The Extinction Files: The Complete Series, page 58
“I owed you. You saved my life in Rio. I pay my debts.”
“Yet you took my son’s life.”
“I did no such thing.”
A relief beyond words swept over William. It was true—the theory he had harbored for so many years: his only son was alive. His suspicions had grown when he found the old picture in Kazakhstan—it could have belonged to Lin or Andrew, William didn’t know which. But what had happened during the last twenty-five years?
He took his best guess.
“Andrew has been your prisoner?”
“For a time.”
“And then?”
“My partner.”
William shook his head. “Impossible.”
“You would have been proud of him. He resisted far longer than we expected. His re-education took years. But we broke him, showed him the truth. He found in the Looking Glass what we all see: a way to fix our broken world. And himself. The bargain we presented was simple: one last pandemic to end them all. An end to disease. And for himself, a world where he has two arms, where he is just like everyone else, a world where no other boy will have to sit on the sidelines while the others play ball, where no person is born with a disability.”
Rage built within William. “You brainwashed him. Chose him—to get me out of the way.”
Yuri seemed unconcerned by William’s anger. “And to complete my own work. I’m not as young as I used to be.”
William strained against the plastic zip ties, causing them to cut into his wrists. A trickle of blood rolled down his hand. He desperately wanted to rush the monster who stood before him, but he maintained his composure. Yuri had one commodity he desperately needed: information.
He considered what Yuri had done: enlisting Andrew, Desmond, and Conner to complete the Looking Glass. They were all broken in a way, all completely dedicated to the cause. They were all perfect examples of the type of person who could be radicalized, made to do terrible things in the name of a brighter future. In a way, they were mirrors of Yuri, William, and Lin. They had all grown up in a desperate and broken world, had come to the Citium seeking a balm for their pain, as well as for the pain of the world.
William wondered if the cycle would ever be broken.
Another question had always bothered him, and Yuri was the only person who could answer it.
“The night of the purge. Lin was tipped off. She left while I was in the air en route to London. She was on a flight to France when I landed. It was you, wasn’t it? You told her to get out.”
Yuri raised his eyebrows. He was impressed. “Yes.”
“You couldn’t kill her either.”
“I needed her to complete my work.”
“And she went along?”
“To a point. Taking Andrew as a hostage helped.”
“She didn’t know, did she? About the pandemic.”
Yuri’s reaction told him it was true.
William pressed on, hoping for more answers. “And Hughes didn’t either. That’s why he went off the reservation when he found out. Why he contacted me.”
“A minor setback.”
“You underestimated his morality. That’s how he’s different from you.”
“We’re a team for a reason. He lacks the fortitude to do what must be done. I do not. I did those things in Stalingrad. And during the purge. And now.”
“What’s happening now isn’t courage, Yuri. It’s mass murder. You made the world sick.”
“The world was already sick. It just didn’t know it. I’ve seen that sickness in a way few have. During the war, you were spared the horror; they evacuated you to the English countryside for tea and playtime. Death and misery were on every doorstep where I grew up. I’m saving future generations from that. Soon, our solution will be distributed.”
The words struck fear into William: Our solution will be distributed. “The pandemic…”
“Was a means to an end.”
“The cure. It’s your true end game. That’s why you started the outbreak in Africa.”
Yuri smiled, impressed.
“Yes. To show the world what the pathogen was capable of—on a small scale, in a place where people would take notice but not alter their patterns. Not cancel flights. Or their shopping trips.” Yuri paused. “And when that horrific pathogen reached their shores, they would do anything for the cure.”
“Including giving up their freedom.”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know the true nature of freedom.”
“Who knew? About the cure?”
“Only Andrew and myself.”
Yuri had turned his son into a monster.
“It’s over, William. Whether we release the cure or the government does makes no difference.”
“What’s in the cure?”
Yuri was silent.
“It’s one of the Looking Glass components, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Chapter 123
Peyton watched her brother walk closer. She knew instantly that he had changed. The Andrew Shaw she had known was a kindhearted person, dedicated to helping people. Now his face was hard, almost possessed. What’s happened to him?
Her heart broke at seeing her brother—her hero—in such a state, involved in this.
He looked her in the eyes and spoke without emotion. “She’s right, Peyton. There is more going on here than you realize. I’ll explain everything to you—”
“You’ll never explain this to me.”
“Don’t judge the method until you know the reason. This is a pandemic to end all others. The final pandemic. The world will be safe soon. It’s a small price to pay.”
At that moment, Andrew saw Charlotte. The sight of her took him aback. His voice changed, softened.
“What are you doing here?”
Charlotte swallowed. “Peyton and Desmond came to my relief camp in Australia looking for answers.”
Andrew looked concerned now. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“What have you done, Andrew?”
“What had to be done.”
“You sent me the supplies, didn’t you?”
He nodded.
“It was you I was writing to. You were writing back all those years.” Charlotte’s voice cracked. “I never forgot about you. Or stopped caring.”
Andrew stood still for a moment. Peyton could see a struggle within him.
“I knew your work was important to you,” he said. “I wanted to see you happy.”
Charlotte stepped closer to him. “If you still do, you’ll stop whatever’s happening here.”
“The Looking Glass—”
“Can’t be worth what you’ve done.”
Andrew took a step back, as if withdrawing from the pull the woman was exerting on him. “None of you understand.” He stared at Peyton. “The Looking Glass is the only hope. For all of us.”
Chapter 124
The smoke from the server room drifted through the hole in the wall, through the corridor, and snaked into the office, its wisps wrapping around Desmond, Conner, and Avery like a preternatural demon trying to wrench their souls from their bodies. The wind pulled the smoke through the room, around Desmond and Avery and past them, out the broken windows.
Conner held his arms out to block the soldiers stepping forward on each side of him. His eyes locked on his older brother, the man who had rescued him from an impoverished, drug-addled life and given him purpose—and hope. Now Desmond threatened to take it all away, as if it had been a prize dangled before him only to be ripped away.
“Please, Des. Don’t do this. Just give me the tablet Avery’s holding—I promise I won’t harm her.”
When Desmond said nothing, Conner’s voice hardened. “You promised me, brother. You swore we’d finish this together.”
Desmond exhaled. The smoke was slowly filling the room, clouding his vision, the wind losing the battle to suck it away completely. On the way to the island, he had thought he saw things so clearly. He hesitated now.
In Dadaab, he had seen the evil the Citium had unleashed upon the world: hordes of helpless people dying, bodies being tossed upon bonfires, orphans who would grow up never knowing love—just like him. Even if the Looking Glass offered a panacea for humanity’s problems, Desmond would never ask the world’s people to pay that price, much less force it on them against their will.
He looked Conner in the eye. “I’m going to help you, brother. I mean that. Do you believe me?”
Conner nodded. “Yes. Good.”
Desmond turned his head quickly and whispered to Avery. “Go. Do it now.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. She spun on her heel, crouched to make herself a smaller target, and dove out the window as the room erupted in gunfire.
Chapter 125
The thick brush below the building broke Avery’s fall, but the landing from the fifteen-foot drop was still agonizing. She groaned, rolled, and fought to catch her breath. Bullets ripped through the tree canopy and raked across the ground just inches from her.
She pushed up and ran. Her left leg screamed in pain, but she didn’t stop. She activated her mic.
“Overwatch, Medusa, our cover is blown. Request immediate backup, air support, and exfil. Bravo, Zulu, Medusa. Any hell you could unleash would be greatly appreciated.”
Seconds later, explosions rocked the island. A fire rose from the harbor.
In a thick clump of trees, Avery slumped to the ground, got the satphone out, connected it to the tablet, and began the upload. After only a moment, the screen flashed:
Upload Complete
She activated the North Star app, which initialized a voice-over-IP phone connection. David Ward’s voice came on the line.
“We just saw the upload.”
Avery was still breathing hard. “What happens now?”
“Leave that to us. Just get out of there in one piece.”
Bullets ripped into the tree trunk at her back and across the dense ferns around her. She rolled, pulled the handgun from her holster, and emptied the magazine. She saw three soldiers fall. There were at least ten more behind them. She slid her last magazine in and began limping away. They were gaining on her, moving slower now, taking their time, hiding behind the palm trees that swayed in the wind. The smoke issuing from the window descended into the jungle and streaked across the glowing moon above. The darkness aided her retreat, but it wasn’t enough. Her time was short.
Explosions lit up the night sky above her—missiles from the expeditionary strike group, being intercepted by a missile defense system on the island. It was breathtaking, some of the world’s most advanced weapons of war fighting a duel over this placid island in the South Pacific. The strike group was winning. Their missiles began reaching the ground, which shook with every impact.
Avery hoped the soldiers would desist in the face of the air power, but they kept coming, closing in. She slid behind a tree and caught her breath. She was cornered. There was only one thing left to do.
“Overwatch, Medusa. Request tactical strike against hostiles near my location.”
The CIC responded immediately. “Medusa, Overwatch. Negative. Hostiles are too close—”
“Do it or I’m dead, Overwatch.”
A barrage of bullets ripped into the tree trunk beside her. Splinters sprayed across her left side as she dove to the ground. In the air, she saw a flash—a missile launch from a drone. A second later it landed at the feet of the soldiers, annihilating them. The ground below Avery erupted. She could feel the heat. For a split second, it felt as if she were in the grasp of a hurricane. The blast tossed her through the forest. A tree trunk broke her fall. But she didn’t get up this time. Her limp body lay there as burned debris fell on her, burying her.
Chapter 126
In the office above, Desmond rushed the troops who had fired at Avery. He leaped, colliding with Conner and one of the men. A fist connected with his face. He nearly blacked out from the impact. They pulled him to the ground and kicked him in his already injured ribs. He gasped for breath, but a knee landed on his chest, crushed him, suffocated him. The last thing he saw was the butt of a rifle coming down and connecting with his forehead.
* * *
Yuri eyed William. “Who did you bring with you, William?”
William stood silently, his hands still bound.
“Surely you didn’t bring your daughter here. That would be very dangerous.” Yuri studied him. “Then again, you were never afraid to push all-in, especially when the stakes were high.” He paused. “You did, didn’t you? Where is she?”
William didn’t answer.
“She’s not in the building,” Yuri said. “We would have seen her on the cameras.” Realization dawned on him. “But we don’t have cameras in the labs. The risk of espionage is too great. She’s there, isn’t she?”
When William still said nothing, Yuri snatched the handheld radio off the desk. “Major Reeves, Pachenko. Send a unit to the labs—right now. Secure Rapture access control. You’re also to apprehend Pey—”
William jumped up and rushed forward. His sprained ankle protested, but he closed the distance between him and Yuri. His hands were still bound behind his back, but he threw his head forward, connecting with his captor’s. He had to stop the man—to give Peyton and Charlotte a chance of escape.
Yuri slammed into the wall, William the floor. Yuri was out cold. William got to his feet just as the office door flew open and two guards rushed in, assault rifles raised. They fired as William desperately tried to lunge behind the desk.
* * *
In the situation room at the White House, the recently sworn-in president of the United States watched Chinook helicopters lifting off from air bases across the country. Drone footage showed BioShield reserve troops raiding the locations Rubicon had provided. Every single one of them had held doses of the cure so far. Those doses would be distributed within minutes.
The UK, Germany, Australia, China, Russia, and Canada had also confirmed dozens of Citium sites. They had done it. The United States would survive, but the president couldn’t help wondering what the nation he loved so much would look like in the aftermath of the pandemic.
* * *
The lab complex shook when the first blasts went off. Ceiling tiles dropped to the floor. Glass cabinets rattled. Vials fell and broke.
“We need to get out of here,” Lin said.
Peyton shook her head. “No. I’m not leaving until I get some answers.”
Charlotte matched her tone. “Neither am I.”
Peyton faced her brother. “Tell me what the cure is.”
He studied her but said nothing.
“Are you willing to risk our lives to keep your secrets?” She paused. “Explain it, and then we’ll leave.” It was a bluff, but she needed to know what the cure was.
Andrew swallowed, then spoke quietly. “It’s something new. A nanotech device.”
Peyton knew very little about nanomedicine. It was a growing field with incredible potential. Doctors were experimenting with nanorobots to do a number of things: treating cancer, delivering drugs to hard-to-reach parts of the body, and identifying pathogens. It was conceivable that it could be used to neutralize a virus or bacteria.
Her brother confirmed her theory with his next words. “The nanorobots find and inactivate the virus. They’re also programmed to do limited tissue repair in critical areas, reducing mortality.” His tone changed, grew bitter. “If more of the world’s governments had complied, the death rate would be a fraction of what it is.”
Peyton studied him. “What else does it do?”
Andrew said nothing.
“That’s what this is about, isn’t it? The pandemic was for this moment. The nanorobots you’re distributing within the cure—that’s the Looking Glass.”
He shook his head. “No. Only a part.”
“One of three,” Peyton whispered, almost to herself.
“Yes. The cure is Rapture.”
“How does it work?”
Another explosion rocked the building, this one stronger.
Those were missiles from the sea. They’re firing on the island.
Lin grabbed her daughter by the arm. “Peyton, it’s time.”
She pulled away. She wouldn’t leave. She couldn’t. Everything she’d gone through in the past two weeks had been for this exact moment. It all led here, to this turning point.
Peyton had finally realized the entire truth. Desmond had discovered what Rapture was. He had called her to warn her. And though he didn’t know then why he was warning her, it was clear to her now: he had known that Yuri and Conner would try to capture her—to use her as leverage. She alone connected all the critical players who could stop the pandemic: Lin, Desmond, William, and Andrew. She alone could be used to control all of them.
“They’re going to use Rapture for some sort of alteration, aren’t they? They’re going to change human biology.”
Andrew and Lin both stared at Peyton in disbelief—or perhaps with admiration that she had put it together so quickly.
Andrew gazed down at the manufacturing floor as he spoke. “The nanorobots are designed to take additional instructions after they neutralize the virus. Their size limits their memory capacity.”
Peyton marveled at the plan. Research was already ongoing that used nanorobots to insert genes into a host, altering its genome. The nanoparticles could cross the blood-brain barrier, allowing them to alter pathways in the brain and the biochemical balance. That must be what happened to Desmond. He used Rapture Therapeutics’ core Rapture device—the nanorobots—to block his memories. Rapture—the nanorobots—would give the Citium an unimaginable control over the human race, the power to alter every person at a cellular level. All the Citium had to do was send additional instructions to their nanorobots after the virus was eliminated.
