Touched by a Phoenix (52 page)

“What do they want?”

“Everything. The drone—software, programming data, and the DNA. He said if I gave him everything, he would give me the antidote to save her.”

“He said thirty-six hours on the phone…is that true?”

Brad’s shoulders slumped. “No, best-case scenario, maybe thirty-four hours…if we’re lucky.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Give them what they want.”

“I need to alert the hospital and then you’re going to tell me what I can do to help.”

John stepped aside and called Phillip.

“How’s Alexis?”

“I see. Phillip put the doctor on the phone. Brad had information that might help the doctors slow the poison down.”

John relayed everything they knew about the poison, its affects, and time expectations. “Yes, I understand. I want you to track her temperature change and document it every five minutes. I want an hourly update from here on out,” as he ended the call.

“How is she?” Brad asked.

“Unconscious but stable.”

“What’s her temperature?”

“Below normal, but that doesn’t make sense based on what you said. Brad, are you sure about what you heard?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” His brows furrowed, “Wait, he said something about the paralysis giving her an extra twenty minutes.”

John swore.

“The paralysis must be slowing her heart rate, which will slow the blood flow affecting the distribution of the poison. Brad, this doesn’t make any sense, you said she will die sooner than he expected?”

“Yes, that’s what he said.”

“Wait, what did you say earlier about alcohol?”

“He said she had exerted herself this afternoon. That she had been sobbing and had wine with lunch which would speed up the effects of the chemicals.”

“Fuck…he’s been watching her all along.”

“What do you mean?”

“We fought this morning—by the way, she kicked my ass! Then she left the building. I followed her to Angelo’s. After she finished crying, we talked over lunch.”

Brad tensed. His entire body coiled and ready to strike. “What did you do to her?”

John’s hands went up immediately. He wasn’t sure how well he would hold up under another fight today.

“No, no. It’s not what you think. She was desperate to see you and I was in the way. I got the brunt of being forced to postpone the wedding, her future, and her desire to be with you.”

A small grin flickered across Brad’s face, “Is that where this came from?” as he rubbed his own jaw.

“Yeah,” he admitted a little sheepishly.

“There’s more to this story isn’t there?” Brad asked, a full-fledged smile on his face.

“Yeah, but I’ll tell you about it later. We have work to do right now.”

The hair prickled on the back of his neck. The words rushed from his lips as the perspiration built. “No John, I have work to do. You need to leave, if they find out you’re here they’ll destroy the antidote.”

“There’s no way he can know I’m here.”

“John, I can’t take the chance. Somehow, he knows everything that’s going on.”

“I’ve destroyed the transmitter and cut the hard lines to the building and Jessica’s in the hospital under guard. He can’t get to anyone or anything now.”

“Jessica, what do you mean…what does she have to do with any of this?”

Damn, he had been so focused on finding out what was going on with Alexis that he hadn’t thought to tell Brad about Stephen.

“Jessica’s necklace was the transmitter. Stephen used it to route the signal through our own servers.”

His confusion was obvious. His brain felt as if all oxygen had been cut off, constricting his chest as if the flint had connected with the iron as it ripped a hole in him. I trusted them…trusted them both.

“That asshole…I will kill him!”

“I’ve cleared the building and security is sweeping it room-by-room. He’s blind for now. We’re safe.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“No, I’ve got men tracking his movements since he left D.C., we’ll find him.”

“John, are you sure…it’s her life.”

“I’m positive. I took extra precautions.”

“All right, I’ve got a plan, but I need a few specialty items. If I make you a list, will you make the run? We also need a truck to move the drone later.”

“What kind of truck?”

“Semi.”

“Make the list. I’ll start making the arrangements for the truck.”

“John, under no circumstances can base security be alerted. The entire military would come down on us and I’d never be able to save her.”

“Got it.”

“Oh and John, the details of the plan need to stay between us. Everyone else is on a need-to-know basis. We don’t know who else might be involved.”

They went their separate ways for a short time, each consumed in their own task. Brad finished first, shoving the list at John. “Here’s the list.”

“John scanned the list,” he regarded Brad skeptically.

“Brad, are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” came a foreboding tone.

John inspected the list again. There would be no need to look for Stephen when this was over.

Brad handed him a key. “You’re going to need this to access the bunker. Enter and exit from the secret access point. Have Bill meet you for the retinal scan.”

Brad was quiet for a minute, “John, I need you back here ASAP. I must deliver in less than thirty hours if I want to save her.”

Brad turned his back and started working. John thought
…
It was going to be a long night, as he walked away.

Chapter Twenty-Two

J
ohn dodged through
the buildings carefully. He couldn’t afford to be seen.

His mind raced as fast as his feet. He knew enough to realize that Brad was either dangerous or crazy…or perhaps both. The list contained some specialized chemicals, and he had a pretty good idea what Brad was about to do with them. He hoped like hell that Brad knew what he was doing—if not, there wouldn’t be much left of the city when he finished.

How would they complete the task as planned, deliver the drone, acquire the antidote, and get to Alexis before time ran out? He could help Brad with some of the work, but the chemical compounds required an expert. He wondered if he could risk bringing Jim into the fold. He didn’t believe he had any other options.

His mind in a whirlwind as he drove. He spied the truck ahead and brought the SUV to a screeching halt as he pulled in behind the semi and slammed the SUV into park.

A man stepped from the cab of the truck. “Where do you need her?”

“I’ll take over from here.” He tossed the driver his keys and climbed into the truck. Leaving the he driver screaming something behind him as he pulled off.

He pulled into the bunker, hopped out of the truck and landed with a thud.

“Load her up.”

The men looked at John as if he had lost his mind. Finally, Jim spoke up, “Sir, what the hell is going on? We’re not at war.”

John closed the gap between him and Jim in a split second. In his face and in complete control of the situation. “Yes, we are,” his grim voice echoed throughout the concrete walls. “Alexandria has been poisoned and will die in less than thirty-four hours if we don’t do this Brad’s way.”

“Sir, why can’t we just take Jones out at the delivery point? We’ve got excellent snipers.”

“I’m sure they will be expecting it. We can’t risk the possibility of destroying the antidote.”

“Sir, with all due respect, Jones is not that smart.”

A puff of air escaped John’s throat, an odd sound resembling that of an angry dog’s snarl, “He might not be, but whoever he is working for…is. They’ve been one-step ahead of us for months. I won’t risk her life now.”

The situation was bigger than just Alexandria. If the wrong people got their hands on the drone, life as they knew it would change forever, but he couldn’t tell his men that—not now. No one knew just how dire the situation was and no one knew exactly what those drones were capable of—that is except for Brad and Alexis. And there was something else—he couldn’t let her die….

Jim watched the flurry of activity behind his commanders’ eyes. Something more was going on that he couldn’t elaborate on at the moment. John had been his commander for a longtime, he trusted him. This was not the time to argue with him; he would do as ordered and would discuss it in private later. He nodded his head and began loading the truck; the rest of the men immediately followed suit.

John pulled Bill to the side. “I need your help. We’re going to have too many unknown factors at play over the next thirty-six hours and we’re going to have to react fast. I need everybody on stand-by. Get all the men in here and ready to go. They can sleep in shifts. I want them fully armed and ready to move out on a minutes notice.”

Bill nodded in response, “John, are you sure there is no other way?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“What if he’s wrong…,” Bill’s voice trailed off.

“He loves her more than we can possibly imagine and he’s one of the most intelligent men on earth—just pray he’s right.”

“I’m not so sure we should be putting that much faith him. I know he’s good but you’re going to need a miracle.”

John cocked his head. He wouldn’t have figured Bill for a pessimist. “Thanks, Bill,” was all he could say.

Bill watched John and Jim climb into the truck and pull away. He closed the bay doors behind them, securing the facility.

“Okay men, you know the plan…let’s move.”

The truck backed into to the hanger. As soon as it stopped, John hopped out of the driver’s seat. His heavy military boots landing with a thud against the hard concrete floor. The hanger doors closed behind him concealing their intentions.

Brad met John as he was coming around to the back of the truck.

“Did anyone see you,” he asked.

“No, we’re good.”

“Were you able to get everything on the list?”

John grinned as he opened the trailer doors, “Yep and then some.”

Two men hopped down from the trailer. John nodded as one of the men quickly headed for the hanger door.

“Brad, I’d like you to meet Jim. Jim’s my chemical and explosive expert. I believe he will be a big help with what you are planning to do.”

“Who was the other guy?”

“Decoy—had to make it look like a driver dropped the truck off and left…just in case anyone happens to be watching.”

“Right, let’s get to work.”

“Brad, this chemical make-up doesn’t make sense. You have too many nonessential elements included in the formula,” Jim informed him.

Brad simply smiled, “I need the compound to have a delayed reaction. I must reach Alexis before it destroys the thumb drives.”

The tension in Jim’s face eased. He appeared more confident in Brad’s abilities. There were enough chemicals to blow an enormous hole in the ground, but not enough to destroy the city if something went wrong.

“Got it.”

Brad patted Jim on the back and walked over to where John was working.

“John, I need you to begin making some assumptions on possible routes and traffic. Can you come up with a plan to get us from a close delivery point, to the key, and to Alexis in less than an hour?”

“Do we have any idea where he might hide the antidote?”

“Not a clue. If I had to make an educated guess, I’d say somewhere in Old Town Alexandria.”

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s where he was staying and it’s familiar.”

He turned to walk away. “Oh and John, I’d like an update on Alexis every thirty minutes.”

“You got it,” he paused, “Brad, I’m having Alexis moved to the tenth floor for security purposes.”

“You can’t move her—he’ll kill her if he finds out.”

“Brad, we can guard the top floor better than we can any other floor. The snipers are already in position on the roof and we’re clear. We’re replacing her with a mannequin and mirroring the monitors. If he does gain access to the hospital, he will think she’s being guarded in ICU.”

“No, John. I can’t let you risk her life. He said he would kill her instantly if I tried anything.”

“Calm down my friend. My team, one doctor, and one nurse are the only people who know. I can’t even risk telling Phillip and Catherine right now. I’ve got her covered, I promise.”

Brad’s shoulders dropped. He should be with her—she was alone.

John understood the hellish nightmare Brad must be suffering through at that moment; he placed a hand on his shoulder. “Brad, we’ll get you to Alexis as soon as we can. In the meantime, you have work to do.”

John’s words resonated within Brad and refocused him.

“Help me with the wings while you’re waiting on your CIA, FBI, and whatever other acronyms you contacted to locate Stephen.”

They worked diligently throughout the night and into the next day. Everyone doing their part. The drives were ready and the chemical ready for application. Rescue One’s programming was complete.

Brad was down to loading the DNA for ACE into Rescue One’s database so she could track ACE and boost her power supply. She had to be able to destroy the truck.

Jones answered the ringing phone, “Yes.”

“Your Mr. Scott is on to you,” the heavily accented voice announced.

“It doesn’t matter. He will give me what I ask for, and as long as you hold up your end of the bargain, I will disappear once I deliver the drone to you.”

“The boss said to kill him.”

“When…at the drop site?”

“No. Where is the antidote?”

“In a locker.”

“Send me the coordinates. I’ll take care of the rest.”

The line went dead.

Brad’s phone rang, “Yes….”

“Mr. Scott, how are the adjustments coming along?”

“I will be ready.”

“When?”

“I’m shooting for 8:00 PM.”

He heard that abhorrent little laugh.

“You really do want to save her, don’t you?”

“Fuck you!”

“Tsk-tsk Mr. Scott, watch your temper. I am in control of this particular situation and you don’t want me to change the rules of engagement, now do you?”

Brad quickly got control of himself. “No.”

“I understand, Mr. Scott. I’m sure you’ve been working all night. You must be exhausted.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll get it done. How is Alexis?”

He had to play the game. He couldn’t let Stephen know that they knew who he was or that he may be monitoring Alexis’s condition.

“Her temperature was 103.9˚ when I last checked on her. I’ll call you at 6:00 PM.”

“Right.” Brad ended the call and turned to John. “When was Alexis’s temperature 103.9˚?”

“Between 12:35 PM and 12:40 PM. Why?”

“He told me that her temperature was 103.9˚ when he checked. You were correct in your assumptions. He has gained access to the hospital somehow.”

“As long as everything appears normal, we’re fine. Let him check.” John said more confidently than he felt. He would alert the men when Brad resumed his task.