The Devil_s Workshop

Chapter 42

Fannon said, "I've been studying the original Greek and Hebrew versions of the Bible, and I found out that 'Adam' actually is a word that when translated from its root means 'capable of showing blood in the face.' "

"Really?" Dexter tried to sound interested, while hiding his contempt. He had had almost all he could take of Fannon Kincaid and his endless, egotistic, self-centered sermons that dealt more and more with his own martyrdom. Fannon saw himself as a religious superstar, destined to be remembered in church hymns and on stained-glass windows.

They were in a gully south of Frederick, about half a mile from the train yard, waiting for the six-o'clock switcher that would pass by on the track above them with ten cars loaded with supplies for Fort Detrick. The switch engine was a "pusher," so Fannon had warned them to be careful boarding or the engineer would see them from the high-hood switcher's windows.

"This ability to show blood in the face is what defines a White man. More proof that Adam was the father of the White race," Fannon said, after a long reflective pause.

"I see," Dexter said. "That makes very good sense." His mind was wandering dangerously.

Once they got on the base at Fort Detrick, Dexter had to devise a way to alert the Fort commandos. He was fairly sure that the Torn Victor Delta Force Rangers would make short work of Fannon Kincaid and his Choir of fanatics.

It would take Dexter only a short amount of time to change the pH factors on the Prions that were in the sturdy bio-containers, which Fannon had given Randall Rader to protect. Dexter intended to stall in the lab to buy time, and find a way to alert security. He had decided to use the USAMRIID neurotransmitter lab in the basement of Building 1666. He had chosen it for two reasons: It was a well-stocked lab that he had worked in for two years, and he knew where everything was; and, it was in an old building with few exits. Once they were below ground, if Dexter could set off one of the contamination alarms, they would be up to their asses in commandos in seconds. Then all he had to do was find a way to keep out of the line of fire until Fannon and his Choir were mowed down with the armor-piercing Black Talons that he knew the Fort commandos all used. Dexter had never been drawn to violence, but he was hungry to see Fannon Kincaid and his "Blood in the Face" Brotherhood riddled with bullets.

Then the high-hood switcher arrived right on time, pushing its ten cars. Six or seven of Fannon's men charged up the bank, out of hiding, and boarded the front cars as the train passed. Fannon's war party was only ten strong, including Dexter. The Reverend had elected to leave the majority behind, going for a small, less visible strike force. Dexter and the rest of the heavily armed band now raced up the bank of the gully. While a bend in the track blocked the engineer's view, they jumped on the rods that were under the cars. It was uncomfortable and dangerous, but Fannon had already explained that they were only going to be on the train for five miles, until it arrived inside the Fort.

With Randall Rader lying under the railcar beside him, Dexter felt his heart beating with apprehension. He was only a few feet above the grinding metal wheels, resting on the narrow suspension rods, holding on for dear life.

In less than fifteen minutes, Dexter DeMille and all ten members of Fannon's assault team were inside the Fort. The train was only going twenty miles an hour, but the frightening sensation of speed caused by lying so close to the tracks was overpowering. Dexter locked his eyes on the scenery beyond and prayed he wouldn't lose his grip and fall. He had been hoping that they would be stopped and arrested at the perimeter of the Fort, but the rail system had proved to be a surprisingly good way of subverting all roadblocks and security measures.

Once inside Fort Detrick, the train slowed and headed across open fields toward the warehouse where the cars would be disconnected, then left to be unloaded. As they neared the low black buildings, Fannon Kincaid was the first off the train, suddenly running alongside the car that Dexter was on.

"Off now! Head for that gully!" Fannon screamed above the rumble of the metal wheels. Randall, who was riding the same suspension rod as Dexter, pushed him in the back, knocking him off his resting place and onto the gravel shoulder. Dexter rolled down a hill, with four other members of the Choir alongside him, until he hit with a thud at the bottom of the gully.

"Stay low," Fannon commanded, as the high-hood switcher rumbled past. The engineer appeared not to have seen them.

Suddenly, the air brakes on the huge train screamed; metal shrieked against metal, as the ten cars slowed dramatically. The engineer inched the cars closer, until they were alongside a concrete loading dock.

Dexter was watching all of this from fifty yards away when suddenly Fannon Kincaid was at his shoulder.

"We're gonna hide in them woods, over there," the new Messiah said, pointing at a heavy stand of trees some distance off. "Everybody stay in this gully till we're outta sight a' them buildings," he ordered.

They moved in a group, crouching low, heading toward the wash near the tracks and finally up into the coolness of the wooded hillside.

"God's time is coming," Fannon said to them all, as they crouched in the leafy moon shadows created by the stand of trees.

"Faith and Race," the members of the assault team whispered in reply.

They had passed the first Fort Detrick security check with mind-baffling ease. At every turn, Fannon Kincaid had proved to be up to the task. Dexter DeMille wondered if he had made a huge mistake trying to trap him here.

Fannon led the way along a narrow path through the trees, moving single-file along the pine-needle-carpeted trail, heading back toward the main campus of the Fort. Finally, they crouched down and looked off across a meadow at a large windowless structure. Fannon put his field glasses up and surveyed the building.

"Company A, First SATCOM Battalion Headquarters," he announced, reading the flags flapping from poles in front of buildings bathed in the moonlight. Then he swung the glasses to the right. "What the fuck is that?" he asked, and then handed the glasses to Dexter. It took the scientist a minute to adjust the lenses. What came into focus surprised him. He had never seen it before, only heard about it… the ultramodern train that was painted pure white.