Cloud Dust: RD-1 (18 page)

* * *

Notes—Colonel Hunter

Halfway between the air base and Myrtle Beach, I received word
from Shaw. The villa was now a pile of smoking rubble. Everybody had gotten out
after Corinne warned Maye.

Everybody except the two prisoners, that is. There hadn't been
time to get them out. Mary Evans and the clone were dead.

Twice now, Corinne had saved lives, although I felt she'd be
upset that Mary Evans was dead. That source of information was gone. The clone
had given us everything he could, but that wasn't much.

"The villa has been destroyed," I announced while
the plane descended toward the airport. "Corinne warned Maye, so the prisoners
were our only casualties."

"Mary Evans' backer had enough information from that
fucking chip," Rafe muttered. "Next time, I want to be more difficult
to find."

"I'm with him," Richard nodded in Rafe's direction.

"Right now, an underground bunker sounds really
good," James hunched his shoulders.

"I hope you backed everything up," I told him.

"I always do," James said. "We just lost paper
copies, that's all."

* * *

Corinne

I had a car—I could have driven away.

They would have found me eventually—the car was registered to
Carol Dane and they had that identity, now.

I'd played my hand. I'd lost this round.

I waited for their arrival, feeling exhausted, hungry and
defeated. Auggie was in a hurry—it took him twenty minutes to get from the
airport to my condo, and that included getting a rental car.

* * *

At least they knocked first before kicking the door in.

"What the hell is that?" I yelled as they stood
outside my condo. "I was on my way to open it for you." I pointed at
the door, which now lay flat on the entryway tiles. Ten seconds earlier, it had
been happily connected to the door hinges, guarding (ineffectively) the
entrance to my condo. "You're gonna pay for that," I shouted at
Colonel August Hunter.

He didn't have time to reply. Rafe stalked in, but Ilya pulled
me into his arms. I cried while he whispered soothing words.

* * *

"The others are at the building in Arlington,"
Auggie sighed as he studied my empty refrigerator. "Corinne, when did you
eat, last?"

"I don't remember." I wiped my face as Rafe let me
go.

"Fuck," Rafe said.

"I was going to order something," I defended myself.

"Load up, we'll find a diner somewhere and then decide
what to do while we eat," Auggie said. He'd been on the phone with Leo
Shaw and the President almost from the moment he walked in. He was looking for
something to drink after his conversation. He found an empty fridge instead.

"Cori, you look exhausted," Auggie said as we walked
out the door. Nick had fixed it as well as he could, but the door would still have
to be replaced.

"Yeah."

"Your car still here?"

"Yes."

"Good. Rafe and I will ride with you. Nick will drive
Richard and James."

"I'll drive," Rafe pulled the keys from my hand.

"Don't trust me?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Cabbage, you look as if you could collapse at any
moment. Generally, it is wise to stay alert while driving."

"Yeah."

* * *

Auggie ate while studying a list of potential locations for
the Program. James sat beside Auggie and read the same list. Richard and Nick
discussed replacing what had been replaced after the Mansion bombing.

Rafe and I watched and listened to the others while having
turkey sandwiches and soup. "Want dessert?" he asked softly.

"No. I'm already stuffed," I said.

"Then we'll have ice cream later."

"That sounds good."

"While we talk."

"Yeah."

* * *

"We only need half the building for this division of the
Agriculture Department," the Vice President pointed out. "The rest is
forty thousand square feet of updated and unused space."

"That could provide a front for the Program," the
President studied the diagram on her computer. "It's on the outskirts of
DC, so it's an ideal location. Plenty of parking area around it, so it will be
easy to protect."

"It's your call, Madam President."

"Then let's do it. Get someone working on furniture and
supplies. Is there room for a cafeteria and a dining hall?"

"Here," the Vice President pointed. "There's a
smaller, executive kitchen and dining room here." He pointed to a second
location. "We can combine spaces to make suites, and most of those spaces
already have a bathroom and shower installed."

"Not much of a view," the President frowned.

"It will do until we find something better."

"True. Send a message to Colonel Hunter."

* * *

Corinne

By nightfall, we had newly assigned quarters—in the ugliest
brick building imaginable.

The front portion was taken up by a division of the
Agriculture Department, and all of it was surrounded by a large parking lot.
The others were spending the night at the building in Arlington—the one that
looked as if the Mystery Machine should be parked out front. At least they had
beds, even if they did have ugly, outdated bedspreads.

Auggie wanted to check out the new digs, so we'd be sleeping
on the floor. "Cori, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I'm
placing you in an interior suite. I caught your window-climbing act, you
know," he said.

"Then stop being an ass," I bristled. "You
think I can't get away from you again?"

"I knew this was coming," Auggie muttered.
"Look, can we table the shouting match until we get this mess sorted out?
I have to make a report to the President, and I don't want to get her hackles
up, too."

"Madam President can kiss my ass," I said.

"Cori, don't go there."

"Yeah? Tell me again about my free speech."

* * *

Leo Shaw arrived around midnight with Maye and a trunk full of
sleeping bags. If he hadn't, we'd be forced to sleep on tiled floors.

"You should flee while you still can," I told Leo
when he hefted his sleeping bag over a shoulder and began searching for a
sleeping space.

"Corinne, it isn't the end of the world," he said.
"Thank you for saving our asses again, by the way."

"Well, as asses go, yours is at the top of my
to save
list," I said. "Auggie dropped several notches."

"I heard that," Auggie shouted from down a narrow
hall.

"I don't care if you did," I shouted back.

"Corinne, perhaps you should refrain from aggravating
everyone and help me find a suitable suite of rooms," Rafe said.

"Oh, are we rooming together again?" I asked. He
frowned at me. "We will talk," he said, taking my elbow.
"Now."

* * *

"I was angry," he admitted. "Very angry. Until
I realized I have done similar things in the past—allowed one to live when I
needed information. I warn you, however, that if I find him, he will die."

"I understand that," I said. "I wouldn't ask
you to do otherwise."

We sat in separate corners to have our discussion. He wanted
to hold onto me. I wanted to see where we stood with one another, first.

"What will you do if I kill him?" Ilya asked.

"Try to find the next source of information," I
shrugged. "There will be others; I just don't know how many people will
die in the interim."

"This troubles you."

"Yes. I can't say who, but I'm uncomfortable now," I
said. "The morning may bring terrible news and I don't have information or
images to stop it."

"Cutter was not aware of whatever it was?"

"No. See, when someone withholds information from a
source, I can't see it at all. Especially if I've never seen the source. If
I've seen both, it becomes so much easier."

"A disturbing flaw."

"More than disturbing. Extremely dangerous. When I warned
Maye to get everyone out of the villa, it's because I saw their deaths coming,
not who was facilitating those deaths."

"Corinne, you will remind me not to interfere with your
abilities from now on."

"Ilya, I don't want to interfere with how you feel.
That's up to you. If you're mad, then you're mad. Just like anybody else."

"Including you."

"Yes. I was pissed at you and Auggie. Still am, actually.
You have no idea how much that hurt."

"He and I may be more willing to listen to you from now
on."

"Hmmph."

"I have ground to make up."

"You both do."

"Will this be our suite?" he asked, looking around.

"I hate the whole building," I grumped. "And no
window? That's a requirement for my writing. I had an ocean view—for a whole
day."

"It still belongs to you," he pointed out.

"And it may as well be on the moon."

"I believe your door will be repaired soon."

"Right."

"My love, I know you are not happy. I would make that
otherwise, if I could."

"Corinne?" Leo Shaw knocked on the door and called
out.

"Just a minute." I rose stiffly from my corner and
went to let Dr. Shaw in.

"I wanted to set up an appointment with you for
tomorrow," he said.

"I don't know whether that will help," I observed.
"My insecurity inbox is getting crowded."

"What would make it better?"

"A trip to the office supply store."

"They're all closed at the moment. I'll see what I can do
for later."

"Cool."

"Corinne suspects that bad news may come with the
morning," Rafe said. "So we may have to plan carefully."

"Do you have any idea?" Leo began, offering a
concerned frown.

"None, and that's extremely upsetting. I feel uncomfortable,
though, and that's never a good thing."

"She hasn't seen the ones responsible, so she can't say
what they are planning," Rafe offered.

"I guessed as much. Look, I can give you something to
help you sleep."

"I'd prefer not to do that," I said. "I can't
warn anybody if I'm knocked out."

"Point taken. I'll go have a word with Colonel Hunter,"
Leo said. "Corinne, don't escape again. I'm not sure my heart can take
it."

After he closed the door, Ilya stepped up behind me. "My
heart cannot stand such a blow again, either."

"You started it."

"Are we pointing fingers, now?"

"Yes. I'm tired, grumpy and somebody moved out without
letting me explain."

"I regret that."

"Fine. I regret not telling you that I wanted to keep
Baikov alive for personal reasons."

"I understand that, just as you understand me."

"Understood."

"Good. Very good. Might I remove your clothing,
now?"

"As soon as James is done with us."

"What?"

The knock on the door came immediately. "Come in,"
Rafe called out.

"Colonel Hunter wants to see both of you," James
said.

"What time is it?" I asked, surprising James.

"After midnight. Why?"

"So it's early morning?"

"Technically speaking."

"Yeah."

We followed James down the hall until we reached the rooms
August claimed for his office. A cell phone was in his hand and a stunned
expression was on his face as Leo Shaw stood nearby, unsure as to what to do.

"Colfer, Montana was the target," Auggie said.
"Only twenty people survived, and some of them aren't human anymore."

Chapter 16
 

Notes—Colonel Hunter

"Somehow, they introduced a variation of the drug into
the water supply," Madam President informed us. Shaw and I sat in her
office while she explained what she knew. The media was going nuts with the
information that nearly two thousand people had died the night before. A few residents
hadn't drank water or bathed in it, and those had already been moved away from
Colfer.

Initial reports leaked intentionally by the White House said
the cause of the deaths was mass poisoning. In a way, that was true. "I
suspect they chose that particular town because it was close to the Canadian
border and they had sufficient amounts of the derivative drug to test on
Colfer's water supply. Face it—Cutter died in Canada, so it makes sense they
had a base there."

"Where do you suppose these perpetrators are, now?"

"They could be anywhere—they'll know we can make that
connection, so it's likely they've abandoned the site. Once inside the U.S.,
they could go anywhere. They've had time to drive or fly away from Colfer after
delivery of the drug. Corinne mentioned a small plane before, when Cutter was
on his way to Canada. If they had something like that waiting, they really could
be anywhere."

"I've ordered all departments to begin a search, but we
don't have any specific targets. This is impossible," Madam President rose
to pace. The rest of us rose with her—it wasn't proper etiquette to sit while
the President stood.

I'd had my meeting with Rafe and Corinne much earlier—their
guesses coincided with mine, so I felt comfortable presenting them to the
President. Richard Farrell was on his way to Montana with three of his former
collaborators—they'd be in charge of testing the Colfer water supply and
sterilizing it afterward.

"What are we going to do with the ones who survived the
drug?" the President asked.

"Are you sure all of them will live?" I asked.

"Roughly half of them are experiencing breathing
problems. Those are the ones who don't look human anymore. Three of those can't
speak. At least not in English."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Make them comfortable and let nature take its
course."

"I think we ought to let Corinne decide."

"I want her kept away from this. It's upsetting enough
for me. What do you think it will do to her? I sure as hell don't want her
taking an unplanned vacation, again. We have to keep a tight leash on her and
her abilities."

At that moment, I wanted to shout at the President. She
considered Corinne an object—a tool to keep her alive and in office. If Corinne
escaped, she couldn't control that asset. It made me angry. I reined that in
and nodded my acceptance.

From then on, I planned to give Corinne as much free rein as I
could. So far, she was the one keeping all of us alive. I knew enough to be
grateful. Those around Cori cared about her. Madam President needed to get her
thinking straight on this one.

I knew what Richard said the moment he learned there were
survivors. "They wanted to kill everybody," he'd said. "But they
rushed the use of the drug without testing it thoroughly. It's probable that
they only used a limited sampling of victims. When all of them died, they
determined the experiment a success."

If we didn't report what actually happened, then the ones
behind the massacre would attempt to do it again. I had no idea how long it
could take to produce enough of the drug to test it on a larger population, or
whether it had to be placed in the water supply or could be delivered another
way. I needed to speak with Richard again.

Soon
.

* * *

Corinne

Auggie was exhausted when he returned from his meeting with the
President. I knew there had to be some survivors who'd ingested the drug—the
odds were in their favor. Madam President didn't want anyone to know. It
wouldn't be difficult—hide the information and stick them somewhere so they
couldn't get to anyone else.

That would present problems and Auggie knew that. The
perpetrators would think their massacre a total success, when that wasn't the
case. People had survived. Whether they could now comfortably live on the
planet was anybody's guess.

"Cori," Auggie said. He'd found me sitting on the
floor next to Rafe in the smaller kitchen, clutching a cup of coffee as if it
were salvation in a world gone mad.

"Auggie?" I said, turning my eyes up to him.

"Let James know what you need in the computer department.
Whatever you want, he'll provide. You'll have access to departmental files from
anywhere my codes will work. Look at people. Anybody and everybody that you
want. Tell me if there's anything I ought to know. While James is getting your
equipment, try to get some sleep."

He turned and walked out of the kitchen without another word.
"Thanks, Auggie," I called out softly.

* * *

Furniture and beds were moved in not long after, and Ilya and
I made ours up. He pulled me onto it and settled my head against his shoulder.

Both of us were troubled by the events in Colfer. I worried
about what could happen next—the possibilities were terrifying. "Cabbage,
try to sleep," he murmured before kissing my forehead. "We cannot
save the world if we do not have the strength."

* * *

Notes—Colonel Hunter

"I can't say for certain that they won't find another way
to distribute the drug to a larger population," Richard said. He'd phoned
back after I placed the initial call. "The victims here are similar to
those we examined before—few are intact inside."

"You've seen this before—I mean before those we asked you
to examine recently."

"Early on, when an incorrect dosage was given to a
volunteer. It has to be carefully calculated."

"You have the calculations for those in the
Program?"

"I do."

"Will you forward them to me?"

"Of course. Those who didn't ingest the drug are
sequestered and are being given excuses as to why the bodies of their loved
ones must be cremated—I believe the story is that others might be poisoned if
the body remains intact."

I cursed at Richard's explanation. "What have they done
with the drug survivors?" I asked. I wanted to blame the lies on the FBI,
Homeland Security and the CIA, but ultimately, the President had to give
permission. She'd left me out of those decisions.

"Three died before transport arrived," Richard
answered my question. "I wasn't told where they were taken after
that."

"You asked, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Fuck."

"I agree wholeheartedly."

* * *

Corinne

When I woke, Ilya was up and gone already. He'd slipped away
after I'd fallen asleep.

Shuffling toward the kitchen, I found Auggie, Rafe, James and
Leo having dinner. I'd slept all day, almost. We now had a table, chairs, a
portable island and Chinese takeout.

"Beef and broccoli?" I asked.

"Here." Auggie shoved a carton toward me.
"Rice," Rafe offered another carton. I took both and loaded a paper
plate. Rafe poured a plastic cup of wine for me.

"I hope we get wineglasses soon," I said, spearing a
chunk of broccoli with a plastic fork.

"I'd like cutlery that doesn't break," Leo said.

"I agree," I said. "Plastic belongs at picnics.
With the ants."

"Every city and town in the country is now prepared to
guard their water supply," Auggie offered while I ate. "I'm worried
they'll find another way to introduce the drug."

"Nick and Maye?" I asked.

"On their way," Auggie said. "They were having
a sparring match when the food arrived, so they went to clean up, first."

"Somebody say food?" Nick walked in.

"There's plenty, help yourself," Leo said.

"Corinne, are you eating my broccoli-beef?" Nick
pretended offense.

"I didn't eat all of it," I complained. He shocked
the hell out of me by giving me a hug. "Thanks for the early
warning," he said before pulling out a chair and filling a plate.
"Since I didn't say that before."

"No problem," I shrugged.

"Hey, Corinne," Maye walked in and went straight for
the kung pao chicken.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm good. I've lost two katanas in two bombings, but
those can be replaced. What do we have to do to catch the creeps responsible
for Montana?"

"I need to see their faces," I sighed. "Or have
somebody tell me who they are."

"Baikov?" Auggie asked.

"Baikov doesn't know. What Baikov has is possible
information on the ultimate jerk behind all the other jerks. The ultimate jerk
can tell me who else is paying him to get what they want, or who works for him
to make all the evil happen. Mary Evans could have given us something. She
probably knew the ultimate jerk's minions were gunning for her the minute she
got caught. She decided not to talk anyway."

"You think he'll find somebody else to do what she did
for him?"

"Yeah, and that worries me. He and or she likes the ones
who don't have an ounce of humanity in them. That's what I've seen in Mary
Evans' eyes every time—cold, calculating cruelty."

"If he's so hard to find, how do these people contact him
to begin with?" Nick asked.

"I think he contacts them," I said. "With the
Internet and the media, it isn't hard to see who might want something. How
tough would it be to send someone—say, Mary Evans or somebody like her—to make
suggestions?"

"That's frightening," Leo shook his head.

"There's something else you should know," I said.

"What's that?" Auggie asked.

"James, look up Claire Fabre and Jean Caillot," I
said. "Their obituaries should show up from six years ago in Paris."

"Yeah," James nodded. He tapped on his tablet for a
moment. "Here it is—says they were killed by burglars in their apartment.
Says they worked for the Louvre until a few months before their deaths, but
they'd quit shortly after the terrorist attack there."

"They were in on it, and got killed for their
cooperation," I said. "Probably had a Swiss bank account or something
set up, which evaporated the moment they were killed. It doesn't say they were
working anywhere since they left the Louvre."

"Corinne, you've been a busy girl, haven't you?"
Auggie blinked at me.

"It's amazing what you can do with an alias and free Wi-Fi
at the library or at a coffee shop. I've been particularly motivated lately,
but my Internet access has been limited."

"Why are you telling us this now?" Maye asked.

"Because I trust everybody here," I said. "Do
you remember Ted Ryan?"

"I can't get him and the Sacramento bombing out of my
head," Leo replied. "Why?"

"Because he couldn't wait to brag about what he'd done.
He wanted the world to know. I think the ones responsible for Montana won't be
able to stop themselves from bragging either," I said. "I just worry
about what else they might do before they start bragging."

* * *

"Honey, there's something you ought to know," I told
Ilya the moment we were alone in our suite.

"What's that?" his arms curled about me and he
pulled me close.

"It's about the drug. You know they call the Program
Cloud
Dust
."

"I do. I wondered why."

"Me, too. I think I may have an answer, but it's
scary."

"Tell me, then." He led me toward our bed and we
settled upon it. "I'm sure you're familiar with reported incidents in 1969
and 1986 in Russia," I began.

* * *

 The deaths in Montana may as well have happened on another
planet. So many bodies were either unrecognizable or missing. Family members
were shown in news reports, holding signs with photographs of loved ones who
would never come back to them.

Faked autopsy reports abounded, all orchestrated by the U.S.
government. All the victims would be cremated, too—the excuse was that the
poison in their bodies could cause problems. Family members would receive an
urn with their loved ones' ashes, after the government was done with the
investigation.

I felt sick—the television was turned on in our brand-new
cafeteria and it was inevitable that I'd see all of it. So much of it was
speculation and lies, and at that moment, I wanted to strangle the President
plus the heads of the CIA, FBI and Homeland Security.

"Cori?" August asked as I made my way out of the
cafeteria without eating.

"Going to the other one. The one without a television in
it," I said.

"Rafe?" he asked.

"Sitting in our suite mulling over the price of good
Scotch," I lied. "He should be out in a few." Actually, Ilya was
in our suite, thinking about the information I'd given him and drawing his own
conclusions as to who was involved and what they'd accomplished afterward.

"I'll come with you," Auggie offered. "I don't
want to see that shit, either. It's disturbing."

"Yeah."

Rafe leaned in to kiss me when he found Auggie and me morosely
silent as we drank coffee in the smaller kitchen.

"I know it's a mess, cabbage," he murmured. "It
isn't your fault."

"None of it is," Auggie leaned back and stretched.
"You'd have done something about it if you'd had proper information. I
understand your reasons now for letting Cutter go as long as you did—he had
information we desperately need. We have to find the ones responsible for this
and do it soon."

Auggie had no idea he and Rafe were discussing different
topics. I didn't enlighten him. "Have you eaten?" Rafe interrupted
the conversation while walking the few steps to the fridge and opening the door
to study its contents. He shuffled things around, looking for something
suitable to eat.

"Didn't feel hungry," I admitted.

"I'll make eggs and toast. Colonel Hunter, do you want
anything?"