“Oh really? Then how do you explain what happened?”
“They were expecting me. Stechina confirmed it, just as I had mentioned in my report. It all points to someone setting me up.”
“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the fact that Ms. Stechina is not here with us. My God, the intel she could’ve provided us with is invaluable. It may be months, if not years, before an opportunity like that happens again.”
Fuck. Didn’t you just hear me? We may have a mole in the agency and all you want to do is blame me for what we lost. “Then we find out who’s the mole and get the info out of him.”
“What mole?”
“As I said earlier, I was set up. The details of my mission were tightly sealed. No one was supposed to know about it-which means that there was a leak somewhere in the ranks.”
“You assume there was a leak,” Downing shot back.
“I know there was a goddamned leak because Stechina confirmed it,” said Fox, losing control of his tone of voice.
“Really? What were her exact words?”
Fox thought back to what she said. Somehow they knew that you were coming.
“Well?” asked Downing. “What were her exact words?”
Fox looked away and sighed. “She mentioned that Ares has already infiltrated other foreign intelligence agencies.” He’s not going to buy that.
“ Foreign intelligence agencies? Yet she’d contacted you specifically. If she knew for sure that there’s a double agent within the CIA, why didn’t she warn you then?”
Fox shook his head. I knew he wouldn’t buy it. “I don’t know.”
Downing slammed the table with his hand. “This is pathetic. You’ve gotten yourself so wrapped up in your personal vendetta against Ares, after what they did to your fiancee, you can’t even concentrate. I don’t know why I thought that you’d be fit enough for this assignment. I’m going to recommend a full psychiatric evaluation be done on you.”
Maybe Stechina got it wrong and there is no mole. Maybe I’m just fishing for any damn excuse after all. “That won’t be necessary.”
“And why’s that?”
Fox reached into his pocket. Just as his fingers touched the envelope there was a knock at the door, followed by Walsh bursting through, breathing heavily and covered in sweat.
“I’m sorry to barge in like this, sir. But we’ve just gotten word that something’s happened at the CDC facility. And I’m afraid it’s not good.”
Chapter 6
CDC Facility, northwest of Entebbe International Airport, 30 minutes earlier
Hiller’s stomach growled as the UH-60 Black Hawk bobbed through some turbulence. He hadn’t eaten a full meal since he left the Congo-Sudan border. Now all he thought of was some fall-off-the-bone ribs, some potato salad, maybe some Cajun-style chicken, and a cold beer straight from the keg. While this imaginary meal kept his mind wandering, the pilot spoke to him. Hiller didn’t even pay attention and he straitened his headset.
“You mind running that question by me again?” said Hiller.
“I asked you if this is the first time you’ve been to the CDC compound?” asked the pilot.
“Yeah,” Hiller answered.
“Then I’ll update you on a few things. When I set us down, you just walk up to the gate where the guard will let you in. Dr. Cole will meet you outside the domed tent so you won’t have to go inside. You just hand him the package and come back. Any questions?”
Hiller smiled. “Will I be chased by rhinos?” The other SEALs with him laughed.
“You’re funny, but no. All wildlife has been temporarily displaced in accordance to agreements between the Ugandan and American governments. They even had to spray the ground with a very powerful insecticide to kill any insects on the surface and the ones in the ground. They couldn’t do much about the flies though.”
Hiller looked at the metal briefcase. “Damn, this weapon must be some real contagious shit.”
“I don’t know any more about it than you do, sir,” the pilot answered. “Once whatever in the package is neutralized, and hopefully soon, the CDC will have to haul ass out of here before the animal rights and the other environmentalist groups start poking around.”
The Black Hawk swooped down from the night sky outside the fenced area. Hiller got out carrying the briefcase and saw the domed tent. The area wasn’t as big as he expected, maybe slightly smaller than a soccer field. It was was bordered by a twelve-foot high, barbwire fence. A twenty-foot wooden tower to his left, inside the fenced area, had two guards posted, accompanied by ten others on the ground. The six flood lights-swarmed by hundreds of insects-kept the grounds bright.
One of the guards opened the entrance just as a white coat emerged from the dome’s double-doorway access. Hiller met the white coat halfway.
“Dr. Cole?” he asked loudly, above the noise from the propellers.
Cole nodded. “Warrant Officer Hiller?”
Hiller handed Cole the metal briefcase and the key. “She’s all yours.”
When Cole reached the doorway and pulled it open, the cool air greeted him. He walked towards the isolation chamber that was at the center of the dome where two of his colleagues were. It was twenty feet in length and width but only nine feet high.
“All right guys, we got the package. Let’s get started,” Cole said. It was only then that it dawned on him that they were not dressed in their HAZMAT gear. “Why aren’t you two dressed?”
“It won’t be necessary,” the one nearest to him answered, as he rushed toward Cole while he opened his lab coat to grab the hidden D-W73 Cold War era Russian Air Force Officer’s Dagger, and plunged it into Cole’s stomach. With his free hand, he covered Cole’s mouth to muzzle him. He turned the blade and pulled upwards, maximizing damage to his internal organs, before he released him and let him drop to the ground.
The assailant picked up the briefcase and handed it to his partner who carried it over to a table in front of the isolation chamber, unlocked it with the key, and opened it. The assailant went to another table with a communications port and a telephone which linked him directly to Entebbe Base. He picked up the phone and there was a ringing on the other end.
“Entebbe Base,” came the reply.
“We’re under attack…send help…quick. They’re Russian-” He screamed loudly and hung up. The assailant then turned to his partner. “Was I convincing enough?”
His partner stood beside the open briefcase. “You couldn’t have been more perfect.” He took the fluorescent-green vial and let it drop gently on the ground without breaking. He then hit the alarm button. The siren was heard for miles.
It was not too long after, that ten of the guards burst through the doorway with their assault rifles in position. They fanned out to cover the inside of the dome.
“What’s the emergency?” yelled the leader to the two scientists, and then he saw Cole’s body with the dagger protruding from his stomach. His assault rifle shot up immediately. “Both of you, hands in the air. Do it, now!”
This brought the other guards running. Within seconds, they had encircled the two scientists.
“I repeat,” yelled the leader. “Put your hands up, or we will be forced to shoot you.”
The two white-coats didn’t obey him, but instead looked at each other and smiled. “For The Promise?”
“For The Promise.” The partner already had the vial under the heel of his shoe. As he slowly raised his hands along with the assailant, he breathed his last breath and crushed the vial. It wasn’t long before what felt was millions of microscopic teeth tearing away at the flesh, starting with his foot and then moving to the rest of his
