The boys each studied it. “What prize?” one of them asked.
Dorian spread his hands. “That would be my question too. My, you’re clever, so very clever.” Dorian looked around. What prize indeed. He hadn’t thought they would ask. He hated kids. Almost as much as their questions. “We actually have several prizes. What…what prize would you like?”
The other boy put the printout on the bench. “Kate.”
“You want to see Kate?” Dorian said.
Both boys nodded, matching the rhythmic motion of their dangling legs.
“Well, I tell you what. If you find that room, and hide there, and wait, Kate will come and find you.” Dorian nodded when the boys’ eyes got bigger. “That’s right. I know Kate. We’re old friends, actually.” Dorian smiled to himself, for the inside joke, but the grin had the desired effect. The boys bounced subtly on the bench, excited.
A lab assistant entered with the packs. “Here they are, sir.” He helped Dorian put the packs on the children. “The snap activates the warheads. We’ve tried our best to make them tamper-resistant. If the snaps are disconnected, the warheads will detonate. As you requested, once they’re activated, there’s no manual or remote deactivation. We set the countdown for five hours.”
“Excellent work.” Dorian snapped the chest straps tight. He held the boys by the shoulders. “Now this is a very important part of the game. You can’t take these packs off. If you do, the game is over. No prize. No Kate. I know they’re kind of heavy. You can stop to rest if you need to, but remember — if you take them off — No. Kate. And there’s one last thing.” Dorian pulled out an envelope and pinned it to the taller boy’s chest. It had large script letters that read ‘Papa.’
Dorian put a few more pins in the envelope, ensuring it wouldn’t move. “If you see a man inside, an older man in a military uniform, you win the game — if you give him this envelope. So if you see him, you run to him and tell him that Dieter sent you. Can you remember that?”
The boys nodded.
Fifteen minutes later, Dorian watched from the command center as the two boys waddled toward the Bell almost two miles below the lab.
The deadly device didn’t so much as flicker. Ahead of them, a giant iron portal door opened in layers, like a reptile’s eyelid, Dorian thought.
He watched the monitors, which showed the camera feeds from the boys’ suits. Each video panned upward as the boys looked up at the Bell several hundred yards above them, hanging there in the massive dome of ice.
Dorian clicked a button. “It’s not going to hurt you. Just go on in. Remember the room with the tubes.” He unclicked the button and turned to the tech in the command center. “Can you put the computer image of the tubes on their suit display? Good.” He activated the link to the boys’ suits again. “There it is. Go in and find the tubes.”
Dorian sat back in the chair and watched the boys walk through the portal doors. Their camera feeds turned to static as the portal doors closed. On the other screens in the control room, Dorian could see the outside chamber and the Bell. The domed entryway was still. And dead quiet.
On the wall of screens, a digital readout ticked off the seconds of the countdown: 04:23:57, 04:23:56, 04:23:55.
CHAPTER 105
Transcript
White House Press Briefing regarding the “Flash Flu” Outbreak
Adam Rice (WH Press Secretary): Good morning everyone. I’m going to read a brief statement, then I’ll take a few questions. “The President and his administration are taking steps to assess and address the health concern the media is referring to as ‘The Flash Flu.’ Earlier today, The President ordered the CDC to dedicate all available resources to assessing the threat. Pending the results of that assessment, the White House may take further actions to ensure every American’s safety.”
[Rice sets the statement down and points at the first reporter.]
Reporter: Has the President set a timetable for closing the borders?
[Rice exhales and looks off-camera.]
Rice: The President has said repeatedly that closing the borders is a last resort. We know what the impact would be on American businesses, both large and small. Look, we understand there’s a public health issue here. But there’s also an economic risk. Closing the borders poses a very real risk to the American economy. The flu may affect many Americans, but closing the borders would definitely cause an immediate recession that would endanger more Americans — especially those at or below the poverty level — than a flu outbreak. We’re taking a balanced approach here. The President is not going to put anyone at risk — whether it’s at the hands of the flu or a trade recession.
Reporter: What’s your official response to the reports from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe?
Rice: We’re taking them seriously, but we’re also conducting a careful, balanced review of the information. We’re still working with incomplete information, and frankly, we don’t think all of it is reliable.
Reporter: Are you referring to the eyewitness reports, the videos—
[Rice holds a hand up.]
Rice: Look, as for the videos on the internet, it’s one of those things, you know, where you’re going to see the worst. No one makes a YouTube video about themselves sitting at home, healthy as can be, eating cereal or doing aerobics. They, you know, make these videos when there’s something sensational. We’ve all seen them at this point, some Japanese guy sitting at a sushi bar and puking blood everywhere, a lady at the grocery store collapsing in the vegetable aisle with white ooze running from her nose and fingernails. Hey, look, we’ve seen them and there are going to be more of them. If you live your life based on what you see on YouTube, you’re going to make some pretty poor decisions, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid here. It’s not even clear if these videos are real, and if they are, they could be related to any number of acute health issues.
[Rice holds both arms up.]
Rice: Ok, that’s it for today, thank you all.
CHAPTER 106
Clocktower Safe House
Gibraltar
The sunset over the Bay of Gibraltar was breathtaking. Soft shades of red, orange, and pink met the deep blue water of the Atlantic in the distance. About 100 yards away, the harbor ended and the rock rose out of the sea and land. Its gray and black clashed with the burning rays of sunlight sliding down its side.
Kate pulled the glass door back and walked out onto the tile-covered porch four stories above the streets of the harbor. Below her, armed guards patrolled the large house. A warm Mediterranean breeze engulfed her, and Kate leaned against the rail.