Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
Zombie Dawn: Outbreak
(c) 2010 Michael G. Thomas & Nick S. Thomas
All rights reserved
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First published in Great Britain by Swordworks Books
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Cover design by Swordworks Books
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CHAPTER ONE
Alaska, United States
Dr Garcia collected her luggage from the small collection area at Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport. She’d only been waiting five minutes but that was hardly surprising, the airport served a city of just over four thousand people. It was a small airport for a small city but that didn’t make it unimportant. Quite the opposite, this was the home the one of the most advanced federal research sites in the United States. As she left the luggage area she flipped out her mobile phone and called the person that had demanded her presence in this most remote of places. As she lifted the handset to her ear it rang twice until answered. There was no voice at the other end.
“Dr Garcia here, please put me through to Dr Murphy.”
There was a succession of clicks and then a series of rings started. Dr Garcia sighed. The effort of trying to get through to Dr Murphy was always a game she would rather not play. Another series of tones came down the line, it sounded very much like a fax machine or one of those old 8-bit computers with the software on cassettes. She hit the secure button on the phone, followed by her passcode. There were yet more tones until there was a final click and a voice came through.
“Dr Garcia?” asked the voice.
“It’s me,” answered Dr Garcia.
“Good, have you arrived safely?” asked the man.
She approached the doors of the terminal, barging them open with her bag and stepped out into the bitter weather of Barrow, Alaska.
“Yeah, I’m heading to the car pool. Is the system back online yet?” she asked in a frustrated voice.
As she left the building she stepped out to the road and towards a waiting car, a large black Chrysler 300 limousine. Stood next to the car was a tall man in a black suit and wearing a woollen hat. He spoke quietly to himself and then opened the door. Dr Garcia walked to the car and climbed inside, leaving her case to the man.
“Listen, the situation has got far worse. We’ve managed to contain the breeches from the first attacks and the firewalls are holding.”
“The car’s here,” she said in matter of fact voice. “I don’t like it, wait till I get there. Have you cut the hard lines? You can’t afford an external breach, even if the labs are isolated.”
“The situation has become far more complicated than that.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I can’t say on your cell, just come straight to me when you arrive. We have to protect our research data, at any cost.”
“Sounds a little ominous Harold! What is so important about it?” asked Dr Garcia.
The car pulled away, the low rumble of the powerful 5.7 litre V8 growling away. As they moved off another identical vehicle pulled out and followed them onto what the locals considered the main road.
Dr Murphy went silent for a moment, then almost whispered down the phone, “Anna, we’ve had a breakthrough on the project. I mean a real breakthrough.”
Dr Garcia considered Dr Murphy’s comments for a moment, trying to decide whether this was good or bad news. The fact that she had been called in usually meant the latter. Her curiosity got the better of her.
“As in you’ve got it to work? No wonder the data connections are under attack. Sounds like you have a mole. Either that or they’ve been tampered with. The only reason to hit the LSEC system is if somebody has already compromised the labs and is trying to get data out. I assume you have guards at all the LSEC points in the facility?” she said.
“Of course. I can’t say any more, you’ll be at the centre in a few minutes, come straight to my office, you’ve got a lot of work today, Doctor.”
“I’ll be with you shortly,” answered Dr Garcia.
She held the phone out and hit the end call button. The possibility that the research centre had made progress was intriguing. She had only the most basic background of what they were working on, but she did know it took up almost the entire research budget. This, and the fact that every major medical research company was itching to get their hands on it, made her just a little uncomfortable. If Dr Murphy was letting it slip that they were getting somewhere then she needed to clamp down on any leaks, and fast.
The small convoy of black cars pulled off the main road and down a much rougher, less used track. Along each side of the road was heaped snow where ploughs had obviously been sometime earlier in the day. Driving in the opposite direction was a black Chevy Blazer, its windows were blacked out and on the doors were the small badges of the Nightguard Security Unit.
The first sign that this wasn’t an ordinary centre was the electric fencing and a secure gateway. As the cars approached the gate, two armed guards blocked the road. A third waited inside the gatehouse. These security guards looked almost the same as regular US infantry with their military issue firearms and equipment. What gave them away though was the insignia dotted over their clothing, the markings of the Nightguard private security company. Since the explosion in recruitment for private military contractors in Iraq many of these companies had started up. Nightguard specialised in installation protection and was now one of the most powerful security firms in the United States. The vehicles stopped at the gateway whilst one of the guards approached the driver’s window. The driver lowered the window and handed over his pass. The guard scanned it, a high-pitched beep coming from his scanner. He then moved to the rear doors and tapped on the glass.
Dr Garcia pressed the button on the door and the window slid smoothly down.
“Dr Garcia?” asked the guard.
“Yes,” she answered as she handed him her plastic security pass.
The man examined it for a moment as he scanned it. Dr Garcia could make out scrolling text and images from his security tablet in the reflection of his mirrored sunglasses. The guard then walked over to the gate and spoke to the man inside. There was a pause for another ten seconds and then he returned.
“We are on a Level Red Lockdown, Doctor. Your vehicles are the last to be allowed on site. A security detail will escort you from the entrance,” he said.
Dr Garcia nodded in acknowledgement as the guard handed back her pass. It was a small biometric security card with her picture, barcode, name and security chip on it. The guard stepped back and the gate started to lift up.
The two cars moved through the gateway and approached the main building. It was distinctly uninspiring to the untrained eye. From the front it looked like a single storey building with a glass entrance and a helipad on its roof. There were no guards actually outside the building, but Dr Garcia knew from her last visit that there was no shortage of people inside. In front of the building was a small parking lot with just three other vehicles parked. The only other structure of note was a large mast that was attached to the side of the building. There were multiple microwave transmitters dotted up the structure and several dishes pointing high into the sky. The top of the tower contained a final antenna, probably added another twenty feet to the metal construction. She was reminded of a local public access TV station as the car pulled in front of the building.
The front doors opened and two heavily armed security guards approached her car, one opening the door, the second watching the area for trouble. As Dr Garcia exited the vehicle she noticed scorch marks on the walls near the door and what looked like bullet marks nearby. Her first thoughts were that it looked like the facility had been attacked. The doors opened to reveal a small room that led to a second set of doors. She moved forward, the guards flanking her on each side. The outer doors slid shut and almost at the same time the inner doors slid open to reveal the foyer. What greeted her confirmed her worst fears. There were scorch marks on the floor and the glass entrance to the elevator in the centre of the room was cracked and damaged. Around the sides of the room were security terminals and half a dozen guards. Two of the desks were badly damaged and several technicians were repairing systems off to the right. As the inner doors slid shut a short, stocky man in body armour and carrying a rifle on his shoulder approached.
“Dr Garcia, I’m Security Chief Allen. I’m to escort you to Dr Murphy,” he said in a matter of fact tone.
She nodded, following the man to the elevator. Though the glass was cracked and damaged the security console was still operational. The Security Chief scanned his own card and Dr Garcia did the same. The inner tube opened so that they could enter. The scanners beeped as each entered the elevator. The guard hit a button on the panel and it started a quick and very smooth descent.
“When were you attacked?” asked Dr Garcia.
“About seven hours ago. I wasn’t here when it happened though. You’ll need to get the details from Dr Murphy,” came his curt reply.
Dr Garcia raised her eyebrows, “I see.”
The elevator slowed and then stopped, the doors sliding open into a long corridor. The guard stayed inside, gesturing down the corridor.
“You know the way?” he asked.
Dr Garcia nodded and left, heading directly down the corridor. As she reached the door at the end she heard the elevator returning to the surface above her. Like all the doors in this facility, it was security locked and encoded. Once again she needed to swipe her access card, enter her code and also provide a thumb scan before the green light flashed. With a hiss the door opened to reveal a large computer centre. In the centre of the room was a massive display, probably ten feet tall and around it were clusters of terminals, smaller displays and about a dozen people, all in lab coats working away. A man approached her, it was Dr Murphy. He held out his hand, shaking hers firmly.
“I’m glad to see you here Anna, we need your help,” he said in an almost pleading voice.
He turned and walked towards the large screen, she followed.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Forty-eight hours ago the experiment reached its first successful test. Within an hour of the data being secured we were hit by a series of computer hacks on the main network, specifically against our firewalls,” he explained.
“But all the labs are independent of the network though. Even if somebody breaches the outer firewalls, they can only get access to the public network,” she said.
Dr Murphy pointed up to the screen where it showed a detail schematic of the research centre. He pointed to several points out on the perimeter of the building.
“Of course. Plus they can only access the secure internal network if they actually gain physical access to one of the three data points within this centre. The problem is that somebody managed to get inside,” he said.
“What!” she shouted, “How?”
“One of the analysts managed to copy part of the test data and tried to get out of the building with it. It looks like at least two other personnel were helping him. They managed to get to the foyer but were intercepted by one of our security teams.”
“Intercepted? Is that a euphemism for shooting them? I saw the damage upstairs.”
“That damage isn’t from the escape attempt. It’s from the team that came in right after him. If they’d arrived sixty seconds earlier they would have escaped with them,” he added.
Dr Murphy pointed at the foyer on the screen. He tapped it, zooming out to show the facility and the surrounding area.
“The group of three were stopped from leaving the foyer by the door security team. There were no casualties though until an ambulance bluffed its way through the outer gate,” he pointed at the entrance, “and deployed an armed team around the entrance of the compound.”
He tapped the screen and the large display split up into a dozen different security camera feeds. Dr Murphy pointed out the most significant ones, specifically an external feed at the entrance and a wide angle shot of the foyer. The team from the ambulance moved to the doors and placed something on the frame. There was a flash and the external feed was shrouded in white smoke. On the interior camera a group of men in black rushed in to engage in a firefight with the security staff. The scene became a mess until the doctor paused the action, pointing directly at the bottom left corner.
“See that?” he asked.
Dr Garcia stepped closer, examining the screen carefully, “It looks like one of them is carrying a specimen case.”
Dr Murphy hit the screen and the action commenced. Both of them continued watching but concentrated on the man with the case. There were more flashes from weapons and the then the person moved back, towards the elevator, grabbing somebody else in a lab coat. In just a few seconds they disappeared back below. In the foyer another security team had arrived and in just a few more shots the battle was over.
Dr Murphy turned back to Dr Garcia.
“This is the problem. The data analyst has not just stolen a vast amount of classified data, he’s also taken one of our top researchers, Dr Morovitz. He managed to break into the data centre and barricaded himself inside,” he said.
“The data centre? Does he have access to the secure servers?” asked Dr Garcia.
“Not just that, he’s already cut the data lines and is threatening to set off a bomb at the core if we don’t give him access to an external data line. If he does that we’ll lose the data, the samples, and Dr Morovitz. That would be the end of the project and the end of this centre.”
“Does he know what the project is and what does he have in the case?” asked Dr Garcia.
“Yes it seems so, but that isn’t the biggest problem of all. He has the only viable sample of the Tetrodotoxin-A solution,” said Dr Murphy.
One of the technicians rushed over to the doctor, interrupting their conversation.
“He’s on the intercom,” said the man.
Dr Murphy moved up to a desk that faced the large screen, beckoning Garcia to come with him. He sat down and hit the intercom connect button.
“Dr Murphy here. Is Morovitz okay?” he asked.
“For now,” came a menacing voice back on the system.
“You have ten minutes to provide me with four clean high speed ports with unrestricted access through the firewalls. If I do not have access in ten minutes I’ll destroy this room, your precious doctor and the sample,” he demanded.
Dr Garcia was already speeding through the security protocols on the terminal next to Dr Murphy. She locked out any possible pathways from the room to any other part of the facility.<
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“You know we can’t do that, your actions are sabotage against a Federal facility,” said Dr Murphy.
“I know what you’ve been doing here. Either you give us what we want or you’ll pay the price!” he screamed.
Dr Garcia checked the communication system, making sure it was muted before she spoke. She leaned towards Dr Murphy.
“Do you have a security team down there?” whispered Dr Garcia.
Dr Murphy looked at her then double-checked on his screen.
“Yes, we have a six man tactical unit as well as a full decontaminant team.”
Dr Murphy hit a few keys, loading up a display that showed the blocked room as well as the security team that were waiting in position. The room was sealed and surrounded. There was no way the man was getting out alive, unless they deemed it necessary.
“What can you tell me about the project? Why is he so desperate to get access to it?” she asked.
“You know I can’t tell you that, all you need to know is that it is biological and if data relating to it is leaked, it will be a major national security breach.”
“So, you’re feeding me the usual research project bullshit then?” she said sarcastically.
“Well, in that case, I don’t think you have many choices. We can try and fake the connections but we have no way of knowing what he is expecting. I suggest we use the emergency protocols to end the situation quickly,” she added.
“You mean the internal defence system? If we use it we’ll kill him and Dr Morovitz,” he retorted.
“If you don’t you’ll lose them both as well as the sample and the data,” she said coldly.
“If you want to preserve the sample and data you need to release the nerve agent and fast, before he does something irreversible,” she continued.
Dr Garcia scanned through the security screens, checking that all the defensive systems were still operational. Several windows popped up signalling that some of the systems were off-line. She ran several emergency scripts that brought three of them back up.
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