Altered Genes : Resurrection: Altered Genes, #3

By Mark K. Kelly

Revenge Always Comes At a Price...

While Professor Tony Simmons continues his efforts to develop a cure for the man-made pathogenic bacteria ravaging the world, Lucia Sanchez returns to the United States seeking vengeance for the death of her children. 

But revenge is a powerful drug capable of turning old friends into enemies. Will Lucia come to regret the choices she's made as new threats arise, endangering the people she loves and protects?

Read the third and final book in the Altered Genes Trilogy and find out.

Perfect for fans of Michael Crichton, Robin Cook or William R. Forstchen.

The Altered Genes Trilogy consists of:

Altered Genes : Genesis

Altered Genes : Revelations

Altered Genes : Resurrection

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark K. Kelly
• Release date: Aug 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9780994740502

Book preview

1

Prologue

B rinng…Brinng…

John Raine looked over at the dingy brown wooden bookshelf in astonishment. The Iridium Satellite phone sitting on the top shelf was ringing and vibrating in its charging station.

He craned his neck and stared at it, unsure if his ears were deceiving him. It had to be Baker. Only Baker and the other hunter-killer team leaders had this number, and everyone but Baker had dropped off the face of the earth months ago.

Raine jumped up from his chair, snatched the phone from its charging station. The LCD displayed:

Incoming Call

Private

He pressed the green answer button and spoke into the phone. Baker? Where the hell have you been? You better have good news. Is Simmons dead?

There was the rustling of wind noise and then the sound of someone beginning to speak.

Call Disconnected

Damn it.

Using the keypad, Raine fumbled through the directory until he found Baker’s number. He pressed re-dial and waited.

Call Failed

Frustrated, he tried once more, and then again before a knock on the door distracted him. Annoyed by the interruption, Raine placed the sat-phone back in its cradle and made a note to try Baker later.

It’s not locked, Raine grumbled, sitting down behind his desk.

His office door opened and a head popped through the crack. It was the colonel’s errand boy; a snot-nosed private with a crew-cut that showed every bump on his malformed skull.

The kid looks like one of the inbreds from the movie Deliverance, Raine thought as he stared transfixed by the odd sight.

Sorry to interrupt, sir, but Colonel Pickett says you gotta switch offices. He needs this space. 2nd ID is back.

What do you mean back? Raine asked in disbelief. The 2nd Infantry Division had been based at Camp Red Cloud in the city of Uijeongbu, South Korea. As far as Raine knew, they had all been killed when the North Koreans went nuclear in retaliation for the American attack on their infrastructure.

The private grinned like a cheshire cat. The colonel got approval from the vice-president to send a Herc over to pick up what’s left of them—Seventy-three are coming back, he added proudly.

Raine shook his head in disgust. Seventy-three out of ten thousand—what a monumental waste of resources. Only the army with their stupid ‘leave no man behind’ creed would do something as dumb as sending a C-130 Hercules aircraft seven thousand miles around the globe to pick up a bunch of grunts.

It was the right thing to do, sir, the private said unapologetically. We look after our own.

Raine grunted. "Hmmph, why here? Why not Fort Hood or Bragg or even Campbell?"

There’s nowhere else to put the men, sir. Hood and Bragg are full, and Fort Campbell was quarantined a few days ago. The bug got inside the fence.

The bug—Raine hated the term. That was Alice’s fault. The C. diff bacteria she genetically altered for the false-flag operation against the North Koreans wasn’t supposed to mutate. It was only supposed to infect a single hospital in England and then die off leaving just enough evidence to pin the outbreak on the Koreans. But the bacteria was unstoppable. It spread like wildfire and everything went to shit.

At first, the president showed restraint, but as the pandemic spread, he authorized non-nuclear cruise missile strikes on all of the known ROK leadership bunkers in retaliation for what he thought they had done. Unfortunately, the missile strikes missed the bunker Dear Leader was cowering in, and the North Koreans retaliated with what was left of their nuclear arsenal.

In total, twelve thousand American troops and nearly seventy-five thousand civilians died. After that, the president had no choice. He retaliated with a single 1.2 megaton B83 nuke, and Kim Jong-il and most of the residents of Pyongyang were killed instantly.

None of that mattered to Raine. As long as he and Alice were safe, he couldn’t care less about anyone else; including what was left of the 2nd ID.

Tell the colonel, I’m too busy to move, he said dismissively. He opened a report on his desk and pretended to read it.

Does the colonel know about that, sir?

Raine glanced up at the private who had a smug grin on his face.

About what?

That.

The man pointed to the sat-phone’s charging station. Its green LED blinked on and off, indicating it was using valuable electricity to charge the phone’s battery.

Raine grimaced.

Unauthorized use of electricity was a crime under the recently revised Uniform Code of Military justice. The sat-phone didn’t take much juice, but he had never bothered to get approval and even he wasn’t immune to the colonel’s wrath.

Raine stood up and puffed out his chest as he spoke. You know who I am, right? That phone is the only way to communicate with the men who are risking their lives to hunt down Simmons.

Everyone on base—perhaps everyone in the entire world—knew who Professor Tony Simmons was. Raine had made sure of it by spreading the lie whenever he had the opportunity. Simmons was the man who had started the pandemic. The man responsible for the largest genocide in the history of mankind.

Conflicted, the private scratched his cheek for a second and then spoke. I hope you get the bastard, sir. He deserves to die, but you still need to get a certificate of approval for the phone from Colonel Pickett.

I will, private. I’ll head over to his office right now, Raine lied. He had no intention of groveling to Pickett. The man was a stickler for rules, the type of person Raine took great delight in ignoring.

Okay, that’s great, sir, but I’m still supposed to report anything I see.

Raine stood and stepped out from behind his desk. I’ll get a certificate. Let’s just keep this between the two of us for now. No need to get the colonel involved. I’m sure he has bigger things to worry about.

Raine held out his arms and ushered the private out of his office. He shut the door and hurried back to his desk. He had to call Alice and tell her the good news. The call on the sat phone must mean Baker’s alive and hopefully Simmons is dead.

Raine reached for the black rotary phone that sat on the corner of his desk. The phone, a relic from the 1960’s, was connected via a hard-wired land-line to the National Bio and Agro-Defense BSL4 lab, where the USA had relocated its research on the pandemic bacteria when Fort Detrick became too dangerous. Even though the lab was only one hundred and twenty-five miles north of McConnell Air Force Base, Raine didn’t go there very often. Life on the base was safer and more comfortable.

He picked up the handset and tapped his finger impatiently on the desk while he waited for someone in the lab to answer.

Lab here, a muffled voice said.

It’s John Raine, get me Dr. Mayer.

She’s running a PCR right now.

I don’t care if she’s running a marathon, go get her, Raine snapped.

A minute later, Alice Mayer came onto the phone. What is it, John? We’re starting to make progress locating the mutation. Another few months and we might have something to trial. I was in the middle of sequencing a—

Good news, Alice. Baker called.

Her voice quivered and trailed off as she spoke. Did he find Tony? Is he…

She can’t even bring herself to say it, Raine thought. I don’t know if Simmons is dead. I hope so. That would be good news, wouldn’t it?

What if it isn’t good news, John? What if he’s still alive and has told someone what we did?

Don’t be stupid, Alice. Of course, it’s good news. Why else would Baker have called?

2

Getting ready

Mei stood on the porch watching the soldiers heave the mattress up and into the back of the green five-ton truck. It was the same mattress Baker had carried down the stairs for his partner Taxson to die on a month earlier, but Taxson hadn’t died, and now the mattress, along with all the rest of their household belongings, was going to the lab in Chalk River.

Will you miss it? Simmons asked her.

Miss what?

The house.

She turned to him and shook her head. No, it was never really home—more like a place to stay while we figured things out, but I want to make sure we leave it as we found it. It’s the right thing to do.

She didn’t mention the farmhouse’s owners, Barb and Don. They were dead, but if she and Lucia hadn’t met the elderly couple in the parking lot outside New York City, they would never have come to Canada and God only knows what would have happened.

Her eyes left Simmons, and she pulled her sweater closer, buttoning it to ward off the chill in the air. It was mid-October and six months had passed since the pandemic swept the world. But here in the countryside, it was Fall. The leaves on the trees lining the laneway were in the midst of changing. She stared at them, entranced by the patchwork of brilliant colors—scarlet, maroon, pale yellow, all blending together into something beautiful.

Hey, Doc, what do you want me to do with these? a soldier yelled from the side of the house ruining the quiet of the moment. He held out a cardboard box and looked at her.

Before she could ask what was in the box, Dines, the female soldier in charge of the squad, beat her to it.

What d'ya got?

Carrots…from the garden out back.

Jesus, what are you—Bugs fucking Bunny? Dines muttered. Put ‘em in the truck with the other stuff.

Mei smiled. She remembered chasing Samantha’s daughter, Callie, across the backyard in the dead of the night after she caught the little girl stealing carrots. Maybe those same carrots.

She turned as the screen door opened and then slammed shut behind her.

I don’t understand why I can’t stay here, Emma whined as she walked across the porch and stood beside Simmons. Not everyone is moving to the lab.

By not everyone, Mei knew Emma meant the McNees—especially Brandon McNee, the handsome nineteen-year-old son of the local mayor. Samantha and Callie were staying with the McNees, and Emma would have given her right arm to stay there too.

You know why, Emma, Simmons said. We need your help at the lab. As people are inoculated against the pandemic C. diff, some will be allowed into the lab facility. We need to keep the kids busy with something and school is as good as anything.

He winked at Mei and added, You’ll be able to come back and visit with Samantha and Callie in the spring when they re-open the local school.

Emma placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. Geez—it’s not fair. Do you know how long it is until spring?

Mei and Simmons broke out into laughter, stopping as a pair of dull-green off-road motorcycles raced up the driveway. As the bikes skidded to a halt, their rear wheels slid sideways, kicking up gravel and a small dust storm. Even with the full face helmets and mirrored visors, Mei recognized Baker and Lucia. Lucia was wearing her standard attire of jeans and a t-shirt with a faded jean jacket. Baker wore a pair of khaki pants and a flannel shirt.

For the last month, the two of them had been taking longer and longer trips into the surrounding countryside as Baker taught Lucia how to ride the motorcycle; and more importantly, how to survive the difficult conditions they would face on the road.

Baker pulled off his helmet. He ran his hand through his tousled hair, patting it down.

Your hair is fine, pretty boy, Lucia teased as she removed her own helmet. And by the way—I won.

It was a tie, Baker shot back.

Not even close.

Mei shook her head. With Lucia and Baker, everything was a competition.

What are you guys up to? she asked.

Just getting in one last practice run, Baker said. She’s a fast learner. For someone who had never been on a bike until a month ago, she’s doing pretty well.

Excuse me…Excuse me…Coming through, a voice called out from behind Mei.

She stepped aside as a young soldier walked out of the house, his arms overflowing with boxes of clothing stacked precariously on top of each other.

Holy cow, you stink, Emma said as he passed by her.

Emma!

Well, he does, Emma said defensively. He smells like my car after I’ve been to a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Mei brought a hand up to cover her smile. He did smell like stale french fries and fast-food. All the soldiers did.

You can thank him for that, Dines said, reappearing from inside the house and nodding towards Simmons. Him and fucking Abrams. They’re the ones that sent us out to collect all that used cooking oil and crap. She pointed to the steel drums pushed up against the back of the truck’s cab and said, We’ve been all over hell’s half-acre draining oil from every damn restaurant fryer we could find.

Simmons frowned and gave Dines an indignant look. I’ll have you know that cooking oil will fuel your trucks once we convert it into biodiesel.

Dines shrugged back at him. Just means more work, Professor. I liked it better when you stuck to making moonshine. At least, we could drink that.

The soldier carrying the boxes stumbled and Dines grabbed his arm, steadying him. Don’t you fucking drop that or I’ll give you a swift kick in the ass. Go put it in the truck and get the rest of their stuff.

Already on it, Sarge.

Sarge—since when? Baker asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dines grinned broadly at him. Since yesterday. Abrams too.

So, Abrams got his crown after all.

Yep, he’s Warrant Officer Abrams now, Dines said, nodding, but he’s still a dick.

And you’re still a puta, Lucia muttered under her breath as Dines glared back at her.

Mei sighed. Oh, for God sakes. Would the two of them ever stop? They’d been at each other since the very first time they met.

When do you think you will leave? she asked Baker, changing the subject.

Tomorrow or the next day.

Really?

Her heart sank. She knew the day was coming, but wasn’t prepared for it to be so soon.

Baker pursed his lips and said, Afraid so. General Leduc radioed this morning and said he might have a lead on Raine’s location. We’re heading back to the base now. After that, we’ll probably head east and then south. I want to stay away from Toronto. The general says it’s still a no-man’s land.

There’s an Indian Reserve near Cornwall, Mei suggested, remembering Michael Otetiani and his sister and wondering how they were doing. They might be able to help you get into the States.

Lucia mentioned them too, Baker said, nodding. She thinks she can remember the route back, but even if they can’t help, I’m hopeful we’ll be able to find a boat large enough to carry the bikes and make it across ourselves.

Before you go, I have something for you, Mei said, turning and running back into the house. She returned a minute later with the hand-carved wooden walking stick that had once belonged to Michael Otetiani’s grandfather.

Here, she said, offering it to Lucia.

Lucia’s eyes widened in surprise. She shook her head and pushed it away. I can not take it. It is yours.

Mei pressed the smooth wooden cane into Lucia’s hands and folded her fingers over it.

"It’s ours—not mine. Joseph didn’t give it to me; he gave it to us—all of us. It helped us get into Canada, and it might help you and Baker get back across the border into the States. Before Kateri’s grandfather died, he told me I should only give it to someone who had helped me."

She squeezed Lucia’s hands and spoke softly. There is no one who has helped me more than you. You gave me something to hold on to while we were quarantined at Bellevue, and you’ve helped me every day since. Please, take it.

Lucia pressed her lips together. She nodded and took the walking stick from Mei. They gazed at each other until Mei wiped a tear away with the back of her hand and stretched forward to hug Lucia.

Thank you.

3

Seeing the general

Knowing it would make her sad, which in turn would make her angry, Lucia refused to look back as she and Baker rode their motorcycles down the long driveway and away from Mei and the others. She regretted not saying anything, but it was Mei who had helped her, kept her alive and gave her a reason to live—not the other way around.

Baker slowed his bike. He tilted his head to the side and glanced at her. She couldn’t see his face behind his helmet’s mask but knew he was asking if she was okay.

She nodded and gunned the throttle. Race you, she yelled in a choked voice as she sped past him.

Two hours later they reached the base. A soldier stepped out of the gatehouse and yanked his mask up to cover his mouth and nose. He waved his rifle, warning them to stop.

Base is closed. Military personnel only. Turn around and go back the way you came.

Jesus H. Christ—what the hell is wrong with you? a voice bellowed from inside the guardhouse.

Startled, Lucia glanced over to see Chenney, the soldier who had first allowed them onto the base, scowling through the window at the guard who had stopped them.

Don’t you know who they are? Chenney shouted and disappeared from the window, reappearing at the door a second later. He marched over and yanked the guard’s flimsy face mask down. Don’t be an idiot. You’re immune now, and it’s because of them. They’re the ones who got the girl back.

Chenney left the soldier’s side and walked over to where Lucia and Baker were stopped. Sorry, it’s the noobs’ first day outside the wire. He still hasn’t figured out he doesn’t need the mask anymore.

The guard’s eyes widened as he realized who Baker and Lucia were. He snapped to attention and saluted Baker.

I’m sorry, sir…I didn’t recognize you.

Don’t worry about it, soldier, Baker said with a smile. But it’s her you should salute. She did all the work. I was just there for the ride.

Confused, the young guard turned to face Lucia. He started to raise his hand in a salute, stopping mid-way as he realized she was a civilian.

Uh, sorry, Ma’am. On behalf of all the men on base, I’d like to thank—

Tell them to open the gate, Lucia said, scowling. The last thing she wanted to be doing right now was standing around listening to this fool blather on about nothing. If Leduc had news about Raine’s location, she wanted to hear about it as soon as possible.

Yes, Ma’am, right away, the young soldier said, turning to shout at the men inside and nearly tripping over his own feet as he took one final awe-struck look over his shoulder at Baker and Lucia.

Chenney rolled his eyes. Christ almighty, next he’ll be expecting you two to walk on water.

Baker chuckled and then turned serious. How many people have been inoculated since we left?

Everyone pulling duty outside the wire got a dose, Chenney replied. Guess that makes it about twenty here at the base and another five up at the lab.

Baker frowned. I thought the numbers would be higher. Is there a problem?

Don’t know anything about that, Chenney said. It’s above my pay-grade and Abrams and the General ain’t talking. All I know is I never thought I’d be so happy pulling guard duty.

Why’s that?

I got my dose. Now, I don’t have to worry about the bug anymore, just them, Chenney said, glancing down the road at a group of fifteen or twenty people clustered around a handful of tents. Most of the crowd was sitting in a semi-circle listening to a man in the middle of the circle preach.

Who are they? Baker asked.

Just a bunch of nuts, Chenney replied. Every morning when the sun rises, they chant for a few minutes and then one of them—a different one each day—walks up to the gate and asks for Ushas.

Who is Ushas?

The girl you brought here. That’s what they call her.

What do they want? Lucia snapped, suddenly wary.

Chenney shrugged. Same as everyone, I guess, to be cured. They started showing up here a couple days after you left. They’re a pain in the ass, but I think they’re harmless.

Harmless had a way of becoming harmful, Lucia thought. She cast a wary eye down the road and noticed Baker doing the same.

Do you want to check them out? he asked.

She nodded as the base gate clanked open.

Now or later?

Later. Let’s go see Leduc first.

The door to General Leduc’s office was closed, but unlike the last time they visited, this time the general’s bespectacled assistant, Cox, jumped up from his desk and smiled as he dashed towards them.

General Leduc has good news, very good news, the man said with giddy enthusiasm. Come on, I’ll let him tell you himself. He knocked on the general’s door and poked his head inside.

Baker and the woman are here to see you, sir.

The woman?

Lucia scowled at the back of Cox’s head. My name is Lucia—not the woman. She almost said it aloud.

Don’t just stand there, show them in, the general yelled at his aide.

Cox stepped aside, allowing them into Leduc’s office. Other than a new 8x10 photograph hanging on the wall next to a Canadian flag, the office hadn’t changed since the last time they visited.

Lucia stared at the photograph, not recognizing the general’s son, at first. The man in the picture had a white hard hat on his head and wore a pair of dark blue coveralls. He was smiling into the camera, his face dirty with mud and grease that must have come from the gigantic drill casing his arms were wrapped around. He looked nothing like Little Mouse, the man who had died helping rescue Saanvi.

Leduc saw her looking at the photograph and said, I found that in an old photo album. Dylan must have sent it to his mother. He left home at seventeen to go out west and find work in the oil fields. We didn’t hear from him for years. He was pig-headed and stubborn—a lot like his old man.

Leduc paused for a moment and looked fondly at the photograph. Then he turned back, all business and focused his attention on Baker.

Do you remember that kid I told you about—the Comms Tech? It turns out he’s a smart little bugger. When Raine called back, the kid was able to trace the phone number through the network. Turns out the phone Raine used wasn’t military. It was a civilian unit connected to the Iridium network.

Baker looked perplexed. That doesn’t make sense. Why would he use the public satellite network?

Your guess is as good as mine, Leduc replied. You said he was a spook. Maybe he thought it was safer hiding in plain sight, or maybe he just wanted to keep his operation off the government’s books. Whatever the reason, we should be thankful the unit wasn’t hardened. The phone’s GPS was disabled, but the kid was able to reactivate it.

Leduc reached into his desk’s top drawer and removed a slip of paper. He slid it across the desk to Baker.

37.6319° N, 97.2515° W

39.1974° N, 96.5847° W

What is that? Lucia asked, reading the handwritten scribbles on the piece of paper.

The latitude and longitude for the two locations we tracked Raine to, Leduc answered. He spends most of his time at the first location, but he’s made three trips to the second one.

Baker folded the paper up and slipped it into his shirt pocket.

Where are they?

The first one is McConnell Air Force Base, and the second one is the Kansas State University campus. They’re about one-hundred and twenty-five miles apart.

Any information on why he’s traveling between the two locations?

Leduc shook his head. None, I hoped you might know.

Haven’t got a clue about the university, Baker replied, but McConnell Air Force Base makes sense. It’s one of the COGCON locations.

What is COGCON? Lucia asked.

It’s short for Continuity of Government Readiness Conditions, Baker explained. When the pandemic struck, the president invoked COGCON Level One. That triggered the relocation of key personnel and strategic operations to three alternate sites.

Why?

To ensure continuity of the government in case the pandemic broke out at any one of the locations. The president was moved from Washington to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, and the vice-president went to Raven Rock in Pennsylvania. I think the speaker of the house was sent to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.

What does any of this have to do with Raine? Leduc asked.

Raine isn’t stupid, Baker answered. He would know better than anyone that his best chance for survival is in a guarded military complex. There’s no way he would have been allowed in to Cheyenne Mountain or Raven Rock. They’re VIP only, but with his credentials, McConnell would have been open to him, and if the speaker of the house is there, the base would be heavily guarded and quarantined. Raine’s plan is probably to sit tight in his bolt-hole and ride things out until they get better.

Then we will go there, to this place in Kansas—and then we will kill him, Lucia said.

Baker looked pained. It won’t be quite that easy.

Why not?

Do you know where McConnell Air Force Base is?

You just said it was in Kansas, she replied, confused by the question.

Yep—it’s in Kansas, which is pretty much smack dab in the middle of the United States. It’s nearly fifteen hundred miles from here. You make it sound like a trip to the grocery store, but it will take a couple of months to get there.

Then we should get going, she said with a blank expression. I’ve seen how fast you drive.

Leduc smiled and then spoke. Do you have everything you need for the trip?

Yes, sir, we do, Baker replied. Abrams has been a great help.

Leduc rolled his eyes. I’m sure he has. That reminds me to ask Cox to check and ensure Warrant Officer Abrams isn’t working one of his two for one deals.

Two for one, sir?

Two for him and one for you, Leduc said with a sigh. That man is like an octopus with his arms into everything.

The general stood, signaling the meeting was over, and stepped around his desk to shake their hands.

I don’t believe in vengeance, he said, but I do believe in justice. What Raine did was an unconscionable crime against humanity. I pray to God you two are successful.

Prayer will not have anything to do with it, Lucia said. We will succeed and John Raine will die. She was more certain of it than she had been of anything in her life. The general might not believe in vengeance, but she did. She would avenge the death of her children or die trying—and God would have nothing to do with it.

Baker placed his hand on her shoulder. We should get moving. He took a step towards the door and stopped.

Sir, may I ask you one more question?

Fire away.

It might not be any of my business, but are there problems with the inoculation program?

Leduc pressed his lips together and nodded. The Professor hasn’t made much progress on that contraption of his, and we’re having problems with the girl.

A flash of anger welled up inside Lucia. First, it was Cox calling her ‘the woman’, and now Saanvi was ‘the girl’.

She glared at Leduc and spoke. The girl has a name. It is Saanvi in case you have forgotten.

Not used to being spoken to in that manner, Leduc’s expression hardened for a second and then relaxed. "You’re right. She does have a name, and I should have used it. I’m sorry.