The Devil Colony (Sigma Force 7)

With a quick peek into the back room, Gray spotted a wiry old man tied to a chair, his nose broken, his lip split and bleeding. It had to be Olafur Bragason. Gray swept the rest of the room before entering. No one else was there.

He moved over to the man, whose head lolled back, hearing Gray’s footsteps. A bleary, dazed eye rolled over him before the man’s chin fell back to his chest.

“Nei, nei . . .” he gasped softly out. “I told you all I know.”

Seichan turned to Gray. “Looks like someone else knew about the neutrino emissions and beat us here.”

She didn’t have to mention a name. But how could the Guild know about this island? A twinge of suspicion flashed through him as he stared her way. Something must have shown on his face. Seichan’s manner stiffened with anger, but he also saw the hurt in her eyes. She swung away to the door. She had gone a long way to prove her loyalty. She didn’t deserve his suspicions.

Gray crossed to the door, touched her arm, offering a silent apology, but he had no further time for injured feelings. He waved to Monk. “I’m going to search the rest of the lodge. You help the caretaker. We need to be able to get him moving. Whoever’s here surely noted our approach by sea.”

A loud explosion burst across the island, rattling the windows. Gray rushed across the room. He recognized the crack of TNT. Out one of the windows, he spotted a dark smoky cloud rising from the jumble of rocks halfway across the island. A flock of black-and-white puffins took to wing, fluttering through the smoke, rousted and panicked. Someone was trying to blast their way deeper into the island.

Closer at hand, movement caught his attention. A line of eight men rose from the boulder line and stalked across the meadow, staying low, moving stealthily from outcropping to outcropping. They were armed with rifles, scopes sparking in the sunlight. Here were the hunters who had been described by Captain Huld.

Only apparently the true hunt was just beginning.

10:14 P.M.

Gifu Prefecture, Japan

Jun Yoshida must have fallen asleep at his desk. The knock on the door startled him awake. Even before he could compose himself, Riku Tanaka came rushing inside, drawing Janice Cooper in his wake.

“You must see this,” Tanaka said, and slapped a fistful of papers on his desk.

“What? Has there been another neutrino burst?” Jun tilted straighter in his chair, earning a twinge from his aching back. He’d left the main lab below three hours ago to finish some paperwork in his office, which still lay untouched on his desk.

“No . . . well, yes . . . not really,” Tanaka stammered, clearly agitated, and waved the question aside in exasperation. “Some minor ongoing blips. I’ve been tracking them, but they don’t appear to be important.”

Dr. Cooper cut him off. “That’s not why we rushed up here, Dr. Yoshida.” She turned to Tanaka. “Show him.”

Tanaka came around his desk, invading his personal space. He shoved aside the pile of paperwork, replacing it with his own printouts. “We’ve been monitoring the surge in Iceland. Graphing the results. Look at how the neutrino spikes radiating from that island have grown steadily more frequent.”

“You noted that before.”

“Yes. I know.” Tanaka’s face reddened. Clearly he did not like to be interrupted.

Jun allowed himself a flicker of satisfaction. “Then what’s this sudden invasion of my office all about?”

Tanaka traced the graph. “Over the past hour, I’ve been noting how the double beat of the Icelandic signature has been changing. The smaller bursts have been growing stronger, while the taller spikes have been getting weaker.”

Dr. Cooper explained, “The changes have been slow. It took hours to recognize what was happening.”

Tanaka set two graphs side by side. “This first graph is from four hours ago. The second one was taken within the last half hour.”

Jun picked up his reading glasses, secured them in place, and leaned over to see. Tanaka’s assessment appeared to be correct. On the older graph, the paired bursts of neutrinos were of distinctly different amplitudes. In the latest readings, the pairings were nearly equal in size.

“But what does that mean?” Jun took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes.

Tanaka looked to Dr. Cooper, who nodded encouragement. It was rare for the man to show such insecurity. That small fact spoke to how truly upset Tanaka must be. Something had the man scared.

“I believe,” Tanaka said, “that what we’re witnessing is an approach toward critical mass. Once those two amplitudes match and come into alignment, it will trigger a massive chain reaction within the substrate that’s radiating these subatomic particles.”

“Like a nuclear reactor melting down,” Dr. Cooper said. “Riku and I believe the escalating frequency and changes in amplitude are acting like a natural timer, counting down until the unknown substance in Iceland goes critical.”

Jun’s chest tightened. “There’s going to be another explosion . . . ?”

“Only this time a hundredfold larger,” Tanaka added.

“When?”

“I’ve performed my calculations over and over, extrapolating the time when the paired emissions will align.”

“Just tell me when?” Jun pressed.

Dr. Cooper answered. “Within the hour.”

Tanaka clarified, demonstrating his usual distaste for generalities. “To be precise, fifty-two minutes.”

2:32 P.M.

Ellirey Island

Seichan stood guard by a window. She kept out of direct sight, fearful of the telescopic scopes on the enemies’ rifles. Their adversaries had the look of mercenary soldiers, definitely military trained. The eight men had set up a perimeter across the front of the lodge, staying sheltered behind rocky outcroppings. She guessed they were awaiting orders as their superiors tried to identify the newcomers to the island. Someone must be trying to decide whether to kill or capture them.

Not that Gray’s team had much say in the matter.

She clutched a pistol in both hands, holding the weapon at her knees, ready to shatter the window and defend their base. But she was under no illusions. They were outmanned, outgunned, and outpositioned. With the cadre of soldiers guarding the front of the lodge, the only safe exit was out the back. Then what? They would be exposed if they made a run for the cliff’s edge. Even if they reached it, all that would earn them was a swift death on the rocks below the cliffs.

They were trapped.

Gray took up a position on the far side of the door by another window. He clutched a black SIG Sauer in one hand and held a cell phone to his ear in the other. He had managed to reach Sigma command, but the island was too remote for an immediate rescue. They were on their own until help arrived. Seichan could feel acid burning in her stomach, not so much at their predicament, but at Gray’s reaction a moment ago when he’d realized they’d been ambushed. She had seen the flash of suspicion. He tried his best to quell it, to damp it down, but it had still been there.