The Alpha Plague 3 (11 page)

About twelve hours ago

A clipboard and a checklist always made someone look busy and like they belonged. Most buildings used tablets, but not the Alpha Tower; you couldn’t hack a paper checklist. They’d checked all the fixtures and fittings a couple of days ago and another check didn’t need to be done for a week or so. But most people would have no idea, which gave Vicky the chance to move around the Alpha Tower’s foyer without raising suspicion.

As she pretended to check every light bulb in the place she kept her attention on the front doors. The huge clock on the wall read eleven fifty-eight. At twelve o’clock the shifts switched around. The low level buzz of anxiety that had resided inside of her for several days rose up a notch, and no matter how many times she swallowed her nausea would not be abated.

When the toilet doors opened Vicky’s pulse spiked. Two men emerged in the uniforms she’d stolen. They strode toward the front door and looked like any two security guards about to change shift would.

Vicky didn’t recognise the two tall men and they wouldn’t know her either. Thank God Brendan hadn’t chosen to be one of them. One had pulled out at the last minute and it looked like he may have to step in, but they fortunately found a replacement. Already wound up so tight she could snap she didn’t need to see Brendan putting his life in danger as well.

When one of the men opened the door to let the other one out Vicky caught sight of the security guards outside. Both of them turned to look at the men.
 

The fake security guards stepped outside and Vicky watched them talk to one another for a second before the front door shut on them. Despite the porthole window in the door she couldn’t see the men on the other side through it.

The doors then opened again and the two security guards who had been on shift entered the foyer. They must have fallen for it. They obviously didn’t see their replacements using a stolen security card.

Vicky glanced at the clock again. Too soon and the current guards would have been suspicious. Too late and the real guards for the next shift would have appeared. They had about a minute to make this work.

At that moment Brendan walked into the foyer and Vicky lost her breath.

With his shoulders back and his chin raised he walked with his usual confidence. He looked like he belonged and paid Vicky no attention.

To distract herself Vicky hunched down to check the power outlets near to where she stood, although most of her focus remained on the man she loved as he walked across the vast open space to the lifts. He had a card that gave him clearance to the control room. That’s all he’d asked for. Sure, it didn’t feel great that Vicky had stolen Artem’s card, especially when she saw the panic on his face when he realised it had gone, but he should have looked after it. She had more concern about when he would report it missing. Nobody would give a shit about the low level card she stole in the canteen, but one that accessed the building’s security would raise alarm. It would also see Artem fired, which must have been why he hadn’t reported it yet. Maybe he hoped it would turn up.

The second the lift doors closed on Brendan the ones next to him let out a light
ping.
Two security guards stepped out. Bang on time the twelve o’clock shift had arrived.

The two uniformed men strode across the foyer to the front doors. Vicky pretended to write, but her hand shook so badly she wasn’t able to make a legible mark. When she looked back up at the men one of them glanced her way. She quickly averted her gaze.
 

Another quick glance and she saw the man had also looked away.

Crouched closer to the doors than she had been on the first switch over Vicky listened to the men’s conversation.

“It’s time to switch shifts.”

“What do you mean? We’ve
only
just got here.”

“But it’s
our
shift now.”

“No it’s not. We were told to do today, weren’t we, Bill?”

Bill nodded. “Yeah, I dunno what the mix up is, boys. Why don’t you go and find out while we hold the fort?”

When the men turned back into the foyer Vicky dropped her eyes to her clipboard again. A shake ran through her entire body and she had to lean against a wall so she didn’t fall from her crouch. She kept her attention down as the men passed her on their way back to the lift.

When she heard the
ping
of the lift door, she looked up again to watch the lift close on the two legitimate guards. A glance at the main entrance and she saw the face of one of the fake guards at the porthole window as he watched the lift the two men had entered.

His face then vanished and Vicky knew the men would walk away at that point. They’d stood guard while Brendan entered just to avoid any unnecessary suspicion. They’d now done their job. Brendan hadn’t told Vicky what would happen next. The less she knew the better.

When Vicky looked down she saw she’d scribbled nonsense all over the checklist. Not that it mattered anymore. The time to regret her actions had passed. This thing would happen now whether she liked it or not.

Chapter Fifteen

“Come
on
!” Rhys shouted as he watched the mob dash down the hill. Their blood lust oozed from them as a shared intention. Ruthless in their desire to get at Rhys and Larissa they shoved and pushed one another aside as they ran.

Larissa snapped the car into reverse, spun the wheels as she accelerated backwards, and turned the steering wheel to a full left lock.
 

The car jolted when they smashed into the curb on the other side of the road and a deep
thunk
vibrated through Rhys’ seat.

“Steady on,” Rhys said. “We want this car in one piece so it can get us out of here.” More than just a crowd of silhouettes Rhys now heard their collective fury as it made its way down the hill.
 

Larissa lurched the car forward and hit the curb on the other side of the road. The impact threw Rhys toward the windscreen.

A glance up the road and Rhys saw the diseased had halved the distance between them since she’d put it into reverse. Panic clattered through him. “Come on, come on,
come on
.”

Red faced and wide-eyed Larissa turned on Rhys. “You’re not fucking
helping
.” Veins stood out on her forehead and she looked ready to swing for him. She shoved it into reverse again and whacked the curb for a third time.
 

Rhys looked between Larissa, who shook so badly she struggled to put it back into first, and the diseased behind who were now less than ten metres away from them.
 

Another lurch forward and Larissa stalled.
 

Rhys bit his bottom lip as he watched her fumble for the start button and bounced up and down on his seat.

Five metres.
 

Larissa revved the engine so hard it drowned out the hellish sound of the diseased before she wheel-spun away. The front of the car seemed to bounce on the spot as a shudder ripped through the vehicle.

The lead diseased slapped the back of the car and got so close Rhys saw its bloody eyes through the back window. Several more caught up and smacked the car’s bodywork.

For the next few seconds Rhys watched the diseased ease up as the gap between them grew. The red glow from the car’s taillights showed the slumped forms of defeat. They knew when they were beat. When he turned back around he sniffed the acrid smell of the burned clutch and looked at Larissa. She panted as she hunched over the wheel. “Good work,” he said as a relieved sigh.

“You
didn’t
fucking help.
Why
did you shout at me?”

“I’m sorry. I panicked.”

“Yeah, you did.” A dark frown crushed her face as she continued to stare straight ahead.
 

Rhys reached across and rubbed her left shoulder. The knot of tension eased a little at his touch.

It took Rhys several more deep breaths to exorcise his adrenaline induced shakes. He pulled the phone and the dead lady’s severed finger from his pocket. The cold digit brought a rich shot of acidic rot with it. He screwed his nose up and looked to see Larissa had the same reaction to the smell.
 

“Fucking thing stinks.”

Larissa didn’t reply. Instead, she focused on the road ahead as she tore through the small town’s tight streets.
 

As she negotiated their escape route with sharp turns Rhys snapped one way and then the other. He had to hold the phone with both hands to steady it enough for him to hit redial. He lifted the phone to his ear and the purr of a ring tone made him straighten in his seat.
 

“It’s
ringing
.”

Larissa eased off slightly and looked across at him.
 

At that precise moment a diseased sprung from the darkness to be lit up by the car’s headlights. Rhys pulled his legs up in the chair and Larissa screamed as they crashed straight into it. The
thud
struck through the car like a sledgehammer blow and the diseased man spun away into the darkness on Larissa’s side of the car.
 

With the phone to his ear still Rhys nodded ahead. “Keep your eyes on the road!”

Although Larissa replied Rhys didn’t hear it because Vicky answered the phone at that moment.
 

“Hello.”

“Vicky? Where the fuck are you?”

She breathed heavily down the phone and lowered her voice. “I’m trying to get away from Brendan. I can’t see him, but I know he hasn’t given up on our trail. The guy’s a psychopath.”

The scream of the diseased near Vicky roared so loudly it sent needles of pain into Rhys’ eardrum. He had to pull the phone away from his face. When he put it back he listened to the chaos that clearly surrounded her.

“Is it bad where you are too?” he asked.

For a moment Vicky didn’t reply. After several heavy breaths she finally said, “London’s fallen, Rhys. It’s fucked. When I was waiting for you in the police car I saw a helicopter fly over with a cage of those creatures. I think they’ve dropped the diseased into London. Flynn and I are going to have to turn around and head back toward Summit City.”

“Flynn’s okay is he?”

Larissa slowed down some more.
 

“He’s fine.”

A look across at his ex-wife and Rhys nodded at her.

“Let me speak to him,” Larissa said as she reached for the phone. The car swerved and she almost lost control.

Rhys pulled away. “Focus
on driving, Larissa. Vicky, we need to think of somewhere we can meet.”

“I agree. We need to go south to get away from London. How about Biggin Hill Airport? There’s an old industrial estate next to it. I can’t imagine there’ll be many of the diseased there.”

More screams hurt Rhys’ ear.
 

“Okay,” Rhys said, “we can get to Biggin Hill Airport. Can you meet us there in an hour?”

Vicky fought for breath and then finally said, “Yes, I can.”

“Can we speak to Flynn?”

Although Vicky didn’t reply Rhys heard her pass the phone to his son.

“Dad?”

“Flynn, are you okay, mate?”

“I’m
scared
, Dad.”

“It’ll be okay. Just do what Vicky says and you’ll be okay.”

“Like fuck will he be okay,” Larissa said and ripped the phone from Rhys’ hand. “Flynn, baby.”

Despite the short distance between them Rhys heard the beeps before she’d said anything.
 

Larissa looked at the phone. “The connection dropped.”

Chapter Sixteen

About twelve hours ago

They hadn’t discussed what would happen next and they hadn’t discussed what Vicky should do at this point either. She’d make sure the fake guards had a minute before the real guards turned up so they could let Brendan in. She’d distract the real guards if necessary, and then she’d … what the fuck
would
she do?

Still in the foyer of the Alpha Tower Vicky looked around. Surely someone had rumbled her. What if Brendan didn’t destroy the CCTV footage like he’d promised? Someone would see her in the foyer, aimless with a stupid clipboard. They’d be bound to review the footage from the day.

Vicky hunched down again with her clipboard and wrote more nonsense on the form. She’d have to replace it with a legit one later. If they asked to see her paper trail they’d uncover the ramblings of a mad woman … or a terrorist.

Adrenaline surged through Vicky’s blood as she remained hunched by the socket. It didn’t take anybody that long to examine a plug socket. Not even Vicky.
 

When she stood up she nearly fell down again.
 

Fear had turned her legs bandy as she walked across the foyer. If she looked at the cameras now it would be so obvious she had something to hide. She had to style it out, walk like she owned the place, and get back to her office as soon as fucking possible.

As she crossed the space the lift doors pinged and the two legitimate security guards from a few minutes ago returned. They marched across the room and their heels clicked in unison with one another’s.

When one of them opened the door his loud voice echoed in the open space. “Where are they?”

A lady in her mid to late forties entered the building and the security guard stepped in front of her. “Have
you
seen them?”

“Who?”

“The two security guards.”

The woman looked at the security guard and then at his colleague next to him. Although her mouth moved up and down she didn’t say anything.

“
Fine
,” the guard said, “show me your pass.”

The woman did as she’d been ordered and then moved on when the guard let her through.

The first guard must have been the senior of the two because he lifted his walkie-talkie and said, “Check the labs. Check the labs
now
.”

The other guard made eye contact with Vicky. It was the same one that had looked at her before. Her pulse soared and every part of her screamed that she should run, but she wouldn’t make it to the end of the foyer before the guy caught up with her. She’d worn her trainers to work that day, but the guys in security were serious athletes.