Amoeba (The Experiments) (84 page)

Elbows on knees, leaning drastically forward in a chair before a television, Aldo sat in the center of the other six investors who just about had as much distraught written across their faces as Aldo did. Aldo swore with every town or city Beth Chase read off, and he pulled the bottom of his eyelids further down with his finger tips.

“ . . .Keanae, Hana, Wailakul, Hilo, and finally Haw
aii.” Beth set the list aside. “In the past six hours, official confirmation has surfaced regarding the finding of the microorganism in those cities. President Wilson stated there will be no hesitation in handling this. Some experts are questioning, when will it stop? How far will it extend? How much death and destruction will it take before they search out another way to destroy these microorganisms? And there are others who believe and support the destruction, saying that every measure should be taken, no matter how far or extreme, to ensure that
we
, not these microorganisms, are the ones remaining when it is all said and done with.”

Aggravated, Aldo slid his hands down his face the rest of the way as he stood up. “Someone ought to tell these people
that every extreme step
is
being taken.” He shook his head slowly. “We just don’t know for certain . . . if extreme is even enough.”

8:30 a.m.

Jake zipped up what he knew would be the last of the bags. He had vowed the night before that he wouldn’t be packing anything
, not even his toothbrush. Yet there he stood jamming a stack of papers into the only bag he and Cal would take. A small bag nonetheless. If it was up to Jake, he would have told everyone to just buy new things. But when Cal started complaining, so did everyone else.

“Sarge
, like, I’m ready.” Rickie dropped the small knapsack on the floor by Jake’s bag.

Jake held his hand out to Cal. “Now see. That. That little bag right there is what I’m talking about. Not this.” Jake nudged his bag with his foot.

“Jake, that’s Billy’s work in there. I can’t leave it behind.”

“Disk
, Cal. He has it on disk.” Jake raised his eyebrows.

“Jake, we’re leaving the experiment early. Do you think we’ll get paid
?”

“Oh
, yeah.” Jake nodded. “I already checked on that one. I’d be really fuckin pissed if I went through this whole ‘the world’s gonna end’ charade and not get paid because they pulled us early to go along with their show.” Jake closed one eye and tilted his head when Rickie and Cal both whined his name at the same time. “Stop that will you.”

Cal’s mouth dropped open. “My God
, you are miserable. You know I am not recalling you being this bad last experiment when we were getting ready to leave.”

“Cal, I don’t recall
in the last experiment having to do all the shit I have to do now.” Jake looked down to the stuff they had to take. “Look at this. We probably have a little fuckin dingy. Let’s just hope Stan doesn’t have . . .” Jake’s words were interrupted when two suitcases and a smaller bag dropped to the floor. “Oh no. Only what you need. The last thing I want is my wife to sink into the ocean because you have to take your luggage.”

“Jake, I’ll have you know.” Stan pointed. “One of those contains disks full of data for the experiment.”

“Which one?” Jake asked.

“That one.” Stan pointed to the smaller blue bag.

“See the other ones?”

“Yes.”

“They stay.” Jake held his finger up when he saw Stan’s mouth open. “No. Say nothing. Now, Cal.” He turned to her. “Get those straps ready like I told you and the blanket. Stan.” Jake waved to him. “Come with me, we have to find that table to rig up. Rickie . . .” Jake walked backwards. “Take the rest of the illegal drugs and get Billy as high as you can. He’s not doing good, and the last thing we need is for his mental state to affect his physical state if this rescue gets rough.”

“Got it
, Sarge.”

“And Rickie . . .” Jake reached the door. “Keep
her
out of that closet when you’re doing it.” He received a sloppy Rickie-salute, then Jake turned and walked out. He paused in his walking with Stan by the open closet door. Billy lay half awake, covered by blankets, his face white, eyes dark, and his body shook as he seemed to continuously cough. “Bill.”

Billy slowly lifted his head and partially opened his eyes. “Jake
,” he spoke weakly.

“Get ready
, pal. Rickie’s gonna hook you up, get you in the mood to travel. Cal’s gonna come in here, get you cleaned up, and then . . .” Jake gave a thumbs up. “We’re going home.”

“Home.” Billy’s closed his eyes again, dropped his head to the right and fell back to sleep.

Jake took a second to look and he started walking with Stan again. “They know he needs medical attention as soon as we land, right?”

“Yeah
, they do,” Stan said. “But is Billy going to make it till we land?”

Jake really had
to hesitate before he answered Stan. He reached to his gut, calling upon his instincts for an answer. “I believe he will.”

“Believe or hope?”

Jake kept walking.

10:47 a.m.

There was a rush of excitement in the control room. Greg buzzed about. A hum of conversation filled the air instead of the dreaded news. Colin sifted through his final calculations. And Lyle worked with Kirk, the only other remaining monitor.

“They’re in the air,” Lyle announced.

“Yes.” Greg clenched his fist in a near skip across the room to the monitoring table. “Colin. ETA until we have an all clear and lift our people
?

Colin flipped a sheet of paper. “Seeing that were gonna do a thicker coat of ice, twelve-forty-five. One p.m. at the latest.”

“Immediately detonating the napalm and the nuclear device . . .”

“No later than one fifteen.” Colin smiled.

“We’re rolling.” Greg twitched his head with a grin.

“Sir.” Kirk called Greg’s attention. “President Wilson is on the line.”

With all the optimism Greg was feeling he was more than happy to take the call. “Probably wants to check our progress. Put him on the speaker phone, Kirk.”

Kirk pressed a button. “He’s there.”

“President Wilson.” Greg spoke with a smile.

“Greg.” President Wilson didn’t sound as upbeat.

“Sir, we are in the air and on our way to the island now. Within two and a half hours we believe this whole episode will be put behind us.”

“Greg.” President Wilson state
d his name firmly again. “You may want to pull back your choppers.”

“Why?” Greg asked. “We’re very optimistic about this.”

“Russia and China . . . they rescinded.”

An immediate hush took over the control room.

Greg had to take a breath, shuffling through the confusion he felt. “What do you mean, rescinded?”

“In the wake of the new amoeba findings, they feel that they cannot wait any longer or take any
more chances.”

Greg had a laugh to his voice. “What the hell are they gonna do
, jump the gun ahead of us? Get to that island before us?”

“They are forcing my hand as the leader of this country
.” President Wilson said. “I am synchronizing my clearing of the infested areas with your annihilation of the island.”

“So what is the problem
, then? This is good. We hit them all at the same time.” Greg tried his hardest not to lose his hopefulness.

“The problem is . . . these new findings and how many there are. They are saying our efforts are minimal in stopping the wide spread infestations. Their satellites are focused. They are in launch mode as we speak. If they don’t see that the nesting has been successfully eliminated, then at two p.m. today your time they will initiate what they are calling a clean sweep of the entire pacific region
until not a single amoeba . . . nothing is left. Islands. Life. Full scale. Including the entire western United States seaboard. We are ready to defend and retaliate, but I’m sure once it starts, you know where it ends.”

Greg’s head dropped. The rustling and shuffling of everyone standing up was the only sound heard.

“Greg.” The President’s voice cracked. “This is war. And you, my friend, and your people are standing at ground zero. You can follow through with your plan if you want. Or . . . or you can let us handle it, abort your mission, and get out of Los Angeles while you still have time to do so. It’s your call.” There was silence while President Wilson waited for an answer. “What are you going to do?”

Slowly, but with force
, Greg lifted his clenched fist and brought it down to the table in defeat. His eyes peered up to the clock that ticked down on the monitor screen. “Give me one minute to think about it. I’ll call you right back.” With a shaking finger Greg pressed the button and disconnected the call. Just as the wave of murmuring questions swelled up, Colonel Johnson’s voice was heard above them all.

“Dr. Haynes, sir.” He stood by the partially open door. “Dr. Haynes.”

Greg looked up. “Yes, Colonel.”

“The CIA just dropped off this man. They said that you’ve been searching for him.” Colonel Johnson stepped inside. The door opened
, Colonel Johnson stepped out, and in walked Ian Carrington. He was short, older, grey haired, and he looked so much like Dr. Jefferson.

“Carrington.” Greg’s eyes widened. “Oh my God.”

Aldo and the other investors looked at Carrington, smiling with hope at him as he walked into the room, hoping this was the bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Stout and stern
, Carrington straightened his suit coat as he walked slowly down the few steps with his eyes focused on Greg. “I didn’t want to be found.”

“I know that.”

“Especially with all that is going on.
I
. . .” He shouted. “Did not want to be found! Seventeen members of my family are in Hawaii right now, waiting to die!” He stepped even closer to Greg. “Everything I built and lived for is going down because of your stupidity!” Carrington raged. “You were warned! You were told. And what did you do?!”

“I’m sorry.” Greg s
hook his head. “But right now, what mistakes were made don’t need to be discussed. Now is not the time.”

“You are absolutely right.” Carrington nodded. “Now is not the time to discuss your mistakes. Now is the time to make you
pay
for what you’ve done to this world!” With a quick turn of his body, Carrington reached into the opening of his suit jacket, pulled out a semi-automatic revolver, lifted it, aimed at Greg, and fired four shots straight into his chest. The force sent Greg back and spinning to the floor, a huge blood puddle growing under him. Lyle leaped forward as he saw Carrington’s aim shift. Reaching for the gun, Carrington fired again, nailing Lyle in the gut, sending him up in the air and crashing with a bang onto the monitor table.

The door to the control room burst open and in charged Col
onel Johnson and four soldiers. They saw Carrington holding the gun and turning his body, aiming at them.

Aldo saw it coming. “NO!” he cried out. “No
, don’t shoot him! He’s the only one . . .”

Four shots were fired from Col
onel Johnson’s extended gun. Carrington jolted from the blows, dropped his revolver, and dropped to the floor, like Greg and Lyle . . . dead.

Aldo’s face sunk within his palms. “. . . who can stop this.”
He growled in anger lifting his head and glaring at Colonel Johnson. “You asshole! You just shot the only fuckin person on the face of the earth that can stop this!”

Col
onel Johnson shook, the news nearly bolting him over. “I . . . I didn’t know. He had a gun.”

Aldo wanted to pull out his hair. In fact
, he grabbed the sides of it and screamed from his gut, looking at the bloodbath around him. Greg lying dead on the floor. Carrington. Lyle.

Col
onel Johnson regained his composure. “Let’s get them out of here.” He motioned his head to his men and to the bodies. In sync, they bent down to the carnage and began to lift and drag them out.

The investors watched in horror.

“The clock is ticking!” Colin called out loudly, his voice bringing about a pause to all that happened in the room. He held the phone up. “The President needs an answer. Abort or continue? Whatever the decision, we need an answer now.” His eyes shifted about the room.

Watson jumped up and raged to the stairs. “I’m getting out of LA.” He bolted to the door.

“Wait for me.” Lancing followed in a rush.

“Me too.” George ran right behind him. “We’ll take my car. And my plane.”

Colin watched the men leave and the door slam shut. He looked at Aldo, Douglas, Ivan, and Daniela. “Someone make the call.”

Aldo looked at the men who stood with him, then at the screen. He huffed out a breath. “Christ.” Stepping over the puddle of blood that came from Greg’s body
, he reached for the phone. “Give me that.” He snatched it from Colin’s hand. “Wilson . . . never mind who this is, just listen. Our choppers stay in the air. It’s a go.” Aldo hung up the phone. “Kirk, tell our pilots to hang in there. Colin, monitor our stats. Daniela, you’re the video game guy, work with Captain Kirk here with our detonation sequences.” He faced a stunned Douglass and Ivan. “You two are our new monitors. Watch everything.”

Ivan’s shoulder
s sank. “Wh . . what the hell do we know about all this?”

“We know as much about this rescue as anyone
,” Aldo stated strongly. “We’ve been through this plan with them a million times.” He looked around. “Where is that headset?” Aldo took it when Kirk extended it up to him. “Gentlemen, we can do this. We
will
do this.” He put on the headset. “Now let’s get our people off this goddamn island, blow the son of a bitch up, and put an end to all this fuckin shit.” Aldo stood ready, while everyone else, with some hesitancy, took their position. But before they continued and Aldo prepared to be connected to Jake, . . . he lit up a cigarette.