Son of Cerberus (The Unusual Operations Division Book 2) (25 page)

“Great,” Phillip grinned. “Gregory is either going to kill us, or give us raises. What more?”

“Something about a procedure…a final procedure. They said that the boss isn’t mad they failed because of whatever procedure they’re talking about.”

“Should we go say hi?” Stephen said, checking to make sure his weapon was still tucked securely beneath his arm.

“I don’t think so,” David whispered back. “They seem pretty well organized here. If we break down the door, we might get shot full of holes.

“So what do we do?” Stephen wondered. “You think we can sneak inside without getting caught?”

“Doubtful,” Phillip whispered. “This place is locked up tighter than a nun on Sunday.”

The two men dropped their cigarettes and walked inside. Behind them, the large door stayed open, leaving an enticing option for the three agents. Two menacingly large men replaced them at the door—armed with semi-automatic assault rifles.

David took a moment to search through his pocket. There he found the small card the female police officer had given him. Silently, he texted the woman a warning.

“
North Brother Island needs some police support—a lot.”

“You’d think they were expecting us,” Phillip said jokingly. “No time like the present, am I right?”

Phillip and the team worked out a quick plan before he broke cover and crept as low as he could to the side of the building. Stephen moved away stealthily and made his way to the other side of the entrance. As they had discussed, David made enough commotion to distract the two men at the door.

“Knock, knock,” he yelled into the darkness. “This is where you say,
who’s there?
”

The two men looked at each other, confused, before pointing their weapons out into the night.

“Who’s there?” one of them said. Both moved away from the door in unison, slowly so as to ensure they weren’t being led into a trap.

Fortunately, they hadn’t noticed the two other teammates creeping up behind them. Stephen had no problem stripping the weapon out of the hands of one man while Phillip smashed the other across the back of his head with a branch. In a matter of seconds, the two would-be bad guys were subdued and secured with zip ties in the woods. Their weapons were buried in the bushes somewhere else.

“We’re in it now,” Stephen said, loading his weapon and holding it securely in one hand. “If this was all they had for security, they’re pretty confident in themselves.

None of the team noticed any surveillance cameras on the island, nor inside the building. They were, however, very aware of how much time they had. They needed to figure out what the building was all about and get out so the police could do their job.

“We go in now and we can get out before those two are noticed missing,” Phillip said to Stephen. “Either way, we need to find out how to get in there. What do you think, David?”

Both men turned around to see what David would say. Instead, they heard him in the bushes, gagging noisily and vomiting on the shrubbery. He was still in the bushes, hidden for the most part besides the gagging and heaving noises that gave him away.

“What’s with that guy,” Phillip said, suppressing laughter like he was listening to one of his frat buddies vomit out a gallon of alcohol. “No stomach for this sort of thing.”

“I’ll go check on him,” Stephen said, turning to go. “Maybe you can figure out how that hidden door opens.”

The big man disappeared quickly into the dark as Phillip was left to contemplate what he should do. A quick scan with a small electronic device told him he didn’t need to worry about radiation of any kind. He walked gingerly over the wood and tile floors, careful not to disturb anything.

His phone rang in his pocket, sending a sudden pang of anxiety through him. Quickly, he pulled it out and made to silence it. It was a rather good friend he had been talking to lately, one he hoped to make more than a friend soon, but now was not the time. Instead, he silenced the phone and shot a quick text message in reply.

“People these days,” he muttered, shoving the phone back into his pocket. Stephen and David were nowhere to be seen, which meant that Phillip was happy with their hiding spot. He knew they were right behind him, but concealed entirely in the dark.

He turned back to the hallway to get to work, but something made his heart skip a beat. Before him, the two men that had been the subject of their pursuit all day were just opening the hidden door from the inside. The quizzical looks they shared with one another told Phillip he was in some serious trouble.

“Hey fellas,” he said, reacting immediately to the new threat. “You two wouldn’t happen to know where the bathroom is, would you. I’ve been looking for hours.”

“Stop talking,” one man said, a bat that Phillip hadn’t noticed before dangled from his right hand. “Who are you and why are you on our island?”

“Our island?” Phillip sounded incredulous. “I thought this place was state property—abandoned and left to the birds.”

“It’s our island,” the other man said. He had a scar that reflected the bright light running the length of his masculine face. “What are you doing here, after dark, and alone? Aren’t you afraid of the dark, little man?”

Alone? Phillip was suddenly happy that David had contracted a sudden case of the pukes. It meant that his friends were still safe.

“Yes, why are you here?” a new voice came from behind him, someone he felt he should know. Phillip wheeled around to meet the new threat, knowing now he was trapped on all sides.

A familiar smile grinned at him from behind small round spectacles. His slender hands held a cane securely across his blazer-clad chest. The familiar man was none other than Stewart, the murderous madman who had threatened them all with an explosive vest.

“Why, oh why, would you be on our island?”

Phillip swallowed hard. Gregory was going to have a heart attack.

Marcus was happy they were on the way across the country again. Though he knew it was going to raise hell with the missus, he was happy to be back on the case. The ride, which was a five hour nonstop flight to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, was going to give Marcus some time to rest. It was something he took advantage of immediately.

Touchdown came too fast. The severe lack of sleep had taken its toll on Marcus and his team and none of them felt up to the challenge of getting out of their seats. They all knew what was at stake, though, and so they made their way off the plane and toward the nearest car rental center.

“We’re going to need an SUV,” Marcus told the woman behind the counter. She clicked with her long velvet fingernails over the keyboard, looking through the pages and pages of available vehicles. The noise was excruciating.

“Sorry, sir,” she said, sorrowfully, her musical voice raking over Marcus’s skin like a thousand tiny needles. “We don’t have any SUVs in stock right now. Would a minivan suffice?”

Marcus glanced down at his hands, trying hard to stifle the laugh building in his throat. The ragtag group of people hardly looked like a minivan family, but it would have to do. Henry, with his pastel shirt and bright orange tie, looked like a man who had been displaced from the preschool in which he taught. Cynthia wore jeans and a dress shirt over which she wore a dark coat to hide her pistol. Marcus, as usual, wore his fine-fitting black suit, supremely expensive shoes, and his favorite Colt 1911. His hair, groomed above his ears now, was slicked back so it would stay out of his face.

“Maybe we can stop somewhere,” Marcus said to his cohorts. “We can rent a movie for you two to watch in the back. It’s going to be quite a drive anyway.”

“Thirty miles isn’t going to take us that long,” Henry said grumpily. “Besides, if we stop and get a movie, we’re going to have to get the popcorn to go with it.”

“True,” Cynthia said. “And I’m going to want an ice cold soft drink, too.”

“Maybe we’ll skip the movie then,” Marcus said drolly. “Does the minivan have four wheel drive? We’re going to Snoqualmie Falls and I’d hate to get stuck out there.”

“It does not,” the woman behind the desk said, completely annoyed at the jokes being made at her expense. “But Snoqualmie Falls doesn’t require four-wheel drive. It’s a pretty big tourist location and all the roads up there are paved. If you’re afraid that you might lose traction, we have a Subaru that has all-wheel drive. Would you prefer that?”

“I’m not sure,” Marcus said quizzically. “Does it have drop-down movie screens?”

The three agents ended up in the back of the Subaru. With an all-wheel drive vehicle, they didn’t feel as if they might get stuck as easily. In just a few short minutes, they were headed out into the Seattle traffic, which was especially bad seeing as how it was nearing the close of the business day. Everyone that worked in the city left the city when five o’clock happened along, causing massive amounts of traffic on all the major freeways. Though it was the same in every city, Marcus wondered whether or not it would be worse near one of the largest international airports in the United States.

It wasn’t. They flowed along easily down the road, passing slower vehicles as if they were standing still. Marcus liked the scenery, too. With a mixture of natural wonders and big city living, Seattle seemed like a place where he might like to settle down someday. In fact, he hoped they would have enough time to visit the city before they ended up back in D.C.

They wandered west through the city, picking their route carefully so as not to get lost. The small GPS unit that came with the vehicle had them on the freeway until they were out of the city, and then it was only a twenty minute drive through forested countryside. The sky was still bright so it was easier to navigate than it would be in complete darkness, yet Marcus felt uneasy about heading up the mountain this late in the afternoon.

He wanted a full day in order to investigate as much as he could.

As it was, they figured they had at least a few hours left of daylight with which to explore the area. Though they could easily exercise their warrant, they hoped it wouldn’t be needed. They had never explored this part of the country. Driving around the mountains at night was fun, but not when it interfered with a mission.

They passed stretches of nature and then the falls and kept going until they arrived at a small bridge. Crossing over the bridge and then heading back down the river, they quickly realized that they were on some sort of private property. Letters posted in the trees told the trio to stay out, but they knew exactly where they were headed.

They drove past what looked like an old lumber yard and then off another chute that took them closer to the river. Suddenly before them was a tall chain link fence, its top adorned with barbed wire. In clear English, the sign read ‘No Trespassing—Violators will be prosecuted to the
Fullest Extent
of the Law.’

“What do you guys think?” Marcus asked, a grin painting his stubble-strewn face. “You think we should turn around?”

Henry laughed a hearty laugh before opening the door and exiting without as much as a word. The rest followed suit, making sure the older man wasn’t by himself when he approached the gate. It had recently been wrapped in chains and locked with multiple pad locks, but those security measures now lie on the ground in a heap. Fresh tracks, like those from large, heavy vehicles, were evident in the gravel that lie ahead of them.

“Hello,” Cynthia said in a casual speaking voice, obviously not trying to rouse anybody’s attention. “Is anyone around?”

“Hmm,” Marcus said, pushing the gate open easily. “Guess there’s no welcome party. I’ll move the car, why don’t you guys poke your head around a bit?”

As Marcus jumped back in the car, Henry and Cynthia wandered around the open yard aimlessly. It was rather reminiscent of their time in Nigeria, with the seemingly deserted buildings before them and the sound of a river in the distance. It made Marcus uneasy, though he hoped Stewart would pop his head out and let Marcus take it off.

The walk to the main building was short. It was a long, tall warehouse-style building with aluminum siding. Along the back of the building, not ten feet away, the river ran over rocks and other debris. It was a seemingly picturesque place to have such an ugly building, but Marcus would be more than happy to give up his city lifestyle for an office like this one.

A lone wood and glass door stood between them and the interior of the building. They knocked courteously and waited for someone to show up. Though no one thought that someone actually
would
show up, they thought that being courteous would show whoever might be inside that they weren’t hostile.

A man in a white coat and thin glasses came hustling up to the door from inside. He had wild blond hair and a slight gait in his step. Though he wore slacks, they were nearly covered by the lab style coat he wore.

He eyed the three strangely before opening the door.

“I never thought you guys would get here,” he said, obviously mistaking the three for other people. “The rest of the equipment is downstairs and the rest of the samples are all packed and ready to go.”

“Samples,” Marcus said the word like he was tasting it for the first time. “We don’t know anything about any samples.”

“What?” the man said in a high, scratchy voice. “You don’t think you’ll have room this trip?”

“What is he getting on about?” Henry asked. “You think we’re here to help you move?”

“If you’re here, it’s to help me move. I don’t know what the boss told you, but we’re evacuating this location today. I was supposed to be gone yesterday, but I couldn’t move the samples without preparing them or they would die.”

“Okay,” Marcus said, playing along. “Where do we start?”

“Down those stairs,” the disgruntled doctor-like man said, opening the door the rest of the way so that they could step inside. The interior was much different than what they had pictured it would be. Cement walls went at least two stories beneath ground. Through the center of the room ran a small stream of water. It entered through one wall and exited through the far one as quietly as if it had never existed. There were work stations that had been emptied, yet some still had what looked like medical equipment. Beakers, bags of solution, and hoses were aplenty.

“Where are the samples?” Cynthia asked. “I’d like to take a look at them before we load them up.”

“Ah yes,” the mysterious man in the lab coat said. “They’re in their respective containers and ready to be moved. I just need some strong young gentlemen like yourselves to help me get them up the stairs. Then we can get them to the boat and be done with this whole mess.”

The three teammates followed the crazy-haired guy down the stairs, noting that he stank of sulfur. At the bottom of the stairs, they made their way around a corner to where a door had been hiding. It looked as if the door was one that had come off an old restaurant refrigeration unit. It was at least eight feet high and six feet wide, silver and full of stickers that ranged from ‘hazardous’ to ‘lethal bacteria inside’.

Their unlikely guide threw the door open without a second thought as to what the stickers said. Inside was something Marcus had never anticipated seeing in his entire life. Along the wall there were mason jars filled with a strange blue liquid. Inside the liquid, suspended as if in glue, floated a single pink mass. It was no larger than a centimeter in total, yet something about them seemed horrifying.

Marcus walked closer to one, unable to keep his curiosity at bay. As he did, he realized Cynthia and Henry were doing the same thing. As they got closer, they noticed what the strange allure to these jars were—the pink blob on the inside was moving.

“What are these?” Marcus asked, not worried as to whether or not the man would catch them for who they truly were.

“You must be really new,” the man said. “The product of countless years of work; our newest children. This is what all the trouble is about. They are the path to stop global hunger, a way to cure all diseases. It’s our way to the stars, or other dimensions…to cure ourselves of humanity and all that troubles us. These little buggers, in essence, are who and what we work for.”

“Could you explain that in a way that doesn’t confuse us,” Cynthia said, inching closer to the blue goo inside the Mason jar.

“You
are
new, aren’t you,” he said, frowning at Cynthia’s obvious ignorance. “They are our newest children—the offspring of the master. Haven’t you undergone the transference yet?”

“No,” Henry said. “We decided to keep our humanity.”

The doctor eyed them suspiciously for a moment before shrugging.

“I cannot blame you,” he said. “We will eventually be outmoded, you know. I did not take one on either. I have seen the change myself—people are never the same after they take on the kinsman. Though they gain so much knowledge, they are no longer themselves. It’s as if the kinsman use their host as only a body and a library while the host’s consciousness dies.

“Though I yearn for knowledge, I much enjoy being myself.”

Marcus backed up suddenly, understanding what the man was talking about.

“These are the bacteria that have been infecting people,” Marcus said incredulously. “These are not bacteria.”

“No,” the man said, confused by Marcus’s poor choice of wording. “I’ve never been privy to the true story of how they came to be here, but they are not bacteria. They are living entities, capable of remembering the history of anyone who has ever been born into their society. Like little hard drives interconnected using networks of invisible cables. They may truly be the most powerful entity in existence.”

“Jesus,” Cynthia said, grabbing for her cellular telephone to take a picture.

“You’re not the movers,” the man finally caught on, edging back toward the door. Henry smiled as the man bumped into his folded arms. “You’re not part of the Kin of Cerberus at all, are you?”

“The Kin of Cerberus,” Marcus tried it out. “Can’t say we’ve ever heard of them.”

“And you never should.” The scientist looked frightened now, as if he were trapped in a room with a bunch of people he didn’t want to be trapped with.

“The Kin of Cerberus have done nothing but good for the world. We, this secret society, have kept monsters at bay for countless years now. You shouldn’t be meddling in things you don’t understand.”

“Why don’t you give us a little rundown on all the ‘good’ you’ve done,” Marcus said sarcastically.

“More importantly, what are you talking about with all that network mumbo jumbo,” Cynthia said.

“The kinsman,” the doctor licked his lips, “I’ll tell you nothing about them.”

“Oh,” Henry said, eyeing his pistol from top to bottom, slowly, so that the doctor would get the point.

“Are you threatening me?”

“Yep,” Cynthia said, picking one of the jars up and shaking it violently.

“Stop,” the doctor said fervently. “I’ll tell you whatever you want, just leave them alone. They claim to be from another world—sent here hundreds of years ago to track our progress as a species. I don’t really know where they come from, but they do have miraculous abilities.”