Galatea 2 - Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28: DELAYED SHIPMENT

“Any word from the General or the head of this operation?”

“No sir.”

Lieutenant General Bauer retrieved a large towel from a side satchel, wiping his whole face down though careful to ensure that the cloth never obscured his eyes from the prize. The fear of the unknown made him regret every blink, even in a position as advantageous as his.

In the last hour since the facility had been breached by its own prisoners, Bauer had managed to cobble together a sizable platoon of men, even as chaos ensued. He led them to the docks, where they deliberately sank every single ship and detonated every helicopter that could be used to escape the facility on the General’s orders—except for one. This last bastion of escape was at the end of the longest dock, behind an army of men fifty strong. Sandbag barricades were placed along the ends of the dock, with proximity mines dotting the length of it all the way to shore. Bauer knew that the dock could survive a few explosions, and that if all of them went off at once, the end of the dock would hold and all of his men could safely escape on the boat and return with reinforcements later to finish the job. Two men, Bryce and Wilson, were sitting in as both pilot and co-pilot should they need to make a speedy departure.

It was paramount to his mission that the prisoners didn’t leave. Capturing them seemed to be out of the picture, now it was time for them to die. If the US Government found out about this illegal offshoot—well, they might just get a raise. But if the public found out? That was career suicide for everyone involved.

The water around the base was notoriously dangerous, riddled with ravenous marine wildlife that had specifically evolved to consume humans due to the vast amount of prisoners that preferred to die a watery death over the conditions of containment on this island. As far as Bauer’s men knew, they had every option covered, anything their opponent attempted would be snuffed out.

And so they waited, as they had been for the last thirty minutes or so. One soldier inspected the barrel of his turret, another lit his cigarette with a blowtorch. These guys weren’t pushovers, each with extensive military training that had all led up to this moment. They knew the danger they were getting themselves into and they were ready to die for the cause.

“Bryce, Wilson. Status report,” Bauer spoke into his radio, pausing as he waited for a response.

No response.

The Lieutenant General wasn’t immediately panicked—his mind couldn’t fathom a possible approach from his opponent that would sabotage the escape plan.

“Bryce, Wilson. Do you copy?” he repeated, his tone far more aggressive as it demanded an answer.

Still no response.

And then the boat began to depart without them.

Panic arose on the dock as the position immediately fell apart. Several men leapt at the boat, only to miss the mark and fall into the water. They provided a quick reminder as to why the waters in these parts were so dangerous, terrifying screams barely escaping the murky depths as the hungering beasts were treated to a feast.

“Bryce! Wilson! You better fucking answer me right fucking now!” Bauer shouted into his radio, still preferring to believe that a mutiny was underway instead of being outplayed by his adversary. “So help me god I will skin your asses when I get into that boat!”

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about that, I handled that part for you,” a woman responded on the other end, shaking Bauer to his core.

While the Lieutenant Commander had accounted for most, he hadn’t considered what a woman like Vanessa could accomplish. The men and their toys had been so preoccupied with the above deck, they hadn’t bothered to prepare as much as a sightline below. Like a scene right out Mission Impossible, Vanessa had used her prowess and bending of gravity to carefully maneuver herself underneath the dock without making a noise. She had slithered around the backside of the boat like a sexy snake, silently taking out Bryce and Wilson two trusted men.

Bauer’s men were now left stranded on a dock surrounded by treacherous waters on three sides and land mines on the final side.

The land mines proved to be a more preferable gamble for the frazzled men. One by one, single file, they navigated the literal minefield that was the dock. At first, it was a stressful game of snake as the men attempted to remain outside of the explosives’ nebulous range, but as time passed, the men became familiar with the limitations of the landmines. Pretty soon, they were making good pace on returning to solid ground.

But they weren’t out of the woods yet. As the front of the line neared the beach, a rather-ignored landmine twitched all by itself, slowly moving from its place closer towards the feet of the soldiers. By the time anyone noticed the metal death cylinder’s strange behavior, it was too late. Twin chains of explosions erupted from the middle of the dock, traveling up and down the entire length of the metal structure. The last thought Bauer had before his thoughts were consumed with flames was the unfortunate knowledge that he had been outplayed yet again, as the mines only detonated at a specific time that would guarantee the elimination of his entire squad in the ensuing hellfire and subsequent deadly depths.

From dust particles to five kilograms of metal and explosives in just a day, all just by thinking about it. Vanessa mused within her head as she returned the boat to shore. What can’t this virus offer me?

Audrey and Brian cautiously exited their hiding spot after a minute had passed since the latest explosion. Vanessa had told them to wait until they heard “a loud series of booms,” yet they still erred on the side of caution just to be safe. Truth be told, Audrey’s mind had formulated the exact same plan, it was just one that required Vanessa to execute it. Just another scenario where her bitch of a roommate overshadowed her. It was almost comical at this point.

Brian, on the other hand, was just thankful that this nightmare of a vacation could finally be over. His mind should’ve been reeling with the cavalcade of responsibilities he’d have to deal with back at home, how Giles being on the loose meant that he was no longer a professor at the university, which meant that Brian’s internship was effectively kaput. How he’d likely be trapped into a new “internship” by Vanessa, where she’d force him to meticulously record every aspect of her body, which would divide his already limited time between classes and spending time with Audrey. And Audrey—this new responsibility would surely put a strain on their relationship in the future.

But the future was then and this was now. All Brian could do was bring Audrey into a long, passionate kiss. It was like something out of a movie where the music swelled and the two lovebirds got lost in the moment. And lost in the moment Audrey did—her lengthy tongue invading Brian’s mouth and refusing to leave. Nothing in his body could fight back against this foreign intruder of surprising force, catching his own tongue at an awkward angle and trapping it underneath her own. The virus enhanced Audrey’s musculature, and her tongue was no exception to that rule. Even with a gesture as simple as a kiss, Brian was reminded just how lucky he was to be within these girls’ good graces. His tongue being smothered was a far preferable alternative to the seventy-odd men who just a few moments ago made the foolish mistake of opposing one of them.

“C’mon you lovebirds, do you actually want to leave this hellhole or what?” Vanessa shouted from atop the ship’s bow as it pulled into a nearby dock that wasn’t decimated. Audrey grabbed Brian by the hand and dragged the top track runner at speeds that would make Usain Bolt blush.

With a mighty leap, Audrey—with a piggybacking Brian—hopped onto the ship and bid a cathartic farewell to the collective worst experience of all their lives.

“Phew, thank god that’s over.” Brian expressed, breathing a lengthy sigh of relief as his body practically melted into the nearest seat. “What are the odds that you knew how to operate a boat, Vanessa?”

“Oh, I didn’t know about it until about three minutes ago. I got a bit of expertise from reading the mind of who I would later find out was one ‘Wilson.” Then I just skimmed the manual on the way here. It’s really not that hard.” She had prefaced that last sentence with a particularly devious smile, as if to inaudibly add “at least, it’s not hard for me.”

Audrey shot her former roommate the stink eye.

Even though the circumstances between Audrey and Vanessa’s relationship were daunting, Brian was just happy that these were the stakes again. No more kidnapping or false executions, just good old fashion girl drama.

And then Brian tilted his head to the side and saw a familiar orange color with black stripes on the face, which prompted a double take. He nearly had a heart attack as the massive kitten licked his face.

“Oh yeah, by the way,” Vanessa added, chuckling to herself. “Of course, I also had to go back and get the Tiger.”