“But my orders—”
“Have changed. As has the situation. We need to rescue our people, Chief. I want you to devote all your resources to getting everyone onto the trains and away from the facilities. And put the bodies on the trains too. Their families deserve the right to bury them.”
“But won’t there be an outbreak—”
“You worry about getting those people on the trains. I’ll take care of the rest. There are factors you’re not aware of. Call me when the last train is away. Immari is a family. We don’t leave anyone behind. You understand me?”
“Yes sir, we won’t leave a single soul behind—”
Dorian disconnected the line and put his headset back on. He turned to Dmitry Kozlov, the Immari Security officer sitting across from him. “Did Chase get out with the nukes and children?”
“Yes, they’re on their way to the coast.”
“Good.” Dorian thought for a moment. They would get bodies from the Bell — that was the good news. But the explosions at the facility would draw attention. If the world found out what was at the site… 5,000 years of their work, of well-kept secrets… would all be lost, as would the Immari. “Launch drones from Afghanistan. As soon as the last train leaves, blow the facility.”
CHAPTER 61
David felt them lift him up and carry him like a rag doll. Around him, he saw a war zone: sirens blared, white dust floated through the air like snow, fires belched black smoke, and voices shouted in Chinese. He watched it all through half closed eyes as if it were a dream.
Over the load speaker, a recording repeated “Reactor core breach. Evacuate. Evacuer. Evakuieren…” The voice faded, and David felt sunlight on his face. The men tossed him about as they carried him over the rough ground.
“Stop! Let me take a look.” A man was in his face. Someone with a white coat. Blonde. 40s-ish. British. He grabbed David’s face and pulled at his eyelids, then looked him up and down, inspecting the wounds. “No, he won’t make it.” The man pointed to the ground and drew a hand across his throat. “Put him down. Get someone else.” He motioned to the building. The Chinese workers dropped him like a sack of rotten potatoes and ran back toward the building.
From the ground, David watched the man run over to another group holding a body pulled from the rubble. He perused her briefly. “Yes, she’ll make it.” He gestured toward the train, and the men carried the woman the remaining twenty feet, tossing her into a car where other workers dragged her in.
The white coat turned to another group. “Supplies? On the train. Hurry.”
The train. Twenty feet to freedom. But David couldn’t move.
CHAPTER 62
Kate arrived just as the passenger train pulled away. She ran after it, her legs burning as she pushed herself until she was lightheaded and the train was half a football field away.
She stood there, bent over, her hands on her knees, panting as the rhythmic chug-chug-chug of the train faded into the vast green forest.
The children were on that train. She knew it, somewhere, somehow, in a place she couldn’t identify. They were out of reach. And she was in over her head. The device, this place; in that moment, she felt utterly defeated.
She looked around. There wasn’t another train. The train ride in was almost an hour through nothing but dense forest. She couldn’t walk out, and she had another problem: it was getting colder. She needed shelter, but how long could she hide here before some Immari security officer found her?
Another thought broke into her mind: David. Would he be looking for her? His blasts had done a number on the buildings. He was probably on that train, assuming she was too. Was he searching every car, expecting to find her sitting with the children? What would he do when he couldn’t find her? She knew what the Immari would do if they captured her.
She glanced back at the burning Immari complex. It was her only option.
Another train horn. Kate spun around, searching. Where had it come from? She twisted again, desperately trying to find the direction. It had to be on the other side of the campus. She set off running, her lungs now burning from the cold and the impact in the Bell room.