The Delta Chain (52 page)

No one heard
Erickson
’
s screams.

The young people were herded
into the fleet of vans, together with their Keepers and Carers.

Vender was in the front
van. He didn
’
t look back as the Estate
gates swung open and the van inched forward.

That was when the crescendo
filled the air.

Sirens.

Vender
’
s breath caught in his throat as the first of the police
squad cars entered via the open gateway

Asquith
’
s car arrived at the Northern Rocks police centre at the
same time as the other police- escorted rental vehicles. The four
men alighted from their car, and joining with the others, including
Renshaw, they were escorted into the building.

Westmeyer barely felt the
pinprick as Renshaw
’
s hand brushed
against his.

They were on the steps
when Westmeyer clutched at his chest, stumbling forward. Donnelly
reacted immediately, but was unable to stop his boss
’
body crumpling onto the steps. The untraceable
chemical did its work quickly.

When the paramedics arrived
seven minutes later they pronounced William Westmeyer dead. A
stunned Jackson Donnelly shot erratic, disbelieving looks at
Asquith and Renshaw.

For the first time in his
journey from petty criminal to gung ho soldier to corrupt big
business henchman, Donnelly felt real panic. There was nothing to
indicate foul play, other than the sour acid of suspicion gnawing
at the pit of his stomach.

Invisible walls were closing in
around him, invisible hands were casting him into the abyss.

As soon as he heard the
scream, Adam knew it was Kate. He did not know how he knew.
He
’
d never heard her scream. But he knew
it was Kate. At some stage she must have followed him down. Did
that mean Brian was with her?

The scream had come from
behind, back where they
’
d run from the
crocodiles. God…No…

He didn
’
t want to leave Elizabeth and Daniel alone but he
couldn
’
t lead them back. Too dangerous.
But Kate? He couldn
’
t just go on, leaving
her behind.
‘
You two keep running, keep
following this tunnel, there
’
s light
somewhere ahead.
’

‘Don
’
t leave us,
’
Elizabeth
pleaded.

‘I have to try and help
whoever
’
s back there, Elizabeth. I
can
’
t just leave them to the crocs. Now
go on. Keep moving.
’

He backtracked cautiously,
eyes watching the dark spaces for any sign of the creatures. A
dozen of them, Daniel had said.
‘
Kate,
it
’
s Adam. Can you hear me?
’

Nothing.

‘Kate!
’

‘…
Adam?’

‘Kate, you sound close.
Can you tell where my voice is coming from?
’

‘I
’
m not sure,
’
she called
back.

‘Wherever you think my
voice is coming from, run toward it. You
’
ll know if it
’
s getting
closer.
’
He was shouting as loud as his
throat would allow. He was at a point from which multiple tunnels
and rock fissures ran into the dark. Kate could have been
approaching from any direction, as sounds were distorted, with
echoes bouncing around the walls.
‘
Kate,
can you see any crocs?
’

‘They
’
re feeding on swarms of rats. But they
’
re not far behind me.
’

‘You sound closer. Keep
coming but watch the ground. Holes everywhere,
don
’
t fall.
’

All of a sudden she was in
front of him, charging out of blackness in a fine spray of dust and
water. For just a moment he didn
’
t
realise this was Kate. Her face was black with muck, her short
blonde hair dark and matted to her skull. Her right eye swollen.
Torn blouse and pants smeared with blood.

He pulled her in close to
him, turning back the way he
’
d come, and
pushing her forward, he said:
‘
Keep
moving.
’

One of the SES teams had
found a tunnel in a thick tangle of brush when a cry went up from
further along. The cry was from the group led by Arthur Kirby and
John Harrison. They were further down the slope where lush green
forest thinned rapidly to sandy, sloping foothills. From a narrow
opening set back in the cliff face, Adam, Kate, Elizabeth and
Daniel came staggering out. Rain was beating down harder now and
the wind was cold. Adam had hated storms ever since
that
night, the night his sister had drowned, hated them with a
vengeance.

He didn
’
t mind this one. It was exhilarating being in the open air,
the rainwater a tonic on the skin.

‘Thank God
you
’
re okay,
’
Kirby said. Stanley and Kavanaugh from the Task Force were
amongst the next group to reach them.

‘Markham is still down
there, Arthur, trapped-
’

‘The SES guys are onto
it.
’

‘No. Call them together, I
need to brief them.
’

‘Why?
’

‘The tunnels in there are
crawling with crocs,
’
Kate said before
Adam could respond. All four of them were on their knees, taking in
deep breaths. Elizabeth was crying.

‘Lord Almighty,
’
said Kirby.

‘There was a constant need
for both freshwater and seawater down there,
’
Adam said,
‘
supplying croc pits
and human drowning chambers. That means they had an elaborate
series of pipes, connected to the mains and to the ocean
shore.
’

Realisation dawned on Kirby:
flooded caverns filled with the creatures.

Within minutes the emergency
workers had erected a temporary shelter. The gravely- voiced
Harradin arrived with more men. Adam gave them a run down on the
conditions in the partly crushed sub-level and Harradin started
giving orders to his men. Daniel and Elizabeth, draped in
weatherproof coats by the rescuers, comforted each other
silently.

Adam took Kate in his arms, held
her tightly.

‘I can
’
t believe we got out,
’
she
said.

Harradin
approached.
‘
Bennett, I understand you
want to lead us back down there, but you
’
re in no condition-
’

‘I don
’
t care, I
’
m going-
’

‘Like it or not
I
’
m in charge here now.
You
’
re going back with the paramedics
along with Ms. Kovacs and these kids. Bennett, I
’
ve got men trained as underground rescue specialists.
We
’
ll be pumping gas into the tunnels
that will knock the crocs out. While they
’
re being dragged out and caged other teams will find their
way through to the lift shaft, dig your coroner friend out and get
him up here. But it
’
s going to take a
couple of hours and there
’
s no guarantee
he
’
s not already dead. You know
that.
’

‘Yes.
’

‘The moment
there
’
s any news I
’
ll personally be in contact with you.
That
’
s a promise.
’

Flanked by medics and with his
police colleagues in tow, Adam trudged across the wet sand, arm in
arm with Kate. Daniel and Elizabeth were beside them.

‘You
’
re taking some extended R&R after this, Adam,
that
’
s an order,
’
Kirby was saying, himself in a mild state of shock,
‘
and if there
’
s
anything I can do…
’

Adam was only half
listening. He looked out at the ocean. The waves had been whipped
up by the winds. The horizon was obscured by rain and mist, the
dark clouds as low as he
’
d ever seen
them. He looked back over his shoulder in the direction
they
’
d come.

Something had caught his
eye when he
’
d been briefing the rescuers
under the shelter. He looked for it again now. Several kilometres
along the coastline, the wide mouth of a bay. The wooded hills on
the far side of that bay were the place he
’
d lived as a boy in the rambling country home.

The place from which his sister
had gone into the water.

Soon after the family moved
away. His parents separated.

Life, a different kind of life,
went on.

He looked sideways at
Daniel and Elizabeth. They
’
d grown up as
prisoners of a secretive, secluded cult. Daniel had escaped this
“prison”. Against all odds, he
’
d found
the girl he loved.

Something nagged at Adam.

He trudged on. He had an eerie
sensation. Was it the shock? The exhaustion?

He disentangled himself from
Kate, stopped and turned, looking back across the water. The bay.
The woods.

‘Adam. You
coming?
’

‘Yes.
’
He rejoined her. He knew what it was he had to
do.

‘There is something you
can help me with,
’
he said to Arthur
Kirby.

The news conference was at 11 AM
in the council chambers. The room was overflowing with media from
all over the State. Of immediate interest that morning was the
condition of Brian Markham. TV crews had been stationed around the
cliff face the previous evening as Markham had been brought out.
The spectacular footage had aired on the late night and morning
newscasts and was taken up by the world news services.

Chief Superintendent Ron
O
’
Malley confirmed that Markham would
make a full recovery.

After a lengthy and fiery
consultation earlier that morning, between O
’
Malley, Adam, the local council members and the chiefs of
the Queensland and Federal Police, it had been decided to reveal
all that was currently known to the news media.

O
’
Malley had agreement from all that endless streams of
ongoing speculation would not help the continuing
investigation.

And opening up the can of worms
regarding the secretive Nexus Group, they all believed, would help
ensure the utmost co-operation between the Australian and American
governments.

After he and his team had
been formally arrested, Logan Asquith had furiously demanded
diplomatic immunity due to his military status. The Task Force had
denied this and now they needed the Feds to get the full
co-operation of the U.S General Attorney
’
s office in supporting that decision.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,
thank you for your attendance this morning. I have been leading the
Task Force codenamed ORIGIN, investigating drowning deaths along
the coast. I will be making a comprehensive statement concerning
the status of that investigation and about the destruction
yesterday of the Westmeyer Institute. I want to make it clear I
will not be taking questions at this conference.

‘Firstly, let me confirm
that Mr. William Westmeyer suffered a fatal heart attack yesterday
afternoon. There are no suspicious circumstances and a full
coroner
’
s report will be in hand by the
end of today.

‘Senior members of his
team have been arrested. We have also detained a group of U.S.
backers of the Institute. We believe these men are a maverick
breakaway military group, operating outside of the U.S. Defence
establishment. All have been charged with causing the destruction
of the Institute. The reaon for their action was to cover the
existence of illegal genetic experiments being carried out in a
hidden area.
’

‘Superintendent,
’
called out one of the reporters,
‘
can you reveal the exact nature of the
experimental research?
’

A police media liaison
officer, overseeing the conference, rose briefly from the table
behind O
’
Malley and called out,
‘
No questions.
’

O
’
Malley ignored the interruption.
‘
These activities were also being conducted in Florida prior
to the Institute
’
s relocation to the town
here. Reptiles were being used in the research in both countries.
The men responsible for the illegal capture of those reptiles, also
responsible for the murders of a Northern Territory Ranger and an
American photojournalist, are now also under arrest.

‘Concerning the drowning
deaths: we
’
ve learned that these young
victims, unidentified up to this point, were a part
–
an unwilling part
–
of
the experimentation. They had been sent to the Institute over a
period of years from a pseudo religious cult with premises here and
in America.