darkness to set in. We estimate that if Oasis can’t be breached in one hour, it won’t happen and the team’s been eliminated. That puts us in serious danger of losing containment of the bioweapon.”
“We’ll make it,” Locke said.
“I’m heading up the joint operation,” the General said with an steely gaze directly at Locke. “And I
Locke could hear the helicopter outside spooling up its engine. He and Grant would have to move fast if they were going to coordinate with the strike team.
He looked at his watch. Just eight hours until the assault.
Oasis
FORTY-FOUR
When Garrett’s private jet had flown over the Seattle metro area, Dilara had finally known where they were, but it didn’t make a difference. On the helicopter ride from the airport to Orcas Island, there had been no chance for her to make an escape.
They arrived at some kind of compound with a mansion that lorded over the estate. She had been hustled through a security pass-through, and then onto an elevator that went down, taking her underground. The panel had seven buttons on it. When the doors opened at Level 3 to reveal a hallway bustling with people, she understood the purpose of the warren. Oasis. The refuge that would hold these people until it was safe to reemerge once the bioweapon had done its job.
A bear of a man with a shaved head met them at the elevator. He was flanked by two other men heavily armed with submachine guns.
“Status?” Garrett demanded.
“All our members are accounted for and inside Oasis.”
“Good. We’re going on lockdown immediately. Dr. Kenner, this is Dan Cutter. He’ll take you to your quarters.” Garrett turned back to Cutter. “Give me two hours. Then we’ll begin the interrogation.” With Petrova at his side, he got back in the elevator.
Cutter and the two men behind him took Dilara by the arm and led her to a room that was more lavishly appointed than she expected. It was the size of a cruise ship cabin, with a small bathroom to the side. The bed, nightstand, and dresser were antiques. A change of clothes lay on the bed, and a pair of shoes were on the floor.
“You can wear that, or you can stay in your dress and high heels,” Cutter said. “Doesn’t matter to me.”
He slammed the door behind her and locked it. She heard him tell one of the two men to stay behind and guard the door. The footsteps retreated down the hall. Dilara had never felt so alone.
She wasn’t going to wear the dress. Though the odds of her overpowering a trained soldier were slim to none, she needed to be in more practical clothes to make her move when the time came. There were probably cameras in the room, but there was no use trying to find them. If she covered them up, they’d be in here immediately.
She’d been in the field too many times, where privacy was not always the greatest concern, to let voyeurs embarrass her, but she didn’t want to give them more of a show than she had to. She changed into the new outfit, covering herself with the shirt before taking off her dress. The clothes fit surprisingly well, even the tennis shoes. Going to the bathroom was more uncomfortable, but she had no choice, again keeping herself covered from prying eyes.
Then all she could do was wait, so she sat on the bed and meditated. She was brought some food, but she didn’t eat it and only drank water from the faucet in the bathroom. She was used to going all day without eating when she had to. If they wanted to drug her, she wasn’t going to make it easy for them.
She was so deep in her meditation that when the door opened, she only vaguely noticed it. Cutter grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.
“Come on,” he said.
“Where are we going?”
“The lab. We have some questions.”
He heaved her to her feet and pushed her in front of him out the door.
They made a turn into a longer hallway and entered a laboratory. Garrett stood to the side with a rail-thin 40-year-old man whose white hair matched his lab coat.
The lab held three pieces of furniture: a chair that wouldn’t be out of place in a dentist’s office, an examination table, and a seat for the doctor. The counter along one wall held a sink and various pieces of electronic equipment. It looked like one of the rooms that would serve as a medical infirmary during their stay underground.
Cutter guided her to the dental chair.
“Sit.” It wasn’t a choice. Once she was in the chair, she nervously watched as Cutter strapped her wrists to the armrests. The calm reprieve of her meditation was already distant.
“Listen, Sebastian,” Dilara said, “I’m willing to tell you anything you want to know.”
“That may be true,” Garrett said, “but I can’t take your word for it. I don’t have time. My men will be activating the devices tomorrow, and I have to be sure that they won’t be intercepted.”
“How would I know that?”
“You seemed to know a lot before. I’ve received news that both FBI Special Agent Perez and Dr. Tyler Locke were killed in a shootout on board the Genesis Dawn. Therefore, you are now my only link to what Tyler knew.”
Dilara’s heart sank at the news of Locke’s death. Garrett didn’t seem to be lying.
“I know this is a shocking confirmation for you,” he said. “You must realize that no one knows where you are now. You’re alone. All you have is us.”
She strained at the wrist straps, but they wouldn’t budge. “You’re going to drug me anyway?”
“Dr. Green will do the injection. It’s a new serum that my company developed for the CIA. A more reliable variant of sodium amytal. It won’t hurt, but there is a risk to its use because it depresses nervous system functions. That’s why a medical professional will administer it.”
“I swear I don’t know anything!”
Garrett ignored her. “Dr. Green, let’s begin.”
Green walked to the counter and stuck the needle of a large syringe into the cap of a bottle and withdrew 20cc’s of a clear fluid. He swabbed the vein on her left arm with rubbing alcohol.
“You’re a doctor,” Dilara said to Green. “Please don’t do this.”
Green smiled. “You’ll feel a small poke.” Then he jabbed the needle into her arm.
She felt the cool fluid flow into her vein. When the plunger was all the way down, Green removed the needle.
“It should reach its full efficacy in five minutes. Dilara, I want you to count backwards from 100.”
She was already feeling woozy. She shook her head.
“I’m not doing anything!” She pulled at the restraints until her veins bulged.
“This will be easier for you if you don’t struggle.”
“Let me go!”
Then as if someone turned off a light switch, the room went black and her head seemed like it was plunged into a bucket of ice water. Green’s voice became indistinct and faded until she sensed nothing at all.
“What happened?” Garrett asked. She wasn’t supposed to pass out. She was supposed to be awake to
