“Hold it open for a moment,” he said, letting Darshana take the door.
He stepped inside the hallway and searched the walls until he spotted the light switch. The fluorescent tubes flickered for a moment before staying on.
“Come on,” Arjun said. “I am not doing this alone.”
All they found were rooms that had been abandoned in a hurry. As they stepped outside again, they each sucked in deep breaths, cleansing their lungs of the imaginary bad air they’d been breathing.
Their next destination was the administration building. It was at least four times as large as the barracks, and according to Sanjay, had a living area on the second floor where the bosses of Pishon Chem had resided. As they neared the building, Arjun examined the walls and saw this building had not been sprayed, either. When Project Eden pulled out, they had apparently been too busy to worry about dousing the facility. Either that or, in the chaos of leaving, the thought hadn’t occurred to the people in charge.
Arjun opened the door and saw the hallway lights were still on. He exchanged a look with Darshana and knew she was wondering the same thing. Was someone still there?
“We have to go inside,” he said.
“I know,” she replied.
Neither of them moved.
After a few seconds, Arjun said, “If you would like to check alone, you are more than welcome.”
She snorted a laugh, and the tension dropped a few notches.
“Let’s get this over with,” he said.
Together, they stepped across the threshold.
Sanjay had told them the ground floor was mostly offices and meeting rooms and storage closets. It was also the floor where Sanjay had found the flu vaccine. That was one of the things Arjun and Darshana were supposed to be on the lookout for. Sanjay hadn’t thought any would be left behind, but it was best to check.
Their main mission, though, was a little less defined.
“Look for anything that might be of interest,” Sanjay had told them over the sat phone after they reported the base was being evacuated.
“Like what?” Darshana had asked.
“If I knew, I would tell you. Information, equipment we can use here, medical supplies. Look around, see what you can see.”
Arjun and Darshana made a quick trip through the first and second floors and determined both were unoccupied.
When they discovered a set of stairs leading down to a basement, Darshana said, “I am not going down there.”
“Neither am I.”
They closed the door and moved a heavy desk in front of it in case someone was down below.
As they began a more meticulous search, it soon became apparent that what equipment Project Eden hadn’t taken with it had been destroyed. Monitors and telephones and security cameras and computers had been smashed throughout the facility. As for the medical supply room, the only things left there were empty shelves and trash on the ground.
Arjun was beginning to think the only thing he and Darshana would be leaving with was the knowledge Project Eden was indeed gone, but then they found the narrow staircase in the small room on the second floor, leading up to an unexpected third level. The stairs were not quite vertical but close enough that holding on to the railing was a necessity. At the top was a trapdoor. Darshana, having taken the lead, pushed it up a few inches so she could peek through the opening.
“No one,” she said, then shoved it the rest of the way open and climbed out.
Arjun poked his head through a moment later and looked around. At first glance, it appeared to be a single, doorless room, with a chest-high counter running along two walls, and metal racks along the others. Most surprising was that the equipment Arjun could see was still intact.
As soon as he climbed the rest of the way out, Darshana shut the trapdoor to give them more floor space.
“They did not destroy anything,” Arjun said.
“I know,” she said, as shocked as he was. “But why not?”
Arjun shrugged and turned in a circle, taking in the whole space.
The racks were full of different types of equipment, none of which he could identify. He was an accountant before all this happened, and while he could make his way around a computer, he was not an IT guy. On the counter were a couple of blank monitors, a keyboard, and a headset. Out of curiosity, he walked over and rubbed his finger across the touch pad. Both monitors popped to life, a box in the middle of one requesting a password.
The computers were still on.
Arjun pushed the chair to the side so he could get a better look. There was a thud on the floor as one of the legs hit something. He glanced down and saw a half-empty bottle of whiskey on its side, rolling back and forth. He picked it up so they wouldn’t step on it, and set it on the counter.
“Do you know a way around the password?” Darshana asked.
“No. Do you?”
She shook her head.
They left the computer alone and carefully examined the rest of the room. There weren’t any windows but there was a door on the back wall. Arjun opened it and took a look outside. It was the roof of the main building, with nothing more interesting that a few vents and a decrepit piece of old machinery.
“What are these for?” Darshana asked.
She was pointing at a group of cables just inside the doorway. While most other wires were on the floor, these ran up the wall and disappeared through the ceiling.
Curious, both Arjun and Darshana stepped outside. They had to move several feet away before they could see what was on top of the room. Two satellite dishes and a heavy-duty-looking antenna. They had seen the equipment from their observation post a few blocks away, but Arjun had paid them no attention at the time.
“This is a communications room,” Darshana whispered.
They stared at the dishes as the reality of what they’d found settled in.
“We need to go back for the satellite phone,” he said. “Sanjay needs to know about this.”
9
WARD MOUNTAIN NORTH, NEVADA
12:42 AM PST
“DAD, WAKE UP.”
Ash’s eyes flew open, his hand already searching for the gun he kept by his side when he was out in the field. But he wasn’t out in the field. And his gun was in the cabinet across the room. He was at Ward Mountain.
“I’m sorry,” Josie said, keeping her voice low. She hovered over him, dressed in a pair of sweats with her hair in a ponytail. “Crystal says she needs to talk to you.”
“What time is it?”
“About twenty ’til one.”
Great. Two hours of sleep. Good sleep, too, some of the best he’d had since before he’d been hurt.
He pulled back his covers and slowly swung his legs off the bed. The pain of his injuries was becoming more manageable, but was still a long way from disappearing.
“My shirt,” he said, nodding toward the chair.
Josie tossed him the T-shirt and he slipped it on. Before he could push himself to his feet, she was already handing him his pants, her head turned away so she wasn’t looking at him.
“Uh, thanks,” he said, and pulled them on.
The living space he’d been assigned with his kids consisted of two small studio apartments linked by a door. The bathrooms were located at the front of each room, creating a small hallway that kept the main door separated from the living space.
Crystal was waiting in the public corridor when he stepped outside.
“You’re up late,” he said.
“We’re a little short-handed,” she replied, looking tired.
Ash tried to pull the door closed behind him, but Josie had moved in the way.
“Why don’t you go back to sleep, honey?” he told her.
“I’m okay,” she said.
Realizing he wouldn’t be able to get rid of her, he looked back at Crystal. “What’s going on? Did Pax call in?”
“He did a couple hours ago, but didn’t have time to talk.”
“Ever
ything all right?”
She hesitated. “He ran into a bit of a problem, but sounds like it’s all okay now. Not why I woke you up, though.”
“Okay. Why?”
“It’s our new contact in India. Sanjay?”
Ash had been briefed about the group outside Mumbai, so he nodded.
“We’ve got him on the line, but I think someone a little higher up should talk to him.”
“Okay, sure. Want to tell me what’s up?”
“Better if you hear from him.”
He glanced at his daughter. “I’ll be back in a while. Go on ba—”
“I’m coming with you,” Josie said, stepping out of the room and pulling the door closed.
He could have argued with her but saw no reason to, so the two of them followed Crystal back to the communications room, where she motioned for Ash to take the seat at her station.
She put on her headset and, after a quick tap on her keyboard, said, “I’m back. Thanks for waiting…Yeah, just a second.”
Ash donned the auxiliary headset.
“What about me?” Josie asked.
Crystal looked over at the girl in the station next to hers. “Hannah, borrow your extra headset?”
After the headphones were secured and plugged into Crystal’s computer, she handed them to Josie.
“Sanjay?” Crystal said. “I’d like to introduce you to Captain Ash. He’s one of the main people here and works closely with Rachel.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Sanjay.”
“Are you in the military?”
“Not anymore. As far as I know, there is no military.”
Crystal looked at Ash, and, with her mic on, said, “Sanjay’s people have found something they thought we might be able to help them with.”
“Okay,” Ash said. “What is it?”
“Sanjay?” Crystal prompted when Sanjay didn’t jump in.
“Are you sure you are not military?” Sanjay asked.
Something was clearly bothering Sanjay, but Ash didn’t know what it was, so he decided to give the most honest answer he could. “I was military. I would still be military if not for the Sage Flu. But I’m not anymore. I’m just trying to do my part to keep things from getting worse.” When there was no immediate response, Ash said, “Maybe you can tell me what your concern is.”
“The only military people we’ve seen have been the ones who claim to be with the UN.”
“There is no UN, and I have never been with the people who made that claim.”
Another pause. “Of course,” Sanjay said. “I was only caught off guard. I apologize.”
“Don’t. It’s understandable,” Ash said. “Why don’t you tell me what you found?”
“Do you know about the survival station here?” Sanjay asked.
“He’s not aware of the most recent update,” Crystal interjected. She looked at Ash. “The Mumbai station was abandoned earlier today.”
“Everyone’s gone?”
“That is correct,” Sanjay said. “After the last of these Project Eden people left, two of my friends went into the compound to have a look around. Most of the place has been destroyed, but there is one room that has escaped harm. We think it is a communications room.”
Ash’s mind was still not completely awake, so it took a few extra seconds for him to process what Sanjay had said.
“Is that right?” he asked looking at Crystal.
As she nodded, Sanjay said, “As far as we can tell, yes.”
A communications room. In a Project Eden facility.
“And you’re staying it’s still operational?” Ash asked.
“I am saying the equipment is still there, undamaged as far as we can tell, and there is power, so it seems to us that everything should still function correctly. We thought it might be helpful to see how Project Eden personnel communicate with each other.”
There was no might about it, Ash thought.
“Our problem is,” Sanjay went on, “we do not know how to make it work.”
“We can absolutely help with that.”
“I have been told this, but also told that such a thing would need to be approved first.”
“Consider it approved.” Ash locked eyes with Crystal. “Do whatever you need to do to make this happen right away.”
“Of course,” she said. “Sanjay, I’ll need to get a few things organized here. Can I call you back? Fifteen minutes at the most?”
“I will be here.”
As soon as Crystal disconnected the call, Ash said, “Pull whatever resources you need. Make this a priority.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ash headed for the door, and then stopped. “If they are able to get things working, wake me up again.” He paused and looked over at his daughter. “As long as that’s all right with you.”
Josie gave it a moment’s consideration before nodding. “But right now you go back to sleep, okay?”
__________
CALEB MATTHEWS STOOD on the street corner in a constant state of anticipation. Every few seconds, he would lift his foot and start to step out, but without fail the black car would screech around the intersection and zip along the edge of the road, forcing him to jump back again.
He only wanted to get across. Why? He didn’t know. But the other corner was where he was supposed to be. Again he lifted his foot. Again he inched it toward the street. And again the black car appeared.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” he yelled as he pulled away from the curb.
“Caleb.”
After the car passed by, he restarted the cycle.
“Caleb.”
He lifted his foot. He inched it forward.
“Caleb, get up!”
His eyes flew open as his whole body jerked away from the hand that had been shaking his shoulder. “What? What?” he said, blinking.
Crystal was kneeling next to his bed. “I need you down in communications.”
He looked around, half expecting to see the black car heading toward him. As the real world began to embrace him again, he rubbed his eyes and scratched his beard. “Um, what’s wrong?”
“I’ve got a project for you.”
“Now?”
With a smirk, she said, “No, I just woke you up for fun.”
“Wouldn’t put it past you.” He started to pull his covers off, but stopped.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked. “We need to go.”
“I, um, sleep naked.”
“Dear God,” she said, standing up and backing toward the door. “I’ll meet you down in communications.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“You’ve got five.”
__________
CALEB WALKED INTO communications wearing his favorite Firefly T-shirt and a pair of jeans that probably should have been in the wash. He hadn’t bothered doing anything about his hair so it was still in the same messy state it had achieved while he was sleeping. He had, however, taken a moment to stop by the cafeteria to pick up a cup of coffee and a couple of leftover rolls from the previous night’s dinner.
“All right, ladies. No need to worry anymore. I’m here.” There were groans from all three of the women manning the stations. “So what earth-shattering disaster do you need me to save us from now?”
“Just sit,” Crystal said, pointing at a chair next to hers.
He plopped down and took a bite of one of the buns. It was going stale, but his taste buds weren’t really awake yet, so it didn’t matter.
“Want some?” he asked, holding out the bun to Crystal.
“No, thanks.”
He shrugged and shoved the rest of the bun into his mouth. As soon as he’d swallowed enough of it so he could talk, he said, “So what’s the deal?”
Crystal grinned. “I think you’re going to like it.”
“I doubt it,” he said, trying to look skeptical.
“What would you say if I told you we’ve gained access to an undamaged Project Eden communica
tions hub?”
He leaned back. “Is this a joke?”
Instead of answering, she said, “And what if I told you we don’t know how to get it working?”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “I would say that’s because you hadn’t talked to me yet. Now please tell me you’re not pulling my leg.”
“I’m not pulling your leg.”
Adrenaline began jolting through his system. “Where is it? When do we go?”
“That’s the tricky part. You’re going to have to deal with it from here.”
“What do you mean?” he said, his growing excitement turning to confusion.
“It’s in India.”
“India. The country India?”
“Uh-huh. In Mumbai.”
“How the hell did we get access to a communications hub in Mumbai?”
She reached for the two sets of headphones on her desk. “There’s someone I’d like you to talk with.”
10
LIMÓN, COSTA RICA
5:55 AM CST
ROBERT OPENED HIS eyes to a sun barely peeking over the horizon.
As he sat up, he was greeted with the aches and pains from sleeping on a too-thin cushion covering a too-hard wooden bench. He took a few moments to stretch and then rose to his feet.
Pax was still asleep, breathing long and deep. One of the man’s arms had fallen off the bench, and his hand now rested on the deck. Robert would be surprised if Pax didn’t have a knot in his shoulder when he woke up.
As he stepped into the central aisle, he suddenly remembered Kat had been sleeping up there with them. Apparently she had decided not to slit their throats; that was good. Robert walked down the aisle to check on her, but stopped short when he caught sight of the bench where she’d slept. It was empty.
He hurried back to the front of the boat, not worried so much that the others might have broken out, but more that if they had, they’d taken Robert’s and Pax’s things with them. The rope holding the stairway door closed was still in place, however, so it appeared Kat had left on her own.
Wanting to get as early a start as possible, Robert hopped off the boat and jogged over to the fuel truck. The tank was less than half full now, but he was confident it would be more than enough to get them to Isabella. The dock was too small for the truck to drive onto it, so he had to pull the hose out to the ferry. By the time the last bit of fuel flowed out of the truck’s tank, Pax had begun to stir. Robert pulled the hose back on shore and wrapped it in its holder.
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