Inside the complex, Conrad Phelps supervised the final stages of evacuation. Under the watchful eyes of his security men in hazmat suits, the natives had picked off all the visitors on the island and herded them together, down by the boats.
Phelps had just received a message that the pilot who had landed in the red helicopter, had also been brought to the boats. There was a girl with him, still to be captured.
He addressed his security team, “we will have to take the girl with us on the US1, we cannot delay the boats any longer. I don’t want the visitors to see you in your hazmat suits at all. Make sure they are fully hydrated and blindfolded by the natives. The doctor must render them unconscious and administer the cure. Supervise the loading of the bodies into their boats, making sure no harm comes to them. Any you can’t fit into cabins, protect from the sun with a canvas shade.
“The work boat will be with you in 20 minutes to tow the two boats out to sea, heading south west to Majuro Atoll. Leave them to drift at least 30Km away. We will find you and pick you up in the US1. I know it will be hell in the hazmat suits, but we don’t want any of you exposed. There is no room on this submarine for isolation cases.
“Good luck, and keep in contact,” said Phelps.
He reported to Bryson the problem of the girl roaming about on the island. Bryson was furious at this last minute hitch to an otherwise perfect operation. What was he going to do with the damn girl?
All the rescuers would wake up, adrift in their boats. They would only be able to say that natives captured them, drugged them and set them adrift. The drug that put them to sleep was common enough, it would point nowhere. The people would all feel very unwell for 12 hours, but for most of that time, they would be travelling back to Majuro Atoll. It could be passed off as seasickness and they would certainly not be contagious.
The warmth of the sun and sea water would kill off any virus from the boat surfaces, their clothing and bodies. VRC had tested this scenario several times.
Bryson reported the hitch to Sam, who had to make the ultimate decision, save or murder the girl. They already had Anna Short to deal with; she was a threat to the whole project. How could they prevent her exposing their secret? Now this other girl added to the risk.
Deep down, Bryson knew they must leave her to die.
Sam Leighton received the news with a sinking heart. The innocent girl might well be a reporter after a story that would get her noticed. Now she would be the story - the tragic tale of an intrepid reporter after her big scoop, who pays with her life.
He tried to imagine the pain and anguish her parents and those who knew and loved her would go through, when they heard of her death.
He had to find her, if he could. She would have to be a prisoner until the cure was needed by the world. “Better than dying,” he thought, “better for my conscience, anyway.”
He made a phone call to Carla. Why had she missed this important flight from Majuro Atoll? Did she have any idea who the pilot and the girl worked for?
Sam got no reply from Carla. She was out of telephone contact on Dom Island, some 180Km away from the nearest cell tower, on Majuro Atoll.
It was unlike Carla to lose contact. Although she was a constant irritant to Sam, she had never failed The Organization. He concluded that she was either in trouble - or dead.
A sudden chill ran through Sam. There was one other possible explanation. The disobedient girl must have gone to Dom Island.
Sam instructed a member of staff to get in touch with the airport at Majuro Atoll. They confirmed that a flight plan had been filed by Dan Sims, a pilot, to take Miss Carla Day the helicopter owner, to Dom Island at 8.00am that morning.
Sam was relieved. The girl was Carla. She would keep The Organization’s secret, but he must get her to safety. Irritation though she was, Sam had a bitter-sweet, love-hate feeling towards the girl, who had often willfully disobeyed him, but always justified her actions by being right.
Sam contacted Victor Bryson aboard the US1; the submarine had just left Dom Island and the ultimate phase of the clean-up had been initiated.
“Hi Victor, the girl running loose on the island is my agent, Carla Day. She went there to bring back Ray Forbes. It is a long and messy story, but Forbes is in fact Max Fortune, another of my top agents. He was Carla Day’s partner with benefits, until he had a serious accident. He lost his memory and does not know of the existence of Carla or The Organization. Everyone has been trying to track him, but he has avoided them all.
“The plane crash and news reports have revealed his identity to the world and I can assure you, there are a lot of people out there wanting to arrest him or kill him.
“I should have told you about Max, but I didn’t think it affected anything VRC was doing. I knew you had him safe and we would have taken him off your hands, in due course. Well, we now have to retrieve Carla - can you help?”
Bryson replied, “I knew something was going on with that guy. You know he and the girl, Anna Short, killed two of the natives before he walked into our trap and those natives were tough bastards. Conrad had him pegged as trouble, as soon as he saw him - the girl, not so much. How do you think this will all play out Sam? Anna loves the man, Carla was his partner with benefits, so she must love him and this submarine is no place for a love triangle. Anyway, the countdown began some time ago, we allowed just enough time for ourselves and the rescuers to get clear, and then it will all be over.”
“Victor, can you send someone back to re-set the timer and find the girl?”
“I could Sam, but I can only ask for volunteers, the island is a big place to search. The natives will be very aggressive, their treatment stopped at mid-day and the effects will have worn off by now. I doubt anyone will go back; it would be insane.
“We could send up a drone to look for her, we brought them back to the US1. They will detect body heat and we can guide whoever returns, to avoid the natives and close in on the girl. That is all I can do, Sam.”
“Do you think Max is well enough to go back?” Sam asked hopefully.
“He will be pretty groggy for a few more hours, but I understand what you are thinking. If Carla sees him, she will come out of hiding; she would not do that for anyone else, especially if they are in a hazmat suit. Who better than Max to make the sacrifice, if the natives get him or he runs out of time.
“I will bring him up to speak to you, so you can brief him.” Bryson considered he passed the buck to Sam rather well.
While the crew was assembling the drone and the US1 was heading back to Dom Island, Sam briefed Max on the situation.
“Hello Max, my name is Sam Leighton. I hope you can help me save the life of a young girl called Carla Day. Does that name mean anything to you?”
Max thought hard, “I can’t say that it does, but how can I help? You realize I am not that well, as I have been given some bugs to kill a virus that wants to kill me, so I am not in good shape at the moment.”
Sam replied, “Do you remember the accident you had?”
“Yes, I should, I nearly died!”
“Well, you were trying to save the life of this same girl, when a vehicle ploughed into you.”
“It seems to me, this girl Carla ought to be locked up for her own good. Is she the reason the UK law enforcement want to throw me in prison? If so, find someone else to go and save her.”
Sam smiled, “yes, she is the cause of all your troubles, but you don’t remember it. She really loves you and you loved her just as much, before the accident. Now she is in trouble because she came to Dom Island to rescue you. There are criminals who are out to murder you and law enforcement who want to lock you up. You have to go back to the island because she will not come out of hiding for anyone else.”
“You are saying she is infected and will die a terrible death after 12 hours, if she is not treated.”
“Actually, she will die a lot sooner than that, if you don’t get there quickly. There are the natives, who will be tracking her down. The medication to control their psychotic behavior has worn off and they will eat her alive if they catch her. She is unaware of this. Also, the island is set to explode and disappear below the sea, destroying all traces of VRC’s work. We need you to reset the timer to delay detonation, find her and bring her back to the US1.
“You must reset the timer first, in case you are unable to do so later. The US1 will need least an hour to get clear of the blast, in case of unforeseen difficulties, so you must leave immediately. There are two hours left before the detonation.
“What do you say, will you go?”
Max thought for a moment and replied. ”I must speak to Anna. She will not want me to go without her and I can’t say I would want to go without her either. This girl, Carla, means nothing to me, other than she is a person in trouble. I understand why you want me to go, that makes good sense. I assume I will be briefed on how to reset this timer, so I see no reason not to try and help.”
Sam could see the old Max was still in there. He had a mission, the adrenalin was pumping and he needed to face a challenge again.
“OK Max, see what Anna has to say, but don’t be long.”
Star did not understand why Max had to risk his life, their lives together were all that mattered to her.
Max made no mention of his past with Carla, it was not relevant because of the way he felt about Star. She agreed he could go, provided she went with him. He knew she would not budge on the terms, so he agreed for them both.
Sam and Victor were pleased and relieved. At least, if all went badly, that solved the problem of Anna Short.
Max was briefed by the security man responsible for arming the timer. He said it was a simple process and that even after his training five years ago, it was still fresh in his memory. There are few things more memorable than blowing up an island.
“I suppose there is a tremendous amount of explosives buried deep underground, to destroy such a huge lump of rock?” suggested Max.
“The island is volcanic, so there are many things in our favor. I was told that magma pushed up from the sea bed, millennia ago, was cooled by the sea, forming a self-supporting outer layer or crust. As the pressure continued to build, this crust eventually stuck up above the ocean, becoming the island. It often happens that the magma finds a new weak spot and it drains away, leaving the dome shaped crust behind. The core of the island is in fact a series of huge caverns, many open to the sea. By collapsing the caverns with a lot of small explosions, the island will vanish.
“However, to prevent dust carrying the virus to other islands, several fuel-air detonations will take place first. They will sear the island and immediate area, sterile.
“A small charge opens up the caverns where the fuel-air bombs are hidden. The cavern roof will just fall in and the bombs are launched like missiles from a silo. No living thing will survive them.
“Oh, I nearly forgot. Before any of this, as a precaution against tampering, the complex is flooded with cyanide gas, followed by an inflammable vapor that ignites and sterilizes the inside of the complex. It was considered a precaution against a bio-leak, or someone trying to cancel the destruct timer.
“Once set, you can only reset the timer by switching it off, resetting the timer wheels and switching on again.
“You cannot just reposition the timer wheels. It was thought that switching off was so obvious, that a saboteur would think it was booby trapped.
“The numbered wheels are arranged side by side, 0 to 23 hours on one and 0 to 59 minutes on the other.
“The switch is not a significant one on the control panel, so if you do not know about it, you would just try the wheels. The timing process is not where the wheels are, it is with the actual explosive devices. Just think of it like a TV remote. You press the channel button, but it is the TV circuits that switch, the remote just sends a signal. So, to recap, switch off, move the timer wheels, switch back on.
“This is a sketch of the control panel. We will be able to communicate by transceiver, so it will be like I am there with you.”
“Thanks for the briefing, great to know you will be with me every step of the way.” Max shook his hand with sincerity.
To speed up getting to the island, the US1 surfaced and went right into the shallows. From there Max and Star travelled in a small rubber dinghy with an electric outboard.
They headed for the hidden entrance at the base of the complex. All the chamber doors were closed because the submersible came and went beneath them. The seawater provided a seal, preventing infection getting in. Normally, the chambers were sprayed with disinfectant after opening the doors, but that was not practical during evacuation.
To facilitate the rapid evacuation, there was a large opening cut through the inner wall, between the dock and the stairs. Max had worried unnecessarily about the decontamination process; there was no need for it any more. He and Star were still protected by their injection and would be decontaminated outside the US1 if they returned.
Because the main power had been turned off, the place was dimly lit by emergency lighting. It was so gloomy, big and empty, instilling a feeling of foreboding.
Following the security man’s map to the control room was not straightforward and several delays were caused by heading up the wrong passage. Max checked the time. 30 minutes had passed to get this far. The US1 would need a minimum of 30 minutes at 60 knots to get beyond the range of the blast. So he had an hour left to get Carla and return to the sub, if the timer was not reset.
The control panel was laid out with the destruct timer out of the way, top right corner. Max had often wondered why the films always showed this control in prime position, for a function that would only be used once - why would anyone want it in the way of frequently used controls.
Max attempted to flip back the cover that protected the arming switch and timer wheels. The cover would not lift, it required a key. Max cursed and called the security technician.
“The protective cover over the destruct switch and timer is locked, where is the fucking key?”
“Ah! I forgot! It self-locks when armed. I have the fucking key here.” The security technician felt utterly stupid, but his only excuse was that after the training, five years ago, it had slipped his mind. Once armed, he thought, the best place for the keys to the complex was not there. No one would be going back.
Through gritted teeth, Max asked him, “How do you suggest I open the cover, then?”
“You will have to prize it off, but whatever you do, do not damage the switch or wheels.” The man felt better now, pushing the responsibility back onto Max.
“Star, we need a screwdriver or small hammer, or some other tool, to prize off this cover. Can you have a quick look around?”
She dashed off to look in cupboards and drawers in the nearby rooms, Max looked in other rooms, but they found nothing suitable. Thinking laterally, Max asked the security man if he could open the control panel and do something with the wires.
He replied, “In theory, that might be possible, but without the circuit diagram, you would be guessing. Wait! No, that wouldn’t work; the switch and wheels are encapsulated as a single component.”
Max was getting pretty steamed up by now, time was running out and he was no closer to finding Carla. In desperation, he looked around, a fire extinguisher propping a door open, caught his eye. He picked it up and looked at the thin metal rim, forming the base. If he could strike the cover at the right angle, he might break it free.
With great care, he jabbed the cover with the heavy extinguisher - it resisted the blow. Max tried again and again, gradually increasing the force. His mind was in turmoil, close to panic, he was getting nowhere and time was still racing by. Another hefty swipe and the cover flew open.
His emotions shot from the high of a lottery winner to the low of a man facing execution, all in one awful second. The switch had sheared off and the fragile plastic wheels were smashed by the force. His guts felt sick, his bowels turned to water. He had as-good-as killed Star, the girl and himself. There was no way to stop the explosion.
“Come on Star, we have to get out of here now, there is nothing we can do to reset the timer.” He checked - all this messing about had cost 15 minutes. He had just 45 minutes to get the girl and back to US1.
In their haste to exit at the surface of the island, they lost their way; there was no access from the first floor, it only serviced the laboratories and store rooms. They had to go downstairs, outside the building, onto the ledge and upstairs. Without power the lift was not working, so they ran up the main staircase, leaving them breathless at the top.
With Max in the lead, he opened the exit door to the surface, the same door the hazmat person had used, to deliver the food to the natives. The brilliant sunlight blinded him and several sets of dark brown muscular arms lunged forward and grabbed at him.