‘The Cloudbuster test was successful.’
Those words were music to Tom’s ears. Now the job of dealing with the plane was simple. Just sit back and watch the flight path animation, and if the plane disappeared just before it reached Spain, the job was done. If the powerful turbulence generated by the Cloudbuster wasn’t enough to bring it down, Tom would make sure the Needle did the job as the plane left Spanish airspace and started to make its way over the Mediterranean. Wherever possible, Tom liked to make a point of bringing a plane down over water. He was proud of the fact he always kept collateral damage to a minimum. After all, the more people that died, the more questions that would be asked and the more difficult it would be to use the same tactic in the future. It was easier to get rid of the wreckage when the plane crashed in the ocean. Mother Nature was a great housekeeper.
Tom’s phone rang. It was one of the men who had suicided Doctor Gibbs.
‘What’s up?’ he answered.
‘The woman who worked with the scientist is on the move.’
‘Do you know where she’s going?’
‘Not yet. I was going to follow her. We’re only a mile away.’
‘Good idea. For all you know, she might be going out for lunch. She was there before the Buzzkill package was picked up, wasn’t she?’
‘Yes, I think so.’
‘Okay, follow her. If she does go to the camp, what’s waiting for her there will probably do your work for you. If not, you know what to do.’
‘Yes sir.’
Tom hung up and checked his watch. It was 17:24. The plane would be passing through the clouds any second now. He returned to the screen and watched in breathless anticipation as the cartoon plane edged along pixel by pixel, all the while waiting for it to disappear at any second. 17:25, 17:26 and 17:27 ticked by and the plane continued its jerky path across the screen. The Cloudbuster hadn’t worked.
Oh well, Tom thought, time to use the Needle.
He clicked on the cartoon plane again and dragged it along its flight path until it was just crossing over the Mediterranean. The time above the GPS coordinates read 17:02:23 GMT. Tom reopened the administration page for the Needle 1 satellite and set a new firing schedule: 17:02:21 GMT (the blast would take two seconds to reach the plane) at the exact coordinates of where the plane would be.
There was a knock at the door and Tom jumped up to answer it.
‘Hi, slave,’ his boss greeted him.
‘Come in,’ Tom said. ‘Are you guys having a break?’
‘Yes, we’ve been kicked out for an hour while they turn the room round for dinner.’
‘How’s the conference going?’
‘Very well. It looks like the vaccine is going global. There’s a firm belief that drinks are going to be the best way to distribute the secondary substances. The soft drinks companies are already giving out free samples of some low-power test material in the US. Speaking of which, how is our readiness exercise going?’
‘All systems go,’ Tom said as he checked his watch again. ‘All the kids at Camp Alpha should have received the vaccine. Any minute now, they will be taking the secondary substances.’
‘Remind me what test we went for again ...’
‘Rambo versus zombies.’
They both laughed. ‘Ah yes, of course. And the camp will be vacated in time for the other test, won’t it?’
‘That’s right. Once we’ve contained the incident we’ll clean up the camp and get it ready for tonight. There’s only one truck going there today—they’re going to round up a bunch of strays and anyone who gets in the way—but more will follow tomorrow.’
‘Who’s that?’ Tom’s boss asked, and pointed to the grainy footage of Gabe sitting at his desk.
‘That’s the guy who’s been putting the trades through for us today.’
‘How are we doing?’
‘Up by a couple of mill.’
‘Good work. The building’s wired, isn’t it?’
‘Yes sir. I’m going to push the button at four o’clock—ten our time.’
‘And it’s owned by that bastard who’s got us by the balls on the Emergency Response camps, isn’t it?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Good. We may as well make some money when his stock drops too.’
‘Sounds good, sir. How much do you want me to invest?’
‘All of it.’
For full details on how to get your hands on a copy of One Day in Gitmo Nation, visit www.noagendanovels.com
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