Doomsday Game, page 19
They weren’t in there for long, however, before Randall sent Betty smashing through the doors. The biggest effort Randall had to make was persuading Betty not to chow down on one of the hostiles when she got him in her jaws. Once they saw that, the rest dropped their weapons and surrendered.
Then the real cavalry arrived: a dozen heavily armed Army Rangers materialised on a stage, all wearing hazmat suits. More followed within seconds, all of them clearly expecting a fight. It didn’t take a genius to sense their disappointment at arriving too late. Even so, the Army Rangers started by searching every building and basement in town, then spread across the island in a chain, investigating every square inch of land. Drones meanwhile flew into every hollow and cove.
For all their efforts, they found no remaining hostiles. In the meantime, Winifred, Rozalia and Selwyn got busy retrieving island staff from the various alternates they’d all been dumped on.
Randall helped out too, visiting remote outposts on alternates that had been largely abandoned for months and, in some cases, years. It was astonishing none of the Authority’s staff had died, but they worked hard to bring them all back home so they could get their shots and something to eat.
After his fourth round trip that day, Randall walked into the transfer hangar in time to see a single figure come strolling down a ramp wearing a hazmat suit. At first he couldn’t see who it was inside the hood, but whoever they were, they had the bearing of a Roman General surveying a newly conquered city.
Then he looked closer, and saw it was Preston Merritt.
Randall stared at Kip’s former second-in-command with trembling rage. Merritt, however, hadn’t seen him.
Randall watched, stupefied, as an orderly walked up to Merritt, handing him a clipboard just as if he’d been expected. Merritt studied the papers clipped to the board, then signed something before passing it back to the orderly with a nod.
He did it, thought Randall, exactly as if he still held a position of authority on the island.
His hands formed into fists at his sides and he started to make his way towards Merritt.
‘Stop.’
A hand grabbed Randall by his shoulder, whirling him around. He found himself facing Major Howes.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ Randall demanded, trying to shake Howes’ hand loose. ‘Don’t you see who that is?’
‘Don’t do anything,’ the Major warned him, his expression grim. ‘Things have…’ He let out a deep sigh. ‘Things have changed.’
Randall made a noise from deep within his chest and tried again to wrench himself free of the other man’s grasp. Howes responded by twisting him around and slamming him face-first up against the side of a crate, drawing curious stares from some of the people passing by.
‘Don’t make me throw you in the brig,’ Howes hissed in his ear.
‘We don’t have a brig,’ Randall spat back.
‘We have a disused latrine with a lock on it,’ Howes replied. ‘Close enough for me.’
‘That son of a bitch is a murderer!’ he shouted. ‘And he’s walking around in here like…like he’s in charge!’
That got them both a few more sideways looks. ‘He is in charge,’ Howes explained. ‘And I’m sorry.’
‘But…!’
‘I know.’ Howes cast a baleful glance towards Merritt. ‘I know. But until we figure out where the hell Kip is, Merritt’s been put in charge. Believe me when I say it was not a decision I supported.’
Howes finally let go of him and Randall regarded him with undisguised shock. ‘And you’re going to just stand back and let him piss on us like this?’
‘Until I understand precisely what’s going on back home, Randall, that’s exactly what I intend to do. I have my orders, whether I like them or not.’
Randall’s right hand drifted towards the bracelet on his left.
‘Goddammit, Randall!’ Howes slammed him back up against the crate. ‘Where is the damn animal, anyway?’
‘Around,’ Randall snarled back.
Howes let one of his hands touch the brown leather gun holster attached to his hip. ‘Am I going to have to take that bracelet away from you?’
‘You wouldn’t—’
‘You harm one hair on Merritt’s head, they’ll make me arrest you. If I don’t, someone else will arrest both of us. Next thing you know we’ll be transferred over to Washington on my own alternate and, the way things have been going over there, chances are we’ll both just…disappear. That’s not going to get Oskar any justice. Do you understand?’
‘I guess,’ said Randall. It wrenched his heart to see Merritt swanning around. ‘But when they find Kip, he’s back in charge?’
Howes hesitated just a moment too long for Randall’s comfort. ‘I hope so,’ Howes said at last. ‘The thing is, we’ve got no idea where they took Kip.’
‘So we still don’t know where the remaining hostiles went?’
‘If anyone knows,’ said Howes, ‘they’re not telling me.’
Randall stared at him. ‘Why not?’
‘Maybe this mess was just the impetus Merritt’s backers needed to take over the running of this island.’ Howes spoke in a low voice, darting a look around to see if anyone might be listening in. ‘I’ve tried to find out what’s going on, but they’re keeping me entirely out of the loop.’
‘We could check the transfer records,’ said Randall, nodding towards the nearest stage. ‘There’s no reason we couldn’t go and look right now.’
‘Don’t,’ said Howes, his voice firm.
‘Why not?’
‘Because we’re not allowed to,’ Howes warned him.
‘Who says?’
Howes gave him a long look, then nodded at Randall’s chimera bracelet. ‘I need you to promise me you’re not going to do something stupid.’
Randall’s jaw worked. ‘Nothing stupid. Sure.’
‘I’ll find out what I can,’ said Howes. ‘And once I know anything, I’ll tell you. But until then, try and stay out of anyone’s way. For all our sakes.’
‘Okay.’ Randall nodded. ‘I got it.’
Howes let go of him, giving him one final look that said you better mean it. Randall watched the Major walk away, then headed outside, feeling sick and hot in his guts.
* * *
He spent the next couple of hours brooding on the cliff above the beach behind the hangar. He’d set Betty to keep clear of the compound, partly to avoid scaring the bejesus out of the new arrivals and partly because the image of her snapping Merritt’s head off his shoulders was just too tempting.
Gotta bide your time, he imagined Oskar saying.
Sitting staring out at the poisoned ocean got to be too much after a while and Randall went to get something more to eat. He caught sight of Danks standing guard in front of the laundry building where the four surviving hostiles were being held for interrogation. It occurred to him that they might have let slip something regarding where Kip had been taken. If so, maybe Danks knew where it was or had overheard some useful piece of information.
He queued up with some island staff recently returned from some alternate or other, all of them still looking shell-shocked, and grabbed another sandwich and a coffee, carrying them over to where Danks stood.
‘Hey,’ he said to Danks, handing him the sandwich. ‘You eaten yet?’
Danks took the sandwich and tore into it. ‘Haven’t had anything all day,’ he said around a mouthful of bread before chewing and swallowing. ‘Thanks.’
Randall could hear muffled voices from within the laundry as Danks ate. Once Danks finished the sandwich, Randall passed him the coffee and nodded towards the laundry door. ‘Those guys we captured saying much?’
‘Singing like canaries, judging by what I heard last time I was in there,’ said Danks. He sipped the coffee and grimaced. ‘Uh, listen, maybe you shouldn’t be here, man,’ he added, his expression growing uneasy. ‘Merritt is in there interrogating the prisoners and if he comes out and finds you here…’ He shrugged. ‘Just saying.’
Randall stared at him and felt a rush of blood to his head powerful enough he rocked slightly on his feet. ‘Merritt?’ He nearly shouted. ‘He’s in charge of the interrogation?’
‘Jesus!’ Danks exclaimed, shooting another look at the door. ‘Take it easy, okay?’
‘He’s the son of a bitch that killed my best friend! He—’
‘I know it’s bullshit,’ said Danks in a half-whisper, ‘but I have my orders. Right or wrong, he’s in charge.’
Randall’s hands worked at his sides and for a moment he allowed himself the fantasy of breaking into the laundry building and throttling Kip’s former second-in-command with his bare hands. Instead he took a deep breath and focused on an increasingly worried-looking Danks. ‘Then can you at least tell me if Merritt’s managed to get anything out of them? Did you hear anything when you were last in there?’
‘Uh, yeah,’ said Danks, dropping his voice even further. ‘For a start, they’ve got a nuke.’
Oh, for… Randall allowed himself a moment to absorb this information. ‘You have to be shitting me. A nuke?’
‘The backpack variety, what they call a SADM,’ Danks explained. He glanced again at the laundry building. ‘They’re saying the other hostiles took it with them to the Old Horse Springs facility, and if we interfere or lead any kind of attack to stop them they’ll detonate it and blow the whole place up.’
‘So they’re holding the Authority to ransom.’ Randall’s thoughts raced. ‘Do you think they’re telling the truth?’
‘Some of our people saw a SADM sitting right out in the open next to the transfer hangar while the hostiles had control of the place,’ said Danks. He glanced yet again at the door behind him. ‘I told you enough. You gotta get away from here.’
‘Just tell me if you’ve heard anything else,’ he asked. ‘Please.’
‘I know they took the Director and the Russian woman with them as well.’ Danks leaned in towards him. ‘Don’t do anything crazy, Randall. I’m begging you.’
Randall squeezed the other man’s shoulder. ‘I owe you one.’
‘Sure,’ Danks muttered. ‘Now get the hell out of here.’
Halfway back to the transfer hangar, Randall heard a series of muffled thumps—four, in all—come from the laundry building behind him. He turned and watched from around the side of a research lab and after another thirty seconds the door of the laundry swung open. Merritt emerged, still wearing his hazmat suit. He beckoned Danks to follow him inside. The door shut again, but not before Randall noticed the pistol Merritt held by his side.
Randall started walking again, this time with renewed urgency. He pushed through the crowds of people inside the transfer hangar until he found Rozalia standing at the bottom of a stage ramp.
‘I need to talk to you,’ Randall said urgently. ‘Now.’
‘Just one second, Randall.’
The stage flared with light, then faded to reveal a battered-looking open-top truck. Long lines like claw-marks had been dragged across its hood.
Selwyn and Winifred emerged from the truck, followed by a half dozen civilians who’d been riding in the back. All of them were grimy with dirt and perspiration. The two Pathfinders led them down the ramp to a pair of hazmat-suited orderlies with stretchers at the ready.
‘Any problems?’ Rozalia asked Winifred.
‘Pretty much what you’d expect for Delta Seventy-Nine,’ she replied. There was a sheen of sweat on her filthy skin, and her eyes were rimmed with red.
‘That’s all the staff and military personnel accounted for,’ Rozalia said with evident satisfaction. She turned back to Randall. ‘Shoot.’
Randall’s gaze flicked towards the hangar’s rear entrance, then back to Rozalia. Her expression didn’t shift one iota, but she nodded. ‘Let’s talk outside.’
Randall leaned towards Winifred. ‘You and Selwyn are going to want to hear this too.’
All four of them headed out back of the hangar. The wind carried the smell of brine and rotting fish. ‘Did you know Preston Merritt’s been given Kip’s job?’ Randall asked Rozalia.
Rozalia sucked in her lips and stared out across the ocean. Winifred stared at Randall in shock. ‘I was aware that he was marching around like he was in charge, yes,’ Rozalia said at last, turning back to him. ‘I didn’t hear anything about Kip losing his job.’
‘Seriously?’ asked Selwyn, looking equally as shocked as Winifred.
‘I already talked to Major Howes and he said it was just temporary until they found Kip,’ Rozalia told Selwyn. ‘Although to be honest, he didn’t sound much like he believed what he was saying.’ She turned back to Randall, her expression full of worry. ‘I was going to talk to you about it first chance I had.’
‘Well, guess what,’ said Randall. ‘Merritt already knows where Kip is, and Katya too. And I think he’s keeping Major Howes in the dark about it. I talked to him earlier and he didn’t seem to have any idea where the hostiles might have taken the Director.’
Rozalia frowned. ‘That can’t be.’ She glanced at the others, then back at Randall. ‘Can it?’
Randall told them everything he had learned from Danks, including the gunshots he had heard.
Selwyn looked even more horrified. ‘Why would he just…execute them like that?’
‘Did you actually see any bodies, Randall?’ asked Winifred, her voice carrying a hint of skepticism.
‘No,’ he admitted. ‘But I know what a gunshot sounds like just as much as any of you.’
‘That still doesn’t explain why they would shoot them,’ said Selwyn.
‘Why else,’ suggested Randall, ‘except to make sure we don’t find out where Kip is?’
‘Don’t you think that’s stretching it?’ asked Rozalia.
‘Merritt murdered Oskar, didn’t he?’ said Randall. Just saying the words was enough to bring a flowering heat to his chest. ‘He’d have killed me as well if I hadn’t managed to get away. Think about it: with Kip off the map, Merritt stays in charge. He could lock us all the hell up and go hunting for more Hyperspheres.’
‘If they did that,’ said Rozalia, her words slow and careful as she thought it all through, ‘they’d lose Katya as well. Who else are they going to get to build stages for them?’
‘She’s not nearly as hands-on as she was at the beginning,’ Selwyn pointed out. ‘She’s trained dozens of engineers and scientists in everything she knows. Most of what she does these days is administrative. I don’t see them having too much trouble building stages without her.’
‘I think it’s possible Jerry was taken along with Kip and Katya,’ said Winifred. ‘I talked to Chloe and Yuichi and they said he transferred back here long before they did, and while the island was still under occupation. Nobody’s seen him since.’
Randall looked at them each in turn. ‘The way I see it, we’re going to have to go and rescue them ourselves.’
Rozalia looked at him like he was crazy. ‘The four of us, against a whole gang of plague-infected maniacs armed with a nuke?’
‘We have Betty,’ Randall reminded her. ‘That makes things a whole lot more equal.’
‘We’re under quarantine,’ Rozalia insisted. ‘They’re not letting anyone who came into unprotected contact with Greenbrooke and his men transfer over to the Authority. And what if they make good on their threat and blow that damn nuke?’
‘As far as the virus goes, we were exposed to it for a couple of hours, tops,’ said Randall, ‘and we all got immediate treatment. Even putting the nuke aside, Greenbrooke and the surviving hostiles are far more of a danger to the Authority if they manage to escape, and Merritt’s too busy playing power-games to take action. That leaves us to do the job.’
‘We could still get ourselves blown up along with the facility,’ Rozalia said in a tone that suggested she wasn’t quite convinced by her own argument.
‘Even losing the facility is better than risking the alternative,’ said Winifred. ‘And you’ve seen the alternative, Roz.’
There was a brief silence, and Randall knew he had won. ‘Even so,’ said Selwyn, ‘they’re not going to just let us all walk onto a stage and disappear.’
‘Why not?’ Randall countered. ‘We’ve been doing it half the day, rescuing people. How are they going to know where we’re transferring to, or why, unless we tell them?’
‘You’d have to leave Betty behind,’ said Winifred. ‘Her, I think they’d notice.’
Randall grinned. ‘We can put her in the back of a truck with the rest of you. She’ll fit.’
Selwyn blinked. ‘If you think I’m actually going to sit next to that thing—!’
‘She’s as good as an army,’ Randall insisted, ‘and you all know I can control her. You’ll be fine, Selwyn. You all will. You have my word.’
For a moment, Selwyn looked like he might offer further protest, but instead he harrumphed and folded his arms, his mouth set in a thin angry line.
‘You do realise what it means if we do this?’ said Rozalia, looking around at them all. ‘I don’t see any way we can ever come back here whether we succeed or not, especially not if Merritt remains in charge.’
‘Was this ever really home for any of us?’ asked Winifred.
‘For me it was,’ said Rozalia. Her voice took on a wistful quality. ‘I really liked our house. It took me and Nadia a long time to get it just right.’
‘What about Nadia?’ asked Selwyn, ‘not to mention Yuichi and Chloe. We can’t make this choice without including them in it.’
‘Is anyone here not in favour of Randall’s plan?’ asked Rozalia.
The rest of them regarded each other silently and Rozalia sighed. ‘Fine. The three of them are still getting their physicals in the clinic. Go over there and tell them everything you told us, Randall. Then we see where we go from there.’
* * *
Randall headed first to the compound armoury, a single-story concrete building, and found its door was open. Inside, a hazmat-suited figure studied a clipboard while a second, similarly attired, sorted through the shelves.
