Читать книгу Nightmare Army - Don Pendleton - Страница 10

CHAPTER THREE

Sixty hours earlier

Dr. Gerhardt Richter sighed as he leaned back in his chair, trying to avoid the chill breeze blowing on the back of his neck. Shaking his head, he walked over to his single upright dresser, pulled out a black, silk scarf and draped it around his neck. Although the laboratory needed the air conditioning to maintain the temperature throughout the complex, it was difficult for him to get re-acclimated, particularly after two days in the field. Now, he always felt cold, no matter where in the complex he was, and that damnable breeze seemed to follow him around the room. Richter walked to the thermostat mounted next to the door and tapped it, not sure if the damn thing was regulating anything anymore.

This is not how groundbreaking science is achieved, he thought, activating the VOIP—voice over internet protocol—program on his machine. “The thermostat in my office is malfunctioning again, Sharene. Please get someone in maintenance to take a look at it as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir. Yours is the third complaint I’ve received, and maintenance is already looking into it. I’ll pass on the status update as soon they get back to me. Also, I just received word from the lab that they’re ready to begin the next round of tests.”

“Good, I’ll be there shortly.” Richter closed his computer and tucked it under his arm. With a grimace, he glanced at the roof above him one last time, as if willing it to stay up long enough for him to get out of the room. Rising from his desk, he left his cramped office and walked into the even more cramped hallway.

His backers had built the complex to be sturdy—at least, that’s what they had told him—but the German was forced to stoop as he walked, so that his balding head wouldn’t hit the ceiling. He was slightly concerned that he would develop a permanent hunch from the past five months of work.

After this, I’m due a long vacation, he thought, maybe somewhere sunny and bright instead of humid and hot all the time.

The idea cheered him a bit and he nodded to the other white-lab-coated men and women he passed as he headed for the main laboratory.

He stopped only once before passing two security men half carrying one of the test subjects—a quivering young African male—between them, with another technician trailing them.

“Hold it.” Richter thumbed back the sagging youth’s eyelid, revealing an eye that had rolled back into his head. “Where’d he come from?”

“He’s the security breach we recaptured at 2100 last night,” the tech said. “Filmed him killing a full-grown leopard out in the jungle. Emailed you the video this morning.”

“Right.” Richter pressed fingers to the young man’s neck. “Erratic heartbeat. I don’t like that. Place him in the guarded ICU and monitor his condition for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Yes, sir.” The three men left with their prisoner, and Richter continued on his way.

Arriving at his destination, Richter entered the airlock, waiting for the doors to close. He walked to the center of the small corridor, where a powerful stream of antiseptic air washed over him, removing any small biological organisms that might contaminate the lab. When the tone sounded, indicating his cleansing cycle was completed, he stepped into the next room.

The laboratory was state-of-the-art, with a half dozen of the current shift’s white-coated scientists working at computer stations and lab tables. One of them, a tall, Nordic-looking blond woman, noticed his entrance and walked over.

“Good afternoon, Doctor. Here to witness the next test?”

“Correct.”

“Good, we’re about to start. Follow me, please.” She led him to the other side of the laboratory, where a large, thick pane of laminated glass separated them from the occupants in the other room.

Richter watched as the first creature in the room roamed around. It was a chimpanzee, about three years old, circling the perimeter of the bare, five-meter by five-meter room with apprehension in its eyes.

“This is a young male, captured two weeks ago, weighing ninety-three pounds and measuring forty-five inches tall. We’ve limited its calorie intake and have taken steps to ensure a suitable aggressive reaction to the second test subject.”

A door slid open on the right side and a slender black man wearing a pair of white shorts and a T-shirt was prodded through the door, which slid closed behind him. The chimp’s head swiveled to stare at the newcomer, whose eyes also locked on the animal. The chimpanzee rose, standing on its back legs and supporting its front body on its knuckles. It bared its teeth at the man, who looked confused for a moment.

The blond woman spoke, not taking her eyes off the window. “The primate senses that something isn’t right with the human subject.”

“When does the reaction start, Dr. Estvaan?”

“Any moment n—”

She hadn’t even completed her sentence when the two creatures in the room exploded into action. The man’s face turned into a rictus of rage that suffused his features, his lips peeling back from his teeth in a savage snarl, his fingers outstretched into curled talons as he rushed at the chimpanzee. The animal stood on its hind legs and charged, screaming in rage, its fangs also bared.

“Normally the chimpanzee has the advantage, since it is five times as strong as the average human, despite being outweighed by fifty pounds.” Dr. Estvaan sounded as though she might be discussing two Olympic wrestlers. “But watch.”

The two combatants clashed in the middle of the room. The chimp established early dominance with its opposable hands on the lower legs clamping onto the man’s torso while its upper set of hands grabbed the head of its soon-to-be victim as it zoomed in to bite at the vulnerable face.

Usually that would have been the end of it. However before the chimp could attack, the man’s hand swiped down with inhuman speed, raking the animal across the eyes and causing it to screech in pain. The man continued his attack, curling his hand into a fist and battering it against the monkey’s skull again and again, his hand blurring with the effort. The chimpanzee rocked back with each punch.

“Subjects have been observed to break their fingers and dislocate their wrists and elbows from repeated forceful blows against their targets,” Dr. Estvaan stated, jotting notes on her tablet.

The chimpanzee’s hands tore at the man, scoring a hit on his genitals and twisting hard, but the man didn’t stop his frenzied assault. He lunged forward, sinking his teeth into the side of the chimpanzee’s neck and savaging it with all his might.

The chimpanzee screamed in agony and redoubled its efforts, grabbing one of the man’s ears and tearing it off his head. But its struggles grew weaker as bright red blood spurted from the terrible wound in its neck. It brought around its right fist, the fingers covered in blood, trying to smash the man’s temple. Without stopping his attack on the chimp’s throat, the man’s left hand rose to block the attack, his open palm meeting the monkey’s arm whistling through the air and stopping it cold.

The chimpanzee struggled to extricate its hand, the muscles shaking with strain as it tried to free itself, while the man’s hand closed around the chimp’s fist, squeezing it tighter and tighter. The chimp now shook all over, its ropy muscles spasming as it went into shock. It moaned once, then its head flopped back.

The man shoved the chimpanzee’s body off him and stood in the center of the room, his chest heaving as he sucked air in through his gore-caked mouth, his own blood mingling with his victim’s to spatter on the floor.

“First assault to critical wound in eight point nine seconds.” Dr. Estvaan noted that data on her tablet. “Impressive.”

“Yes, yes, the lethality results of the compound have been noted a dozen times. It is the next phase that is critical. Are your men ready?”

Estvaan tapped her earpiece. “Send them in.”

The door the man had come through slid open again and a man dressed in heavy padding and ballistic protection, with a riot helmet and visor on his head, appeared in the doorway. The test subject whirled, his dilated eyes locking on the new person. His nostrils flared as he scented the air, a low growl building in his throat, then he crouched and leaped to attack. The new man fired a pair of darts into his assailant’s chest, then ducked back behind the door, which began to close. The subject hit the barrier and forced his arm through the shrinking hole to block it. Bracing himself against the wall, he began levering the door open.

“Do we have a problem?” Richter asked, setting down his laptop.

Estvaan pointed. “No, look—the energy is draining out of him even now. However, he does not pass out as the early subjects did. The drug is containing him, for lack of a better term.”

Their test subject’s efforts grew more labored and he sank to the floor, still trying to shove the door open, but failing as the tranquilizer coursed through his body. With one final growl that sounded more like an anguished groan toward the end, he slumped over, chest rising and falling rapidly as he sank into unconsciousness.

“Restrain and stabilize him. After-team, run the standard battery of tests and send me the results.”

Richter ran his hands over his head, resisting the urge to clench them into fists and hammer the wall. “I thought this variant had so much promise, but we are no closer to arresting the effects once the cycle begins. What good is true superhuman strength and reflexes without the control to stop using them when the immediate threat has been neutralized? And if the subject cannot remain active once the surge is done, that is another problem.”

Dr. Estvaan nodded. “Perhaps. We are close. Another few modifications and we’ll be able to turn this on and off in subjects at will, either by neuro feedback or by remote control.”

“Yes, but I’ve got to tell Stengrave that we haven’t gotten any closer to controlling the virus’s effects.”

Estvaan nodded again. “Keep in mind the potential this compound also has as a weapon by introducing it into unknowing or unwilling subjects.”

Her last words sparked something in Richter’s mind. “What about the transfer vectors you’ve been working on?”

“Well, you would have seen it if the chimpanzee had survived. Within six to eight hours, it would have been exhibiting the same pretest symptoms as the human subject. Currently the virus is best transmitted via blood or saliva.”

“And the genetic safeguards we’ve tailored it with have been effective?”

“One hundred percent so far.” Dr. Estvaan glanced at him. “As I have stated before, we cannot guarantee that a mutated form wouldn’t be able to cross genetic types, but the self-destruct safeguard should prevent that, as well.”

“Lastly, you have confirmed that the virus cannot survive independently outside of a host body?”

“Correct, Doctor. If exposed to open air, it begins breaking down at the cellular level immediately. There is no chance of an active strain using an airborne or fluid-borne vector to contaminate others. Of course, the infectious strain can be introduced into food or water in its dormant state and, once ingested, begin affecting its victims within two hours.”

“Good, I’m glad to see that parameter has been maintained. Prepare a dormant sample large enough to affect...oh, say thirty to fifty people. I’ll need to update our superiors, but I see no reason to halt our tests on a limited public group. It’s time to begin phase two.” Dr. Richter smiled. “After all, if this cannot be used as a controllable weapon yet, perhaps its application lies in using it as a less-controlled one.”

Just then his smartphone beeped. Richter glanced at it and saw the reminder he’d been waiting for. “Prepare your after-test reports and forward them to me once they are finished. I’ll be in my office, but am not to be disturbed for the next hour.”

* * *

AS HE STRODE through the halls toward his office, Richter dictated his notes.

“Although the virus appears to have potential practical applications on the battlefield, there will need to be more tests done to refine a more controllable variant. This is not to say that the research here has been in vain, on the contrary, we have done more here in six months that has been possible in the past three years. With additional time and experimentation with the various strains we have cultivated, I am sure that we can create a version that will give us the abilities we’re looking for, along with the necessary control.”

His laptop chimed and Richter frowned at the interruption to his train of thought. He reached over and paused the computer recorder, then hit the answer button. “Ja?”

The voice on the other end of the satellite connection was smooth and cordial but hard underneath—like silk over a steel glove. “Dr. Richter, I hope I’m not interrupting you.”

Richter recognized the voice instantly. “Of course not, Mr. Stengrave. I am ready to present our status to the board, as directed.”

“What can you tell me about your recent progress?”

“We are making progress, but it has slowed considerably.” Verifying their channel was secure, he summarized the recent tests. “We cannot seem to strike the balance between the advantages the drug gives the recipients and the negative effects afterward.”

“I see. How do you intend to mitigate this situation?”

“One of our potential uses for the virus in its current form would be as an inflammatory agent, which could be tailored to fit a specified population. Spiking the water would introduce it into their systems, and chaos would follow. I had wanted to discuss a possible test of this scenario—”

“I already have something in mind for that—a geographically-isolated test on genetically-limited population. I’m sending Mr. Firke down with the necessary genetic sample. He will stay until the batch is ready, and will escort it to our on-site team within thirty-six hours.” He chuckled. “Sometimes it’s easier to make a point with a little bloodshed. Spun properly, I think this could be just as effective as our first projected use of the virus.”

“I’ll have the samples ready for splicing the moment he arrives. If you do not mind my asking, how will you handle the meeting today?”

“I’ll put them off for now, saying you are in the middle of a delicate series of tests and cannot be disturbed. Make it happen, Doctor. If the results are good enough, I may have you conference in to a later meeting to field questions. I’ll let you know once we know how the field test has gone.” Stengrave broke the connection with a click.

Richter stabbed his intercom button. “Sharene, please ready the guest quarters. We’re going to have company soon.”