Down (8 page)

Ash placed the muzzle of his rifle against the guard’s neck. The guard eyed him warily.

“Answer him,” Ash mouthed. “A mistake. Understand?”

“Anyone there?” the voice asked.

“Understand?” Ash repeated.

The guard nodded. “I need to press the mic button.”

Ash pressed the barrel into the man’s flesh and mouthed, “Slowly.”

The guard lowered a hand and pressed a button. “Sir, it’s Lochmere.”

“Lochmere? Why the hell did you call me?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” the guard said, his gaze locked on Ash. “It…it was a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

“A short in the system, probably.”

“Jesus. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Well, call engineering and get it fixed right away. I damn well don’t want you waking me up again.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll do that right away.”

The light turned off.

“Who else did you call?” Ash asked.

“No one.”

Whether that was true or not, they’d know soon enough. Ash used one of the plastic zip ties he’d been allocated to secure Lochmere’s hands behind the man’s back. He then retrieved a sedative-filled syringe and jabbed it into the man’s arm.

With Powell’s help, he moved Lochmere to the side of the room and laid him against the wall.

Ash took a good look at the room. It wasn’t huge but it was well equipped, with four individual stations, several racks of electronic gear, and a wall covered in monitors showing various security cameras. The feeds were mainly from inside the base, views of half-lit corridors lined with identical doors. He did see a few people but for the most part the place looked empty.

He glanced at Powell. “Send one of the guys up top to report in that we’re in the nest.”

__________

C
HLOE’S GROUP STRUCK
metal a few moments before the radio message came that Ash’s team had successfully entered Dream Sky.

The news reinvigorated Chloe’s people and they were able to quickly remove the rest of the dirt. After the metal cap enclosing the entrance was fully exposed, Chloe ordered everyone back and removed her backpack. From inside, she retrieved the soft-sided thermal container that held several small blocks of plastic explosive, and a couple of chemical heat tubes that were there to ward off the cold night and keep the explosive pliable without making it unstable.

Working rapidly, she made half a dozen dome-shaped bombs and applied them in a circle around the cap. Once the blasting caps were in place and linked to the remote triggering device, she retreated into the woods with the others.

“Heads down, everyone!” she yelled. “Fire in the hole!”

The deafening blast rolled through the valley and across the deserted town.

Before the echo had died away, Chloe raced back to the entrance.

The only thing left of the metal cap was the outer edge that had been welded in place. She flicked on her flashlight and trained the beam through the new opening. The tunnel beyond was almost level, and seemed to go back about fifty yards before making a sharp turn to the right. At least she hoped that was the case. She’d be pissed off if this turned out to be a false lead and the tunnel didn’t connect with Dream Sky.

She stepped over the jagged edge and found bits and pieces of cap strewn across the ground inside. She turned and saw the others were gathered behind her.

“Wait there for a moment,” she instructed.

With pistol in one hand and flashlight in the other, she headed down the tunnel.

To her relief, the bend to the right was not just a recess but a continuation of the tunnel. The new section, however, went on for only about twenty feet before turning right again. Around this final bend, the tunnel stayed level for approximately ten yards before taking a drastic dip.

Right at the top of the slope was a docking area where a set of railway tracks terminated. She looked down the tunnel. Her light was nowhere near strong enough to reach the bottom, but she could see that the tracks led right down the middle of the slope.

This was how they had probably moved everything inside the base. They certainly wouldn’t have carried tons of food through that little hut in the field.

The problem was, the vehicle that used the tracks wasn’t at the top.

She scanned the area around the landing and spotted a metal box inset in the side of the tunnel. She found switches inside labeled
POWER
,
LIGHTS
, and
RECALL
.

She flicked the power switch.

Somewhere down the tunnel a motor began to hum. She gave it a moment to warm up and then turned on the switch labeled
LIGHTS
. At forty-foot intervals, lights mounted on the tunnel’s ceiling came on. For the first time she could see the bottom, though it was too far away for her to make out any details. Along the sides she could see recesses every thirty feet or so. Rest areas for the workers when the tunnel had been dug?

When she flipped the
RECALL
switch, the hum of the motor deepened as if it were working harder.

She moved back to the tunnel entrance and signaled the others to join her.

When they all reached the docking platform at the top of the rails, Estella pointed down the slope and said, “What’s that?”

Far down the tunnel, Chloe could just make out the front end of the funicular train now heading their way.

She smiled. “That’s our ride.”

__________

S
INCE HE WAS
the only one with any Project Eden experience, Wicks sat at the duty officer’s station while Ash and Powell hovered behind him.

“Ah, here we go,” Wicks said. With a tap of the keyboard, a diagram of the base appeared on the main wall screen.

“Damn,” Powell said. “How deep does this go?”

“According to this, ten levels, not counting this one.”

The circular levels were stacked on top of each other, separated by dozens of feet of earth. Elevators ran down the eastern and western edges. These began on what was called level one and went all the way down to level ten. The only way up to the level they were currently on was by using one of the two elevator cars that ran between the lobby area—the room they called Transition—and level one.

“How many people are stationed here?” Ash asked.

“Hold on.” Wicks worked the computer again. “There are currently 1,243 occupants.”

Over twelve hundred? Ash leaned back. “We can’t possibly defeat that many people.”

Wicks grinned. “Hold on. I didn’t say they were all Project personnel. Only forty-three are, and of those, only twenty are security. Counting the two who were in here, we’ve already taken out six of them.”

“Then who are the twelve hundred others?” Powell asked.

“I told you. The hope.”

“Curtis, enough already,” Ash said. “What does that mean?”

Wicks was quiet for a moment before saying, “You know Project Eden had been planning for a long, long time for all of this to happen, and that their plan doesn’t end with just destroying the old world.”

Ash nodded.

“The most important part of their plan has always been what happens after the plague runs its course. They meticulously thought out how to create a new civilization that, in their mind, would avoid the mistakes of mankind’s first go-round. What they didn’t want, though, was to start from pre-industrial revolution levels. They aren’t afraid of technology. Actually, quite the opposite. The goal those of us in the Project heard over and over was to create a new world where humanity will have the chance to stop floundering and instead soar. To do that, you can’t throw away all the knowledge of the past.” Wicks turned back to the computer. “Let me show you something.”

After he typed for several seconds, the base map was replaced on the screen by a camera feed of an Asian man lying on a hospital bed. At the edge of the shot on either side, Ash could see other beds. The layout reminded him of photos he’d seen of early twentieth-century hospital wards.

“Recognize him?” Wicks asked.

Ash studied the man in the bed. There was definitely something familiar about him but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

“Can you zoom in?” Powell asked.

A few clicks and the image tightened on the man’s face.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Powell said.

“What?” Ash asked.

Instead of answering him, Powell looked at Wicks. “That can’t be him.”

“It is,” Wicks said.

“Who?” Ash asked.

Powell looked back at the screen. “That’s Dr. Carter Makato. You know, from one of those colleges in New York. You always see him in one of those Science Channel documentaries.”

That was it, Ash realized. He’d seen the man on TV. A…physicist of some sort, if he remembered correctly.

“What’s wrong with him?” Ash asked.

“Nothing,” Wicks said.

“Then why…?”

“Because he and the others are easier to control when sedated.”

“And the others…?”

“Leaders in science, medicine, engineering, things like that. The Project calls them protectees.”

“But how did they get them here?”

“Like I said, the Project had a very detailed, prepared plan. At the moment Implementation Day was activated, teams collected people from around the world who were on their lists. It was a simple task. All they had to do was claim to be from that target’s specific government, sent to protect the person during the early, confused days of the epidemic. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing they probably went so far as to take families to avoid any problems, but from a quick scan of the records here it looks like none but the actual targets made it into Dream Sky.”

“So they’re…warehoused here?” Ash said.

“Pretty much.”

“When they find out, they’re not going to be happy,” Powell said.

“A reality the Project is aware of. But they’re counting on the fact that once the protectees realize how few people are left, and that Project Eden represents the best chance for the survival of the human race, they’ll understand the necessity of lending their expertise to the Project.”

“Reluctantly.”

“Reluctantly or enthusiastically won’t matter,” Wicks said. “As long as they see the importance of using and sharing what they know, the Project will be happy. Because without their collective knowledge, even the leadership of Project Eden knows humanity has no chance.”

“There are textbooks and documentaries and things like that,” Ash countered.

“For all they’ve done to humanity, the Project understands how important actual people are. It’s their brains, the way they think. You can’t get that in a textbook. Like I said, they don’t want humanity to slip backward. They want it to take up right where it left off, only with a lot more room to breathe.”

“Unbelievable,” Powell said.

“So you see,” Wicks said, “if we take Dream Sky, we effectively cut the brain out of the project.”

8

WARD MOUNTAIN NORTH

11:14 PM PST

JANUARY 7
^th

R
ACHEL HAMILTON ACHED
from lack of sleep, but the way things were going, she knew it was unlikely she’d be lying down anytime soon. She had, however, taken the supervisor’s chair in the Resistance base’s comm room.

As she scanned the room, Aiden, one of the comm operators, caught her eye.

“Yes?”

“Just got off with Berlin,” he said. “The main building of NB098 is on fire and it looks like the base is undergoing a full evacuation. It’s unclear where they are going, but we have people following them.”

“Thank you,” she said.

They were in the middle of, by far, the largest operation the Resistance had ever undertaken, an operation she felt certain would determine whether or not Project Eden would lead the rebirth of mankind. There was no question that the Project’s goal of restarting humanity would be achieved. The Resistance had failed to stop that. But she’d be damned if she’d let those mass murders have anything to do with guiding what came next.

She was cautiously optimistic. A handful of the attacks on Project Eden bases had fizzled, but many were at least putting a scare into those occupying the facilities, while a surprisingly large number had achieved even more—severely damaging bases, causing evacuations like the one in Berlin, or, like in Los Angeles, taking control of the base and either capturing or eliminating all personnel.

Initially, all these attacks were meant only to create a large-scale diversion from the real operation to take Dream Sky. But they were taking on a life of their own, and delivering not only diversions but a solid body blow to the Project.

As for Dream Sky, she had received very little information.

“Try Captain Ash again,” she said to Crystal.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Crystal spent a few moments talking into her headset before turning back to Rachel.

“He isn’t in a position to talk right now,” she said. “But I’ve been told he and a team have made it inside.”

They’re in!
Rachel felt a rush of adrenaline.

“Keep checking with them every ten minutes. I want to be kept up to date.”

9

DREAM SKY

2:21 AM EST

M
OST FUNICULAR TRAINS
were single enclosed cars divided into two or three seating areas, each on a different level. Like giant stair steps.

Dream Sky’s funicular did not have any seats or walls or windows. Rather, it consisted of two open platforms, the upper one set back and elevated a good four feet above the other. Each was encircled by a waist-high, removable railing.

The team split between the two platforms, Chloe hopping on the lower one so she’d have a clear view of what was coming. Once everyone was on board, Robert pushed the button that started their descent.

To Chloe the train moved at a snail’s pace. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply to ease her restlessness. When she finally parted her lids again, she studied the landing at the bottom. It was partially shadowed but the platform looked deserted. Still, someone could be waiting out of sight.