“I’m not here to sell you on any theories,” said Chang. “But my colleagues outside of NevoTech—scientists who have dedicated their lives to preventing this kind of attack—agree that the complexity of a simultaneous attack on dozens of cities suggests a state-sponsored effort.”
“Or a well-organized terrorist organization,” insisted Hale. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“I was ordered to capture or kill Dr. Chang,” said Larsen. “Don’t forget that. Someone in our government wanted him dead or in custody.”
“I haven’t,” said Hale. “Trust me. I just don’t know where to go with that right now. Not sure if I need to go anywhere with it, since you’re both leaving tonight.”
“We’d take you if we had room,” said Larsen. “But we’re already well over the weight limit for the airplane.”
“My place is here for now,” said Hale. “I’m good with that. Seriously. Whatever is going on out there, I’m way better off here. Thank you for getting me here. I just wish I had some real medical supplies. I’m not sure what I can do for the people trapped here.”
“You’ll figure out something,” said Larsen. “And we’ll do everything in our power to get you some help.”
“Something tells me the two of you might not be in the position to ask for help once you get out of here.”
Chang laughed. “She has a good point. I hadn’t thought about that.”
“I haven’t had the time to think about it,” said Larsen. “I don’t think I’ve stopped moving since I landed at your house.”
Hale checked her watch. “Well, unless the helicopters come back, you’ve got about twelve hours to put some thought into it.”
“I’m planning on sleeping for half of that,” said Larsen. “All of it, if I could.”
Chang’s satellite phone chimed, the scientist fumbling to retrieve it from one of his cargo pockets. He glanced at the caller ID.
“It’s the friend I told you about.”
“Something tells me I may not be getting that nap,” said Larsen.
Chapter 32
Chang pressed the green button and placed the Iridium satellite phone against his ear.
“This is Chang.”
“Gene, it’s good to hear your voice,” said Stan Greenberg. “You had me worried. I tried to call earlier.”
“I’ve been a little busy,” said Chang.
“That’s what I figured—hoped, actually,” he said. “The farther away the better. Preferably Canada. Where did you end up?”
“Indianapolis,” said Chang.
“Gene, that’s really not funny. Seriously,” said Greenberg. “Did you manage to get out in the plane?”
“I’m not kidding, Stan. I tried to drive to the airport, but the 10th Mountain Division had already set up a quarantine block just a few miles north of my house,” said Chang.
“So you drove into the city?”
“I flew into the city.”
“What?” said Greenberg, sounding exasperated.
“It’s a long story,” said Chang. “The bottom line is that I’m safe for now.”
“Where are you?”
“Is this connection secure?” said Chang. “You didn’t seem so sure about that last night.”
“I’ve been assured that my end is secure,” said Greenberg before mumbling something outside of the receiver that Chang couldn’t understand.
“I’ve just been told we should be fine right now,” said Greenberg. “But they don’t want you using the phone again from the same location.”
“How far away do I have to move to use it safely?” said Chang.
“Hold on,” said Greenberg, followed by a long pause. “At least a mile. Preferably another state. That’s what they told me. And you should remove the battery when we’re done with this call. They suggest you reinsert the battery at four o’clock p.m. to check for messages. Unless you think you’ll be far enough away to make a call.”
“I’m not going anywhere. The streets are too dangerous,” said Chang.
“Please tell me you’re not at your apartment,” said Greenberg. “That’s the first place they’ll look for you.”
“It turns out there’s no first, second or third place they’ll look for me,” said Chang. “They’ll look for me everywhere. A team was sent to my house, my apartment and NevoTech labs. I’m standing next to the only surviving member of all three of those teams.”
“Gene,” said Greenberg, “what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’ve had a long night, Stan. These teams were initially deployed to keep me safe. Part of some Department of Homeland Security-sponsored critical human asset protection unit. At least that’s what they thought they were. Their orders changed to ‘capture or kill’ as soon as they hit the ground. The guy with me now refused to follow his orders. He’s the only reason I’ve survived this long.”
“What happened to the other teams?” said a deep voice in the background of the call.
“Who is this?” said Chang.
“Mr. Greenberg’s new friends. Your new friends,” said the voice.
“I fully trust them,” said Greenberg. “They’ve been trying to prevent an attack like this for years. They’re the source of all firsthand information from Monchegorsk.”
“Jesus,” said Chang, shocked by Greenberg’s implication.
“Not exactly. But it has a nice ring,” said the voice. “Do you mind if we put this on speaker? I think it will facilitate a more effective conversation.”
“That’s fine. I’ll do the same on my end. I’m with some people you may want to speak with,” said Chang, pressing a button on the phone before placing it on the desk. “You’re now on the line with the DHS agent I mentioned and a local emergency room physician.”
“Perfect,” said the man. “You can call me Terrence. What is your current location?”
“We’re at the main NevoTech campus,” said Chang.
“I was really hoping you wouldn’t say that,” said Greenberg.
“Trust me. It wasn’t my first choice either,” said Larsen. “I’m the DHS guy, by the way.”
“Welcome to the big top,” said Terrence. “What happened to the other team sent to NevoTech?”
“Only one team was sent here. They got themselves killed trying to move from here to Chang’s apartment about thirty minutes ago,” said Larsen. “My team was sent to Chang’s house north of the city, but we had an internal issue that left the other three dead. One of the agents under my command discovered the change to our orders and turned on the rest of us,” said Larsen.
Hale shifted away from Larsen, casting him a confused and distrustful look.
“I can attest to this,” said Chang. “Unfortunately, I heard and watched it play out live on the security feed. He did everything he could to defuse the situation.”
“Did you see these orders?” said Terrence.
“Yes. Larsen, I mean Eric—shit,” said Chang. “Sorry.”
“Eric Larsen in case you missed it,” said Larsen, shaking his head.
“Larsen showed me his command tablet and all of the information it contained—including all of his orders. Initially, they were supposed to protect and escort me to safety. That turned to a capture-kill mission within the span of fifteen minutes,” said Chang.
“Sadly, this is all starting to make sense,” said Terrence. “You mentioned a third team? At your apartment.”
“We neutralized that team in place,” said Larsen.
“Who did?”
“I did. With some help,” said Larsen.
“Gene, why did you risk going to your apartment?” said Greenberg.
“Critical personnel recovery,” said Larsen, hoping to streamline the conversation.
“Understood,” said Terrence. “Girlfriend? Boyfriend?”
“No!” said Hale. “I’m a local ER doctor. It’s complicated, but not that kind of complicated.”
“Good enough for me,” said Terrence. “Lars
en, what’s your background?”
“Naval Special Warfare. Ten years.”
“Are all of these teams similarly talented?”
“No. It’s a mixed bag. Mostly regular military and police. Some Special Forces. Some SWAT,” said Larsen.
“Dr. Chang, can we go back to something you said earlier? Regarding the roadblock,” said Terrence.
“Sure. They stopped me a few miles north of my house,” said Chang.
Larsen wasn’t sure how he felt about the trajectory of their conversation. This Terrence guy had rather quickly and effortlessly taken complete control, turning it into a one-sided intelligence-gathering session.
“Are you sure they weren’t National Guard?” said Greenberg.
“The staff sergeant at the roadblock identified himself as 10th Mountain Division. From what I now understand, there are two quarantine boundary lines around Indianapolis. The inner boundary is under National Guard control. The outer zone is controlled by regular military units. 10th Mountain Division in this case.”
“It makes sense,” said Greenberg. “They can establish the initial quarantine zones faster using locally mobilized units. Then transport regular ground units from major bases around the country to start a secondary line. Probably use those to reinforce the National Guard where necessary.”
“Right,” said Terrence. “But the 10th Mountain Division got there pretty damn fast. Too fast.”
“I agree,” said Greenberg. “And I’m not aware of any rapid response military protocols designed to move U.S. troops to domestic hot zones that rapidly. We usually have a hand in those.”
“The soldiers were not equipped with biohazard suits,” said Chang. “I found that a bit odd.”
“Neither were the National Guard soldiers that arrived at the hospital,” said Hale.
“That’s because this virus isn’t contagious in the traditional sense,” said Greenberg.
“And they knew exactly what they were dealing with,” said Terrence.
“Gentlemen, sorry to rush this conversation, but here’s the bottom line. The city of Indianapolis is like a scene out of a horror movie, with mobs of crazy people attacking anything that moves on the streets. I’m guessing you knew that already, and you have a good idea of what happened.”
“Essentially,” said Terrence.
“Then what can you tell us that we don’t already know or haven’t seen firsthand?”
“It’ll get worse. At some point the government will run out of options. They’ll either completely cordon off the city and let it die out on its own, or they’ll expedite the process.”
“We already guessed that much,” said Larsen. “What else?”
“Don’t trust the government?”
“Funny,” said Larsen.
“I wish I had more for you, Mr. Larsen, but I don’t,” said Terrence. “We’re still reacting to the crisis. Investigating. Frankly, it took us by complete surprise. I thought we had completely eliminated this threat. Obviously, I was wrong.”
He shrugged his shoulders, looking at Chang, who took his cue to continue the conversation. Larsen didn’t have anything else to say.
“Stan, we’re going to wait here until it gets dark and leave. I hid my plane a quarter of a mile or so away on the interstate.”
“You landed on the interstate?” said Greenberg.
“Why didn’t you just keep flying?” added Terrence.
“That’s an even longer story,” said Chang. “The short version is we didn’t have a choice.”
“It was either that or eat a Hellfire missile,” said Larsen.
“Among other things,” said Chang. “The aircraft was overloaded. I had five passengers, including Larsen. The sun was coming up, and we couldn’t risk another round of aerial maneuvers.”
“I’m speechless,” said Terrence.
“Finally,” said Larsen.
An uncomfortable pause ensued.
“Wait. Passengers?” said Greenberg. “Wait. Did I miss something? I thought Larsen was the only survivor from his team?”
“We landed with a police officer, his son, and a married couple,” said Larsen. “Are we having fun yet?”
“What the hell happened last night?” said Greenberg.
“Like I said. It’s a very long story,” said Chang. “Things got weird after our phone call.”
“That’s an understatement,” said Larsen.
“Dr. Chang, in the interest of full disclosure, and moving this conversation to a close, I need your help.”
“I have samples of the virus, along with my initial DNA analysis, hidden in my lab,” said Chang. “I can grab that in a few minutes. I’d be happy to deliver that when I get out of here.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of temporary employment, working alongside Dr. Greenberg. My guess is that the two of you can determine the source of this virus, pointing me in the right direction. I can’t stop this catastrophe, but I can sure as hell punish those responsible.”
“Can you use a slightly worn-out former SEAL on the team?” said Larsen. “I’m a little sarcastic.”
“A little? I’m sure we can find room for you,” said Terrence. “What do you say, Dr. Chang?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to punish the people responsible for this,” said Chang.
“All right. I’m sending a team to escort you and Larsen out of there. They are my absolute best people,” said Terrence. “They’ll parachute onto the NevoTech campus after dark and get you through the quarantine lines.”
“No. I promised the people we came with that I’d fly them out,” said Chang, glaring at Larsen. “We wouldn’t have made it here without their help.”
“I’m not arguing with you,” said Larsen, raising his hands.
“Dr. Chang, getting you and that data out safely is critical to our country.”
“You can take the data and escort me to the aircraft,” said Chang. “I’m flying those people out of here.”
“Flying is far too risky,” said Terrence. “My people can protect you on the ground. They’ll give their lives to keep you safe. You have my word on that. Up in the air, they can’t help you. You’ll be at the mercy of an alert radar controller or a sharp squad leader on the ground.”
“I won’t leave them here,” said Chang. “If you want my help, you have to abide by that. I’m happy to give you the data if your people escort us to the aircraft, but I can’t turn my back on a promise.”
“It’s a deal,” said Terrence. “Check your messages at 4 p.m. I’ll send you an update regarding the team’s ETA and drop zone. You can text a few words to let me know you got the information. That won’t be enough for them to triangulate your position electronically.”
“Make sure the drop zone is inside the NevoTech campus,” said Larsen. “The parking lot may look like it’s enclosed, but it isn’t. You’ll want to find a DZ tucked away between the buildings.”
“There’s a decent size park in the southwest part of the campus,” said Chang. “It’s circular, so it should be easy to see from the sky.”
“We can guide the team in,” said Larsen, “if they need the help.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Terrence. “Is there anything else?”
Dr. Hale pointed at herself. “This is Dr. Hale. I need a favor.”
“My team will gladly escort you out, too,” said Terrence. “Anything to keep Dr. Chang happy, though it sounds like you’ll have to walk out with the team. Unless my math is wrong and the plane has more room.”
“No. I’m staying. I have over two hundred patients counting on me here,” said Hale. “I’m asking for supplies. Antibiotics. Hemostatic powder. Compresses. Morphine. Trauma stuff. This place has been wiped clean.”
“I’ll put together something,” said Terrence. “They won’t be able to jump in with a lot, but every spare pound they can manage will go toward medical supplies. Biggest-bang-for-your-buck-level stuff.”
“Thank you,” said Hale. “I’
ll take whatever you can give me.”
“Then that’s it,” said Terrence. “We’ll be in touch. Call if something game changing happens. Stan? Final words?”
“Gene, all of you, stay safe and don’t let your guard down,” said Greenberg. “The situation inside the city will undoubtedly get worse as the day progresses.”
“Fantastic,” said Larsen. “Because it wasn’t a complete shit show already.”
“You’re going to fit in nicely around here, Eric,” said Terrence.
After Chang ended the call, they stood around the desk for a minute before Chang broke the silence.
“Do you trust this Terrence guy?”
“My gut says maybe, but logic and experience says not at all,” said Larsen. “I’m worried that his team will grab you and disappear the first chance they get.”
“How do we prevent that?” said Chang.
“I’ll think of something,” said Larsen, not at all sure what that might be.
Chapter 33
Jack Harper held Emma’s hand as they shuffled back to the cafeteria with the rest of the refugees that had sought shelter on campus. They’d decided to hang out among fellow NevoTech employees and their families instead of spending the day alone in one of the evacuated sections of the building. The group they had arrived with broke apart on arrival, each going in a different direction. The thought of sitting by themselves in a quiet boardroom or employee lounge held little appeal after the crazy night they had endured. They needed to be with other people, at least for now.
“What do you think happened?” said Emma.
“I don’t know,” said Jack. “I thought I heard helicopters.”
“Shouldn’t we be going to the rooftops instead? Waving flags around?”
“You’d think,” he said. “But who knows at this point.”
He meant that earnestly. He truly didn’t know what to think anymore. Their world had been turned upside down and shaken like a martini—with no warning. Nothing would ever be the same again, on any level. He tried to process that, but couldn’t wrap his head around it. His brain continuously defaulted to a single focus. Keeping Emma safe. There was only one problem. He couldn’t translate that focus into a solution. Since arriving at NevoTech, he’d felt strangely helpless, left to wonder if they might have been better off trying to slip through the outer quarantine boundary on foot.
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