Vampire's Day (Book 2): Zero Model (9 page)

36
.
Contamination

“Right now, I'm just starting to understand how the mechanism of this infection operates, but I can say with confidence that this sample greatly increases the ability to regenerate. You have already seen this ability.”

Yes, Bronson had already received visual confirmation of Palmer’s words. And it wasn’t just the burnt, and now practically healthy, Pete Anderson. His own broken legs confirmed it. Doc had promised that he would be able to walk. Yes, he would walk after long-term treatment, a series of operations, and even longer therapy, and most likely he would walk with a cane.

But it had all turned out differently. The wound had almost completely healed over the past evening and night, during a time that he didn’t remember. He’d been immersed in a heavy restless sleep, with enhanced doses of analgesic, and only woken when the crazy killed the nurse. By that time Chief no longer needed medical care, and he could walk, limping slightly, but not understanding why it had happened. Now he understood – he’d picked up the same infection as Pete Anderson, delivered to the Earth on the lander. They were both infected and therefore could quickly recover from serious wounds. Louis wasn’t infected, and died that night from his burns, without regaining consciousness.

“So, I can now heal almost any wound quickly, the way a lizard grows a new tail when it’s damaged. This is good news, especially in my business. Now the bad news.”

“OK. It’s not only you and Pete who have this infection, there were others. The driver, who killed the nurse and doctor – he, too, is infected. He wasn’t just crazy; this was the consequences of infection.”

Chief took a deep breath.

“Then why didn’t it happen to me? Or is it just that it hasn’t happened yet?”

“That's it – it’s not happened yet. But it will surely happen if we don’t take action. Listen to me carefully, Chief, your life depends on it. This infection, which gives the fantastic ability to regenerate, it has a very serious side effect. The alien sample we have destroys blood, and destroys it very quickly, so that the bone marrow doesn’t have time to produce blood again. Yesterday, when you and Pete were brought to the hospital, you had several blood transfusions, which temporarily made up for the loss. But the driver had a less serious wound, and he had only one blood transfusion, and then went to sleep. The destruction of the blood in his body went on, and there was nothing to compensate for this loss. First, the driver fell into a short-term coma, and then, on waking up, attacked the hospital staff. He wanted their blood. The same thing happened yesterday in the port; now you know why those people attacked everyone they saw yesterday. They wanted blood.”

“Fine. How can we stop it?”

“I don’t know yet, I'll try to find a solution, but I need more time for analysis and research. Until then, we can stop the blood destruction with regular transfusions; I will try to calculate the required dose. Apparently, if you are injected with pure blood in time, then you can’t get crazy.

“I'll give you and Pete transfusions now, because the process of destruction is happening every second. And I need you, Chief, I need you healthy. I’ll fail without you.”

Bronson gave her a long look.

“And what do you want from me?”

“I want you to do your job, command the SCG. Your men don’t obey me, and without their support I wouldn’t be able to give any orders. The Colonel doesn’t believe us, and he can create very serious problems, especially now, since the infection has spread. Heavy fights in the city, thousands were infected.”

37. Remote control

“What forces do we have there?”

“Not many. The garrison there is relatively small; it’s not a military camp, but a supply base, so, in essence, it’s a gas station and repair shop for ships and submarines in this part of the Pacific Ocean. They come for repairs, have their tanks filled, get the ammunition, loaded with fresh produce and then leave. In the most part, it is just technical staff there, guarded by the marine’s battalion.

“They have light wheeled and tracked armored vehicles, helicopters and patrol boats to cover the harbor and the dry dock. There is also an added bonus – there is a UAV wing, with scouts and attack machines. The drones were very helpful yesterday. These forces will be sufficient to defend the base and Palmer’s research complex, but for effective offensive action, we need reinforcements and…”

“No reinforcements! Not until we’ve taken a look at what we're dealing with. That will eliminate any risk of spreading the infection.”

“Got it.”

“What’s the number of infected at the moment?”

“I can’t give an exact answer. We don’t know exactly how many people lived in this city, it’s somewhere between seventeen and twenty-five thousand, maybe more. We don’t know how many died yesterday, last night and in the morning; we don’t know how many got out of the city, and how many have stayed here.

“Based on the survivors, the numbers of the infected are large, hundreds, perhaps even thousands. It’s possible that at least half of the total population have been infected.”

“What happens now?”

“There are fights in the villages near the city. Those who prevailed in the city stopped for a time, but now they’re beginning to advance deep into the valley.”

“If this is rabies, how the hell are the infected coordinating their actions and using complex weapons? I thought that was impossible.”

“Palmer says that it isn’t rabies. According to her, it just looks like rabies. Don’t forget that we may be dealing with an extraterrestrial origin for the infection. Apparently, it causes a state of heightened aggression, but doesn’t reduce mental faculties. It isn’t clear why the infected don’t attack each other – they attack only those who aren’t infected. Without the sample in our laboratories, it would be difficult to say how this infection operates. Palmer has a living infected man and…”

“Transportation infected to the United States excluded, Palmer should dealt there herself. Supply of food and ammunition only by air. What about the civilians on a gas platform?”

“There are almost two and a half thousand people, many with families. Yesterday we announced martial law and cut off communications. Passenger aircraft flights have been canceled. But if the infected arrange a serious attack, like this morning in the city, they won’t stand alone. There are few guards armed only with rifles and several machine guns, with out fortifications and armored vehicles.”

“So we’ll evacuate the civilians to the base.”

“Sir, if reinforcements are not coming, we’ll need the local army to ensure strict quarantine.”

“The local government is on the brink of revolution; the only thing that can save it is a big loan, and the president will do anything to get hold of our money. So we will provide the protection of the borders. Now give me a link to Bronson, I must give him instructions.”

38
.
Priorities

“The geographical location of the valley has served the Cartel well for a long time, and now it will serve us. The mountain range that surrounds the valley on three sides served as a natural line of defense during the last civil war, which meant that government forces couldn’t regain control here. Now we will use this line to prevent the spread of infection. All that is required is to take a position on a few passes and peaks. Using artillery and mortar fire from these positions, we will stop any attempt to break out of the valley into the country through the mountains.

“The local army will take the passes; they have already received orders to kill anyone who tries to pass them on the mountain roads. The only thing that they may need from us is aerial surveillance, which will be provided by my drones.”

Richardson expounded this simple plan, highlighting with his laser pointer the possible sites of breakthroughs, all the time thinking furiously about Bronson and Palmer sitting next to him. He was disgusted about this combat operation, where they had to try to contain by any means possible spread of infection, which these two idiots bring here. Okay, not them personally, but their officers, to whom he had to portray the role of diligent aide. And he would play this role, because it would give him the opportunity to remove this sweet couple from leadership.

They were smart enough to start it all, but he would be the one to deal with this mess. Palmer wouldn’t pop her nose out of her toy town, and Bronson had too few people or the technology to provide quarantine and evacuation of civilians from the gas platform. So, make room folks, now it was his turn to give orders. And then they would see what would be; he would see how their actions were evacuated. Richardson had already received a fair compensation for all the excitement of the last day from the drug lord, and now it was necessary for him to think about promotion, since he had this opportunity.

“The Cartel’s light aircraft and helicopters were destroyed yesterday afternoon during the fire in the port. So, after government forces have captured the passes, the only way to leave the valley is to get out on the water. Most of the boats and fishing schooners were burned yesterday, and the rest will not be able to go far, because my patrol boats have already started patrolling.”

“You have to give clear instructions to the crews – they have to immediately destroy anything that moves on the water in the quarantine zone, even if it’s an inflatable mattress. They must not try to capture or inspect them. They have to make sure there are no survivors.”

“Roger.”

The local fighters would guard the passes, and his boats had closed off the sea, while the garrison was alerted and ready to repel a possible attack. And the Colonel had left for himself the most honorable and promising job in terms of future promotion - the evacuation of civilians. There were almost two and a half thousand men, women and children who needed to be rescued from this chaos. He would save them, and then be rewarded for his role.

“Requisition all necessary transport and all supplies of food, medicine, clothing and tools, along with anything else that may be needed to ensure the survival of the civilians. Leave only the marines there and a team of technicians who will look after the equipment.”

How long would he need to provide for two and a half thousand men, women and children? The original plan had been to take the civilians out on planes from his airport, but now he had to provide for them. He wondered how much food there was, and what they could do if there was very little.

“Roger.”

39. Priorities-2

“At the moment we don’t know the exact cause of this infection…”

Sure, the exact cause was unknown – the Colonel smiled, listening to Palmer, currently speaking to the staff from all screens. You sons of bitches brought this plague from outer space, and my people already know about it.

“But we know that the infection isn’t transmitted by airborne droplets, only through blood. Therefore, reliable compliance with quarantine protocol will ensure one hundred percent security.”

For all his hostility to Palmer, the Colonel hoped she wasn’t mistaken. A day previously over a hundred of his Marines were in the port area near the space ball, together with Bronson’s team. Then, returning to the base, they had been close to other soldiers; no one had thought to tell him about the quarantine. If this infection was transmitted through the air, they may have all been infected. If not, then he had only one confirmed infected - the driver. And a crippled nurse who was now in Palmer’s laboratory, with no reason to risk releasing her. Bronson was also in the warehouse yesterday; he’d been injured there, and was now healthy. Palmer didn’t seem afraid to keep him next to her, even without being wrapped in a suit. Okay, he supposed these bastards were right.

“The infected have an increased aggressiveness, and they can attack everyone they see while using a firearm so…”

“Thank you for your detailed consultation, miss, it was very helpful.” Richardson gently but firmly dismissed Palmer – it was time to remind his men about who was really in charge, while at the same time explaining the situation in a more accessible way.

“So, we are under siege. There is a rampant epidemic in the valley, where the number of infected is growing. We don’t currently know how to treat this infection; the experts are working on it. In the meantime, our task is to provide protection for ourselves and the civilians in the factory
.
Our defense will be quarantine. The territory within a radius of three miles from the border has been declared a restricted area. Set the minefields, make sure there is surveillance from the ground and air, and use mortars and automatic grenade launchers; kill anyone who tries to cross the line. I repeat – immediately kill anyone who approaches the perimeter, then burn the body with flamethrowers. Keep minimal contact with the outside world, and any absence without leave will lead to a military tribunal!

“Now, about the civilians - we need to take two thousand, four hundred and thirty-seven people away from the plant; our engineers are constructing a temporary camp for them. We’ve alerted security on the platform, and no infections among the staff have been observed, but in any case fulfill all the necessary precautions. On the way back, if someone tries to stop the cars, shoot to kill without warning.”

A large gate, thickly entwined with barbed wire, rolled back to the side, and heavy wheeled armored personnel carriers headed out on the road, followed by a long column of army trucks. The column was covered in the air by Black Hawks and scout drones, looking for possible ambushes.

“Colonel!”

“What else?!”

Palmer found him at the moment when Richardson was about to take his place in his personal Hummer.

“Colonel, I need material for research. I need more infected. A live infected.”

“You already have the driver!”

“That isn’t enough, I need a few more. Bronson’s team is prepared to catch a few, but they need a helicopter.”

“Why are we introducing fucking quarantine if you want to bring the infected inside?!”

“You and your people are at risk of infection. If you want me to make a vaccine, then help me! I can’t do the vaccine without studying the infection, I need test subjects!”

“If I do this, you’d better not screw up, Miss Palmer!”

As he left the perimeter, Richardson took up the radio – he needed to give the last order.

He and some marines would now take out the civilians; and the others would put up the quarantine barrier. But part of his marine force the Colonel had allocated to perform a particular task, which would be the most important, if something went wrong. They had been ordered to secretly surround Palmer’s town and be prepared to immediately attack the research complex in the event of an emergency.