Elizabeth waited silently, pondering something, thinking of their talks, of the words he’d spoken over the sessions. “You said something earlier… about the Afghan men stopping, not entering the valley.”
“Froze right at the top and didn’t dare go in. Made for easy targets,” York replied.
“They knew, didn’t they? They knew it was better to die at your hands than be killed by what was in that cave,” Elizabeth said.
“Sure did. They wanted no part of it. See, I think how it works is like this: The villagers, they’re allowed to stay. Not sure why, but there were old ones, young ones, too, though not many. Looked to be doing okay, I guess. In A-Stan, they’re all malnourished. Either way, those things allow them to live. If for a moment they wanted the villagers dead, it would be over with.”
“Why, Sergeant York? Why are they allowed this?”
“Don’t know. Mutual agreement? I do know this, those things know the people are there. And the people, they sure as shit were scared. I’d imagine if we’d have left, they’d have attempted to follow,” York said.
“What you said earlier, about the Taliban. How does it pertain to this?” she wondered.
“Oh, by them not being human, ya mean,” he laughed.
She found this odd.
“Don’t get it, huh?” York asked. “Thing is, the fucking people are different here. They’ll shake your hand, then shoot you in the back. Now, whatever is in that cave still has some human left. Not much, but some. That makes me think their mentality, their culture, has something to do with it.”
“Why would that matter?” she asked.
“Because they were quick to kill us. No warning, no threats, just death.”
“I see. And you suppose the reason for this is—”
“—Generations of war. Hundreds of years of fighting, of conflict. This region, Khost… it’s never been conquered, ya know that?”
“I do.”
“Something in the water, something in their genetics. There’s something there that causes them to fight and die and it’s fucking scary enough. But whatever happened to those… things in there, it just isn’t right. Something destroyed their souls. Something made them un-human. Monsters,” York declared. “Fucking monsters!”
63
“So basically they ignore perhaps a big problem. If the experiment fails, no big deal. Thing is, sounds like the experiment was a success,” Rivers added to what Dale was saying. “Something a politician might do.”
“Well, no politician knows of this situation,” Elizabeth said.
“Like Sergeant Comstock stated, they just leave it up to us to clean up. The region is declared a no-man’s land. Twenty-five mile no fly zone. Unbelievable.” Rivers shook his head in disgust.
“That’s right. And over the past two decades, little to no known activity in the region. Those who live in the valley, stay in the valley. Those who venture in, don’t make it out,” Elizabeth said.
“And these human things… is there a cure? We trying to help them or hunt them?”
“There’s no known cure. Even if there was, I don’t think the Russians would offer it. Too much embarrassment.”
“So like you said to Country Fuck earlier, we’re here to kill them all. Sounds so primitive,” Rivers expressed. He didn’t like such a mission, one with such vile implications.
“Jeff, you’ll seek and destroy every single one,” Elizabeth said without thinking.
Everyone looked at them oddly, noticing the slip of the tongue.
Elizabeth turned back to the men, saying to all of them, “The Russians attempted to create a super-soldier. They failed, creating something far worse. It’s killed many top echelon teams, the Taliban stay clear, know of them, they are not to be trifled with. Whatever is in that cave is extraordinary.”
“They killable?” Rivers asked.
“According to York, yes. He also has a theory…” Elizabeth began. “One that makes sense.”
“Great, let’s hear the crazy guy’s theory,” Rivers said, rolling his eyes. “Lizzy, you trust him or something?” he asked.
Again, everyone in the room noticed it. Noticed the way the pair spoke to one another, even if they attempted to disguise it.
“These people, before the chemical hit, they were warriors. Mujahideen. They were perhaps one of the greatest armies the world has ever seen, and this province, this specific valley, housed some important men. Downright killers. Even the Spetsnaz were afraid to come to Khost.”
“Your point?” Rivers asked.
“York claims that somehow the chemical effected them so that their abilities weren’t unlearned. Instead, they continued their knowledge, continued getting better,” Elizabeth said. “According to Svetlana’s work, we believe these things have evolved in a way. They’ve adapted long enough to survive, and from York’s best guess, there might be many. We have no way of knowing their numbers, but we do know this: they are angry, and they are quick to kill,” she finished.
“Let’s say this Sergeant’s theory is true, does it match up with the science?” Rivers asked.
Svetlana nodded as Elizabeth confirmed, saying, “It wasn’t supposed to have long lasting effects. The men were to be dosed, and the effects would slowly fade away. Such amplification of one’s body, one’s mind, would eventually drive a man insane. This was the opinion of Mikhail, the lead scientist. The one who developed the compound.”
“But it lasted, eh?” Rivers frowned, thinking how unbelievable this all was.
“It’s lasted over two decades,” Elizabeth responded. “And if they are deadly enough to kill twelve members of The Unit, we know we have problems. That means they haven’t regressed. That means they still have the ability to kill, and from what York says, they did so without hesitation.”
“Well all this talk of some crazy man’s feelings on the matter might appeal to Mister Hollywood SEAL over there, but I don’t give two shits. What I care about is INTEL, something you’re saying we don’t have much of,” Clements said.
“Some, but not near enough. You’ll be going in blind,” Elizabeth said.
“Fine, I’ll accept that,” Clements acknowledged. “What I don’t get is this: once the Russians, shit, once we realized there was a problem, why not just bomb the fucking place? It’s not like it hasn’t happened before, and a town of villagers in the middle of nowhere wouldn’t hit the news or anything. Why not just carpet bomb the fuck out of that valley? Why not just fire a few bunker busters into that cave and call it a day?” Clements asked.
He had a valid point, one that needed answering.
Elizabeth answered immediately, saying, “That’s been considered. There are two factors against us. First, the innocent villagers. You may or may not care, but some do. But even if they became causalities of war, causalities for the common good, there’s another reason.”
“Death is death,” Clements remarked. “What’s the real reason?”
“The cave. It’s complex, much bigger than you’ve ever seen. The pride and joy of American engineers and politicians,” Elizabeth admitted. “It’s deep. Lots of tunnels, maybe miles down. Even our biggest bunker busters might not do the trick.”
“You’d get most of ’em,” Clements responded, still not buying the answer. “Shit, close the opening and the few who didn’t die right away would soon enough. To me, seems the easiest solution to your problem.”
“Because we need to know. We need to reach the deepest part, we need to eradicate the cave. Whether it’s five or it’s fifty, we need them all dead. A hundred percent success rate, and that means boots on the ground.”
“Guess it’s why we’re here,” Rivers stated.
She turned, nodding her head.