“That’s it?”
“Yes, there are three core samples, all confirmed to hold the virus.”
“Well, let’s just have a quick look, shall we? Pop that thing open.”
She complied. Sure enough, inside lay three ice cores.
“Yup, those are core samples, all right. Listen, I don’t want to be a bother, but I’m going to insist that we go back in and put enough of them under a microscope so that I can see the virus for myself. What do you say?”
That was the last thing she wanted but she couldn’t say it. “I say you shouldn’t have hit the microbiologist so hard that he won’t be any help to you in finding the virus.”
“Hamlin?”
She nodded.
“Oh no. Isn’t that just the way it’s been going for me lately. That’s almost funny in a tragic kind of way. Lena, I’m confident that somebody in there knows enough about basic science that they can help me, even if he can’t. Come on, let’s go. The quicker the better.”
“Are you sure?”
He raised his hand. Hamlin’s recently acquired black Beretta was in it. Lena forgot that he had recently gotten in the habit of putting it under the seat when he went out. “I’m sure. Now move it before I decide to dissolve our partnership right here and now. Get us back in there and fast.”
She had little choice but to comply.
The worst case scenario took all of five minutes to happen. The last crew member had just got their tie cut off when the door slammed open and Lena stepped back in, followed by their captor.
“Did you miss me?” he yelled happily. “What, nobody armed and ready to repel boarders? What is wrong with you people? You ruined your one and only chance. Everybody, in here now!”
Dejected, they came slowly.
“Awesome. Now, everybody sit down at the table with Hamlin. That includes you, Miss Lena. Hurry it up!” He picked up his pistol which still lay in the same place he had dropped it.
“Let’s move it. You, chunky. Don’t sit. I need you to do something for me.”
Zoya looked terrified.
“Oh, relax. It’s not that bad. I need you to go into the back storage room where the larger weapons were put. I need you to find one that looks a lot like a machine gun, but just a little bulkier with a funny canister on the bottom. Think you can manage that?”
“Yes.” Her voice broke, but she walked off steadily.
Lena looked grim. She knew what the weapon was. “What the hell are you doing?”
“The same thing I was always planning to do, Colonel.”
“But what about the samples?”
“Oh, I believe you. If they didn’t have the virus in them, why would you have bothered to save them in the first place? It’s not like there’s a shortage of ice to sample. We’re sitting on what, two miles of it as we speak? I have no doubt the samples are valid.”
“But you said…”
“I needed a reason to get you back in here. I really didn’t want to shoot you in the Cat. How boring would that have been?”
“You’re a monster.”
“No, no. When you have as much money as I’m going to have, you don’t get called monster. Maybe socially maligned or morally lacking or something like that. Ah, here she comes. Good girl. Bring that right over here to me.”
Zoya seemed unsure how to carry the bulky weapon.
“You’re doing just fine. Here, let me help you. I’ll just take that so you don’t drop it.”
He walked over and took it from her.
“Excellent. Now just go on over and get a comfortable spot at the table.”
She obeyed quietly.
Lena’s mind was racing. There had to be an option. What could she do?
“You didn’t even shut the door,” she complained. “It’s freezing in here already.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. Things are going to warm up right shortly. Being cold is going to be your fondest wish in just a moment. I’m just going to…make a quick check here…”
He looked down at the weapon he now cradled. A pop and hiss emanated from it.
“Great! We have a pilot light. We are in business. Say, I would love to see that look you all are so capable of just one more time before I go. Lena, could you tell them what I have in my hands here, so they can put two and two together.”
“Why? Why do you have to do this?”
“It’s been kind of a fantasy for me. And frankly, I don’t really see another opportunity presenting itself anytime soon. There are not a lot of circumstances that lead to the chance to use a flamethrower, no matter how much money you have. Especially on people.”
A number of gasps emitted from the people at the table. Zoya lost it completely and started to cry.
“Oh, now, now. It’s not all that bad. This thing is so intense, you’ll only actually feel it for a few seconds. Ten, maybe twenty tops. Then you’ll pass out from the pain. After that…nothing. So you see, it could be worse. If some of you could jump up and run around the room screaming after I set you on fire, well, I’d like that. It would be kind of cool; just like in the movies.”
He checked over his shoulder to confirm the path to the open doorway. He started stepping away, finger now on the trigger.
“Here’s hoping you all enjoy barbeque as much as I do.”
“You’ll burn in hell for this,” Lena snarled defiantly.
“Well, you’re the ones on the receiving end of this thing, so…”
As his finger tightened, he made the last mistake of his life. He allowed himself to be distracted. Barinov was making no effort to conceal himself or to be stealthy as he stumbled up the stairs and into the barracks. The allure of fresh, warm meat drove what little mental capacity he had left. But he was not detected. He loomed behind the soldier, poised himself, and drove forward, teeth-first into the side of his face.
“Hey! What the…Jesus!”
They grappled for a moment. The soldier managed to use a leverage move to flip Barinov over his shoulder and onto the linoleum floor. Blood dripped from the gaping mouth as opaque, blank eyes rolled. The soldier reached back and felt the open wound on the side of his neck.
“What the fuck are you? Damn it!” He pulled the Beretta out of his pocket and shot Barinov in the head. He immediately slumped to the floor. He had forgotten momentarily about the others. It was an opportunity that did not get missed.
Lena hit him from the side, her foot driving with all her strength into the knee of his planted foot. It popped audibly and he fell to the floor shrieking.
“Ow! Dammit! What the fuck! My leg!”
She picked up the gun he had dropped in all the confusion and held it limply in her hand.
“Damn you! Fuck! What have you done to me?”
“Broke your leg.”
“Fuck! Fuck you! Bitch!” He continued to writhe.
“I’d be more worried about what Barinov just did to you.”
“Oh shit, oh shit. I’ve got to go.”
She actually smiled. “It doesn’t matter now. You just got what you wanted.”
“Bullshit! Bullshit! What the fuck…what are you saying?”
“You’ve been infected. The virus is all yours. Poetic justice if I do say so myself.”
“What? No! Shit, shit, shit.” He struggled to regain some semblance of composure and control. “We’ve got to talk, Colonel. You and me. Right now. There’s still a hundred million on the line.”
“Not for you. You’ll be a raving lunatic like Barinov in forty-eight hours. We have no immunity or cure, remember? That’s what makes it so valuable. Asshole.”
“What? Wait…no. We can work this out. We can.”
“I already have.” She turned so she could see him and still address the others. “Listen, I have a plan.”