The Agency - Operation Delta (Part II)

Chapter 10

Two armoured vehicles, their metal bodies gleaming in the fading light, pulled up to escort them home. Vanessa settled into the back seat of the first vehicle. Eric took the seat beside her, his face a mask of professional detachment. The military had orchestrated this convoy with care, a palpable tension hanging in the air. No one was willing to gamble with their reputations, not after the cascade of disasters that had unfolded.

The car jostled over the uneven road, each bump sending a twinge of pain through Vanessa's chest. She glanced at Eric, her eyes searching his face for some sign of what he was thinking. "Did they say how long the drive to Windfield would take?"

"Days, probably two or three," Eric replied.

"And they couldn't fly us?" she asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it.

"Too dangerous," Eric confirmed. "We've never travelled this far out of the city by road. I'm not one to question them," Eric added, almost as an afterthought.

Vanessa sighed, her fingers lightly tracing the outline of the wound on her chest. "Of course. I didn't the train mission either, yet here we are."

"The virus," Eric suddenly said, breaking into her reverie. "I wish I could say that virus was a conspiracy."

Vanessa sighed, her voice tinged with fatigue. "You're not about to ruin one of the few quiet moments I've had lately by suggesting the virus isn't real, are you?"

"No, actually, I was saying it is real," Eric clarified. "I didn't want to tell you this earlier because we weren't alone. There was an agent on another carriage who initially survived the crash, 581. I found her body near the train, her lips and fingertips were blue. The veins in her arms around her AMNA plate were pronounced. I don't recall seeing that when we left. From what I can recall, Vanessa, she was the only other type R agent on the train."

Vanessa felt a knot tighten in her stomach. "Are you suggesting it might be contagious?"

"I don't know what to think," Eric admitted. "I wanted to report it, but I'll be honest with you, I didn't know how."

"Strange words coming from you," she remarked.

Eric glanced out the window. "At the base, I called my contact, who tested the canister. The results had gone to Riley, and Riley has been uncontactable ever since. She said she wasn't sure what she was seeing. There were no traces of AMNA in the canister, but there was a virus. The virus appeared to be non-lethal to the general population."

"No AMNA? That's all that was found in the mall. Maybe it was all dispersed," she mused, rubbing her temples as if that could help her think more clearly. "The enemy soldier, he knew about it."

"You're going to trust the words of an enemy soldier now?" Eric challenged.

Vanessa's eyes met his, her resolve hardening. "Eric, I think Madicorp is looking for me. I suspect they paid that intruder to break into our facility and put a cyber worm in our systems. Shortly after that intruder was caught, more than one hacker was able to access data. We know one was Mary Karter and she had been trying for some time, the other was masked. I am sure whoever Johan was working for is trying to kill me, but I don't think Madicorp is."

"Madicorp don't know you exist." He sounded sceptical.

Vanessa's thoughts drifted back to the medication Jason had given her in the hospital. It wasn't a cure, but it had helped significantly. "Oh, I'm sure they know more than they let on," she said.

"So, what's next?"

Vanessa took a deep breath, her mind made up. "Madicorp is a risk, but I don't think they are the enemy right now. Someone in the Agency is a faith criminal. We need to find them before they kill anyone else."