Z. Apocalypse (8 page)

Adam stood aside while Zoe steered herself a little erratically after Marrs. Then he, his dad and Eve followed them
into the main entrance hall. He saw lights on behind the front door of the apartment opposite, but Marrs had beckoned Zoe into the Adlars’ rooms, and was spraying her with a fine mist from an unmarked canister.

‘What is this stuff?’ Zoe spluttered.

‘Anti-stink.’ Adam ran up gratefully to get a coating. ‘Geneflow came up with the stuff themselves. It takes away your scent so Z. beasts can’t hunt
you.’

Marrs nodded. ‘Given today’s events, to wear a little would seem a sensible precaution.’

‘Where did you get it though?’ Adam closed his eyes as Marrs crossed to him and sprayed him too. ‘Raptor Island?’

‘There were supplies kept at the Geneflow base there, yes.’ Marrs removed his hat and waved it at the cloud of aerosol, then pushed a hand through his short, silvery hair. ‘The military
analysed the formula and created batches of their own for use in covert operations – seems it puts guard dogs off the scent as well as dinosaurs.’

‘What about electroshock weapons?’ asked Adam. ‘They’re the only guns I’ve seen that can slow down a dinosaur.’

‘Colonel Oldman has requisitioned experimental Tasers not yet off the secret list,’ Marrs informed him. ‘Everything that can be done is
being done.’

Eve harrumphed. ‘A little late in the day. If the soldiers at Patuxent had been properly armed, maybe Adam and Zoe wouldn’t have needed hospital treatment today.’

Marrs nodded. ‘To live in hindsight is to live in paradise.’

Zoe looked about the spartan apartment, un-impressed. ‘Paradise is a long, long way from this place.’

‘Would you rate it better or worse than Keera’s cage?’
Adam joked. ‘How is Keera, anyway?’

‘Difficult,’ Mr Adlar said with feeling.

‘I’ve never seen anything like her.’ Eve sat down wearily in an armchair. ‘Disgusting . . .’

‘Mum,’ Zoe protested.

‘I mean, what’s been done to her. That circuitry inserted into her brain . . .’

Adam’s dad nodded. ‘It contains a kind of security system designed to govern her thoughts. It’s not that Keera won’t answer
questions – she physically can’t.’

‘The fit she had on the tower block could have been due to a malfunction in the software,’ Dr Marrs speculated, sinking into an armchair. ‘Most likely caused by an injury in battle;
something
made her break off from the attack on the White House to grab you.’

‘Since the breakdown, we think Keera’s been pretty much deaf, dumb and blind,’ Adam’s dad went on.
‘Anyway – we’ve made some progress. Eve’s brainwave modifiers put Keera into a temporary coma, and once her mental activity was down to near-zero I was able to start disabling the first layers of the security system.’

‘You mean,’ said Zoe, ‘Geneflow hid Keera’s real self behind a bunch of locked doors – but between you both, you’ve started
un
locking them?’

‘Well put,’ said Eve.

‘What about
Geneflow’s snooping raptor,’ said Adam quietly. ‘There’s been no sign of it?’

‘No,’ Marrs confirmed. ‘Only some unconfirmed reports of a much larger creature glimpsed in the skies around here.’

‘Hence the firepower outside,’ Mr Adlar muttered, ‘courtesy of Colonel Oldman.’

‘It’s possible the raptor was collected by another Z. beast and taken to report to its masters,’ Marrs said thoughtfully.
‘It may have had all kinds of surveillance technology inserted into its brain.’

‘So Geneflow must know we’re holding Keera,’ said Eve, ‘and that we’re trying to get through to her.’

Adam felt sick. ‘Will they try and get her back?’

All eyes turned to Dr Marrs.

The old man gave a reassuring smile. ‘They won’t find that easy. The defences outside are ten times stronger around the hangar at Patuxent.’
He paused. ‘The fact that Geneflow sent this raptor to inspect and attack suggests that Keera
does
possess important information as to their plans – if only we can get to it.’

‘Well, we’ve left the computers number-crunching
the most likely bandwidths and wavelengths for communication.’ Eve glanced up at Mr Adlar, who nodded. ‘We should be able to start trying first thing tomorrow.’

‘But there
are layers and layers of security in that poor creature’s brain,’ Mr Adlar told Marrs. ‘Our lash-up may not work. And if that’s the case, I’m getting Adam on the next flight out of Washington, far away from this whole affair.’

‘Given recent developments,’ said Marrs, ‘I’d say that this “affair” is not confined to the United States. It is one of global concern.’

Eve looked at the old man. ‘Are
you talking about Westminster being stamped into the ground – or something else?’

Marrs seemed to hesitate. Then he stood up and began pacing slowly about the room, hands knitted behind his back. ‘We’ve been assuming that Geneflow are still in charge of their own creations. That reasoning could be flawed.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Mr Adlar.

‘General Winters and Colonel Oldman don’t believe
that Geneflow has the resources to carry out attacks of the kind we’re now witnessing without help.’ Marrs paused again. ‘They suspect the involvement of an enemy power – most likely the Russian Federation.’

‘But surely Geneflow as a group is beyond politics,’
Mr Adlar argued. ‘Jeff Hayden and Sam Josephs thought and planned only on scientific lines.’

‘Both deceased, Bill,’ Marrs reminded him.
‘We don’t know who’s in charge now.’

‘I know Russia and the US used to be at each other’s throats,’ said Eve, ‘but surely the Cold War ended long ago.’

Zoe spoke up: ‘Didn’t you read about the US launching their Anti-Ballistic Missile programme in Europe? Russia responded by strengthening their Air and Space Defence system. All those arms treaties all gone to . . .’ She realized everyone was
looking at her, and raised her eyebrows. ‘What? I may be on wheels but I can still surf the news.’

‘You’re quite right, my dear,’ said Marrs. ‘The bad blood endures. Of course, the Russian Federation can’t act openly against the West – it would be MAD.’

Adam didn’t follow. ‘Mad? How?’

‘MAD as in Mutual Assured Destruction,’ murmured Mr Adlar. ‘A nuclear war between East and West would have
no winner. Each side has the power to inflict lethal damage upon the other – even after absorbing a surprise first strike.’

Marrs nodded. ‘But if Russia attacks with Geneflow’s living weapons – weapons so different and so powerful that traditional defences are useless . . .’

‘They could weaken their enemies,’ said Eve fearfully, ‘and take control.’

‘Colonel Oldman showed me the footage from
that simulation you played, Adam.’ Dr Marrs nodded gravely. ‘It seems likely the simulation was designed for training Z. beasts in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. That would also explain why Geneflow have stolen seeds and livestock DNA from the world’s genetic reserves – to give them control over food supplies in the aftermath.’

‘All right, Jeremy, that’s enough.’ Mr Adlar stood up. ‘You
have no facts to back this up, and you’re scaring the children.’

Adam opened his mouth to deny he was afraid on principle. But the words wouldn’t come. ‘Like we weren’t scared already,’ he managed, and Zoe nodded.

‘I’m sorry, Bill, everyone. You’re quite right.’ Marrs solemnly bowed his head to his audience. ‘Forgive an old man with too much on his mind. This has been a difficult day for you
all; I must let you get some well-deserved sleep.’ Abruptly he raised his hat and hurried to the door. ‘Transport will be sent to collect you at six o’clock tomorrow morning. Sleep well, all.’

The door clicked shut behind him.

‘Sleep well.’ Zoe’s voice was heavy with sarcasm. ‘After that bombshell?’

‘Don’t mention bombs,’ said Adam.

Mr Adlar rubbed his eyes. ‘I just can’t believe Geneflow
would ally themselves with any government.’

‘Let’s just hope we can get the truth out of Keera tomorrow,’ said Eve.

‘It
is
tomorrow.’ Zoe checked her watch and groaned. ‘It’s one a.m.’

Adam crossed to the window, looked out over the troops and the defences lined up outside in the floodlit grounds.
We’ve
got
to get through to Keera
, he thought miserably.
Whatever Geneflow are planning, they have to be stopped. Or else
 . . .

Apocalypse?

He shook his head, breathed out softly.

Z.
Apocalypse
.

Chapter 10: ‘Who Controls You?’

THE BUZZ OF
helicopters haunted Adam’s dreams. He got up at five-thirty, his eyes feeling full of grit. His dad, Eve and Zoe were already sat at the dining table picking at toast. Tired smiles were turned his way but it seemed no one felt much like talking, Adam included.

He sat in silence the whole way to Patuxent, toying with the gas mask in his lap, listening
to his bones rattle in the armoured drum of the military transport. Only once did Zoe speak, an exclamation at the sheer size of the army presence all around the wildlife refuge.

That should be comforting
, Adam told himself.

Once their driver had negotiated the various security requirements, in triplicate by the sound of things, and once Zoe was eased into her chair, the group was shepherded
quickly into the hangar complex by armed guards. As they approached the laboratory, Adam could hear voices.

‘ . . . sightings of giant flying creatures over
Beijing, sir. But no indication of an actual attack on Chinese soil as yet.’

‘Could be the Z. beasts were in transit, sir, on their way to their next target.’

‘Or on their way home to their masters.’ That was Oldman’s voice, Adam was sure.
‘Did the Chinese military attempt to intercept?’

‘Planes were scrambled, sir, but no contact was made.’

‘Uh-huh. That’s the official story.’

‘No satellite evidence as yet, but . . .’

An aide opened the door, and Adam saw Oldman had been talking with two junior officers, while three men in suits were inspecting Eve’s miniature mountain of equipment, tweaking connections and trailing wires.

‘Ah.’ The colonel dismissed the men reporting to him and greeted his new arrivals, his smile looking a little more forced than usual. ‘Good morning, all. Are we set?’

Eve looked set to do some serious damage to the men messing with her stuff. ‘Could you kindly get away from that? It’s a very delicate set-up.’

‘Some very important people are going to set a lot of store by what we learn here,’
said Oldman evenly. ‘They want to know the systems are entirely accurate and reliable. So my friends here are going to work with you today.’

Mr Adlar looked at Eve. ‘It’s nice to be trusted, isn’t it?’

‘C’mon,’ Oldman cajoled them. ‘Everyone wants this effort to succeed. We’re all on the same side . . .’

‘Well then, don’t pull too hard on that cable!’ Eve bustled off to accost the men, Oldman
and Mr Adlar in tow, while the soldiers watched on, trying not to smirk.

Zoe gave Adam a long-suffering look. ‘They’re nothing to do with us.’

‘Right.’ Adam tried to smile but he was dwelling on the words he’d overheard. ‘A sighting of Z. beasts over China but no big attack,’ he said quietly. ‘I thought Russia was the enemy?’

‘Not too much love lost between China and the US either,’ Zoe mused.
‘They’ve clashed over trade, currency, foreign policy . . .’

‘You know too much,’ Adam complained.

‘Probably,’ Zoe agreed wryly. ‘I’m beginning to think ignorance is bliss.’

Suddenly one of the suited men approached Adam. ‘Are you the interrogator?’

‘Let’s call him the
voice
, Charlie,’ said Oldman, breezing over. ‘I’ll be directing the show, telling Adam here what to say through an earpiece.’

Charlie hurried over to Adam and fitted something like a hearing aid to his ear and a small
wireless microphone to his T-shirt. ‘Hopefully the computer’s calculated the wavelength that’ll get us past the remaining barriers in Keera’s head – she’ll understand you and be able to respond.’

‘Right.’ If Charlie felt Adam’s heart thumping against the back of his hand he made no comment.

The man looked
at Zoe for a moment and turned to Oldman, discomfited. ‘And is, um, this person the interpreter?’

‘Yes, I am,’ said Zoe loudly.

‘She is,’ said Oldman. ‘Dr Halsall will fit her daughter with the necessary equipment – now she’s quite finished vetting my science majors here . . .?’

Still grumbling under her breath, Eve got busy with a well-rehearsed drill, efficiently adorning Zoe with bundles
of cables and pressure pads all round her head and neck.

‘Mobile phones switched off, or call disabled please, everybody,’ Mr Adlar instructed. ‘We don’t want random signals messing up our connection.’

Those with phones duly obeyed, and as Adam set his own mobile to airplane mode, Oldman steered him out of the lab and signalled to Mr Adlar to join them in the corridor that led to the hangar
itself, where Keera was waiting.

‘The Z. dactyl will be less sedated than yesterday,’ said the colonel, ‘but she’s still all-but glued to the floor.’

Mr Adlar grunted. ‘Just swear to me Adam and Zoe will be safe.’

‘I’ve got four armed men inside the hangar. At the first sign of trouble from the Z. dactyl, they’ll get Adam and Zoe out while we release heavy tranq gas to knock her out fast,’
Oldman said reassuringly. ‘In addition, all troops are carrying brand new shock-weapons, strong enough to bring down a herd of elephants. You saw how much firepower we’ve got ranged outside, all around. No chances taken.’

‘I should hope not,’ said Mr Adlar.

‘And how about you? Are you going to deliver?’

Mr Adlar nodded cautiously. ‘If the computers have done their sums right, we’ll soon have
a hotline to Keera’s head.’

A low hum from behind them signalled the arrival of Zoe in her wheelchair, bundled up now in a huge coat and with blankets on her lap, her face half hidden by wires.

Even as Oldman opened his mouth to speak, Zoe said, ‘I’m ready.’