Project Cyrano: A Genetic Engineering Technothriller (Genetic Engineering, TechnoThriller) (4 page)

Chapter 6

End of Cyrano

Sosa patted the back of Anders’ neck with a cool rag. Her stomach growled. “Were you able to find any medicine, McKusick?”

He shook his head.

Anders whimpered in a pain induced delirium. His naked back sported long, festering gashes, red and angry. Sweat covered his whole body until the lower half of his suit plastered itself to him.

“We can’t do anything for him.” Sosa said. She ran her hand down her face. “That mutant must have had poison or heavy bacteria on his hands to cause this.”

“Sosa.” His dark eyes leveled at her. “At this rate, he will die within ten hours. We have to get to the plane.”

“There is an incredibly powerful monster outside that door, keeping us from getting to the hall that leads to the hangar. There is no way I can kill it. I don’t know how to operate a computer this old, so I can’t kill it that way either. All I have is Mader’s pistol and a knife.” She took up the rag again and cleaned Anders’ body of sweat. “What do you suggest? Our beloved CIA director won’t come to help us.”

“Then we’ll wait for him to kill us.” McKusick said. “It won’t be long before he sends the drones.”

“McKusick, that is stupid.”

Anders brought an arm underneath him and tried to lift himself up, but he collapsed. “Sosa…”

“Anders!” She rushed to a spot in front of his face. “Don’t try to get up. You’re a mess.”

“Listen to him.” Anders whispered. He looked up at her with his light blue Scandinavian eyes. “When they come, I’ll make sure you can get to the plane. I’ll stay.”

Sosa slammed her hands on the ground. “No you won’t. You will come with us whether you like it or not, and if you die, I’ll bring you back so I can slap you for being so rude. Do you hear me?”

Anders offered her a quivering smile. “I know, Sosa.”

A huge boom ripped through the base and the room shook. Lights flickered on and off.

“Look, Sosa. They’re here.” Anders lifted his hand. “Get me in my chair and give me my tablet. It’s time.” She started to object, but the look in his eyes stopped all argument.

Sosa and McKusick lifted him into his chair and carefully set him down. She fell to her knees in front of him and cradled his head in her arms. “Anders, do you remember when I would talk about the After?”

He smiled a little. “Sosa, it’s illegal to talk about religion.”

“It’s time, Anders. Have you decided?”

“Yes.”

“Do you believe?”

Anders nodded. “Yes. Now go, Sosa.” He dropped his tags into her hand.

She wiped her tears on her arm and gave him a radiant smile. Her fingers trembled against his cheek. “I’ll see you again, Anders. I will. Eat a lot of chocolate for me while you wait.”

McKusick gave Anders his tablet. He said nothing to him at all, just patted him on the head and limped to the door. Sosa kissed Anders on the forehead and joined the geneticist.

Another explosion sent McKusick and Sosa staggering and they fell against the door.

Anders said, “That antler monster fled to another part of the base. He isn’t in your way. I’ve strengthened the shield at the expense of the gravity engines, so be fast. All the doors are open. Run.”

They left the control room and darted into the central dome. Glass shattered underneath their feet. An explosion from above rained shards of glass and metal down upon them. McKusick yelled out as broken glass pierced his shoulders. Gusts of wind from the broken dome ripped at them. Sosa fought against the wind’s pull, but tripped and fell. Glass sliced her hands and knees. McKusick lifted her up and they ran, ignoring the blood and the pain. He opened the door to the hall leading to the hangar, rushed in with Sosa, and shut it with a loud smash. It was only twenty feet from the control room to the hall, yet already it seemed like a battle. With the dome behind them, the geneticist almost doubled over, sucking for air. His lips and hands were a bright blue.

“McKusick.” Sosa grabbed his hand, instantly regretted it for the glass, but did not release him. “Come on. We have only a little to go.” She pulled him forward.

Fire licked at their feet and smoke billowed from the hallways and rooms. Wild electricity arched from place to place. They ran anyway. The floors shook underneath them like an earthquake, and every time they fell, it got worse, until they were practically hopping and crawling instead of running. McKusick collapsed just before the hangar bay door. A missile sliced through the base, releasing air, and causing a vacuum that threatened to suck them into the void.

The hangar bay door opened of its own accord. Their ship waited not two hundred yards in front of them, its magnetized feet keeping it securely fastened to the platform. A drone hovered above it and barraged the plane’s shield. The shield held...for the moment.

Sosa clutched McKusick’s head in her hands and forced him to look her in the face. “You will not stop. You will not fall. You will not
stop
.” Then she hauled him up and dragged him into the open.

A drone immediately shot at them. She pushed McKusick away, took aim with her pistol, and fired. A beam went through her leg. Sosa screamed and crumpled to the ground. The drone, however, exploded as her shot cut through it. She returned her pistol to its holster, grabbed McKusick, and continued towards their salvation. Blood pumped down her leg. McKusick yelled at her, but she couldn’t hear him over the explosions and thunderous fire.

Anders’ voice cut through the din. “Goodbye.”

The platform rocked violently to one side and they both went tumbling down. She groped for anything to grab onto, anything to keep them from falling. They crashed into the platform’s steel railing. Sosa flew into the air like a feather. She saw missiles streaming from a nearby plane, the CIA Director’s plane, and dozens of drones with their beam weapons. Past that, all was big and blue.

McKusick snatched her foot out of the sky and send her hurtling back down. She screamed the scream of someone at the edge of all endurance. Tears flowed from her eyes into the void. He pulled her up with his last bit of strength. She squeezed his hand and they looked into each other’s eyes. For a moment, everything was quiet and white.

Her lips mouthed, “Just a little farther,” and she caressed his blue cheek. He nodded, even though they both knew he barely stayed conscious and his lungs burned as if on fire. One hand at a time, they crawled up towards the plane. The rest of the world around them faded into the whiteness and only a sweet ringing remained. Sosa’s fingers touched the plane and she almost sobbed, so near was the victory. She took McKusick’s hand and they ran into the plane.

Sosa stumbled to the cockpit, fell into the chair, and put the pilot’s helmet over her face. She didn’t even register the pain as it rubbed against her wounds. The plane burst into life and its engines hummed with power. How she blessed her old Air Force training at that moment. An alarm sounded. Shields were at 15% and dropping.

All she did was think about it. The plane sent out a concussive energy wave, blasting nearby drones to pieces. “Let’s go, pretty lady.” The magnetizing feet disengaged. She felt the sweet sensation of being on high and looked at the numerous screens in her vision. Several enemies incoming. A wide smile crept over her face. She drove the plane on into the midst of the fray like a good soldier past the fear of death.

The plane soared through the assault, and once Sosa engaged the sensor dampeners and cloak interface, she knew it was over. It was done. They were safe. She put the plane on autopilot, ripped off the helmet, and gazed out the cockpit window. Down below, the facility named Cyrano exploded. To her, it looked like the most beautiful fireworks she had ever seen. Tears rolled like newborn pearls down her cheeks.

She gasped. All of her body quivered and her stomach churned. Sosa dashed out of the cockpit. A cry stuck in her throat. McKusick lay like a dead thing on the floor. She ran to him and cradled his head in her lap. Then she proceeded to slap him. “McKusick. McKusick!” He did not wake up. All of his face was so blue. She doubted he even breathed.

Sosa cursed her own stupidity and ran around looking for the oxygen supply mask. She found it, pulled its long cord, and snapped the mask around McKusick’s face. Every second was a torture. Sosa lay down next to him and held him to herself to warm him up. She sang an old lullaby her mother used to sing as she stroked his hair with her fingers. Several minutes passed.

Wake up, my dear, wake up,
Look, it's already dawning,
The little birds already are singing,
The moon has gone away.
How beautiful is the morning
In which I'm coming to greet you,
We all are coming with joy
And are happy to congratulate you

He touched her hand. She started and jumped up in shock. McKusick’s eyes fluttered open. He smiled underneath the mask.

Sosa caressed his face. “Welcome back.”

Once McKusick stabilized, Sosa flew to the CIA Director’s plane. Agents in biohazard level 4 gear quarantined them on the ship for twelve days while they determined if they were safe. They did discover the problem with McKusick’s blood, and with his expertise, engineered a cure they administered during quarantine. His condition improved after that. Sosa and McKusick used the time to rest, recover, and mourn their friends.

The CIA Director gave them six months paid leave and a flight back to MacDill Air Force Base, where an agent would take them wherever in the galaxy they wanted to go. They sat through the flight in companionable silence.

Eventually, McKusick and Sosa strode down the ramp at MacDill and breathed in the terrestrial air. Hovercars waited for each of them.

Sosa turned to McKusick and held out her hand. “On to the next mission?”

He looked at her hand for a moment, then smiled and took it. “Yes.”

“Where are you going to go?”

“Stanford.”

She chuckled. “I thought as much. You know where I’m going. I’ll see you soon, McKusick.”

He nodded and went to his car. The geneticist waved goodbye as it whirred down the runway.

Sosa watched until the car disappeared. Her driver inquired as to where she wanted to go. “Río Gallegos, Argentina.” She stopped before getting in and gazed down at her hand. The blood pulsed beneath the skin. She felt a whole new power as a smile played on her lips.

Sosa thought to herself, “This is the start of a whole new beginning”, as she got into the car and it zipped out of sight.

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A note from the Author -

“If you enjoyed this book and found it entertaining, I welcome you to leave a review. It not only helps me understand the pros and cons of my work but can provide value to others considering giving this story a shot! I will take all reviews very seriously and would like to thank you for your time reading this story, regardless. Thank you again and be on the lookout for others by Amy Taylor.”