Resurface Page 20

  The pilot glanced to the south. They were down there, lost in the cold white expanse, heading to goodness knows where, to do goodness knows what. Whatever it was, some very important people wanted to know about it. He shook his head. Sometimes life was simpler just being disconnected from that kind of knowledge.

  He checked his instruments and flew home.

  Lentz and Kate sat strapped within the confines of a metal cage. The skeletal structure was ultra-light, designed for rigidity, supporting four over-sized bubble tyres and a single mast with a semi-rigid sail. It was similar to an ice yacht, but with wheels instead of blades it was designed to cover broken terrain – a wind-powered four-wheel drive. They bounced hard over a rock on the route the navigation system had chosen.

  "That hurt!" Kate shouted.

  "The satellite resolution is only so good," Lentz replied.

  "Couldn't we have been dropped within walking distance? Or with a proper four-wheel drive?"

  "Landing closer would have meant risking detection. As for an actual vehicle, did you think we'd have dropped a Land Rover out by parachute? Anyway, because this thing has no power, it makes almost no sound. They won't see or hear us coming."

  "If we're still alive to travel that far. What if the wind drops?"

  "Then we'll travel more slowly, but trust me, I've read the weather reports for this region: it never drops." Lentz peered at something on the navigation display. "Have you run your suit diagnostic?"

  "Twice. Is it actually going to work? You haven't tested half this stuff properly."

  "I did what I could with the time we had." Lentz tapped the screen. "At this speed we should be there in ninety minutes. Presuming we don't hit a boulder on route."

  "The good news just keeps on coming--"

  "Or a polar bear," Lentz said with a smile. "And then of course there could be a blizzard--"

  "Let's just stop the speculation, shall well?" Kate hissed. "Before you can think of anything worse."

  Seventy-Six

  THE GROUND CREW AT CAPE Cod Air Force Base opened the hood of the modified F-15 Eagle and helped Reems clamber out of the rear seat. She nodded a quick thanks to the pilot, although she was fairly sure he'd taken a few liberties with the flight parameters in the interests of getting them here in the shortest possible time. She'd travelled in many different aircraft in her time, but not one that exceeded Mach Three. The acceleration had been brutal, almost suffocating – but then the need was great. Heat radiated from the fuselage as she climbed down the metal gantry. Connor Truman stood waiting. He did not extend his hand.

  "This had better not be some kind of joke," he said.

  "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

  He walked them over to a nearby building. They were waved into a small conference room. There was coffee waiting.

  "You checked this place?" Reems asked.

  "I had it swept two hours ago." He paused. "And again ten minutes ago. Now start talking."

  Reems poured herself a large cup of coffee. "We may only get one chance to contain this situation. I know where they are." She added three sugars to her cup. "Bern. Faraday. Maybe your stolen tech. The intel comes from Dominique Lentz. She had recent contact with Tom Faraday and Alex Marron, without reporting it. She also made technical discoveries relating to another CERUS legacy project, codenamed Resurface. Discoveries we believe were transmitted out of the country. And she was in the vicinity of Northwell A around the time of the explosion. She then left the UK via a black ops flight. She thought she was untraceable." Reems paused, stirring her coffee. "But I know where she is."

  "Don't be coy."

  "It's an extremely remote location in Northern Canada. It can only be the CERUS beta site."

  Truman took a deep breath. "Perhaps you should have watched her more closely. She had been off the grid for twenty-five years. Did you ever really know what happened to her in that time?"

  "At this point all I know is that she's not reporting her actions."

  Truman shrugged. "A corporate role can have more impact on national security than an intelligence position these days."

  "We can get in to the finger-pointing later."

  "You told me to pull together a task force. I have two destroyers and a couple of smaller craft in the North Atlantic." He paused. "Plus an aircraft carrier. I'm also moving one of our submarines to the area, but you're just going to have to take my word for that."

  "Air support?"

  "From the carrier. Plus long range bombers standing by."

  "Will you need to involve the Canadians?"

  "Director Banetti is managing that. I note you haven't brought anything to the table."

  "Other than all the intel. And it's hardly on our doorstep – our forces aren't in the right location."

  "And where is that location exactly?"

  Reems leaned towards him, tapping him in the chest with a slender finger. "Give me your word you're not simply going to launch a bunch of cruise missiles at the site. Lentz may have made a bad decision, but she is a friend: I don't want to see her die. And Faraday may well be there. We definitely don't want to see him die."

  "We just want our technology back."

  "More than you want to risk it being used by someone else?"

  "You have my word."

  "Yes, I believe I do. Do you trust Banetti?"

  "He asked me the same question about you. I guess we're both going to have to take a leap of faith."

  Seventy-Seven

  TOM WATCHED THE LIFT DESCEND to Sub Level 8. He was surrounded by guards, all heavily armed. George Croft stood next to him, handcuffed. They were pushed roughly out of the lift, along a long corridor, then inside a spacious room, lined with equipment and display screens. The air was filled with the hum of electricity and the cold wet smell of something that was not quite organic, but not quite inorganic. In the middle of the room were five huge vats, heavy cables connecting them to a bank of computer servers. It was a nanite production facility based on the methodology used for Tantalus nanites. The technology in this room would, in the past, have been the motherlode for him: a point to which his Interface could connect with impunity. But now he could feel nothing, and once again Tom was aware of how completely alone he was.

  He took it all in, then his attention moved to the group that had followed them into the room. A young man stood at the front. He had chiselled features, an almost regal bearing and a familiar look. Behind him was another, older, man.

  His father.

  Tom felt a tightening in his chest. He had hoped never to see his father again, and now that he did, he had nothing to say.

  Bern glanced at him, and made the barest of nods. His eyes gave nothing away, his expression remaining blank.

  It was the young man who spoke first. "Mr Faraday, my name is Andrei Leskov. You met my father a year ago."

  "Only briefly."

  "So I understand. I'd like to ask a question about him."

  Tom blinked. "Ask away."

  "How did he die?"

  "I was in a helicopter with him. Something messed with our weapons systems so that we opened fire. The government simply responded."

  "And you didn't think to save him as you made your own escape?"

  "I was his prisoner, so I wasn't really in a position to save anyone. I'm still not sure exactly how I got out."

  "Or perhaps you committed the sabotage using your abilities."

  "I never asked to be part of this nonsense. And now I've been injected again, with some sort of dark nano. So don't talk to me like I'm the one who had any choice in anything."

  Leskov shrugged. "What's happened has happened, but you will help me with what happens next. As will your father."

  "And what exactly," Bern asked, "do you think I'm going to help you with?"

  "Fabienne, can talk you through it."

  The slender woman stepped forward, adjusting her glasses. "We're going to re-establish Project Tantalus."

  Bern laughed. "And how do you
plan on doing that given that everything was destroyed and all the scientists are dead, with the possible exception of Dominique Lentz. And she must be several thousand miles from here."

  "As you well know," Fabienne said, "a complete set of files were stored here a week before the events of last year, as part of the plan to move development to this site. Mr Brody has shared everything."

  "So what? It didn't work. The subjects all died, remember."

  "One of them lived," Leskov said. "One worked out extremely well."

  "Tom's situation is not replicable."

  "We know about the earlier experiments. We know about the overheating," Fabienne said. "And we know that for some reason combining the two meant Tom survived. We think we have a solution."

  Bern shrugged. "I don't know why you're telling me. You can screw things up on your own."

  Fabienne cleared her throat. "We just need your authorisation to activate the nanite replication suite." She walked over to one of the computers.

  "Not been able to work around the security?"

  "If we get the code wrong three times, the system will wipe."

  Bern raised an eyebrow. "How precarious for you."

  "Don't get any ideas, Mr Bern," Leskov said.

  "You're obviously going to kill me. What do I have to gain?"

  Leskov snapped his fingers again and one of the bodyguards passed over his handgun. Leskov stepped forward, pushing the barrel against Bern's forehead.

  "If you kill me, you won't get the code. I feel dumb even having to point that out."

  "Old habits. I usually only shoot people once." Leskov moved the barrel and jammed it against Bern's knee. "But in your case we can try many times. You have two knees, two hands. Maybe then I'll switch to a knife or pliers. Now I'm going to give you ten seconds." Leskov pushed the gun harder against his knee. "Can someone get some cloth? We don't want him bleeding out--"

  "OK," Bern shouted, "there's no need for that. I'll do it if you promise you won't just shoot me anyway."

  Tom stared at Leskov. "I can't believe either of you would trust the other."

  "Concern yourself with your own fate, Mr Faraday. You feature in my plans as well."

  "I won't help you."

  Leskov gave a snort and nodded to his men. "Unlike your father, you truly have no choice." Two of the men grabbed him firmly, while Fabienne approached with a large syringe, jabbing it into his upper arm.

  "Sorry about this," she said.

  Tom gritted his teeth as Fabienne pulled back on the syringe, drawing out his blood. He saw Bern walk over to the computer and type in a long code.

  "I'm sorry, son. It looks like I have no choice."

  Fabienne stepped back, holding up the syringe. "That should be enough to run a first parse."

  Leskov clapped his hands. "Excellent. Now put them both in the detention block while we check if there are any complications."

  "I did what you asked," Bern said.

  "Did you?" Leskov replied. "That's what I intend to confirm. Trusting you was my father's mistake. It won't be mine."

  Seventy-Eight

  THE BUILDING HAD SHOWN UP as a faint blip on their scanner when they were a kilometre distant. Lentz quickly turned it off, even as a blizzard moved in. Visibility was barely ten metres.

  Kate frowned at her. "You don't think we'll need the scanner to help find it?"

  "It's a big target and I know which direction to head. We don't want them detecting our equipment as we approach. We're going to need to lose this vehicle as well."

  Kate shrugged and adjusted her clothing. "Let's hope these super suits pull their weight."

  "I'm hoping for more than that."

  They clambered out of the vehicle's metal cage and shouldered slim but heavy backpacks, then trudged forward through the snow, as fresh flurries blew around them. The terrain rose steadily then fell away. Lentz dropped to the ground and shuffled forwards on her elbows until she was looking over the lip of the ridge. The huge silver-white dome lay before them, dusted with fresh snow. There were several outbuildings and two parked four-wheel drives, but no sign of any people.

  "Impressive," Lentz said. "Especially for something built without anybody knowing about it.

  "Another oversized CERUS structure," Kate said, shuffling up next to her. "Although I suppose we should give them credit for mixing it up and not going with another tower." She shivered visibly.

  "Cold?" Lentz asked.

  "I'm dealing with it, but it would be good to get inside. What's your plan?"

  "We have to get a security pass. We'll wing it from there."

  Kate rubbed a gloved hand over her face. "That's your plan?"

  "I don't know what's inside. CERUS Tower had publicly available blueprints and I'd been studying them for years. This place, as far as anyone is concerned, does not exist. Of course we have one big advantage. They don't know what's outside."

  "Us? I bet they'd be quaking if they knew." Kate pointed at the Dome. "So, shall we walk up and knock?"

  "No. We watch and wait. An opportunity will present itself."

  "If we don't freeze first."

  "Among your suit's more basic functions is a thermal booster. Use it."

  Kate glared. "Now you tell me..."

  Seventy-Nine

  THE DETENTION ROOM WAS PURPOSE built. It had prison-like metal-framed beds with foam mattresses, a metal toilet and very little else. There was no physical lock: it was electronic, with no panel on this side. Not that he could do anything about that any more, thought Tom. Nor could he do anything about the person sitting on the bed opposite him.

  "Kind of ironic that we should end up in here together," Bern said, scratching his chin.

  "Ironic how?"

  "You wanted to put me in prison. But you ended up in here with me."

  "You built a prison cell in your research facility," Tom said. "And you wonder why I don't admire you."

  Bern shrugged. "Sometimes people need to be dealt with."

  "By which you mean 'murdered'."

  "If I meant murdered, we wouldn't need a prison."

  "I don't know why I'm talking to you. And for that matter I don't know how I'm talking to you. I heard you were supposed to be dead. Again."

  Bern raised his hands. "Another of my convoluted attempts to escape justice. My plan was always to vanish, with the world thinking I was dead. But I've had time to reflect on things since then. I've realised I can't just run away from my mistakes."

  "Getting captured by Leskov has certainly flushed out your regrets."

  "An understandable conclusion. But that's not it."

  "Really? And what about that Fabienne? Aren't you mad with her for betraying you?"

  "I've treated a lot of people badly. Some might call it Karma."

  Tom laughed. "So you've finally seen the light? Was that before or after you had me injected with that dark stuff?"

  "You misunderstand. That was to protect you."

  "It's done nothing but cause me pain. I don't believe you've changed at all. You agreed to help Leskov far too quickly. I'm sure you have some other trick up your sleeve."

  Bern shrugged. "I'm sorry for what we did to you last year."

  "You're suggesting we go for coffee or something? That we hug and make up?"

  "That might be a bit of a leap, but I can take a step in the right direction by getting us out of here."

  Tom gave a snort. "And you have the key to this room in your pocket? Excuse my scepticism that you'd want to help me."

  "I've already helped you. I've made you useless to them. That dark nano is changing you, destroying your nanites."

  Tom's jaw hardened. "All I've noticed is pain."

  "I know a year ago you told me you wanted to keep the Interface. But hasn't the last twelve months changed your perspective? Don't you want to be normal again? Isn't that the best gift I can give you? The pain you're feeling now is an unfortunate side effect, but the fact that it is hurting means it is working. Anyway,
we can talk about that later. For now, I need you to trust me." Bern walked over to one of the walls and tapped the panel in the bottom right corner five times. With a hiss, it slid back. He reached in and produced two plastic pods, handing one to Tom.

  "What is it?" Tom asked, turning it over in his hands.

  "An advantage," Bern said. "This is my base. Leskov only thinks he is in charge."

  Eighty

  "JUST TELL ME WHAT IT means," Leskov said, as Fabienne finished her explanation of the on-screen test results.

  "It means," she said, "that the new nano particles introduced into Faraday's blood stream – I quite like the name dark nano – are working as intended. Faraday's abilities have been locked down. He is no threat to anyone."

  "But is he still a useful subject?"

  "If we can get the dark nano out. There are no guarantees."

  "We can progress that soon, but, for now, do we have all the information we require? Do we still need Bern?"

  "I suppose not," Fabienne said.

  "You're having second thoughts?"

  "I'm just wary. He plans so far ahead."

  "You think he planned for me?"

  "Of course not, but it might be wise to keep him around in case he has a secret or two in this base."

  Leskov shook his head. "Brody searched thoroughly all the way down to Sub Level 12. He found nothing."

  "Then I guess we can--"

  An alarm sounded. Fabienne reached over to her computer and called up a different screen. "It's the detention block. The cell door has been forced open."

  Leskov turned to four guards who were standing quietly to one side of the room. "With me. Now!"

  Leskov ran down the Sub Level 6 corridor followed by his four bodyguards and Fabienne. Two more guards stood outside the cell, standing at attention. They looked at him, puzzled.

  "Sir?" asked the first.

  "How did they get out? You were supposed to be guarding them," shouted Leskov.