“Thank you lieutenant, that will be all,” said Colonel Starkes. She turned to her second in command. “Shit!” She knew the small town would be entirely consumed by Phoenix’s stronger force. “We have to let them know to run, major.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Major O’Malley. “I’ll have Shamus power up the bird.”
“They won’t run, colonel,” said Wahlberg.
“Then, they’re dead already, lieutenant.” She gathered up her map from the table and left with Major O’Malley by her side. The group parted as she made her way to the door. Major McLoy and Captain Dawson followed.
CHAPTER 10.21-A History Lesson
“Ma’am, I need to advise my command on these developments. You know, that we found you. If you’re planning on taking us with you to Perryopolis, what’ll we do with our horses?”
“Hold the thought, Keenan,” said the colonel. “Major, can you c’mere, please?”
The major hurried over. “Yes, ma’am? Shamus is almost finished with his pre-flight check—what do you need, colonel?”
“I need your thoughts on what to do with these men and their command. Major McLoy needs to provide a report to his superiors.”
“Let’s give him what he needs, colonel.”
“You’re sure, major?”
“Yes, ma’am. They’re good men, colonel. I like what they tell me about this Mark Harmon guy. And they also speak highly of Commander Bastin—he’s in charge of the Summit gate and their commander.”
“Yeah. Okay, major. Why don’t you fill him in?”
“Of course, colonel.”
Colonel Starkes motioned for Keenan and Dawson to join them.
“Gentlemen,” began Major O’Malley, “what the colonel and I are about to tell you will remain strictly confidential. Do I make myself clear?”
There were acknowledging nods from both the men.
“You can pass this info onto your superiors,” continued Major O’Malley, “but there’s no reason for your men here to know who we’re looking for yet. We’re trying our best to keep a lid on this.”
The men nodded again, their somber expressions showing their understanding of the severity of the moment.
“Major McLoy, before you call your commander, I have to ask you a question. Do you know a Colonel Connor MacMillen?”
“Who? No.”
“I saw your hesitation, major. If you don’t know him, you certainly know of him.”
Keenan knew he wasn’t much of a liar. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and decided continued silence was the best course of action.
“Keenan,” pleaded Major O’Malley, “we’re on the same side here. I’m trying to locate Colonel MacMillen as a matter of national security.”
“Colonel MacMillen?” answered Keenan. “Not sure I ever heard the name before.”
“C’mon, Major McLoy, it’s obvious MacMillen is someone you know or at least have heard of.”
Keenan looked quickly at Dawson who was having better luck keeping his face devoid of any signs of recognition. Excited, Colonel Starkes detected something in his facial expression that suggested otherwise.
“Alright, Major O’Malley! We’re finally getting somewhere. Listen, you two, we need to know where Colonel MacMillen is going.”
“Keenan?” asked Major O’Malley.
“Yeah, Mike?”
“You realize the President of the United States just asked you a fuckin’ question?”
Keenan turned his back on Major O’Malley, took a few paces away, stopped, and turned to face him again. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but you’re gonna hafta give me some more information before I tell you anything I know.”
“Is that right?” asked Major O’Malley, barely controlling his anger.
Keenan was not intimidated by the display. “Yes, O’Malley, that’s fucking right. I have personal loyalties that run deep on the mountain. Friends and family up there come first—they always have and they always will. I don’t mean any offense to either of you. I need to update my commander.”
Colonel Starkes smiled and walked to Keenan’s side. “Major McLoy, Captain Dawson—would you two follow me please?” She turned and headed back to the heliport’s business office and the men followed. When the four of them had entered the empty room, the colonel let the door close and pointed through the windows of the office. “Do you see the strawberry-blonde with the baby?” she asked Major McLoy.
“Nicole? Yes, ma’am, she’s real hard to miss.”
“Watch how you talk about her, Keenan,” warned O’Malley.
“Yes, Keenan, Major O’Malley has a budding romance with young Nicole.”
“Oh, yeah? Okay, sorry. What about her?”
“You see the baby? CJ?”
“Sure.”
“That’s Colonel Connor MacMillen’s son, though he probably doesn’t know this.”
Major McLoy and Captain Dawson glanced at one another.
“What’s that got to do with us, colonel?”
Colonel Starkes sighed. “Okay, I can see the continued reticence and stonewalling. I’m gonna need to fill you in with some details about the H5N1 virus that you don’t know about. It’s important.”
“Okay, colonel, go ahead.”
“First off, I’m a colonel in the United States army. Understood?”
“Sure.”
“But I’m also a trained epidemiologist. And, I was working as Deputy Director at DARPA when the Cuckoo Flu started annihilating the population.”
“DARPA?”
“I’ve heard of DARPA,” said Captain Dawson.
“Good, captain—why don’t you fill in the major?”
“Yes, ma’am. Sir, it’s like the secret research branch of the army. They deal in all the cool stuff like extracting alien DNA and creating superhuman soldiers.”
“Okay, captain,” interrupted the colonel. Major O’Malley was suppressing a grin. “That’s not quite right. I’ll take over from here, if you don’t mind.” She faced Major McLoy. “DARPA Special Projects was assigned by the Joint Chiefs to develop a viable vaccine response to the Avian Flu epidemic. We were in close coordination with the WHO and the CDC. You’ve heard of those organizations, haven’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Well those agencies asked for our help through both official and unofficial channels. They knew we’d made great strides in protecting our military men and women against some very hostile viruses in combat zones.” She cleared her throat. “Both agencies knew our basic core inoculation of soldiers on active duty was elevating survival rates across the world by at least twenty-five per cent. Of the many soldiers who traveled extensively, nearly half of them had their families inoculated, too. Unfortunately, we didn’t stand much of a chance against H5N1. It had an aggressive timeline—it was a monster strain. I remember the damn thing would mutate every time we thought we had a handle on it. Then we had to start all over again. It was like chasing a runaway bus heading for a daycare center. And once it went airborne and started mutating aggressively—well, there wasn’t much we could do.”
“Ma’am, you did everything you could,” said Major O’Malley softly.
She smiled at him, appreciating his words. “Okay, where was I?”
“You were filling us in on why you’re looking for Mac,” answered Captain Dawson.
“Is that what he goes by, captain?” asked the smiling Colonel Starkes.
Evan Dawson blushed and hung his head so as not to see the look of derision from Major McLoy.
“Continue with your story, colonel,” said Major McLoy, “and then we’ll tell you what we know about Mac.”