Page 81 of When the Silence Breaks

“Why is it so important to recover these vials?” She was pushing it, but she needed answers.

Kepler gave her the creepiest smile. “This is the only known source, only remaining source, of Alpha-X. Just one intact vial gives us a blueprint for re-creating it.”

And why would you want to do that?But she kept those words to herself as nausea rolled through her.

At least now I know we aren’t guinea pigs after all. Why even use us?But Sarah would not ask that question. The longer they continued to hold value to Reid, the longer they could live and fight another minute or day, as the saying went. Maybe Sarah and Ryder could be used as scapegoats or blamed for the breach later.

Former Navy SEAL and Former CIA Operative Gone Rogue Unleash Deadly Weapon.

Actually ... yeah, that had to be it.

They wouldn’t make it out alive, and even if they did, they would be a dead man and woman walking with targets on their backs.

Thirty-Four

Ryder had never stopped looking for an opportunity to escape. Save the day. Survive. Sometimes that meant walking directly through the fire—rightthrough it. Not around it, over it, or under it.

They were about to enter a hot blaze wearing hazmat suits. He and Sarah had to make it out of this. And Dean ... Ryder knew he hadn’t liked that guy from the start, but now the man wore a deep frown—regretting his actions of leading the bad guys here because they were about to unleash something horrific? That left Ryder uneasy. Still, maybe he could somehow use that to his advantage. He’d just have to see what doors might open that Sarah could walk through, and it would be nice if he could join her.

They hiked toward the decontamination tent that had been set up in record time outside the plane while he’d been gearing up. Looked like just two collapsible frames that had been zipped together and staked against the wind. At this elevation and temperature, once they exited the plane after retrieving or being exposed to the bioweapon, they wouldn’t get warm water or fancy showers in those decon tents. Probably just a crate of chemical wipes and disinfectant.

He didn’t think Smith would actually open the hatch for their entry into the wreckage until the last possible moment, and he spotted the same two men who’d assisted him earlier, now wearing hazmat suits as well—even to open the door. At least they’d listened to him on that point, or maybe Maddox had been following Dr. Kepler’s advice. Had he been here all along?

Regardless, Ryder was relieved to see that a perimeter that served as a safe zone had been established. The suit helmet restricted his vision. Above him the clouds remained heavy and continued unleashing their payload, filling the trenches they’d dug up earlier. Some men continued shoveling snow away from the hatch.

That cornice wasn’t getting any lighter. If he hadn’t had a bad feeling before, he was positively sick at the sight now. His gut tensed at what could happen in the next few minutes. Not days or hours...

Minutes.

Though he followed Kepler—who he assumed was a CDC-level scientist—he slowed to look back at Sarah. Twisting around to see her was no easy task. She lagged, and he waved her forward. They were astronauts on the moon in these suits. All around them, men in what looked like winterized tactical suits stood back from the plane near the tents and were positioned to guard this operation.

He hadn’t heard from Holt and wished he could warn him. But his brother was sharp enough to expect this kind of response. Ryder wasn’t entirely sure how he’d gotten into this position.

Except maybe it had everything to do with the brown-eyed brunette.

Whatever situation they were in now, Ryder would throw everything he had into getting them out of it. Sarah finallycaught up and walked next to him. He turned—awkwardly—and tried to give a reassuring smile, but she couldn’t see him due to the angle of her mask and hood. She held up well under this pressure, but he’d seen the same fear in her eyes that she likely saw in his. And now slogging forward in their suits and too-thin boots over thermal socks, not nearly as protective as needed in this cold weather, he felt the tension rolling off her.

Or was that his own? Finally, they stood at the hatch. Smith was also now in a suit. He slowly turned to Ryder. “It won’t budge, so I’ll cut it open.”

Oxygen was wasting. Why hadn’t Smith already cut it open? But he got it—the moment that door opened, they needed to get in to assess and take whatever action was needed. That, according to Dr. Kepler, of course.

“Carefully,” Ryder warned Smith.

“I’ve done this before.” Smith pressed the cutter to the hatch.

This was such a bad idea. Ryder had been through much in his life, but this situation topped them all.

The plane’s metal door hissed under the heat as ice vaporized into strands of steam. Smith sliced a slow arc through the aluminum skin of the old warplane. Ryder hated every minute of this because it filled him with a sense of doom, especially with the eerie flashing light against the snow. To his right, Sarah stood stock-still, strong, and ready to see this through.

Next to him on the left, another tech—Smith 2?—held the GPR screen, and so far, the internal chamber inside the plane hadn’t collapsed. A rivet pinged loose from the hatch and dropped into the snow. That could have torn right through someone’s suit.

Smiths 1 and 2 froze. Dr. Kepler’s eyes were wide. Sarah turned enough that he caught her glance. He wasn’t exactly sure what their concern was, but he glanced up at the slope above.

Loaded and ready to drop.

That wasRyder’sconcern.

Smith1 continued, and the second bolt popped, causing the metal to groan as it flexed through the fuselage, and finally the hatch seam gave way.