The Plague Forge [ARC] by Jason M. Hough Page A

happens to me, suit up and get to the cockpit. There’s an autopilot unit just above your head when seated in the pilot’s chair, and before we left I set it to record our departure position. Tap the option to execute, then confirm, then power up. The Helios will fly back to Belém, no further action required. Just make sure they clear the landing pad, because it will set down exactly where we took off from.”
    Tania balked initially, but when the words sank in she found a surprising amount of comfort there. Her anxiety melted away. “Thanks, Vanessa. I understand.”
    “Good. Stay put, we’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    They moved more purposefully now, reminding Tania of Special Forces teams she’d seen in dozens of action-thriller sensories. She noted how Vanessa always took point, her focus on the goal unwavering, while Pablo came behind, his gun and gaze sweeping in a circle around them, then up above, too. It amazed her that just a few years ago they’d been a lawyer and a farmer, respectively. Skyler had trained them well, and despite all the firearms training and the endless hours of Krav Maga sparring, Tania realized then she still had no idea what she was doing. Worse, she doubted she’d ever have thought to look in the office building for a key to the charging unit, yet Pablo had suggested the idea almost instantly. A scavenger’s instincts, as if he’d been at it all his life.
    She watched as they took positions on each side of a first-floor doorway. They were almost two hundred meters away now, but even from this distance she could see Vanessa count to three on her fingers. Then Pablo kicked in the door, causing a sudden distorted burst of sound in Tania’s ear. He took a step back and Vanessa stormed inside.
    Tania remained glued to her window, watching the door, listening to her headset. Other than breathing and the occasional footstep she heard nothing, as the two immunes were working as silently as possible.
    They’re good. They’re really good. Skyler would know this already, but she made a mental note to tell him later. Skill like this deserved recognition.
    “Clear,” Vanessa said a short time later.
    “Clear,” Pablo agreed.
    Tania let out a relieved sigh. She listened in silence to the sounds of them searching the building. In her mind’s eye she saw them rifling through desk drawers and coat closets, perhaps knocking aside things that in any other circumstance would have been collected and returned to the colony.
    A subtle movement caught Tania’s eye. Something small crept along the edge of the landing pad. A cat? It was just a shadow in the darkness, bobbing along the lip of the circular raised platform. Then it stopped, and Tania went still.
    An arm appeared over the edge, hoisting a rifle. The weapon was set down on the pad, and then she saw another arm. He or she placed both hands on the landing pad and thrust up on to it, one leg swinging over the side and then the other. The person picked up the gun and stayed crouched at the edge of the pad, studying the Helios . A man, Tania numbly realized. He had a catlike litheness to the way he moved, and he seemed to be staring right at her.
    Tania tried to speak and couldn’t. She didn’t move, unsure if she’d been spotted. She wanted to duck away, to find a gun and wait in the corner. A sudden panic filled her when she realized she wasn’t suited. If this intruder opened the cabin door from the outside, she’d be exposed. Her pulse pounded in her ears and her hands were shaking. Tania swallowed, made two fists, and squeezed. She took a deep breath and exhaled it.
    “There’s someone here,” she finally managed to say. Her voice cracked, and sounded childlike.
    “Repeat that?” Pablo said.
    “Someone’s on the landing pad.”
    “A sub?”
    “No,” Tania said. “An immune I think. He’s got a rifle.”
    “What’s he doing?” Vanessa asked, urgency in her voice.
    “Just crouching there, looking at the