Eight thousand miles.
Eighty-two minutes.
All on a single tank of gas.
Yes, if one had to fly, the HyperMax was the way to go.
Hooper picked up a thick file on the seat next to him. He turned to a packet of classified satellite images. They showed the island of Pagan, along with Eco-Trek’s research station, at various magnifications.
He flipped through the images, studying each one. The island had undergone a drastic ecological change over the last eighteen months, transforming from a lush paradise into a desolate landscape. What kind of environmental group did that to their own base of operations?
He flipped through more images, examining every piece of the island. Then he paused. A furrow creased his brow.
Staring hard, he inspected a close-up of Pagan Bay. A large object was situated on the hillside overlooking the water. It appeared to be metallic.
In the rush to get him to Pagan, he’d had little time to question the Separative. But he wondered if they’d provided more than just stolen taxpayer dollars to Simona. More specifically, had Secretary Bane provided any special defensive capabilities to Eco-Trek?
He squinted. The object was too blurry for a positive identification. But now that he looked at it — really looked at it — he began to question his initial observation. Maybe it wasn’t a defensive installation.
Maybe it was just an animal.
Chapter 66
“Looks like we hit the jackpot.” I took off my goggles and pulled a jumpsuit over my clothes.
Graham frowned. “Some jackpot.”
“These aren’t just ordinary jumpsuits.” Beverly pulled on a garment and tied her hair into a ponytail. “They’re authentic, field-tested coats from Hell Island.”
“Ugh.” Graham grimaced as he zipped up his jumpsuit. “Whoever used this last didn’t believe in deodorant.”
She winked at him. “That’s part of the authenticity.”
Benigno shook the dust out of his hair after donning a slightly soiled jumpsuit. His eyes were hollow, yet glowed with a deep inner fire.
“What’s the priority?” Carrie asked. “Taking down the model?”
“First, we find Rizzalyn.” Benigno’s jaw twisted in anger. “Then we start killing people.”
“If we do that, none of us will make it out of here alive,” I replied. “And that includes Rizzalyn.”
His jaw twisted a little more. Then he shot me a quick nod.
“So, here’s the plan,” I said. “We find Rizzalyn and the reliquary. Then we secure a boat. After we shut down the model, we head for Saipan.”
The gleaming drone rolled forward. We stepped closer to the wall and watched as it moved out of the hangar. It quickly picked up speed and raced down the runway. With a loud whooshing noise, it lifted into the air.
Slowly, the hangar gate closed over. The commotion died down a little. Eco-Trek employees started to leave the hangar through doors in the back, heading off to other parts of the research station.
Carrie donned a cap. Keeping her head low, she walked across the hangar.
As he followed her, Graham nodded at a mechanical contraption. Long hoses connected to it. “What’s that? A refueling station?”
“Close. It’s an aerosol station.” Carrie kept her voice soft, her face tipped to the ground. “That’s how workers load CN-46 into the drones.”
“Where do the aerosols come from?”
“From what I’ve heard, there’s a basement beneath us.” She shrugged. “I’ve never seen it though.”
“How many of these people know what’s really going on here?” Beverly asked.
“Probably none of them. When I started, I was told the aerosols were for weather experiments. That was it. No details, no specifics.”
Carrie headed for the rear of the hangar, passing numerous people along the way. A few of them cast glances in our direction, but no one seemed to recognize we weren’t part of the work force.
The back of the hangar was divided into five areas. Each area consisted of metal tables, lined up in perfect rows and columns. Large monitors sat on the tables. A wireless keyboard and a mouse sat in front of each monitor.
Carrie walked to the leftmost area. She marched past some workers and took up position at an isolated computer. Without hesitation, she began typing on the keyboard.
The rest of us lingered near her. Graham pretended to type on a nearby computer. Benigno, head held low, strode to the back wall and scanned some environmental posters. Beverly knelt in front of the tables and worked her laces as if retying her boots. Meanwhile, I sidled up to Carrie.
“These computers oversee non-flight operations.” She pecked at the keyboard. The screen shifted and I saw information about inner temperature, maintenance requests, cleaning schedules, and pantry inventories. “Just give me a minute.”
Doors banged. Twisting my head, I saw a number of guards march into the hangar. My brow tightened. “Hurry up,” I whispered.
“Almost done.” Carrie hit more keys. The screen changed. A floor plan appeared. “Okay, this is the first level. Hang on.”
She typed furiously, opening up a series of boxes. As she typed commands into the boxes, I scanned the plan, memorizing it. The hangar took up roughly two-thirds of the floor space. Adjoining it, I saw a separate section lined with hallways. Bunk areas, conference rooms, a maintenance room, a kitchen, a cafeteria, a recreational room, and numerous other spaces occupied it.
The screen changed again and a second floor plan appeared above the first one. “Okay, this is the second level,” she said.
Again, the hangar took up the majority of the space. The rest of it was devoted to offices and conference rooms. One office, which overlooked the hangar’s northwest section, was exceptionally large.
I studied the plans. “If you were Simona, where would you hide prisoners and stolen items?”
“The basement, assuming it exists. Everywhere else would be too accessible.”
“Find it.”
“I’m trying. There’s just one problem.” She frowned. “According to this, there is no basement.”
“Are you sure?”
“Hang on.”
Carrie typed faster, opening still more boxes and typing still more commands.
Rotating my neck, I watched a guard leave the others. He walked to the edge of the computer banks and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Gather around, everyone,” he shouted. “We have a security update.”
“That’s our cue.” Gritting my teeth, I turned to Carrie. “Time to leave before someone realizes we don’t actually work here.”
“One …” She typed in another set of commands. “… second.”
A third level popped up on the screen, just below the first floor. It was labeled Basement. Scanning it, I saw two large cylinders and a boxed-off area. A door rested roughly in the middle of the northeast wall. “Not much detail.” I frowned. “How do we get down there?”
She scanned the screen. “See that?”
I followed her finger to a box. Filled with wavy lines, it sat along the northwest wall. “A stairwell?”
“No. Stairwells are marked with straight lines.” To prove her point, she stabbed her finger at a stairwell on the first floor. “I think it’s an elevator.”
“How do we access it?”
“Well, it’s located here.” She placed her finger on the elevator. Then she moved it to the exact same location on the first floor. “Which matches up to here.”
I arched an eyebrow. “That’s close by.”
She followed my gaze to a giant pillar in the northwest corner. It extended from the ground to the ceiling. “That looks thick enough to hide an elevator.” Glancing at the maps, she shifted her finger to the same spot on the second floor. “The entrance must be here.”