"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Walker Air Force Base."
They'd come ashore in Delaware and been driven, through several states – and several days – via armed convoy. They'd stopped each night in secure Army bases, each one as nondescript as the last.
Jackson and Mitch used the time to recover. While they'd all sustained injuries during Jamie's rescue, theirs had been the worst; Mitch's wolf bite would leave an unattractive scar, while Jackson's numerous lacerations – eagle and leopard – were narrow but deep.
"Wait, what?" Jamie said, turning around in her seat. "Walker Air Force Base? You're kidding me, right?"
She, Mitch and Chloe were in the back of one armoured carrier, while Abe, Jackson and Kazuko were in another. The leopard was secured in a third.
"That's what the sign said," Mitch said.
"Well I'll be damned. This place is like a reporter's Holy Grail. Bet you know all about what goes on in this place, right?" she finished, turning back in her seat to face Chloe.
"The DGSE and the US Secret Services are not known for their spirit of co-operation," Chloe replied, smiling. "I know no more than you."
"Uh, would someone like to fill me in on the big mystery?" Mitch demanded, irritated.
"Where are we, Mitch?"
He didn't answer for a moment, too distracted by her expression. Her eyes sparkled and her mouth was tilted in a natural, excited grin. It was the first time he'd seen that look on her face since her return.
"We're, uh, in New Mexico," he replied, dragging his attention back to the conversation.
"And what town did we just drive through?"
"No idea. I was napping."
"Roswell, Mitch. We've just driven through Roswell."
He sat up straight. "What, this is Area 51? They brought us to Area 51?"
"Sir, that site does not exist," the army driver called from the front.
"Oh, that's rubbish and you know it," Jamie said. "Everyone knows it's real. So what you got inside, huh? Aliens? Couple of space craft?"
"Ma'am…"
"If you say 'that site doesn't exist' again I'll smack you around the back of the head," she snapped.
"What my friend means to say," Mitch said, leaning forward and catching the driver's eye in the rear view mirror, "is that, given the government's inability to play nicely with others, she's not gonna believe a word you say."
"Duly noted, sir. Please sit back in your seat."
Mitch held his hands up and sank back.
"So what do you think is inside?" Jamie asked Chloe. "You think they've got hangars full of little green men? Breaking a story like that…"
"Jamie, the only thing that place is going to hide is us." Mitch decided it was time to nip her excitement in the bud, even if he loved how it brightened her whole face. "One leopard, two tour guides, one veterinary pathologist, one journalist, one DGSE operative, and a whole bunch of Army guys. Emphasis on 'whole bunch'."
"Even if they were holding anything of note there," Chloe interjected, "we would be kept well away from it."
"We've broken into places before…"
"Yes, let's take a moment to remember how brilliantly things went when we broke into the zoo and a man was killed."
Jamie deflated, all that newfound energy dissipating.
"You're right. It's a stupid idea. Forget I said anything."
"Cheer up, kiddo," Mitch said, holding her in a brief one-armed hug that made Chloe smile, "you kept that damned leopard safe until we could find you."
"Yeah, and Aippaq got killed." Jamie's face fell even further. "Some protector I am." "Bigger picture. You're going to save the world."
"I didn't save his world though, did I?"
Mitch had no answer to that.
"What's going to happen now?" Jackson asked as he and Abe studied the Air Force Base. He felt uneasy here; this was military territory – Kazuko's territory – and although she'd been quick to assure him they were guests and could leave any time, the high fences and multiple check points were beginning to make him feel like a prisoner. And they'd only been here a few minutes.
"We're taking you to meet with Amelia Sage. She'll answer all your questions."
"I remember her. The government contact, right?"
"That's right. She'll discuss the next stage of the process with you."
They were shown to what would be their new living quarters for the foreseeable future. Since they'd lost their luggage in the shipwreck, Uncle Sam had allowed them to requisition whatever they needed. After a shower, a meal and a change of clothes, they were shown into a large meeting room. Amelia Sage – a blonde, elegant woman in her early fifties – was already waiting for them. Kazuko entered behind them and closed the door.
"So what's happening?" Jackson asked, watching them both with hands on hips. The others filed around the table and took seats, but he remained standing.
"As you know, we've spent the last few months trying to find an effective delivery system for the vaccine," Amelia explained. "Once we discovered it would become ineffective if dispersed through the air, we had to go back to the drawing board. That's where you come in, Mr. Oz."
"Are they ready? Have you got the mosquitos ready?"
"Wait, mosquitoes?" Jamie asked. "How is that going to work?"
"We vaccinate a couple of animals," Jackson explained. "Then mosquitos feed on 'em. That means they're now carrying the vaccine. They feed on other animals –"
"And the vaccine spreads!" Jamie exclaimed. "Oh, Jackson, I'd kiss you if I didn't think Chloe would kick my ass!"
Jackson grinned. "Well, if you ever get that urge, don't hold back," he teased.
From her seat beside him, Chloe kicked him. He winced and sat. Mitch punched his arm.
"The mosquitos are ready," Amelia continued as if the interruption hadn't happened. "Now we have the leopard, all we need is a shipment of mother cell –"
"Wait, you mean you don't already have some?" Mitch spluttered.
"Mr. Morgan, the mother cell takes time to mine." She looked down her nose at him. "The utmost security and discretion is required both to mine it and transport it. When you confirmed the leopard was still alive I called in an order. It's due to arrive later today."
"Well, all right then. Guess I'll just ride my high horse off into the sunset."
"So where is this mine?" Jamie asked.
"Journalistic tendencies die hard, yes?" Amelia seemed more amused than annoyed. "You must have missed the 'security' and 'discretion' part of my last comment."
Jamie shrugged. "Can't fault a girl for trying."
Mitch asked to see the leopard. Kazuko led him through interminable corridors – beige this time instead of grey – but just as nondescript.
Irniq was being kept in a custom built cage. He paced back and forth, restless, and snarled when he saw Mitch.
"I love you too," he said. "How'd you like your new pad? Bit bare on the old home comforts, huh?"
Irniq growled.
"It's OK, I have that effect on people too."
"Why did you wish to see him?" Kazuko asked.
"I spent the last three months thinking he was dead, that we'd lost the only chance of a vaccine. Then we went through a couple days of hell to get him back. I want to put a tracking chip in him."
"We're deep in the heart of Wilson Air Force base!" Kazuko was outraged. "You honestly think he's going to go missing again?"
"I think that it's better to be safe than sorry." He was impassive.
"Alright. If you really think it's necessary. But I think you're over-acting."
"Thank you so much." He treated her to the most sarcastic smile he could muster.
Amelia Sage led Jackson, Chloe and Abe into a large room. There was a wide, sturdy table in the middle, laden with boxes and packets of papers.
"What's all this?" Jackson asked.
"Your father's research," Amelia explained. "I sent a team to retrieve it. Though we have a means of mass-producing a vaccine, there may be something of interest in his notes."
Jackson immediately began riffling through the boxes, taking off lids and pulling out files.
"What are you looking for?" Chloe asked.
"Anything about Evan Lee Hartley," he replied. "Anything he may have worked on."
"Or anything that was done to him," Abe added, stepping forward to help.
"You are still trying to understand what your father did to him," Chloe said. She, too, began searching through the boxes.
"I feel like this is important," Jackson said. "Maybe even more important than the vaccine."
"You are talking about human evolution?"
"Be careful, Jackson," Abe cautioned. "Evan Lee Hartley behaved like an animal when we encountered him in the woods in Louisiana. It is possible we may be dealing with human devolution."
When Mitch and Kazuko went to see the leopard, and Amelia led the others to search through Robert Oz's research, Jamie slipped away. They'd brought her to Area 51 and they expected her not to explore? This could be the biggest story of her career. Never mind the fact that she'd babysat the leopard who was going to save the world; Jamie Campbell was going to be famous for finding aliens.
She made it through several unmanned, unlocked doors with no problem. She had no real idea of where she was going. Of course there were no handy maps on the wall; this was a secret facility, after all.
She spotted a soldier standing in front of a door at the same time he saw her.
"Can I help you, ma'am?"
Damn. She was just going to have to wing it.
"I was just talking to Amelia Sage," she said, turning on the charm. "She was going to give me a guided tour, but she got called away. She said I could just go ahead and start without her, she'd catch me up."
OK. That sounded lame. She must be slipping.
"Ma'am, this is high-security facility." The solider was unimpressed. "There are no 'guided tours'. I'll call a colleague to escort you back to your designated area."
"Spoilsport," she muttered. "Just one glimpse of a UFO?"
"…ow! Come on, there's no need to be so damned rough! Don't you know I survived a plane crash?"
Kazuko was escorting Mitch back to what she'd termed the Research Room when they heard a commotion. Rounding a corner they saw a soldier hustling along a very irate Jamie.
"Hey, what's going on?" Mitch said, closing the distance between them. "Get your hands off her."
"Sir, please return to your designated area."
"Let me go!" Jamie wrenched her arm out of the soldier's grip. "It's not like I'm about to run away!"
"Soldier, report!" Kazuko snapped.
"Civilian was trying to get through a restricted-access door, ma'am."
"Aw, Jamie, you didn't…" Mitch looked at her and shook his head.
"Area 51. Aliens. Do I need to say anything else?"
"Well, you could try apologising."
"For what? This place is payed for with taxpayer's money! And I'm a taxpayer!"
"Jamie." Mitch's arm snaked around her shoulders. "Let's just apologise to the nice Army man for trying to find out state secrets, and go investigate some of our own, huh? What do you say?"
"I say stop talking to me like I'm a baby," she grumped. Then, her expression lifting, "What secrets? What are you guys working on?"
Mitch gently turned her and led her away from the soldier.
"Journalists," he said in an aside to Kazuko. "You just gotta know how to talk to them."
"I heard that, Mitch."
"So what're you guys looking at?" Jamie asked as she breezed into the Research Room.
"Where have you two been?" Jackson countered.
"I was putting a tracking chip in the leopard. Just, you know, just in case. Jamie, why don't you tell them what you were doing." His voice dripped sarcasm.
"Aren't you supposed to be on my side now?" she hissed, jabbing him in the ribs.
"Let me guess," Chloe said, smiling. "You were trying to find a way into a place where you were not supposed to be, yes?"
"Maybe."
Abe startled them all with a deep, booming belly laugh.
"I love it! They bring us here to stop the Beast Rebellion, and you are interested in little green men!" He wiggled his fingers and laughed again.
"Laugh at me again and we're gonna fall out, mister," Jamie said. "Just think about it, OK? It's become normal to us that a supposedly 'natural mineral' called the mother cell somehow speeds up animal evolution, and now they all want to kill us. But aliens? Hold the phone, Ramone! Girl's gone crazy!"
"Actually, she's got a point." Jackson held up a finger. "Statistically speaking, there must be alien life in other galaxies. Who's to say the military aren't holding something here?"
"What, you buy into all that abductee crap?" Mitch asked, sceptical.
"Hey, I'm part of the X-Files generation. What's happening now could have come straight out of that."
They were sifting through piles and piles of paperwork when Amanda Sage burst into the room.
"We've lost the mother cell," she said, straight to the point. "The shipment was ambushed out in the desert. We put trackers in the crate before it left the mine, standard procedure. We're preparing a recovery team."
"Someone stole it?" Jackson said, incredulous. "They just swooped in and ambushed an armed convoy? Who'd have the balls to do that?"
"We don't have that intelligence at the moment –"
"Chinese," Mitch interrupted.
"Russians," Jamie added.
"Let us not forget our good friends in North Korea," Abe finished.
"They want to manufacture their own vaccine," Chloe suggested.
"The US government has made it perfectly clear that we're willing to share the vaccine," Amanda explained, frustrated.
"Whoever these people are, they probably want to hold the rest of the world to ransom."
"I want to go with them," Jamie demanded. "With the recovery team."
"What?" Mitch said. "Are you mad?"
"No, Miss Campbell, that won't be possible."
"Listen, someone has to document all this! All this crazy stuff is going down and no one's recording it. We're right at the heart of this, all of us, and we have a responsibility to pass on the truth to the next generation."
Amanda stared at her for a minute, relaxed.
"I can see why you became a journalist," she said. "Alright, you have permission to accompany the recovery team –"
"Yay!"
"-providing you obey all instructions and stay in the vehicle when the fighting starts."
"You're seriously going to let her go?" Mitch flared.
"Hey, I'm in the room!"
"The rest of you can't think this is a good idea?" Mitch appealed to the others.
"I think we all have a part to play in this," Jackson said. "And Jamie's right, this should be documented in some way."
That was when the first explosion hit.
The Research Room echoed with multiple exclamations.
"Stay here," Amanda ordered, wrenching the door open, "and lock this behind me! Don't open it until I come back!"
"What's happening?" Jamie asked when she was gone. Jackson locked the door. "Are we under attack?"
"Who'd be stupid enough to attack Area 51?" Jackson replied, though he didn't sound sincere. He noticed that Mitch and Jamie – probably unconsciously – had moved so that the veterinary pathologist stood protectively in front of her. It was kind of sweet.
"We already know the mother cell has been stolen," Chloe said, terse. "And now the leopard is here. The question should be who would be stupid enough not to attack?"
Another explosion made the room shake.
"We'll be perfectly safe in here," Kazuko said. "We're under multiple layers of protection. There's no way anyone could get this far."
The loudest explosion so far made them instinctively duck. They heard the rattle of gunfire.
"That, uh, that sounded pretty damned close," Mitch said.
"There are armed men in the hallway!" Abe called, peering through the glass window in the door. "And they are not US soldiers!"
"Come away from the door," Kazuko ordered. "Now! Everyone!"
They rushed to comply, making sure they were out of sight of the window.
"How did they even know the leopard was here?" Jamie whispered.
"Maybe they hacked the Pentagon or something," Mitch hissed. "How should I know?"
The gunfire stopped. Jackson let out a breath, beginning to hope that the attack was over. He inched forward.
That was when the door exploded.
Jackson was on the floor. He couldn't quite remember how he'd got there. His ears were ringing and he couldn't see straight. He saw people – or at least, the blurry, indistinct shapes of figures – but he couldn't seem to get a handle on what was happening.
He clutched his head. Screams. He could hear screams. Angry male voices. Then the meaty sound of flesh hitting flesh, grunts of pain… then nothing.
Blackness filled his vision. He knew it was a bad idea to pass out – a monumentally bad idea – but he couldn't seem to stop himself.
When he came around his head was throbbing, but at least he could hear and see properly.
"Rafiki," was the first thing he heard as he massaged his temples. "We are in trouble. Big, big trouble."
"What happened?" He eased himself into a sitting position, wincing as the flickering light hurt his eyes.
The Research Room was a mess. The door was a smashed ruin. All the boxes and files they'd been looking through were gone, and the table itself bore burn marks. Dirty black marks – smoke? – stained the walls and ceiling.
Jackson noticed Abe was injured. There was a jagged gash on his forehead, still bleeding sluggishly.
"The leopard is gone. Whoever is behind this attack sent a small army to penetrate the base. They took the leopard and all of your father's research."
"What?" This was a disaster. When humanity was on the brink of salvation – or destruction! – someone always had to go and mess it up! "Where's Chloe? Was she hurt? Is Jamie OK? Mitch?"
"They took Jamie and Chloe." Abe looked as if he was about to cry. Jackson had never seen such a look on the big man's face, not once. "Kazuko was knocked out trying to protect us. Mitch… I have never seen such rage on a man's face, nor such violence, but it was not enough."
Jackson took another glance around the room. This time he saw the shadowed forms of bodies – Kazuko and Mitch, out cold and covered in blood.
"They took the leopard," Jackson said, horror and incredulity making his voice dull. "They took the research. And they took the girls." He scrambled to his feet, unsteady, wavering. "We're going to get them back." There was iron certainty in his voice. He wiped blood from his face. "Whatever we have to do, we're going to get them back."