“We were actually surprised you were on the island in the first place,” the woman added. “How did you get here?”
Ash remained silent.
“As we understand it,” the man said, “you two were the last ones to see Olivia.”
“That’s right,” Ash said.
“We’d like you to tell us what happened to her.”
“She didn’t make it out.”
“That’s not really an answer. Was it the explosion?”
“That certainly made it hard for her to leave,” Ash replied.
Silence fell over the room for a moment, then the woman leaned forward. “Was she able to do what she had come to do?”
“You mean, did she release the Sage Flu virus?”
As one, the man and the woman straightened in their chairs, surprised.
“Release?” the woman asked.
“Isn’t that why you were there? To initiate Project Eden’s plan, while sending the Project itself into chaos? Well, congratulations. You succeeded.”
“She activated the KV-27a virus?” the man asked.
Chloe leaned forward. “You didn’t know she was going to do that, did you?”
The other two exchanged a look. The man pushed his chair back and stood up. “Thank you for the information. We’ll let you return to your room now. If you get hungry, the kitchen is just down a few doors from where you’re—”
“Hold on,” Ash said. “You thought she was just going to take out Bluebird? She didn’t tell you what she really had planned?”
“I’m sure you’re still tired. We can talk more later.”
“We can talk more right now!” Ash shot up onto his feet, and leaned across the table. “We’re right, aren’t we? You didn’t expect this.”
It was the woman who broke first, unable to keep the fear from her face. “She told us she just wanted to destroy them, and ruin their plans. That they deserved to fail for turning their backs on her.”
“Well, she took them out, all right.”
“Don’t you see? The only place the release could have been activated from was Bluebird. If it had been eliminated without the virus being released, there would have been no way for anyone else to do it, and the Project would have died. But if she activated the virus, then the Project is still very much alive. It’s far larger than just those who were at Bluebird. They’ve been working on this for decades. They’ve prepared for nearly every possibility. Just because the head’s been cut off doesn’t mean the body is going to die.”
Ash stared at her for half a second. “We have to let people know.” It was something that should have been done hours ago when he and the others had first come aboard the ship. He had been operating under the assumption that those on the boat had full knowledge of what Olivia was up to.
Precious time had been wasted doing nothing.
“And tell them what?” the man asked. “That they’re all going to die? Them knowing what’s coming isn’t going to change that.”
“I need to get in touch with the people who sent my friends and me here. They have plans in place. Things that will help. But the longer we wait, the less they’ll be able to do.”
Doubt clouded the man’s eyes. “Whatever they have planned won’t work. We told you, the Project is prepared for every possibility.”
“I won’t just do nothing!”
The man opened his mouth to speak again, but the woman touched his arm, stopping him. “He’s right,” she said. “We have to try.”
The communications room was located at the back of the bridge. They all squeezed inside with the operator, a woman named Wetzler.
Because of the nature of the vessel, the room had been equipped with gear that was specifically designed to work in extreme weather conditions and at very long ranges — a radio with an extremely powerful transmitter, two backups, and a specialized satellite phone that worked even through a thick cloud cover. The storm, though, would still make any connections tenuous.
They had to try the sat phone four times before Ash finally heard the other end ring.
A voice cracked through the static. “…is this?”
“Hello?” Ash said. “Matt, is that you?”
“…old…et him.”
“Hello?” Ash said.
No response.
“Hello?”
He could only hear the hiss of the line, and was about to hang up so they could try again, when—
“…is Matt. Who’s this?”
“Matt! It’s Ash.”
“Can hardly…ear you. Who are…”
“Ash. It’s Ash.”
“Ash? My God, where are…ou?”
“Doesn’t matter. The virus. It’s been set off.”
“We know. Reports from…place. Doing what we can.”
They were already on it. Which meant signs of the virus’s dispersal must have shown up. “Matt, Pax and the others are stranded on Amund Ringnes Island. The plane’s not going to be able to get them. It, uh, broke down.” Telling him that it had crashed would only create unnecessary conversation.
“How ab…you?”
“We’ve been able to hitch a ride on a boat. Tell Brandon and Josie I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
There was silence on the other end, and Ash assumed whatever Matt was saying was lost in the connection. The Resistance leader then said, “Be careful.”
“We will.”
Ash hung up, and looked at the others. “They already know.”
The room was silent. Until moments before, the release of KV-27a had been represented only by Olivia punching a code into a computer.
Now it was real.
Matt hung up the phone.
“That was Ash?” Rachel asked.
“Yes.”
“Thank God he’s all right. What about the others?”
“He didn’t say.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I think that’s a good sign. He would have said something otherwise.”
Matt nodded, though he wasn’t as sure as she was. “He told me to tell his kids he was on his way back. I…should have told him about Brandon.”
“No. You did the right thing. There’s nothing he can do from where he is.” She put her arm around her brother’s shoulder. “Brandon’s going to be okay.” She squeezed him, and smiled. “I’ll tell Josie her dad’s on the way back. That’ll make her feel better.”
But Matt barely heard her.
He should have told Ash. If it had been Matt’s son, he would have wanted to know.
He forced himself to focus, and turned to Christina. “Still no sign?”
Christina had been monitoring the security cameras in case the helicopters returned, or Hayes and Brandon showed up.
“Nothing,” she said.
“Maybe I should send out a team,” he said to himself.
“No,” Rachel said. “It’s too soon. The others may be waiting for us to show ourselves. You can’t afford to risk everyone’s life like that. Jon knows what to do. He’ll take care of Brandon.”
Matt grimaced, not wanting to hear the words, but knowing she was right.
14
BRANDON HAD KEPT a steady pace, stopping only briefly now and then to make sure he was still going in the right direction.
He knew he had traveled miles, but didn’t know how many, or how many more he still had to go before he reached a town or road. It was becoming clear, though, that it wouldn’t happen today.
The shade of the forest had dimmed considerably with the setting sun, and soon it would be too dark to travel. Off to the right, he spotted a downed tree that was caught in a tangle of other pines, creating a covered space underneath. He angled toward it, thinking it might be a good place to spend the night. After giving it a closer inspection, he decided it would definitely be better than sleeping out in the open.