Page 38 of Scarred Sunrise

Chapter 17

The lightfrom the full moon and the stars were the only illumination they had apart from the torches on their weapons. The dark didn’t bother Smithy, it was his friend as he and the others dragged the zodiac up on to the rocks of the Isle of Cosa. Using camouflage nets, they stowed the boat and silently made their way up the sloping, craggy shingle.

The Isle had a haunting beauty in the dead of night, as if it had stories to tell that would turn many a man’s hair white. The wildness of the land spoke to him, in that somehow it had survived when so much had been lost to the sea.

His body was revved with energy, adrenaline coursing through him, any doubt or fear gone. The only thought in his head the mission and finding the lab, and if they got lucky she’d be here too. Smithy didn’t believe that she was, he knew he’d sense her in some way.

His mind and body was honed to her evil as if a thread of connection linked them in some way. It was fantastical, and he knew a crazy line of thought, but every operator had that sense, it kept them alive.

Silence filled the island as he watched Nate take off in the direction of the hills behind the village. He took a wide detour so as not to trip any alarms, although they’d not encountered anything so far and Will was monitoring them on satellite.

He adjusted his weapon on his shoulder as they stopped and waited for Nate to get into position, the dry suits they wore keeping them warm from the cold temperatures of the English Channel. The frigid temperatures and the wind were a threat to anyone caught in the cold weather though.

The team had gone over several different scenarios on the drive down. They all knew preparing for everything was almost impossible, so they’d prepared for as much as was possible and the rest they would adapt and evolve as they went.

“In position, I have your six.”

Moving with quick, silent feet they made their way to the outskirts of the village. A crop of four buildings they believed to be where the lab was housed were up ahead.

“You have four heat signatures in the first building and two in the one behind. The buildings on the far right have nine heat signatures. My best guess is they’re sleeping quarters.”

They’d decided to hit the island at three in the morning so that most of the occupants would be asleep. They wanted as many alive as they could, and this was the best option.

Dane and Daniel moved off towards the sleeping quarters and he and Zack towards the lab. They cleared the first building with no problems, but as they advanced to the second, they saw movement and heard shots fired. In seconds they heard Dane and Daniel returning fire.

“We have enemy combatants engaging us from inside the building.”Dane’s voice rang out over the sound of the gunfire through the comms.

“You need back up?”

“No, take the lab.”

Smithy and Zack moved towards the lab, no longer caring about a silent entry now they knew they were there. As they stepped inside, it was like two worlds collided. Clean, sterile walls and floor, glass windows, and state of the art science equipment.

More shots sounded, then Nate confirmed he’d taken out three people escaping the lab through the back door.

Two startled and frightened-looking men held their hands up as he and Zack approached. Smithy quickly zip-tied their wrists.

“Go find the last one. I have this.”

Zack nodded and moved towards the other direction where Will had identified the four heat signatures.

“Do you speak English?” Smithy asked the two men who shook their heads. He tried a few other languages, French, Polish, and then German but still nothing. He’d have to look around on his own.

The computers were on, and he quickly inserted a flash drive into each one to download the information on the two machines. Zack came back in the room. “All clear. The last one tried to run so he’s dead. Dane and Daniel cleared the rest. We should get these two to the boat.”

“Let me just get this downloaded for Will and Meg to go through. This could hold the answer she needs for the vaccine.”

“Fine, I’ll start moving them out. Will says there are no more heat signatures on the island, so we’re clear.”

“Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be right behind you.”

He looked into the fridges as Zack led the two scientists away with no arguments, and he wondered if it was some sort of trick or if they’d been there under duress like he’d been.

He collected some samples from the fridges and put them in a protective case he carried and into his breast pocket before checking the downloads. They had two minutes to go, so he turned towards the microscopes but as he did, his body froze.

Pulling his rifle up, he pointed it at the man calmly watching him with a gun pointed centre mass at Smithy. A growl crawled up his throat as he took in the man who’d had such a huge influence on his life. “John.”

“Smithy, good to see you.”