for it. He's too good for that."
"I don't doubt his brilliance, and under ordinary circumstances, I would agree with you. However, look at the time constraints he was under. If anything, it would have been an afterthought. There is certainly nothing in his notes to say he has made contingency for mutation."
"Okay, so let's assume, for the sake of argument, he hasn't, what does that mean?" Kate asked.
"This virus is essentially a living organism in itself. The specific breed of monkey which is the basis of the virus carried a low-grade version of rabies. It wasn't as potent as the version we know of today, but it was present across the entire species. Those same markers are present within the Apex serum."
"You're losing me here, what does that mean?"
"It means this Apex virus is not only incredibly dangerous, it's also contagious."
Kate blinked, taking a few seconds to digest what Draven was telling her. "How? I mean, it can't be possible."
"That's why I'm hoping there is more information that Genaro hasn't provided in his notes. Some kind of missing information which means I'm wrong."
"What if you're right, how can this thing be spread?"
"I can't say for sure, but if I base it solely on the Tiger monkey, my best guess is that it can be transferred through bodily fluids. Blood and saliva being the most obvious."
"Could it go airborne?" Goodall asked, her features taut with worry.
"No,” Draven said with a shake of his head. “It would need immediate delivery into the body to allow the virus to begin the bonding with its host. We, at least, have that in our favour. Either way, I need to speak to Genaro. I don't need to tell you how quickly this could get out of hand. Based on the aggressive nature of those affected in the reports and the speed in which the virus is able to bond and change its host, we could be looking at a global epidemic here."
"Jesus," Goodall muttered, staring at Draven. "According to Homeland, there are Apex operatives stationed all over the globe that have gone dark. We don't know where they are."
"As long as they don't know they're contagious, we have a chance. Besides, right now the virus likely won't feel the need to replicate itself. It's still in its infancy."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we still have time. But it's absolutely vital I speak to Genaro."
Goodall nodded and stood.
"Where are you going?" Draven asked.
"To radio in. we need an emergency pickup to get us as soon as we land and to take us straight to Genaro's lab. Do you think you can stop this?"
"Me? No, not alone at least. I've been out of the game for far too long. With Genaro's help, though, it might be possible."
"In that case, let's get you there as soon as we can."
III
The sound of chaos and gunfire from upstairs filtered through to Genaro, where he cowered in his underground lab. Joshua made no effort to call out, or to alert them of his whereabouts. Genaro experienced another wave of nausea and sat on his chair before his legs gave.
"If you're thinking they might not find us down here, I can assure you they will," Joshua said, his conversational tone almost mocking.
"How did they find you? It's impossible." Genaro muttered, sure his life only had a few minutes left before it was snuffed out.
"Nothing is impossible. Miracles happen all the time. Just look at me. When people know who I am, what I represent, they will say I too am impossible. That I'm some kind of living, breathing miracle."
Genaro shook his head. "Your father would hate to see you like this Joshua. Although, I must take some of the blame for it, which is why I don't try to escape. Perhaps, knowing what I've done, I deserve death.” He heard footsteps descending towards the lab and knew his time was up.
"I'm going to let you out now Joshua," Genaro said. "I know it's pointless to resist this. I only ask one thing of you, one favour for old time's sake."
Genaro activated the controls, unlocking the heavy steel door. Joshua casually opened it and stepped out.
"What is it you ask?" Joshua whispered as his men started to break down the door.
"Kill me quickly. Don't let me suffer." The doctor whispered, his lip trembling.
The door gave up its fight, allowing Joshua's men to enter.
"Kill you? Whatever in the world makes you think I want to do that?"
"Then... what do you want?" Genaro stammered.
"Like I said, I came back for you."
"Why?"
"Because you're going to help me build my army."
Joshua lunged, biting Genaro on the arm, shearing away a great chunk of flesh. Blood spewed out of the wound, as Genaro fell to his knees and wailed.
"What have you done to me, what have you done!" Genaro screamed.
"I just made you immortal," Joshua said as he released his grip and wiped the blood from his chin, looking at his brothers with a smeared, crimson grin.
"Today, the birth of the new world begins."
IV
Genaro's arm was on fire. He lay on his side, listening to the sound of his blood spew out onto the floor. He was incredibly aware of his body, how every cell was working in unison. He imagined he could feel the blood as it was blasted around at incredible pressure via the heart, terminating at the gaping wound in his forearm. His main concern wasn’t with what was coming out of him, but more what had gone in the other direction.
He had long suspected the Apex virus had the potential to become contagious far too late to do anything about it. Like the rest of the project, he had become a victim of the time pressure he was under, and things which should have been meticulously checked had been skimmed at best, ignored at worse.
My god, I’m dying.
The thought came to him not in the blind panic he imagined, but with a calm sense of finality which he knew he was powerless to alter or otherwise affect. At least in death, he would be spared dealing with the consequences of his actions. For all of his good intentions, he had been reckless, and now the world was about to pay the price. He imagined the virus surging through him, visualising the microscopic and quite brilliant building blocks with the ability to rebuild a human with none of its flaws merging with the man he was, enhancing what was already there. Changing him from the inside.
What if it goes wrong? What if my body rejects the virus?
It was certainly something to consider. He listened to his body, blocking out the sound of Jo
shua's men as they removed equipment and took whatever they could carry.
Could he feel it? If he turned his senses inwards, could he know where the virus was in his bloodstream? The rational side of him, of course, knew it was impossible. Yet it didn’t stop him listening anyway.
He couldn’t feel anything.
Not even pain.
He drew a sharp breath, and opened his eyes, focusing on his arm. It was, of course still a bloody mess. However, it was a mess which didn’t hurt. It was a mess which was no longer bleeding.
With a shaking hand, he reached out to touch the wound, bracing himself for the raging fire of agony as his fingers met with ravaged flesh.
There was no pain. It was as if his eyes were lying to him and showing him an injury which didn’t belong to him. He felt strong arms pick him up from the ground, then Joshua's comforting voice whisper in his ear.
"Have no fear brother, I have you now."
Genaro murmured in response. Perhaps a protest, maybe an agreement, he wasn’t sure enough how he felt to make a decision. Even so, he didn’t fight or struggle. It seemed there was little point.
CHAPTER TEN
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
WASHINGTON DC
MARCUS HAD STEPPED OUT of his office and dialled home for the third time, hoping not to get the machine again. He knew Suvari would be there just as much as he knew she usually let the machine pick up if she were busy. He was desperate to get to her to the point where he was considering driving home to catch her in person before she left. The machine picked up, and he waited, tapping his foot as he waited for the beep.
“Suv, it’s me. Pick up if you’re there. I need to talk to you right now.”
He waited, and was about to hang up when the line connected. “Sorry, I was in the other room. What’s wrong?”
Relief washed over him, and it took a few seconds for him to regain his composure. “I know you’re all set to go out to Mumbai tonight, but –”
“I was just about to leave. I’m running a little behind schedule.”
“Suv, listen, I want you to cancel the trip for a while.”
Silence, something that from Suvari usually wasn’t a good sign.
“What for?”
Marcus hesitated, knowing he had to choose his words carefully so as not to either cause alarm or divulge classified information. “We have a situation that’s developing over here. I don’t want you so far away until it’s under control.”
“Marcus, you know how long this trip has been planned. I can’t let these people down. They are hungry and need food.”
“I know, and I wouldn’t ask you not to go unless I had a good reason.”
“They’re relying on me. You know why it means so much to me to go back there.”
“I do, believe me. I just… I can’t go into detail, but I want you to be safe that’s all.”
“Isn’t that why I married you, to keep me safe?”
He could hear the smile in her voice, and realised with dismay that she had no concept of how dangerous the situation could be. “It is, and I’m doing all I can from here it’s just… it’s so far away Suv.”
“Don’t worry about me. You know I’m as stubborn as you are and will just go anyway. I trust you and your team completely. You’re a brilliant man Marcus Atkinson, and I trust you to handle whatever it is you’re facing down there.”
He closed his eyes, knowing as all married men do when there was no point in arguing anymore. “There’s nothing I’m going to be able to do to talk you out of this is there?”
“No, although you already knew that when you called.”
That smile in her voice again. He wished he could tell her how there had never been a less appropriate time for that particular gesture. “What time is your flight?” he asked, hating himself for not forcing the issue.
“Seven. I was just about to throw my case in the car when you called.”
“Do me a favour, call me from the airport then again when you get there.”
“It will be late over there when I arrive are you sure-”
“-I don’t care what time it is. Just call to let me know you’re safe, okay?”
“Marcus, is everything alright?”
The lead in question. The one that might give him an opportunity to sway her, and yet maybe, under the circumstances, being over in India might prove to be safer than staying on U.S soil. Still, the desire to tell her, classified or not what was happening was great, almost impossible to fight off.
“Marcus, are you there?”
“Sorry,” he said, coming back to the present. “I was miles away. I’m here and I’m fine. You have a safe trip, and please be careful.”
“I will. I’ll call you when I get back. I love you.”
“Make sure you do. I’ll talk to you soon.” He replied, feeling that, under the circumstances telling the wife he had just sent halfway around the world that he loved her too when they were on the brink of what could be a global catastrophe, seemed inappropriate. Instead, he hung up the phone and found a whole new level of self-hate. There was no time to dwell on it, however, as personal life aside, there was still a crisis to contend with. Taking a second to compose himself, Marcus slipped his phone back into his pocket and went back into the situation room.
II
Smoke billowed from the broken windows of the lab as the black Mitsubishi Shogun skidded to a halt at the police barrier. A crowd of onlookers were being held back by angry-looking soldiers, whose weapons were enough to deter anyone who might be tempted to pry too much. Goodall and Draven climbed out of the car and approached the barricade.
"No access," grunted a giant hulk of a soldier in a t-shirt so tight it looked to have been sprayed on.
Draven winced as Kate tried to shove past him anyway.
"Hey," he repeated, grabbing her arm with his shovel-sized hand. "I said, no access."
"I’m with Homeland security. They're expecting us inside," she said as she flashed her I.D, shoving the black folding wallet in the soldiers face.
"I still can’t let you in. It’s not safe yet."
"We need to get inside, now."
"Hey, maybe we should hang back a little and let these people do their job," Draven muttered as he stared over at the smouldering building.
"You should listen to your friend. Once the building is secure I’m sure you -"
"Commander Robbins," she yelled over the barricade, waving to get his attention and pointing at Draven. Robbins was holding a bloody towel to his head and speaking to three men in black suits who Kate was sure were CIA. He waved her towards him as he half listened to one of the black-suited men he was with.
The hulk of a soldier stood aside and let them through. Draven followed Kate into the crowd of soldiers and high-level military officials milling around outside and realised just how out of his depth he was. His life wasn’t meant to be like this. He was used to working alone, and although the natural dangers of the world were things which he dealt with and accepted as part of his job, standing on the frontline of what looked to be a war zone definitely was not.
To Draven’s surprise, the commander walked straight to him. "Mr. Draven?"
"Richard," he said, shaking the commander’s hand. Despite the nasty wound on his forehead, he was still incredibly composed.
"What happened, commander?" Kate said, glancing at the burning lab.
"Some kind of attack. We think it’s more of these super soldiers. The assumption is they came to break out the one we captured."
"How could they do that? Nobody knew he was here."
"Damned if I know, but that’s what happened. I was inside when they hit. They were like damn machines. I shot one of them from twenty feet away and the son of a bitch just kept coming."
"Where’s Doctor Genaro?" Kate asked.
"They have him."
"They're still in there?"
"We don’t know. That’s what we're discussing. We need to
sweep the building, but frankly, I’m not willing to send men in there unless I have a hell of a lot more of them and all these people are clear."
"Do they have hostages? Apart from Doctor Genaro, I mean." Kate asked.
"No, everyone else is either injured or dead," Robbins said, wincing as he dabbed at his wound.
"I just don’t understand this. Why would they attack this place? More to the point, how did they find it?" she said to nobody in particular.
"No idea. All I know is I’ve never seen anything like this before." Robbins muttered.
"What do you mean?" Kate asked.
"I mean the way they moved, the way they attacked, it was... well they were fucking slick. Makes our very best look like rank amateurs. I don’t know how to explain it."
"Did they attack like a single consciousness?" Draven asked, averting his gaze as Robbins looked at him.
"I’m not sure what you mean."
"I mean as if they were separate parts of the same thing. An extension of the same organism."
Robbins looked Draven up and down, then nodded. "Yeah, that’s exactly it. How the hell did you know?”
"It fits with the research. It also explains how they found this place."
"Okay, now you have me curious," Robbins said, giving Draven his full attention. "Go ahead and explain.
"When I studied the species of monkey from which the Apex virus was created, I saw behaviours which closely replicate what's happening here and the reports I read on the plane."
"Go on," Robbins said.
"The one you captured, he was the first one to be administered the Apex virus, correct, the one from Genaro’s report?"
"Yes."
"According to Genaro's research, Joshua's blood was used to enable the initial bonding of the Apex virus to a human host."
"Plain English please Mr. Draven," Robbins grunted. “I’m a soldier, not a scientist.”
"Essentially, Joshua is the alpha of a new human subspecies."
"Subspecies? That's a little extreme isn’t it?" Kate said.
