A normal person would distance themselves from the reanimated dead. Not cuddle in a corner with them.
“They’re infected,” Aiden said tightly. “Fuck, they’re acting the same as Oura’s mercenaries.”
“Looks that way,” Capland agreed, his voice just as tight. “Nantz had been watching them. He’s got multiple camerasgoing. Three in each lab, recording from different angles. He’s even got cameras in the hallway.”
“Have you located where the footage is being filmed?” Aiden asked as he leaned across the desk for a better look.
“Not yet.” Cap hit a key and the video went fuzzy. When it solidified, a different room with a different mix of people settled over the screen. All unclothed this time. “From what I can tell, the last camera and this one are filming labs. But then we have this.” The feed showed a row of open stainless-steel drawers...human body sized.
“A morgue,” Wolf said, surprised how cooly the word emerged, when the air was trying to vacate his body. “This is where the unclothed creatures came from.”
Aiden cocked his head, his forehead furrowing. “The undead don’t look Caucasian.”
“No... they do not,” Wolf agreed, instantly realizing what hisjavaaneewas thinking. “Karaveht?”
Aiden nodded. “That would be my guess. The villagers were missing when Hurley’s boys showed up. Nantz must have kept some for testing.”
Which raised another question. Wolf looked at Capland. “How long will it take you to identify the location of these labs?”
Capland shrugged. “There’s a good chance he’s got the IP address bouncing from satellite to satellite, so it will take time to lock it down. You’ll get the location faster by asking our guest.” Cap stared at the screen, an uneasy look crawling across his face. “While you’re at it, ask him what kind of security protocols he has in place to keep those poor suckers and the bots they’re carrying locked away. ” He switched between cameras and zeroed in on a metal container. “My guess is this is a bot tank.” He zeroed in even closer, until a metal sheet sticking straight up was clearly visible. “See that? Looks like an open hatch.”
Wolf stiffened. “Indeed, it does.”
“If those bots got out...” Cap’s lips tightened. “There is another container, even bigger, much bigger, in the other lab. Its hatch is also open.”
“If the nanobots escaped both tanks...” His legs suddenly weak, Wolf rocked back on his heels. It was doubtful Nantz’s lab had a device like Faith’s shield to keep them inside.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the only worry.” Cap zeroed the camera in on a stainless-steel sink. Water flowed from the faucet above. “Every faucet in every room is on. Every single one of them. This cannot be a coincidence.”
Wolf’s stomach rolled. “You think they’re washing the nanobots down the drain?”
Which would send them into the sewer system. From there, they could infect dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of people.
“What do you make of this guy?” He tapped a key, zeroing in on a tall, spindly man. Another member of the standing and staring brigade. Like the three women in lab coats, this one was clothed too, but in a mechanic’s uniform....a uniform crusted with blood. But unlike the women, his chest was not rising and falling.
He was among the reanimated dead. But with enough blood to indicate a recent fatal injury. Probably a gunshot. The entry wound would be hard to see beneath the crusted blood.
“He looks recently dead,” Wolf commented.
“Yeah, but who killed him?” Cap asked. “I didn’t see a gun in either lab, or the morgue.”
“Another thing,” Capland continued. “Nantz’s hard drive is infected with a virus unlike anything I’ve seen,” he sounded intrigued. “Luckily, I had Tomas take precautions. The laptop he hooked the external hard drive to—the drive carrying Nantz’s files—isn’t connected to the Shadow Mountain computer system, so our systems are secure. But this laptop—” he gesturedat the one on the table “—is already infected. Whatever Nantz picked up is highly infectious.” He paused, a frown furrowing his forehead. “Do me a favor: when you question him, ask him about this virus.”
“You think it has something to do with the nanobots?” Aiden asked.
“I doubt it.” Capland shrugged. “I’m just curious.”
Capland drew a deep breath, one that sounded too loud in the quiet room. “I realize the plan was to keep Leonard in London until the questions about Nantz’s disappearance die down. But we need him here. Now. We need him working on a way to neutralize this threat. If those open faucets are washing the damn things down the drain, or if the infected on Nantz’s cameras escape, we need a way to neutralize them.”
Chapter fifty
Day 46
Shadow Mountain Base, Alaska
Not long after they left Capland, Wolf’s hand fell on Aiden’s shoulder. Aiden shook it off, already knowing the question his brother was about to ask.
“No. Benioko didn’t visit me last night.” He growled and kept walking. “And no. I have no fucking clue why your woman and O’Neill’s daughter were given animal spirits.”
