Cold Sanctuary (John Decker Series Book 2) (27 page)

74

Decker ran as fast as he could back toward the medical bay. In one hand he carried the gun liberated from Silas, while in the other he gripped the assault rifle. Behind him, back at the quarantine wing, Adam Hunt lay bleeding. Decker knew that if the man didn’t get to a hospital soon he would die, but he also knew that if he didn’t reach Mina, so would she.

As if to punctuate that thought, a terror filled scream filled the air.

Decker pushed himself faster, rounding the last corner and reaching the medical bay just in time to see the creature disappear through the door.

He raised the assault rifle, and edged forward, his finger on the trigger. He wasn’t sure how many rounds Hunt had let off back at the quarantine wing, but he was sure there was at least half a clip left. More than enough bullets to finish the job, and unlike Wilder, or the bait and tackle shop owner, his bullets could cut through a flat jacket. They should be more than capable of killing the beast.

When he reached the door, he saw that the creature was already halfway across the room. Beyond that, behind the toppled examination couch, Mina cowered, a terrified look upon her face.

“Hey.” Decker called out in his loudest voice. “Over here.”

The creature turned.

For a brief moment Decker thought he saw a flash of anger pass across the beast’s face when it saw him, but then it was gone, replaced by pure animal rage.

Decker pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

“Shit.” He pulled the trigger again. Still the gun refused to fire.

“For Christ sakes, kill it!” Dominic’s voice rose from the other side of the room, thin and full of terror.

“I can’t. The rifle jammed.” Decker pulled the trigger a third time, to no avail. He swore, discarding the useless weapon. It must have gotten damaged when Hunt was attacked. He raised the pistol and fired. There was a moment when everything slowed to a crawl. The scene played out like it was in slow motion. Decker saw the bullet fly from the gun, saw it hit the creature square in the chest. Only the creature didn’t fall. Just as he had suspected, the regular ammo in the pistol was not up to the job. “The pistol won’t work; it’s not powerful enough.”

“So use something else.” Dominic’s voice was rising in fear.

The creature observed Decker for a moment, then, deciding he was no threat, turned back toward Mina and Dominic.

Decker’s mind went into overdrive. If he didn’t find a way to stop the beast in the next few seconds it would all be over. Hunt was already dying, and Mina would be next, followed by Dominic and himself.

He scoured the room, frantic to find something, anything to slow it down. His eyes settled on two large compressed oxygen tanks strapped to the back wall. This was a medical bay, so it made sense that they would have pure oxygen on hand.

He knew what to do now.

But there was no time to warn the others. He hoped they would realize what was happening and take cover.

He zeroed the pistol in on the tanks, taking careful aim, and then called out to the creature. “Hey, ugly. Look at me.”

The creature stopped, turned toward Decker.

That was all he needed.

Decker fired off two bullets, one for each tank.

They flew straight, slamming home with deadly accuracy, and then Decker was flying backwards as the room erupted in a mighty explosion.

Pieces of shrapnel, large chunks of metal torn from the cylinders, flew in all directions. The sound was deafening.

Decker hit the wall and slid down, his vision blurring as the concussion wave washed over him. Just as he was about to pass out, he saw the creature caught mid stride, a look of surprise on its face as the blast ripped through the room, and then it was gone.

75

“Decker?” A voice drifted through the blackness. “Please don’t be dead.”

Decker opened his eyes, blinked, and looked up at Mina. She knelt over him, tears streaking her face. When she saw his eyes flutter open, she let out a whoop of joy and flung her arms around him.

“Oh my God. I thought the explosion killed you.” She gripped him much too tight, her face pressed next to his. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“I’m fine.” He struggled to sit up. “What about the creature?”

“Nothing left but monster sized sushi,” Dominic said from over Mina’s shoulder. “Good call on the oxygen tanks. A little warning would have been nice.”

“No time. It was the only way to kill the thing.” Decker probed his body for injuries, and was relieved to find that aside from a few bruises, he was unharmed. “Besides, you were behind the examination couch. I figured it would shield you from the brunt of the explosion.”

“You got lucky.” Dominic turned away, gazing back at the remains of the medical bay. “Boy, we sure made a mess of that place. Do you think it was insured?”

“Probably not.” Decker forced a grin.

“Where’s Hunt?” Mina looked around. “Please tell me the creature didn’t kill him?”

“He’s alive, but he’ll need a doctor. The creature tore a nice chunk out of his chest.” Decker pointed back toward the quarantine area. “Help me up will you?”

“Gladly.” Mina reached down and took his hand. “Can we get out of this place now?”

“Absolutely.” Decker looked at Dominic. “What do you say, ready to leave?”

“After you,” Dominic said, a big grin spreading across his face.

“Come on then.” Decker slipped his arm around Mina’s waist to support her. “Let’s go collect Mr. Hunt, and blow this joint.”

76

One week later

“So you’re really leaving then?” Mina stood in the bedroom doorway, watching Decker pack a small suitcase lying open on the bed.

“I can’t stay here forever,” Decker replied.

“I don’t see why not. We need a sheriff, and you already have the job.”

“Not anymore.” Decker shook his head. “Hayley is bringing in a new sheriff from Anchorage. I spoke to him yesterday. He’s a nice guy, and he has experience.”

“He couldn’t be any worse than the last one,” Mina said, then qualified her statement. “Wilder I mean, not you.”

“I know what you meant.” Decker smiled.

“Even so, it would be cool if you stayed.” Mina strolled across the room. “We might need another monster hunter.”

“I think you should be free of monsters for a while. Besides, I have a family that I miss back home.”

“I know. It still sucks that you have go, though I don’t blame you. I’d get out of here in a heartbeat if I had the chance. Gutting fish for a living, and writing about the new dish at the local diner, or who won the Saturday chess match, holds no appeal after the excitement of the last few weeks.”

“Why don’t you come and visit me in Louisiana? Nancy would love to meet the brave girl who kept me in line and saved an entire town, and Nancy’s daughter, Taylor, is about your age. You’d like her. Besides, it’s warm, unlike Shackleton. People like to vacation where it’s warm, even if we don’t have Disney World like Florida.”

“You mean it?” Mina’s eyes widened. “I can come visit you?”

“Of course.” Decker put his arm around her shoulder. “Any time you want. Besides, I might need a sidekick again one day, so I need to keep you around.”

“We did make a pretty good team, didn’t we?” Mina smiled. “We kicked that monster’s butt.”

“Yeah, we did.” Decker nodded.

Mina opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment the front door opened and Adam Hunt appeared, his arm in a sling. He wore a clean white shirt buttoned all the way up, but Decker knew that underneath the garment, his chest was swathed in bandages, which in turn hid close to ninety stitches. He nodded to Mina, and then focused his attention on Decker. “Are you busy?”

“What do you think?” Decker said, annoyed at the interruption. “Don’t you ever knock?”

“Door was unlocked.”

“It’s still polite to knock,” Decker said.

“We need to talk.”

“Go ahead.”

“Alone.” His eyes shifted back to Mina.

“Fine. I can take a hint.” Mina said. “I’m going.”

“Thank you.” Hunt stepped aside to let her pass.

She shot him a suspicious glance, and then turned back to Decker. “Let me know when you are ready to go. I want to see you off.”

“I will,” Decker said.

“Good.” Mina cast one last glance at Hunt, and then disappeared into the corridor, leaving the two men alone.

“Mina seems disappointed.” Adam took a seat on the edge of the bed. “She’s really taken a shine to you.”

“She’ll be okay, she’s a strong kid.” Decker clicked his bag shut. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I thought we should have a little chat before we part ways.” Hunt looked at him, a serious expression on his face. “My employers are a bit upset with the way everything played out. They are not happy that civilians got involved in this incident.”

“I don’t suppose they are,” Decker said. “I’ve been meaning to ask, who do you work for anyway?”

“A branch of the government. Let’s just say that we clean up messes,” Hunt replied. “I can’t go into detail. Highly classified. Just like everything you saw down in that research complex.”

“Speaking of which, what will happen now?” Decker said. “What will you do with the other creature, and Silas?”

“They will be taken care of,” Hunt replied. “The work crews blasted the last of the rock falls out of the tunnel a few days ago. There’s a convoy of trucks on their way here as we speak. Silas and the creature will be taken somewhere more suitable, along with the contents of the facility. By next week that base will be nothing but an empty shell. A few weeks after that, the Navy will tear the building down, reduce it to rubble.”

“Getting rid of the evidence.”

“In a nutshell.”

“And that goes for me too, I suppose. You are here to make sure I don’t talk.”

“Something like that,” Hunt said. “The thing is, despite being annoyed by the way things went down, the people I work for are impressed with you. Your resourcefulness has gotten their attention.”

“And?” Decker narrowed his eyes.

“And they want to offer you a job.”

“Because they were impressed with me?” Decker said. “Or because they would rather have me in the fold, given what I know?”

“There is that too.” Hunt smiled. “Either way, it pays well, and I have a feeling you could use the money.”

“I’m getting by.”

“It’s not an offer to take lightly John.”

“And I don’t, but...”

“Ah. There's always a
but
.” Hunt interrupted.

“I think I’ll decline.”

“I would think carefully about that if I were you. They are not the kind of people who take no for an answer.”

“I can imagine.” Decker lifted the bag off the bed and set it on the floor. “So what’s in it for me if I say yes?”

“They won’t be forced to kill you, for a start.”

Decker paused and shot him a look.

Hunt grinned. “I’m kidding. They won’t kill you.”

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Tell me, why did you become a cop?” asked Hunt.

“To help people,” Decker replied.

“And that’s what you would be doing again. Only this time you wouldn’t be drummed out like you were back in Wolf Haven. Our organization is more open-minded.” Hunt took Decker’s arm. “Besides, you need a new start. It’s not like you have job offers pouring in, is it? Let’s be honest, the chances of finding work in law enforcement again are pretty much nil. You’ll be lucky to get a gig as a trainee mall cop with your background.”

“Are you trying to recruit me or depress me?”

“Come work for us, John.”

“I’ll think about it.” Decker picked up his coat and turned toward the door.

“Are you going to make me beg?”

“Nope.” Decker turned back to Hunt. “But there is one thing that might sway me.”

“Name it.”

“Mina.”

“I don’t understand.” Hunt looked perplexed.

“She’s a good kid, bright.”

“Yes she is. So?”

“She deserves something for all the crap you put her through.”

“Go on.”

“Arrange a scholarship so that she can attend school to study journalism. But make sure she goes somewhere far away from this godforsaken place.”

“You do know she’ll turn it down, right?” Hunt said. “She doesn’t strike me as the charity type.”

“That is why you are going to ensure she doesn’t know the help came from you. Her mother died a while back. You can fabricate some sort of cover story about a college fund set up in her name. Enough to pay for her expenses so that she can concentrate on her studies.”

“She’ll never believe that.”

“Maybe not,” Decker said. “But she’s not a stupid girl. Make the lie convincing enough for her to live with.”

“And then you will come and work for us?”

“Make the arrangements, take care of Mina, and then call me.” Decker picked up his bag and walked toward the door.

“That’s it?” Hunt watched him go. “You’re going to leave things like that?”

“Yup.” Decker was at the door. “Call me. You know where I’ll be.”

“The boat doesn’t depart for another three hours. Where are you going?”

“To get a bite to eat before I leave,” Decker said. “The grilled fish is pretty good in these parts.”

“Want me to come with?” Hunt asked.

“Nope.” Decker called over his shoulder, a grin on his face. “I have someone else in mind, and no offence Hunt, but I like her better than you.”

The End