Apocalyptic Visions Super Boxset (110 page)

***

The Polish safe house hadn’t held any agents for a very long time. Everything was coated in a layer of dust, and it took Sarah half an hour to make sure everything was up and running properly.

Vince didn’t do much but sleep, and she made sure to keep one eye on him at all times. Even if he wasn’t the mole, accusations of being one could cause an agent to do some stupid things. Their kind, her included, didn’t respond well to threats. In the world of espionage, the agency is home base, and when you take that away, most people don’t have much else to stand on.

Sarah made her way down to the basement and flicked the light on, which swung on a string in a bright cadence, casting its glow back and forth across the floors, exposing the different crates. She pried open the ammo first, making sure to load as many magazines as possible. The rifle closet was next, and she broke down each of the weapons, cleaning them to make sure they would fire.

The guns probably didn’t need a cleaning, but Sarah did them anyway. It kept her mind busy, focused. All the shit was starting to pile up, and that stench was beginning to rub off on her. She rubbed her nose and placed both 1911s on the table. Her hands went through the motions of maintenance without her even having to think of it.

Over the years, Sarah had determined that her hands had a mind of their own, almost as if they were a separate entity. There were times when her hands did things that left her in awe, and there were times when her hands angered her enough that she was willing to chop them off. They had saved her life more times than she should count.

Before Sarah realized it, the two pistols in front of her had been disassembled, oiled, cleaned, and put back together. The metallic silver gleamed under the light above. She smiled. The pistols were as much a part of her hands as her hands were a part of her. She consciously picked up the .45 and held it. In her hands, those pieces of metal were more deadly than anything else in the world.

When Sarah had gone through training, she had received the highest marks of anyone in the history of the GSF in marksmanship. She had shattered records that had stood since the agency’s birth. She was a gifted killer.

That was a word that took her a long time to acclimate to. She’d long forsaken sugarcoating her profession. It was who she was. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t use her gifts to make the world a better place. That was something her father had instilled in her.

It was Ben who had first taught her how to shoot. It was just a fad for him, but it turned into something more for her. The first time she squeezed the trigger on the 9mm Beretta her brother let her shoot, it flew out of her hand, but once she had the grip down, everything else was history. She had to wait until she was in high school before she was allowed to get her own gun. It was a .40 Smith and Wesson. She had eyed the revolver for a little while, but she still hadn’t gotten down the quick speed in reloading as she did with the magazines. And the magazines allowed her more shots. She was all about volume back then and, to an extent, still was.

Despite the fact that neither of her parents owned guns, used guns, or had the slightest inclination to ever learn, they were supportive. They went and took the gun-safety courses with her to ensure they understood how to handle the weapon since it was being stored at their house, drove her to all of the shooting competitions and cheered her on, and, when they could afford it, helped her stock up on ammo.

Water collected in Sarah’s left eye until the first drop breached the precipice and rolled down the crevice between her cheek and nose, landing in a splash between the two pistols.

“I never got to give you my condolences.”

“Holy shit!” Sarah almost jumped out of her chair.

“Sorry!” Bryce said. “Sorry.”

“Jesus, Bryce. I forgot I still had you in. Wait, can you see me?” She looked around, searching the room, checking for any cameras he could have hacked his way into with the satellite.

“No, the chip in your ear measures a portion of your body chemistry. The algorithm takes into account your heart rate, pulse, brain activity, and core temperature to help determine what kind of mood you’re in. Happy, angry, that kind of thing.”

Sarah raised her eyebrow. “It can tell any emotion?”

“Uh, well... I, uh... I don’t... um, what?”

Sarah wiped her eyes, laughing to herself. “You’re such a prude.” Another silence fell between them, but Sarah knew Bryce was a nice shade of red at the moment.

“Still,” Bryce said, “I’m sorry about your parents. I know none of this has been easy for you.”

“Is that your deduction or the computer’s?”

“Mine.”

“Thanks, Bryce.”

“Get some rest. I’ll let you know when we have something.”

“Will do.”

Sarah stacked as much of the gear in go bags as she could. When she got the call telling her where Demps was hiding and where her family was, she didn’t want to have to sit around and determine what kind of equipment she’d need. All she wanted to worry about was how she was going to kill him once she was there.

***

Mr. Demps’s secretary kept the same even-toned glance on her computer as Heath waited for his meeting. It was the first time he’d been asked to wait. His knee bounced up and down nervously, unsure what it meant. Finally, the secretary looked up from her work and nodded. “He’ll see you now.”

Heath adjusted his jacket, along with his cufflinks, and pushed open the heavy steel doors to Mr. Demps’s office. The sight of his boss sitting at his desk working eased his worry until Mr. Demps set down the pen he was using and looked up at Heath, focusing his full attention on him. “What’s the report on the agent, Heath?” Mr. Demps asked.

“He escaped, sir. Agent Hill was responsible for the work.”

“I know that. What I’m asking you is, where are we at with finding them?”

“We’ve scoured any and all flight logs for last-minute passengers or unusual aliases, but so far nothing has come up. The chopper escort that took them from our site in Moscow had a range of only a few hundred miles. Based off some of the intelligence we gathered from the satellite hack, it’s our belief that they fled to Poland.”

“It’s a large country. I hope you have something more than that to go on.”

“I do, sir, but I’m afraid it doesn’t have anything to do with Agent Hill. The GSF has regained the use of their satellite link. Global Power picked up the radio frequency signal during Hill’s rescue of the Moscow agent we picked up.”

The business formality dropped and was replaced by the informal emotions Heath rarely witnessed in their interactions, but Mr. Demps signed the checks, and as far as Heath was concerned, the man could express whatever emotions he pleased. Especially when the news was of this calamity.

“Have Global Power track down where their servers are operating, and send in however many men you need to destroy it to ensure that they’re never functioning again,” Mr. Demps replied.

“We’re working on that now, sir.”

“God damn it!” Mr. Demps pounded his fist into the table, rustling the stack of papers and monitors on his desk. His face flushed red, and the vein on his neck pulsated from the tight pressure around his neck.

“Mr. Demps, I think we’re sending the wrong message.”

Mr. Demps dug his finger between his neck and his collar, almost as if he were letting out steam. “What are you talking about?”

“Up until this point, we’ve played our hand very close to the chest, with the knowledge that we had the upper hand. When you are strong, give the illusion to the enemy that you are weak; when you are weak, give the illusion to your enemy that you are strong.”

Mr. Demps sat down, the redness in his face slowly subsiding. “What are you proposing, Heath?”

“Let them know where we are,” Heath said. “We control the flow of information to them before they’re able to seek it out themselves. They’ll send what resources they can, and when they do, they’ll be overwhelmed by ours. We take them out in one swift stroke.”

Heath watched the smile spread across Mr. Demps’s face. He rubbed his chin, and Heath could see his boss weighing the pros and cons, but Heath knew it all came down to belief. A belief that you were better than your opponent. The confidence that no matter what was thrown your way, you were prepared. And Heath was very confident.

“Set it up,” Mr. Demps said. “I want a report on the details in less than an hour.”

“Yes, sir.”

The sheets were drenched in sweat when Sarah woke. It was the heat that disrupted her sleep, and she could feel her shirt clinging to her skin. She reached for the bottle of water on the nightstand next to her and drank. She slid out of bed, pulling the pistol that she held under her pillow with her, and put her free hand against the vent. Nothing.

Sarah slung on her shoulder holster, which contained her second pistol, and headed downstairs to check the power cells. When she made it to the bottom of the steps in the living room, Vince walked through the front door, holding a tool box and looking slightly sweatier and dirtier than she was.

“A lot of the wiring was corroded on the generator,” Vince said, setting the heavy box down with a thud. “I think it must have been due to the winters.”

“I see you haven’t lost your touch in getting out of handcuffs,” Sarah said, tossing the empty bottle of water into the trash.

“Hey, you’re the one who tried to tie me up.”

“And who says I was trying?” Sarah shoulder-checked him on her way out the door to take a look at Vince’s handiwork. Once outside, she looked behind to make sure the coast was clear. “Bryce, you still with me?”

“Yup, still here.”

“Did the bait work?”

“Not the way we wanted it to. He really was just working on the cells. He didn’t even go down into the basement to check the armory.”

“He knew you’d be watching him. Did he try any contact with Johnny?”

“Radio silence.”

“I think he’s telling the truth. Even with you watching him, he could have gotten away with something. It was too easy. If I were the mole, this is when I would have taken my chance. I think he’s clean.”

“Whoa,” Bryce said. “The satellite is picking up a lot of frequency in China.”

“Demps?”

“I don’t know. The power signature is really weird. I think the Chinese are trying to send something to the Russians, but they’re running into some interference.”

“You know, for the past like two days, I’ve been craving Chinese food. I think I’d do anything to eat a bowl of pork fried rice.”

“I think I can trace where the interference is coming from.”

“I wouldn’t even need chopsticks. Just go all commando with my fingers and shovel it into my mouth. Throw a little soy sauce in there, make it really dirty.”

“It’s the Global Power signal. I’ve got it. The Chinese did a shit job of encryption.”

Sarah immediately started running back inside and down to the basement. “What’s the location?”

“New Zealand.”

“Send the call out. Tell Mack I want everybody,” Sarah said, grabbing two duffel bags and tossing one over each shoulder. “I want to bring the fucking hammer down on this bastard.”

***

Rick waited in his office, watching the screensaver morph on his desktop. His mind wouldn’t stop working, no matter how hard he tried to quiet it. He’d been receiving reports from both the Russians and the Chinese on their advances, but a few hours ago, the reports had stopped. According to Heath, the ruse against the GSF had worked, but it had come at the cost of their communications with both countries.

Everyone in Rick’s organization was attempting to reestablish the connection, but there was no timeline on when that would happen. Rick drummed his fingers against the keyboard, which forced the changing screensaver into exile and brought up his desktop. No notifications.

Rick violently pushed his chair back and shot up from his seat. He paced around the office quickly, waiting for any news. What good was a CEO without the speed and knowledge of information at his fingertips? It was his one advantage over the rest of the world, and he couldn’t exploit it.

Finally, almost as if sensing his dismay, Rick’s secretary notified him of Heath’s return, and he immediately had her send him in. Rick returned to his chair and regained his composure, knowing that his right hand wouldn’t have returned if he didn’t have important news, whether it was favorable or not.

“Mr. Demps, the GSF have assembled their agents. We’re tracking at least twelve of them currently en route to our location.”

“And what about communications with the Chinese and Russians?”

“We’ll have a line back up with them in less than six hours. We had to sever several of our encryption lines to make sure the GSF didn’t suspect any breadcrumbs being left on purpose.”

Rick ground his teeth. Six hours was too long. In six hours, the Americans could have figured out a way to override their hold on the nuclear arsenal. Once the threat of nuclear war was present, he knew the Russians and Chinese would back off. That was the only card they had left to play, and it was one that they wouldn’t use unless there was no other option.

“I need it faster than six hours, Heath. I want to know what’s happening on both war fronts in less than one hour.”

Heath’s mouth grew taut as he spoke. “Sir, you know I wouldn’t give you an unrealistic deadline. The six hours is—”

“Six hours is too long,” Rick said, leaning forward in his chair. He watched the struggle in Heath. Rick knew the man well. He was regimented, polished. Heath wouldn’t try to disrespect Rick if he cursed out his own mother.

“I will have it done, sir, but for the sake of time, the communications quality will be poor.”

“Fine, just make sure it’s there.” Rick turned back to some of the papers on his desk, having some of the focus returned to his mind, knowing that his problem would be taken care of soon. It was a physical cue that Heath normally picked up on but deliberately ignored this time. “Is there something else?”

“Yes, sir. I would like possession of Agent Hill’s brother.”

“What? Wh... Oh, it doesn’t matter. Fine. We’ve gotten all the use out of him that we can.” Rick returned to his work. When Heath turned to leave, a smile crept across Rick’s face. He had outsmarted some of the brightest minds in the world, and now, with the blunt instruments at his disposal, he was about to deliver the final blow to an agency that had operated at such a high level of espionage that it was beyond governments, beyond control. This was to be a battle of titans. There wasn’t a square piece of dirt on this earth that he wasn’t capable of possessing, there wasn’t a mind he couldn’t outmaneuver, and Rick was truly beginning to believe that there was nothing beyond his reach. He was limitless.

“Heath,” Rick said, calling out to him just before his shoulder was out the door. Heath stopped and turned around. “If it’s possible, bring me Agent Hill alive. I’d like to have a word with her before she dies.”