The Chimera Vector (49 page)
Jay ducked for cover as bits of metal showered First Avenue. If his eardrums had been whining before, they were dead to the world now.
When he peered through the flames, he saw a white UN ASV accelerating in his direction. At fifteen tons, it was somewhere between a Humvee and a tank, and it looked like someone was operating the enclosed two-barreled turret. The bigger barrel pumped a second forty-millimeter grenade. It hit a patch of road, sending a cluster of Elohim scattering and setting alight a neatly manicured hedge.
The sirens behind Jay grew louder. He abandoned both PEP rifles on the hood and pulled Damien up. They ran for cover, behind the burning bus and inside the gate. Meanwhile, the ASV’s turret peppered the Elohim with its .50 caliber M2 machine gun. Occasionally splashes of plasma hit the ASV’s front, but all they seemed to do was rip off its windshield wipers.
Jay hauled Damien to his feet and slung his arm over his own shoulder as the ASV pulled up broadside in front of the squad cars. A side hatch opened and Sophia yelled at them. Jay didn’t need encouragement, he was already dragging Damien towards her.
Behind him, a fresh wave of squad cars pulled up. NYPD officers aimed pistols at them. Jay half-threw Damien into the hatch. As Sophia caught him, rounds struck the hardened shell of the ASV. One sang through Jay’s flesh, across his shoulder blade. He collapsed. Into the hatch.
Above him, he heard the turret swivel and Nasira mutter, ‘Dodge this, motherfuckers.’
Chapter 56
Scarlet orbs and tinsel shimmered at the edges of Sophia’s vision. Before her, people were dancing, eating, drinking. She looked down to see four splendidly dressed wooden pigs perched at a table, plates of roast chestnuts and glasses of port in front of them. She looked up at the people all around her, the sound of flutes and violins, the smell of cheeses and aromatic vin brulé. She thought she was hallucinating, but Leoncjusz was there. Walking towards her, encircled by a cluster of fireflies that only she could see. He was wearing a new coat and scarf. He smiled. That kind, almost goofy smile she swore she’d never forget.
She ran to him, then slowed. This wasn’t a dream, yet he couldn’t have possibly survived.
‘How did you . . . I thought—’
She felt tears spill onto her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around his coat and buried her face into his lapels. When she came away, she still couldn’t believe he was standing there.
‘It is good to see you again, Sophia,’ he said.
The scent of cinnamon brought tears to her eyes again. Her lips trembled into a smile. But the smile faded.
‘I suppose you’ve heard I released the Chimera vector.’ She breathed sharply, then pressed her lips together to keep from falling apart. ‘Everyone trusted me. And they shouldn’t have.’ Tears blurred Leoncjusz’s motionless figure, turned the fireflies into smears of light. ‘I’m so sorry.’
She felt his hands on her shoulders. She blinked to sharpen her vision, surprised to find that he didn’t seem angry. Or disappointed. Or sad. He actually seemed happy. How could he be happy after what she’d done?
She sniffed. ‘I actually believed . . . we could do this, you know.’
‘Listen to me, my friend,’ he said. ‘You have little time left. And none of it for this crap. The knife is at your throat and your back against the wall.’ He stood back, releasing his grip. ‘And in such position you can do things. Tremendous things.’
The fireflies sizzled, then faded to darkness.
She opened her eyes and found herself sitting upright. On the maintenance walkway of a bridge, at night. She’d fallen asleep. It took a couple of seconds for her to remember where she was. A stream of cars gushed beneath them, on their way to Manhattan Island.
Beside her in the darkness, Benito blew his nose into a tissue. ‘International flight has been locked down because of our “terrorist activities”. That should look good on my resumé.’
She could see under the half moon that he wasn’t smiling.
‘Thank you,’ she said.
He looked at her. ‘For what?’
‘For not hating me.’
‘That’s quite a presumption.’
‘A correct one?’ she said.
Benito looked away. ‘No.’
She had the sudden urge to hug him, but instead she nodded. Further along the walkway, she could see Nasira returning from her little recon. Beyond her, three silhouettes in the distance trekked the maintenance walkway without flashlights, accustomed to the night. The middle silhouette seemed significantly taller than the others. A tiny glowing ember moved with it: the tip of a cigarette.
‘Welcome to Williamsburg Bridge,’ the Akhana leader said as he approached.
He peered over Sophia’s shoulder, which was easy to do since he was about six foot eight, and nodded at Nasira and Benito. ‘My name is Owen Freeman,’ he said.
He looked about fifty-five. He had a long, gentle face with creases that ran deep into stubble, and a shock of gray hair that curled ever so slightly; the kind of style men half his age would spend an hour trying to achieve, and he got simply by climbing out of bed.
Freeman shook Sophia’s hand, his grip as strong as his Australian accent. ‘It’s an honor to meet you.’
‘I wish that were so,’ Sophia said. She eyed Freeman’s two companions. They wore concealed pistols and black sneakers. ‘I was hoping you’d have pharmacologists who could make an antidote for the Chimera vector.’
‘They’re having a closer look now.’ Freeman drew on his cigarette. ‘But my understanding is they should be able to develop a blocker that inhibits the effects of the anti-psychopath Chimera vector. I’ll keep you informed with an estimated completion time.’
‘Thank you,’ Sophia said.
‘We can utilize the Akhana bases around the world to manufacture the antidote,’ Freeman said. He drew on his cigarette again and paused to look down at the rush of cars below. ‘The best method of distribution would be directly to hospitals in every affected region. As we exhaust our own supply, we can hand over manufacturing to companies who can produce it on a larger scale for the entire planet.’
‘Good,’ Sophia said.
She checked their perimeter and noticed two more silhouettes.
Freeman’s wispy gray eyebrows pressed together. He looked like he was trying to evaluate her guilt, which annoyed her.
‘We stopped the majority of the Chimera vector releases,’ he said. ‘And we should be able to limit further fatalities with the inhibiter as soon as we can release it. Thanks to you.’
‘I started this mess; the least I can do is help patch it up,’ she said.
Freeman nodded to the new silhouettes. Sophia didn’t have to look; she already knew who they were.
‘What’s up?’ Jay said.
‘Damien, Jay, this is Owen Freeman. Leader of the Akhana.’
Freeman laughed. ‘Not really a leader. Just the founder.’
He turned to Sophia. ‘Destroying the Fifth Column is all I’ve cared about for so long. I spent thirty-five years waiting to destroy them with the Chimera vector. Waiting for this moment.’ He looked down at his half-smoked cigarette as though it might hold the answers. ‘But you see, it’s not my moment. It’s yours. And besides, I’m too old for this shit.’
Sophia didn’t know what to say. ‘It’s been a long day.’
Freeman nodded. He handed her two envelopes thick with tightly rolled US notes. ‘This is the payment you promised Damien and Jay. Bank details are enclosed, but there’s also 10,000 in cash each. Small notes for your convenience.’
And with that, he nodded to Sophia and disappeared back into the shadows.
Sophia held the envelopes out to Damien and Jay. ‘Good to see you made it.’
Jay took both envelopes and handed one to Damien. ‘Thanks for coming back for us, getting us out of that place.’
He checked his envelope and seemed satisfied by its contents.
‘There’s a place for you here, you know,’ Sophia said.
‘Thanks,’ Damien said. ‘But I think we need to find our own place.’
They exchanged a moonlit smile, however brief, before Damien and Jay turned and left the way they’d come.
Sophia slapped her arm. Something had bitten her. Looking down, she found a squashed mosquito. She brushed it away.
In its wake, a ribbon of blood.
About the Author
Nathan M. Farrugia served in the Australian Army in infantry and reconnaissance, and studied film, television and professional writing. He worked as a post-production video editor, colorist and copywriter, where he earned the nickname Fagoogoo because no one could pronounce Farrugia.
Nathan lives in Melbourne, Australia. In his spare time he practices lock picking and discovers hidden places around the world with urban explorers. He studies Systema, a little-known martial art and former secret of Russian special forces. Nathan has trained under USMC, SEAL team, Spetsnaz and Defence Intelligence instructors, and the wilderness and tracking skills of the Chiricahua Apache scouts and Australian Aboriginals. He also drinks tea.
Also by Nathan M Farrugia
The Seraphim Sequence: The Fifth Column 1
The Phoenix Variant: The Fifth Column 3
The Phoenix Ascent: The Fifth Column 3.5
First published by Momentum in 2012
This edition published in 2015 by Momentum
Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
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Copyright © Nathan M Farrugia 2012
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
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A CIP record for this book is available at the National Library of Australia
The Chimera Vector
EPUB format: 9781743340332
Mobi format: 9781743340387
POD format: 9781743340394
Cover design by Keerati Sarakun and Patrick Naoum
Cover typography by Andrei Stefan-Cosmin
Edited by Nicola O’Shea
Proofread by Sarah Hazelton
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