Genecaust Page 13

  Meret glanced at the screen confirming the location of its night-light slider and slid it on. Ringo’s view changed to a safer green gradient of night light vision. With ease she located and landed on the top of a post facing the building’s closed double doors and began streaming what everything Ringo saw and heard to CIA cloud servers.

  Since Ringo’s night-light had illuminated the door long enough to be seen by Steve’s night goggles on his approach to the building, she turned the night-light off and waited. Steve and Dave, as planned, would open the doors and wait while she entered the compound building, looking for surprises.

  She flinched when they suddenly appeared in Ringo’s point of view. After they opened the double doors, she flew him after them, not turning on his night-light until she passed them. Once inside, her job responsibility consisted of flying a grid pattern until Ringo’s ‘sniffer’ detected explosives, chemical weapons, or genetic residue. Zhen had told her the detection and collection of multiple DNA samples was the toughest engineering he had to do when he designed the bots. She reminded him that any small strands of RNA he might collect would be very useful in helping her understand the nature of the SKV used in the attack.

  Dim light from a sun about to rise above the eastern sky told her their mission was near an end. Just when she thought they were through the worst of it, the pilot of the helicopter interrupted, “Bogey on main road approaching cutoff.”

  She knew from the briefing that the possibility of a security vehicle making a random check of the compound was extremely low. The fact that one might actually occur gave her a flash of adrenalin and caused her to rush to complete her mission.

  When the “Bogey Clear” call came, Meret decided she could relax a bit and had time to examine the land adjacent to the compound. She began by circling Ringo close to the ground near to the building and then circling five feet away per loop. After his third loop, Ringo detected a weak chemical explosive trace and flashed his bio icon a pulsating green.

  Hah, got something.

  She hovered him about a foot from the surface and traced the grid back and fourth until a stronger reading caused the explosive icon signal to turn Yellow. Only then she made the audio call, “Hit outside” and rotated slowly hoping Ringo’s night-light made him look like a miniature lighthouse in Steve’s night vision goggles. Through Ringo’s eyes she saw Steve and Dave running in her direction and signaled, “Code yellow, dig here carefully” and then backed slowly away once they indicated they knew exactly what spot gave the strongest signal.

  She continued to monitor signal levels allowing retrieval as long as Ringo’s signal didn’t turn red. Green and Yellow signals allowed minimal handling that permitted them to retrieve and place suspicious materials in what looked like a metal lined food shopping bag. Both men carried special gloves and short ropes to drag in soft sand whatever they found to the helicopter.

  After removing close to two feet of sand, one of the small entrancing tools hit metal and both men backed away to let Ringo get a close sniff.

  She eased him closer. “Signal’s flashing red, exposed explosive material. Repeat flashing red, exposed explosive material.”

  Steve spoke. “It’s a metal canister the size of a wall fire extinguisher. It could be booby-trapped. Let’s carefully bag and use ropes to drag it.”

  Dave held the metal lined shopping bag as Steve tied their short pieces of rope so they could drag it.

  Steve slid the canister into the bag.

  Meret yelled from her post on the sand dune. The men heard it in their headphones. “Solid red, move away. Solid red, move away. Now!”

  They dropped the rope and turned away.

  Something in the hole exploded.

  24

  Man Down

  Early May, Somewhere in Yemen’s desert - Meret Engages

  Ringo was thrown back from the building about fifty yards. Meret couldn’t see what happened to Steve and Dave. At the same time the helicopter’s blades roared lifting it high enough to dive down on the other side of the dune. She waited for the blades to pass and then didn’t hesitate to pick up her cell and run after it.

  Two lines of thought raced through her mind as she slipped and slid down the steep dune.

  Oh, shit what the hell they step on?

  The top Category-A viruses used by terrorists.

  She glanced at her cell screen and saw Ringo’s vision of the building.

  Tularemia - rabbit fever

  Anthrax

  She spoke while breathing hard, trying to assure herself and to hold it together. She knew death might be seconds away. “Ringo’s intact, he didn’t explode.” Tripping, but not falling, she continued running toward the compound.

  Smallpox

  Botulinum toxin

  She could hear her heart pounding. “Shit, if not Ringo, what? An IED?”

  Bubonic plague

  Viral hemorrhagic fevers

  Exhaling, she prayed, “The copter will handle any enemy on the ground.”

  Marburg virus

  Ebola virus

  She flew Ringo back to the explosion and saw two agents, alive and crawling for cover near the edge of the compound. The copter’s blades rotated louder and faster.

  Lassa virus

  Machupo virus

  To her distant right, the lights of a truck approached about a half a mile away. She glanced to her left to where she could hear the roar of the copter’s engine.

  What the fuck? It’s flying away!

  She called in, loud and angry. “Where are you going? They’re alive and trying to hide.”

  The pilot replied. “We are not authorized to initiate an action.”

  She raised her voice. “They’re alive and they have the device on a rope. You can’t leave them.”

  “Take cover. We have to wait until the enemy try to recover the object or initiate a hostile action.”

  Frustrated, she yelled out, “Oh, Fuck it” and slid to the ground next to a low shrub.

  A small flat bed truck pulled up, their lights fixed on the blast hole by the IED. The driver and his passenger jumped out, rifles at the ready. They scanned the area and keeping outside of the light beams, slowly moved toward the hole that held the canister.

  Meret had a solution and hoped everyone on the team could hear her. “Hold on, I got this.”

  As one of the men poked in the hole with his rifle, the other stood by waving at a pesky bug.

  “Sorry, Ringo.” She hit the button and a message flashed, RU Sure?

  “Bet your sweet ass I am.” Her finger touched the ‘Go’ button.

  The flash of the explosion and subsequent loud crack sent two dead bodies flying through the air stopped by the fender and lights of their truck.

  She stood, knowing two dead bodies covered their presence and theft of buried booty. “All clear. Checking for casualties.” She ran to where she last saw Steve and Dave. As she approached the shadows of the low scrub, she called out. “Two agents need medical assistance, two Yemen security are dead, and I’m okay.”

  She saw the silhouette of one figure rising helping the other, but the sound of an approaching helicopter drowned out any more words. She took her flashlight and looked for any evidence of Ringo as she walked to her wounded teammates.

  No way, sorry, Ringo.

  Covered with quick wraps over cuts and butterfly bandages to stop bleeding head wounds, Steve sat in the copter next to Dave and checked the vitals of his now unconscious comrade strapped to a cot. Safely stowed in the back compartment, the canister of a possible biological poison waited its turn for examination at the base, just under two hours away.

  * * *

  “SA Dave Holcombe will make a full recovery, thanks to the quick thinking and actions of Dr. Mather.” Everyone in the field station located somewhere in the desert between the U.S. Embassies in Sana’a and Aden watched Director Davies’ briefing of their latest effort to locate the source of a possible biological attack in the Middle East. �
�We now know from where they were launched and were able to gather INTEL on what biologicals they plan to use. Unfortunately, we’re too late to prevent any attacks. Meret used the bot to kill the bad guys which means we lost any trace evidence that SA Granger Hawking was held here. We will continue our efforts to locate and rescue him.”

  * * *

  Meret quickly packed a change of clothes and her running gear for a company jet to Rome to complete her examination of the captured canister at a friendly Level 4 bio lab. She was told a former ER nurse, Special Agent MJ Wilson, and lab technician would accompany her.

  Later that day, during a pre-flight security briefing, Meret met a woman wearing boots, jeans and a flannel shirt who extended her hand. “Welcome. I’m MJ Wilson.” She pulled her to one side, dropping her voice, “I wanted to update you about Special Agent Granger Hawking’s condition.”

  Meret froze. Her eyes narrowed and then darted about the lobby. “Where’s Hawking and why all the extra security?”

  SA Wilson nodded. “I don’t know. We have people in the field looking for him. The extra precautions maybe because they found . . . something.” SA Wilson stood closer and forced eye contact. “This is not unusual. Communication is often dicey in country. I will give you a full debrief of what we know, what we’re doing, and bring you up to speed on Special Granger’s mission after we take off.”

  As they boarded the company jet, Meret laughed to herself about her habitual behaviors. She took the same seat in the plane she shared with SA Fairchild on the flight from the States. Not unexpectedly, MJ sat diagonally opposite, facing her.

  After takeoff, while coffee and bagels were being served, all of the entertainment monitors on the plane began to flash.

  BREAKING NEWS

  The screens switched to the serious face of Director Davies. “I speak to you from a secure position somewhere near Aden, Yemen. We have learned several unmanned aerial vehicles took off before dawn from a hidden base in southern Saudi Arabia. The UAVs flew southeast over the Gulf of Aden.

  The group of modified General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers, a stealth aircraft, was observed flying 600 feet above the terrain at 300 knots toward Socotra, a small archipelago consisting of four islands in the Indian Ocean. Socotra, the largest of the four islands, appears to be their only target. They unleashed an unknown biological agent on the defenseless population. Those infected quickly fell unconscious during the attack and only learned of the danger they were in when they awakened, violently ill.

  The drones vanished somewhere south of the island. We are monitoring the situation and advise all agents and company personnel within this theatre of operation to remain on high alert until further notice.”

  Each screen returned to it original programming.

  “Oh shit.” Meret leaned on the small table that divided four facing seats into two pairs and held her head. “I fucked up. We were too slow to respond. This is on me.”

  “You weren’t responsible for that attack. Your team almost got killed getting your hands on that canister and your actions saved the lives of two agents.”

  SA Wilson placed her tab and folders to one side. “Call me MJ. I’m temporally assigned to Director Davies doing some legal for our department. As soon as my witness joins us, we’ll take advantage of some of the down time during this flight hours before we land in Rome by walking you through the papers you’ll be signing as a special consultant for the CIA. Director Davies mentioned this to you during your interview.”

  “He did. You’re an attorney, MJ?”

  “Yes, actually you’ll find many of the agents have law experience in their portfolios.”

  “You still use the title Special Agent. Do you get to go into the field?”

  “I’ve been on temporary assignment to legal for the last six months.”

  Why do I have the feeling she also worked with Hawking?

  Before MJ continued, a younger man approached the table.

  MJ looked up at him and indicated he should take a seat. “Dr. Mather, this is Agent Robert Tripp. He’s also an attorney and will be acting as our witness.”

  She exchanged pleasantries with him and the three attacked the paper work.

  After several cups of coffee, MJ handed the pile to Agent Tripp. “Make the usual file copies and one for Dr. Mather.”

  Agent Tripp departed without a word.

  MJ turned her attention to Meret and seemed to be taking a reading of her before speaking. “Your CIA card will identify you as a Special Consultant.” She removed it from her briefcase and showed it to Meret before handing it to her. “You need to wear it when you are in any CIA facility or when you’re conducting official company business.”

  Meret took the card and examined it with respect as one does a business card before carefully slipping the lanyard over her head. After shaking her shoulders and ponytail she noticed MJ hadn’t completed the scan of her record. Folding her hands on the table, a lingering thought bubbled out as a question. “Where have I met you, MJ?”

  A flash of something rippled across MJ’s face.

  A tell? Did I stumble onto something?

  Before she replied, MJ gave her hair a single quick finger comb followed by an equally brief head flick. “I can’t imagine. When—”

  “I think it was at Houston Hermann Memorial about ten months ago.”

  She observed another flash reaction.

  This is getting interesting.

  “No . . . I don’t think so.” Her brow furrowed and she seemed somehow concerned.

  Meret responded using her best playful voice. “Sure you do,”

  I’ve seen this work on TV. Make something up when interrogating a forgetful witness. I’ll let her think I remember.

  “A fund raiser wasn’t it?”

  MJ repeated, “Ten months ago?” and turned over one hand. “Are you sure?”

  “Well, I never forget a face and some say I have an eidetic memory, perhaps . . . ”

  MJ folded her arms and took a deep breath. Her eyes narrowed and she chewed briefly on her cheek. “I haven’t read all your files, what kind of consultant are you?”

  Meret leaned both wrists on the table and shook her fingers. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have raised personal issues about you and Granger.”

  MJ turned her head to one side and began swearing between her teeth. “Dammit to hell, shit.” She placed a hand on her forehead. “Look, I promised you full disclosure and with Granger’s life in our hands we . . . well, we need to pull together so we can bring him back.” She looked at Meret with hard eyes and then with some disgust said, “Remind me to never play poker with you.”

  She wove her fingers into a balled fist and held them close to the chest. “Granger’s been more than a team mate. He and I have been living together for two years. We were almost killed on a mission last year and have been separated by desk assignments at different stations ever since. Without telling you the details, he and I went to that fund raiser under orders to recruit you as an asset.”

  Meret’s reaction to being told by the woman sitting across from her that the company had conspired to convert her into a spy’s asset caused her to freeze not wanting any of her several emotions to erupt into tells for Special Agent MJ Wilson.

  A solitary tear rolled down Wilson’s tightly pulled cheek and she lowered her chin. “You didn’t know, I’m sorry.”

  Meret considered her situation. She reached across the narrow table and placed her hand on MJ’s forearm. “But why would you tell me? And why now?”

  “I thought you knew. At first, they wanted you to be his asset. No one else could recruit you but Granger. He had to approach you himself. So an immediate delay in your recruitment appeared when he disappeared. When the agents interviewed you about the impostor, and after Steve Fairchild realized what you could do, they no longer saw you as an asset, they saw you as a possible agent and perhaps eventually even as a Director of your own special program.”

  Damn.

  She removed
her hand and sat back in her chair.

  Damn.

  Her company phone rang. Caller ID claimed Director Davies was on the line.

  She locked eyes with MJ while speaking. “Yes, Director Davies it’s Dr. Mather here, Agent MJ Wilson is sitting with me.”

  “She’s working with you until further notice. Put us on speaker.”

  She touched the speaker icon and winked at MJ “Thank you sir, do you have more information for us on what just happened?”

  “Our top priority remains an analysis and complete understanding of he smart killer virus in the canister. We need you to complete your mission in Rome so we know how this attack on the Socotra females was perpetuated. The physical condition of their bodies suggests they were killed by a variation of Ebola.”

  “Director, was anyone but women effect by this poison?”

  “No, and equally strange is that we have unconfirmed reports from the local media that only Muslim women were murdered.”

  “Oh my god. We may be looking at a Genecaust.”

  Director Davies said, “I can tell what you mean by the sound of that word, but it’s new to me.”

  “Sorry, Director, I use the title Genecaust to describe applying knowledge of our genome and microbiome to the targeting and murder of specific groups of people or individuals by identification of existing or engineered genetic markers.”

  “Damn, I don’t like it, the press will be all over it.”

  Meret continued. “Does the UN have people working on the containment of the disease and the victims?”

  “They’re just setting up their field hospitals. The outbreak seems to be limited to Socotra, which helps, as it is small and isolated. It’s only twenty-four miles by four miles, but if our information about Muslim women is correct, we already have thousands contaminated. By the way, I’m asking because we don’t know, but Meret is an Egyptian name, right?”