Code Name: Luminous

by Natasza Waters

  Pat stayed Tinman with his hand. “How is she?”

  “Alive,” he said. He shook his head. “I was sure I’d lost her.” Tinman took a deep breath and gazed at him. “I know you told me not to lose my head, but I was ready to die beside her. There’s damage to her internal tissue, permanent damage.”

  “Internal organs?”

  “Time will tell. They gave her blood thinners to stop the clotting. Her heart and kidneys may be affected.”

  “I’m sorry. We’re the ones that are expected to take the collateral damage.”

  Tinman blinked, then a small smile spread across his face. “I’m not. She’s alive. She’s young and strong. I don’t care what the outcome is. She’s my light and my lady, and we’ve got a whole lifetime to love each other.”

  Pat eyed him. “How soon before she’s up and around?” They set off for the tent where the rest of the team gathered.

  “Not long. They said once the symptoms disappear, recuperation starts. The vaccine stopped the virus in its tracks.”

  “Ten years, and I’ve never seen you so committed to one woman. What changed?”

  “I thought I was just like my dad. Lumin wouldn’t accept that. I don’t know what she sees, but her vision is a lot clearer than mine.” He shook his head. “Imagine me falling for a Catholic virgin. Has to be some kind of strange intervention going on there.”

  Pat chuckled. “Marg had some heavy-duty convincing with me as well when we first started dating. I didn’t come from the best stock, but she saw something in me. I think, no I know, it made me a better man.”

  Tinman grinned. “I want a family of my own, with her.”

  “You’ll get that chance, Tinman.”

  “I hope so, but only if we stop this bug.”

  “Let’s do it.” They fisted each other and joined the rest of the men.

  “This is Dr. Sandy Clarke, Director of USGS Pacific,” Pat said, introducing Ghost.

  Dr. Clarke motioned to Lydia, the hydrologist she’d brought with her, and the woman opened a laptop. “We were asked to provide you with information on the underground water system from three towns in New Mexico. I’ve also heard the reports on the TV. The details are sparse, other than a bad flu erupted causing severe fever. What’s really going on?”

  Ghost shared a look with the director’s team. “It’s not a flu, it’s a weaponized virus. Engineered for longevity and can live in air or water. The Bubonic plague was spliced with Ebola.”

  Dr. Clarke maintained her composure, but the ripple of shock made her blink. “Terrorism?”

  Ghost nodded. “The vaccine has been located, but it will take time to reproduce. The man who released the virus deployed it in three towns. Adelino, Bosque, and Los Chaves. Before we were notified and could contain the towns, the populations continued their daily routines. All three of the town’s waste systems filter out into the desert, but we need to know if any of them have underground water that connects to major rivers or reservoirs.”

  Lydia began typing furiously, her eyes darting back and forth as she retrieved information on her laptop. Dr. Clarke and Assistant Director Koch, shared a concerned look. “Whoever the terrorist is, he planned this out carefully.” Her brow wrinkled with worry. “These towns sit right on the Rio Grande. The third longest river in the U.S. It crosses the entire state from north to south. There is a large underground lake called the Ogalala which runs from southern New Mexico to Nebraska as well.”

  Ghost seamed his lips, and nodded for her to continue.

  “The Rio Grande supplies the U.S. and Mexico with drinking water, irrigation, and plays a huge role in recreation and ecology. If the virus makes it to the Rio Grande, our food will be tainted, there will be no clean drinking water. The domino effect will infect millions. New Mexico also has the Pecos, Gila, and Canadian Rivers. All are main waterways with thousands of tributaries.”

  Ghost’s expression became more and more rigid. None of them had considered the far-reaching fingers and the intelligence of deploying the plague in New Mexico and letting Mother Nature do the rest.

  “There’s more,” Dr. Clarke said, and Cobbs held his breath. The tension in the tent, and the feeling that they’d underestimated Dafoe, hit full on.

  “The Continental Divide also crosses the state of New Mexico. It separates the direction in which North America’s rivers flow. East of the Divide, rivers drain into the Atlantic. Rivers west of the Divide drain into the Pacific. He must have known this. The virus could make it to both coasts.”

  Cobbs’ heart leaped in his chest. Marg and the girls! The team had to stop this.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Tony had served with the Admiral long enough to know the tight expression he wore meant he was nearing explosive.

  “What about the drought? Haven’t the water tables been dropping steadily in the west due to lack of rainfall?” the Admiral asked.

  “Yes, and no,” Dr. Clarke answered. “The Rio Grande is fed from the Colorado.”

  “Don’t think that’s going to happen,” Ditz said, placing his sat phone on the table. “You’re on speaker, Snow White, repeat your last comm.”

  “Admiral Austen, a CDC report just received. La Joya, a small town south of Bosque, reported their residents lining up outside the medical facility. All of them have high fevers and flu-like symptoms.”

  “How far south, Snow White?” the Admiral asked.

  “Approximately eighteen miles.”

  “Do we know where their water source comes from?”

  “Yes, sir.” Kayla paused. “The Rio Grande. Quarantine units and service members have been dispatched. CDC is now taking water samples further downstream. No results have been issued yet.”

  “When was the first case reported?” Ghost asked.

  “Estimated two hours ago.”

  “Anything else?”

  Tony watched Ghost. The man knew his wife was holding back.

  “Affirmative. The media must have found a willing source. Twenty minutes ago, CBN reported the possibility of a pandemic, and that unfriendlies have planted a virus in the U.S.”

  Ghost nodded. “Keep us advised, Snow White.”

  “Roger that.”

  “That’s close enough to the first three infected towns, someone could have traveled there,” Mace offered.

  They all looked down at the map spread out on the table. “Let’s hope so,” Captain Cobbs said.

  Ghost straightened to his full height and put his attention on Tony. “I doubt it. Tinman, our luck has run out.”

  He nodded, his nerves hopping with an internal clock that started ticking double-time. “We have to divert it, and then kill it. Can CDC confirm whether we can eradicate this bacteria with heat or some other source?”

  No one had an answer.

  “Dr. Clarke, where is the narrowest and shallowest portion of the Rio Grande?” Tony queried.

  Her hydrologist, Lydia, turned her laptop. “Here,” Lydia said, pointing at a spot near the northern end of the state. She turned her confused expression on him. “You want to hold back the Rio Grande?”

  “What about all the tributaries, cracks and crevices?” Ed questioned, standing between Nathan and Stitch.

  Mace snatched the phone off the table, dialed, then leaned over it, waiting for someone to answer.

  “Coronado Base Command,” Kayla answered.

  “Snow White, patch Professor Linden into this line.”

  “Standby.”

  Professor Linden answered the phone. “Professor, this is Petty Officer Mace Callahan. We need your help.”

  “What can I do?”

  “Sir, how do we kill this virus if it’s already in the water?”

  Professor Linden cleared his throat. “It’s relatively easy to kill it. Even though it’s been spliced with Ebola, it’s still a weak organism on its own. The problem is when it merges with a host, like a human, we can’t kill it without killing the person. But you’ve got the vaccine.”

&n
bsp; “We do, but it’s made its way into a large body of water. How do we stop it?”

  “Without poisoning the water?”

  “Yes, it’s made it to the Rio Grande.”

  “Oh, dear. The safest way is to ozonate the water. It has the capability of inactivating bacteria and viruses, but I have no idea how you could do that to a river as large as the Rio Grande.”

  Options whirled in his mind. “Deployment isn’t the problem, but how do we get our hands on enough ozonated material that can be deployed?”

  “I’m not sure, you’d have to talk to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”

  “We’re on it, guys,” Snow White said. “I’ll advise when I know more.”

  Tony stared at the map.

  “What the hell are you thinking, Tinman?” Mace asked.

  “Here,” he pointed. “We need to stop the Rio Grande above the first infected town. Close the dam down here at Caballo and trap it. Ozonate it, and then open her again.”

  “It might work,” Dr. Clarke said. “This area here.” She pointed. “The river runs through a canyon. The cliff walls are over a hundred feet high on either side. We’ll have to check, but I think this reservoir next to Caballo Dam is very large.”

  Ghost, like him, was filtering and assessing every idea placed on the table by the team.

  Ghost said, “Tinman, you want to bring down the canyon to stop the water within the Rio Grande Norte area?”

  “It’s plausible. This looks like another dam,” he said pointing to the northern part of the state.

  “It is,” Lydia confirmed. “There’s about eight dams north of Los Chaves.”

  Demolitions and heavy weaponry were his specialization. “There’s too much distance between those two dams even if we lock them down. What if we created another here, North of Isleta Pueblo.”

  “What do you mean created?” Mace asked.

  “If we’re able to ozonate the water caught in the reservoir near Caballo, we need to have as little flow as possible. We create another block north of Los Chaves and blow a trench into the desert to divert more of the flow, we can treat the infected water, killing the virus.” He waited for the USGS team to disagree. “How long would we have, Dr. Clarke, before the water would make it over the temporary block?”

  Dr. Clarke turned to the hydrologist, Gabe Timmons.

  “There’s a problem,” Timmons said. All heads turned his way. “I’ve just been checking the weather. Colorado and Arizona have been experiencing a lot of summer storms. It’s causing a drain-off into the Rio Grande.”

  “If we block it, how much time?” Tinman asked again.

  “What would you put in its path?” Dr. Clarke asked.

  Tinman saw it. New Mexico state highways wouldn’t like the idea. “Right there.” He pointed at the map. “We blow it and create a trench into the desert here. We can’t stopped it, but we might bring it down to a trickle.”

  The doc swayed her head. “Water will always find a way around. You might have a few hours max before she’d climb up and over. You’re talking about a major river with a lot of power behind it. The northern dam you’re looking at is called the Cochito. If we lock that off too, it will help.”

  The phone rang, and Tinman answered. “Go ahead, Snow White.”

  “I just spoke with the EPA. They said there is a company in Sacramento that has begun production on commercial-sized canisters for ozonating large bodies of water. The plan was to use it in reservoirs or lakes. Would that do?”

  “Hell, yes,” Tinman said. “How much do they have in storage?”

  “A lot. I called the company; needless to say, they were overjoyed hearing the U.S. Navy was interested in purchasing everything they had. We’re going to need a massive airdrop. They gave me a formula to use.”

  “For what?” Ghost asked.

  “How much water can be cleansed per hour based on the number of canisters deployed.”

  “What’s the magic number, Snow White?” Tony asked.

  “I need the volume of water to finish the calculation.”

  “Are you near a map?” Tinman asked.

  “Satellite, I’ve got it sitting over the Rio Grande.”

  “Jesus, woman,” Ghost hollered.

  “What?” Snow White snapped back. “It’s an emergency and it’s fast.”

  Ghost rolled his eyes. “Faster than Google Maps?”

  Tinman grinned as did the rest of the team, knowing the hell she took for cracking the U.S. Navy’s satellite codes and redirecting them when they were deployed. “There’s a reservoir in front of the Caballo Dam. If we drop the majority of the canisters there and in mile intervals northward toward Adelino we should cover the area,” Tony said.

  Snow White let out a little groan after calculating. “Not enough canisters.”

  “Is there another source?” Mace asked.

  “Negative. I’ve already searched, not unless you want to go to every pet store and buy aquarium-sized ozonators.”

  Tinman let out a frustrated breath. “That means we have to get rid of some water.”

  “Infected water,” Ed said.

  “People die in times like this. It’s to be expected. We can’t save everyone.”

  The entire group of men looked up to see who had spoken.

  Wearing a sharply-pressed work uniform, the clean, lean officer nodded. “Lieutenant Abraham Lewis reporting for duty, sir,” he said, looking at Admiral Austen. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

  The team’s eyes darted around the table and then back at Lewis. Tinman didn’t like judging a book by his cover, but Lewis came with a reputation. There wasn’t a thread out of place or a five o’clock shadow on his face. They all looked like they’d been on a mission for weeks.

  Admiral Austen sized him up as well, and his ice blue eyes radiated a thought. One the team could recognize, but probably not Lewis. “Lieutenant Lewis, lives have already been lost. More U.S. citizens will also die before the virus is contained. We will mitigate loss of life as a primary goal.”

  Ghost’s gaze cut the rigid if not arrogant expression on Lewis’ face to shreds. It changed quickly to one with a shadow of wariness. At least the guy wasn’t a total idiot, Tony thought to himself.

  “Snow White, get a hold of the district in Caballo. Advise them the dam needs to be closed immediately,” Ghost ordered.

  “They won’t listen to me. They don’t know who the hell I am,” Kayla shot back.

  Ghost nodded. “Get on the phone to Admiral Hoskins. He’s still at the White House with the President. Tell him what we need.”

  “Will do.” Kayla paused. “What the hell?”

  “What is it?” Ghost asked.

  “Sit down, right now,” Kayla said to someone. “Nina just walked in the door.” Kayla held the phone away, but she came through loud and clear. “Are you out of your bleedin’ mind? You need to be in bed. You look like shit.” Kayla laughed. “Nice.”

  Mace grinned. “She just gave ya the one finger salute, didn’t she?”

  “Yup. What a harpy. I’ll advise once I’ve spoken to Admiral Hoskins and we get confirmation the dam has been closed.”

  Tinman disconnected the phone. “What’s the chances the virus has already reached the Caballo Dam?” he asked the hydrologists.

  Dr. Clarke bit down on her lip and swerved a look at her team. “We’ll let CDC give you that answer, but let’s hope it’s negative.”

  “We’re going to need as many men as we can muster to pull this off. Let’s take Alpha Squad and ten more men from Bravo Squad to survey the area.”

  “I’ll ride along with you on this one, Tinman,” Cobbs said.

  Tinman was glad to hear it; Cobbs also specialized in demolitions. “We need Fox as well.”

  “I’ll call him in,” Ditz advised.

  “Tell me your plan.” Lewis paused to look at his nametag. “Petty Officer Bale, you’re part of my squad, is that right?”

  Tony straightened and turned to t
he squad’s newly acquired lieutenant. “Sir, you’re gonna have to catch up as we go. Clock is ticking on this one.”

  “I understand that,” he said, his eyes narrowing, “However, you’ll report to me before initiating the plan. I’ll approve it and then you can proceed.”

  The tent quieted once again, and Admiral Austen and Captain Cobbs stopped their conversation to listen. Tony stepped around the table and into Lewis’ airspace. He saluted. There were a few ways to do it; he used the universal “bite me,” a sign of zero respect to an officer.

  “Sir, I don’t have an issue with the chain of command, but I do have an issue with millions of people dying. If you want to know the plan—sir—then follow us to that Black Hawk, it’s time to turf the daily dress and put on some cammo. You’re going to need it.”

  Lewis removed his cap and swept a hand through a short regulation cut. Something he and the guys rarely did unless they were home for a while and the girlfriends made them remove the scruff.

  “Bale, there is a chain of command. I’m it. I’ll remain here, but before you depart I’d like to know what your intentions will be.”

  “We work as a team, Lieutenant. You’re in or you’re out. That’s your decision. Everyone has their way. If you want a good example of leadership and teamwork, that’s the man standing over there.” He pointed at Cobbs. “He’s been our lieutenant for eleven years. We have to prove our abilities. You have to prove we can trust you.”

  “I don’t need your trust, Bale. I need you to follow orders, and with all due respect, Captain Cobbs, I have my way of doing things. It’s called by the book.”

  He turned his stare on Tony as if it was supposed to intimidate him. Wasn’t really working though. Tony shrugged and eyed the guys. “We’re wasting time. You want a report, I can tell you how to fuck off in four different languages—”

  “Bale,” the Admiral said sharply.

  “Sir.”

  Ghost’s expression remained ramrod tough, but his eyes glinted with mirth. Lieutenant Lewis was the type of officer that remained behind the safety line, clinging to his mother’s skirt and polishing his Budweiser, no doubt buying every T-shirt, belt buckle and ball cap with a SEAL insignia on it. He might have been a SEAL once; now he was bordering on bureaucrat.