Cold Sanctuary (John Decker Series Book 2) (24 page)

65

“Okay. Tell us.” Hunt stood with his hands on his hips.

The group was back in the lab, huddled around Dominic’s monitor. On the screen was a live feed from the quarantine area. Thankfully the volume was turned down so that the strange wailing was, for the most part, blocked out. Only a slight sound made its way through the air ducts into the room. Even so, Decker found himself struggling to ignore it.

Dominic rifled through a pile of folders on the desk before finding the one he was looking for. “So like I said, I was doing some research, going through all these old case files and the original research notes, and I came across something interesting, something which might explain the odd vocalizations our friend in quarantine is making. I think you will find this very informative.”

“We’re listening,” Hunt said.

“So the original scientists were doing some really oddball crap down here, like real Frankenstein type stuff.” Dominic paused, looking around the ring of expectant faces as if he was waiting for his words to sink in.

“Hurry it up. We don’t have all day.” Hunt sounded annoyed.

“Right, of course.” Dominic cleared his throat. “So, in the mid nineteen-sixties, researchers like Marshall Nirenberg and Sydney Brenner cracked the genetic code. It was a huge deal. There was an explosion of research into DNA. We suddenly understood more about our own building blocks than we ever had before. It was a watershed moment.”

“I don’t need a history lesson,” Hunt said. “Is there a point to all of this?”

“Yes, please bear with me.” Dominic was talking faster now. “The scientists down here made full use of that new information. Over the course of a decade, they tinkered around, trying to create a better warrior. They were trying to create a soldier that could go further, faster, and for longer, with a high pain threshold, and the ability to take a bullet and keep going. Being the Navy, they even wanted it to be semi-aquatic.”

“A super soldier,” Decker breathed. Until now he had thought such things were confined strictly to the realm of science fiction. Apparently that was not the case.

“Quite. It was all highly classified stuff. I mean Top-level, super secret research. These guys were twenty years ahead of the game, maybe more. Not that they ever got credit for it.”

“So what went wrong?” Mina asked.

“Their theories were advanced, but not advanced enough. They were trying to splice genes, tinker with DNA, and add in new bits and pieces. They were close to achieving their goal. The problem was that it would be years before the human genome was mapped. They just didn’t have all the tools.”

“So they created that monster instead.” Mina glanced toward the monitor.

“Right. It worked on some levels. The creature was strong, with dense armor plated scales, and even a set of auxiliary gills allowing it to breathe underwater. But instead of an intelligent super soldier, they created an uncontrollable abomination. The project was put in mothballs and the place was shut down.”

“But how does any of that explain the noises the creature is making?” Hunt asked.

“That’s the interesting thing, at least as far as we are concerned. The original researchers wanted to make sure that assets in the field could find one other, help each other if they were injured or captured, without the need for bulky communications devices.”

“Why not just call out?” Mina asked.

“No good, it isn’t distinctive enough. Besides, they needed something that only those soldiers would understand.”

“I still don’t see what we gain by this,” Hunt said.

“You will,” Dominic replied. “I ran the sound through a spectral analysis and got some strange results back. There is another component to the vocalization, one that operates on a frequency higher than human ears can detect, at least regular human ears. The sound is unique, and carries further because of the spectrum it operates in. It’s like a beacon that only other members of its own kind can detect.”

“A distress call.” Decker was excited now. “Goddam it, that thing is calling out for help.”

“Bingo.” Dominic beamed.

“Wait a minute.” Hunt fixed Dominic with a hard stare. “Are you telling me that we can lure the other one out and neutralize it?”

“Not exactly,” Dominic replied. “The sound can travel a long way, but it can’t travel through solid rock, and there is a lot of that above us.”

“So we move the creature above ground, where the other one can hear it,” Mina said.

“That would be suicide.” Hunt shook his head. “We would never be able to control it. The creature would just escape, possibly killing us in the process, and then there would be two of them on the loose.”

“Quite right,” Dominic agreed. “Think of the havoc it would wreak.”

“We don’t need to take the creature anywhere,” Decker explained. “We only need a recording of the distress call.”

“And then what?” Mina asked.

“We lure it down here and kill it.”

“Why not just go up there and play the sound, then kill it the minute it pops its head up?” Mina looked between Decker and Hunt.

“Too dangerous.” Hunt shook his head. “If I miss, or merely wound it, we might lose it again. We can’t risk the creature rampaging. It’s already killed too many innocent people.”

“He’s right,” Decker agreed. “We have to get it down here.”

“There is one problem,” Mina said.

“What?” Hunt turned to her.

“How do you propose to shoot it? According to Dominic, the creature is practically impervious to bullets.”

“With this.” Hunt heaved the assault rifle off his shoulder. “It’s loaded with M855 armor piercing ammo. These bullets will go through Kevlar like it’s not even there. Just get the damn thing into my sights, and I’ll take it down, guaranteed.”

“So it’s settled then,” Decker said. “We bring the monster to us.”

66

“Are you people out of your freaking minds?” Dominic looked horrified. “You want to lure that monster down here, with us?”

“Why not?” Decker nodded. “This place is perfect, a controlled environment with no risk of collateral damage.”

“It’s our best option,” Hunt said. “Contain and eliminate.”

“Absolutely not,” Dominic protested. “It’s a crazy idea. You will get us all killed.”

“If we don’t, it will keep picking people off one by one,” Decker said.

“Adam?” Dominic looked toward Hunt. “You can’t really be considering this?”

If he was hoping for support it didn’t come. “I don’t see what choice we have. I’ve been trying to eliminate the thing for weeks without success.”

“So why the hell didn’t you warn Wilder? He might still be alive if you had.” Decker shot him a look. “Why didn’t you come to me, ask for my help?”

“Because you’re a civilian,” Hunt said. “You don’t have the security clearance.”

“That’s bull. You screwed up big time,” Mina said.  “I bet your bosses will be happy now.”

“I’m sure they will have something to say about this regrettable mess; my next assignment might be shuffling papers behind a desk,” Hunt agreed. “But what’s done is done. Now that you are here I don’t have any choice but to fill you in.”

“Like you should have done in the beginning,” Mina countered.

“We can stand here throwing accusations around, or we can work together to put things right,” Hunt said. “Your choice.”

Mina opened her mouth to speak, a flash of anger crossing her face.

“He’s right.” Decker met her gaze. “We can play the blame game later. Right now there is a monster to catch, and we may just have a way to do it.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Mina asked.

“What?”

“Even if we manage to lure the creature out, how do we get it down here?” She looked around the group. “The elevator is out of the question unless we can remotely operate it, and there isn’t another way down.”

“That’s not true,” Dominic said. “There is an emergency exit. A flight of stairs that leads to the surface.”

“But you told Silas…”

“I lied,” Dominic said. “I didn’t want him taking those vials, and with the power out, the elevator was useless.”

“So we use the stairs,” Decker said. “Now we need a recording of the creature’s vocalizations, and something to play them back on.”

“The recording part is easy. I already have that.” Dominic nodded toward the computer.

“We could use a cell phone,” Mina said. “We can use the voice memo app and play it back on speaker.”

“No good.” Dominic shook his head. “The volume would not be loud enough, even for the ultrasonic wavelengths that we need. It has to be something much more powerful or else the person with the recording would have to be right on top of the creature. They would never be able to escape once they lured it out.”

“So what then?” Decker asked. Without a way to deliver the sound, the plan was doomed before it even started.

“All we need is something to draw the creature’s attention,” Hunt said. “After that, it will simply be a matter of running fast enough to stay ahead of it.”

“You make it sound so easy,” said Decker, a wry smile on his lips.

“It’s your plan,” Hunt said. “If you can think of a better one I’m all ears.”

“If I could think of a better one I would never have suggested this one.”

“Not that it does us any good if we can’t broadcast the sound,” Mina said.

“I think I might be able to help with that.” Dominic jumped up. “I think I know what we can use.”

“What?” Decker watched him cross the room.

“Wait and see.” Dominic disappeared into the corridor. A few minutes later he returned, a triumphant look upon his face. In his hands he held an oblong object that Decker recognized immediately.

He set it down on the desk and glanced around the expectant faces. “This should do the trick.”

“A cassette tape player?” Hunt raised an eyebrow.

“Where the hell did you find that thing?” Mina asked. “It’s ancient.”

“Living quarters next to mine,” Dominic replied. “There’s all sorts of retro crap lying around down here. What do you think?”

“I think you are a genius,” said Decker. “Do you have a tape?”

“Of course.” He whipped a cassette out of his pocket. “Disco Fever. Twenty-Two Solid Gold Disco Hits.”

“Yuck.” Mina wrinkled her nose. “Forget taping over it, we should just play it as is. If that doesn’t kill the creature nothing will.”

“Death by stereo,” Dominic quipped. “Nice.”

“Huh?” Hunt glared at him.

“
The Lost Boys
movie? You know, when the vampire-” Dominic looked around the trio of blank faces. “Oh, forget it.”

“Can we focus please?” Hunt picked up the cassette. “How do you plan to get the creature’s wailing from off your laptop and onto this thing?”

“That’s a good question.” Decker was wondering the same thing. “I can’t imagine there is a cable that will do the trick. That cassette deck is too old.”

“Easy.” Dominic pointed to the row of buttons on top of the machine. His finger hovered over the one with a red dot on it. “I just play back the creature on my laptop, and press record. Hopefully everything still functions and the tape hasn’t demagnetized over the years.”

“Will that work?” Hunt asked. “Will the sound be pure enough?”

“It won’t be digital, if that’s what you’re asking, and there will be some loss, but it should be close enough for our purposes.” Dominic lifted the tape from its box and dropped it into the cassette deck. “We’ll all have to be absolutely silent while I do this, of course.”

“And then all I have to do is take the recording up into the tower, and play it full blast until a monster comes to chase me, and then run like hell,” Decker said. “What could be easier?”

“Why you?” Mina said. “It makes more sense if I go.”

“That is not happening.” Decker shook his head. “I’ve put you in enough danger already.”

“But I’m faster. I’ve already outrun it once,” Mina protested. “It has to be me.”

“She’s right.” Hunt spoke up. “If anyone stands a chance of staying ahead of that thing, it’s her.”

“No way.” Decker met Hunt’s gaze.

“Sorry, I’m in charge, and I say the girl goes.”

“Come on. I can do this.” Mina stepped between Hunt and Decker. “You know I can.”

“Fine.” Decker turned away, frustrated. He turned to Hunt, a grim look upon his face. “But if anything happens to her, I’m holding you responsible.”

67

Mina took the stairs two at a time, climbing up toward the surface. It had taken another two hours to finalize the plan and transfer the creature’s vocalizations onto the cassette tape. After that, armed with Hunt’s high-powered two-way radio, they made their way to the emergency exit.

When they reached the stairs Hunt turned to her.

“Are you sure you can do this?” There was concern in his voice.

“Sure as I can be.” She watched Hunt push the stairwell door inward and jam it open by inserting a large screwdriver between the door and the frame. It occurred to her that if the door somehow closed, she would be trapped, since there was no handle or push bar on her side. That was not a pleasant thought, and she pushed it from her mind. Besides, Decker and Hunt would be right there to make sure the door stayed open.

“It’s not too late to change your mind.” Decker gripped her arm. “I’ll take your place.”

“We’ve been through this already. Besides, you have people who love you, I don’t.” Mina stepped toward the stairs, pushing the radio into her jeans pocket. “Just be ready with that gun when I get back.”

“We will be right here waiting, at the bottom of the stairs,” Hunt said. “You bring us the creature, and I’ll do the rest.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“And remember, you will need to prop the exit door open when you reach the surface, or you won’t be able to get back down here. On the way back down, kick the prop away. The door is on a tension spring. It will take a while to close. There should be more than enough time for the creature to follow you inside before the door shuts behind it.”

“I hope so.” She glanced toward Decker. “Although I’m not looking forward to being trapped on the stairs with it.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Decker rested a hand on her shoulder. “Last chance to back out. I can take your place.”

“I’ve got it covered,” Mina replied. “Really.”

“In that case, you had better put this on.” Decker held out a green backpack. Inside was the tape deck. He watched her take the pack, with a concerned look upon his face.

“Don’t worry.” Mina hoisted the backpack over her shoulders and adjusted the straps. “I will be fine.”

“Just be careful.” Decker stepped back.

“Always.” Mina took a deep breath, and then she was off.

The stairs didn’t seem too bad at first. When she reached the first landing, and the emergency exit door for the upper level housing the quarantine wing, she stopped and checked it. Like the door below, it was intended for one-way entry, with a push bar on the other side, and it didn’t budge.

Satisfied, she turned back to the job at hand, climbing further up toward the surface, but after a couple of flights her legs began to ache and she slowed. She also abandoned climbing two stairs at once in favor of a gentler ascent.

She glanced downward, through the stairwell, toward the lower level where she had said her goodbyes to Decker and Hunt less than fifteen minutes before. Hopefully she would be down there again soon enough, safe behind Hunt’s oversized gun. If not...it didn’t bear thinking about.

That thought sobered her, and she felt a flutter of panic. What if she couldn't outrun the creature? What if she tripped or ended up cornered somehow? She had been lucky the last time she crossed paths with it. She hoped her luck would hold. More than that, she hoped this was the last time she would have to flee the creature.

The tape deck was bulky, cumbersome. That was another concern. She would need to have the machine with her the entire time. Dominic had recorded an hour of vocalizations on the tape, more than enough to keep the creature following her, but the clunky tape player was an added hindrance, the pack weighing her down. If all else failed, if she thought she was not going to be able to stay ahead, then she could ditch the backpack, but hopefully it would not come to that.

She looked upward, pleased to find the end in sight. Just one more flight and she would be at the surface. She ignored the pain in her calves, her thighs, and climbed the last few stairs, pausing when she reached the top to catch her breath.

The door was a one-way exit similar to the door at the bottom of the stairs, just as Hunt said it would be, with a push bar. She scoured the area for something to hold it open, and selected a piece of two by four that was leaning against the side wall. With the wood jammed between the ground and the push bar, the door would not be able to swing shut.

Pleased with her fix, Mina stepped outside, giving the door one last tug to make sure it would not close, and then took stock of her surroundings.

It was dark, the land swathed in moonless gloom.

A light drizzle filled the air, and a cold breeze nipped at her face.

She had no idea what time it was, but it must be some time after midnight. It felt like such a long time ago that she was in her apartment looking out over the bay as the sun slipped below the horizon. So much had happened since, and it wasn’t over yet.

The emergency exit came up into a small building that stood some fifty feet from the north tower. It was a nondescript block structure that would be easy to ignore, but just to be on the safe side, the builders had stenciled a dire warning on the exterior of the door.

DANGER – KEEP OUT

ELECTRICAL ROOM

HIGH VOLTAGE

If anyone were curious about the odd little building stuck out in the barren wasteland behind the tower, that notice on the door would be enough to give pause. Now that the door was propped open, however, the true reason for the room was easy to see; not that it mattered, since there was no one around to look.

She raised the two-way radio and depressed the button. “I’m up top.”

There was a moment of silence, then Decker’s voice sounded from the speaker. “Understood.”

“I’m heading toward the tower now.”

“Roger that.” The radio crackled, but the reception was pretty good, considering. “Be careful. Let us know when you are on your way back.” 

“Will do.” With one last lingering look back down the stairwell, toward John Decker and the safety of the base, she pushed the radio back into her pocket and struck out toward the tower, her feet crunching the gravel underfoot. 

As she walked, she glanced up toward the south tower, at the few windows that still glowed with soothing, warm light, and wished that she could swap places with those people, none of whom knew what was about to happen hundreds of feet beneath their home.

Ahead of her loomed the north tower, dark and foreboding, its windows black and soulless. A shiver of fear ran up her spine, and all of a sudden she wished that Decker had insisted on going in her place, because even though she didn’t want to admit it, she was more scared than she had ever been in her life.