Crash and Burn

You’ve got to be kidding me.

A wolf whistle of appreciation drew Seichan’s attention across the plush cabin of the Gulfstream G150. The configuration of the private jet allowed for four passengers, but at the moment she shared this flight from D.C. to Marrakesh with only one other traveler, but his size and bulk filled most of the plane’s starboard side.

Joe Kowalski stood well over six feet, most of it muscles and scars. His legs stretched from one chair to the other, his boots propped on the leather seat. He cradled a long case open on his lap. He rubbed a finger along his lower lip, his craggy brows pinched in concentration as he studied the contents cushioned in the box. His other hand traced the contours of the snub-nosed shotgun resting there.

“Nice,” he muttered.

Seichan frowned at him. “How about not playing with a gun at thirty-five thousand feet.”

Talk about the wrong time, wrong place.

He scowled at her concern and picked up the weapon, turning it one way, then the other. “It’s not like it’s loaded.” He cracked the action open, exposing the double chambers — along with the two shells resting there. He quickly removed them and cleared his throat. “At least, not now.”

The case also held a belt of extra rounds. While the gun’s side-by-side double barrels looked like something out of the Old West, Seichan knew there was nothing old-fashioned about the weapon. The label stamped inside the case confirmed this:

Property of Homeland Security Advanced Research Project

The military prototype was called the Piezer. The stock of the weapon housed a powerful battery. Each 12-gauge shell — rather than being filled with buckshot or rock salt — was packed with piezoelectric crystals capable of holding an electric charge. Once powered up, the weapon would electrify the load, and with a pull of a trigger, the fired shell would explode in midair, blasting out a shower of shocking crystals, each carrying the voltage equivalent of a Taser. With no need to trail wires, the nonlethal weapon had a range of fifty yards, perfect for crowd control situations.

“I thought we agreed to keep your new toy locked up until we landed,” she said.

Per mission protocol, their weapons — including her sheathed daggers — were stored in a camouflaged crate, one engineered to withstand most scrutiny.

He shrugged sheepishly. Plainly he must have gotten bored and decided to break those rules, wanting something to play with during the long flight.

“Pack it back up,” she told him. “Crowe said you could field test the weapon in your spare time, but he meant on the ground.”

And preferably well away from me.

They would be going their separate ways once they reached Morocco. She had been sent by Director Painter Crowe to investigate the black-market trafficking of stolen antiquities in Marrakesh. The funds financed various terrorist groups, and with her own past ties to such organizations, she was perfectly suited to infiltrate and expose the operation.

Kowalski, on the other hand, was hitching a ride, about to begin an extended leave of absence from Sigma Force. Once she landed in Marrakesh, he would continue on to Germany, to visit his girlfriend in Leipzig, where the woman was working at a genetics lab.

Besides sharing this flight, Seichan and Kowalski also shared the dubious honor of being the black sheep of Sigma Force. The covert group was part of DARPA, the Defense Department’s research-and-development administration. Its members were former Special Forces soldiers who had been retrained in various scientific disciplines to act as field agents for DARPA, to protect U.S. interests against various global threats.

She and Kowalski did not fit that mold.

She was a former assassin, now employed off the books by Sigma. Kowalski had been a navy seaman who happened to be at the wrong place and wrong time, but who proved adept enough at blowing things up to serve as extra muscle and support for the group.

And while she and Kowalski shared this outsider status, the two could not be more different. He was all-American, loud and brash, rough around the edges, with a pronounced Bronx accent. She was Eurasian, svelte and nimble, trained for the shadows.

Still, despite their differences, she recognized a commonality. She had overheard him talking to his girlfriend Maria on the phone before their jet had lifted off. The relationship was new, untested, full of possibility. He smiled broadly when he talked, laughed with his entire body. In his voice, she heard the familiar undertones of longing and desire — some physical, some rising from deeper wellsprings.

Likewise, she had found someone, a man of remarkable ability and unfathomable depths of patience. He seemed to know when to draw close and when to pull back. It was a necessary skill to love someone like her. After decades in the shadows, to commit the acts she had done, she’d had to let that darkness inside.

Even now, she remained haunted, discovering her new life with Sigma was not all that different from her past. She still had to linger in the dark.

Not that I have any other choice.

After she’d betrayed her former employers, enemies now surrounded her on all sides. Her only refuge was within Sigma, but even there, she was a ghost, with only a handful of personnel aware of her presence or her past.

She turned to the window, to the sun sinking toward the ocean. Its brightness pained her, but she did not blink, trying to let that light deep inside her, to get it to chase away her black thoughts and dispel those shadows. But she knew better. It would be nightfall before much longer. Even the sun could not hold back the darkness forever.

The pilot called over the radio. “We’ll be touching down at Ponta Delgada in another fifteen minutes.”

She stared below the wings, toward the archipelago of volcanic islands stretching ahead of them. The Azores were an autonomous region of Portugal. Their jet would be landing on São Miguel, the largest of the archipelago’s nine islands — but only long enough to refuel. The Gulfstream’s range was not far enough to make the transatlantic trip in a single hop.

As the plane began its descent, she studied the sweep of the Azores, noting the tiny silvery lakes glinting from the basins of green calderas. Most of the populace clustered in small towns or the main city of Ponta Delgada. The bulk of those islands remained untouched.

The pilot came back on. “Secure the cabin for final—”

His words ended with a loud screech from the radio. At the same time, Seichan’s body was set on fire. Blinded by pain, she gasped as her skin burned. Kowalski howled from across the cabin. As she breathed flames, the entire plane bobbled. The jet rolled into a nosedive. Still on fire, Seichan felt herself rise from her seat, restrained by her lap belt.

Then it all ended.

Her sight returned, and the searing pain in her skin dulled to the smolder of a sunburn. Kowalski sat in a shocked hunch, his large mitts clamped to his armrests.

What the hell…

Though the agony had ended, the jet continued to plummet. She took a breath to collect herself and to see if the pilot regained control of the aircraft. When nothing happened, she snapped off her seat belt and fell toward the small cockpit. She forced the door open and hung from the threshold. Their pilot — a sixty-two-year-old air force veteran named Fitzgerald — slumped leadenly in his chair, held up by his restraints, but clearly unconscious — if not dead.

She dropped into the empty copilot seat and switched controls to her side. She grabbed the yoke with both hands and pulled back hard. Past the windshield, blue ocean filled the world, rising quickly toward her. She fought to haul the nose up.

C’mon, c’mon…

As the front of the plane slowly lifted, the view shifted, showing a line of… then a fringe green forest… and finally the sheer flank of a volcano.

Though she had pulled out of the dive, their descent remained steep, their speed too fast. She had neither the time nor the clearance to sweep back into the air. A quick eye flick across the instrument panel — showing a plummeting altimeter and a map of a doomed glide path — confirmed her grim assessment.

We’re going down.

Knowing this, she cut the throttle.

She hollered to Kowalski. “Crash position! Now!”

One-handed, she pulled her own restraints over her shoulders and snapped her belt in place. As the jet raced for the water, she continued to hold the yoke to her belly. She trimmed the flaps, struggling to keep the aircraft’s wings even.

Still, at the end, she had to abandon the high-tech instruments and go by the seat of her pants. She stared out the window, eyeballing the ocean rushing toward her, noting the curved line of a beach ahead. Beyond it, a stretch of forest lined the base of a towering wall of black cliffs. But between the beach and the forested cliffs, a large resort shone in the last rays of the sun. Its dozen stories of white walls and windows glowed brightly, like the pearly gates of some tropical heaven.

And we’re about to go crashing into them.

To avoid such a fiery end, Seichan had to attempt a hard water landing. As the ocean swept up, she waited until the last moment and timed her move as best she could. Just before they struck the water, she dropped the flaps and hit the throttle hard. Goosed by the sudden power, the plane flared up, nose lifting. The tail end hit the waves first. On that signal, she cut the engines. The rest of aircraft belly-slammed into the water.

Thrown forward into her restraints, she could do nothing more as the jet’s momentum sent the craft skipping and spinning across the water like a flat stone. The tip of a wing struck a wave, sending the jet cartwheeling the last thirty yards, until it finally ground into sand, coming to a stop in the shallows.

She sagged in her own restraints, breathing hard, trying to force her heart out of her throat.

“Still in one piece back here!” Kowalski called from the cabin. “Not so sure about the plane.”

Of course, Kowalski was okay. The man had too few marbles to be truly rattled by anything.

“Help me with Fitzgerald,” she ordered.

The pilot remained unconscious, but at least he appeared to be breathing. She unbuckled herself, then freed Fitzgerald, catching his weight as he fell forward.

Kowalski joined her and grabbed the pilot under his arms and hauled his prone body out of the cockpit. “What happened to him?”

“We’ll figure it out later.” She remembered the blast of fiery pain, but she had no clue as to its source or what it meant.

One problem at a time.

She wiggled past the pair and shouldered the cabin door open. A breeze blew in, bringing the scent of salt water, along with the smell of burning oil. A glance forward showed smoke rising from the crumpled engine cowling. Though they had been flying on a nearly empty fuel tank, the risk of an explosion remained.

She hopped into the thigh-deep water, soaking her boots and jeans. She hiked her jacket higher to keep it dry as waves washed over her legs.

She pointed to the beach. “Hurry!”

Kowalski jumped out, not bothering to keep his knee-length leather duster dry. He hauled Fitzgerald by his armpits and dragged the pilot behind him.

The group waded stiffly away from the side of the plane and climbed out onto the dry sand. By now, the sun had sunk into the ocean, leaving the skies aglow behind them, but ahead, the dark volcanic peak loomed, framed by the first sweep of stars.

She guessed they had crashed into one of the outer islands of the Azores.

But where exactly?

She stared down the beach. A hundred yards away, the resort she had spotted from the air appeared to be the only habitation. It rose from a dense forest of palms and dark trees. Flickering torches illuminated the hotel’s many terraces. The faint strains of music wafted over to them.

Seichan knew any help lay in that direction, but she remained on edge since the crash. Something’s not right here.

Even Kowalski acknowledged this. “How come no one’s running over here to check on us?”

A groan drew their attention to the sand. The pilot was finally stirring, shivering from being dragged through the cold water.

Kowalski dropped to a knee, helping Fitzgerald sit up. “Hey, man, you’re okay.”

But the man wasn’t.

His eyes snapped toward Kowalski, the groan turning into a low growl. Shocked, Kowalski leaned away. Fitzgerald’s face contorted into a mask of rage, and he shoved Kowalski back, forcefully enough to knock the large man on his rear. The pilot leaped to his feet, but he remained leaning on the knuckles of one hand.

Fitzgerald’s eyes swung between the two of them, his lips snarling, baring his teeth.

Then without warning, he leaped toward Seichan, likely going for the smaller target. Seichan caught him, and used his momentum to toss his weight over her hip. Or that was the plan. He hooked an arm around her waist, moving far faster than she expected from a sixty-year-old. Trapped together, they both fell hard to the sand. She landed on her back and twisted her head to the side as he snapped at her face, coming close to taking off her ear.

They grappled for several long breaths, rolling across the sand. She fought to break free, but the man’s muscles were iron hard, his reflexes cunning. She finally got her legs bunched under her and kicked him in the stomach, hard enough to finally break his hold and send him flying back.

Before she could even regain her feet, Fitzgerald landed in a crouch, skidding in the sand but staying impossibly upright. He lunged again for her.

But a blast sounded behind her. A scintillating blue cascade shot over her head and struck the pilot in the chest. A few shards of the brilliance shattered past his form and danced over the dark sand.

Fitzgerald sprawled across the beach, his limbs jerking and twitching. His wet clothes ran with fiery spiderwebs of electricity. As the dazzling effect faded, his body went slack and limp, out cold again.

Seichan looked back to see Kowalski standing with his new toy at his shoulder. One muzzle of the Piezer’s double barrels still glowed softly from the discharged energy. Clearly, the man had refused to abandon the weapon and hidden it under his duster. The gun’s ammunition belt was already hooked around his waist.

Thank god for the man’s love of his toys.

Kowalski lowered his shotgun, eyeing it appreciatively. “Guess it works.”

She glanced down at the unconscious pilot.

It certainly does.

She studied the smoking jet, wondering if she should risk going for her own weapons.

“Company’s coming,” Kowalski said, drawing her attention down the beach.

Past the resort property, a pair of headlamps had blinked on and shone brightly along the dark curve of sand. The rumble of an engine echoed over the water, as a large truck started in their direction.

“Looks like someone’s finally checking for survivors,” Kowalski said.

After all this strangeness, she suspected the opposite was more likely true. She pointed to Fitzgerald. “Drag him into the forest.”

“Why are we—?”

“Just do it. Now!”

As Kowalski obeyed, she rushed over and grabbed a dry palm frond. She did her best to erase their path into the woods, or at least obscure the number of footprints. Once under the bower, she tossed her makeshift broom aside.

“Keep moving. Find a place to hide Fitzgerald.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

She stared through the trees toward the flickering torches. “Let’s go inquire about a late check-in.”

Hidden behind a fragrant hedgerow of blue-flowering hydrangeas, Seichan studied the shadowy grounds behind the resort. Nothing stirred across the acres of manicured lawns, and garden paths. The only noise came from a few small fountains burbling from decorative ponds. Higher up, a group of candlelit tables illuminated a second-story dining terrace, all deserted.

Definitely something wrong here.

Closer now, she could tell the resort property was a new construction. It still showed signs of ongoing work: scaffolding along one side, tilled but unplanted garden beds, rows of sapling trees waiting in buckets.

Still, from the faint strains of music and the flaming torches, it was clear the place was open for business, even if it was only a soft opening to test staff and facilities.

Beside her, Kowalski swatted as something dark swept past his cheek. “What’s with all these friggin’ bats?”

She had noted the same while crossing through the woods. Scores of leathery wings had flitted among the branches, accompanied by an ultrasonic chorus that set her teeth on edge. Across the grounds, smoky clouds of bats swirled in bands, rising low and sweeping high. More and more seemed to be flowing down from the dark flank of the volcano behind them, rising out of caves and rocky roosts to hunt the night.

But the bats weren’t her true concern at the moment.

She glanced to her left. Off by the beach, lights glowed through the trees, marking the location of the truck and whoever had been drawn to the crashed jet. Occasional louder voices reached them, the words too muffled to make out clearly. She knew searchers were probably already combing the woods after finding the aircraft empty. She and Kowalski needed to get under cover quickly, and the hotel offered them a multitude of hiding places.

Kowalski nudged her and pointed. “By that ATV. Are those legs sticking out from behind it?”

She peered in that direction and saw he was right. “Let’s check it out.”

She shifted over to an opening in the hedgerow and entered the rear grounds, staying low and avoiding the occasional torch burning along the periphery. The small Kawasaki ATV had a trailer attached to it, loaded with trays of potted flowers. It was parked beside an empty garden bed. A man lay facedown in the grass next to the trailer. From the looks of his green overalls, he was part of a landscaping crew.

She saw his chest rise and fall.

Unconscious.

Kowalski leaned down, his finger reaching to check a pulse.

She pulled him back, picturing Fitzgerald’s snarling countenance. “Don’t.” She motioned to the tall patio doors under the dining terrace. “Let’s get inside, out of the open.”

She headed straight across, hurrying faster as flashlights bobbled through the forest to her left. She reached the doors and tugged. Locked. She shifted along the back of the building, testing each door until finally one gave way. She tugged it open and pushed into a dark hallway with Kowalski shadowing her.

“What now?” he whispered.

“Weapons.”

She headed down the carpeted hallway, picturing the dining terrace outside. There must be a kitchen nearby. Halfway along the empty hall, she found a door marked Empregados Apenas. Her Portuguese was rusty, but the sign was easily translatable as Employees Only.

She tested the knob, found the door unlocked, and headed through it. Past the threshold, a narrow staircase led up. She mounted the steps.

“C’mon.”

The spaces back here were more utilitarian. The walls were unpainted, further evidence that the hotel was a work in progress. At the next landing, she followed the smell of frying grease and spices to a set of swinging stainless steel doors.

She peeked one side open and discovered a large commercial kitchen, with stacks of ovens and rows of gas burners. Several pots bubbled and steamed; a few had boiled over. A set of four pans smoked with what might have been fish fillets, now charred into blackened crisps.

The reason for the mess was clear. A dozen or more bodies in white aprons were sprawled across the floor, limbs tangled, some atop one another. Like the gardener, they looked like they were still breathing.

“Careful,” Seichan whispered. “Watch where you step.”

She headed in first and worked her way across the space, placing each foot gingerly so as not to disturb those on the floor. She did not want a repeat of the incident with Fitzgerald.

Though uncertain of what was going on, she had begun to get an inkling. She remembered the flare of fiery pain aboard the jet. Seated in front, the pilot must have taken the full brunt of that unknown force. Insulated in back, she and Kowalski were less impacted.

She stepped over the fat belly of a man whose chef’s hat lay deflated next to his head. He snored loudly. Whatever blow was struck here did not appear fatal. Still, from Fitzgerald’s heightened aggression and adrenaline-fueled strength, there was lasting damage, some violent alteration of personality.

She reached a row of cutting utensils and grabbed a long butcher’s knife and a smaller boning blade. Kowalski picked up a big meat cleaver. He still had his shotgun clutched in one hand, but clearly he wanted something more lethal if it came down to hand-to-hand combat.

“This is more like it,” he said, stepping back.

His heel struck a sleeping dishwasher in the nose. A sharp snort of pain alerted them to the misstep. They turned to find a pair of narrowed eyes glaring up at them. The worker jerked his limbs under him, again moving with shocking speed. He leaped up — only to be met with the thick wooden handle of Kowalski’s cleaver coming down. The impact sounded like a hammer hitting a coconut. The dishwasher seemed to hang in the air for a beat, then his body collapsed back to the floor.

“That’s right,” Kowalski said. “Go back to sleep.”

Seichan bent down. The man’s eyes had rolled white, but he should be all right, except for the goose egg he’d find behind his left ear later. She straightened and scowled at Kowalski.

“I know, I know.” He waved her on. “Watch my step.”

She led the way out of the kitchen but noted a tall cake on a serving trolley near the door. It was frosted with pink flowers and displayed a cartoonish red dog saying Parabéns, Amelia! Feliz aniversário! Clearly someone was celebrating a birthday. Though the presence of only nine candles made her blood run cold.

“Let’s go,” she said, and hurried out of the kitchen and down a short hall.

Another set of double doors opened into a four-story lobby. To her left was the torch-lit dining terrace. She headed right, wanting to get a view out to the grounds bordering the beach. She pictured the child’s birthday cake and rushed faster. Ahead, a series of tall patio doors had been rolled open. A gentle sea breeze wafted into the marble interior — carrying with it a smattering of bats that swept in diving arcs through the crystal chandeliers.

Closer by, other bodies dotted the lobby’s tile floor or were slumped in chairs. She headed for a cocktail lounge opposite the reception desk. Its bar abutted the floor-to-ceiling glass wall that overlooked the ocean. They could shelter behind the counter and still spy upon the grounds outside.

She wound through the tables, avoiding a nicely dressed woman collapsed on the floor next to a shattered martini glass.

Circling behind the bar, Seichan drew Kowalski alongside her.

“Stay low,” she warned.

The space behind the counter was occupied by the crumpled figure of a man in a pressed black suit. He had fallen to his rear, his back leaning against a tall, glass-fronted wine refrigerator. His head lolled to the side, with a rope of drool hanging from his lips.

She pointed to the bartender, but before she could say a word Kowalski waved her on.

“Watch my step,” he said. “I know.”

They crossed over the obstacle and hunkered down at the far end, where a window offered an expansive view across a hedge-lined terrace that surrounded a midnight blue pool.

Kowalski settled with a sigh. He had nabbed a bottle of whiskey from a shelf and cracked the seal with his teeth. As she frowned at him, he mumbled around the cap. “What? I’m thirsty.” He spat out the lid and cocked his head toward the window. “Besides, it’s a party.”

She returned her attention to the poolside terrace. Tables had been set up across the space, each bearing centerpieces of pink balloons. As elsewhere, bodies were strewn all around. Torsos were draped across dishes; chairs had toppled over. Servers lay amid platters of broken dishes and glasses. Most of the figures appeared to be adults.

Except for the table in the center.

A triple set of balloon bouquets decorated that spread. To the side, a wide bench supported a stack of gaily wrapped presents. All around, small bodies — like a flock of felled sparrows — dotted the tiled pavement. At the head, a tiny figure lay slumped to the table, her face turned to the side, as if too exhausted to hold up her head, burdened by the paper crown she wore.

Here must be the reason for this celebration.

Seichan remembered the child’s name, written in pink icing.

Amelia.

The girl was clearly loved, likely the child of one of the staff or management. The family was probably taking advantage of the resort’s soft opening to throw the girl this private party.

Seichan wondered what it would be like to be that girl, to have grown up with such all-encompassing love, to have your life celebrated under the sun. She found it nearly incomprehensible to imagine, having spent her early years in the alleys of Bangkok and Phnom Penh, then later in the stygian folds of the Guild. She stared at that bright paper crown and felt the shadows within her grow darker by contrast.

“Truck’s coming back,” Kowalski said.

She shifted her attention to the stretch of beach on the far side of the pool. Unlit and gloomy, washed by black waves, the sands grew brighter as the large truck trundled over from the crash site. Its headlamps speared across the tiny bay, revealing an unpaved gravel road on its far side, cutting through the forest, likely heading to some small town or village.

She willed the truck to keep heading that way.

Instead, the truck braked to a stop, its lights shining across a marble staircase that climbed from the beach to the terrace. The vehicle had a double cab with an open bed. Men with rifles and flashlights hopped out of the back, and doors popped open, but it was what was braced in the bed that drew Seichan’s full attention.

Before evacuating the vehicle, the crew’s flashlights revealed a refrigerator-sized steel box with thick cables running to a row of car batteries. Topping the device was a meter-wide metal dish, swiveled halfway up, pointing toward the sky.

That’s gotta be the cause for whatever happened here.

Kowalski nodded toward the group climbing the steps. “Fitzgerald.”

The pilot was on his feet, his hands tied behind his back. He looked dazed, stumbling along the steps, but a giant dressed in black commando gear had Fitzgerald’s elbow clamped in a firm grip and held him up, forcing him to climb the stairs. Still, the pilot seemed to have come to his senses. Though cowed, he searched around, plainly trying to comprehend what was happening.

Seichan studied the pilot. Was Fitzgerald’s recovery just a matter of time or had they given him some agent to counteract his mania?

Her gaze returned to Amelia.

But a sharp voice drew her attention back to the group as they reached the pool deck. The words echoed across the terrace and through the open patio doors.

“Fear not, gents. Noises won’t wake them.” The silver-haired speaker wore a crisp white suit, his accent distinctly British. He waved an arm over the tables as they drew closer. “From our preliminary studies, they’re deaf in this comatose state. But take care not to otherwise disturb their slumber. They will attack anything that moves.”

He was accompanied by a younger bearded man in a beige uniform, clearly Persian, likely Iranian. He spoke as the group drew nearer to the hotel. “Dr. Balchor, this alteration in the victims’ mental status, tell me more. If we are to continue financing your research, the army will want full details of your progress.”

“Of course, Colonel Rouhani. What you’re seeing here is a side effect of Colossus.” He motioned toward the device aboard the truck. “One we had not anticipated. My initial research goals were to build your army a new active denial system, a nonlethal defensive energy weapon. Typical systems used by current police and military forces employ microwave beams that penetrate the top layers of the skin to trigger an excruciatingly painful experience. But today’s systems have limited range and scope.”

“And Colossus?”

Balchor smiled proudly. “I wanted to create a system that could do the same, but with a scope capable of taking down entire city blocks, even penetrating buildings.”

Rouhani looked around. “And you achieved this how?”

“It’s technical, but basically I discovered that by crossing a high-powered microwave beam with an electromagnetic pulse, I could produce a unique resonance wave. The resulting beam is capable of passing through most solid objects in order to strike its intended targets. Again, I thought the beam would only act as a deterrent, triggering intense, debilitating pain in those caught in its path.”

Seichan remembered that effect. Her skin still ached from that phantom burn.

Balchor continued, “But upon modulating that wave, I discovered it could penetrate deeper than just the outer layers of the skin. The electromagnetic component of the beam could reach the brain. Now, normally an electromagnetic pulse — an EMP — has no deleterious effects on living tissue, so you can imagine my shock to see victims collapse and have their behavior altered.”

Rouhani frowned. “So then what is happening?”

“To answer that very question, it took further investigation. Eventually I came across research being conducted in China, where scientists had discovered that a certain frequency of an EMP could cause an increase in vascular permeability in the cerebral cortex. In other words, it makes a brain’s blood vessels more leaky. My device was doing something similar, only affecting the permeability of neurons directly.”

“I don’t understand,” Rouhani said. “Why is that significant?”

“Because leaky neurons can’t conduct electricity properly. The result is that Colossus shuts down a target’s cerebral cortex, knocking them out. If woken, the subjects react at a primitive level. It’s all that still functions. Pure fight or flight — though mostly fight, as it turns out. Spiked on adrenaline, the subjects have proven to be inordinately strong and aggressive.”

Rouhani nodded. “That is why you claimed that Colossus was the first biological EMP.”

“Indeed. A typical EMP knocks out electronic circuits without harming humans or other biological life. But when modulated and crossed with a high-powered microwave — an HPM — the result is the opposite. Colossus targets living subjects, those with an advanced cerebral cortex, while leaving anything electronic untouched.”

“So such a weapon could incapacitate an enemy, yet leave the infrastructure intact for an invading force to utilize.”

“Precisely. And as you can see, we’ve made good progress. But I’d still like to understand this effect in more detail. It is one of the reasons for today’s test firing, both as a demonstration for you and to further my own studies.” Balchor turned to the steroid-bulked giant holding Fitzgerald hostage. “Dmitry, have your men pick out seven or eight subjects for further examination at the lab. I’ll want a sampling of all ages for a proper assessment.”

Dmitry nodded and yelled orders in Russian to his other men. From the giant’s razor-cropped hair, he was clearly ex-military, probably acting as a security detachment for the field test of this weapon.

His men readied long-barreled handguns, loading in feathered darts, plainly intending to tranquilize their targets prior to hauling them away. His seven-man team spread out, calling to one another, searching for the best subjects.

A pair approached the children’s table. The two eyed Amelia and nodded a confirmation to each other. One man lifted his gun and fired into the child’s neck. The girl jerked, rolled slightly to the side as if about to wake, then slumped back down as the fast-acting sedative kicked in.

Seichan’s hands balled into tight fists.

Motherfu—

The shooter stood guard over the girl as other subjects were picked out. One target — a twenty-something young man — reacted more vigorously to the dart’s impact. He swatted blindly and flew to his feet, stumbling in a circle. A second feathered dart bloomed on his chest, but by then, he had trampled over two others. One lunged up and went for the groggy young man, clawing at his face. The other scrabbled low across the tiles, going for the shooter.

Before the matter escalated out of hand, another gunman stepped forward with a regular pistol and fired twice — making two clean head shots — and bloodily ended the threat.

The young troublemaker, now doubly sedated, slumped heavily to the ground.

As the remainder of the crew worked through the partygoers, making their selections, Balchor led the Iranian colonel toward the patio doors. “Let’s head inside. I’ll buy you a drink while Dmitry’s men finish up here.”

“Just water.” Rouhani looked shaken up by the violent episode. He cast a worried eye at the remaining thirty or forty bodies still strewn across the terrace.

“Ah, yes, sorry. I forgot your faith forbids the use of alcohol. Luckily my religion is science, and a glass of champagne is well deserved under the circumstances.”

Rouhani suddenly ducked and batted at his head. A small black shape fluttered away. “Why are there so many bats?”

Balchor searched up at the dark clouds winging and spiraling above the terrace. Occasional streams shot lower, dive-bombing and cartwheeling, casting off individual bats that glided through the assembly outside.

“I believe the wave must have agitated them from their caves, stirring them up. With their keen sonic senses, they might have been drawn here, zeroing in on the source of the beam.” Balchor shrugged and headed toward the patio door. “It’s interesting — and one of the reasons we run field tests. To see how such a weapon performs in real-world scenarios. That includes bats and all.”

Seichan lost sight of them as they entered the lobby, but she heard their footsteps approaching across the hard marble. She glanced up at the wall of bottles over the bar, suddenly questioning her choice of hiding place.

Kowalski must have realized the same and firmed his grip on his shotgun. He shifted to her side of the bar, both their backs now pressed against the counter.

Dmitry had accompanied the pair, still holding Fitzgerald. “What about the man we find in woods?” he asked, his English stilted and heavily accented.

The footsteps stopped, and Balchor answered, “The man claims to have been the only one aboard the plane. So we may be fine.”

Seichan shared a look with Kowalski.

Good going, Fitzgerald.

“But, Dmitry, I think a more vigorous interrogation of the pilot is in order before we vacate the island. I’ll leave you and your men to handle that once they finish up here.”

“Still, what about his plane?” Rouhani asked. “Why did it crash? I thought Colossus didn’t affect electronic systems.”

“Indeed it doesn’t. I suspect the beam we aimed from the parking lot toward the hotel must have reflected off the building — or off the cliffs behind it — and struck the aircraft by accident.”

Seichan bit back a groan at their bad luck.

Definitely wrong place, wrong time.

Balchor continued, “The backwash must have been painful enough to make the pilot lose control but not strong enough for the full neurological impact.”

Seichan knew the good doctor was wrong about that last part, which made her wonder again about Fitzgerald’s recovery. Clearly Balchor’s team hadn’t administered any counteragent to help Fitzgerald return to his senses. She glanced over to the weapon in Kowalski’s hand, remembering the doctor’s description of Colossus’s effect, how it could turn off the electrical flow through the cerebral cortex.

Had the shock delivered by Kowalski’s weapon restarted that flow, like some defibrillator for the brain?

The footsteps continued again, heading toward the bar.

Off to the side, she watched Amelia being lifted from her chair, her paper crown fluttering to the tabletop. The gunman hauled her over his shoulder like a sack of flour and headed toward the truck on the beach.

“What will you do with the rest of the people out there?” Rouhani asked as the pair reached the counter, speaking directly over where she and Kowalski hid.

Balchor sighed heavily. “I’ll blast another wave as we leave. Prior tests show that a second insult to such afflicted individuals results in total brain death. They won’t be telling any stories.” He clapped his hands, changing the subject. “It looks as if this bar is self-service at the moment, so I’ll have to go around and fetch my own champagne.”

We’re out of time.

Seichan lifted a fist in front of Kowalski, signaling him.

Don’t move.

After getting a nod from him, she turned to her other side and kicked the man sharing their hiding place. The bartender’s head snapped up, throwing a rope of drool that struck Seichan in the cheek. She remained a statue, not even blinking, recalling Balchor’s earlier warning about the newly awakened.

They will attack anything that moves.

Rouhani leaned over the counter, his head turned, calling over to Balchor. “Maybe I will take a small drink after all.”

The bartender was happy to assist.

The man burst to his feet and dove at the Iranian. Caught off guard, Rouhani failed to react in time. The bartender’s fingers latched on to the colonel’s throat. Rouhani tried to push off the bar to escape.

Not so fast.

Seichan leaped up and twisted around. She swung her arm down and stabbed the stolen butcher’s knife through the back of the colonel’s hand, pinning it to the mahogany bar. Without waiting, she rolled over the countertop and landed in a crouch on the far side.

Balchor was already running for the patio doors, shouting for help.

Before she could give chase, she had another obstacle to address.

Across the cocktail lounge, Dmitry shoved Fitzgerald to the floor and reached for a holstered sidearm.

Not good.

Kowalski had their only gun.

She glanced to her right, hoping her partner saw the threat, but Kowalski was focused elsewhere. At the bar, Rouhani struggled and gurgled. The bartender’s teeth were sunk deep into the man’s neck, ripping his throat open. Kowalski fired his Piezer — but not at the Russian. The scintillating blue flare struck the bartender, sending him flying and hopefully back to sleep.

Still, the dazzling blast succeeded in startling Dmitry. The Russian fell back several steps, but unfortunately, he had freed his sidearm by now.

Using the momentary distraction, Seichan flipped the boning knife in her fingers and flung it across the lounge. Dmitry easily dodged the blade — but the Russian wasn’t her target.

The knife struck the thigh of the woman behind Dmitry. She was the bar patron sprawled on the floor next to a shattered martini glass. The pain of the impaled blade drove the woman to her feet with a furious cry. She looked for the nearest person to blame.

Caught off guard, Dmitry could not turn in time. The woman hit him broadside, taking him to the floor. But the Russian was no amateur. He tossed the woman away and rolled back to his feet, but the sudden blow had knocked his pistol from his grip.

It lay under a table next to him.

He made a move in that direction, but Kowalski fired at him. A fiery blue blast exploded over the tabletop, sparing the Russian sheltered below from the brunt of the electrifying charge. Still, several crystals managed to hit him and drove him away, his face tight with pain. Dmitry twisted around, dug in his toes, and dove toward the patio door.

“Have to reload,” Kowalski called out.

Seichan rushed forward, diving across the floor. She scooped up the abandoned handgun, a .50-caliber Desert Eagle, and fired at Dmitry. But the Russian, running low, pursuing his employer, had made it out to the terrace, where a storm was brewing.

In his hurry to escape, Balchor must have stepped on a few comatose patrons, rousing them in his wake. They in turn disturbed others. Cries and screams rose out there, accompanied by the breaking of furniture.

Kowalski’s weapon blasted again. Seichan ducked and turned in time to see the sharply dressed madwoman go flying backward, her chest dancing with blue fire.

Almost forgot about her.

Out on the terrace, Dmitry fled through the escalating riot, punching and elbowing his way forward. Across the pool, Balchor tripped and fell down the far steps, landing near the bumper of the truck. One of Dmitry’s men helped him up, guiding him toward the cab as the engine growled louder, preparing to leave.

Kowalski skidded up next to her, the muzzle of his weapon glowing. “All set. What now?”

She ignored him for the moment and picked up the boning blade that had knocked free during the scuffle and crossed to Fitzgerald. “How’re you feeling?”

The pilot sat up, looking stunned, but nodded. “O… okay. Better.”

Good.

He had clearly returned to his senses, and she could guess why.

As she sliced the man’s bonds and freed him, she finally answered Kowalski’s question. She nodded to his weapon. “That seems to shock them out of their madness.” She pointed out to the patio. “So you’re on crowd control.”

She swung around and headed in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?” Kowalski shouted after her.

She pictured Amelia. The girl was already aboard the truck with the others. “Making sure somebody has a happy birthday.”

Standing beside the unplanted garden bed, Seichan yanked the pin connecting the flower-laden trailer from the Kawasaki ATV and hopped onto the seat. Earlier she had noted the sleeping gardener’s keys were still in the ignition.

She started the engine and gunned the throttle, bucking the vehicle up on its back wheels. Then the front tires slammed down, and she shot forward. She cut across the newly planted lawn and over gravel paths, aiming for the dark wing still under construction.

No lights shone there, but such places were where she worked best.

In the shadows.

She wasn’t the only one. The air was full of bats, swooping and keening in ultrasonic fury. The winged horde had grown tenfold thicker in just the short time she had been inside the hotel. A stray bat struck her face and fluttered off, leaving a welt of pain. She ignored it and sped faster, her knobby tires chewing through the terrain. She dared not slow.

A minute ago, as she had exited the back of the resort, she had heard the truck engine’s roar settle into a steady growl.

The others were already leaving.

With Balchor’s team having a head start, she refused to lose any more ground. She reached the far corner of the resort and sped around the turn, lifting up on two tires, challenging the limits of the ATV. As she cleared the bend, she had to dodge through an array of construction equipment and supplies: piles of concrete pavers, stacks of lumber, a parked backhoe.

She cursed the obstacle course, trying not to slow down. In her haste, her front bumper clipped a crated statue. The ATV skidded sideways. Instead of braking, she let it spin a bit further, then gunned the engine and sent the vehicle racing for a slab of granite that had slipped off its stack and fallen crookedly in front of her. She shot up the makeshift ramp, caught air, and flew several yards. She landed with a crunch and a bounce in the gravel of a parking lot.

Finally clear of the construction zone, she sped toward the road that led into the forest. Distantly through the trees, she spotted the rear lights of the trucks. The fleeing vehicle was even farther ahead than she had feared.

Behind her, the occasional shotgun blast echoed, continuing proof that Kowalski was still alive and doing his best to manage crowd control. She left him to his work and raced to the road and into the forest. She kept her lights off and followed the glow through the trees.

The road paralleled the curves and bends of the island’s coast, allowing her to stay out of direct sight, but eventually the path straightened. Fearing she would be spotted, she guided her ATV to the edge of the trees, doing her best to stay in the darker shadows under the canopy, hiding from the moon and stars.

The truck suddenly veered to the left, leaving the road, which continued following the coastline. She hurried to close the distance. As she reached the corner, she discovered the turnoff led to a long pier, where a floatplane — a Cessna Caravan — waited at its end. A large cargo hatch was open on one side, its lighted interior shining in the darkness.

Fifty yards ahead, the truck had pulled alongside the base of the pier. Men busied themselves around it.

She could’ve abandoned the ATV and gone on foot, using the cover of the forest, but she heard Balchor shout.

“Get Colossus onto the plane! Then the test subjects!”

She pictured the paper crown falling from Amelia’s bowed head and made a sharp turn onto the side road and headed straight for the truck. She raised her huge pistol — the stolen Desert Eagle — and fired over the hood of the truck. She struck a man in the shoulder, sending him spinning from the impact of the large-caliber slug. The recoil almost tore the pistol from her grip, but she tightened her fingers and kept her aim high, away from the back bed and cab, fearing she might hit one of those “test subjects.”

Return fire sparked toward her, but the shots were wild as the crew was caught by surprise. She crouched low, balancing her wrist on the ATV’s short windshield, and fired back.

Four men managed to lug the dish device out of the bed and ran with it down the dock, dragging cables. Balchor fled alongside them, guarded by Dmitry. The bulk of the truck blocked her from shooting after them. Still, she dropped another Russian by the back bumper. The rest of the crew finally abandoned the vehicle and followed the others — especially as the floatplane’s engine roared louder, readying to depart. Its propellers spun faster.

As Seichan reached the truck, coming in fast, she braked hard and skidded the ATV sideways, slamming broadside into it. She hopped out of the seat and quickly checked the rear cab and back bed. Sedated bodies were tossed inside both compartments like so much firewood. She spotted the thin limbs of a child.

Amelia…

She shifted to the front of the truck, leveling her big pistol across the hood of the vehicle. Balchor was already aboard the plane, waving for the others to haul Colossus into the cargo hold with him. Dmitry helped, looking as if he could pick up the unwieldy contraption all by himself.

She held off shooting, afraid of drawing return fire toward the truck, where a stray round could injure or kill those sleeping inside. Plus, if her count was right, she was down to a single round. Still, such restraint made her grit her teeth in frustration.

Even before the final man was aboard, the plane headed across the water. The last straggler tossed the dock lines and dove into the hold. Seichan watched the plane gain speed and rise off the water, skimming the waves, then climbing higher. She imagined Balchor’s research lab must be hidden on one of the many tiny islands that dotted the North Atlantic. She would leave it to Painter to discover where the doctor might be holed up.

Impotent and angry, she watched the Cessna continue upward — but then the wings tilted. The aircraft swung in a wide, low turn, coming back around. Seichan glanced over her shoulder toward the resort. Distantly a shotgun blast echoed to her. She faced the floatplane again as it circled in her direction. The cargo hatch was still open. The interior cabin lights revealed men clustered around Colossus, positioning the dish to face the door.

Apparently the bastards weren’t leaving without first saying good-bye. They must intend to deliver a parting shot before they fled home. She remembered Balchor’s description of the effect of a second wave striking those already afflicted.

Total brain death.

She retreated several steps, watching the Cessna complete its slow turn, the open hatch coming around. Men fled back into the hold. She spotted a large bulk standing behind Colossus.

Dmitry.

The Russian loosened the dish and swiveled it down. He pointed toward the forest ahead of her — but that was not the true objective. As the plane turned, the device’s wave would soon sweep over her and the truck.

Though there was no sound, no visible sign, she felt Colossus activate. It was like a sunburst in the forest, the heat burning her face and arms — and she knew this was just the weapon’s backwash. Her skin grew steadily hotter as the plane continued to turn, swinging the beam’s full force toward her.

Still, she kept her position, determined to guard the truck and its occupants.

She planted her legs, cradling the Desert Eagle in both hands. She lifted her arms and aimed toward the cargo hold, toward Dmitry. Her skin burned, her eyes wept, but she held steady. The rising pain made her want to scream — so she did as she fired.

The big gun blasted, the recoil driving her arms up.

She failed to hit Dmitry.

But again he wasn’t her target.

The large-caliber slug sparked off the upper lip of the dish; the impact kicked the loosened dish up, pointing it toward the roof of the cargo hold. Sharp screams of agony cut through the engine’s low roar as the searing wave washed over the passengers.

The plane canted wildly. Then the nose lifted, shooting the plane higher and away, as if the pilot were trying to escape the fire in the rear cabin. Then it dipped down, wings bobbling back and forth. But as it fled toward the resort, its path began to straighten.

She scowled.

Someone must have managed to switch Colossus off.

The aircraft steadied and banked over the resort, turning toward the volcanic cliffs — but would it continue away or would the bastards come around and try again to blast the resort with Colossus’s beam?

Seichan held her breath.

In the end, the decision was taken from them.

The large dark cloud that swirled above the hotel suddenly gusted higher, spiraling toward the source of the ultrasonic blast. The plane was quickly lost in a mass of furious bats.

Again the aircraft wobbled wildly, as if its wings were trying to swat away the bats. Its engine coughed, likely inhaling some of the horde. Blinded and assaulted, the Cessna dipped and dove faster over the treetops, still out of control, canting madly — then slammed into the nearby volcanic cliffs and exploded.

A fireball lit up the black rock, then rolled higher, trailing smoke.

Seichan let out the breath she had been holding.

But another distant shotgun blast reminded her that there was still work to do.

She crossed over to the truck, discovered the keys were still in the ignition after the team’s hasty departure, and climbed inside. In short order, she had the truck turned around and was trundling back to the resort.

As she reached the beach, she parked the vehicle at the foot of the wide staircase that led up to the terrace. The truck’s headlights revealed dazed figures seated on the steps, some crying, others holding their heads in their hands.

She climbed out, wary at first, but it was soon clear that the men and women here had recovered from their madness, the same as Fitzgerald. The likely source of their “cure” called out from the upper deck.

“Is that the last of them?” Kowalski yelled.

“Think so!” Fitzgerald answered. “At least out here!”

Seichan hurried up the steps. She reached the top in time to see Kowalski grab a middle-aged woman by the face and shove her into the pool. Five other figures splashed and howled in the waters, teeth gnashing, hands clawing.

Kowalski noted her arrival. “Check this out.”

He stepped back, aimed his Piezer at the pool, and fired.

A flash of blue fire shot into the water. Electricity danced outward in sparks and skittering lines across the surface. The half-dozen bodies — trapped in the pool and caught in that shocking wake — shook and twitched in the water. But as the effect faded, the figures slumped and stumbled around in bewilderment, still conscious, but plainly returning to their senses.

Fitzgerald called and waved to them, ready to help them out. Other recovered patrons came forward to assist him.

Seichan glanced to Kowalski as he hiked his weapon to his shoulder. A lit cigar was clamped between his back molars.

When did he have time to—

Never mind.

She shook her head, having to at least respect the man’s resourcefulness at coming up with this economical way of using his ammunition.

Kowalski crossed to her and sighed heavily. “So now can I go on vacation?”

By the next morning, order was mostly restored.

As the sun rose on a new day, Seichan stood at the edge of the shadowy forest. A borrowed motorcycle was parked behind her. She stared out at the sprawl of the resort, the curve of sand, the bright pool.

Out in the bay, a Portuguese military cruiser bobbed in the water. A pair of ambulances sat on the beach. Overnight, medical crews had turned one floor of the hotel into a makeshift hospital, attending to the injured, trying their best to mitigate the physical and psychological damage inflicted here. The more critically wounded had already been evacuated by helicopter to Ponta Delgada.

She had also reached Painter Crowe last night. He was already working with Portuguese intelligence services to locate Dr. Balchor’s lab. The director had also managed to cover her involvement in events here, along with that of Kowalski and Fitzgerald.

The two men were already en route to a small town on the island’s far side, where a new plane waited to evacuate them. From there, she would continue to Morocco, while Kowalski headed to Germany to enjoy his vacation.

We’re back on schedule… as if nothing had happened.

But before she mounted her motorcycle and headed after Kowalski and Fitzgerald, she wanted this moment alone, to take measure of all that had happened.

She had crashed here, struck down by blind chance. And while it was easier to dismiss such a mishap as bad luck, she knew better. She knew exactly why she had crashed on this island. It wasn’t a matter of being at the wrong place, wrong time.

Instead, she was at the right place, right time.

So this could happen.

From the shadows, Seichan watched a small girl run across the sunlit terrace, her bright pink dress blooming behind her. She ran into her father and hugged his legs with both arms. He lowered a fresh paper crown to her head, lifted her in his arms, and kissed her on the forehead.

Satisfied, Seichan turned away, drawing deeper into the shadows. She now understood it was darkness where she needed to be, so others could play in the sun.

Happy birthday, Amelia.