Callsign: King

8.

Fulbright cocked his head sideways, listening, and then frowned as he too heard the sound of footsteps echoing up the stairwell. “Damn it. All right, this isn’t going to be pretty. Just stay close to me.”

The lady or the tiger? Sara thought, recalling the classic short story of a Roman gladiator faced with two equally undesirable choices. She half-expected him to charge down the stairs, headlong into the force of unknown but surely superior strength, with guns blazing in typical CIA cowboy fashion, but instead he chose the other door. Literally.

He opened the roof access door just enough for them to squeeze through single file. As she stepped out, Sara got a better look at the waiting helicopter, and at the two men who appeared to be guarding it. Like the pair she had seen in hospital ward, they were clad entirely in black assault gear.

Sara felt very exposed as she followed Fulbright along the perimeter of the raised concrete superstructure that housed the stairwell. She expected at any moment to hear gunfire. Or maybe she wouldn’t hear anything; the bullet that would snuff her out of existence would probably be traveling faster than the sound of the shot.

That’s the kind of thing Jack would know.

But if the two men noticed their presence, they gave no indication.

Suddenly, the roof access door flew open behind them with such force that it rebounded off the exterior wall with a bang that, given Sara’s state of mind, sounded like a shot. She whirled involuntarily and caught sight of a lone individual, dressed in the now familiar black uniform, sprinting toward the helicopter. As he passed them, Sara saw that he was carrying a clear plastic bag with a large white-yellow object inside.

The ape skull!

The man did not even glance in their direction, but a moment later, two more men burst from the door, and they did look.

Sara gaped at them. It was like watching a movie. The two men turned, squared their shoulders, and raised their guns.

Fulbright grabbed her arm and propelled her past him. “Go!”

He fired several shots in the direction of the two gunmen. One of them winced but shrugged the impact off as though it were nothing more than a slap. Then, their guns spoke.

The report was thunderous, far louder than Fulbright’s pistol. Concrete exploded above Sara’s head, showering her with grit, but then she rounded the corner with Fulbright right behind her.

“Keep going,” he shouted.

Sara ran, but no more shots were fired. Instead, she heard the whine of the helicopter’s turbines powering up. In a matter of seconds, the whoosh of the rotor blades carving the air became audible and quickened to a roar of engine noise and wind.

They rounded the corner to the back side of the superstructure where Fulbright signaled for her to stop. He ejected the magazine from his pistol, reloaded, and then began scanning in both directions for signs of pursuit. Sara cocked her head, hoping to hear the sound of footsteps, but the noise of the helicopter drowned out everything.

It became apparent after a few minutes that the gunmen weren’t going to engage them. Sara heard the change in pitch as the helicopter lifted off and then flew almost horizontally away from the rooftop. Fulbright edged around the corner as the tempest quieted.

“They’re gone.”

Sara sagged against the wall, but her relief quickly gave way to anger. “All right. Answers.”

Fulbright’s face was flushed with the exertions of running and fighting, but he tried to bring back his roguish smile. “I told you everything I know.”

“Like hell you did. You know a lot more than you’re letting on. Your secrets put me and my team…” She faltered as she recalled Fulbright’s earlier comment. Her co-workers-her friends-might already be dead. “If something has happened to them, it’s on your head.”

Fulbright sighed, his expression contrite. “I knew there was some risk. People who try to develop bio-weapons usually don’t have a lot of scruples. But I couldn’t have known anyone would try something like this.”

His words did nothing to soothe her, but she saw that there was nothing to be gained by venting her rage. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the bigger picture. “What do you know about this pathogen they’re after? That woman-Dr. Carter-she didn’t look sick. I don’t think she was sick.”

He spread his hands. “I told you what they were looking for-some kind of ancient virus. When Felice Carter came back from the expedition, in the state you saw her in, I assumed that she had become infected. That’s why I sent for you. And the fact that somebody hit us here today, tells me that I was right. She found something out there and brought it back.”

“It didn’t look like that assault team was interested in her. But they took that ape skull she was holding.”

“They did?” Fulbright’s forehead creased in a frown. “Damn it. I should have realized how important that was.”

“Maybe it doesn’t matter. Even if there is useful genetic material in that skull, it’s very unlikely that it’s going to turn out to be some kind of super monkey flu. And if there is something like that, Dr. Carter would have been exposed to it and there will be evidence in the blood samples I took.” She pushed away from the wall. “I need to get back down to my team. I have to know that they’re okay.”

Before Fulbright could answer, his phone chirped. He took it out and glanced at the caller ID before answering. “What’s your ETA?…Good, we’re on the roof.” He covered the phone with a hand and addressed Sara. “They wouldn’t have hit us here if they weren’t certain that Felice had what they were looking for.”

He uncovered the phone. “Send a ground team here to collect the rest of the CDC team and their equipment. Take them to the safe house.”

He thumbed the end button and turned to Sara again. His face was stony with resolve. “Our ride will be here in two minutes. Those blood samples just became the most important thing in the world. I have to keep them, and you, safe.”