The Demon's Hand

By Paul Broatch

In the sacred city of Varanasi, a blood red sun sets over a nightmare scene of death... in Europe the dark storm clouds of war gather... and in the shadows, a secret power prepares an army to take control of the world.

The Demon’s Hand: the sequel to 'City of Lights' pits David Forrest and his friends against their most dangerous foe yet, with the fate of the very world at stake.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Broatch
• Release date: Apr 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463000571

Paul Broatch

Paul Broatch has had a lifelong fascination with technology and hard science fiction books. He wrote his first novel The Worlds Within in 2014. He started the Red and While Trilogy in 2015 with the City of Lights and The Demon's Hand. He has also written two novellas Running the Rift in 2016 and Little Girl Lost.

Book preview

Paul Broatch

The Demon’s Hand

(Book 2 Red and White Series)

Also by Paul Broatch

White: City of Lights (Book 1, Red and White Series)

The Worlds Within

Running the Rift

This is a work of fiction. Characters, institutions and organisations mentioned in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously without any intent to describe actual conduct.

Copyright Paul Broatch 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. Paul Broatch asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Published by Paul Broatch at Smashwords

The Demon’s Hand

Contents

Prologue – six months earlier

Chapter 1: Home

Chapter 2: A Trip

Chapter 3: Nepal

Chapter 4: Varanasi

Chapter 5: Europe

Chapter 6: Different paths

Chapter 7: Plans

Chapter 8: A Hack

Chapter 9: Russia

Chapter 10: The Demon Revealed

Chapter 11: Into the Dark

Chapter 12: The Demons Lair

Chapter 13: The Belly of the Beast

Chapter 14: Return to the Light

Discover other titles by Paul Broatch

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. Friedrich Nietzsche.

Prologue – six months earlier

Acharya sat in his office. His hands were shaking, and tears ran down his face. His mind simply refused to accept what he was reading. The message on his phone was simple; if he wanted his family back safely, then he had to do something for the kidnappers, something monstrous; something he wasn’t even sure he could do. He put the phone down on his table carefully.

A file popped up on the lab computer screen. He stared at it for a moment, confused. He had no idea how the file was even there. No-one should have been able to do that, his system was isolated from the net and heavily protected to ensure none of the valuable and dangerous information stored on it could be stolen. He knew they must have somehow also got into the lab system.

His hand moved almost of its own volition, and he touched the file. It opened, displaying complex and detailed instructions for the creation of the weapon.

Dear God!

Chapter 1: Home

David and Maria sat in the burnt wreck that was all that remained of David's penthouse suite at The Grand. The explosives that had been used to blow the doors open had started a number of small fires which had smouldered away for days before going out. The apartment had been destroyed, but it was lucky the whole building hadn't caught fire. They'd spent a couple of days going through the charred and smoke damaged remains salvaging what little they could. The undamaged things would go back to the apartment in the Core. The remainder could just stay there and decay along with the rest of the building before it was all finally claimed by the sea. They sat, hand in hand, Maria's head resting on David's shoulder, quietly looking out at the sunset. The pleasant weariness of a day's hard work making them sleepy.

The last couple of weeks had been a bit of a blur for them both. With the Prime Minister’s death, and the unprecedented display of pubic defiance, the government had collapsed. A coalition of opposition parties had stepped up to form a transitional government until new elections could be held. The new leaders had appointed a retired judge to conduct a Commission of Inquiry into the conduct of the Government, the police and the security forces. A new Police Commissioner had been appointed, who had immediately ordered a full review of the force. He had dropped all charges against David, John and Luke who were now being proclaimed as national heroes. The country was calm: calmer than it had been for years, but if the new government couldn't deliver on their promises, the honeymoon would soon be over, and the discontent would increase again.

David and Maria had retreated to the apartment to escape the glare of publicity. At the moment, no-one was asking difficult questions, but David knew these would come eventually. In the meantime, he was just enjoying the peace and the closeness. He hadn't felt this happy for a very long time.

Maria stirred and reached up to give him a peck on the cheek. We need to get back. She stood up and stretched her back.

Even silhouetted against the light of the setting sun, David could see the golden glow of the aura surrounding her slim figure. If anything, it had grown stronger over the last few days. It was a strange thing. Not for the first time, he wondered what it meant for her.

She put out her hand to him. Come on old fella.

He took her hand and stood up, put his arms around her and held her close, putting his face into her hair and kissing her neck.

Come on, she said. We need to get moving or we'll be late.

Reluctantly he let her go, grabbed the bags they'd packed, and they walked out. For a moment, he thought about shutting the door, then shook his head at his own foolishness and walked away down the corridor.

The small speedboat in which they'd escaped the attack on the apartment sat moored to the broad steps of The Grand. They jumped in, and with the sun turning the waters around them to a mix of shimmering gold and black, they motored slowly back toward the inhabited part of the city. The light of the setting sun seemed to give the decaying, drowned buildings a strange beauty. Man’s great works slowly being reclaimed by the planet and turned into homes for fish and birds.

With the apartment gone, they didn't need the speedboat anymore, and when they reached the dry land close to the building where they had first met, David pulled it up onto the shore and left it there. He felt as if he was leaving his old life behind and starting anew.

They walked hand in hand, following the trail of firm ground until they reached Victoria Square where they had arranged to meet Luke with a car. As they approached, the lights shone out to greet them. At least that was something that the new government had delivered on immediately. The power prices had dropped dramatically, and the whole city seemed to be bathed in light. The lights seemed to make the city a happier place, lifting people’s spirits and optimism.

They found themselves a seat on the terraces; ordered some drinks and sat watching the people around them as they laughed and talked and shared meals with their friends.

Maria looked across at him How are you feeling? she asked.

Good. It's nice to watch people relax and just be themselves. It's like the old days.

Yeah, you did good, she smiled.

We did good, he corrected.

But still, you aren't completely happy.

I'm worried, that's all.

Is that what all the late-night calls have been about?

I thought you were asleep.

I don't sleep that well without you there, she smiled softly. Are you going to tell me what's going on?

Hey guys. Luke dropped into a chair next to Maria, a big grin on his face.

Maria looked for a moment at David as if to say, 'Our conversation hasn't finished.'

How's Gabe? she asked. Luke had been to see him that afternoon.

Pretty good actually. A waiter appeared at their table, and Luke ordered a beer.

They've got him up and moving. He'll recover but it's going to take a little while. He paused, Are we going to eat? he asked.

Do you ever stop? Maria teased.

I have to maintain my energy levels. He picked up the paper menu that was tucked inside the cutlery holder in the middle of the table. You want to share a vegetarian paella?

Sure, David replied. Luke waved over the waiter and ordered.

Where's your stuff? Luke asked.

David indicated the two black carry bags by his feet.

Wow, is that all that’s left?

David shrugged. It's all I wanted.

Your books?

David just shook his head.

Shame.

Yeah. For a moment David felt the loss of all that history. Pictures on a screen just weren’t the same.

Luke picked up a knife and started to spin it on the table.

What's eating you? David asked.

Luke looked up. Nothing. David just cocked an eyebrow. Ok. Gabe and I were talking, Luke started. David just waited for him. About what Nina said about Ballock and the plague.

The mention of Nina’s name brought a slight smile to Maria’s lips. Luke had become very close to Nina over the last couple of weeks. Maria loved him for that. Nina was struggling to get over what had happened to her, and Maria wasn't sure she ever would entirely. Occasionally, the old fun loving, adventurous Nina would come out, then something would trigger the memories and the fear would come back. At times, she couldn't leave her flat, and she was fearful of anyone she didn't know. Luke had been very kind to her, very gentle, never pushing her further than she was able to go. Gradually, he was leading her back to herself out of the fear and darkness.

Hmm... David said, noncommittally, breaking Maria's thoughts.

Where do we go from here? Luke asked. Maria looked pointedly at David.

Why do we need to go anywhere? David challenged.

You have been watching the news. It was a statement rather than a question. Luke knew full well that David had been following the news about the plague and what was happening in Europe and Asia almost obsessively.

We need to do something about Zukhov before he drags the world into a war. We need to do something about the plague.

David smiled. Neither of us know anything about viruses. The best minds on the planet are trying to develop a vaccine.

And failing, Luke broke in.

Luke was right about that, David thought. Most of the world had closed their borders in an effort to stop the spread of the virus, but nothing was working. Authorities were baffled and desperate. David was sure that the spread was intentional. The Reds, as Maria was now calling them, 'better than demons' he thought, were making sure that the virus continued its deadly rampage. They had to be intentionally spreading it, though no-one knew how. The death toll was already climbing although reliable information seemed almost impossible to find.

This isn't the time or the place to talk about this. Wait until we get home, David said with finality.

Luke grumbled a bit but let it go for the meantime. The waiter came back with Luke's drink and told them the paella would be ready in a few minutes.

David sipped his beer. The cold, bitter liquid was always refreshing on a hot night. He sighed. In his mind’s eye, he replayed the fateful few minutes of the fight in Ballock’s mansion high on the hills above the city.

After hearing Nina’s revelations about the virus, David had known that removing Ballock had been only the first step, just the first battle in a war that might ultimately engulf the planet. His desire to avoid killing seemed to have gone up in smoke, and he feared that Ballock’s death was only the beginning too. Maria had tried to console him afterwards: that Ballock’s death had been unavoidable, they couldn't have let him live, not after what he'd done, after the deaths he'd caused. David had agreed with her and tried to put the events of that night behind him but had failed. He couldn’t forget, so all he could do was to try to put his regrets to one side and move forward.

How's Nina? he asked, changing the subject.

Luke smiled. Pretty good. She came with me to the hospital. Afterwards we went to the park. I think she's going to be ok.

Good to hear. You've done well there.

Luke looked uncomfortable.

Ah. I think someone might be smitten, David said.

Luke looked down at the table and started playing with the knife again. She's really nice. I like her a lot.

She is nice. You two look good together, he said. Luke smiled at that.

The waiter arrived with the paella: a big dish of spicy rice, beans and vegetables. He placed a plate in front of each of them and disappeared.

I'll play mother, Maria said, and started scooping big servings of paella onto each place, making sure everyone also got their share of the deliciously crunchy socarrat at the bottom. The smell of the food had made her realise how hungry she was. Hard work always created an appetite.

They ate and chatted until late in the evening.

Luke had parked the car around the corner from the square. Once they'd finished, he went off to get it, and then picked them up from the terraces. It was the same car that he had driven from the Hive out towards the docks a few weeks ago. David sat in the front with Luke, and Maria, being the smallest, squashed into the back seat with the bags.

Just back to your apartment? Luke asked.

Thanks. That'd be great. They drove toward the heart of the city, known as the Core. It was again a great blaze of light, its skyscrapers reaching toward the sky like blades of fire. David thought back to their march into the City, the lights in the buildings going out like dominoes, plunging the Core into darkness. That had been quite a sight.

Luke pulled the car up outside the gallery. The old bio-diesel looked woefully out of place among the sleek electric cars and the high-tech glass and steel buildings. They all got out, and David hefted the bags onto his shoulders. Luke locked the car. David raised his eyebrows.

Can't be too careful. Bit of a dodgy neighbourhood, I've heard. All sorts of disreputable people around here. He said it with such a straight face David just shook his head. Maria laughed.

David placed his palm next to the door. The system read his palm print and then asked him to look into the facial recognition scanner. In the background, David heard the sound of a car coming down the street. It accelerated hard, the engine screaming. He looked away from the scanner. All he could see was the glare of headlights. His instincts took over. Down! He dropped the bags and grabbed Maria and Luke, who were looking around, confused. He dragged them down behind Luke's car, throwing himself between Maria and the road just as the other car drew level with them. Bullets smashed into the ‘armour glass’ wall of the gallery. The door had started to open but automatically slammed shut as the bullets hit it, creating dull, circular patches. Bullets ripped right through the parked car above them, leaving gaping holes and raining glass chunks down on them from shattered windows. Maria screamed. Lights came on in the buildings around them, and there was a screech of tyres as the car pulled away in a cloud of smoke.

Are you both ok? he asked. They both nodded. David jumped to his feet, but the car was too far away for him to see who was driving it. He quickly opened the door to the gallery and hustled Maria and Luke inside.

As soon as the door closed Maria hugged him, What was that?

They were trying to kill us! Luke shouted. He turned and looked out onto the street, Look at my car!

It looks like not everyone was happy to see Ballock brought down, David said. The Reds had gone to ground since Ballock’s death, but they were clearly active again and out for revenge. David looked at the glass of the shop window. It was already starting to heal and become transparent again. For a split second, in a translucent bullet wound in the glass, he thought he saw something: a face, dark and scaly with pale blue eyes looking straight at him.

What the… he started.

What? Maria asked.

Nothing, I thought I saw something in the glass, a face. Weird.

She came over and looked at the healing glass. I can’t see anything.

No, it’s gone now. Must have been my imagination. He shook his head. Come on, let’s get inside the apartment.

He punched in the code to open the steel door that led to the warehouse. Eric had made a good job of tiding up the damage that the security forces had done in forcing their way into the warehouse, but some of the books and art works had been damaged beyond repair. The loss of money didn't worry him, it was the loss of all that beauty and history. Things that could never be replaced. His eyes lingered on a small Assyrian tablet covered in the sharp lines of cuneiform. It told a story of old Nineveh to anyone who could read the ancient form of writing. The place it had come from had been destroyed, blown up and bulldozed by barbarians. He turned away and hefted the bags up the steel steps to the apartment that formed the warehouse’s mezzanine floor. Pushing open the door, he led them inside.

The apartment was a complete contrast to the suite in the Grand. It was ultra-modern and painted white throughout with splashes of intense colour coming from the artworks on the walls and the furnishings. It was elegant and spartan. The apartment had no windows, so to stop it feeling like a bunker, the ceiling was made entirely of glass, the opacity of which could be controlled and changed with the time of day and the weather. He had decorated the apartment with many old antiques which gave it an almost museum-like feel.

David had told Maria he had much preferred the rooms at the old Grand, but she thought this place somehow reflected David's nature as well, a blend of the old and new, showing he was able to live in both the past and the future.

David had only just set the bags down when the home system announced that there was a call from Michael Albus.

Are you two sure you're ok? David asked. They both nodded. David hesitated for a moment then transferred the call to the screen in the office and closed the door behind him.

Maria stared at the closed door for a while and then made herself and Luke both a cup of tea to calm their nerves. They sat down to wait for him.

This has been happening a lot since the march, Maria said. I wish he would tell me what's going on.

Is it Michael calling all the time?

No, lots of people, though mostly Michael, I think he wants David to go to Europe, but David's not sure.

The door opened about fifteen minutes later, and David came out, a grim expression on his face. Maria stood up, went over to him and gave him a hug. Are we going to Europe?

We?

If you think for a moment that you're going on your own, you can forget it. You go, I go.

David smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek. Yes, we're all going, I told Michael that was non-negotiable. But things aren't good there. Michael has very deep political connections, so he knows exactly what's happening. He says that relations between Europe and Russia are at crisis point. The Russian forces are massing on the border of Latvia and Lithuania. If they move, ETO will respond, and it'll be all-out war. No-one in the West has forgotten the Ukraine, they won’t want to be seen as ineffective again. Apparently, the German Chancellor is making a last-ditch effort to solve the crisis diplomatically. He thinks he can get the Russian President to sign a peace treaty. Michael isn't confident. England is reinforcing the Dover line and moving troops to the coast, Fortress England all over again. Michael says the whole of Europe feels like it’s on a knife-edge, people are terrified.

So why are we going? What can we do in an all-out war? Maria asked.

Not a lot. Wars aren’t fought by people anymore, not normal ones anyway. The Reds are massing their forces in Europe already, Michael wants to make sure he has the forces to counter them. The skirmishes are over, we’re about to have our own war.

So, he calls on his best general, said Luke.

You're still not convinced, are you? Maria said.

I can't get him to see the urgency of this plague. He seems to think it’s a natural pandemic and that the authorities will eventually bring it under control like the flu pandemic in the ‘50s.

You've told him about Ballock?

Of course, but the media seem to be downplaying the seriousness of the situation and he’s so focussed on what’s happening in Europe, he just can’t see it. The virus hasn't reached Europe yet, so it’s not on his radar.

It's a matter of time before it gets there, Luke said. And here.

I know. I know, David muttered, the frustration evident in his voice.

When do we leave? Maria asked.

Three days. Michael is sending his plane to pick us up. We'll fly through Singapore, on to the Middle East, and then into Italy and Switzerland.

We're going in a private plane? she asked incredulously.

It'd take far too long by boat, David smiled at her evident excitement. I'd forgotten that you've never been overseas. Unfortunately, this isn't a holiday though; we’re flying into a virtual war zone.

The home system announced that someone was at the door, and a picture of two police officers standing outside the gallery door flashed up on the screen.

David laughed. Slightly ironic, isn't it? It was the Police trying to kill us not so long ago, now they’re here to help. I'll handle it. Can I have a cup of tea? He threw the request over his shoulder as he went off downstairs.

He came back about ten minutes later.

All good? Luke asked.

Yeah, no problem. They’ll look into it. He picked up the cup of tea Maria had made and sat down on the couch.

The home system announced another call: a Raymond Wong. David told the computer to put it on the main screen. The face of a middle-aged Asian man with jet black hair and glasses appeared on the screen. He looked exhausted and his eyes had a dark, haunted look to them.

David, he stopped once he realised that David was not alone.

It's ok, Ray. This is my girlfriend Maria, and my friend Luke. You can speak freely. I want them to know what we're facing.

Ray thought for a moment and then nodded slightly. Ok, good to meet you both, but I guarantee you'll have nightmares after this. He spoke with a slight Australian accent.

Ray is with the SCDC in Canberra. He's a virus hunter. One of the best.

You both need to realise that this is highly confidential. He gave a little chuckle. Listen to me. The world's falling apart, and I'm talking about confidentiality. What do you know about this virus? This was obviously addressed to Maria and Luke.

Only what’s been on the news, Luke answered.

Well, don’t believe everything you hear. There’s seems to be a lot of contradictory reports at the moment, some of it downright misleading. It’s worse, much worse than is being portrayed in the media. There’s a lot that’s not out in the public domain of course, and for good reason, he paused to collect his thoughts. Let me give you some basic stats on this thing. It has an R-0 of at least fifteen. That’s at least as bad as measles. You can catch this thing by walking into the same room a couple of hours after an infected person has been there. We’ve been trying to find patient zero here in India where it first emerged, but no luck so far. It just seems to have sprung out of nowhere. We can’t find a source or an animal vector. We can’t find a cell that’ll grow it, so we can’t even begin to create a vaccine. It only seems to grow in human cells. Basically, this thing makes the Spanish Flu look like a mild head cold.

What’s an R-0? Luke asked.

Sorry, basic reproduction rate. It’s basically the number of cases one person generates on average over the course of the period that they’re infectious. There are all sorts of factors that affect it, such as how it’s transmitted and how long you’re contagious for before you notice the symptoms. All you really need to know is, the bigger the number the more infectious a virus is. The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic had an R-0 of 2-3 and killed 50 to 100 million people. Somewhere between 3-5 percent of the world population, although there’s some debate whether the post-war conditions contributed to the death toll. This is worse, a lot worse. It’s deadly, and we haven’t even started to make a vaccine.

Could you use blood serum to create a vaccine? David asked.

Sure, but you don’t realise how long that takes. This thing is moving too fast. By the time we get an effective vaccine, if we get one, it’ll be a catastrophe. But that’s not why I called. I think I know why we can’t find a ground zero and why this thing is so lethal. He shook his head as if trying to dispel an evil thought. David, this is not to be repeated but we’ve confirmed the virus is man-made. It's a weaponised version of the Marburg virus. It's been modified to make it airborne and to increase its lethality.

How can you tell it’s been artificially altered? David asked.

I can do better than that. I can even tell you who altered it.

David looked surprised. What, how?

Have you heard of Dr Acharya?

I have, interrupted Maria. He's the Nobel prize winner who went missing weeks ago.

That’s right. He had a little quirk that when he modified a virus, he would add a particular sequence of DNA to the end of the viral TR, kind of like a signature. This virus has one of his signatures.

What's a viral TR? Luke asked, I’m feeling like the dumb kid in class here.

A viral terminal repeat. That probably doesn’t help though. Ray gave a thin smile. Have you heard of telomeres? Luke shook his head. You know that our genes are arranged along twisted, double-stranded molecules of DNA called chromosomes. At the ends of the chromosomes are stretches of DNA called telomeres. Think of them like the plastic bits at the end of a shoelace. They protect the ends of the chromosomes and stop the DNA from becoming frayed and sticking together which would prevent the cell from replicating. A viral TR is much the same thing in viruses. In fact, viral TR’s may well be the evolutionary source of telomeres.

OK, Luke said hesitantly.

Basically, they are a long string of identical sequences of DNA that repeat hundreds or thousands of times at either end of strand of DNA. Like ABCD ABCD etc Acharya would then put his own sequence WXYZ at the end to identify it as his work."

So, this sequence is kind of like his tag? Luke asked.

Exactly. This virus is a bit odd in that it has exceedingly long TR’s and they aren’t exactly an identical sequence. There seems to be errors in it.

Where is this doctor? asked David.

"As Maria said, he vanished some weeks ago. Just walked out of his lab and hasn't been seen since. The