The size of a journal.
“It must’ve been Cyclone,” Standish said. “He probably found the journal and took it.”
“I suggest you find him then. Find him and kill him.”
Chapter 29
Get up. Get up already!
My inner voice screamed at my brain. I tried to blink. Where the hell was I? What happened?
I struggled to lift my head off a cold smooth surface. But a wave of dizziness struck me with the force of a thunderbolt and my skull crashed back with a thud.
The sound sickened me. Nausea took root in my stomach. Desperately, I tried to focus my mind on something else, anything else.
Bits and pieces of memories drifted through my brain. I snatched them out of the air, doing my best to stop them from floating away for good. But the recollections were vague and disconnected.
Mouthfuls of stagnant water.
The thudding of footsteps.
A sniff of cigar smoke.
I rewound my mind, searching for my last complete memory. I pictured the laboratory, the dead scientists, Standish’s arrival, and Beverly’s rescue. I recalled running and the sudden wave cresting through the tunnel. But from that moment on, everything was a blur.
I wanted to pass out, to forget the pain in my head. But that wasn’t an option. I probed my aching body. No wounds. And my weapons seemed to be in place as well.
It was a small miracle. But a miracle nonetheless.
I sensed light to my left. I blinked and saw a fuzzy, nearby orb. Slowly, my vision cleared and I recognized it as my flashlight.
Following the beam, I saw Beverly lying next to me, still as a corpse. I scrambled to her side and checked for a pulse.
Nothing. My stomach churned.
I checked it again.
Several agonizing seconds passed.
Then I felt it, beating faintly.
Exhaling, I looked around. I knelt on a concrete island located between two sets of subway tracks.
How in the world did I get here?
My eyes searched the cavernous tunnel. A massive river of dirty, oily water floated on both sides of me. The current was slow, almost languid, and carried a garbage dump’s worth of plastic bags, ripped clothing, and candy wrappers.
The ever-present concrete ledges poked out from either side of the tunnel, maybe twenty feet away. Graffiti of varying quality adorned the walls, providing some color to an otherwise bleak setting. An outdated video camera, covered in cobwebs and dust, stuck out from the western wall. I doubted it even worked.
But no matter where I turned my head, I saw no signs of life. Well, to be more accurate, there were no signs of people. Life, however, was plentiful.
It was also creepy.
Cockroaches crept their way up a pillar to my side. Frightened rodents scurried across the concrete island, squealing and slipping under my boots. Pigeons flew back and forth above me, like vultures circling their meal. I felt queasy just looking at them.
Leaning down, I shook Beverly hard.
She didn’t move.
Gently, I slapped her face.
Still no movement.
I slapped her harder.
This time, her eyes fluttered open and brightened in recognition.
Abruptly, a rat ran over her chest. Caught off guard, she scurried backward and looked around, wild-eyed. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know. But we’re surrounded by water, so the only way we’re going to find out is by taking a swim.”
She made a face. “Just what I hoped for…another dip in New York’s cesspool.”
“Thanks,” I said after a moment. “You saved my life.”
She shrugged. “I’m the one who put you in danger in the first place. And anyway, I should be thanking you. You kept me from drowning.”
“I thought you pulled us out of the water.”
“That wasn’t me.”
“Then who…?”
“Honestly, I don’t remember. I hit my head when I fell into the water. I guess we can safely say that there’s no electricity running through the third rail.”
“A good thing too.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
I shook my head. “Not so fast.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Since I met you, I’ve been manipulated, Tasered, and kidnapped. I found my friend’s dead body and searched for an alligator that shouldn’t exist. Now, I’m running for my life in the middle of a closed subway system. So do me a favor and tell me something. Just what the hell is going on around here?”
“You’re right,” she admitted. “I owe you an explanation. Unfortunately, I’m short on facts. Jack and Ryan kept me in the dark most of the time.”
“You must know something.”
“For over three decades, Jack has searched for something called die Glocke. It’s his obsession. I don’t know much about it. But I do know that it’s some sort of weapon. And not just any weapon. It’s a strange, horrific weapon capable of killing thousands of people. He swears it will revolutionize warfare.”
“It’s over thirty years old. How revolutionary can it be?”
“It’s rated Priority Alpha. Only a handful of ShadowFire projects have ever received that ranking. Jack has directed every available resource to finding and recovering die Glocke. He’ll kill anyone who gets in his way as well as anyone who’s outlived his usefulness.”
“Like me?”
“Like you. Jack needed you to help him find the laboratory. Once you succeeded, you became expendable.”
“Is that why you cut me loose?”
She nodded. “After we found the dead bodies, I knew we were on the right track. I had to tell Jack but as soon as I did, I knew he’d kill you.”
“I don’t get you.” I shook my head. “You tried to keep me out of harm’s way but continued to help search for a weapon that could harm thousands of others. What gives?”
“I wasn’t just trying to find die Glocke. I was trying to destroy it.”
“Why?”
“For the last few years, I’ve helped ShadowFire wage war across the globe. No matter what, I’ve always convinced myself that the good we did outweighed the bad. And part of me still believes that. But die Glocke changed everything, including Jack. All of a sudden, he started seeing the world in an entirely different way. It’s as if he’s on the verge of gaining untold power. Power that he intends to wield against his enemies. And if die Glocke is as deadly as I think, well, I can’t allow him to have it.”
“Sounds risky. What if you found it but couldn’t destroy it in time?”
“I knew he’d find it with or without me. Better that I help him and maybe give myself a chance to blow it up.”
“I guess you’re not as heartless as I thought.”
“Thanks…I think.”
I thought for a second. “Okay, I assume you know about the alligator and the underground river?”
She nodded. “When we crawled through the bedrock tunnel, I heard running water. I knew right then there was an underground river in the vicinity. And when I saw the bodies in the sewer, I realized we were dealing with an alligator attack. I took some tissue samples while your back was turned. Tests showed the presence of several metal compounds including significant traces of thorium dioxide and beryllia, or beryllium oxide.”
“Thorium dioxide? But that means that the water is…”
“Yes,” she said. “It’s radioactive.”