Gwen laughed bitterly, “What does it matter Sixty men or six hundred You and I don’t stand a chance in hell of doing anything to stop him.”
Anselm had to admit that she had a point, but he wasn’t willing to give up so soon. There had to be a way, even if it was just warning the people in the tower. If they revolted against the terrorists, they could easily run over whatever men Abdallah had. It would be messy, almost certainly, but it was possibly the only way.
The only question was what other insurance did the terrorist have
Explosives
The threat of being blown up was an effective deterrent, to be sure. Especially when you might not have enough guns to watch over a population effectively.
Of course, once they were infected, the people would become considerably more docile. They’d have other things to worry about, their bodies being weakened by the combination of illness and radiation.
It could very well be that this was what Amir was holding up his sleeve as population control.
In the end, though, it didn’t matter because Anselm didn’t have much choice in his course of actions. He had to prevent Abdallah from releasing that virus, one way or another.
“Where do you keep the precinct weapons” He asked grimly.
She stared at him, eyes widening, “Are you daft! You don’t stand a chance if you go in there, guns blazing like some movie character!”
“I’m not going to challenge Abdallah to a showdown in the town square, if that’s what you mean.”
“That might have a chance compared to anything else you might think up!” She snapped.
“Damn it, Gwen, I can’t let him release that virus,” Anselm told her firmly. “There’s no choice.”
“Suicide isn’t a choice, Anselm, it’s a stupidity. Now stop thinking with your little head and try contributing something to the solution!”
“Damn it, Inspector, I’m not talking about going out with guns blazing!” He snapped back, “But I’m going to need more than my automatic no matter what we decide!”
“We need help,” She told him flatly, rising to her feet.
“Fine, I’ll just wave my hands and say presto!” He told her sarcastically, “Instant help.”
A slow, rhythmic clapping filled the room and both of them spun to the front of the main offices and stared in shock and surprise at the nearly twenty men in black tactical gear standing there carrying large, and presumably heavy, duffel bags.
The man who was clapping smirked at them, “Not to interrupt the lovely bit of a lovers spat and all, but did someone here call for backup”
“Ma’am, we just lost contact with the Interpol Agent.”
Natalie Cyr looked up sharply. “What”
“Our system was just refused access to the precinct’s local hub,” The technician said again, “It just went dead on us.”
Natalie exchanged glances with Carl Severson, who had been monitoring the progress, and their expressions darkened together.
“Not good, Natalie.” The DCI told her grimly.
“Stating the obvious isn’t going to get us much of anything,” She replied dryly, shaking her head. “The question is, what happened An electronic break Or something worse”
“Find out.” He told her, “Before we send any of our men into the breach, or ask the Aussies to send any of theirs.”
Too late for that, Natalie thought grimly, but she nodded anyway.
“Right,” She said aloud.
“I’m Lieutenant Greene, Agent,” A young dark haired man said, stepping forward out of the group of men, extending his hand towards Gunnar. “We were ostensibly sent to provide security for Agent Somer’s husband however, judging from your discussion with the lady, may I assume that things are not quite as they were”
Anselm smiled wryly, nodding as he took the officer’s hand, “You could say that. We’ve got a minimum of sixty terrorists, presumably heavily armed, with several thousand local hostages. To make matters worse, our evidence suggests that they have a weapon of mass destruction and that they intend to use it.”
The other men uttered muffled curses, but one of them, an older man, stepped forward with a grim look on his face.
“Agent Gunnar, I’m Major Malcolm.” He said curtly, “I’m going to need a full situation report.”
Anselm glanced to the man, whose dress and insignia marked him as Australian Special Air Service, then back at the Interpol Lieutenant.
“The Major and his men were, unofficially, dispatched to escort us and provide such help as they could,” Greene said with a wry shrug.
Anselm nodded, smiling slightly, and turned to the Major, “Alright Major, here’s the situation. We’ve got a lunatic with a bio-weapon, and he doesn’t have any demands. He intends to infect the local population, and then use the thermal properties of the Tower to spread the disease into the Jetstream to kill millions.”
The men stared at him for a moment, before they finally reacted.
“Bloody fucking hell.”
The sentiment was echoed, in various forms, among the men but the Major just looked grimmer.
“I have to contact my superiors,” He said after a moment’s thought, “This situation isn’t what I was intending to walk into.”
Anselm snorted, “You and me both. Good luck with that.”
“Pardon me”
“All normal lines of communication are cut off,” Gwen Dougal put in, shaking her head. “Portables aren’t getting any signal, and the main trunk lines to the Network are all cut.”
The Major nodded slowly for a moment, “Makes sense. Alright, Kenny!”
“Sir!”
“Set up the radio, get me a line back to the base.” Malcolm ordered, “Mick, you take Johnson and Teal up to the roof and give me a watch.”
The men nodded and quickly set about doing their work, leaving the rest of them to listen as the Major turned back to Anselm, “Alright, a more detailed brief now, if you please”
Anselm nodded, tipping his head toward the center of the police station, where the largest wall screen was located. “Come on, I’ll give you what we have.”
“Very good then.”
“How many people do we have”
Jacob glanced down at his computer, checking the latest numbers, then grunted softly, “Thirteen thousand, Amir.”
Abdallah nodded, his face seemingly serene, but Jacob wasn’t fooled by that look. Some men had the ability to compartmentalize their rage, lock it away beneath the surface like the calm sea. Only a fool, though, would look at that calm sea and not recognize the power of the seething currents beneath it. Jacob didn’t fancy himself a fool, and so he didn’t underestimate the hidden anger that lay in his superior.
“That’s within the minimum requirements,” Abdallah said after a moment.
Jacob hid a flinch, and nodded. “True, Amir. And we can increase concentrations if we push them in closer to the center of the facility.”
Amir shook his head, “Not necessary, the wind currents will do that for us. Better to stick with the plan, Jacob. They will be easier to handle if we leave them in the reception areas.”
“Yes Amir,” Jacob agreed. “People are still coming in, and probably will continue to do so.”
Abdallah nodded, “Yes. We will let them until the last possible moment, but it is time to begin deploying our defenses. secretly, Jacob! Secretly.”
“Of course, Amir.”
Amir sighed, hiding the tremor that was forming in his right hand by grabbing a rail in front of him. “Such plans we have laid, Jacob. To have them.reduced at the last moment in this manner. It is.infuriating.”