The Omega Sanction by Andrew Scorah (the best ebook reader for android .txt) 📕

He stepped out of the men’s room, and saw the second tail across the concourse by a pillar. When he saw Bane emerge, he turned and began walking away. Bane followed him. This time he would get some answers.

“Damn, I can’t hook into the internal cam feed,” Morgan said, slamming his hand on the arm of his chair.

“Yeah, they got quad fire-wire protection on their internal systems, no way we can work around that.”

Everything at Groom Lake appeared to have returned to normal, apart from the choppers quartering the air-space above. A few black clad soldiers seemed to be on roving patrol routes close to the buildings. A view of the security gates showed they were now unmanned.

“You got an ETA on our guys?”

“I do. Cyclops just landed at Macarran, Hypo, and Kukri are in mid flight they were already on their way back, should be landing in an hour. No word from Conda, or Gladius, and the Brit, he seems to have dropped off the map,” Trotsky said.

“That’s not a good sign. See if you can get a GPS lock on their phones.”

“Will do.”

“I better let the big man know what’s happening.”

“Huh, good luck with that.”

Morgan dialled up Colonel Montague’s number. He knew by now the man was on a private jet winging his way back stateside. The man hated flying so would not be in the best of moods. Morgan braced himself.

“Montague,” the gruff voice answered at the other end.

“It’s Morgan, the Groom Lake complex has been taken over by a hostile force, and three of our men are missing,” he said, deciding not to sugar coat it.

“Well the airforce can look after their own, it’s nothing to do with us, but missing men is, I want them found asap.”

“I’ve got a nagging feeling though. Colonel, the incursion force have our missing scientists with them, so that makes it our business.”

Silence.

“Colonel?”

“I’m still here, who’s missing?”

“Conda, Gladius, and the Brit, Bane.”

“There has been a problem on the British end, the Xerum 525 shipment has been stolen from the lab, the SAS team involved in the snatch are dead, I sent Conda, and Gladius to grab Bane...I got a call on the other line, Morgan, get back to me okay.”

The line went dead.

Crap, Morgan thought. This was turning into a right cluster fuck.

“I think our boys got trouble, you located their GPS yet, Trot?”

“I’ve got Bane's, but not Conda's or Gladius, Bane’s in New York, La Guardia.”

“That’s some good news then, I think we have to take it our boys are out of the picture.”

Morgan felt a brief moment of sadness, he had known them both for three years, had drunk, fought and the rest by their side. Good, tough, rugged men who always had his back, and he theirs. He pushed the feeling aside. There would be time for sentiment later.

His coms trilled for attention.

“Morgan here.”

“Captain Aaron Barker, CO SEAL team six, and leader on this mission, any new info you got for us would be great.”

Aaron ‘Ironbark’ Barker was a legend in the teams, a gruff ball breaker who gave no quarter in combat, Morgan had heard of his reputation but had never served under him, he was the type who led from the front and expected nothing but the best from his men. Legend had it he once had a man RTO’d for having a speck of dust on a button on his dress uniform.

“Sir, they’ve got roving patrols close to the buildings, and eight V-22 Ospreys, and eight AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters providing over watch. Strength on the ground around three hundred heavily armed bodies, they’ve used sonic weapons to take out security, we have no eyes on the inside, if you can wait awhile though we can sort that.”

“No time, we’re arriving at the FOB now, and will be ready to mobilise by tomorrow morning, I’ve heard about you, Drake. Heard you got initiative, which to me means you’re unpredictable. And I don’t like unpredictable. Do what you want, just stay out of my way or else you might get shot. Understand?’

‘I understand.’

Ironbark cut the line.

“What a wanker!”

“One of your buddies then,” Trotsky laughed before dodging the pen that Morgan hurled at him.

Billy watched Dr Connelly from across the store room. She was still sitting by the door, and had not moved or spoken since they had come into the store room.

“We can’t stay here,” he whispered.

“Shh, I’m thinking.”

She pushed herself to her feet. Opening the doors a crack she peered outside. The man was still on his own, leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette.

Closing the door she looked around the room. The shelves on the right hand wall were stocked with various cloths, paper towels, and brushes of various sizes. Over on the right hand wall, the shelves were stocked with various cleaning fluids and squirt bottles. The label on the bottles next to the far wall said, 1000g Oxalic Acid Dihydrate Very High Purity, Hull, Deck, GRP Cleaner & Rust Remover. An idea was forming in her mind. One she knew was dangerous, but they had to do something. Billy was right they could not stay here.

She grabbed an empty squirt bottle, started to unscrew the nozzle. Her hands shook, and she had to pause for a moment to steady them.

“Pass me down a bottle of the oxalic acid.”

“Wanna clue me in on what you're thinking, Doc? ” He said as he handed her the bottle.

She outlined her plan as she mixed up some of the white crystals from the bottle with water from the small sink in the corner of the room.

“Are you sure about this, Dr Connelly?”

“Nope, but here goes.”

She held the bottle behind her back as she opened the door and stepped outside.

The man pushed away from the wall, raising his weapon.

“What are you doing, come over here!”

“I, I’m sorry, what’s happening? I heard shots.”

She stepped closer to him, angling round so he had to move to cover her, trying to make it look natural.

“I was just taking a crafty cig in the store room, but then I heard all that noise, I was scared.”

“Put your hands on your head and turn around,” he ordered.

She took one more step, and judged she was close enough.

She brought the bottle around and squirted at his eyes. The fine spray hit him spot on. He stumbled back, crying out. His weapon fell from his hands as he rubbed at his eyes.

ARRGHH!

Billy’s war cry made her jump. He charged out of the storeroom, the fire extinguisher raised above his head. He smashed it into the back of the soldiers head. He dropped like a trapdoor had opened up under him.

Billy had to catch her as she slumped to the floor, her face white.

She pushed him away, “I’m okay, that’s the first violent thing I’ve ever done, apart from killing the odd spider.”

She stood up, and grabbed the man’s feet.

“C’mon, help me drag him into the store room.”

He took the man under his arm-pits, and together they shifted him out of sight, securing his hands and feet with the roll of black tape which was on the shelf above the sink.

Dr Connelly took his Glock pistol, and stuck it in the waist band of her trousers. Out in the corridor, Billy took the AK-47 the man had dropped.

“What do we do now, Doc?”

She looked slightly nonplussed, “I hadn't considered further than cold cocking the man.”

Billy rubbed a hand through his thick shock of black hair.

“We need to go to the mag-lev station, we can walk through the tunnel to the nearest sub-station.”

“We’ll never make it through Billy, we need to find somewhere safer to hide.”

“There is no-where safe, look, there’s a maintenance ladder in the elevator shaft goes all the way down to the station, we should be safe in there.”

She looked aghast. “That’s twenty floors...I don’t know.”

He put both hands on her shoulders, and looked into her eyes.

“You can do this,” Billy reassured her, “There are a few niches we’ll be able to rest in.”

Dr Connelly looked at the elevator doors, how could she tell him she had a fear of closed in spaces.

Billy thumbed the call button for the elevator.

Bane had discreetly tailed the watcher to the underground employee parking lot. He checked his watch, saw he had forty minutes until his flight was scheduled. The man must have seen him emerge unscathed from the men’s room, and with no sign of his friend decided to beat a hasty retreat.

The man approached a dark coloured van, and was about to open the driver's side door when Bane pounced. Hitting him upside the head with the gun, he made sure no one was around before bundling the man into the back of the van.

He sat facing him, the silenced pistol aiming at the man’s groin.

“Who are you working for?” Bane asked.

The man stared silently back at him.

“Okay, have it your way, tough guy.”

He shot the man in the foot. He screamed, writhing about on the floor of the van.

“Who are you working for? ” he asked when the man calmed down.

“Go fuck yourself!”

Bane noticed a slight Germanic tinge to his accent.

“If you don’t tell me what I want to know, I am going to shoot you in every part of your body that will not kill you. You will die, slowly and painfully.”

Part of Bane knew he probably was wasting his time. If this man was anything like the ones at the warehouse he would die before divulging anything useful.

The man remained quiet.

Bane shot his other foot.

He held up his hand, pleading.

“Okay, okay, it’s too late for anything I say to make a difference anyway. Soon all will whisper in fear the name, Geheime Staat. Soon they will activate the bell, and then it will be too late for all of you.”

“The secret state, who or what is it? And what do you mean, the bell?”

“We are everywhere, you will know soon enough.”

Something crunched in the mans mouth, he started to spasm, foam coming from his mouth.

What the fuck, Bane thought, he could smell almonds, a cyanide suicide tooth!

He checked the man’s hands and found the same acid wiping of fingers and palms he had seen on the assassin team in London. Bane gave the man a cursory check but found no ID, at least he had it confirmed. This Geheime Staat was behind the attacks. What was the bell he had spoken of, some kind of weapon? He did find it hard to believe they were all sons and daughters of the Nazi top brass. He had to reach Omega more than ever now. With nothing else to do he locked up the van and headed for his flight.

GROOM LAKE SECURITY HUB

Colonel Fairfax held Koenig’s gaze. No words had been spoken since he had clicked his fingers at one of the shaven haired gorillas who clicked his heels, and exited the room. The only interruption was a phone call the man took. For a second, Koenig’s eyes blazed as whoever was on the other end spoke, he cut the call with a single ‘Ja’.

Fairfax heard the door to the security hub crash open. A white coated lab technician was thrown against the rear wall. Koenig pulled out an old fashioned Luger pistol from the holster at his hip. He shot the man between the eyes.

“I estimate there are about eight hundred souls working here today, do not doubt me when I say our ends justify the means we will employ. One will die for every minute you delay in giving me what I want.”

He looked at the dead tech, then the floor.

“You’re crazy, I can’t