by E. E. Borton
Twenty minutes later, Alex contacted Colonel Brown to inform him that he had Kristina’s location. Red Team mobilized from the hotel and set up positions around the house as Alex waited for Ryan to leave. They noticed one unidentified sentry in the backyard and another in a van parked by the curb. He estimated there would be at least two more inside.
Ryan was in the house for thirty minutes before reappearing on the front porch. He drove away, leaving the perimeter protected by only two of Steve’s men. Red Team had four men ready to assault the house from the back as Alex and three others were poised to take the sentry in the van. All had orders that nobody inside was to be left alive. Alex would take out Dr. Anderson himself.
A few moments before Alex gave the order to advance, Steve’s men made it easier for the assault team. Both the front and back sentries abandoned their posts and entered the house. They would have had a slightly better chance of survival if they had skipped dinner and stayed outside. Their absence allowed Alex’s assault team to creep up to the doors undetected and seal everyone’s fate inside.
Alex keyed his radio three times, signaling both teams to breach the doors. It was unnecessary to use the battering rams to knock them off the hinges. Steve’s men didn’t lock them when they entered. Nearly every light was on as they silently crept into the house. When the two teams met in the middle after quickly clearing several rooms downstairs, they were engulfed in darkness as the power was cut off from the street.
At the same time, a radio jamming device was activated, rendering their communication equipment useless. Red team bolted for the back door when they realized they’d been set up, but they were met by a blinding floodlight and several orders to freeze. The first man out raised his weapon. He was cut down by automatic fire before he could squeeze the trigger. Each muzzle outside was suppressed with a silencer. The only sound heard were the metal clicks of the firing mechanisms.
Deciding where to set up the decoy house was as important as its function. It was adequately isolated from any potential collateral damage to bystanders or witnesses. The second man out took two rounds to the chest before he could react. The remaining weapons from Red Team quickly hit the ground as all hands went up in the air.
During the chaotic few seconds of discovering it was a trap, Alex separated himself from the sitting ducks. In the blink of an eye, he jettisoned himself through the large living room window and accelerated to nearly forty miles an hour. He disappeared through the neighbor’s backyard before the agents or Steve’s men could put their gun sights on him.
Dallas was the first to approach the surrounded and stunned Red Team. He was also the first to spot the vehicle following Ryan when he had left an hour earlier. Whenever someone went to check on Kristina, another agent followed them as if they were the bad guys. When Ryan was alerted to the tail, he drove to the decoy house they had set up prior to Kristina’s arrival. The two guards posted outside entered the house and donned their night vision goggles as they set up in their ambush positions upstairs. Tom and Michelle directed the eight-man strike team Steve stationed less than a mile from the FBI house. The hunters were being hunted as soon as they arrived at the decoy. Dallas was pleased to see the two men he and Ryan disabled in Baltimore.
“Hi, guys,” greeted Dallas. “Fancy running into you again. No old ladies or pretty scientist here to beat up. Just us stupid feds. Man, that’s gotta piss you off,” he said as Ryan entered the house.
Without saying a word, Ryan walked up to Paul of the Colonel’s Red Team who had chased Kristina down an alley less than two weeks earlier. He stared at him for a brief moment and then knocked him off his feet. He hit him square in his semi-healed nose. He leaned over the man writhing in pain.
“You rub a puppy’s nose in its own shit a few times and it’ll stop crapping on the carpet. How many times am I going to have to break yours before you stop crapping on mine?”
“Respectfully request permission to re-injure my guy, Boss,” said Dallas.
“Granted,” responded Ryan without turning around and still hovering over Paul.
Dallas’s man left his feet as quickly as Ryan’s, but he didn’t wiggle when he hit the floor. He was out cold. Ryan grabbed Paul by the collar and dragged him into an adjacent room and threw him into a chair. He told Dallas to drag his in as well. The other members of Red Team were being disarmed by Steve’s team while being held at gunpoint in the living room. In Ryan’s mind, the situation had changed. He wouldn’t be leaving them behind in a dumpster. He was taking them completely out of the game.
“I was pissed in Baltimore, asshole. Imagine what I’m feeling right now,” said Ryan.
“I could give a shit about—” Before he could finish his sentence, Ryan pulled his gun and jammed it hard into Paul’s mouth, breaking his front teeth. He pulled it out and rested it between Paul’s eyes as parts of his teeth mixed with blood spilled down the front of his shirt.
“I’m assuming that was Alex that did a Batman out of the window?” asked Ryan. “Think about the pain in your face before you give me a smartass answer.”
“Yes,” mumbled Paul.
“Is he as strong as the others?”
“Yes.”
“You obviously came here for Dr. Anderson,” continued Ryan. “Did Colonel Brown send you? What were you going to do with her?”
“Yes, he sent us,” answered Paul. “He also sent us to Baltimore to pick her up. I don’t know what he was going to do –” Ryan cut him off by grabbing his throat.
“I swear to God I don’t know,” gurgled Paul. “We were supposed take out the guards, and Alex told us he was going to take Dr. Anderson. Yes, I think they were going to kill her.”
Ryan released his grip. “How did Colonel Brown know I had her?”
“We got a hold of a videotape showing you in the alley. As soon as he saw it was you, he sent us down here.”
“How many?”
“Everyone you have here plus Alex. But the Colonel has close to twenty other guys he can send.”
“Are they all as good as you?” There was no answer. “Is Alex the one that shot Peter Arrington and made Richard Elliot look like a suicide?”
“I know he shot Arrington because I was there. I don’t know about Elliot, but I’m pretty sure he was in New Orleans at the time.”
“Why does the Colonel want to kill them? Isn’t he the one who created them?”
“No, I don’t think he did,” said Paul. “Or at least he acted like he had no idea when they started changing. He seemed just as surprised as we were. I remember him yelling at the other lab geeks, telling them to reverse the effects. They were scared shitless, but they told him it wasn’t that easy and that the mutations may be permanent. He didn’t want to kill the Marines at first, but I guess he changed his mind. That’s when the Colonel ordered us to lock down the entire lab. All four busted out a few weeks later. We’ve been chasing them down ever since. That’s everything I know, I swear to God!”
“Agent Pearson, can you take this call from our boss?” asked one of Steve’s men, handing him a cell phone.
“Absolutely.”
“Ryan, you okay, buddy?”
“Not a scratch, but I can’t say the same for a couple of the goons. One’s dead, one’s close, and I may add a few more to the list before I’m done,” said Ryan, glaring at Paul. “But all your men are fine. They were fantastic, Steve. Real professionals.”
“I appreciate that. I also have a few that are experienced at making things disappear. They’ll start with that body. We’ll take the injured man to the physician on our payroll. We have a triage center as good as any E.R. that doesn’t report gunshot wounds to the cops. Once they’re patched up, I have a special place where we can keep them on ice until you decide what to do with them.”
“Thank you, again. My tab with you is getting bigger every day.”
“When you come back to visit after we’re through with this little project, bring me a bottle of Jameson Reserve and we�
�ll call it even.”
“Your taste has changed slightly since your home brew days.”
“Take care of yourself, Ryan. I’m here if you need me.”
“Will do,” replied Ryan, ending the call and turning his attention back to Paul.
He knelt down beside the chair and stared at him for a few moments. Whenever Ryan wanted someone to remember his words, he’d lean in close and spoke in a whisper.
“You’re done. If you survive where I’m sending you, take your guys and find different jobs. You suck at this one, but you did manage to start getting on my nerves. If you and I cross paths one more time, I’m not going break your face again; I’m going to put one in your ear. Do you believe me?”
“I do,” said Paul. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m a dead man either way. The Colonel won’t let anyone jeopardize his pet project. He’s already tying up loose ends, which now includes me. You, your team, and Dr. Anderson are on that list, too. ”
“Did you hear that, Dallas? We made the list.”
“Yippee. If the Colonel keeps sending bozos like these to scratch off names, I don’t think I’ll be losing any sleep.”
“That’s funny,” said Paul. “But you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Alex up close and personal. That freak of nature will change your mind pretty quick, tough guy.”
“He’s a bit of a freak of nature himself,” said Ryan. “If Alex has a heartbeat, Dallas will find a way to make it stop.”
“Thanks, Boss. I think. Are we through with these guys?” asked Dallas.
“Yeah,” said Ryan. “Send Tom with Steve’s team and make sure they don’t run into any problems moving these guys. You, Michelle, and I need to make a stop before we head back to the house.”
Tom and Steve’s men cleaned up the scene and loaded Red Team into vans for transport. Ryan drove away from the decoy house, followed by Dallas and Michelle. They didn’t have a second decoy set up, so Ryan needed to make sure he didn’t pick up another tail. The team arrived unchallenged at Kristina’s safe house after a few trips circling the block. They were met at the end of the walkway by the leader of Kristina’s security detail, Patrick Webber.
“Agent Pearson,” greeted Patrick. “Glad to hear everything went well. Dr. Anderson doesn’t know what happened. I’ll give you one guess where she is and what she’s doing.”
“In her room reading?” said Ryan.
“We have a winner. Are we going to be moving her tonight?”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary. We believe we wrangled all but one of the bad guys, but I doubt he’ll try to take her alone. I think we’re good for tonight, but be ready to move at any time.”
“Understood, sir. Agent Dobbs, good to see you again,” said Patrick, ignoring Dallas as Ryan walked inside. “I’m sorry I don’t have any lemonade to offer. I sold out at my stand on the corner.”
“Told you,” replied Michelle with a handshake lasting long enough to get Dallas’s attention. “I get half the profits for finding the location.”
“Seventy-thirty since I did all the sweating.”
“Okay, I’ll take the seventy,” replied Michelle, with a smile.
“Ehem,” coughed Dallas, clearing his throat.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Michelle. “This is my driver, Dallas.”
“Lucky man,” said the young team leader. “My name is Patrick. Good to meet you,” he said, quickly turning his attention back to Michelle.
“Any problem with the thugs tonight?”
“No, they didn’t know what hit them,” said Michelle. “They were like deer caught in the headlights. One moron raised his weapon, but your guys let him know it was a very bad idea.”
“Yeah, most of us have extensive backgrounds in tactical assault—”
“I’m sorry, this is riveting stuff,” interrupted Dallas. “But we need to get inside.”
“Um, not really,” said Michelle. “But you go ahead.”
Dallas stood there for a moment like a dismissed child, staring at her with a half open mouth, but unable to put two words together. He had no idea what to say. Michelle and Patrick stared back, waiting for him to speak. He closed his mouth, turned to look at the parked car for no reason, and then walked purposefully into the house. Ryan had already made his way upstairs. Dallas took a seat at the kitchen table and watched Michelle and Patrick out of the corner of his eye.
“That was a little strange,” said Patrick. “Are you two –?”
“Baha!” exploded Michelle in an uncontrollable response. “Oh, dear Lord, no.”
“He seemed a little displaced,” continued Patrick. “Of course, I couldn’t blame him for being thrown off. You’re a very captivating woman.”
“Now I feel a little displaced after that line,” said Michelle. “Are you flirting with me Mr. Webber?”
“Would that be a bad idea?”
“Probably.”
“Then, no, I’m not. Would asking you out for drinks be considered flirting?”
“More like dangerous. You do know I carry a gun, right?”
“So do I, but I also have one in my holster,” he said, pushing his jacket aside.
“Ouch,” said Michelle with a grimace. “You almost had me at captivating, but blew it with the phallic pistol reference.” As she walked past him, she added, “Thank you for reminding me why I’m better off single.”
“Wait, I’m sorry. That’s not what I –” he stopped, knowing there was no recovery.
She entered the kitchen and noticed Dallas engrossed in a magazine. She walked over and turned it right side up. “What was that all about?” she asked.
“You were embarrassing yourself hitting on that kid. I was just trying to help you out.”
“I was hitting on him?”
“It was very obvious, Michelle.”
“So is your second-grade reading level, but you don’t see me trying to help you out, so you can stop trying to help me,” she said, turning around and heading upstairs to find the boss.
Ryan knocked on Kristina’s bedroom door. She opened it, expecting one of Steve’s men, but was surprised to see him standing in the hall. It surprised Ryan more when she took a step toward him and threw her arms around his neck. She squeezed him tight for a moment, but quickly released him and took a step back.
“I…shouldn’t have done that,” exhaled Kristina. “I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about, Kristina. It’s good to see you, too. But something happened tonight you need to know about.”
“Should I sit down?”
“Please,” replied Ryan, as they both took a seat. “We have a security measure where we set up a decoy house if someone tries to follow us here. And tonight I was followed. Eight men from the lab including Alex Tifton were planning on taking you. But instead, they walked into our ambush. One of them was killed when he raised his weapon at my team. Unfortunately, Alex escaped.”
“Oh, my God,” whispered Kristina. “Were any of your people hurt?”
“No, they’re all fine. Michelle’s with me and she’ll be staying here tonight. I’ll decide tomorrow if we need to move you to a different location. I don’t think they’ll try again so soon, but I do think they will try again.”
“I just wish I knew what they want with me. I don’t know what happened to them. I don’t have any of the files, DNA samples or access to a lab to even begin to figure out what actually did go wrong.”
“What?”
“I said I don’t know what they want with me.”
“No, no,” said Ryan, standing. “You could figure out what went wrong if you had DNA samples?”
“Well, yes,” replied Kristina. “And a lab, but I’m not talking about a high school chemistry lab. I’d need access to equipment that’s pretty hard to find. I’d also need several recent DNA samples and at least one old one from their medical records for comparison.”
“I think you just found the reason why they want you,” said Ryan. “It’s not because
of what you know, but what you could figure out.
“That’s why Colonel Brown is trying to get rid of them, you, and anyone else that could possibly find out and shut down the Didache Project. He wants to bury everything, and he’s covering all his bases to do it. If he buries the four Marines, we’ll lose any chance of recovering their DNA. If he buries you and the other scientists involved, we’ll lose any chance of figuring out what happened to them. And if he buries everyone, he’ll be home free with no evidence to link him to the murders or any wrongdoing at the lab. And thanks to me and the federal government, he has the bodies and physical evidence of every woman they killed since this started. I’m pushing forward, doing exactly what he wants me to do, and he’s behind me erasing everything implicating him or the lab.”
“It doesn’t sound like it’s going to get any easier for you,” said Kristina sympathetically.
“No, it doesn’t. But at least now I’ll be able to throw a bigger monkey wrench into the Colonel’s plan.”
“How are you going to do that?” she asked.
“I don’t have the slightest idea.”
“Knock, knock,” said Michelle, entering the room. “Looks like we’re having a girl’s night,” she said to Kristina.
“Did you bring any wine coolers?” asked Kristina smiling.
“Michelle, can I talk to you in the hall for a moment?” asked Ryan, stepping out of the room.
“What’s up?” she asked as she joined him.
“I don’t want you to think I’m turning you into a babysitter, but I’d like for you to stick close to her tomorrow as well. You won’t be missing much. I plan on using the guys to interview Derek’s family and friends for the next few days.”
“No problem,” said Michelle. “She’s kind of growing on me, too.”
