Authors: Ian D. Moore
*******
Tom and Holly Lloyd were busy playing in the hangar together, and sometimes with other children in a similar situation to them. There was no word about their mother. Tom thought a lot about his mother that day; she would tickle him if he was moody and give him extras in his lunch box. Although he knew his father, contact had been limited for the last six years; the break-up of Tom's mum and dad's marriage had not been easy for him.
He tried as much as a seven-year-old boy could to fill the empty shoes of his father, the man of the house, helping with chores and trying to fix things. He would hug his sister if she felt sad and kept a brotherly eye on her most days. He prayed each night; a silent prayer that someone might hear, for the safe return of his mother, so that they could be a family again.
They played in the ballpark area, a huge netted square that had been filled with small plastic balls. Tom had been burying his sister and then digging his hands into the balls to tickle her. She squealed and giggled, sending a shower of multi-coloured plastic spheres into the air. He looked up and there was Evie watching them play. Tom tugged at his sister, pointing towards the doctor.
“Doctor Eebie!” Holly shouted, jumping from the ball pool and displacing a number of the plastic balls.
“Hi, Evie!” yelled Tom and waved, chasing the rolling balls to collect and return, before executing a perfect dive into the pile. Evie smiled as she bent to catch Holly, lifting her into the air before holding her at her hip. She laughed as Tom disappeared under a pile of balls and then resurfaced, laughing loudly.
“Hey, you, what have you two been up to, eh?” she said, after a kissing each of them gently on the forehead.
“Well, it’s a secret. Naffam said we’re not allowed to tell you, but we’ve been drawing and painting as well. We had ice cream too and Tom ate loads!” Holly said. She emphasised the amount with her arms spread as wide as they would go.
“Oh, I see. Well, in that case, you’d better not tell me. Sounds like you’ve had a fun day so far,” Evie said. She was curious now at what the secret might be.
“Have you seen Mommy yet?” Holly asked expectantly.
“Oh, honey, I’m afraid not but there are still lots of people coming in so there is still time yet,” Evie said softly, trying to reassure the girl.
Steve and Janey were about to eat and suggested that Tom and Holly go with them, allowing Nathan to rest before being woken later. Evie remembered that he’d been on guard duty. She kissed the kids goodbye and watched them head for the cookhouse. She thought she would stop by Nathan’s bunk and steal some time with him, before preparing for the meeting with Dr. Fitzgerald.
Deftly winding her way through the crowded dormitory hangar, she found his allocated area, noticing the two airbeds for the children close to Nathan's. Evie watched him sleeping peacefully, long, slow, deep breaths as his chest rose and fell. She bent down, touched his face softly, and leaned over to kiss him without wanting to wake him. Nathan sighed and brought a sleepy hand up which rested on her thigh; still in the grasp of sleep, it was probably something he wouldn’t remember when he woke.
Evie placed her hand over his, gently closed her fingers, and lifted Nathan's hand from her thigh, placing it back across his waist. She noticed the pile of blankets had toppled beneath his bed and bent to tuck them in for him. Sliding out the base blanket revealed a black, sleek laptop. It was one of the laptops they had taken from the site offices. The second one appeared to be missing, she noted.
With a final brush of her lips against his, Evie stood to leave, picking up the laptop. She would hand it over to Lieutenant Colonel Connell. His lab tech guys would be able to recover any information that might be on it. When Nathan woke, she'd ask him about the other laptop.
Maybe we'll have a chance for some time together later? I miss you, Sergeant Cross.
***
After dinner with the delectable Miss Stuart, Colin Snape was feeling pretty damn good. With some outrageous flirting, she told him that she needed to bathe. Snape was left with thoughts of her naked body, with only bubbles to hide her modesty. For Snape, these thoughts were pure eroticism, but he shook himself free with the considerable application of willpower.
He had work to do and started to make a time log to tell him when the security patrols passed and, more importantly, when they changed over. He would also note any spare vehicles and try to discover if the keys were left in routinely, as this did seem to be the norm on the base.
Next, he needed to know the frequency and timing that the main gate opened; people came and went all the time, but there were regular openings too. Snape guessed that there was no way a Land Rover could punch its way through the gate. He needed something small enough and fast enough to put some distance between himself and that tank, which hadn’t moved since he had landed at the base.
Trying not to be too obvious, he began aimlessly wandering about, scribbling down timings and noting observations. With many people and much going on, it was easy to be lost in the crowds.
***
Meriam watched her boss disappear out into the base, her body prickling with revulsion at their final parting action. She made her way back towards the residential block.
Brian’s door opened and there stood Meriam. She rubbed at her sleeves and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth in-between mock spitting. Brian rushed towards her, concerned.
“Meriam, what is it? Are you alright? Meriam …?” he said, taking her hands.
“Uuuuugh! God, that’s awful. That man gives me the creeps, I … I … kissed him, Brian.”
Brian lifted her chin with his right hand, letting his fingers move to her ear and intertwining her hair, so that he could move it from her face. He pulled her gently toward him.
“I want you,” she whispered just as his mouth found hers.
He pulled away slightly, and she looked into his eyes and this time she said, “I want you in me.”
He knew very well what she meant.
Kissing her passionately and feeling her urgency, he pulled her inside, undressing her as they kissed and touched. She pulled off his shirt and used her mouth to taste his body. Eventually they fell into the awaiting bed together. They made love for over an hour, savouring their intimacy, taking time to tease and caress each other. Brian's life experience took her to new places, places she'd never touched before, and she craved more from him and was not disappointed.
He thought about the men that she could have had, and yet, here she was with him. She made him feel alive and ignited passion inside him that he thought no one would ever do again. They lay naked together, with her body pressed against his, her right leg over his right leg, her knee up slightly.
Brian could feel her breasts touching his right side as her fingers stroked lightly from his neck, down over his body to his pelvic bone. Her nails just scraped the surface enough to cause tingles of pleasure to run through him and she delighted in it. He turned to face her, kissing her softly, teasing her mouth, first one side and then the other as his left hand traced delicate shapes, down her back and then around, barely touching her navel before following the contours of her body up towards the subtle curve of her breast, lingering as tiny goose bumps appeared.
He could play with her forever, he thought; he would never tire of pleasing her. He was sure that he was falling in love with her. Their passion had left them completely oblivious to the scurrying base staff, preparing for the mission to the underground facility and introducing the new safety measures. For almost everyone involved in the base operations, this was a day like any other, much to be done.
***
With one final errand to make, Corporal Simms headed back towards the dormitory hangar. It was almost 1800 hours so she needed to wake Sergeant Cross to let him know of the meeting. The C.O. wasn’t the kind of man to be kept waiting.
As she walked across the tarmac square, much less crowded now that the new arrivals had been processed, she again noticed the distinctive walk of Colin Snape. He was just walking around, seemingly without any real purpose. Every so often, he would stop, take out a small jotter pad and write something on it, before continuing his random walk. Curious, she thought.
The instinct to follow him was compelling, but she must first complete her orders. She passed through the hangar doors, turning briefly in time to see the wandering figure stop at a parked Land Rover and look inside it in the fading light before moving on; Snape's eyes scanned continually for anyone watching him.
Snape hadn’t noticed Corporal Simms as she moved closer inside, retracing her steps to find the bunk space and Sergeant Cross. She approached him and could see that he was still in slumber. She knelt, before gently rocking his shoulder until his eyes fluttered open.
Giving him a few seconds to come around, she said, “I’m sorry, Sergeant, it’s 1800 hours, and I have orders to inform you that you are required by the C.O. to attend a meeting in the main function room in an hour. He didn’t say what it was about, I’m afraid.”
“Ummm, yes, yes, thank you, Corporal Simms, understood, 19:00hrs meeting room.” Nathan repeated, still a little groggy.
“That’s right, Sarge, sorry to have woken you,” she said, before walking away.
Nathan hauled himself up, sat with his head in his hands and rubbed at his eyes, willing them to remain open and silently praying for a few more hours rest, but he knew that this wouldn't be any time soon.
He dressed quickly, slipping on the heavy boots and flipping the quick tie tags, before nature called to appease his full bladder. He washed at the sink and scooped handfuls of water onto his face. The coolness shocked the last of the sleep from his mind.
Outside, the night air chilled the remaining moisture on his skin as he walked to the cookhouse for coffee. It took two full cups and part of the third to bring back his clarity and reasoning. He wondered what exactly this meeting was about. He'd heard no word from Chris so perhaps he had been summoned too?
***
Evie stood outside the office of Lieutenant Colonel Connell. She could hear muffled words inside. Evie knocked on the solid wooden door and waited for permission to enter.
“Come,” was the only response.
“Good evening, Sir, oh and good evening, Major. I have a meeting shortly with Dr. Fitzgerald, but it is important that you have this, Sir,” Evie said, handing over the laptop.
“What’s this, Lieutenant?”
“We took two laptops for safekeeping from the wellhead site shortly after the outbreak, Sir. The second one seems to have gone missing for the time being, along with a camera that belongs to Nathan, errrmm, Sergeant Cross, Sir,” she said, admonishing herself for the error.
“I see, Lieutenant. We better get this to the tech-heads then hadn’t we? Hopefully, it will have some data on it that we may find useful. Well done, Lieutenant. You best get your skates on and get to that meeting, I’ll see you afterwards and bring you up to speed.”
Evie turned and left the two officers to prepare for their own meeting, making her way back around the main building to the medical facility to join the rest of the team, awaiting the arrival of Dr. Fitzgerald.
*******
The two senior base officers walked through the main building, stopping briefly to drop the recovered laptop with the technical services team; their instructions were to analyse it thoroughly for useful information it may hold and report back to them immediately. When they entered the meeting room, the ranked soldiers present stood, braced in a unified salute as the officers walked to the front, before the major stood them at ease and asked them to be seated.
The major began, “As you are aware, we have a facility south of here that has sustained some damage; our colleagues in there are unable to make contact or reach the surface. It is our duty to attempt a rescue and to secure that facility. You have each been selected because of your talents and skills, and now is the time we need the very best you can give. Lieutenant Colonel Connell will brief you on the operation. Please remain seated whilst I hand over to the C.O. Sir.”
The major saluted as the C.O. stood and returned the salute to his second in command. The C.O. looked over the team. He knew most of them; they were good soldiers, male and female alike, and had proved themselves a dozen times under his command. He felt confident that they could achieve their goal.
He wasted no time. “Good evening. Tomorrow morning at 0900 hours, we will assemble at the helipad. You are to be prepared for combat in full tactical gear, bio-chemical suit, and respirator. There is a chance that contamination will still be evident. We will have troop support before we land, and units are securing the immediate area at the centre of the town at present. The helicopters will touch down on the private estate, which will be our access point to the underground site.”
He looked around the room, his piercing gaze backing up the seriousness of what he said, before he continued.
“May I remind you that we’re all in it together, so we cover each other. You will all have key roles before, during, and after access has been gained; please, be careful and don’t take unnecessary risks. Our goal is primarily to rescue any of the facility staff remaining—but we do not have provision to carry bodies back at this time. Our secondary objective is to secure the facility and restore power and communications as soon as possible. Any questions so far?”
He paused but there were no interruptions, so he continued, “Excellent, right. We will be escorting Lieutenant Dr. Evelyn Shepherd. She is to be guarded and protected at all times, no matter what happens. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Sir!”
The whole room erupted in response, both medical and military staff alike.
“Sergeant Cross, Staff Sergeant Stewall, you will be the personal guard to Dr. Shepherd and are to remain with her at all times throughout the operation. Sergeant Wilkes, you will be the backup. The fire teams protecting the site have their own commanders who have already been briefed on the operation and will work with our teams when we arrive.”
“Yes, Sir” The three senior non-commissioned officers acknowledged.
”Once inside the facility, you are under the instruction and command of Dr. Shepherd. Do not forget that there are some very nasty things in that place, and you may encounter hostile action; be very careful what you touch, and clean up well afterwards. The shoot to kill policy applies, and I don’t want to have to inform any of your family that you won’t be coming home. Details of our intelligence so far have been passed to other bases so that they can adjust their procedure, and this is being actioned as I speak. That’s all. I’ll see you all tomorrow at 0900 hours. Dismissed.”
They filed out of the meeting room and there was a definite buzz of excitement in the air. Nathan found Chris and Susan Wilkes, their backup throughout the operation. They discussed tactics as they all headed for the armoury to prepare weapons and kit ready for morning.
Shortly after the end of the meeting, Major Sower informed them that the night supply sorties had been rescheduled to daylight hours, due to the lower chance of hostile contact. It seemed that he still had a task to be completed. A team would be required to clear the main entry route to the base and the road needed to be clear for supply missions. He stood before the three soldiers.
“Volunteers?” said the major, almost hoping he didn’t have to allocate the job.
“I will, Sir,” said Nathan.
Target practice and a chance to get behind the wheel of that dozer.
“Count me in, Sir. He’ll need a baby sitter!” said Chris.
A little payback is due, I think.
“I’ll go too, Sir,” said Susan Wilkes, completing the crew, “be good to work with these guys before the operation starts.”
Bring it on. I’m up for that.
“Excellent, thank you all,” said the major, turning without waiting for a salute from the troops.
As the major left, Chris disappeared behind the counter into the back shelving area, emerging with a wooden box. Popping the lid, he produced three sets of infrared night vision goggles, tested each set for battery power, and smiled, as he handed them to his team.
“These should come in handy. I want them back though. I know you two only too well,” he joked, with a flash of his charming smile.
“Remind me again. Why did I just volunteer for this?” asked Sergeant Susan Wilkes.
“Because you love us?” said Chris.
“In your dreams, Stewey mate, in your dreams!” she said, smiling still.
“Right, let’s crack on, shall we? We’ll meet at the main gate in a half-hour. It won’t be quite dark so we’ll have a head start on clearing the road.”
“Agreed,” was the reply from his teammates.
Nathan headed back to the dorm to pick up the hunting knife hidden beneath his pillow, out of sight of tiny hands. It was still in its place. He fastened the knife to his belt and re-laced the loosely tied quick tabs on his boots, ready for action.
The announcement of imminent entry into the Salby facility had everyone scurrying around in preparation, white coats and kitted soldiers in green alike scattered over the base, carrying equipment and loading boxes of supplies.
***
The scientific team had assembled, and there were many faces that Evelyn didn’t know. Three new faces had arrived from the wellhead site to deliver preliminary findings on their investigations. They had been brought up to speed on her briefing earlier. One-by-one, they stood to pass on their test results, autopsy findings, and analysis of surrounding soil samples, plus the detailed chemical breakdown of substances found inside the borehole. After lengthy explanations and an open discussion, Dr. Fitzgerald called the meeting to order so that he could address the team.
“Settle down, please settle down. Excellent work. We've come a long way in a short space of time but we still have much to do. The C.O., at the request of Dr. Shepherd, is in the process of arranging a secure facility for us to hold and examine live infected subjects. I do not need to stand here and tell you how dangerous this is, but it will help us to fathom out how the virus reacts to different suppressant vaccines we may develop.”
The chief medical officer paused for a moment, sipping at the water on his desk.
“We'll try to capture three infected individuals initially, all of whom will be heavily sedated throughout their stay with us. At no time are unauthorised military or civilian personnel to be given access to our subjects. Contact with them is to be kept to a minimum and strictly on a medical basis. If this virus infects the base, there will be carnage on a grand scale. Right, that’s our plan for the immediate future at the base. Questions?”
There were no immediate questions as Charles scanned the room. He shuffled the stack of files on his desk into a neat pile and took another sip from his glass, before he continued.
“Now, I have selected some of you to accompany Dr. Shepherd on a mission tomorrow to enter the Salby facility. Those selected, and you know who you are, must be ready to leave the base at 0900 hours and assemble at the helipad. This will be a large joint operation. There are already armed units on the ground, and they will have cleared the immediate area prior to arrival. Full bio-chemical procedures are mandatory as the area we are entering is probably infected. I did say we. However, this time, I will not be coming with you as I am staying here to assist in the capture of the infected subjects. Dr. Barnes, you look puzzled, do you have a question?”
“Yes, Doctor. Who will be in command?”
“The C.O. will be joining the away mission. He will be in overall command of the military personnel. Dr. Shepherd will oversee the medical team. You may be aware that the facility is fitted with high-intensity UV lighting arrays. These should have activated when the sensors picked up the leak but could have sustained damage in the blast. Take no risks for you won’t know if there's been damage until you enter the facility, any further questions?” Charles asked.
He peered over the rim of his glasses, looking around the room at the sea of white coats, before continuing.
“Right. Those on the mission have a few hours to prepare your kit and those staying here have your agendas already. Dr. Fielding, I take it the tranquiliser devices are ready?”
“Yes, Doctor, prepared and ready for the snipers. The initial dose will take out a fully-grown man, rendering him unconscious for four hours maximum. Bear in mind that we have no idea how the virus will react to the anaesthetic until we have tried it. I advise that only one subject is targeted initially. Colour-coded darts denote potency. I’ve printed a guide for each weapon,” he concluded.
“Duly noted, Doctor, I’ll pass that information on. Please see to it that the rifles are delivered to the armoury this evening, if you would be so kind. I’ll speak to the C.O. with a view to having them ready at the fences tonight. We’ll need infected subjects already in place when the facility team returns. I will arrange an armed detail to be posted within the military police compound round the clock. Any questions? No? Right, let’s go to work, people.”
***
The military detail and medical teams were now ready for the mission and the imminent arrival of the first of the infected to be captured alive. The medical staff deployed to their roles, and for the first time since the infection started, it seemed they were now about to retaliate. Evie made her way to the dorm hangar in time to see Nathan. She found him making final adjustments to his webbing belts and flak jacket, ready for the clean-up operation.
“Hey, there you,” she said. Evie approached cautiously, still not completely sure of his feelings, especially after the omission of her rank and title.
“Evie! It seems like ages since I saw you and I’ve missed you,” he said, throwing his arms around her and finding her mouth with his own.
He really does seem to have missed me.
“Are you still mad at me?” she ventured cautiously.
“Honey,” Nathan replied, “I was never mad at you. I felt a little betrayed to begin with but I thought about it. You couldn’t tell me, not something of this scale. We’re both military and both understand our duties and responsibilities. It seems I’m to be your personal guard on the mission tomorrow.”
“We just had our briefing. This is risky, Nate, please be careful. I’ve no idea what we’ll find but it’s a long way down. We're going to try to capture live infected deadheads. There will be just one to start with, as we don’t know how the virus will respond to the anaesthetic drugs. The rifles should be in the armoury for deployment shortly.”
“Good planning. You need to be careful too and stay close to me and the team at all times tomorrow. We need to be able to cover you, Evie,” he said and looked directly at her, to emphasise the point.
“Are you on stag tonight? The supply runs have been cancelled and re-planned for daylight hours as the deadheads have an aversion to sunlight. The UV rays speed up their demise, and you’ll begin to see UV light stands erected on the fences soon.” She informed him.
“No, not guard, but I owe a couple of hours help to someone for the ton of ice cream the kids ate,” he added, grinning.
“We’re going out to clear the entrance roads, and they’re going to let me loose on the dozer. It should be routine, and we won’t be off the base for long. I’ll come find you when we’re done, and we’ll catch up with the kids, see what chaos they have managed to cause.”
Evie smiled at him, touching his arm, and he pulled her close once more, for a kiss that lingered a little longer this time. It was interrupted by the less than subtle tones of Staff Sergeant Stewall.
“You two want to book a room? Should I give you four minutes or less?” he piped up, grinning from ear to ear.
“Cheeky git! Take no notice of him, Evie. He’s only jealous and so he should be.”
“We’re about ready to roll, Nate. I’ve not had the pleasure,” Stewey said and extended his hand to Evie.
“Dr. Evelyn Shepherd,” she said, purposefully excluding the military rank.
“Good to meet you, Doctor. He’s a sly old dog, isn’t he? Never said a word about you on stag last night,” Chris said, never missing an opportunity to rib his best friend, “but we better go. The quicker we get this done, the better.”
“You take care of him, Chris. I kinda like him.”
“That I will, Doctor, that I will. I kinda like him too,” he replied, as he turned towards the armoury to collect the weapons.