by JT Sawyer
Zheng tried to breathe, but felt his ribs constricting. The confines of his office seemed to compress inward, as if it was threatening to extinguish his sanity. Tens of thousands…how is it possible that so few could have survived? Our entire country—my family, gone? We should have been recalled to prevent further loss at home, not sent away.
He shook his head slightly and rubbed the sides of his temples. “You’ll have to forgive me, General. My crew and I have been on radio silence for so long that we haven’t heard anything other than the initial reports we saw about the virus last week.”
“How long before you can be in range of the vessel?”
Zheng looked at the coordinates again and determined the approximate nautical mileage to the region. “Within four hours, sir.” He wondered what this was going to accomplish. Weren’t the Americans already devastated by the virus? What is destroying a few ships going to matter? Aren’t our abilities better served back in China, where we can render aid to our own people?
He heard a soft voice reverberate throughout his psyche, and he wondered if he was dreaming. Turning back to the video-screen, he saw the familiar face of his eight-year-old daughter, Vai. She stood next to the general, holding a stuffed Koala bear while tears streamed down her cheeks. “Daddy, is that you?”
He could barely catch his breath, his chest heaving. Zheng wanted to reach across the ocean and pull her into his arms. “Vai—my sweet child.”
“The general says you’ll be home soon, once you’re done saving China. Is that right? I miss you. Momma and the others—they…they…” She lowered her head and wept.
Zheng narrowed his eyes into slits while glancing over at Lau, who had pulled the child closer, giving her an obligatory pat on the shoulder. “Your father is a true patriot, my dear girl. He knows what is required of him.”
Zheng clutched the steel supports underneath his desk, wanting to bend them in half. He clenched his teeth, staring at Lau. He sends us away at a time when our nation needs us the most, to exact his own brand of justice while extorting me with my own flesh and blood?
Lau pushed the girl away, telling her to leave his office. “Are there any further clarifications you need on your orders, Captain?”
Zheng sat back in his seat, his spine rigid and his hands clutching the armrests. “No, General, I understand what is required.”
“Excellent. I’m sending you the coordinates for the remaining vessels and civilian targets. Once the first ship is sunk, commence with completing the rest of your mission, then await further orders.”
The video monitor went dark. Zheng stood up and thrust his fist into the metal cabinet above his desk. How did Lau come to wield such power over the country—and over the fate of my child? He thought of his beloved wife, whom he’d last seen six weeks earlier as they sat on their front porch, enjoying lunch together while their children played around them. It felt like the distance between his submarine and the Chinese mainland had just increased a thousand-fold. He realized there were few options available to him. If he followed orders and spared his daughter’s life, he and his crew would most likely meet their end at the hands of the U.S. Navy, whose numbers were superior in these waters. And if he refused to attack and turned back towards home, he’d be labeled a traitor and executed, while his daughter’s fate, along with the lives of any of his crew’s families, would rest in the hands of Lau.
He wiped his sweaty palms on the sleeves of his uniform. Zheng looked at the clock mounted on the wall and knew the sand, in both his hourglass and those on board the American vessels, had just begun its downward cascade.
A few minutes later, Zheng saw the video monitor alight with the face of his XO, who was in his own quarters. “Captain, I just received a private message from General Lau. I am committing a breach of regulations by informing you of its contents.”
“Go ahead.”
“I am instructed to wait until dawn to permit you to carry out your mission.”
Zheng turned and faced the monitor, crossing his arms. “And if I don’t?”
“I have orders to kill you and proceed with our objective to destroy the American vessels.”
“Is this what it’s come to for you? What has he promised you in return—a command of your own in his new world order?” Zheng rushed forward, pressing his hands upon the table on either side of the monitor. “You took an oath, remember?”
“So did you, Captain—in protecting your country and your crew at any cost. We are both bound to that duty, and I have no intention of murdering my commander, so you can put that out of your mind right now.” He let out a long exhale, running his hand across his black hair. “But if we don’t carry out Lau’s orders, he will most likely target our submarine with his own battery of weapons aboard one of the remaining Chinese destroyers. And if that isn’t successful, then we will be on the run, branded as traitors.”
“Fulfilling his orders will result in us lying in a watery tomb at the bottom of the ocean by midday. You know what will happen if we launch an offensive against the American Navy. Their fleet and their assets are too great in this region. We will not see our homeland again, nor will I ever hold my daughter in my arms. Lau knows the fate we will suffer.”
“It appears that our choices are limited, but if the Americans were behind the attack on our country then leveling the playing field by striking at their military assets would be a logical move even aside from this pandemic.” He rubbed his chin, his eyes darting back and forth. “I hope when I see you on the bridge at dawn, you will make the right decision—for all of our sakes.”
Zheng knew that Lee was a hardliner, but he was no one’s fool, and he wasn’t surprised that he was wavering in his orders from Lau. For Zheng, his loyal crew were all that mattered to him now. He was certain they would never see their homeland and families again, but how they died was equally as important as how they performed as warriors. Whether my men will be remembered with honor or with shame—their fate rests in my hands now.
Chapter 36
Reisner shifted closer to Porter, who was completing assembly on two small audio devices from parts obtained at the AFB in Klamath Falls.
“You about done with playing with your box of Legos there, pal?”
“Well, they’re all set—question is, will they work?” He held up the fist-sized circular speaker and traced his finger along the two wires that led down to a flat battery and transmitter.
“They will work if you followed my directions,” quipped Andre, who didn’t bother to open his eyes as he slouched against his seat.
Porter grinned as he ran his thumb over the company name imprinted on the battery. “You know, this fucking thing was made in Taiwan. Isn’t that some kind of ass-kicking irony?” He shook his head then passed one device across the cabin to Ivins and handed the other to Reisner. “All you fellas gotta do is click on the red switch on the transmitter and this will send out a low-pitch frequency that should screw with the paras’ hearing long enough to get outta dodge. With a small speaker like that, you’re probably only looking at a range of twenty feet, so they’ll be in bad-breath range for sure, but at least it’ll buy you some time to drive home some lead.”
Reisner looked over at Ivins. “You decipher all that hillbilly speak, right?” Reisner tapped his fist on Porter’s shoulder then tucked the device into his vest. “You’re good for something after all, besides running up a friend’s bar tab.”
“So, we’re friends now, eh.” Porter nudged him in the ribs with an elbow. “You’re moving too fast for me, Will. I think we should slow down. I’m not sure I’m ready for that kind of commitment, being that it’s the apocalypse and all.” Selene let out a faint giggle and Reisner pulled back in his seat as all three of them chuckled.
It was the first time in days he’d seen Selene smile, and he wanted to pull her in close beside him. He longed for this next leg of the mission to end so they could spend some time together on the hospital ship, where he could let go of his commitments fo
r a while.
The thought was short-lived as he felt a strange sensation in his vest pocket. He removed the Velcro flap and withdrew his encrypted cellphone that had sat dormant for almost a week. He had kept it charged and operational since it had Agency passwords and key codes on it, and on the off-chance someone at the Agency had made it out of Langley. As he pulled it out and stared at the unknown number, his curiosity was piqued, but he still felt the need to follow protocol.
“This is 0947, secure.”
There was a long pause, followed by the rustling of wind in the earpiece, then the sound of a gravelly voice. “Will—is that really you?”
Reisner’s spine straightened and his pulse quickened. “Jonas—Jonas, you made it. Thank God, you actually made it.”
“Don’t sound too surprised.”
Will’s grin was enough to cause everyone’s attention to focus on him. “Sir, where are you?” He decided, in light of his recent conversation, to ignore protocol, and clicked on the speaker phone, knowing his team could use the uplifting news about their boss, and the others could do with an update on world events, if that’s why Runa was calling.
“I’m near Franklin, Virginia, with the secretary of state. We tried to make it to the bunker here but it was compromised from the infection. I won’t go into all the details, but we are going to be inbound for MacDill shortly.”
“How many survivors are there in your group?”
“Only around fifteen, but…” There was a long pause, and he heard Runa whispering to someone. A second later, a young woman’s voice came on the phone.
“Will.” The sound of the rotor wash faded, and Reisner thought he was back home. He had difficulty swallowing as his breathing became shallow.
“Jody.”
“Will—you’re alive.” He heard his sister’s trembling voice followed by her weeping. “I knew you would make it. God, I miss you so much.”
His facial muscles quivered and his eyes watered. “I told you I was going to come for you. You doin’ alright, kiddo? How the hell did you end up finding Runa?”
He heard her laugh. A giddy, excited laugh that seemed to linger in the air for a while. “He found us, actually—at your house. You know, the mystery house of yours with all the guns and spy gear.”
Reisner ran a hand through his hair, feeling his cheeks flush. She must know everything about my past by now. I wish she hadn’t found out this way.
Her voice grew serious. “Jonas says he has to talk to you before the battery dies.”
“I promise I’ll tell you everything when we see each other again. I just have one more thing to do then I’ll figure out a way to get back to you.”
“I love you, Will.”
“Me too, sis. Me too.”
He heard Runa’s voice again. “Will, did you get Munroe out of Taiwan?”
Reisner looked to his right, placing a hand on Selene’s shoulder. “Yes, she’s actually right next to me. She’s had some breakthroughs with figuring out some of the social structure of these creatures, and is working on recreating the original virus Hayes concocted to see about reverse-engineering a cure.”
“So, you’re on the Reagan then?”
He looked out the helicopter window at the approaching skyline of L.A. “Well, not at the moment.” He paused to stare over at Pacelle. “I’m with our old pal Andre Pacelle, who is about to work his wonders to prevent the rest of the power grid in the U.S. from getting destroyed by the Chinese.”
“Pacelle—he’s still alive? How’s he involved?”
Reisner saw the pilot give the five-minute ETA gesture with his hand. “He’s decided to redeem himself and save humanity from itself. He traced the power outage along the East Coast back to Nanjing. That was just one of their attempts at bringing down our entire grid. We’re about to put a stop to that.”
“That sounds like a mission that’s both a blessing and a curse if you’re working with him.”
Andre smirked and shook his head. Reisner picked up the phone, holding it closer. “Sir, I wasn’t able to access the location of the other Agency ships that Siegel mentioned during our briefing. Any ideas on where to start the search?”
“There were only three others. The nearest one was somewhere near the Gulf of Mexico after returning from its most recent assignment, according to the records I read. That’s the one that could most benefit Doctor Munroe’s research, but…”
The phone beeped as the signal was lost. Reisner stared at the screen, shaking the device as if it would awaken from its slumber. He thought back on the fortuitous call, and his mind floated over the memory of his sister’s voice. She’s alive—they both are. Damn, this day—this week—just turned around. The usual tension lines weaving across his face were gone, replaced by a look of momentary serenity. He could picture his sister’s expression when she was speaking, that soothing smile that put everyone around her at ease. She’s alive!
Reisner’s mind floated back to Runa’s last few words, and he wondered what his boss was trying to relay about the Agency ship. Whatever it was, it would have to wait. The NSA building was coming into view, and he knew they were about to be back in the thick of it again. At least this time, he felt like the tension would be on the battlefield and there wouldn’t be a splinter between his team and the SEALs.
He stowed away his cellphone and gazed out at the approaching skyscrapers of East L.A., wondering what trajectory his life would take after this mission and how he was going to get to Florida.
Chapter 37
The NSA facility was an eight-story building attached to the Department of Justice headquarters on Figueroa Street and 9th. As the first Blackhawk set down on the helipad of the NSA, Pacelle pulled out his laptop and began bypassing the security codes for the rooftop access door.
After a few minutes of furious typing, he swung his ruggedized laptop around and showed the others video camera footage inside the building, as well as the floor plan. “It looks like this place was evacuated before the city collapsed. I haven’t seen a single creature in the building, and the steel shutters are already lowered on the street level windows and entrances.”
Reisner breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, a simple in-and-out mission for a change—at least, I hope so.
Pacelle pointed to a black-and-white image in the bottom right corner. “This is where I need to be. Its three levels down in the main server room. My job is pretty simple—I plug in my hardware to the NSA servers and upload a virus that will then be routed to the coordinates of my choosing.” He looked at his watch then out at the other Blackhawk landing on the DOJ roof next to them. “I’ll need two hours tops to get everything in place, hack through their firewalls, and send the virus down their pipeline.”
“You sure that will do the job?” said Ivins.
“Oh, she’s a nasty, unstoppable bitch. I designed her myself back at Langley for just this scenario.”
Reisner narrowed his eyes, recalling the unpleasant years when he and Pacelle worked in the same building together. Reisner still wasn’t sure he could ever forgive the man for his past sins, but his willingness to see this mission through had gone a long way to redeeming him.
Ivins gave orders for four of his SEALs to stand watch at the edge of the buildings while the remaining group would head down to the lobby.
“After this, we have just enough fuel to make it to the GoodWill,” Ivins said. “So we’ll power down the birds until it’s time to leave.’
Reisner gave him the thumbs-up then looked at his own team. “We’ll head down to the server room with Pacelle and provide support for anything he needs.” He looked at Selene, who had just picked up Chris and was holding him on her lap beside his sleeping mother. “You’ll be safe here with Ivins’ men, and we’ll be back before you know it.”
She nodded, pulling the child closer as the side doors slid open.
Reisner stepped out onto the roof and did a quick scan of the streets below, wondering why they were devoid of drones. Maybe we�
��ll catch a break this time. His instincts were telling him otherwise, and he clutched his AR as they walked towards the entrance to the stairwell. He paused for a second, his eyes focusing on a reflection in the window of a bank one block away.
“I’ve got movement down below—northwest corner.”
Murphy came up beside him, focusing his rifle scope on the sidewalk and adjacent storefronts. A second later, there was no mistaking the small group of survivors who rushed out, wildly waving their hands at the rooftop as they trotted across the empty street.
Chapter 38
Blake had witnessed a lot of bizarre things unfold on the streets of L.A. during his lifetime, but nothing was more macabre than watching two army helicopters barrel above the empty skyscrapers while the roads in every direction resounded with the shrill noise of creatures.
He and his small band of eight survivors had spent the past nine hours on the run, slinking along back alleys and through abandoned buildings until they took refuge in a shoe store on Figueroa Street. Their plan was to make their way to Santa Monica by whatever means necessary and then procure a tour boat and head south. At least, that was his goal until the Blackhawks miraculously appeared on a nearby rooftop. As they ran across the street, he motioned for everyone to stop beside an overturned semi-truck while he scanned the sidewalk leading to what appeared to be a nondescript federal building beside the Department of Justice.
