Page 80 of When the Silence Breaks

“There’s a voice amp in the mask,” Ryder said, nodding toward the small speaker grill near her mouth.

She tapped the side of the mask, then spoke tentatively. “So, we can talk?”

“Only to those close enough to hear,” he said. “The grill has a diaphragm—it carries sound out but keeps the seal tight. No radio, just you and me, and anyone within a few feet.”

“Good.” They didn’t need the whole team listening in.

Sarah stared at her thickly gloved hands—part of the suit—and flexed her fingers. Her hopes—if she’d had any—plummeted with her hitched breath. If she’d only known, she might have gone a different way with her need to get justice. Atfirst, a quick jaunt up the mountain with a skilled guide hadn’t seemed like a bad idea.

“They seem so flimsy, I mean, if they’re supposed to protect from deadly pathogens.”

“The suits block splash and particulates. The SCBA handles anything airborne. Unless it eats through the gear, we’re good.”

The two men watched them with smirks on their faces. Another man stepped inside. Dean. She couldn’t stomach the sight of him.

“The tanks are only good for an hour,” he said.

She wanted to hurl accusations.Spy. Traitor.But something about his expression—quiet, cautious—stopped her. What was it? He couldn’t speak freely. Not with the gunmen watching.

Reid stepped inside. “What’s the holdup in here? Time is wasting. Get in and get out.”

“Before we freeze or run out of oxygen,” Ryder said, his voice sounding muffled through the mask, but amplified enough they could hear.

But his words stunned Sarah. She’d only been thinking about the bioweapon, but other dangers pressed in on them.

Reid shrugged. “You’ve got skills. That’s why Sarah chose you. I know you can make it work.”

This is real. This is real.Her heart rate kicked up, and she thought she might hyperventilate.

Factor in the altitude and their additional exertion, they could find themselves with an oxygen debt. Honestly, she wasn’t entirely sure this was necessary, then again ... bioweapon, hello.

One of the many thoughts that had been rolling around inside settled in the forefront of her mind, and she had to say it.

“You put us in these suits and send us in first, sure, but we aren’t trained to handle this kind of thing. If you want thisbioweapon so badly, why didn’t you come prepared beyond the suits?”

He smiled that weird, inappropriate, smirky smile. “Dr. Kepler?”

A man stepped inside. He wore a suit of his own, and she could just make out that he was late forties, maybe, with a sharp, intelligent look in his eyes.

“Meet Dr. Kepler,” Reid said. “He’ll go with you and oversee things. He’s trained in handling biothreat environments. He’ll instruct you.”

While she was grateful that someone who actually knew what he was doing would join them, she clearly saw now that Reid had planned this all along.I really did lead him to the monster sleeping on the mountain.

“Dr. Kepler,” Sarah said, “I need to ask—why LevelB? We’re not fully encapsulated. Why not LevelA if this is as dangerous as they’re making it sound?”

Kepler gave her a calm, assessing look, though a giddy excitement sparked in his eyes. Hewantedto be here. “I’m familiar with Alpha-X. It’s a bioweapon—engineered for extreme lethality—but not designed for aerosolization. It only poses a risk if you come into direct contact with the compound or contaminated surfaces.”

“So we’re not walking into a cloud of death?” she said.

“Correct,” he said. “But if the container’s compromised, particles could still linger in pockets around the wreckage. The SCBA isn’t overkill—it’s insurance.”

“Similar to botulinum toxin, also created during World War II,” Sarah added. She knew some history, that was all.

“Yes, very good. Called AgentX, also created at Camp Detrick’s US Army Biological Warfare Laboratory. Only, Alpha-Xis many times more toxic,” Kepler added. “Hence the name Alpha. The ultimate toxic creation.”

Sarah frowned. “I don’t get it. Dead is dead, right?”

Kepler’s gaze held hers. “Not exactly. With Alpha-X, a dose smaller than a grain of sand can kill—and in seconds, not hours. One careless breath, one contaminated glove, and you’re done.”