The Extinction Series | Book 4 | Spread of Extinction Ellis, Tara (top 10 ebook reader .TXT) 📖

“Jason?” Peta spoke softly, like she was afraid of how he’d react to a stronger prompting.

“Because they know we’re a threat.” Tossing the bloody bandages onto the floor of the truck, Jason rested his elbows on his knees, and leveled her with a steady, open gaze. “And eventually, after we’re done attacking each other, they’ll be ready to destroy what’s left.”

Chapter 16

MADELINE

Lassen National Forest

Northern California

Madeline reached out for the microphone, and then stared at the ham radio for a moment before keying up. She was experiencing what amounted to excitement for her, though she suspected there was no longer a dopamine or adrenaline release associated with the connections being made in her brain. While she was still able to recognize the relative emotions, such as fear or pleasure, it was muted to the point that it didn’t elicit a physiological change.

“Kilo six mike sierra. Listening.” Madeline replaced the handset and remained long enough to make sure there wasn’t an immediate response. She’d been repeating the call sign on the proper frequency every fifteen minutes for the past three hours. Ever since she’d gotten the long-awaited reply to her email.

Leaving the radio on, Madeline walked around the desk and sat down. Her knees creaked as she did so, and she issued a grunt in response to her complaining joints. Being immobile on the bed for several days took a toll on her body that she hadn’t yet fully recovered from. Doing her best to ignore the various pains, she opened the laptop and studied the message that had arrived shortly after noon.

“Dr. Madeline Schaeffer,” Madeline mumbled under her breath, as she read it for perhaps the tenth time. “I am responding to your solicitation to the Libi Nati and my input as the lead field scientist in its research. We seem to be at a disadvantage in regard to communication, and at the mercy of a failing infrastructure and computer systems. For this reason, I recommend we speak via radio, and I am attaching both the frequency and call sign under which the preserve is registered.”

Madeline paused to compare the scratchings on the notepad near her elbow, to ensure she’d copied the post-script information down properly. It would do her no good if she was transmitting out to the universe, and no one was listening. Satisfied, her eyes flitted back to the screen, her face cast into unnatural hues by the glaring light.

“While your email was rather vague, I do believe I understand the implications adequately enough to be confident that your involvement with the Libi Nati would be well-served and of mutual benefit. For this reason, if you are alive and acquire this note, we will be monitoring for you. Regardless of your registered sign, please use your initials for the suffix, so we can correctly identify you. Best regard, Dr. Eric Davies.”

It was dated for that past Sunday, the same day she woke up from the coma. Which meant it was a reply to her original email, before she’d even gotten sick. It had taken three days to make it through the glitchy system and find its way to her. He was right to suggest the ham radio, and it was fortunate Madeline was already so well prepared for the current circumstances.

Two other emails came through at the same time. Both had also been sent earlier that week and were of moderate interest. The first was from her primary military contact for ICONS, and was six days old. The Admiral made the unusual request that she join him at some CDC lab in southern California. Madeline imagined it was in reaction to the email she’d sent Kabir Bakshi, which was the other email. They obviously must have spoken with each other about it, and her revelation to Bakshi that she had taken ill, as they all originated on the same date.

Mr. Bakshi wasn’t as friendly as the Admiral, and the one-line message telling her to rot in hell by herself was clearly nothing more than an emotional reaction to the harsh words she’d slung at him. Madeline understood now what a waste of time all of that was. A charade of pointless, power-play positioning that meant absolutely nothing in the end.

The Admiral, on the other hand, was more a man of action with fewer words. She presumed he had something to do with the Men in Black that were still cooling on her burn pile. While Madeline found the connection intriguing, she had no intention at that point in time to try and get back to him. She’d let him continue to think she was dead. Her playing lab rat at some undisclosed CDC lab was not a part of her new and expanding plans.

Having unpacked the interesting morsels of information that afternoon, led Madeline to a new appreciation of Peta’s messy intervention. If it hadn’t been for their timely arrival, she’d already be stewing behind an observation window somewhere underground. The woman may have unknowingly helped her out in the best way possible, the missing documentation notwithstanding.

While the lack of internet connection and more current updates reduced Madeline’s ability to have a complete picture of what was going on in the world, it was only a minor setback. She had to assume those avenues of information were in essence, permanently cut off. But as she shifted her focus to the Libi Nati and her next move, none of that really mattered. She had what she needed.

Standing, Madeline turned up the volume on the radio before heading down to the basement lab. With the door propped open, she shouldn’t have a problem hearing it.

Pausing at her wall of information, she plucked the newest addition off to take downstairs with her. She wanted to read it again, as it might be one of the few things of late that could offer new insight into The Kuru.

At first