Project Apex (14 page)

"I think you might be underestimating the abilities of our forces."

"With all due respect Commander, I’m not," Draven said, avoiding the commander’s stare. "You have to understand these men are superior in every way to us. They think as one, almost as if they have a shared consciousness. To put it into real world terms, it would be the equivalent of regular people like us going to war with a species of chimpanzee."

"Jesus, it sounds like you're their biggest fan," Robbins grunted.

"It's not that, I just respect them, that’s all. For what they are if not for their behaviour."

"And I take it you have some grand revelation about that too?" Robbins spat.

"Hey, I’m just doing as I was asked. I’m trying to help you here."

"Just remember these bastards have killed a lot of good men. Soldiers with families. I don’t agree with hyping them up as if they're fucking supermen."

"Look, Commander," Draven said, unsure why he was becoming so angry. "You might not like it, but the fact is these are supermen, compared to the likes of us anyway. They have all of our strengths and none of our weaknesses."

"Okay, I can buy that. My next question is what the hell do we do about stopping them?"

"I need to speak to Doctor Genaro. He designed the virus, he alone will know its weaknesses."

"We haven’t heard or seen any activity from inside for a while now. No contact." Robbins said as he stared at the smouldering building.

"Are you sure they're still inside?" Kate asked.

"We have the building surrounded and nobody has come out or made any contact with us regarding Dr. Genaro, we are assuming that to be the case."

A wiry soldier in full military fatigues approached the trio. He gave Draven a cautious glance, one which Draven presumed was because he probably did look so out of place amid the swarms of police, fire crews and soldiers in his baggy T-shirt, knee-length shorts and pumps.

"Commander, we’ve completed initial recon of the building. It looks to be empty."

"It can't be empty. We know there are targets inside. Check again." Robbins said.

"We did sir. Three times. Whoever was in there looks to have gone."

"Commander, I need to get inside that lab," Draven said, enduring another glare from the soldier.

Robbins took a moment to consider. "Okay, here's what we're going to do," he said, turning to the soldier. "Get a team in there and do a complete sweep of the building. Do it quickly."

"Yes, Sir."

"As for you," Robbins said to Draven. "You can't go in there dressed like that."

"Sorry, I didn't expect...this."

"None of us did. I take it you brought a bag with you? Spare clothes?"

"Uh, yeah. It's in the car."

"Good. Go change. We'll get you some armour and a helmet. As soon as they finish sweeping the building, you're going inside."

"Commander, is that wise considering the potential risk?" Goodall said, glancing towards Draven.

"Under ordinary circumstances, I'd agree with you. A lot has happened since you went to find Mr. Draven here, and things are escalating quickly. The sooner we get him into this lab, the sooner we can start to formulate some answers."

III

Twenty-five minutes later, Draven stood outside the entrance to the lab alongside Goodall and Robbins, wondering quite how he had managed to be talked into such craziness. Even though the lab was swarming with soldiers, there were still bodies on the floor along with bullets and slick pools of blood belonging to the unfortunate victims of the massacre. Broken glass and lab equipment littered the ground, and the pungent, stale sweat smell Robbins had mentioned was still there. Draven whistled through his teeth as he followed Robbins and Goodall over the threshold.

"Jesus, they did a number on this place," He muttered.

"Any survivors?" Goodall asked as she skirted around a body covered in a bloody white sheet.

"None. It's a goddamn massacre. I'd have been dead too if I hadn't left the building." Robbins said.

"You were in here?" Draven asked.

"Yeah, I was with Genaro in his lab waiting for you. He was talking to the one they'd captured. I stepped outside for a smoke. Next thing I know there are bullets flying and people screaming."

"What about Genaro?"

"No sign of him. We haven't found a body yet though either, so take that as you will."

"I don't understand," Kate said, glancing at the carnage. "If they were only interested in breaking out the one we captured, why did they have to kill everyone?"

"It's not just that," Draven replied, pointing at the banks of computers and expensive equipment. "It looks like they deliberately destroyed all this equipment. It seems like they took the time to make sure it wasn't useable."

"Why, though?"

"I don't know," Draven said with a shrug. "Whatever the reason, I don't like it."

"Agreed," Robbins said, leading them past the bulk of the massacre towards the back of the building. "Genaro's private lab is down here. This is where he did all his research."

Draven and Goodall followed Robbins down the steps, away from the smell of smoke and blood. Draven was curious to see the lab, and more importantly, gain some kind of idea where Genaro was with his research.

"Something's wrong," Robbins said as she stood at the threshold of the room. Draven didn't need ask what. The entire lab had been ransacked. Equipment had been removed, files and folders scattered across the floor. The larger equipment which couldn't be taken was damaged beyond repair.

"What the hell happened down here?" Robbins muttered.

"They took the research," Draven replied, leafing through a few papers on the desk.

"There's some blood on the floor here," Goodall said, crouching at the spot where Genaro's wound had dripped onto the floor. It looks like they got out this way," she added, pointing to a steel door behind a cabinet which had been slid aside to allow access.

"Shit, this exit wasn't on the plans for the building," Robbins grunted. "I need to go call this in and get some teams out on the road, see if we can pick these assholes up."

Robbins sprinted upstairs, leaving Draven and Kate behind.

"What do you think?" she asked as he made his way around the lab, looking for anything which might help.

"Looks like they picked the place clean."

"Why would they do that?"

"Seems to me they don't want anyone to find out what Genaro was doing," Draven said.

"Or they want him to continue his work elsewhere."

Draven looked at Kate across the desk. "It's possible I suppose."

"Think about it," she went on. "Genaro isn't here.  We know that much. It looks to me like they took him with them along with the equipment they thought he would need and his research. To me, that seems too much to be just coincidence."

"You think they might force him to continue to work? Why would they do that?"

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "Maybe so we can't use his research to formulate a cure."

"Surely there are backup servers, though? Outside of here?"

She shook her head. "No. It was a condition of his. He didn't want anyone interfering or accessing his work. The entire reason this place was so well hidden and off the books is because it's the only place the research exists."

"You're telling me we're now flying blind?" Draven said, not quite able to believe what he was hearing.

"Yeah, it looks that way."

"Why wouldn't the government insist on an off-site backup? What if there was a fire or something?"

"This lab is protected. Even if the building upstairs went up in flames, this place would survive."

"Even so, couldn't the government access the data anyway? I know they have the means to do it."

"You've watched too many movies. Besides, how could we ever know things would get like this? Genaro's work was never seen as something which could potentially become such a security risk. At the time, there was no need to monitor him."

"This is crazy," Draven said, flopping down into Genaro's swivel chair. "So you're saying without Genaro, we have nothing."

"I don't know," She snapped. "We brought you in as the expert. Is that the case?"

"Pretty much," He replied, adding a sigh to emphasise his annoyance.

"So what do we do now?"

"We need to get Genaro back, or at the very least his research. I can't do anything without it."

"What if-"

There was a noise from the cabinet by the escape door. They both heard it at the same time, Kate standing and drawing her weapon with well-practiced smoothness, Draven almost falling as he stood, the chair rolling back and clattering against the wall. Kate put a finger to her lips and inched towards the cabinet, gun arm straight and trained on the steel sliding door.

"Whoever is inside the cupboard, please step outside now," Kate said, her voice sharp and clear.  She waited, adjusting her grip on the weapon and glancing at Draven.

"There are weapons trained on you, and if you don't respond we will be forced to open fire," She said. Of course, there was only one weapon trained on the cupboard, but whoever was inside wouldn't know that, and weapons sounded more intimidating than the singular form.

What if it's Genaro?

Draven was about to voice the idea when a muffled voice broke the silence.

"Alright, alright, don't shoot. I'm coming out."

The door slid open, and a dishevelled man stumbled out, squinting at the light.

"Down on the ground right now!" Goodall said her training kicking in.

Draven could see well enough the man was no threat. He was bloody and frightened. Even so, procedure had to be followed, so he didn't speak up. Kate patted him down with one hand, keeping the one holding the weapon trained on the man at all times.

"Who are you, what are you doing here?" she said as she stepped back and returned both hands to the weapon, satisfied the man was unarmed.

"Please, you don't have to point that thing at me," the man grunted from the floor.

"Until I get some answers, you better get used to it. Who are you?"

"I work here."

Draven looked at the man. He was dressed in shabby overalls and had scruffy hair to the nape of his neck. His beard was patchy and without style, and his blue eyes bugged out of his head, reminding Draven of a chameleon.

"You're a scientist?" Kate asked.

"No, I'm the janitor. I came down here to hide."

Kate seemed satisfied with the answer, and stood down, training her gun on the floor instead.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked, catching Draven's eye and nodding towards the chair. Draven grabbed it and rolled it over towards the man, who gratefully clambered to his feet and sat down.

"Thanks," he said, running a hand through his dirty hair. He had a bloody lip, but other than that seemed otherwise okay. "Name's Herman. I was upstairs when those guys came in and started shooting up the place. I hid in the toilet until one of them found me. They dragged me down here to ask the leader what to do with me. "

"The leader?" Kate said.

"Yeah, the one who they had locked in that thing," Herman replied, nodding towards the holding tank.

"And why did they let you live when everyone else was killed?"

"I don't know, lady."

"I do."

They both looked at Draven. "It's because he isn't a scientist."

"I don't think I understand," Kate replied.

"You told me on the way here everyone who works for Genaro were high-level talents, the best in their field. It seems to me our...friends didn't want any of those minds existing in the world that might be able to stop them. I’d bet everything that the leader got himself captured on purpose because he knew they would bring him here. It was the perfect plan. Without being captured, there was no way they would have found the lab and had access to both the staff and equipment at the same time. Our friend here survived because he wasn't a threat to them."

"You don't have to talk in code. I know these guys are Ragers." Herman said.

"Say again?" Draven replied.

"Ragers. That's what Doc Genaro called the angry ones. Those were the ones he wanted to fix."

"How do you know about this?"

Herman lowered his head, and then scratched his beard. "Okay, I'll tell you, but you gotta believe me when I tell you I'm not involved, okay?"

"Understood," Kate said, catching Draven’s eye.

“You should know, it's crazy, though," He said, flicking his chameleon eyes from one of them to the other. He reminded Draven of the crazy person who always got on a bus or train at night and would come and sit next to you to tell you about how he was abducted by aliens.

"Please, in your own time," Kate said.

The bug-eyed janitor leaned forward on his chair, licking his lips and speaking in a near whisper.