“Simona?”
Spinning on her heel, Simona looked at Dr. Besson. “Yes, Mychelle?”
“Good news. Production is underway. We’re ready to begin loading the first batch of Miasma into the reservoirs.”
Relief swept through Simona. The last major obstacle to her plans was now gone. Project Miasma could, at long last, begin. “Excellent.”
“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”
“Yes.” She paused. “We have.”
“How do you want to celebrate?”
“Excellent question.” Her concerns forgotten, Simona smiled. “We should—”
Her hand vibrated. Her fingers tightened around her satphone. She checked the caller. Then she lifted the device to her ear. “Can this wait? I’m—”
“He’s here,” Pascal said.
“Who’s here? What are you talking about?”
“Remember Cy Reed? The salvage expert Lila hired to dig up the reliquary?”
She gritted her teeth. “You said he died in Israel.”
“I was wrong.”
Her brain whirled as she fit facts together. Reed was still alive. Not only that but he’d somehow tracked the Nautilus to Pagan. “How’d he find us?”
“I’m not sure. But I’m nearly positive he came in on that helicopter.”
“But we shot it down. We smothered the whole area with CN-46.”
“I know.”
She inhaled through her nostrils. “Where is he now?”
Pascal hesitated. “He just stormed into your office.”
Simona closed her eyes. Quietly, she thanked Briggs for his impromptu visit into the tunnels. Without him, she might’ve never realized how careless she’d become with her elevator key. “Stop him. Now.”
“I will. But unfortunately, that’s not the only problem. Our radar has picked up an incoming plane.”
“So?”
“It’s not one of ours.”
She exhaled. “The Separative?”
“Possibly. Regardless, it looks like an advanced military jet. I’m not sure our missile systems will be able to handle it. What do you want me to do?”
Simona quickly considered her options. “Take the Grueler off its leash.”
“Understood.”
With a push of her finger, Simona ended the call. All her apprehensions came racing back. How in the world had Reed survived this long? It was impossible. And yet, she couldn’t ignore the facts.
She shook her head. It was so odd. The very thing that had most likely drawn Reed to Pagan in the first place was also the very thing that had made Project Miasma a reality. Part of her wished she could just give him the reliquary and send him on his way. It wasn’t like she needed it anymore. But Reed would never trust her. Her only option was to kill the man.
This time, he wouldn’t escape his fate.
Unfortunately, Reed was the least of her concerns. Undoubtedly, the incoming jet was filled with armed personnel. They’d storm the station. The Grueler might be able to fight off the first wave. Maybe even a second wave. But eventually, she’d lose control. And once that happened, the truth about Project Miasma would come to light.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. The beautiful thing about Project Miasma was that it didn’t require repeated flights over an extended time period. A single flight from each drone would be sufficient for her purposes. Then it was just a matter of covering her tracks.
Fortunately, she had a special plan to do that. The Imperial Japanese Army had laid the groundwork for it many decades ago. She’d merely updated their work, bringing it into the modern century.
Yes, everything would be fine. In a few hours, Project Miasma would be finished. The station would lie in ruins. And she’d be gone, whisked away to her private compound to prepare for the wonderful future.
“Simona?” Mychelle arched an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, thank you.” Simona shook her head, clearing the fog. “Please load the reservoirs and alert the crew to begin fueling the onboard tanks.”
“Of course.”
“We’re a little low on time and we may have guests down here in the very near future. So, move quickly. When you’re done, head to Pagan Bay via the tunnel. Take everything that matters.”
Mychelle bit her lip. “You’re scaring me.”
“Do as I say and you’ll be fine. Now go.” Simona took a deep breath. “I’ve got work to do.”
Chapter 69
My heart raced as I cracked the office door and peeked into the reception area.
It was empty.
I paced to the next door. Cracking it open, I peered outside. The hallway was dark. But I saw a single person, short and dark-skinned, standing in it.
Silently, I extended my gun. Took careful aim. Squeezed the trigger.
With incredible speed, he whipped out his gun and fired a few bullets at my head. I ducked behind the door. Air whipped past my face. Metal projectiles slammed into concrete.
“Hello, Cy.” Pascal’s voice was soft, yet full of malice. “Where are your friends?”
I didn’t answer.
“You know those two people you killed in Israel?” He paused. “Their names were Nick Mickles and Grover Herman. I trained them personally.”
“You didn’t do a very good job,” I called out.
“They weren’t just my pupils. They were my friends.” His voice grew louder. “You killed them. Now, I’m going to kill you.”
“You mean you’re going to ask your cronies to do it.”
“They’re not here.” His voice took on a sly edge. “As far as I’m concerned, this is between you and me.”
A thought occurred to me. Maybe Pascal didn’t realize the full extent of Simona’s geoengineering activities. Maybe he didn’t know about all the people she was hurting with her planes. “Do you understand what’s going on here?” I asked.
He didn’t respond.
“Your boss is trying to engineer the climate,” I said. “And she’s causing floods and desertification in the process. People are dying.”
“So what?”
An icy chill ran through me, followed by a blazing inferno of anger. “Are you serious?”
“Look around. This world of ours is screwed up beyond belief. And it’s our fault. We’ve ravaged the land for power and resources. We’ve waged war, torn down forests, and stripped mountains for minerals. We’ve buried streams, domesticated animals, and fished the life out of the oceans. We’ve battled Mother Nature. And we’ve crushed her like a bug.”
I trained my gun out into the open, keeping it absolutely steady. But I didn’t see him in the shadows. “Not everyone does those things.”
“Maybe not. But they’ve benefitted from them. Or maybe they’ve stood by, allowing them to happen. They’re complicit.”
“And for that, they deserve to die?”
“Yes.” His voice turned stern, unyielding. “The world’s most brilliant minds repeatedly trumpet the dangers of climate change. And do you know what people do? They debate celebrity marriages, yap on their phones, and buy things they don’t need. Society is broken, Cy. It deserves everything it gets.”
Did he have a point? Wasn’t mankind pillaging the earth for its own selfish desires? How many computers, television sets, and other baubles did the average person really need anyway?
My gun hand wobbled as I took cover next to the doorframe.
Then again, how much damage did those things really cause? Environmentalists expected others to consume less oil, use less energy, recycle, and only buy certain products. But the overall impact, even for the entire population, was negligible at best.
Maybe doing without certain luxuries wasn’t about improving the environment. Maybe it was about sacrifice. Sacrifice to cleanse perceived sins. But was that really necessary?