Amoeba (The Experiments) (83 page)

“We realize that perhaps you aren’t in the mood right now to talk about this, but we have to.”

“I know.”

“You ready?”

“Yes.” Jake set down his glass, picked up the pen
, and leaned back in the chair. “Go on.”

“Construction on the four Lawson Sprayers, our prototype
, will be complete in three days. We move into phase one on the fourth day. With me?”

Jake merely made a scoffing face.

“All right, here’s the way it will go. First, the Lawson Sprayer. We’ve redone the water tanks on fire rescue choppers. They will be attached with the Lawson sprayer. So, instead of dumping, it sprays, like a thin haze of rain. Not much, but not much will be needed. We’ve been testing in the desert. Instead of water, the tanks will be filled with liquid nitrogen. The first chopper will make its pass dumping everything it has from one tank strictly over the volcano. Then he’ll circle around with the second chopper, and side by side they will canvass the island releasing the liquid nitrogen down upon you. This should take approximately twenty minutes. When they are done, chopper one will lower the detonation devices down into the center at the same time chopper two lowers the encased nuclear device into the volcano. The lowering of these items will also be our tell tale sign if the amoebas are indeed frozen. If they aren’t, our men will get it. When it is all clear, that is where you and Stan come in. You have to lay out the detonation devices. We have a link system here and a five point plan. The control center is center. One detonation device will go there. We will send you a map of the region and where we want the other five set up. They will be placed in five points like a star. You’ll see that on the map. We have put together what we feel will be your shortest route. Set them up, get back to the center.”

“Whoa.” Jake held up his hand. “Get back to the center? When does the rescue take place? I want my wife off this island.”

“The next day.”

“Why the next day?”

“We have a problem,.” Greg explained. “Right now air pressure is stagnant. The hot air is moving in but it’s not going anywhere. Basically, you don’t realize it, but you’re in a heat wave and it’s not expected to lift. If it does, then the rescue will take place that day. But we don’t believe it will, and that’s why we have to do things this way. We got about two and a half safe hours of freeze time, Jake. That’s not much. We figure it’s gonna take you close to that to get those detonation devices squared away. The freezing process takes about, like I said, twenty minutes. We’re pushing it here. Once we get everything in place, the next day, our choppers refuel and head back out, and they will ice the island back up. They will then lower a boat down to shore, and when it is clear, you and the others will leave the center, head down to the beach, get in the boat, and row out three hundred and fifty feet where the chopper can safely pick you up, amoebas or not.”

“Why don’t they just pick us up on the beach
?”

“They can’t land or get close to the ground
,” Greg said. “The blades will generate the warm air, speeding up the reviving process. And besides, once the island is frozen, it’s gonna take awhile to get you to that beach. You’ve got an injured man you have to carry, and a very pregnant wife. It will be slick, and you’ll have to move slow.”

Jake was writing everything down. “When do we detonate?”

“You don’t. We do, once you are off that island. The link system works like this. We send a detonation signal from the center bomb, and it sends a signal out to the others. Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom. All six go off in sequence, napalm fries out the surface. You’re in the air, out of harm’s way, the nuclear device is activated. Bye-bye island.”

Jake dropped the pen and rubbed his eyes. “It sounds too simple.”

“We’ve been working it out to the finest detail for a while.” There was a hush of silence and Greg leaned his face close to the camera blocking out everyone and everything in the backdrop of the control room. He was so close that Jake could see the tickle of sweat on his brow. He looked serious, and he spoke with passion. “But don’t kid yourself, Jake. Anything can go wrong. We’re crossing our fingers here, balancing on an eyelash. We’ve only got one chance to make this work. After that, it is so far out of our hands, you don’t even know. We have got to do this in four days, and we have to do this right. And trust me when I tell you that four days is borrowed time.”

With arms folded to his body, Greg, standing next to Colin, looked up to the monitor screen and gave a tightly closed proud look to him.

“Looks good
,” Colin commented.

“And right on schedule. Start the clock
, Lyle.”

“You got it.”

“No matter where Jake is when that timer goes off, you tell him to get back in there,” Greg informed him. Watching Lyle nod his agreement, Greg saw something else, Colonel Johnson holding up a phone.

“Sir,
the President.”

Upbeat and optimistic, Greg raced to the phone. He retrieved it. “Dr. Haynes . . . yes
, sir. As we speak, sir. Yes. Right now they’re getting ready to mist the island up. We’ll lower the weapons down and get things set up. Oh. Oh that is great news.” Greg clenched his fist. “Thank you, sir. I will.” Greg hung up the phone, turned to Colin and the investors, and gave a thumbs up. “We’re validated. The President just informed me that Russia is gonna wait and see what we produce tomorrow before they make a decision on what they are doing at the end of the week.”

Near cheers emanated in the room.

Greg spun back around to Lyle laying a hand on his shoulder. “Get Stan to hook him and Jake up. I want to do a radio check before we send them out.” Greg peered up at the screens again and smiled.

Putting on the leather gloves, Jake’s head turned down the hall when the sound of Billy’s deep gurgling cough carried up to him. He adjusted his headset. “I hear you, Haynes. You’re breaking up some, but I hear you.”

“Good
,” Greg said through the radio. “We have that dish turned down, we don’t want it iced up too much. We’ll run another check after the nitrogen is dropped.”

“Got it.” Jake pulled on the last glove, turned his head to another cough, then to Cal who stood with him. “You’ve been moving Billy
, right?”

“Yes.”

“Prop him up more when you get back there,” Jake instructed her. “His lungs are filling up now.”

“I’ll do that.” Cal reached up and touched Jake’s face. “Why aren’t you wearing that suit?”

“I can’t, sweetie.” Jake turned his head to bring his lips to her palm. “It’s going to be cold. Slick. And I have to move. Besides, we’ll get an all clear beforehand.”

“Be careful.” Cal leaned out to kiss him.

“I will. Then when I get back, we pack.” Jake smiled.

“Sarge!” Rickie called up racing up the hall. “Dude! Can I please go
? Please.”

“Rickie
, no.” Jake shook his head. “You stay here with Cal and help with Billy. I need you here.”

“But dude, I’m
, like, a monster. I can zip about out there.”

“Yes I know
,” Jake told him. “But zip about in here. This is where . . .” Jake looked up to the ceiling when he heard the chopper go by. He had to wonder at first if they even sprayed anything at all. But he soon found out they did, when a loud ripping cracking occurred which signaled the entire building icing up.

“Oh shit.” Cal looked around. “Tell me this building isn’t going to break like those flowers we used to dip in school.”

Jake shook his head. “No, it won’t. It may get cold for a while. Just for a while. Hold it.” He pressed the earpiece more into his ear. “I read you, Haynes. I’m on it.” Jake leaned down to Cal and kissed her softly. ‘They’re lowering the stuff.”

“Good luck.” Cal winked.

“Thank you.” Laying his gloved hand on her face, Jake took a step back, turned, laid his hand on Rickie’s back for a moment, then trotted off down the hall where Stan waited by the front doors.

Egg shells is what it felt like to Jake as he walked out of the building stepping on the frozen amoebas. They cracked and crunched, sounding like glass breaking with each stomping tromp Jake made over them with his boots. The air was cool, crisp, and it stung a little when Jake took a breath in.

Two crates sat not far from the center, lowered by the chopper. And
although the amoebas broke when Jake and Stan walked on them, it didn’t stop them from having a slipperiness to them. So with caution, Jake and Stan moved, reaching the crates, opening them, and as fast as they could, they began to implement the first phase.

Colin carried a clipboard and a pen clenched between his teeth as he paced behind Lyle in the control room.

“The time
,” Aldo called out. “It seemed short.”

Colin removed the pen. “It was. Lyle
, what was our freeze time?”

“Two hours seventeen minutes
, and then they started to revive.”

Colin noted that. “That may have been shorter than expected
, but we saved eight minutes spraying the island.” He turned to Aldo. “They’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Aldo nodded in relief.

Greg saw Jake moving about on the monitor screen. “All right. We ran a test of the link when frozen. Let’s give it the real test. Check it, Lyle.”

There were six beeps that rang out. “Linked.”

“Excellent.” Greg smiled. “We knew they would work in the cold. Under amoebas, well. How about our warhead?”

“Working
,” Lyle told him.

With his hands on his hips
, Greg faced everyone in the room. “I think as a team we deserve a round of applause. Phase one . . . successful. Now it’s time to deliver that good news to the President.” As those in the room clapped, Greg proudly made it to the phone and lifted it.

“God, Billy,” Jake bitched while he packed up the two fire cases of Billy’s journalism supplies. “How much shit did you bring?”

“Keep in mind
, Jake,” Cal said as she stirred soup in a pot on the small burner in the rec room. “A lot of that is six month’s worth of writing and pictures.”

“Am I supposed to fit his laptop in here?” Jake asked.

“It fits straight down on the side of one.” Cal turned off the little burner. She watched Jake smile. “What is it?”

Jake held up a close up of Reed smiling, post-baldness, earless, tongueless, fingerless. “This guy is going to gave us hours of storytelling enjoyment.”

“He was funny. Not that he meant to be. Remember how serious he was when we got here?”

“Then he fuckin cracked.” Jake shoved the pictures in the case. “Just you and me again
, Cal. Ending the experiment.”

“Billy and Rickie.” Cal poured the soup.

“They weren’t participants. At least they weren’t supposed to be.” Jake grunted with closing the firebox. “Twenty fuckin years in the service and never has anything given me so much trouble.”

Cal snickered. “And speaking of Billy.”

Jake grunted.

“Jake, what is up with that cough he has now? You said his lungs are filling up.”

“They are. He has pneumonia. There!” Jake nodded and smiled. “This will not open again.”

“He’ll be
okay until tomorrow right?” Lifting the mug she placed the soup in, Cal began to turn to leave the room.

“He should be fine. Keep him sitting up. We’ve slowed down on the pain killers, and they didn’t help his lungs. So this time tomorrow he’ll be in medical care. He’ll be fine.”

“Good.” Cal walked out of the recreation room, turning into the closet. “I have your dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.” Billy looked up and coughed.

“Tough.” Cal extended the mug down to him. “Eat or I feed you.”

Billy slowly took the mug. “Did you guys get my cases together?”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Yes.”

Swinging the spoon slowly in the soup, Billy gazed up to Jake. “I’m feeling really bad
, Jake. My chest . . .” Billy coughed and cringed. “It hurts.”

Jake moved closer, reached down
, and slid his hand behind Billy’s neck to feel his body temperature. “When did you take the aspirin last, Bill?”

“About an hour ago.”

“How many?”

“Three.”

“Cal, go get him two more.” Jake twitched his head to the door. “I have another bottle in my bag.”

“I’ll go get it.” Cal gave a quick smile and walked out.

“What’s wrong?” Billy looked up to Jake.

“Your temperature is really high
,” Jake told him. “You have one hell of an infection raging through your body. It’s moved from that leg all around. I’d love to know how the hell you’re still sitting here right now, because you, Billy, should be a dead man.” Jake saw Cal with a scolding look walk back into the room. “What’s the glare for?”

“You are so insensitive at times.” She handed Billy the aspirin and lifted his glass of water.

Jake waved her off. “I am not. And I have to get the rest of the things together. I want to have to prepare nothing but him . . .” He pointed to Billy. “. . . come tomorrow lift up time.”

Billy took his pills and handed the water back to Cal. He looked up at her with a smile, then to Jake who was leaving. “Oh
, Jake.” He called out and followed it with a deep cough.

Jake waited patiently for Billy to stop rumbling his chest mucus. “What?”

“You asked how I’m still sitting here. It’s because of you.”

Jake gave a semi smile after Cal’s ‘ah’. “Thanks Billy.”

“Yeah.” Billy tried not to laugh because it made him cough worse. “After all, you
did
make that deal with me.”

Jake looked curiously at Billy, not knowing what he was talking about. He nodded as if he did and turned, leaving the room. The second he stepped out into the hall, ‘The Deal’ he made with Billy hit him. Jake stopped, looked back in the closet, and saw Billy staring at Cal with that stupid puppy dog, enamored look he always got on his face. With a raise of an eyebrow, shake of his head
, and a ‘Nah’, Jake chuckled it off as a bad sick-man’s joke and went back to finish packing up.