Project Apex (18 page)

"Not just mine sir," Carter fired back, some of the arrogance replacing his discomfort, "But for the record, yes. I think you made the wrong call. I didn’t want to call you back from your holiday unless it was absolutely necessary."

"So I see," Fitzgerald sneered. "Look, Paul, I get it. I know how ambitious you are, and I know you think you can do a better job than me."

"No sir, absolutely not, I-"

Fitzgerald raised a hand and went on. "No need to deny it. I always suspected it, and it was confirmed when you and I got into the near argument about the foreign occupation policy. Be that as it may let me make one thing crystal clear to you." Fitzgerald leaned forward in his seat, pointing at Carter as he spoke. "Until the day you sit in my seat, until the day something happens to me and you get to hold the reigns, this is my horse. The responsibility to make the right call is mine to make. You don’t get to decide what's good or bad for me, what I should and shouldn’t deal with. You might think I’m an old fool who doesn’t know any better but don’t make the mistake of confusing my kindness with weakness. I'm more than prepared to make the tough calls as and when they need to be made. Understood?"

"Look-"

"I said is that understood?"

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry." Carter said, lowering his eyes to the table top.

"Now because of you trying to decide what's best for me, we're already on the back foot. I need options. I hope you have some."

"We could engage them at street level. Small arms fire, keep it controlled. We need to take into account the public perception of this." Morrison said.

"All due respect," Carter cut in, giving the chief of staff another sour glare, "I think we need more decisive action here."

"What did you have in mind?" Fitzgerald asked.

"I can’t stress enough the need to contain this quickly. If the reports of these individuals being contagious are true, we need to destroy them immediately."

"That seems a little excessive," Morrison cut in.

"It has to be. Just imagine how quickly this could escalate. If our experts are right and these things can infect someone with just a bite, we could be looking at an army of these things in a matter of weeks."

"Mr. President, it’s important we don’t overreact to this situation. Although Vice President Carter has a point, right now it's too early to tell what will happen, if anything. As we said, intel is still hazy on this. I genuinely think small scale ground forces in the affected areas to restore order is the best move right now."

"Come on Eamon," Carter said, taking off his glasses and setting them on the polished oak table top. "This isn’t something we can afford to get wrong. If we wait too long and these things start to spread, it will be almost impossible to stop them. Remember, this isn’t just an isolated incident in one location, we're talking about mass uprising across multiple countries. We need to act now to avoid paying the price later."

"What do you suggest Paul?" Fitzgerald asked.

"Well, for me, the preferred action is targeted air strikes. Civilian casualties will be minimal and we are assured of a swift and, more importantly, permanent solution. As you know, the traits of these Apex soldiers mean ground based combat is less effective than with regular enemies."

"Mr. President," Morrison said, finding his voice at last, "With all due respect, surely you can’t see this as a viable option. The loss of life would be astronomical, not to mention the structural damage to the target locations."

"This is bigger than structural damage," Carter spat. "This could be a global level disaster. A few dead civilians and damaged buildings seem like an acceptable level of risk to me."

"I've heard enough," Fitzgerald snapped.

They waited whilst he came to a decision.

"Alright, here's what I want to do. I want to go with Morrison’s idea. Small arms teams, keep it subtle."

"Ron, come on, you're making a big mistake here," Carter whined.

"Maybe so, but it’s my mistake to make. The last thing I want is to frighten people by sending in goddamn air strikes and potentially causing more tension with the other nations of the world. Those acceptable casualties you mentioned so off the cuff are people with families. I won’t put the people I’m sworn to protect under threat unless it’s as a last resort."

"This is just like last time, you're making the wrong call, Ron," Carter said.

"And I say again, it’s duly noted. Do we have an understanding?"

Carter shuffled in his seat. He wanted to say more but knew he had already overstepped the mark. "Understood, Mr. President," He muttered.

"Good. Now I want action on this right now. We are already behind, so I want teams pulled together who are the best fit for low key small arms fighting."

"What about the media sir?" Morrison asked. "Speculation is rife. News outlets are already covering the situation."

"Well, we can’t do anything about that now. From here on in I want a full media blackout. We need to limit the damage as much as we can."

"Yes sir," Morrison said.

"These experts you mentioned, with Genaro missing they are our main source of knowledge on this. We need them involved every step of the way."

"Do you want them brought here sir?" Morrison asked.

"No, not here. They're in Virginia right now, correct?"

"Yes sir, they are."

"Okay, tell them to wait there for further instructions. Have Homeland coordinate with them and feed the information through to us. I need to speak to the rest of the world leaders to discuss our options within the global community."

"Understood sir."

"Alright then, let’s go. Update me hourly."

"Yes sir," Morrison said, gathering his things and leaving.

Fitzgerald also stood, and turned to Carter.

"Paul, consider this a word to the wise. Don’t bite the hand that feeds, and never assume you know everything."

"Yes, Mr. President. Apologies for my outburst." Carter said the words sour tasting.

"I’m not a man to hold grudges, Paul. I'm sure you know I’m disappointed with your actions. Now all I care about is you doing everything you can to put it right. You're a good man, even if you can be a hot-headed asshole sometimes. Just remember, we're on the same side here."

Fitzgerald waited for a moment for a response, and when none came, left the vice president alone in the meeting room. Carter watched the older man leave, and promised himself even if it was the last thing he did, he would prove the old bastard wrong at least once. Gathering his papers, Carter followed the president out of the room and went directly to his office.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ADIRONDACK STATE PARK

SANTIAC RIVER VALLEY

NEW YORK STATE

KNOWN AS THE SILOHOME, the innocuous looking building nestled in the barren Saranac valley held a secret. The isolated home offered breath-taking views of the valley from all directions and was the ultimate in privacy. The real secret, however, was what lay underneath the building. Accessed through a discreet interior door, a staircase leads directly to a nine storey two thousand three hundred square foot decommissioned underground Atlas-F missile launch facility. Purchased by an ambitious property developer in the mid-nineties, the underground facility had been renovated into multi-level living quarters accessible only by passing through several steel blast doors. Deeper still was the missile launch area. A relic of the cold war, the immense launch bay offered another 12,000 square feet of space. Completely secure and undetectable, it was a perfect base of operations, the house above ground giving little clue to the sheer scale of what lay beneath. It was here where Joshua and his men had set up home. The building security had been laughable at best and were quickly dispatched. It was on the second underground level where Genaro's new lab had been set up. Joshua's men went about their business with frightening efficiency, some working at renovating the missile launch bay, others stocking weapons and supplies as per Joshua's instructions.

Genaro ignored the noise as best he could and concentrated on his work. His injured arm had healed in just fourteen hours, and now there was little evidence of Joshua's bite, although he could feel its effects surging through him as his body adjusted to its new parasite. As a man who had never done drugs, he had no idea how it felt to be high, yet was sure the pure euphoria he experienced during those first few hours was close. Subtle things made all the difference. The nagging pain in his knee as a result of early onset arthritis was gone completely. As was the dull ache in his wrist following a break when he was seventeen and came off his motorbike and slammed into a tree. In fact, he had never felt stronger or more aware of the world around him. It was as if a veil had been lifted from the life he used to know, and he had been ushered into a new place where the possibilities were endless.

"Addictive, isn’t it?"

Genaro turned to see Joshua as he walked into the makeshift underground lab. He looked quite regal with his hair tied back, arms clasped behind his back.

"It's incredible. I could never imagine it would feel this way."

"Now do you see? Now do you understand?" Joshua said, smiling at the scientist as he stood at his side.

"Yes, I don’t think it's something you could ever express in words. This feeling is one which has to be experienced first-hand to truly understand."

"And many will," Joshua replied, his eyes sharp and aware as they scanned the myriad of equipment on Genaro's workstation. The scientist saw where he was looking and stepped aside.

"The work you asked me to do, the work I said was impossible..." Genaro trailed off and lowered his head.

"You are able to do it now, correct?" Joshua said.

"Yes, I don’t understand how, though. The equations and methods which seemed alien to me just a few days ago now make perfect sense. The work is almost racing ahead on its own. In truth, I feel like I’m hanging on to the handlebars of a runaway motorbike with my legs trailing out behind me."

Joshua clapped a hand on Genaro's shoulder and widened his grin, immediately making the scientist feel better. "Don’t worry about that, it’s just the adjustment to the change. You are still growing into the man you will become. I have every faith you will do as I ask. I wouldn’t have brought you here otherwise."

"And I promise you I won’t stop until it's done. I won’t let you down, Joshua."

"I know you won’t. I have every faith in your ability."

Warmth rushed through Genaro's body. A euphoric adrenaline rush of pure devotion to Joshua. Love was a word he didn’t like to use, however, it was as good a description as any for the emotion he felt. He knew then and there that he would, without question do anything Joshua asked of him, even to the point of giving his own life.

"Are you alright?" Joshua asked.

"Yes, I’m sorry I was just overwhelmed for a second. My brain is alive with thoughts, ideas. It's quite remarkable."

"And it will only get better. These new emotions will grow as your body adjusts to the gift."

"I wish everyone could feel this way."

"I’m afraid that’s not possible."

Genaro hesitated, and then looked Joshua in the eye. "Can you live with the guilt Joshua, of what you have to do to the world?"

"I feel no guilt. I do what I have to in order for humanity to survive. And you are a key part of that process. A brilliant mind further enhanced by our special gift. You can make our task easier."

"How will you do it? Surely we don’t have enough men. We’re outnumbered by far."

"Indeed, we are. But remember, one man alone can create an army."

"An army?" Genaro said, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face.

"Yes. An army. A force to usher in the new world and rid it of the cruel, barbaric creatures which inhabit it." The bitterness in Joshua’s voice was hard to ignore, and Genaro felt a stab of fear.

"Is that necessary? I mean, is there no other way?"

"Do you remember, Doctor Genaro, way back at the start of all this when you asked me to trust you?"

"Of course I do. I was impressed by your courage." Genaro said, meeting Joshua’s eye. “If not for you, my work would never have started.”

"Then I ask you to remember that and give the same courtesy to me. Trust me when I tell you there is no other option. We have to purge the weaker species. It's nature’s way. The strong survive, the weak become extinct."

"But Joshua, there are over seven billion people on the planet. Surely it's impossible."

"Some will be shown the light. Some will join us. Some will be spared from death to work for our cause."

"You will never convince them," Genaro said. "I've worked for the government for long enough to know that anyone different will be perceived as a threat, and threats are often crushed before they can gain a foothold."

"And who will crush us?" Joshua said with a smile. "Do you think a soldier will stay loyal to his country when he sees his bullets penetrate us and we still don’t stop? Will his love for his country be enough to keep him fighting when he knows he can’t win?"