JIA HUANG MOVED silently through the trees, her senses on alert. The cloudy skies shrouded the moon, making the jungle even more dark and dangerous than it already was. She would have preferred a clearer night, but she didn’t have time to wait around for better conditions. She needed to complete the first phase of her mission now.
She slipped from one trunk to the next, pausing every so often to listen. The rainforest was filled with the noises of all the various night creatures — birds, owls, and insects — making it difficult to hear anything else.
Even though her quarry were smart and crafty, they were no match for Jia. A native of the rural Nanling Mountains of South China, she had spent her childhood climbing trees, scaling cliffs, and tracking animals. She had even perfected the art of following people hiking through the woods near her home. At times, she was able to hide just feet from campers sitting around a fire. She was so stealthy that one of her Chinese trainers had nicknamed her Ghost.
Jia’s destination was a clearing a quarter mile from the beach. It was the intersection of several trails used by the creatures, which was what she called her prey. Even though they were once human, no one would ever call them that now. Their humanity had disappeared long ago. From what she could tell, they killed, ate, slept, and fought over territory, activities typically associated with animals. They were experiments gone wrong.
Over the last twenty-four hours, Jia had tracked their movements from the safety of the canopy. During that time, she had learned the creatures hunted primarily by smell. She guessed that oddity had come from the manipulation of their genes. She had also noticed that they were averse to light. They remained hidden during the day then came out at night to find food.
As she neared her destination, Jia stopped one last time to listen. Hearing nothing out of the ordinary, she entered the clearing and slid the backpack off her shoulder. Crouching, she removed several ziplock plastic bags. Each one contained chicken she had purchased at the market the day before. She had purposely left the meat out all day to enhance its pungent odor.
After putting on gloves, Jia opened each bag and dumped the contents onto the soft earth. The smell was overwhelming, and she was careful to make sure none of the meat touched her body. If any of the scent transferred to her clothing or skin, the creatures would easily detect her.
With the bait set, she stood and tossed the bags and gloves behind a nearby tree. She followed a trail that ran north from the clearing. A minute later, she found one of the many trip wires set up across the island. Reaching out, she placed her hand in front of the beam, triggering the sensor. Even though she couldn’t hear anything, the creatures had, and they would be there in minutes.
She turned and ran back to the clearing before scaling a tree she had picked out earlier that day. She moved from limb to limb with ease. Having climbed all her life, she was almost as comfortable in trees as she was on the ground.
She stopped about midway up. Since the creatures relied heavily on smell, her goal was to get her body scent as far away from the ground as possible while at the same time keeping her close enough to take a shot.
A rustling of undergrowth sounded from close by. The creatures had already arrived. Reaching down, she removed a semi-automatic pistol from its holster. After checking the magazine, she pulled the suppressor out of her pocket and screwed it onto the muzzle. She was ready.
A minute later, three of the creatures arrived at the edge of the clearing. From her vantage point, she could see them crouched behind the trunks of trees. One lifted its head in the air, sniffing for any sign of danger. Perhaps they were surprised by the presence of raw meat. They were humans and therefore probably sensed something was out of place. Even so, Jia knew they wouldn’t be able to resist the free meal.
A minute later, their hunger overrode fear. One of the creatures gave a low grunt, then all three entered the clearing at once. Hunched like apes, they crawled over to the pile of chicken breasts. After sniffing them briefly, they tore into the food like starved animals, growling as they tore the meat apart.
Jia needed to act before more of them arrived for the buffet. Wrapping her legs tightly around the limb, she leaned out as far as she could then lifted her pistol slowly. She aimed at the nearest creature and pulled the trigger. A cough sounded from the muzzle, and the creature tumbled over. The other two paused briefly as though confused by what had happened. Lifting the pistol again, Jia shot the remaining ones in quick succession.
After climbing down, she walked over and surveyed the bodies. Perfect. As usual, she had killed with efficient precision.
She opened her backpack and removed three syringes and a special biological materials container. She walked over to the nearest body, crouched beside it, and stabbed the bicep with one of the needles. Once she had drawn a sufficient amount of blood, she placed the syringe in the container. She then repeated the process with the other two creatures.
Her work was done, and it was time to leave. As she stood, she heard a low growl behind her. She cursed under her breath. It was another of the creatures. She had been so focused on retrieving the samples that she hadn’t heard it approach.
Turning, she saw a dark figure crouched at the edge of the circle. Its legs were gathered underneath its body, like a predator ready to spring.
Jia looked around. She had set her gun down next to her backpack, and both were at least ten yards away.
As she pondered her next move, the creature charged with shocking speed. Acting on instinct, Jia rolled out of the way at the last second. The creature blew past but turned and recovered quickly. Jia rose up into a defensive position. She knew her life was in danger now. She had seen the size of the creatures’ musculature up close. If one of them ever got its hands on her, it would rip her to pieces.
Screaming with rage, the creature charged again. As it came toward her, Jia saw something out of the corner of her eye. The pistol. She was closer to it than before. Turning, she dove and grabbed the gun with her right hand. As the creature leaped into the air, she rolled onto her back and fired two shots. The creature slammed into her, knocking the gun out of her hand.
Jia waited, expecting the strong fingers to close around her throat. But nothing happened. Seconds later, she felt blood seeping across her chest. She felt no pain, so she knew it wasn’t hers. She breathed a sigh of relief. The rounds had found their mark.
Once her strength returned, Jia pushed the body off of her. She wanted to rest for a few minutes, but she knew she couldn’t afford to. More creatures would arrive soon, and she needed to be gone by the time they got there.
She stood and gathered her things. She had accomplished her first task, but the biggest task was yet to come. In less than twenty-four hours, she would enter the research facility and retrieve the biggest prize of all, the weapon her country had sought for so long.
Slinging the backpack over her shoulder, Jia snapped a fresh magazine into her pistol and disappeared into the trees.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
MOST OF THE Delphi team rose early the next morning. After eating a light breakfast of English muffins and scrambled eggs, Zane poured himself a second cup of coffee and exited through the back door. He needed to get away from all the conversation to clear his mind.
A stiff breeze caressed his face as he crossed the deck and stood at the rail. Their rental house — a white bungalow with a red tile roof — was set on a hill just north of Terre-de-Haut. It was one of the most expensive rental properties on the island, but it had been well worth the price. Zane liked the fact that it was some distance from the other houses in the area. He also liked the home’s isolation; the nearest neighbor was about a hundred yards away. That and the large hedgerow encircling the property gave them all the privacy they could ask for.