Thorne sat up from the bed and looked on in confusion as he unbuttoned his collared dress shirt. "What exactly are you going to do with those?"

  "You'll see, now hurry up."

  Qyss turned and kept his hand resting on the submachinegun as Birch placed the thickest book onto Thorne's chest before wrapping the duct tape around the renegade spymaster's body. Birch continued to tape the books onto Thorne's undershirt until he had covered the older man's back and stomach as well.

  When Thorne turned towards Qyss and raised an eyebrow, the Delta Force operative simply shrugged. "We didn't have any extra body armor for you, so a stack of old hardbound books will have to do."

  Logan also entered the room carrying a small set of loose ceramic tiles he had chipped off from the bathroom walls. "Here you go."

  Birch took the tiles and placed them over the books before taping them all together. "This ought to give you some protection against gunfire. Jump up and down so I can see if any of it is loose."

  Thorne made a series of short leaps but the improvised body armor stayed in place. "I see you blokes have thought of everything. So I'm effectively bulletproof now?"

  "As long as they ain't using armor piercing or anything heavier than a .45 caliber it ought to keep you alive," Birch said. "But you know what the best defense against gunfire is?"

  "No, what?"

  "Try not to get shot at."

  Thorne smiled.

  Qyss shifted his gaze back to the outside once more. The safehouse they had been holding up in for most of the day was a mere kilometer away from the old Royal Air Force base at Mildenhall. Formerly operated by the American military, the closure of the installation a few years ago meant that the runways would no longer be in use, and the emergency extraction plan was to use the deserted base and have a transport plane fly in and pick them up.

  Birch readied his own weapon while looking at Thorne. "We're not going to keep you handcuffed just in case there's going to be some action. But if you bail on us, then I will put you down. Is that understood?"

  "Absolutely," Thorne said. "I'm on your side now, gents."

  "Yeah, right," Logan scoffed before turning around and leaving the room.

  "I really am on your side. I give you my word."

  Qyss continued to scan the street. "Tell it to the Marines, buddy."

  "I assure you that I will help humanity in any way I can. The Cabal has it in for me now, and there's no point in fighting for their side anymore."

  Qyss ignored him as he pulled out his walkie-talkie and toggled the button. "Noah, I got an all clear on the street. How are the airwaves going?"

  Noah's voice came on his receiver. "Nothing on all channels."

  "Did you get anything from Big Daddy?"

  "I got word two minutes ago. Big Daddy is en route and on time."

  Qyss checked his watch. Less than fifteen minutes before extraction. "Get ready."

  Birch looked at Thorne and pointed at the open doorway. "Let's go."

  Thorne nodded as he put his coat on and proceeded to walk down the narrow stairs. The extra padding around his torso made his body look fatter than normal, but it was a small price to pay for the protection he received.

  Logan was at the front door and held it slightly open. The neighborhood seemed quiet in the late evening. "All clear."

  Birch went out first. He tried to look as casual as possible while making his way to the Ford Focus parked in the street. After a brief glance inside the interior, he quickly opened the driver's side door and got in, starting up its engine a few seconds later.

  Logan came out through the front door, followed quickly by Thorne as Qyss and Noah brought up the rear. Thorne was quickly hustled into the middle of the backseat, in between Logan and Qyss, while Noah dashed around the car’s hood and jumped into the front passenger seat. Birch gunned the accelerator and they promptly sped off.

  Ever since the closure of the base, much of the town's American residents had moved away, leaving plenty of vacant houses for sale or rent. The streets were mostly deserted as the Ford sedan zoomed past the residential areas and headed south. With the entire base still ringed by a double layered security fence, their plan was to drive into an old storage area adjoining the location, and access the grounds via a side building.

  As Birch drove out of the town's center and onto the Queensway lane, another vehicle suddenly shot out from a side street and proceeded to follow them.

  Qyss looked over his shoulder. A black painted Nissan Qashqai SUV was ten meters behind them, and the tailing car's headlights were off. "Heads up, something's coming down."

  Logan cursed as he took out the short-barreled MP5K submachinegun from beneath his jacket and checked to make sure there was a round in the chamber. "How in the hell did they find us?"

  "No idea, but we need to get into that base, right now. Can you ram through the fence, Birchy?"

  The Ford's driver shook his head. "No freaking way, not with this car. The fences are reinforced and we'd be stuck in between the two layers. If I had a big-ass truck I might be able to."

  Noah strapped on the walkie-talkie over his body armor while putting on an earpiece. "Big Daddy's ETA is seven minutes."

  Qyss clenched his jaw. "Head for the main entrance. We'll have to force our way through."

  Birch locked eyes with him in the rearview mirror. "You sure? There's still armed guards stationed there, and they've got M4 carbines. We'll be outgunned and we'll still have to stop."

  "They'll be Americans though. Maybe we can bluff our way inside."

  Thorne kept quiet as he started rubbing his right knee. It was still sore, but he knew he would have to do some fast running very soon.

  "Okay, hang on and get ready," Birch said. "We'll be coming up to the entrance in a few seconds."

  Noah, Qyss, and Logan all unlocked their doors and pulled the handles open as the Ford sedan made a sudden right turn the moment the base entrance came into view. The gate at the exterior was open, leading into a narrow lane with concrete dividers to direct any vehicle up to the guardhouse.

  Birch used the Ford's handbrake to execute a near perfect ninety degree turn while maintaining enough speed to move clear past the outer lane. The two young US Air Force soldiers manning the guardhouse were completely surprised, and they had no time to react as the Ford Focus shot through the narrow lane before disappearing behind one of the buildings to the north.

  The klaxon signaling the alarm echoed across the deserted base as Birch applied the brakes, and the sedan stopped just in front of a hangar situated alongside the inner airstrip. Shouts and curses could be heard in the near distance, quickly followed by the screeching of vehicle tires and automatic gunfire.

  Qyss grabbed Thorne by the collar as he threw the rear passenger door open and leapt out onto the pavement. "You stay close. If you run away from us, I'm going to shoot you."

  "Of course, chum," Thorne said coolly. "Anything you say."

  The five men dashed across the now empty lanes where military aircraft would once taxi back and forth from the runway to their hangars. They used the shadows as concealment while dashing from one building to another.

  Noah tapped his earpiece. "Big Daddy will come in from the east. We need to reach the western edge of the runway."

  Qyss led the way, directing them to take cover behind a hangar parallel to the airstrip. The lights had been activated all across the base, but they had not yet seen anyone. Thorne was the slowest, and the old man had begun to limp. Logan and Birch had to grab the Englishman by his elbows and support him as they all took cover behind a small shed.

  Minutes passed, and more gunfire was heard coming from the base entrance. Everyone kept low, waiting and hoping that their extraction would come sooner rather than later.

  The shots coming from the distance abruptly died down as all five of them heard the roar of jet engines from above. Noah pointed towards the east, and in less than a minute, a gray USAF Boeing C-17 Globemaster III suddenly came into view and began to make a final approach towards the well-lit runway.

  Logan let out a whooping cheer before being slapped on the back of his head by Qyss. The Globemaster's landing gear touched down on the runway as the pilot began to apply airbrakes and reverse its turbofans. Within minutes the plane had come to a complete stop less than two hundred meters away from them.

  Just as the Globemaster began to turn around, Noah tapped Qyss's shoulder and pointed towards the south. They all could see not one, but two black Nissan sport utility vehicles accelerating towards them.

  Qyss grimaced. They would all get gunned down like turkeys if they tried to dash across the open grassy area leading up to the runway. Someone had to stay behind and draw fire. Turning to look at Birch, he tapped the other man's shoulder. "Take our prisoner to the aircraft. I'll cover you from here. Leave all your spare mags behind, cuz I'm gonna need it."

  Birch nodded as he pulled Thorne up to a near standing position while unstrapping the remaining magazines from his web pouches. Qyss quickly grabbed the additional ammunition while readying his weapon.

  "I'm staying too," Logan said as he took Noah's extra magazines.

  Qyss nodded and signaled the three to get ready. "When I start shooting, make a running oblique to the aircraft, got it?"

  "Got it," Noah said.

  Qyss waited until the two vehicles began to slow down while approaching the hangar. The enemy had correctly deduced where they would be in relation to the taxiing aircraft, and were primed to intercept anyone making a run for it.

  "Go, go, go," Qyss said, gesturing at Logan to engage the second SUV. He quickly dashed towards the east side while firing short, three-round bursts towards the cars moving along the service road.

  Birch started to run, making a beeline towards the waiting Globemaster. Thorne threw his remaining strength into his legs, trying to follow closely behind while Noah brought up the rear.

  Qyss's initial burst caught the SUV driver by surprise as the rounds impacted but failed to hit anyone behind its windshield. The Nissan then tried to accelerate away in order to catch up with Thorne's group, only to have its tires flattened by a few more bursts coming from the Delta Force operative's submachinegun. The vehicle doors opened, and four Asian men dressed in black and carrying SA80 bullpup style assault rifles jumped out.

  Logan's firing was equally accurate, and the second Nissan SUV skidded to a halt as its two front tires were also blown out. The SEAL operative quickly moved sideways using the front of a small cargo crate as partial cover while maintaining his rate of fire.

  Qyss glanced backwards and saw that Noah, Thorne, and Birch were already halfway across the open field. He quickly noticed one of the enemy operatives going down to one knee and taking aim at the fleeing group. Qyss reacted quickly and fired a short burst, hitting his opponent in the side of the head, killing the man instantly. Ducking down behind a low concrete divider, he ejected the now spent magazine as bullets impacted near his position. "Loading."

  Logan was slowly being surrounded by four opponents as he darted from side to side, firing whenever someone exposed himself, but he was quickly losing ground. "They're flanking us!"

  Qyss got back to a ready position, just as another opponent exposed himself, firing towards the escaping group. The Delta Force operative fired instinctively, nailing the enemy shooter in the chest, but he was certain that the other man also wore body armor, and it therefore wasn't a kill.

  Hearing a shout, Qyss glanced over his shoulder once again. It looked like Noah was down, and perhaps Thorne was wounded as he could see Birch helping the older man up as they got to within twenty meters of the waiting aircraft.

  The thought of failing was all too apparent, and it simply made Qyss even more focused. The enemy seemed to be either making their way around him, or they were exposing themselves by trying to take a shot at the fleeing Thorne.

  Logan's luck ended when two men popped up from two different directions and began firing at him simultaneously. The SEAL operator managed to shoot his first opponent in the stomach and that man went down, but the second one put a bullet right into Logan's face, sending him sprawling down onto the tarmac.

  Qyss had just enough time to see Thorne's dangling legs disappearing behind the side door of the Globemaster's squat fuselage before he pivoted and fired at the ones trying to get around him. Another Asian choked as the 9mm rounds caught him in the throat just as he pulled the trigger of his own weapon.

  A stray round hit Qyss in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. As he tried to get up, another opponent came running at him, screaming curses in Chinese while firing his weapon. As he heard a bullet go right by his ear, Qyss fired too, using up the last rounds in his weapon's magazine. He barely heard the Globemaster's whining engines going to full throttle as the plane began its takeoff.

  38 Virginia

  ZOE WAS LED INTO THE Task Force Zero wing of the CIA's Old Headquarters Building by Jane Cornell. Both women carried two cups of coffee they had bought from the downstairs commissary. Even though they were both early risers, neither one had slept much, and a mix of caffeine and adrenaline was the only thing keeping them awake as the morning started.

  By contrast Perry was somewhat rested, and he was all smiles as the pair entered his office. The president had personally ordered him to take the previous day off, and he’d managed to spend some quality time with his wife. "Good morning. Four coffees for the three of us?"

  Despite her fatigue, Jane gave him a playful wink as she kept holding on to the foam cups in her hands. "Two cups for me. I haven't had any sleep for the past twenty-four hours, unlike you."

  Perry chuckled as he graciously accepted a steaming cup from Zoe. "Thanks. I heard there's been some good news."

  Zoe sat down on the guest chair while sipping at her portion of java. "There was a delay, but we managed to catch the mole."

  Perry knew that she usually never discussed her operations until they either succeeded or failed. "That's a relief. So all the breaches have been sealed?"

  "Those we know of."

  "Just wait till you hear who it was," Jane said.

  Perry placed his cup back onto the desktop. "I'm dying of suspense."

  "Alasdair Thorne, one of the assistant directors of British counter-intelligence," Zoe said.

  Perry's eyes were ready to pop. "Our British liaison? I... I met him personally a few months ago. Right when we launched the raid in Sudan."

  Jane nodded. "He was the one who brought us the intel, remember?"

  "Yeah, I’d have never thought it would be him."

  "It took my mole hunting team a fair amount of work—backtracking his movements and all," Zoe said. "In the end he sort of admitted to it, according to the extraction team."

  Jane had already finished her first cup of coffee and was now on her second. "I heard you didn't use CIA assets at all on this one, right?"

  "We used TFZ in fact, and I'm sorry to say there were a few... casualties."

  Perry let out a deep breath. "What a way to start a morning. Did this Thorne guy kill them?"

  "It seems one of the freelance contacts we were using for some intel and logistical support betrayed us," Zoe said. "Two priceless TFZ operators were lost. I'm so sorry."

  "What about Thorne? Where is he now?"

  "At this moment he's being transported into the mainland. I'd like to use Granite Peak Base as a black site for his interrogation. My team hasn't finished clearing the CIA yet, and there might still be a possible breach here, so I would prefer it done over there."

  "By all means. Let's find out what this stinking traitor knows."

  Jane placed the half empty coffee cup on the table beside her. "Speaking of that base, boss, we've got an issue."

  Damn, I knew I shouldn't have taken that day off, Perry thought. "What's the problem?"

  "It's those scientists. The ones we recovered from the Etherian HQ in Seattle."

  "What about them?"

  "They're demanding to see their loved ones, and the whole research team stopped giving us any new findings for the sake of solidarity."

  "God damn it, don't they know there's a war going on?"

  "They do," Jane said softly. "It's just that they've been missing for a year, and most of their relatives think they're dead or something like it."

  "So our cover story of a possible radiation contamination during their captivity wasn't effective?"

  "They saw right through it. But then again, they have the tools and equipment to make their own diagnosis, and I believe they must have talked it over with the researchers we already had."

  "What about our engineering teams?"

  "They've sided with the scientists as well."

  "And our assault team operatives?"

  "No, it's business as usual with them. Soldiers are conditioned for secrecy and being away from their dependents for extended durations. Right now, they're the only functioning part of that base."

  Perry cursed. "Those scientists were kidnapped, and now they want the whole world to know they're okay? We'd be throwing them out to the dogs if we allow them some leave time until we bring down the fifth column, right?"

  "That's correct," Zoe said. "I believe there still may be some active elements of the Ether Society that could pose a threat to them if they were granted leave away from Granite Peak Base. I would suggest they remain inside because it's secure."

  Jane held up her index finger. "I’ve got an idea. Why don't we bring their relatives into the base for a temporary get-together?"

  Perry crossed his arms. "Wouldn't that make us vulnerable to attack?"

  "As long as we screen them beforehand, it ought to be alright. It sure beats having to escort these scientists separately when they meet their dependents in their home countries. During World War II, researchers were allowed to live with their families in Los Alamos to work on the Manhattan Project."

  "Alright, if that's what it takes for them to continue on with their work, then let's get to it," Perry said to her before turning his attention over to Zoe. "Will you be handling Thorne's interrogation yourself?"

 

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