Ejecta (33 page)

Devlin's body felt numb, and the world was fading away, but she felt free. It was difficult to speak. She looked up, tried to smile, and said: “Thank you.”

***

Palmer heard the words, felt her body go slack and said, “
No!”
But Sara was gone. And that was where the collection team found him. Sitting on the floor, with Sara Devlin's head in his lap, rocking back and forth. The battle for the West End Condos was over.

***

South of Benson, Arizona

Palmer drove south on Highway 90, turned east onto the patch of barren land known as Deacon’s Battle, and followed the old wagon road towards the Curtiss and Dragoon Mountains. The sun was out and Mount Glenn, China Peak, and Black Diamond Peak were visible in the distance.

Gravel rattled inside the jeep's wheel wells as he steered the 4 X 4 around a pile of rounded boulders and through a section of open desert. The knobby off-road tires bumped over the rusty railroad line that ran northwest toward Tucson and hummed as he pushed the jeep across Beader’s Flat. Sunlight sparkled off the glass house but the woman who owned it was nowhere to be seen.

Then he had a brief glimpse of his grandmother's willow trees, with the 1,000 gallon water tank off to the right, just before the road dipped and it was time to downshift. More than a week had passed since the battle inside the condo complex and the biosecurity people were still in the process of assimilating all of the new information that had been acquired.

As for the Chinese they were long gone. The surviving members of the MSS collection team had been forced to make a run for the
Xinglong.
The moment they were aboard the ship's crew cast off.

A series of frantic phone calls were made in a last ditch effort to have the Coast Guard stop the vessel. But, having operated on its own and under great secrecy, the Department of Biosecurity was unable to say why the ship should be intercepted other than the possibility that it “might have dangerous organisms aboard.” An unsupported allegation that led to a slow response from the Coast Guard and State Department. Which was why the
Xinglong
had been allowed to put to sea where it immediately began the long trip to China. And once outside U.S. territorial waters any attempt to interfere with the vessel would have had led to serious diplomatic consequences.

Having lost that battle, not to mention two of its agents, there wasn't much the Biosecurity team could do but clean up the mess at the West End Condos. A process that involved the discreet removal of more than a dozen bodies and setting fire to the building so as to destroy both parasite spores and forensic evidence. Since the “clean-up” certain members of Congress had been briefed, along with top officials at all of the major intelligence organizations, every single one of whom had been incredibly pissed.

But that was for other people to sort out as Palmer topped a rise, spotted the ruins of what had been the family home, and his brushed aluminum Airstream trailer. As he turned onto the U-shaped drive that fronted the trailer he remembered seeing Sara for the first time. She'd been dressed in a blue ball cap, Levi jacket, and jeans. The vision vanished as he braked and the jeep skidded to a halt.

Palmer went around to the back end of his vehicle, grabbed a bag of groceries off the passenger seat, and made his way toward the trailer. It had been then, as he stepped up onto the deck, that Sara removed her sunglasses. Her eyes had been green. Very, green. And something passed between them at that moment. Something special.

Keys rattled as he opened the door, stepped into the musty air, and put the groceries on the tiny counter. He hadn't been home for the better part of a month. Not since being summoned to Denver by Cooper. There would be lots of chores to do. Palmer put the groceries but left the bottle of bourbon on the counter.

Then it was time to go out front and open the old cooler that sat next to the front door. Amy, the postal carrier who served the area, was used to his prolonged absences. When the mail box was full the excess went into the cooler. There was plenty of junk mail, a few overdue bills, and a box wrapped in brown paper. It was heavy. And as Palmer removed it from the cooler he felt his heart skip a beat. Because there, in the upper left hand corner, was Sara's name. And her address. A quick look at the post mark revealed that the box had been sent to him weeks earlier. Prior to the point when Sara's parasite had driven her underground.

Parker's hands shook as he carried the box inside, ripped the paper away, and opened the box. And there, nestled inside, was the geode he had given her for Christmas. The crystals sparkled with reflected light. There was an envelope with his name on it. He opened it, removed the sheet of paper inside, and began to read.

Dearest AlEX,

Capacity mine to function fading. So I send now. MayBE Dr. Wilson's people know. If not tell them to biopssy the parasites, map their DNA, and use to create antibodies. Inject!!! BEFORE hosts explode.

Pleas keep geode for me. Will reclaim if I can. I love you.

Sara

Tears ran down Palmer's cheeks and he made use of his shirtsleeve to wipe them away. The bottle of bourbon was still on the counter. He made a grab for it on his way to the porch. The top came off as so many of them had over the years. But as he raised the container, and was about to tip it towards his lips, his eyes came to rest on the charred ruins of his parents' house. He stood there for a moment. Then, having brought the bottle back over his shoulder, he threw it as far as he could. Light reflected off glass as it turned end-for-end and fell to the ground.

-The End-

LEGION OF THE DAMNED

Legion of the Damned

The Final Battle

By Blood Alone

By Force of Arms

For More Than Glory

For Those Who Fell

When All Seems Lost

When Duty Calls

A Fighting Chance

ANDROMEDA
(NOVELS OF THE LEGION OF THE DAMNED)

Andromeda's Fall

Andromeda's Choice

Andromeda's War

MUTANT FILES

Deadeye

Redzone

Graveyard

JACK REBO

Runner

Logos Run

SAURON

Deathday

Earthrise

JACK CATO

At Empire's Edge

Bones of Empire

REX CORVAN

Matrix Man

Mars Prime

SAM McCADE

Galactic Bounty

Imperial Bounty

Alien Bounty

DRIFTER

Drifter

Drifter's Run

Drifter's War

Freehold

Prison Planet

Where the Ships Die

Bodyguard

Steelheart

Ejecta*

*available as a Jabberwocky ebook

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