The Devil_s Workshop

DANGER

Colonel Chittick had to place his palm on an electronic reader which identified his print before the lock clicked open. They moved into a huge underground storage warehouse, cold and windowless, lit with long banks of fluorescent tubes. Flynn estimated the room was almost an eighth of a square acre. Large metal drums sat on racks piled three tiers high. Each drum was marked with the type of biological or chemical weapon it contained, along with the date of manufacture and the date of storage. The classifications were stenciled on the front of each barrel in white letters.

There was another man standing in the room, also in full HEPA gear. Before they got to him, something caught Major Flynn's eye. He moved to inspect a row of metal drums.

"This shit is sweating," he said in alarm. "You've got rust here, and corrosion. How the fuck are we supposed to get this out without killing ourselves and half the camp?" He read the markings on the barrel. "This is pure sarin, for God's sake! From 1976!" Then he touched the barrel with a canvas-gloved hand, drawing his fingers across the sweating metal. "You people are outta your minds! This is about to start leaking. You've got enough stuff stored in this room to kill the entire population of the world twenty times over. Who's the idiot in charge here?"

"I am," a sandpapery voice came through the third man's HEPA mask.

"May I introduce Admiral James G. Zoll," Chittick said softly.

Zoll stepped forward and looked at the startled Major through the glass plate in his mask. The two men exchanged unfriendly looks.

"Here's the deal, Major," Admiral Zoll said. "You and your men get this stuff outta here and onto that train by tomorrow night, or the consequences will be staggering."

"That just may not be possible, Admiral. If one of these barrels breaks open, we'll have a bio-contamination disaster, which will take weeks to neutralize. I suggest you bulldoze the entrance and bury this room. Then pave the area over and pray you never get an earthquake."

"There are plans in the Pentagon that identify the location of every structure at Fort Detrick, including this underground facility. This bunker is clearly visible on the layout. Since I have a feeling the Senators are going to want to see it, one way or the other, you're gonna get it emptied out," the Crazy Ace growled.

"And if that's not possible?" Major Flynn said, his voice shaking with dread and anger.

"Everything is possible, Major. I just have to have the right man for the job and push him hard enough. You better be that man. What we have in this room is an international disaster waiting to happen. So let's not debate protocol, or operational difficulties, or your opinion on feasibilities. Let's just get this shit on its way."