by R. D. Brady
“You could stay with the van, make sure—”
“I’ve killed twelve aliens, hybrids, or whatever they were. I was told they were dangerous. I never doubted that. After all, it was my government that sent me out after them. And then I met Iggy. I was told he was dangerous, too. But he’s not, at least if you’re not trying to hurt me. How many of the ones I killed were only as dangerous as Iggy?”
“I get that. But from experience, I can tell you that they’re not all like Iggy.”
“Maybe. But I should have made sure, and I have to live with that. So maybe helping you guys free Alvie and this Agaren guy, maybe it will make it a little easier to look myself in the mirror.”
Chris watched her for a moment before nodding. “Okay, you and Greg will stay on the first floor. Get Greg to the communications room. Do not go further.”
“Got it. But why are we bringing the professor along?’
“We need some computer work and it’s either him or a twelve-year-old. So Schorn it is.”
She glanced over to where Greg sat on the couch, nervously drinking a Gatorade. “Does he have any training?”
“The best MIT could offer,” Chris said dryly.
“You sure we wouldn’t be better off with the twelve-year-old?”
“Greg will surprise you. He will be scared out of his mind and will probably either wet his pants or throw up, probably both, but he will still get it done. You can count on him.”
“Okay.”
“Ten minutes.”
“Got it.”
Iggy wandered into the living room behind the triplets, looking around anxiously. Then he caught sight of Norah and made a beeline toward her. She grinned as he used the table leg to fling himself on the table. “You are some amazing little gymnast.”
Iggy pointed at the gun in the holster at Norah’s waist.
“Yeah. I need to talk to you about that. Come on.” She held out her arms and he leapt into them. She headed back outside, wanting a little more privacy than the farmhouse could offer for this conversation.
Iggy leaned his head on Norah’s shoulder with a sigh as she walked outside with him. She knew he liked playing with the triplets and Hope, but it was obvious he still liked her best. And Norah admitted she liked that. But it was also going to make this next conversation a little more difficult.
Norah rubbed Iggy’s back and he gave off a soft purr. She smiled at the sound. He almost sounded like a cat. She took a seat on the log over by the fire pit, ignoring the bustle of people by the rocks and the engines idling in the background.
Instead she sat there with Iggy snuggled up in her lap for a few moments, just letting herself enjoy the moment.
She looked up as the rest of Tilda’s people started heading for the SUVs. She watched them for a moment. A secret space program. She’d like to have been surprised, but after everything she’d seen these last few months, surprise was not really in her bag of tricks. But she did worry about what this secret space program’s end goals were. And what they meant for Iggy.
She could tell Maeve had the same fears for Alvie and the triplets. But for both of them, there were simply no other options. They were going to have to trust Tilda and her people.
Maeve stepped off the porch. Chris followed her with the triplets all balanced along his shoulders. Hope trotted along after them. They’re a family, Norah realized as Chris held Maeve’s hand and they headed toward the van. They looked good together, natural. Greg stepped out behind them and looked around before his gaze fell on Norah. She nodded to indicate she’d be right there.
Adam stepped out from the woods and walked over to Tilda. They conferred for a moment, Adam squeezing her arm gently before heading to the driver’s seat of the nearest SUV. Norah frowned. He was the one part of this whole equation she didn’t understand. He kept himself apart from everyone except Tilda. It was obvious they were close. But Norah had a feeling that relationship was not what everyone assumed.
Norah watched them all head for the SUV. She was officially out of time. She leaned back a little and Iggy looked up at her. “Ig?”
She forced a smile to her face and an upbeat tone into her voice. “Hey. So I’m going to have to go away for a little bit to help out a friend. I’m going to need you to stay with Nadine and the triplets.”
He frowned. “Ig?”
“I need you to keep an eye on the triplets and Penny. Keep them safe, okay?”
“Ig?”
Norah sighed. This was stupid. He didn’t understand what she was saying. She hugged him tight. “Be good, okay?”
He snuggled into her. “Ig.”
Norah let out a breath, her chest feeling tight. “Yup. Ig.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
Saying goodbye to the triplets nearly killed Maeve. Chris had suggested she stay behind. But it was Alvie. How could she not go? Besides, if there was any sort of medical situation with either Alvie or Agaren, Maeve was the person best equipped to handle it.
But leaving the triplets, that was not something Maeve took lightly. Tilda had assured Maeve that the triplets would be protected if something happened to her and Chris, that she had people in place to whisk them away. But that, if anything, scared Maeve even more. She was essentially handing her children over to strangers. She’d given Nadine a letter to give to John Forrester. He was still the commander of Wright-Pat, although she knew he’d been offered a position in Washington D.C. She knew John would look out for them. She hated dragging him into this, but if the worst happened, she needed to know they would be all right.
Now she stood outside the van Tilda had arranged. The back was chock-full of computer equipment, most of which Maeve did not recognize. But Penny had practically squealed when she’d seen it. She was inside now, making sure everything was ready. One of Tilda’s men would stay with the van and keep everyone far from the action and get them out of there if necessary.
Maeve knelt down and the triplets swamped her, pressing into her. Maeve bit her lip, trying to keep back her tears. But even without the physical proof, the triplets knew how she was feeling. Snap looked up into Maeve’s face and placed her small hand on Maeve’s cheek. A feeling of love wafted over her. Maeve smiled, even though she wanted to cry. “I love you, too.” She looked at Crackle and Pop. “All of you. Now take care of one another. And listen to Nadine, okay?”
They all nodded back at her. Nadine stepped up. “Okay, guys, let’s get in the van.”
The triplets looked at Maeve, and she knew they didn’t want to go. She kissed each of them on the forehead. “It will be okay. Go on now.”
One by one they leaned up to her, pressing their forehead against hers. And Maeve struggled even harder to keep the tears back. She stood wiping at her eyes as Crackle disappeared into the back of the van. Norah walked over and placed Iggy inside before hurrying away, a shine in her eyes.
Guess I’m not the only one.
Nadine closed the doors and then walked over to Maeve. “I’ll take care of them.”
“I know. Thank you.”
Nadine headed to the passenger seat. The van started up and then pulled down the drive, filled with one special-ops soldier, one alien, three alien-human hybrids, one child genius, and one lawyer mom.
Greg walked up and put an arm around her shoulder. “They’ll be okay.”
Maeve nodded numbly. Her watch beeped and she looked down at it, even though she knew what it meant. A chill crawled over her.
It’s started.
“Yeah, it’s just us we need to worry about.”
Greg groaned. “I can’t believe you said that out loud. That should be an inner thought. You should be telling me we’re going to be fine. That Martin’s people don’t stand a chance.”
Maeve turned to face him. “We’re going to be fine. Martin’s people don’t stand a chance.”
He nodded. “See? That’s what I’m talking about. Bald-faced lying, that’s all I’m looking for.”
CHAPTER EIGHTY
&
nbsp; Martin sat in his office. It had been a satisfying afternoon of testing. The Gray had managed to protect Subject One, even when out of eyesight. In fact, it wasn’t until he was three levels away that his protection failed.
Of course, he could have simply been exhausted. So they had halted the testing, or at least that portion of the test. They continued the pain reception tests on Subject One. He was more sensitive than most of the other creatures. That would need to be addressed in future iterations of the subject. Once both subjects had rested, they would commence the testing again tomorrow.
The implications of Orion1’s ability were staggering. If they could send soldiers into battle where the soldiers did not feel pain but their controller did, it could change everything. I know quite a few governments who will be very happy to hear about this development.
“Sir!” Hamish banged into the room, nearly tripping over his feet in his rush.
Martin glared. “You knock first.”
“I know, sir, I—” Hamish stopped talking, walked back to the door, and knocked.
Martin shook his head. For a genius, the man was an absolute idiot. “What is it, Hamish?”
“I figured out where Guardian is heading.”
Martin straightened. “Really?”
Hamish nodded and held a flash drive up. “Can I link this to your monitor?”
“By all means.”
Hamish sat across from Martin and started fiddling with the keyboard as Martin stared at the screen. A map of the southwestern United States came on screen with thousands of blue dots. He frowned. “What am I looking at?”
“These are all the stationary cameras in this part of the United States—street cameras, bank cameras, private, everything. I was able to figure out which ones Guardian has been shutting down.” He hit a button and about half of the cameras disappeared, but the dots still covered most of the map with no obvious pattern.
Martin waved his hand at the map. “This tells me nothing.”
“I cross referenced to see how long the cameras were shut down for. Most of them were shut down for a specific amount of time—twenty-three seconds. But some of the others were down for longer.”
“Meaning there was something on the screen that they needed to make sure was off the screen before they brought the camera back online.” More of the dots disappeared. Martin frowned, the group’s destination clear. I should have known.
“They’re heading here,” Hamish said.
Martin grabbed the desk phone and dialed the front gate. He started to punch in the number before he realized he hadn’t heard a dial tone when he picked up. He pressed down the hook and then listened. Nothing. He slammed down the phone and pulled out his cell. ‘No signal’ flashed across his screen.
“They’re not heading here,” Martin said softly. “They’re already here.”
“What?” Hamish grabbed his tablet, his fingers flying across it. “There’ve been no alarms. They’re not on any of the screens.”
“I’m guessing Guardian has something to do with that.”
Hamish paled. “Wh-what should we do?” Before Martin could respond, an alarm rang out, followed immediately by an automated announcement over the PA system.
“Attention! Attention! A biological contaminant has been detected. All personnel must evacuate immediately. I repeat, a biological contaminant has been …” The message continued to repeat and the red emergency lights flashed on and off.
Martin grabbed Hamish by the shoulder, pushing him toward the desk. “Shut the warning off.”
“But the contaminant—”
“There is no contaminant. It’s them. They’re in our system. Get them out of it.”
Hamish quickly moved to Martin’s computer, his eyes focused, his hands flying across Martin’s keyboard.
Martin walked over to the window that overlooked the lab. The lab assistants were hastily backing up their data. Some were already running for the door.
Martin turned at Hamish’s voice. “I can’t do it from here. I need my equipment.”
“Then go, and contact security. Make sure they are aware of the breach and have them send a detail to me.”
“Yes. Yes, sir.” Hamish scrambled out of the room.
Martin walked back to his desk and leaned down to the bottom drawer. Opening it, he pulled out his Sig Sauer. After checking to make sure the magazine was full, he tucked it into the back of his pants. Then he walked across the room and pulled on the painting of The Miracle of the Snow that hung there. The painting had been rendered in the fifteenth century and depicted a day when it snowed in Rome in August. But more surprising than the weather, Jesus and Mary are depicted looking down upon Rome, a legion of UFOs trailing behind them.
UFOs had appeared in many works of art over the centuries, but most had turned a blind eye to their appearance. For centuries, we ignored them. And one day soon, we will be forced to pay for that willful blindness.
The painting swung open, revealing a safe behind it. Martin punched his code into the keypad. The light above the keypad turned from red to green and the door popped open a few inches. Martin pulled it the rest of the way. He pushed past the emergency cash and reached for a small metal box. He pulled it out, along with a headset, and placed them both in his pocket before closing the safe door.
It was smart emptying the facility, leaving only a skeleton crew. And taking out communications was even smarter. By the time Hamish got back to the communication level, most of the facility would have evacuated.
It was a stroke of luck for them that Hamish had been with Martin. Of course, if he hadn’t been, he’d be heading for the door along with everyone else.
Hamish would alert the security, but Martin had another security protocol in place that he knew would prove even more effective. He smiled. He’d never had to chance to try this particular weapon out in the field before.
No time like the present.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
The alarm had been sounded inside the base. Maeve took a deep breath. The first team was set up five hundred yards outside the entrance of the facility and had managed to go undetected. Penny was keeping an eye on the communications and her camera work had raised no flags.
Maeve sat in the back of the truck between Norah and Greg. Chris was by the door and another six people were with them. As soon as the facility was clear, they would speed toward the entrance and it would begin.
They all had earpieces and mics, although each team’s were routed to only certain members. Tilda was staying outside the facility and running point. All communications would go to her and she’d send out what info was needed by each group leader. Everyone speaking to everyone else would only lead to confusion.
Chris was listening intently to his piece. He put up a hand and everyone turned to him. “The first of the vehicles are leaving the base. Two minutes.”
Everyone tensed, listening for any indication that their position had been discovered. Heavy trucks could be heard in the distance but all kept going.
Greg’s leg tapped nonstop next to her, his head whipping from side to side as he looked out the windows on each side of the truck. “So, this is good. So far not a single casualty. We’re doing great.”
Maeve just patted his thigh. Greg’s leg seemed to bounce even faster in response. “I mean, hey, we’ve got a twelve-year-old genius watching over us. No problems there, right?”
Maeve leaned over. “Greg, you need to calm down. It’s not too late if you want to stay back.”
His head whipped over to her. “What? No, I’m good. Just excited to get started.”
“Well, you’re about to get your wish,” Chris said. “The first trucks have left the entrance. Five minutes is their evac time and then we go in.”
“Okay, good,” Greg said, nodding continuously.
Maeve took his hand and squeezed it. “We got this.”
“Yup, yup, we do,” Greg said, swallowing hard.
“Okay, folks, showtime,” Chris sai
d as the truck headed out from their hiding spot and toward the cave entrance.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO
By the time Martin reached the lab, the personnel had already been evacuated. The emergency announcement had cut off a few minutes ago, which told Martin that Hamish had made it to his control room, although the red emergency lights continued to flash.
And although the personnel had evacuated the lab, it was not completely empty. The experiments in the cages along the wall became agitated as Martin stepped into the room. But then they quieted, moving to the back of their cages.
One stayed in the same position, though, curled up in the corner of his cage—Subject One. Martin glared at it as he hurried past. All this trouble caused by one stupid lab experiment. They never should have allowed Alice Leander to treat the thing like a child. If they’d treated it like a research subject, he would not have to deal with people breaking into his facility to rescue the damn thing.
As he walked across the deserted labs, he could feel the creatures’ eyes on him. He could feel their hate. Not that it mattered. They were never getting out of those cages. Unlike at 51, none of these cages were linked to any computer. They had to be opened the old-fashioned way.
Orion1 moved to the bars to watch Martin’s progress. He’d been placed as far away from Subject One as possible. Martin did not want the Gray to be able to offer Subject One any comfort. It was a petty move, but after the Gray’s attack, he was feeling more than a little petty. Martin felt the Gray’s gaze on him and the telltale flutter against his brain.
They’re coming for him. The words wafted through Martin’s mind and he turned slowly to Orion1. The Gray had never used words before. Of course, Martin had never allowed him to get beyond the initial probing of his mind’s defenses before he shocked it into submission.
