Alicia came back in and sat down. They all looked ready to get to work. Good. "All right," she said. "We know where she is, now it's just getting to her."
"What kind of transport are you?" she asked Jhondie. Jhondie was spooked by her tone. It was eerily like hearing Lydecker speak. She felt herself straightening into a sitting attention like at Manticore.
"Aerial. Four-seater twin engine. Room for extra gear behind the passengers." She almost added "ma'am".
"Excellent." Alicia had thought that she had a plane, but it was nice to have it confirmed. She displayed the satellite images and had the map of the Salt Lake Valley handy. "This is Antelope Island," she began pointing to the island sticking up out of the middle of the lake. "Eight years ago there were some torrential rainfalls and the only bridge to it was destroyed. Nobody had the cash to rebuild it, so the island has been inaccessible ever since. It was made formally off-limits about six months later and now only government personnel are allowed on the island."
"Doesn't get us on the base," Max commented. Alicia gave her a hard look that quieted her. She hated being interrupted during a briefing. None of the sixers would dare.
"In 2002 a tunneling project began between Antelope Island and the Air Force base in the valley. It was completed in 2006. The base had been shut down, but for some reason they decided to finish the tunnel anyways. It's still there, and not many people know about it. The island was a tourist spot, so there's plenty of old roads that can be used as a runway." There was a satellite image of a close up on a road. "It's not the best condition, but it's usable I'd say." Jhondie nodded. She'd used worse.
"Why was the tunnel completed?" Logan asked. It didn't make any sense. Alicia mentally groaned. It was obvious who here was trained in strategy and tactics.
"The base was going to be the new home for Manticore," Max answered. She glanced at Alicia who nodded. "They had a base to stash all their medical equipment and the kids had an entire island to play escape and evade on."
"And it's far enough out for people to not hear gunfire," Jhondie continued. "Far enough to keep kids from swimming to freedom too."
"I think by then they were realizing the potential of Manticore," Alicia said. You guys were two, and we were being born healthy. Gillette wasn't the most secure base, just remote. That's why you were able to make the perimeter when you escaped."
"Anyways," she continued, "The tunnel entrance is here," she said pointing to the map. "It goes straight into the base, and should come out about here," she said pointing to a spot on the map of the base itself. "Bryn is being held here in the research facility, probably in the underground area. That's where they do most of their intense work at least."
"The entire surveillance system is going to have to be disabled, and you're going to have to figure out how to get through the security doors." She flipped to a map of a building. "Here's the research lab. I've made the corrections to where remodeling has been done, at least the stuff I saw. When you get into the main secured area there's a guard station where the patient record are. You should be able to find Bryn from them."
"Then all we have to do is get her out of there and fly home?" Max asked a little dubious. It sounded too easy. Jhondie had been a master at the art of disabling security; no wonder Zack wanted her up here.
"It's not going to be quite that easy," Alicia said. "Bryn is going to be useless. She's been heavily drugged I'm sure, and there's the possibility that she's four to six weeks pregnant. Those tunnels are long. We're talking a good ten miles. You're going to have to figure out how to get her back from there."
"We're going to need a few things before we leave," Zack said, looking at the plans. Alicia could almost see the attack plans forming in his mind. "I know where I can get some weapons and explosives pretty easily."
"What about magnetic badges?" Jhondie asked. "I can do the programming on the fly, but it's a pain to get them in a pinch."
Alicia got up and went to her trusty gym bag that she still had. She reached in and rummaged for a minute, pulling out a black badge case. She took it back to the table and showed Jhondie. There were two swipe cards, several ID's for Alicia showing her to be A-1, CIA, two branches of the military, and a member of the NRA.
"Use whatever you want," she said sounding sad. I'm a traitor she thought. I can say it's not like Hepburn because I'm trying to do the right thing, but in the end, I'm a traitor to my own kind. "I'm not going to need them anymore," she said, and then quickly left before she started to cry in front of them.
Traitor, traitor, traitor her mind jeered at her. She went out onto the balcony trying to get control over herself. The people she'd cared about the most were going to be betrayed by her. They weren't the ones who'd lied to her, but they were the ones who were going to suffer. Maybe she should give herself up and go back. If she did, what was going to happen to her son? Maybe she could have him, and then give herself up. She could make herself forget anything. She'd been trained to do that. She wouldn't be able to tell them anything.
A pair of arms swept her against a familiar chest. She clung to him tightly, the only thing she was sure of anymore in this world. "Thank you," Zack whispered. "Thank you for giving us Bryn back. For everything you've done."
"I've never let them down before," she said tearfully.
"You're not letting them down," he said. "You're fixing a mistake."
He wasn't sure if she could accept that, but she didn't let go of him. He kissed the top of her head, and held her against him.
She knew he couldn't stay out there too long with her. It was wonderful that he'd come after her at all. There wasn't any time to waste on her hormonal outbursts. He should already be out the door getting the things he needed for the mission. Jhondie should be getting her plane prepped for take-off. There were a thousand things that needed to be done, and he was making sure she was all right. This was not proper protocol. It still felt lovely though.
Her mind started going over the mission. She was going to have to go. She could still move faster than any norm. She'd proven that to herself since her escape, and nobody knew that base's medical facility as well as she did. Not to mention that chances are only a few people would question her A-1 clearance. Most military personnel would have no idea what an X-6 was. Nobody was going to broadcast that they had a very angry rogue genetically engineered killing machine on the loose to the "unenlightened". Then what Zack had done hit her.
She stepped back. "You set it up," she accused. "You knew the transport Jhondie would bring, didn't you."
He nodded. He had known it was a matter of time before she realized what he'd done, but there was no way he was letting her go.
"Four seats," she snapped. "Jhondie, you, Max, and then the spare has to be for Bryn. Zack, there's no way you're going to pull this off without me."
"There's no way I'm attempting it with you."
"You think I'm going to sit here while you go off and commit suicide?"
"You didn't give me a choice when you did the same thing."
She went to say something and her mouth snapped shut. She knew why he was being so obstinate. But they were both soldiers and knew that they had to do whatever possible to complete the mission. She needed to be there.
"We can stay in radio contact," Zack said. "Cale's got the equipment. I want you here monitoring communications, and making sure we get out of there safely."
"I can do more if I'm actually there," she insisted. She was not used to having someone disregard her when discussing tactics. Normally they followed their leader. From the look of frustration on Zack's face, he was feeling the same way. "You don't know the place and the people like I do."
His hand grabbed the side of her face, his fingers tangling in her hair. His eyes blazed into hers. "Whatever happens to me, you are the one responsible for keeping our son safe," he said, his voice harsh. "You're the only person I can trust with that. Promise me you'll wait here, and keep him safe."
She wanted to say no. She needed to be there. She wouldn't be a liability. But she needed to think about her…no, their son. "I promise I'll keep him safe," she said softly. The relief he felt was evident.
He hugged her again. "I will come back," he said much softer. She nodded against his chest. They stayed there for a few more seconds and then separated. There was something in Alicia's promise that made Zack uneasy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Still, she wouldn't try to go, and that was what mattered. As for him, he had a sister to go rescue.