“I’m not usually emotional,” Kate said, through the sobs. “It’s just, I… when I was in…”
“I know.” He wiped a new wave of tears from her cheek. “The scar. It’s ok.” He took the journal from her hand. “That’s enough reading for tonight. Let’s get some rest.” He pulled her down beside him, and they drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER 94
Situation Room
Clocktower HQ
New Delhi, India
“Sir, we’re pretty sure we’ve found them,” the tech said.
“How sure?” Dorian asked.
“The two-man team on the ground, some locals told them a train came through this region.” The tech used a laser pointer to circle an area of mountains and forests on the giant screen. “The tracks are supposed to be abandoned, so it couldn’t have been cargo. And the drones spotted a monastery not far from there.”
“How far out are the drones now?”
The tech punched some keys on the laptop. “A few hours—”
“How? Jesus, we were right on top of them!”
“I’m sorry, sir, they had to refuel. They can be in the air again within the hour. But— it’s dark now. The sat image is from earlier. It will be—”
“Do the drones have infrared?”
The tech worked the keyboard. “No. What should—”
“Do any of the drones nearby have infrared?” Dorian snapped.
“Stand by.” Images from the computer reflected in the technician’s glasses. “Yes, a little farther out, but they can reach the target.”
“Launch them.”
Another tech ran into the command center. “We just got an eyes-only from the Antarctica operation. They’ve found an entrance.”
Dorian leaned back in the chair. “Verified?”
“They’re confirming now, but the depth and dimensions are right.”
“Are the portable nukes ready?” Dorian asked.
“Yes. Dr. Chase reports they have been retrofitted to slide inside a backpack.” The skinny man held up a sheaf of printed pages too thick to be stapled. “Chase actually sent a rather detailed report—”
“Shred it.”
The man tucked the report back under his arm. “And Dr. Grey called; he wants to talk with you about precautions at the site.”
“I’m sure. Tell him we’ll talk when I get there. I’m leaving now.” Dorian rose to leave the room.
“There’s something else, sir. Infection rates are climbing in Southeast Asia, Australia, and America.”
“Is anyone working on it yet?”
“No, we don’t think so. Or, they think it’s just a new flu strain.”
CHAPTER 95
Kate opened her sleepy eyes and studied the alcove. It wasn’t night, but it wasn’t quite morning. The first rays of sunrise peaked through the large window in the alcove, and she turned away from them, putting them off, ignoring the coming of morning. She nestled her head closer to David’s and closed her eyes.
“I know you’re awake,” he said.
“No I’m not.” She tucked her head down and lay very still.
He laughed. “You’re talking to me.”
“I’m talking in my sleep.”
David sat up in the small bed. He looked at her for a long moment, then brushed the hair out of her face. She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes. She hoped he would lean closer and—
“Kate, you have to go.”
She dreaded the argument, but she wouldn’t compromise. She wouldn’t leave him. But before she could object, Milo appeared, as if out of thin air. He wore his usual cheerful expression, but below it, on his face and in his posture, were the unmistakable signs of exhaustion.
“Good morning, Dr. Kate, Mr. David. You must come with Milo.”
David turned to him. “Give us a minute, Milo.”
The youth stepped closer to them. “A minute we do not have, Mr. David. Qian says it is time.”
“Time for what?” David asked.
Kate sat up.
“Time to go. Time for,” Milo raised his eyebrows, “escape plan. Milo’s project.”
David cocked his head. “Escape plan?”
It was an alternative, or at the very least, a delay of Kate’s ongoing argument with David, and she took the opening. She ran to the cupboard and gathered up bottles of antibiotics and pain pills. Milo held a small cloth sack at her side, and she dumped the bottles in it as well as the small journal. She stepped from the cupboard, but returned and grabbed some gauze, bandages, and tape, just in case. “Thank you, Milo.”
Behind her, Kate heard David plant his feet on the ground and almost instantly collapse. Kate reached him just in time to break his fall. She dipped her hand in the bag, fished out a pain pill and an antibiotic, and stuffed them in his mouth before he could object. He dry swallowed the pills as Kate practically dragged him out of the room and into the open-air wooden corridor.
The sun was coming up quickly now, and just beyond the boardwalk floor of the corridor, Kate saw parachutes looming over the mountain. No, they weren’t parachutes, they were hot air balloons. There were three of them. She cocked her head and examined the first balloon. Its top was green and brown. A sort of camouflage scene. It was… trees, a forest. So curious.
The sound. The buzzing. It was close. David turned to her. “The drones.” He pushed her out from under his arm where she had supported him. “Get to the balloon.”
“David,” Kate started.
“NO. Do it.” He took Milo by the arm. “My gun. The one I came here with, the first time. Do you have it?”
Milo nodded. “We have all your things—”
“Bring it, and hurry. I have to get to high ground. Meet me on the observation deck.”
Kate thought he might turn to her one last time and… but he was gone, hobbling through the monastery, then struggling up a stone staircase set in the mountainside.
Kate glanced between the balloons and David, but he was already gone. The staircase was empty.
She hurried down the boardwalk which ended at a spiral staircase made of wood. At the bottom of the stairs, the giant balloons came into view. There were five monks there on the lower platform, waiting for her, waving to her. At the sight of her, two of the monks jumped into the first balloon, released a rope, and pushed away from the platform. The balloon floated away from the mountain as the monks motioned to get her attention. They worked the cords and flame that controlled the balloon, showing her how to operate it. One of the men nodded to her, then pulled a rope that released one of the sacks at the side of the basket, and they rose quickly into the sky, drifting farther away from the mountain. It was beautiful, the serenity of the flight, the colors — reds and yellow with patches of blue and green. It sailed out over the plateau, like a giant butterfly taking flight.