The Delta Chain (45 page)

‘Which means
they
’
ve been infiltrating “secure” police
communication systems.
’
O
’
Malley spun in the direction of
Mike Stanley
’
s partner, Brian
Kavanaugh.
‘
Brian, get us patched through
to Canberra. I need the Defence Minister.
’

Asquith
wasn
’
t a man who liked changing his plans
on the run. He hated having to take drastic action or to cut his
losses. He rarely displayed temper. After taking the call from
Bethesda however he hurled the phone against the wall of
Hunter
’
s office, where it
shattered.

Hunter flinched.
‘
What on Earth…
’

Ignoring him, Asquith
whirled to face Renshaw.
‘
That was
Surveillance. O
’
Malley
’
s team is moving in and they
’
ve
got State and Federal back-up.
’

‘We
’
re an hour or so away from laying the final blasting
caps.
’

‘But we
’
re seventy percent there?
’

‘Yes.
’

‘It will have to do. The
destruction will be near enough to total to hinder any evidence
gathering. Have security evacuate the staff with a story that a
terrorist bomb is believed to be on the premises. The demo team are
to take up their positions and begin. No delays. Make that clear to
all. No delays for anyone or anything whatsoever.
’

Renshaw was already on his
cell.

Asquith turned his
attention to Westmeyer and Hunter.
‘
Most
of the data has been transferred,
’
he
said,
‘
but we
’
ll have to close off before clearing
every
file.
’

‘Then
there
’
ll be set-backs,
’
Hunter said.

‘And clearly we
won
’
t be moving the blood units either.
They
’
ll have to be replaced. Erickson can
bring in more reptiles without too much trouble.
’

‘Further delays, but we
can deal with it,
’
Hunter
commented.

Asquith glanced at
Westmeyer. The scientist hadn
’
t moved or
even visibly reacted. He was pale, his expression that of the
proverbial stunned mullet, an expression Asquith loathed for the
weakness it implied. He knew that the urbane, self indulgent and
pseudo-sophisticated William Westmeyer did not have the stomach for
the dark side of their operation
–
certainly he was out of his depth when faced with discovery
by police and the destruction of his beloved premises.

‘Snap out of it, William.
You and Hunter will travel with me. We
’
ll
be out of the country by this evening. We
’
ll make sure it
’
s known
you
’
d left the Institute for the think
tank seminar, before the crisis broke here. Now
let
’
s move.
’

Erickson clicked off his
phone and jammed it back in his belt holster.
‘
Demolition
’
s now, immediate
evacuation.
’

Donnelly
’
s mouth dropped.
‘
What…? Why?
’

‘Events up top have gone
to hell so we
’
re out of here. This final
experiment is aborted. Apparently you
’
d
already been told to close down and move out of here, anyway
Donnelly, so what
’
s the deal?
’

‘The deal is I set this
all up and I know what I
’
m doing. Got
that?
’

‘Yeah, well fuck you
too,
’
said Erickson.

After entering the chamber with
Tannen in tow, and “surprising” Adam, Erickson had ordered the
detective to drop his gun on the floor and to kick it away. Tannen
and Donnelly had then pushed Adam forward and in to the water tank,
locking him inside with the girl.

‘I don
’
t see any reason,
’
Erickson had
said to Donnelly,
‘
why we
shouldn
’
t enjoy the meddlesome detective
drowning alongside the girl while you conduct your final
observations.
’
He gave the nod to Joe
Casey.
‘
Start the water.
’
It was then, as the water rushed from the pipes
and down through the tubes that he
’
d
taken the call from Renshaw.

‘What about them?
’
Casey asked as he gathered up a few items to
take with him.

‘Let them drown,
’
Erickson said.

‘Surely we can wait a few
minutes to watch Bennett take his last breaths,
’
Donnelly protested.

‘Believe me,
I
’
d love to. But we go right
now.
’

‘At least you have the
satisfaction,
’
Tannen observed,
‘
that they
’
ll never
find the bodies underneath all the rubble. Drowned and then buried
under tons and tons of shit. It
’
s like he
dies twice.
’

‘Dies twice,
’
Donnelly repeated with some satisfaction. The
group left quickly. Erickson gave a single backward glance, a
maniacal glint in his eye. Before turning toward the lift area,
Erickson flashed Donnelly a look.
‘
Tell
Asquith and Westmeyer I
’
ve taken the
rig-
’

‘I had the impression that
when this moment came, Asquith wanted everyone together, that
itineraries had been planned-
’

‘Since when do you
actually give a rat
’
s ass what Asquith
wants,
’
Erickson shot back.
‘
They
’
re panicking
because they
’
re not used to being in the
field, in crisis situations. This is the way the real men live,
Donnelly, on the edge
–
and
I
’
m not leaving my truck down here to be
buried along with everything else.
’

‘Asquith will-
’

‘I can deal with Asquith.
Tannen, you and the others go with Donnelly. Maybe that will keep
the Nexus creeps happy. You can tell them I
’
ll be heading north, away from the town and any likely
action, then cutting across state and into the country. Contactable
on the mobile.
’
Then Erickson left,
crossing the chamber to the far passageway, the quickest route back
to the dock.

Since
he
’
d arrived back at The Institute,
he
’
d been thrust into one drama after
another. He deserved a little R and R and he was looking forward to
spending some quality time away from the whole damn
operation.

The First Keeper knew that
a top level Nexus team, including the detestable Logan Asquith, was
in Australia. There had only ever been one other relocation, to
Vender
’
s knowledge, and that too had been
Westmeyer
’
s Institute.

What Vender
didn
’
t expect was the personal call he
received from Asquith.
‘
There
’
s a strong chance your
escapee Daniel has spoken to others, revealing enough that your
location could be found,
’
Asquith
said.
‘
And the boy
’
s now been linked to the Institute.
’

‘How can that
be-
’

‘Listen, Vender. Your
Keepers have been compromised, as has the Institute. The Institute
will be demolished in the next 30 minutes. In the meantime, you are
to personally oversee evacuation of The Com, to the back-up locale
you know as Shelter B.
’

‘It will be closed up,
without power…
’

‘Full resources will be in
place there by this afternoon. Move quickly.
There
’
s a task force charging about and
all sorts of Federal agencies getting involved-
’

‘I understand.
’
After the call he sent an instruction for Senior
Keeper Warren Fay to join him.
‘
Arrange
for Ethers and the others in Northern Rocks to head immediately for
Shelter B. Ethers knows where it is. Then have everyone here
gathered in the main hall for an urgent address.
We
’
re evacuating.
’

‘Trouble…?
’

‘Yes. Now
let
’
s move.
’
His words were calm but firm. Behind them he felt
frustration and sorrow. He
’
d feared
trouble ever since Daniel had slipped through the fingers of
Ethers
’
team. And then, learning of
William
’
s problems, he
’
d sensed impending disaster.

Ten minutes later, swept up by
the unfolding drama, Vender addressed his assembled people with the
fervour of a self appointed spiritual statesman, the obsession that
had driven him all his adult life.

‘I have always warned you
that we would be persecuted by the outside world if they knew of
us, that we would all suffer terribly at their hands,
’
the First Keeper told them.
‘
There is no need for panic, but there is some possibility
of trouble, so I am leading you, now, to another place.

‘You all know our vision,
our purpose, God
’
s will for us. Now, as
we prepare to take flight, it is a good time to briefly reflect on
that, to remind ourselves, to recall Moses
’
own flight into the desert. From time to time
I
’
ve instructed you in our own history,
the story of The Keepers. Perhaps this is the time to tell you a
little more, to reassert the importance of our lonely
cause.

‘In my younger years I was
troubled that the churches of the world had got the message,
God
’
s message, so terribly wrong. Many of
them misinterpreted the Lord
’
s will, so
many rewrote God
’
s rules to suit
themselves. But try to tell them this and they group against you,
ridicule you, shut you out. I came to see that none of them were
true houses of God. They
’
d been diluted,
ravaged by the Devil
’
s games, the people
misled and therefore doomed.

‘Jesus said there was room
for all in His Father
’
s Heaven, but I
began to realise that of all the billions of human souls through
history, twisted by this world and the hypocrisy of the churches,
very few would actually go. Perhaps no one. No one! An empty
heaven…

‘The only way to be a true
child of our Lord was to remove oneself totally from the rest of
this rotting society, to be completely isolated so one could become
truly pure. A child isolated from the outside world and raised in a
truly pure, closed community would have the best possible chance to
be one of God
’
s chosen, more so than even
the followers of Moses.

‘From a young age I felt
our Lord
’
s call, only I did not
understand what He was saying. I heard Him whisper in the night, I
felt His presence on my travels around the world, and during my
time in Vietnam. It was after this I came to understand my mission.
I had always had a sense of isolation. I was unable to find my true
voice in the churches of hypocrisy. And so it came to make
extraordinary sense. I was meant to start my own, private, secret
community for God. My followers and I became dedicated to this most
holy project, our Keepers Of The Faith, raising the children who
are the only ones truly worthy of Heaven.

‘You are those children.
You are worthy. You and your humble Keepers and Carers. And those
of you now old enough, and in training, to become Keepers and
Carers yourselves. Our second community, our Com, was in America
and as you know we retain that as one of two homes. We were a
small, poor group back then, without the visions, the laws, and the
infrastructure we have now. But you need to know, to never forget,
that we are not the weirdos the outside world will make us out to
be. We are not crazies. We are the true Chosen of our Lord,
untainted by sin, as pure in spirit as is possible in this world,
as Man was meant to be when he was first given life in the garden
of Eden, the first Com.
’

Markham insisted Kate wait with
him in the second floor entry area.

‘How long before
O
’
Malley and his back-up teams are
here?
’

‘Minutes,
Kate.
’

‘It
’
s already been minutes. Adam could be hurt…
’

They were both startled by
the sudden crackle of the little used PA system. A security
man
’
s voice filled the air.
‘
Ladies and gentlemen, we have an emergency. I
repeat, an emergency. We need to effect an immediate and orderly
evacuation of the building. Please, there is no need for panic, our
security officers will assist, but all staff are ordered to leave
the building now as a bomb threat has been received.
’