The Aegis Solution (53 page)

Before he could reply, Faulk's phone, which was tucked into her shirt pocket, rang and vibrated.
She pulled it out and looked at the display, which showed the name "Kennerley." Jumping up, she ran
to him and shoved the muzzle of her rifle against his temple. "I'm going to press the button. You're
going to say ‘Faulk,' and that's it. One extra word and you die."

She did not wait for him to respond. Her thumb jammed down the green button, and she held the
phone near his mouth. He obediently said, "Faulk."

Pulling the phone away from him, she put it to her ear and listened, walking away.

"Director, this is Kennerley. We have a major problem." The man on the phone sounded anxious,
on the verge of hysteria. "It looks as though one of the other lab technicians was infected last night. She
left the lab and went home before she became symptomatic. She must have gotten an extremely small
dose and it took longer to incubate."

He was speaking rapidly. It almost seemed that he was not even pausing for breath.

"She's dead. Several police and paramedics are dead. The pathogen is out in the general public. I
don't know if it mutated to a form immune to the vaccine or what happened, but it seems that
everybody dies, whether vaccinated or not. We had two inoculated doctors on staff at Walter
Reed…they're gone. At least half the staff there is gone. It's spreading like wildfire. I don't know what
to do. Director…Director…what the hell should I do?"

Leah moved the phone closer to her mouth. "Kennerley, this is Leah Charon. I'll tell you what to
do."


   
 

Elias and Tillie had progressed beyond the section of the culvert called home by the bats, and could
see the dim illumination of twilight as a small square beyond the limit of their lights. As they drew closer
to the end of the drainage culvert, the concrete floor had become increasingly coated with a thicker and
rippled layer of dust, which had been carried in and deposited by the sometimes vicious winds of the
desert.

Over the reverberations of their footsteps scraping on the gritty powder, Elias' ears picked out a
different sound, a sound which triggered an immediate response in the primitive portion of his brain.
He froze in place, his arm lashing out and grabbing Tillie's. She could sense that this was not the
moment to question him.

At the instant their steps ceased, the vague warning became distinct and unmistakable. He had
become so fixated on the approaching opening at the end of the drain that he had neglected to look
downward in quite some time. Shining the light down now, he saw that they were standing in the midst
of a nest of diamondback rattlesnakes.

It was impossible to estimate their number, as they were interwoven and coiled together, in an
attempt to retain their body heat during the impending night. But he was fairly sure that he could count
at least thirty in their pathway. Tillie's only reaction, when she saw them in his light, was a sharp intake
of breath. Several of the snakes, reacting to their arrival, were coiled in a strike position, tails elevated
and vibrating, shaking the brittle keratin rattles so quickly that they were nothing but a blur.

Slowly, Tillie brought the shotgun around, aiming it in the general direction in front of them. Elias,
still gripping her arm, took one step back, pulling her with him. Then another step. Followed by a third.
He shined his light on the floor behind to make certain that they had not passed any snakes on their way
to this point. Seeing none, he turned and began retracing his steps, with Tillie only a pace behind.

After they had moved a safe distance, she said, "Those were definitely not there either, the last time
I was here."

"I assumed that."

"How can we get past them?"

"Short of systematically shooting all of them, burning them out, or waiting until tomorrow morning
in the hope that it might get warm enough for them to leave, I can't think of a thing."



As Elias neared the corner of the heavily damaged corridor where the grenade had exploded earlier,
he expected to hear the reciprocating saw and the sounds of people tearing away the obstruction at the
exit. Instead he heard silence. Concerned, he held up a hand to stop Tillie and Sweezea, who were
following behind him. His rifle ready, he cautiously approached the intersection and peered around. His
first sight was Leah, Wilson, Crabill, and Hutson huddled across the hallway from the shrapnel-ridden
door to the utility room. Faulk was not in sight, and there did not appear to be any sort of threat.

Elias stepped out into the open. "What's going on?"

Leah, hearing his voice, whirled around and ran to him. "Elias!"

He met her halfway and she threw her arms around him, holding him tightly. The change in her
demeanor since he had seen her last was dramatic.

His face buried against her neck, he murmured, "Leah, what's wrong?"

She lingered pressed to him for a few more seconds before stepping back. Now that she was closer,
he could see that she had been crying. This aspect of her personality had always been a fascinating
dichotomy to Elias. He had witnessed tears from her many times in their relationship, but always during
a sentimental movie, or as she read a particularly moving book. Occasionally, if he surprised her with
an unexpected and thoughtful gift, she would struggle not to cry, usually failing miserably. But in the
field, in the midst of intense pressure and horrific events, she was never one to give in to this emotion.
The sight of it now worried him even more.

Clearly unsure of her own voice, Leah waited a minute before she began to speak. Tillie, Hutson,
Crabill, Wilson, and Sweezea had moved closer to them. "There was a call from one of Faulk's people.
The pathogen is out early."

"Oh, my God! How?"

"After I heard what this Kennerley had to say, I questioned Faulk and got a few more details.
Apparently, there was a lab accident either earlier today or last night. Faulk knew that a technician was
dead. But he thinks the microbe is still contained inside the sealed lab. When Kennerley called a few
minutes ago and he thought he was reporting to Faulk, he said that another technician was dead.
Somehow the other technician had gone all the way home before she died. Kennerley was
frantic…desperate…but from what I could tell, everyone who has come close to her is either dead or
dying, and it is spreading fast."

Elias took in the information, his mind spinning in an attempt to assimilate it all. "So an accident
released it several hours early. I don't understand why Faulk's man was panicking. I'm sure his people
would have already received the vaccine."

She delivered the final piece of news, although clearly not wanting to speak the words. "He had.
Supposedly, so had the two lab technicians."

"But…." Elias stopped, his mind was suddenly hammered by the flash of comprehension. "The
vaccine doesn't work."

"Right."

"How could that be? They must have tested it."

"They did, several times on several groups of subjects. The monsters tested it on every race, age
group, lifestyle type, you name it. It protected the subjects with a one-hundred-percent success rate."

Elias stood frozen as his mind processed the variables, the options, the alternatives, sifting through
each for a possible solution. Hitting only a blank wall, he slowly drew a deep breath. "So it's over. For
all of us. Faulk and his group have killed everyone on Earth."

His eyes moved from one member of the group to another. Crabill and Hutson were despondent.
Tillie and Sweezea, furious. Only Wilson seemed not to be reacting to the situation, his face calm, his
eyes focused on some faraway vista. Elias decided that the mathematician had entered into the
comforting realm of denial.

He turned back to Leah. "Where did it start?"

"D.C."

"And from what Faulk said earlier, one release point is enough to take care of the whole planet."

Leah nodded in agreement. "I can't imagine that Kennerley wouldn't have notified the others that
there was a problem and cancelled the rest of the releases."

"I don't know what good it will do, but we do have Faulk's phone. We should tell someone."

"Again, who?" Leah asked flatly. "According to Faulk, most of the leaders are in on this. I thought
we owed it to Benjamin, since he was the only one who tried to help you, but when I called him, all of
the circuits were busy. I sent a text message, but I have no way of knowing if he got it. There hasn't been
a reply."

"I'm sure. With an epidemic spreading, the land lines and cells would be flooded with calls."

"What happened in the tunnel?"

Elias explained what he and Tillie had encountered. Then he handed his rifle to Leah. "Where's
Faulk?"

"In the utility room. After the call, we handcuffed him to a standpipe in there. I wanted us to be
able to talk where he wouldn't overhear anything."

"So he doesn't know yet?"

"No."

Elias began walking to the utility room. "I'll be happy to break the news to him. Just before I kill
the bastard for his part in this."

Wilson suddenly spoke up. "Elias, wait!"

He paused in mid-step and began to turn toward Wilson, when they all heard a screeching, tearing
cacophony from the still-obstructed exit. Elias snatched his rifle back from Leah, and they all took
positions around the open door, watching the tangled jumble of steel and aluminum shudder and shake.
The almost earsplitting sounds of buckling metal and shattering glass ceased momentarily, and they
could hear the rumble and roar of an engine revving. After the brief pause, a new tumult commenced,
and a portion of the obstruction visible to them was suddenly ripped away, revealing the dark sky
outside Aegis.

Elias saw the yellow-painted bucket of a backhoe, dragging the debris away from the door and
piling it several feet away. At the moment the obstruction was removed, the unceasing wind whipped
through the opening, substantially colder now than the last time Elias had been exposed to it. The
bucket returned for another pass, this time clearing the area outside the door completely. A corner of
his mind was amazed by the serendipitous timing of the exit being cleared.

Stepping to the doorway, the AK-47 poised, Elias stared at the cab of the backhoe as the operator
switched off the engine. Halogen work lights, mounted on either side of the cab, made it impossible to
see who was working the levers.

As the rumble of the diesel died, Elias shouted, "Turn off those lights or I'll shoot them out."

The operator took only a second to comply. Although the lights were now extinguished, Elias' eyes
had to adjust to the darkness. He could vaguely see a figure jump down from the cab and he heard a
voice say, "Don't shoot. Please."

Elias looked over his shoulder and saw that Sweezea was the closest to the door, his rifle poised.
"Cover me."

Sweezea nodded and stepped through the doorway and off to the side.

Elias trod carefully through the field of smaller, sharp pieces of the former barrier, as he shivered
from the almost arctic blast, and moved around the front of the backhoe over to the side where the man
waited. He remembered that he still carried his flashlight and pulled it out, shining it on the man's face.

"Who are you and what are you doing?"

The man from the backhoe was middle-aged and appeared fit. He raised his hands above his head
and answered, "My name's Clements…Matt Clements. I'm the guy who…."

"MATTHIAS!"

The shout came from Tillie, who had been standing in the doorway. The flashlight in his eyes,
Clements could not see her as she ran around Elias and up to him, skidding to a stop inches away. Only
a moment passed before recognition dawned. "Mathilda! My God, how are you?"

Elias lowered his rifle.

"Do you know him?"

She was still staring at the face of her old friend. "Yes! I do. Matt is the guy I told you about. He's
the one who built Aegis. He's the one who told me where the plans were."

She reached out and grabbed both of his arms. "God, it's good to see you. Why are you here?"

"Why don't we go inside," Elias suggested, eyeing the surrounding desert warily and eager to return
to the warmth of the building.

"Sure. Let me get my wife and daughter."

"You brought your family? Cool!" Tillie exclaimed.

Clements pulled a flashlight out of his back pocket. Stepping away from the side of the backhoe,
he flashed the light three times. A moment later a pair of headlights, from a vehicle parked in the desert,
returned the signal, and they all heard an engine rev.

Feeling a light tap on his shoulder as he watched the truck drive toward them, Elias turned and saw
Leah standing next to him. "This far to the west," she spoke softly, close to his ear, "they couldn't be
infected yet, could they?"

The thought had already occurred to Elias. "I doubt it. I don't see how, unless one of Faulk's
people heard about the outbreak in D.C., panicked, and released a supply. But we don't even know
where that would be. I don't know what difference it makes, anyway. It's only a matter of time."