Abomination (32 page)

She stared back into his eyes for a brief moment before
gently squeezing the trigger and ending him.

*****

“Rise and shine,” said Ryan, waking Dallas and Derek.
“Time to go to work.”

“Five more minutes, mom,” yawned Dallas, rolling away
from the light.

“Derek,” said Ryan, “Steve’s holding a phone call for
you. You’re going to want to take it.”

Dallas, hearing Derek’s name, nearly snapped his own
neck flipping back over to face him.

“Is Jennifer okay?” asked Derek, quickly getting to his
feet.

“She’s fine. Steve’s outside in the hangar,” said Ryan.

Derek left the small room and Dallas stood motionless,
glaring at Ryan.

“What?”

“You left me in here unconscious and alone with him? Are
you nuts? He could’ve drained me in my sleep.”

“He’s on our side, remember?”

“For now, but who knows when that’ll change again. I can’t
believe you did that to me!”

“Calm down, Nancy. You’re not his type,” said Ryan with
a smile as he left the room. He walked over to Steve who was putting the phone
call for Derek on speaker.

“Are you sure?” asked Derek.

“
Very,”
said Michelle. “
I’m standing over him
right now. I thought you’d want to know as soon as we got him.”

“Could you do me one more favor?”

“
Sure.”

“Shoot him again,” said Derek. “As a matter of fact, if
you have any bullets left, use them all on him now.”

“
Okay, Derek. We’ll take care of it. Listen, we
handled our end of the bargain. It’s time for you to handle yours. Good luck to
you.”

“
For what it’s worth, thank you,” said Derek.

“You’re welcome. Piece of cake.”

Steve ended the call as Derek dropped his head and
exhaled. “I’ve got to tell you, Ryan, I didn’t think you guys could pull it
off. He was one truly evil sonofabitch.”

“You can thank this guy for that part of the plan,” said
Ryan, putting his arm around Dallas, who was still groggy and irritated.

“I can’t thank you enough,” said Derek, holding out his
hand. “It’s like I can breathe again for the first time in months. I owe you a
big one. All of you.”

“My pleasure,” replied Dallas, shaking his hand. “Thanks
for not chewing my face off in my sleep.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Derek, laughing. “I’m starving.
Is there any grub around here?”

“Yeah, I’ll get you set up over there,” said Dallas,
walking away with Derek.

“I take back all those things I said about you not being
able to cross the line,” said Steve. “Nice work on Joshua.”

“It’s easier for me than you think, Steve.”

“Apparently, but why do I have this funny feeling killing
Joshua was the easy part?”

“I’m not sure, buddy. But I have the same feeling.”

Very little was said as the men mounted the vehicles
that would take them to the Michaels Laboratory. Their destination was a
forty-five minute ride. It was Ryan’s last chance to change his mind and find
another way to stop Colonel Brown and his super soldier hitman Alex Tifton. But
aborting the mission was the furthest thing from Ryan’s mind. He’d been lied
to, manipulated, and used by men who believed they were untouchable. After
Kristina’s murder, he was more than ready to reach out and touch everyone
involved.

The vehicles pulled into a wooded area bordering the west
side of the lab. From the cover of the trees, it was only a short distance to
the ten-foot chain link fence around the perimeter of the complex. Cameras and
motion detectors covered every inch of the large campus. The men exited the
vehicles and checked their radios and gear for the last time before the
assault. When everyone was set, they took a knee and waited for Ryan’s command.
He was already positioned with Steve, Dallas, and Derek in a shallow ditch along
the deserted road.

Inside the lab, Paul, leader of Red Team, made his way
to the security hub. It was a small room located just outside of the entrance
to the Didache Project section of the large four-story building. In the hub,
two men monitored the electronic sensors and remotely controlled access to
every gate outside and every door inside.

Around the perimeter of the campus, there were three
entry points along the fence. Each was manned by two heavily armed security
personnel from Paul’s Red Team. Four more of his men were stationed at the main
entrance to the building. Two-man teams guarded the three other access points.
All of the security personnel in position to be the first to respond to an assault
were under Paul’s command.

The Blue Team consisted of twenty men. They were
assigned to internal building security. The men inside the security hub were
from Blue Team as well as the six on station inside the Didache section. Four
others were split into two patrols which constantly roved through the entire
complex. The remaining ten were in their bunks and would relive other team
members in the morning. Alex was asleep in his room, which was two doors down
from the Colonel’s office and sleeping quarters. Both were located within the tightly
secured Didache section.

“Good morning, troops,” greeted Paul, walking into the
security hub.” This sure beats walking around outside sweating my ass off and
getting sucked dry by the mosquitoes. When is the last time it got above ninety
around here?”

“I can’t remember,” said Frank of Blue Team, “When I
first got here two years ago, I didn’t even know there were mosquitoes in
Maine.”

“Same here,” said Paul. “I’m from Florida. I thought
this place would be frozen year round.”

“No kidding,” said Frank, scanning the numerous screens
in front of him.

“What time do you have, Frank?” asked Paul.

“Three a.m.,” responded Frank.

“That sucks for you guys,” said Paul, raising a silenced
pistol to the back of Frank’s head.

“Why do you –”

Paul squeezed the trigger, spraying Frank’s blood and
brain matter over every screen in front of him. He fired another round into the
side of Frank’s partner’s head before he knew what was happening. He locked the
security hubs door and pushed Frank aside. He typed furiously on a keyboard in
front of a screen identifying all the secured access points. One by one, the
red indicator lights showed locked positions turning green. On one of the
cameras, he watched the service entrance gate on the west side of the complex
roll open. A few seconds later, he saw the camouflaged men rise out of the
ditch and run towards the open gate. Paul’s men assigned to the gate dropped
their weapons and placed their hands high in the air. It was the prearranged
position all his men would take when they were approached by Ryan’s team. He
was using the same playbook as Colonel Brown and turned his own security force
against him.

The three assault teams quickly covered the distance to
the main entrance of the lab. The four men from Red Team guarding the doors
dropped their weapons and raised their hands when they saw Ryan approach. They
stopped at the front desk and waited for Paul’s instructions from the security
hub.

“Eagle, this is Alpha,” said Ryan, talking to Paul over
his radio, “We’re in position.”

“
Roger that, Alpha
,” responded Paul. “
First
patrol is on the second floor moving east to the stairwell. They’ll be heading
up to the third floor. Second Patrol is on the fourth floor and will be taking
the west stairwell down to the first.”

“Understood,” replied Ryan.

“Bravo Team,” said Steve, “Take ambush positions at the
stairwell and wait for the second patrol to exit. Charlie Team, take the
elevator to the fourth floor and wait for the first patrol to show up. Move
fast.”

Both teams acknowledged and snaked down the corridors to
lie in wait for the security patrols. Ryan’s men were equipped with silenced
automatic weapons to minimize alerting others who were still loyal to the
Colonel.

Ryan, Dallas, and Steve turned and headed for the
opposite stairwell which would lead them to the basement floor. It was the
location of the security hub and the Didache section.

The Didache labs consisted of nearly the entire basement
floor. They were divided into three sections. The middle section held all the
treatment areas and equipment used for research. It resembled a large hospital
intensive care unit with glass front rooms surrounding a central administrative
kiosk. It was the most secure with four of the six guards assigned to the
basement. Ryan’s team would be entering one of the two flanking sections
holding most of the offices used for daily tasking by the scientists and
technicians. It was the smallest of the three rooms and the least likely to
have security guards. The Colonel and Alex were sleeping in their quarters in
the opposite section, which also held his office and two large conference
rooms. One of the conference rooms had been converted to a bunkroom for the
three scientists who were the brains of Didache.

“
Colonel Brown and Alex are still in their quarters,”
radioed Paul. “
Four Blue Team guards are in the lab, and two are posted
outside of his sleeping quarters.”

“Got it, Eagle,” replied Ryan. “We’re moving down now.”

As the stairwell door closed behind Ryan, the door on
the opposite side opened. The two men on security patrol didn’t have time to
react as Bravo Team opened fire as soon as they stepped through the doorway.
Their Kevlar body armor did nothing for their unprotected heads as the volley
of bullets hit their marks.

“Alpha, this is Bravo,” said Derek, leading the team.

“
Go ahead.”

“Patrol is neutralized.”

“
Understood. Take your position down at the basement
entrance and stand by for our signal.”

“Moving now,” replied Derek. He was leading Bravo Team
because they’d be the first to reach Alex’s quarters. The other three men on
his team were there to take out the two security guards posted at the Colonel’s
door. If Alex were alerted to the assault, he’d easily be able to kill all
three before they reached their goal. Derek was there for one reason: Terminate
Alex before Alex terminated all of them.

The elevator doors opened on the fourth floor, and
Charlie Team spilled out into the corridor. They hugged the wall as they moved
toward the stairwell door. The second patrol would be coming through in a
matter of seconds. They took their ambush positions as the knob turned. The
first man walked through with no expectation that four heavily armed men would
be waiting on the other side. When he appeared in the doorway, Charlie Team
opened fire. The security guard’s head snapped back as the first of many
bullets impacted his face. He fell into the second guard, momentarily blocking
the volley of rounds. It bought him enough time to squeeze off one round before
he was riddled with bullets. Even though they were on the fourth floor and Alex
was in a deep sleep in his basement quarters, it woke the Marine with
genetically enhanced hearing and alerted him to gunfire. Derek heard it as
well.

The plan was to wait until Bravo and Charlie Teams
eliminated the patrols before entering the basement. It would allow them to
enter in full strength against the large number of security guards located in
the largest section of the lab. The plan changed when the muffled sound of the single
shot echoed down the stairwell.

Derek knew the most effective way to eliminate the super
soldier was to catch him off guard. He also knew Ryan may have been oblivious
to the sound of gunfire four stories above his head. If he didn’t hear it, he
wouldn’t give the order to enter until Charlie Team joined them in the
stairwell. Derek turned and told his team they were going in early as he pushed
open the door.

The two Blue Team members stationed in front of the
Colonel’s quarters glanced over at the opening door, expecting to see their own
security patrol. Instead, they saw Derek with three shadows behind him bolt
into the corridor. Before they could focus on the intruders, all four opened
fire and cut them down before they fired a single shot. Derek shouldered his
weapon and burst down the hall at top speed. His three team mates were over
twenty paces behind him when he arrived at Alex’s door.

Alex sat up in bed, instinctively knowing something was
wrong. He reached over and grabbed his pistol from the nightstand. Wearing only
his boxers, he flung open his bunkroom door. The last person he expected to see
was Derek. Before Alex could twitch a muscle to aim his pistol, he was blinded
by a lightning fast punch which sent him crashing into the far wall of his
room. Disoriented, he felt the pistol being ripped out of his hand. Derek
quickly removed the slide and magazine, rendering the weapon useless. Alex held
his arm up in a defensive position as his vision began to clear, but it wasn’t
enough to prevent Derek from delivering another bone-crushing punch to his ear.
The blindness returned along with a deafening ringing in his head. With two
powerful and accurate strikes, the super soldier was nearly incapacitated.

Ryan’s radio sprang to life with chatter from Bravo Team
as they entered the basement from the opposite stairwell. Ryan’s team
immediately entered the basement and found no resistance in the office section,
just as they had suspected. They moved quickly to the door separating them from
the four security guards posted on the other side. A small window at head level
gave them a clear view into the heart of the lab. Ryan peered through the
window and saw the four guards on their feet looking in the direction of Derek’s
position.

“They’re moving away from us,” whispered Ryan.

“They probably heard Bravo make entry,” said Steve.

As the first guard looked through the window, the door
separating them from Bravo Team exploded in their faces.  Derek used Alex as a
projectile and launched him down the hall and through the heavy steel door. Two
of the guards went down with Alex and the door on top of them.