Escape.
That was the first step. She couldn’t save them all, not while a captive here.
She quietly turned and tiptoed back through the piles of medical equipment to where K’aalógii still slept. She peeked through the curtain; the girl remained unattended.
She could hear Fischer’s scientists talking in low tones, the shock of what he’d told them still sinking in. Leah pushed through the curtain, checking to see if anyone had followed her; the coast remained clear.
“We’ve got to get out of here, Baby,” she whispered.
K’aalógii couldn’t have weighed more than forty or fifty pounds; Leah could carry her if necessary. She calculated how far from the facility she’d seen the dunes of White Sands. Was it four, maybe five miles?
If she got to the dunes, she might be able to make it to the road. A small section of White Sands was accessible to the public. The White Sands National Monument was a site well attended by the public, even during the winter. There was a good chance she’d find visitors walking the dunes, or perhaps a park ranger.
It was opportunity to make a frantic phone call to someone, anyone she knew, in nearby Alamogordo, or to academic colleagues in Albuquerque.
Leah looked around the room. K’aalógii was nude underneath the thermal blanket that covered her body. If she kept her wrapped in the thermal blanket it might keep her warm enough for the journey through the dunes.
She tried not to think about whether she would have the strength to carry the child the entire way. She’d climbed on three of Jack’s moderate mountaineering expeditions, humping a forty-pound, internal-framed backpack to summits with no problem, although sprinting across desert and dunes with a child in her arms would be completely different.
You’re kidding yourself. Chances of getting outside the hangar and away from Fischer’s security detachment in one piece are slim to none.
Leah slipped back into the flight jacket the crew had given her on the C-130, but froze at the sight of the two IV’s streaming clear liquid into K’aalógii’s veins.
She grabbed a handful of sterile gauze and tape from the medical supply tray. After taking a deep breath, Leah removed the tape that held the needles in place. She placed her finger near the edge of the penetration and pulled the needle deliberately and smoothly out of K’aalógii’s fragile arm.
K’aalógii blinked, but didn’t seem to regain consciousness during the procedure. Leah applied the sterile gauze and wrapped the arm in a bandage that would keep the gauze in place. She was relieved to see very little bleeding when removing pressure from the puncture.
One more needle to go.
Leah had the tape removed and was preparing to slide the needle out when she heard the sound of the curtain being swept aside. Gordo’s face peeked through the curtain.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” he said just above a whisper.
Leah froze, and then continued on with the removal of the second needle. “I’m getting her the hell of out here.”
Gordon didn’t respond. Didn’t move.
“I overheard Fischer,” she said.
Dr. Gordon instinctively glanced at the girl.
Leah said, “She spoke to me. Not much, but enough that I have a good idea what happened to these people.”
“What about other facilities? Did you ask—”
“Sorry, Gordo. Wasn’t on my top-twenty.”
“You understand the seriousness of our situation and how important it is that we learn if there are more of these alien installations.”
“Get real.” She struggled to keep her voice low. “When I heard about Fischer’s disposal plan, I lost all interest in alien labs and nuclear war. I’m sure you feel the same way.”
Gordon simply stared at her.
“I also heard about your family,” Leah said. “I’m in the same boat. What can we do?”
Gordon’s shoulders slumped and he looked away. “I don’t know. But I can’t do what Fischer said.”
“Good,” Leah said. “Then you’d better grab yourself a coat.”
CHAPTER 124
“Mr. Hobson, welcome back to the United States,” said Stanton Fischer.
Fischer removed a pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket and lit one, then walked toward the group until he stood less than a meter away from Jack’s face. “You’re a lousy poker player, Jack. I expected more out of you than a cheap bluff.”
“From what we’re hearing,” Jack said, “the Russians already called yours.” Before Fischer could respond, he continued. “I want Leah Andrews released.”
Fischer almost looked amused. “What makes you think you can bargain for anything?”
Jack lunged with lightning quickness at Fischer, catching him and the soldiers off guard. Before they could grab him, Jack swung up from his waist, tensing his stomach muscles as he did. His uppercut caught Fischer on the bottom of the chin, the force of the blow lifting him off the tarmac. Fischer fell to the pavement, motionless.
Before Jack had time to reach down after him, the group of soldiers mobbed him and wrestled him to the ground. One smashed him across the face with his automatic weapon, splitting Jack’s lip and covering Teresa’s blue jeans with blood.
Fischer moved a bit on the tarmac, then tried to get up. Every time he sat, he toppled to his side, until two soldiers grabbed him and helped him to his feet.
“Did that make you feel better?” Fischer managed through a misaligned lower jaw.
Jack wiped blood off his face. “I didn’t do it for me. I did it for Navy Commander Gus Beckam, whose last request on this earth was to pass along his regards. I haven’t yet begun to make you pay for what you did to us on the ice. Yeah, for the record, it made me feel a whole fucking lot better.”
Fischer tried to free himself from the soldiers, but couldn’t lock his knees well enough to stand on his own. “She’s dead anyway. So are you. When—”
“You know,” Paulson interrupted loudly, “it’s times like these when pictures can mean so much.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out his smart phone.
“What are you talking about?” Fischer finally stood on his own long enough to move toward Paulson.
“I’d love to sit here and chat all night, but with the world sliding dangerously close to all-out war, I think we ought to get down to business.” Paulson nodded toward the soldiers guarding them with the automatic weapons. “Since I don’t know what security clearances your soldiers carry, I suggest we retire to the Quonset hut for a short presentation.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” said Fischer.
“I’m not asking,” the billionaire snapped back in an authoritative voice. “I’m telling you: you’re walking to the Quonset hut, or I promise, what the Russians have in mind will seem like a picnic compared to what we dish out.”
Fischer blinked, nodded to his soldiers, and pointed Paulson toward the Quonset hut.
CHAPTER 125
Leah had K’aalógii, wrapped in the thermal blanket and nestled in her arms. She was a heavy load, carried that way, but Leah’s adrenaline level seemed to compensate. For now.
“Her vitals are stable,” Dr. Gordon whispered. “Should you successfully escape, you must seek medical care at once.” He reached over and slipped a medical form off the clipboard, into Leah’s pocket. Gordon had declined to leave, though he had decided to accept whatever consequences came with enabling her escape. “Present this to the emergency room physician. It’s a record of her treatment. There will be things you can’t explain, certain chemical traces that remain from the cryonic state.” Gordon shrugged. “I’m sure a person of your tenacity will overcome any issues that arise.”