Project 731, page 8
part #3 of Kaiju Thriller Series
Watson’s response is quick. He yanks the wires attached to the goggles, tearing them out. Then he stands, pulls the goggles from my face and slams them down on the hardwood floor.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “Damn. I’m sorry.”
“GPS could still be active,” Maigo points out, and I wonder how she knows about such things, despite Watson’s revelation that he’s been teaching her.
Watson shoves his way past the group and tosses the goggles into the fireplace and douses them with the lighter fluid Woodstock likes to use when setting a fire. The ambiance is nice, especially during the winter, but I think Woodstock just likes setting fires, which is once again proved when he quickly strikes a match and tosses it into the fireplace. The goggles catch, slowly melting into acrid smelling slag. Happily, the flue is open and most of the foul chemical smoke rises up and out the brick chimney.
“Who did you look at?” Collins asks me, but the real question, barely disguised, is who did they see.
“Everyone,” I say. “Except for me, which is good.”
“How is that good?” Hawkins asks.
“Because I’m supposed to be dead,” I say. “Probably better if they continue believing that.”
“But you looked at me,” he says.
“You were covered in mud in Oregon. They won’t make the match.”
“But they know we have the goggles,” Cooper says. I have a love/hate relationship with how often she’s right.
“You could have recovered them while looking for us,” I say. “And that Specter guy spared us and gave us the goggles for a reason.”
“Maybe to track us down,” Hawkins says.
“The FC-P’s location isn’t exactly a secret from other government agencies,” I say. “They wouldn’t need—”
“Not you,” Hawkins says, glancing toward Lilly.
Shit.
Collins places her hand on my arm. “Did it identify either of the girls?”
“Not Maigo,” I say.
“They know who I am?” Lilly asks, sounding surprised and nervous.
I shake my head. “You were identified as ‘Dark Matter.’” I turn to Hawkins. “Any idea what that means?”
“It means,” says a new voice, feminine and vaguely familiar. I spin around, reaching for my sidearm, and I see a face I haven’t seen in a year, not since Washington D.C.—Maggie Alessi. “That none of you are safe here.”
Alessi was Katsu Endo’s right-hand lady at Zoomb, the technology giant behind the rebirth of Nemesis, whose interference has had long and destructive consequences without much in the way of repercussions, mostly because of its massive ties to Washington and lucrative government contracts. While Hawkins’s thorn has been DARPA, ours has always been Zoomb. It shouldn’t surprise me that they are, once again, involved in shady dealings, but it does. Endo and Alessi were instrumental in stopping Gordon and a handful of Kaiju from turning the world into a human-life-free zone. While I still hold a grudge against Endo, it’s mostly for kicking my ass on a few occasions. He’s still a fugitive, and it’s still my job to bring him in, but I had no plans on tracking the man down. He’s earned that much.
I have a lot of questions for Alessi, specifically about Zoomb’s potential involvement with Nemesis’s disappearance, but the problem she’s just posed dwarfs them all.
“Who will come?” I ask, drawing my weapon, but not aiming it at her. She’s unarmed and dressed like a civilian. She’s not here to hurt us. If she’s telling the truth, her goal is quite the opposite.
“The BlackGuard,” she says.
“Who?” Hawkins asks.
“The men responsible for destroying the Tsuchi in Oregon.”
I don’t miss the fact that she used the same name for the BFSs as the BlackGuard she’s talking about.
“The DARPA special ops team,” Hawkins says. He’s fishing, but he doesn’t let on.
Alessi’s momentary surprise is confirmation enough, but she says, “How much do you know about them?”
“Enough to know they’re bad news,” I say, “which brings us back to the problem at hand. When are they coming?”
“I don’t know,” she says, “but if they’ve seen Lilly, they’ll come for her. Soon.”
Alessi and Endo both know about Lilly. They’ve seen her in action. They don’t know her origins, and they didn’t ask, but they’ve obviously kept quiet about her. But now, it seems, we’ve put the crosshairs that Hawkins has always feared right on Lilly.
“You need to leave here,” Alessi says. “All of you.”
“I suppose you have someplace for us to go?” I ask. “I’m sure Zoomb would like to get a peek at Lilly.”
“And at her,” Alessi says, pointing at Maigo, “but they don’t know about them. About either of them. And we’re going to keep it that way.”
“Why?” I ask, unable to restrain my skepticism. “Does Endo want to keep them for himself? Or is he simply waiting for the highest offer?”
“That’s not fair,” Alessi says. “He saved your life.”
“He also serves himself.”
Alessi is silent for a moment and finally says, “Endo’s allegiance remains where it has always been.”
After leaving the Japanese Defense Force, Endo served under General Gordon, and then in the private sector, working with Zoomb, but in each of those instances, he was involved in all things—
Maigo screams and falls to the floor, clutching her head.
The conversation with Alessi slips from my mind, all fears of exposure and impending BlackGuard doom forgotten. I hurry to her and fall to my knees. “Maigo what’s—”
My voice is cut short when I reach out and take her hands. The physical contact acts like a conduit, slamming me into Maigo’s mind for a moment. We stand across from each other, both ten years old again, on Christmas morning, dressed in footie pajamas and staring at each other. I reach out for her, opening my mouth, but then the world becomes a blur.
Heat surrounds me, pulsing in the darkness.
Maigo is here, too. I can feel her.
Where are we? I think.
Back. The mental voice belongs to Maigo.
Back where?
Stabbing pain fills my body, pulsing through me three times, growing in intensity like a migraine headache.
She’s alive, Maigo thinks to me.
Who... And then I know. Oh my God...
My eyes snap open, and I sit up from the floor, where I must have collapsed. Maigo sits up next to me, pulled from the strange mental connection.
I grip her shoulder. “Was that?”
Maigo nods, looking relieved and afraid.
Collins crouches next to me. “What happened? Jon, what’s—”
“It’s Nemesis,” I say, turning to Collins, feeling terrified, but unable to prevent a smile from forming. “She’s alive.”
11
“Alive?” Woodstock looks aghast. “Bullsheeit. We saw the ol’ girl die.”
“We never really confirmed it,” I say, head spinning. While I have to admit that part of me is relieved, I’m also filled with dread. If Nemesis is alive, more people are going to die, and it’s our job—my job—to stop her. The problem is that I don’t know if I can, and not because of our previous bond, though that weighs heavily; it’s because I’m pretty sure we’re not capable. A nuke might do it, but we’d be killing a lot of people along with her, and there’s no guarantee that even that would work. There’s still so much we don’t know about her. She’s not of this Earth, after all. “We didn’t even know how.”
Collins crouches beside me. “Jon...I know you had a connection with Nemesis.” She glances at Maigo. “You both did. But she was dead. Whatever you’re feeling now is—”
“It’s her,” I say, a trace of annoyance in my voice. I’m not used to being doubted. Granted, up until this very moment, I would have balked at the idea of Nemesis’s revival. But I know what I felt. “She was in pain.”
“Fightin’ with the Devil, most likely,” Woodstock says.
Maigo shoots him a look so serious that he raises his hands and backs away. “Let’s try not to forget we’re talking about a monster who killed thousands of people and very nearly ate me an’ Betty, on more than one occasion.”
“We thought you’d taste bad,” Maigo whispers, and given the lack of reaction, I think I’m the only one who heard. Nope. Not quite. Collins’s eyes have opened a touch, but she’s staring straight ahead, restraining her response. The three of us will talk about it later. Maybe.
“Is it possible you’re feeling something else?” Cooper asks, ever the pragmatist. “Something new? Something created from Nemesis’s remains, the way that Nemesis was created from the corpse of Nemesis Prime?”
It’s a good thought, but the connection was too familiar. I shake my head slowly.
Watson pulls at his hair a bit. Nemesis’s rebirth is triggering some anxiety I haven’t seen in the man since he became a father. He calms when Cooper puts her hand on his shoulder, but he still voices his concerns. “There are contingencies to activate. Protocols. But we don’t know where she is. Don’t know where she’s going. What should we do?”
“I think,” I say, standing to my feet and pulling Maigo up, “we should ask the only person who doesn’t seem surprised by the news.” I turn to Alessi. “How long have you known?”
“Eight months.”
“Eight months?” I so want to punch her, but she’d probably kick my ass, and that would get me nowhere but a hospital room...and chocolate pudding. Tempting.
“Penis envy doesn’t suit you, Jon,” she says.
I cough and sputter. Not only has she just said this in front of two teenage girls, it’s the kind of accusation that, when defended adamantly, makes the accused look guilty.
She doesn’t give me time to figure out a defense. “Just because we can do what you’re not able, doesn’t mean we’re working against you.”
“Who are you working for?” Collins asks, and I’m relieved the conversation is moving away from my manhood.
“I’m still employed by Zoomb, though I’m currently on leave. But Endo...that’s complicated,” she says.
“Like the ending of Lost complicated, or peace in the Middle East complicated?” I ask the question, but then realize the answer. “Whoever is paying the bills, he’s not really working for them, is he? You mentioned Endo’s allegiance earlier. It was never to Gordon or Zoomb. It was always to Nemesis.”
She doesn’t deny it, but refuses to reply.
“And you’re okay with that?” I ask. “I know he’s your half-brother, but is your allegiance to him so blind that you—”
“He doesn’t know I’m here,” she says. “I came to warn you off because...you’re good people.”
This confession takes me a little off guard and puts her ribbing in a new light. Maybe she’s not trying to get under my skin? Maybe she’s just palling around? “Would Endo have stopped you from warning us?” I still don’t really know where he stands, and I have serious qualms about his moral compass.
Her frown tells the answer before she speaks. “I didn’t want to give him the chance to make that call. It would have...strained our relationship. And I haven’t heard from him in a week, which means he’s pre-occupied.”
“And you won’t tell us where he is?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “He’ll get in touch when its important.”
“Well, thanks for the warning,” I say, “but if Nemesis is alive, we can’t—”
“They’ll come for you.” She looks at the girls. “For them.”
“We’ll take precautions,” I say. “But this is what we’re here for. This is what we do.”
“They do it better,” Alessi says.
“DARPA?” Hawkins asks. He’s a bit red in the face, showing admirable restraint. Alessi has information he’s wanted since escaping Island 731.
“GOD,” she says, to eight confused listeners. “Genetic Offense Directive. They’re a black operation under the umbrella of DARPA, but without really any oversight. The island she’s from—” She nods at Lilly. “—was one of their projects.”
“They’re the ones in Lompoc,” Hawkins says.
Alessi sags in defeat. “You’re not going to listen to me, are you?”
I look at the resolute faces around me. The FC-P won’t back down from a Kaiju. They’re not about to back down from a shady government agency. But, these people are also my responsibility. Two of them aren’t even adults. Sure, they might argue that point, and they might also point out that physically, they’re more than ready, but they’re still my responsibility.
“We’re going to Lompoc,” I say, “but not all of us.”
“Cooper. Watson. Take mini-Cooper and go on a vacation. Pay in cash. Go dark. They might not be interested in you, but why take chances.” Watson is about to complain, but I silence him by clamping my fingers and thumb together. “There isn’t anything you can’t do on the road from a laptop. Just a few days, until this clears up.”
They both nod. Now comes the hard part. “Hawkins. Joliet. I need you both to take the girls and—”
“Not a chance,” Hawkins says. “I’m coming with you.”
“Not your call,” I say, matching the serious tone of his voice. “I know what this means for you, but if these GOD assholes are coming for Lilly and Maigo, I’ll feel better knowing you’re with them.”
“But,” Lilly says, and I clamp my hand at her.
“I’m not about to deliver you to them,” I say. “These guys are better than us.” I look at Hawkins, waiting for a challenge. He doesn’t offer any. He saw them in action. Knows we’re lucky to be alive. “They have access to weapons and technology that no one else does.” Back to Lilly. “This is not ‘capture the flag,’ and the BlackGuard are not us. No offense to any of you, but these guys are out of our league.”
“And if you get in trouble?” Maigo asks. “If you get killed? What then?”
“Won’t happen,” I say, but I know she’ll see straight through the bravado. “Just...stay safe. If we need your help, we’ll call.”
“Better keep us on speed dial,” Lilly quips with a half smile that reveals a sharp canine tooth. Her tail whips back and forth, revealing the agitation she’s keeping out of her expression.
“Collins, Woodstock.” The rest goes unsaid and they both nod. Not only is Collins my most trusted partner, but these two have been by my side since first contact with Nemesis. Collins is willing to walk into the belly of the beast, so to speak, and Woodstock is always there to pull us out. I turn to Alessi. “We’ll need a plane to get us there, and a chopper when we land. Can you swing that?”
Her grin says she can. I’m not sure what her position at Zoomb really is, but she’s got pull, and for now, with GOD and maybe even a goddess to deal with, I’ll take what help I can get.
12
“Dammit,” Alicio Brice muttered. While Building-K was sealed and the exits all covered by highly armed men, the BlackGuard would not be arriving to take care of this problem. They had been diverted by the one person at GOD whose authority superseded Brice’s, Zach Cole, the program’s director. He wasn’t a scientist. Lacked the mind for that kind of work. But he was ruthlessly efficient and a cunning man, not to be trifled with. And he was the man Brice would have to answer to if this problem wasn’t taken care of in a quiet manner.
While the GOD research facility was located on the Pacific Coast, outside Lompoc—the flower seed capital of the world—their main offices were located beyond the countless fields of flowers, in town, rising high above the city’s valley-sandwiched grid of two-story homes and businesses. If things got loud, Cole would know about it.
So the guards at the exits were armed with silent, non-lethal weapons—stun guns and sticky foam guns—as well as more conventional sound-suppressed weapons. They would try to take it alive, but at the first sign of trouble, they had been authorized to use lethal force on the Tsuchi, or on anyone implanted by it. Harsh measures, but the men understood. They’d seen Wood’s body, and they knew the creature had emerged from his skull. Mortal risk came with guarding the incubators. They lost men every year. Brice saw it as evolution in action. The men who had been with GOD the longest were the best. The fittest. And it was them he was sending into Building-K.
He stood outside the massive warehouse, smelling the ocean breeze. He rarely went outside; the salty, cool air felt unfamiliar and invigorating. Despite the potentially hazardous security breach, a smile spread across his face. It’s going to be a good night, he thought, looking up at the darkening sky. He decided to go out. Have some Mexican by the ocean. Maybe invite that woman from Level 3. What was her name? Dee Hardy? Dee Haddrill, that was it. He’d ask her.
“Sir?” a man said, standing a foot taller than Brice, looking down at him through the reflective night-vision goggles that would colorize and illuminate the dim confines of the giant warehouse.
Brice blinked out of his dinner plans and looked up at the man. He didn’t know the man’s name. Could barely see his face. But he was the senior guard on duty. What do we call his rank? “Yes? Uh, Captain?”
“Chief.”
“Right. Sorry.”
“I asked about containment protocols,” the large man said.
“Oh, right. Just immobilize the Tsuchi—”
“The Dark Matter.”
“Yes. These have been designated ‘Tsuchi.’”
“Sushi. Good to know.”
“Tsuchi,” Brice repeated, pronouncing it correctly with the Japanese TS sound emphasized.
The Chief offered a phony smile. “Heard you the first time.”
Brice took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The Chief of GOD’s guard was rubbing him the wrong way. “Immobilize it with the spray foam. I will come to collect it. If that isn’t possible, destroy the target, and I will come to collect it. Should any of your men be...stung...by the creature, they must be eliminated immediately. Any delay could be—”
