‘Okay,’ said Will, resigned to the fact that he wasn’t going to talk Agent Clarkson into aborting her mission, ‘If you’re going in, I’ll do all I can. I’m looking at the satellite feed now. The marks are all positioned close together so you shouldn’t have to get up close to take them out.’
‘But that’s part of the fun,’ Becky smirked.
‘Have you got your equipment ready?’ Will asked, ignoring her attempt to wind him up.
Becky drew her pistol from the holster on her right hip and checked it was loaded with silver bullets. She drew the silencer from a pocket on her left thigh and screwed it into the barrel then clicked the safety catch off. To round off her arsenal she put her left hand in her pocket and gripped a set of silver-plated spiked brass knuckles.
‘Ready to go,’ she announced.
She glanced around the tree and saw two figures walking towards the truck from the warehouse. The other two were heading towards the warehouse, carrying wooden boxes from the truck. When they disappeared into the darkness of the warehouse doorway, Becky knew that was her best chance.
‘I’m going in.’
She saw the two figures walk round the opposite side of the van and knew that was the moment to make her move. She covered the ground quickly but knew they would eventually hear her feet squelching on the soft muddy ground.
As Becky reached the tarmac, the two figures became alerted to her presence and turned to face her in shock. One started to run towards her and the other jumped in the air, far higher than humanly possible and dropped to the floor just behind her.
Without thinking twice, Becky fired off a single shot from the pistol in her right hand that hit the target in front of her directly between the eyes, then elbowed the figure behind her in the stomach with her left arm. As he doubled over, she swung her left arm up and caught him square on the nose with her spiked knuckles, which drew blood instantly. She left her hand there for a few seconds, just long enough for the reaction to silver to take hold, and watched the two bodies around her dissolve. The ash pouring from their wounds soaked into the soggy ground. Were it not for two piles of clothes left on the floor, there would be no evidence they were ever there.
Two down, two to go.
‘Good work, Agent Clarkson. Get ready; the other two are on their way out,’ said Will.
Becky ran to the side of the truck and crouched down. As soon as the two men emerged from the doorway, she popped up and fired two shots, just like she was doing target practice at the firing range at headquarters. The bullets both hit their targets in the chest. The impact sent them reeling backwards, their bodies dissolving as they hit the ground.
‘Nice shooting,’ she heard in her ear, ‘now do you mind telling me why you did that?’
‘Give me a second,’ she said, not wanting to give anything away. If her suspicions were correct, she didn’t want this going over the airwaves back to headquarters.
She walked round to the back of the truck and saw that apart from the small number that had been removed just moments before, it was stacked high with wooden boxes. Her suspicions were correct. They were all labelled with the brand name ‘Virex’.
After removing the silencer, she holstered her pistol. Taking the spiked knuckles in her right hand, she punched a hole in the wooden box in front of her. Inside she saw what she feared she would find. Small plastic packages containing syringes pre-filled with yellow liquid fell out of the hole in the box onto the floor.
This is wrong. This is so wrong.
‘Will, did you say that you got the information about Doctor Forrest from The Brotherhood?’
‘That’s correct, Agent Clarkson. It came through verified channels.’
‘Are you still watching the satellite feed?’
‘Yes, there’s no movement. Wait a minute…’
‘What?’
‘I’ve just lost the feed.’
‘Shit!’ she exclaimed, ‘This channel isn’t secure. Someone’s listening to us. Maintain radio silence for now.’
The world Becky thought she knew had shifted around her in a matter of seconds. She was quickly piecing the parts of the puzzle together. It made sense but she didn’t want to believe it.
How could they do this? Everything we’ve been told is lies. Nothing but lies.
Somewhere in the distance, Becky could hear a low whirring noise and it was getting louder. It was getting louder very quickly.
They’re coming for me.
Get the hell out of here.
She grabbed a handful of the syringes and ran back the way she came as fast as she could, over the hedge, through the field, then back onto the road. All the while she heard the whirring get louder and louder and started to feel the breeze around her turn into a gale.
Don’t turn round, she told herself, Don’t slow down to look at what you know is there.
The moment of relief at reaching her motorbike and putting her helmet on was interrupted by a voice from a loudspeaker above her.
‘Stay where you are, Agent Clarkson. We are here to take you for debriefing.’
She turned her head round to look through her black visor at the gunship above her. She could make out four men in military uniforms on board. One was sitting behind a machine gun that was pointing directly at her.
She turned the key in the ignition and a patch of tarmac ahead of her exploded into dust.
‘That was just a warning shot, Agent Clarkson. I repeat: stay where you are.’
There’s no way I’m getting out of this alive if I stay, she thought.
‘Will, are you there?’
‘Will has been removed from his post, Agent Clarkson,’ a female voice said in her ear.
‘Who is this? Where is Will?’
‘My name is Jane, Agent Clarkson. Will has been taken away by security but they didn’t say why. I have been told to tell you that you must go with The Brotherhood. They need your help.’
‘Have you worked there long, Jane?’
‘A little while. Why?’
‘I have a piece of advice for you.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Trust no one. This is the last any of you will hear from me.’
With that, Becky gunned the accelerator as hard as she could and sped down the road ahead, narrowly avoiding the flurry of bullets raining down from the gunship. The helicopter above her gave chase but the winding roads made targeting difficult and she made it to the freeway before they could take her out.
Looking in her rear view mirror, she breathed a sigh of relief as the helicopter disappeared into the distance. She knew they wouldn’t risk a public attack.
But they’ll be coming for me.
I have to disappear again.
I’m nobody.
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