Finally, closer to truth, Scott thought to himself. He nodded to Edie who waved the soldiers on so they could begin treating Mila.
The director seemed to relax somewhat now that Mila was being cared for. “Can I lower them?” he asked, waving his arms.
Scott nodded. As soon as the director put his hands down, Edie pulled his arms behind his back and locked his wrists in plastic zip tie cuffs. “The antivirals, where are they?” The director hesitated and Scott quickly added, “You don’t want to test me.”
“The Dauphin,” the director said. “The vials are on the Dauphin. Look for a black metallic box under the right pilot seat. It contains a shielded, temperature-controlled specimen container. The vials are inside.”
Edie grabbed one of the soldier’s by the arm and both left the supply building at a run.
“You’re wrong you know,” the director said, “about Logan. He wasn’t out to exterminate the human race. He meant to transform it. Transformation through cleansing fire and genesis. A beautiful notion from a demented soul.”
“You have the demented part right at least,” Scott said.
Over comms, Scott heard Edie exclaim, “We have it. Repeat we have it. Call in support. Get that helicopter back here.”
Chapter 18
Edie rushed out of the support building with SFC Hernandez at her side, both with their weapons at the ready. The abandoned airfield was growing quieter, but things weren’t entirely locked down. Her second in command, Master Sergeant Washington, squawked in her ear over the open channel. “All friendlies accounted for, no injuries. Nine confirmed take downs. One enemy kill.”
“Copy that,” she said as she double timed it to the director’s helicopter. “Twelve were reported on site. Find those two stragglers.”
“On it,” Washington replied.
“Command,” Edie said over the private channel, “situation nearly under control. The director, detained. Nine confirmed take downs. One kill. Two to find. May have found additional antivirals.”
“That last part, say again,” Major Powell from Command replied.
“Antivirals reported to be on site. Seeking now. Quantity one hundred. Repeat, quantity one hundred.”
Suddenly, she heard lots of chatter in her headset. Then Powell asking, “Can you confirm?”
Edie was just about to answer when she spotted movement in the tall grass near the helicopter. She pointed two fingers to her eyes and away to the right. SFC Hernandez spun off while she raced on.
Gun at the ready, she waited for Hernandez to come around from behind. When he did, she plunged in. Spotting the blue jumpsuit, she said over headset, “Got one, maintenance crew. Someone come over and lock him down for us.”
Two of her team rushed over and took control, shouting “Hands, hands!”
Edie and Hernandez scrambled away. As Hernandez opened the cockpit door, Edie jumped in. The lock box was right where the director said it would be. It took both her and the SFC to get it out of the chopper. Once they did, she told all channels, “We have it. Repeat, we have it. Call in support. Get that helicopter back here.”
She heard lots of chatter in her headset again. Command had just keyed in and was about to say something when she heard the unmistakable sound of a bullet strike.
“Sniper, sniper,” someone screamed over the open channel.
Hernandez dropped to the ground, forcing Edie to let go of her end of the lock box, but she stood her ground, her eyes scanning. The person on the other end of the rifle didn’t miss. She knew that. The shot was a warning.
“Scott, got a problem out here,” she said over headset.
“Everything okay?”
“No, no it isn’t.” She sighed. “Sniper,” she said to all channels. “Repeat, sniper. Requesting air support.”
“Get your head down. Don’t be a hero,” Scott said.
Edie fixed on a point in the distance. The late afternoon sun in her eyes made confirmation difficult but she knew in her bones the sniper was there. It’s where she’d be if the shoe was on the other foot. “I know, I know, going to come in hot. You got me?”
“I got you,” Scott said.
She swiveled her head around to the SFC. “Hernandez, you with me?”
“Ma’am?”
Edie knelt down, looked Hernandez in the eyes. “If that sniper wanted one of us, he wouldn’t have missed.” She paused until she saw understanding in the enlisted man’s eyes. “Now, when I say go, we’re taking this box and running to that building. Understand?”
Hernandez nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Edie grabbed one side of the box. “Go,” she said as she stood, “go!”
Chapter 19
It’s not over.
Scott watched the director and knew. He wanted to press the muzzle of his gun into the man’s throat and pull the trigger. Instead, he settled for smacking the butt of the gun against the side of the director’s head, sending him sprawling across the concrete floor. With his arms behind his back and wrists locked in plastic cuffs, there wasn’t much the director could do afterward but groan and squirm.
The soldier attending to Mila eyed Scott but said nothing. Mila though had opened her eyes and she was staring at Scott, fresh hate in her eyes.
Scott holstered his gun, pulled the director up with one hand gripped to his throat. “That sniper takes the shot next time, Mila dies first and then you. Understand?”
“The shot was a warning,” the director said, smirking. “Let us go or there’ll be bloodshed. You know what he’s capable of.”
Scott moved to the door and peered out to get a fix on Edie. He saw her running beside her subordinate, the black box carried between them. “You knew he was out there. There’d better be antivirals in that box.”
“I assure you there are,” the director replied. “The matter at hand is what you’re going to do when you get them. Mila and I are collateral in all this. Let us go and I’ll make it worth your while.” He turned to the soldier. “Yours too.”
“Screw you,” Scott said tautly. When he heard Edie coming, he whipped open the door.
Edie and the soldier rushed past him. The look on her face wasn’t a happy one as she set the metal box onto a desktop. Scott saw why immediately. They were dealing with a custom-made strong box with an electronic locking mechanism.
“The code,” Scott said, pressing his pistol against the side of the director’s head.
The director grinned. “Guaranteed safe passage and immunity for myself and my team.”
“Not going to happen,” Scott said. “What’s going to happen is you’re going to give us the code and call off your sniper.”
“No, Mr. Evers, you don’t understand. What’s going to happen is Mila and I are going to get on the chopper and fly out of here. When we’re safe, I’ll give you the code.”
Scott took a long breath. Gritting his teeth, he fought the urge to discharge his weapon. One bullet was all that was needed to decide everything. He settled for throwing the director across the room.
“Washington,” Edie said over headset. “Twelve hundred yards due west of my last position, top of the rise. Go get him.”