frame of mind he wanted. He pushed a button on the control board.
“Let’s begin,” he said into the microphone.
A door opened inside the test chamber, silencing the last whispers. Cutter led two men into the steel gray room. The first was Gavin Dean, a compact man with a crew cut and a tight-fitting black t-shirt that showed off a lean physique.
The second man was Barry Pinter, about a foot taller than Dean and at least 50 pounds heavier. He walked with the grace of a cat. Both men were veterans of Army special ops units: Dean with the Rangers, Pinter with the Green Berets.
Garrett looked at both of them dispassionately. He didn’t enjoy what was about to happen. It was simply necessary. It was a shame to part with them, but the project had reached a critical point, and he couldn’t take any chances. He needed to make examples of them.
Cutter left the room and closed the door behind him. A bar slammed down, the unmistakable sound of the door being locked. Dean and Pinter, who knew each other from previous operations, looked at each other, the confusion now turning to alarm. Then they surveyed the room, which they had never seen before.
The test chamber’s floor was made entirely from steel grating. Garrett had it forged from carbon steel that was exceptionally resistant to high temperatures. Above them, the ceiling was another grating that fed into a sophisticated venting system comprising 14 advanced filters. The sides of the room were inch-thick steel, and the observation window was made of a high-tech polymer that allowed it to be extremely thick without distorting the view.
The only object inside the chamber was a full-face gas mask lying on the floor.
Garrett keyed the microphone so that Dean and Pinter could hear what he was about to say to the observers.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. You are obviously wondering why everyone is here today. That’s good. Curiosity is one of the reasons I have recruited you for this epic journey. As you all know, we are very close to embarking on this voyage. Unfortunately, I am aware that some of the people involved with this project may be having second thoughts.”
Everyone in the gathered group was stone-faced. None wanted to betray any thoughts of that kind, especially if they were, indeed, harboring them.
“I understand that feeling. This is a huge undertaking. One that will change the face of this planet. A change that I — that we — believe will ultimately save the human race. But sacrifices will have to be made. From all of us. And I think some of you may be having trouble facing that reality.”
Garrett glanced into the chamber, and he could see fear on the faces of both Dean and Pinter. He casually noted that they were both surreptitiously eyeing the gas mask.
“Therefore, I thought it was important that we reinforce our resolve for the task ahead. That we can brook no wavering, no second thoughts, no betrayal, no failure. We must stay focused on the task at hand. And so, I have brought these two men here today.” Garrett waved his hand at the window. “Two men who have failed us, all of us, and put everything we have worked for at risk.”
He turned to the window. “Gavin. Barry. You are going to show these people why it is so important for each and every one of us to do our jobs with utmost competence. You will show them what’s at stake.”
Pinter ran to the door, prying at it, trying to find purchase to open it, but it was useless. The door was triple bolted and sealed. There was no way to open it from the inside. Dean simply stood there, stoic, waiting to hear what was next.
“There is only one gas mask for a reason,” Garrett continued. “In sixty seconds, the test chamber will be flooded with Arkon-B, a form of the biological agent that will make our New World possible. Whoever is wearing the gas mask will be spared its effects. The other…”
That was all it took. Pinter lunged for the mask, but Dean, who had always been the smarter one, knew the most effective strategy was to disable the other man. He sidestepped Pinter and chopped him on the back as he went by. Pinter fell to the floor and realizing his mistake, popped back up and faced Dean in a fighting stance. Both men were skilled in martial arts, but Pinter had the size advantage. They stood there, assessing each other.
Garrett glanced at his watch.
“Fifty seconds,” he said to spur them on.
The words had the intended affect. Dean leapt into the air and spun around, his leg kicking out. Before it could connect with his head, Pinter ducked and threw his arm up to block it. The impact sent them both sprawling. Pinter was the first to recover and ran over to Dean, who was still on his back. Pinter lashed out with his leg, trying to hit Dean in the side. Dean grabbed Pinter’s ankle and twisted it around, using Pinter’s momentum to propel his body over Dean. While Pinter was in mid-air, Dean slashed at his groin.
Pinter crumpled to the ground, moaning in pain, but he wasn’t finished. Dean coiled to strike a killing blow to Pinter’s neck. Pinter countered with a punch to Dean’s face, sending him reeling. Both of them sat on the floor, regrouping for the last battle.
“Thirty seconds,” Garrett said. With two men like that, it would never occur to them to work together and share the mask. It was an unfortunate example of why his New World was even necessary. The basest human selfishness was on display right in front of them. A fitting demonstration given the circumstances. Garrett just hoped that one wouldn’t kill the other. Then he would have to send Cutter in to take the mask away from the victor.
Dean and Pinter circled around each other. Pinter had a noticeable limp that he was attempting to hide, while blood flowed freely from Dean’s nose.
Cutter, who had now returned to the observation room and stood at Garrett’s side, whispered to him, “What would happen if the winner had a cut?”
Garrett hadn’t considered the possibility that the winner would have exposed wounds on his body, but it would make an interesting test to see how virulent the Arkon-B was, to see if it could enter the bloodstream in that way.
“I suppose we might be about to find out.”
Dean and Pinter went at each other with a furious set of blows that was hard for Garrett to follow. Then Pinter positioned himself so that he could get Dean in a headlock. He squeezed Dean’s throat, and this looked like it might be the decisive move.
“Fifteen seconds,” Garrett said and nodded at the operator at the control board. The operator’s finger hovered over the button that would release the Arkon-B.
Dean’s face was now turning a shade of purple. It was almost over. Then with a last bit of effort, Dean angled his body slightly and kicked backwards, striking Pinter at the knee. Pinter howled in pain and released Dean, who immediately struck at the other leg. Pinter screamed and went down holding both legs. From what Garrett could see, it looked like a dislocated right knee and a broken left leg. Pinter wouldn’t be walking again.
Dean stood there, staring at Pinter to see if he could finish him off safely, forgetting about the time limit. Garrett started counting down. “Ten, nine, eight…”
Dean looked up at the speaker, then scrambled for the mask.
“Seven, six, five…”
He grabbed it off the floor and slipped it over his head.
“Four, three, two…”
As Garrett said “one,” Dean cinched the straps tight and turned his attention back to Pinter who was still crumpled on the floor. He stared at Dean with a look of pure hatred.
Garrett again nodded at the operator, who pressed the button. A whoosh of air could be heard in the test chamber. Dean and Pinter looked down at the floor. A continuous blast of air buffeted their clothing toward the ceiling.
Garrett could sense the others in the room holding their collective breath. He knew they wouldn’t have to wait long. The Arkon-B used in Hayden’s airplane was exactly the same composition as the agent flooding over Dean and Pinter now, but the concentration had been one-hundredth what it was in the test chamber because the delivery device on the plane had to be small and portable. That’s why it had taken so long to take effect and why they had selected an overseas flight. By the time anyone on Hayden’s plane knew what was happening, they should have been too far from shore to return in time.
Pinter had pulled himself over to a wall and leaned against it. His face was a rock, but Garrett could see the
