And the man was a genius – untouchable, untraceable, a devil to try to pin down.
He’d surrounded himself with layers of protection.
But this December day, in the cold air of a clear morning in the Utah high desert, Raife felt that little butterfly in his stomach that he always got when he was very close to success on a job.
He could almost taste it.
Down below the foothills, in a compound at the edge of the small town of Ferron, Cain was moving around – checking his supplies and organizing his teams for – whatever it was he was planning next.
Raife watched Cain’s heat signature through his telescopic infrared night vision contact lenses, making his own plans. No matter how hyper-intelligent Cain was, he was still human, and therefore subject to mistakes. And Raife only needed him to make one.
And he’d be there for it.
Trouble was, it had to be today.
So Raife considered his options and formulated a Plan A. He’d worry about Plan B later.
Moving silently and stealthily, like a panther stalking prey, he moved down the hill – tree to tree to tree – always staying out of sight.
He eventually reached the bottom of the hill as the world started to become plainly visible in the frosty dawn. He stepped out into the small clearing in front of the chain link gates topped with razor wire and strolled forward nonchalantly.
Raife wore a full, bushy brown beard, ratty baseball cap over a thick swath of hair, and a large framepack on his back. His jeans were stained and his hiking boots were worn.
One of the two guards at the gate pointed his weapon at Raife and said, “Stop! What’s your business here?”
Raife chuckled. “Business? Heh, do I look like a business man to you, brother?”
“State your business or die.”
“Whoa, dude! Chill. I’m just passing through. I’m a long-distance hiker. Working my way up from Mexico to Canada, actually. Just dust on the wind, my man. Say, what is this place, anyway?”
“Never you mind. Just move along.”
“Love to, man. Thing is, how do I get around? I mean, this place looks pretty big. Which way should I go?”
“Back the way you came.”
“You gotta be kidding me.” Raife pointed directly at the compound. “I’m headed that way, man. Just tell me what’s the fastest way around your little secret special place – left or right?”
As he spoke, Raife swaggered casually toward the guard. He was glad to see that the guard’s weapon was muzzled with a silencer. That would help things.
When he was about ten feet away from the guard, he bent down and tied the boot laces of his right boot. Then he stood and reached into his jeans pocket, pulling out a mushy-looking granola bar. He took a bite. With mouth full, he extended his hand and said, “Want some?”
The guard cocked his weapon. “Turn around and go back the way you came. This is your final warn –”
Raife tossed the granola bar over the guard’s head and sprung at him with incredible speed, wrenching the weapon from his grip, placing it over the guard’s head and twisting with a sharp snap to break his neck.
With the guard limply in front of him, still using the weapon to hold him up by the neck, he pointed the gun at the other guard and placed one silent shot between the eyes.
It all happened in less than three seconds, before the other guard could do much more than turn to face the assault on his partner.
Raife dropped his human shield and dragged both men to a nearby shrub, where he pulled off the fake beard he’d been wearing and changed into the larger guard’s clothing.
He then opened his pack and pulled out a device the approximate size and shape of a can of spray paint. He touched a button on the side and the end lit up. Then he held it above the dead guard’s face and waved it slowly back and forth, scanning the features with a grid-lined beam of light. He then entered another command, waited ten seconds, and turned the device on himself. He pressed the end of the unit to his neck and it hissed briefly as it forced a stream of nanotech (along with a dose of painkiller) through his skin.
The painkiller was to help him control his reaction to what happened next.
First, the skin on his face suddenly became slimy and malleable. Next, his bone structure seemed to collapse momentarily, then reform in a new shape. The skin tone changed and the details of his face morphed. After about a minute of this flux, his face finally solidified into an exact replica of the dead guard.
Raife opened and closed his mouth, stretching out his flesh, and rubbed at his new cheeks, blinking hard. He slid open a small window in the device to reveal a little mirror.
Yep, it worked like a charm.
The disguise should last about thirty minutes before his immune system rejected the nanotech and returned him to his normal appearance. That would be just enough time to get in and do what needed to be done.
Raife dragged the other guard’s body back to the gates and used the guard’s electronic ID badge to unlock it, then slipped in with the body and closed the gate behind him. He propped the guard against a nearby shack, sitting up with his arms across his knees and his head hanging down.
Raife kept alert as he strolled toward the center of the complex, ready to either play the part that matched his face, or take out anyone who wasn’t buying the charade.
He turned a corner, and found himself face to face with his mark – the beast known as Cain.
“Humphreys, where’s Unger? You know you’re never supposed to be alone. The buddy system, remember?”
Before Raife could react, six armed body guards appeared right behind Cain. He quickly assessed the situation and decided he needed to play this game out.
“Yes, Sir. I apologize for breaking protocol. But you insisted we not break radio silence today, and I needed to report something.”
“Well?”
“It’s Unger, Sir. He was fine one minute, then he doubled over, moaned, and fell down. I don’t know what happened.”
“Is he dead?”
“I dunno. I don’t think he was breathing – I felt it best to report in.”
“Very well. Tell Dr. Schatz that Unger is sick – maybe dead – and grab Miller to replace Unger, then return to your station. I shouldn’t have to remind you that today is not a day for calling in sick or breaking protocol. Today is the day we make our boldest move, and claim what is ours. We can have no mistakes. Now, move.”
Raife nodded and said, “Yessir,” then moved on past Cain.
He needed to find a way to neutralize the six-pack of body guards and extract Cain alive. He hated to use the nanotech disguise twice in one day – it was very rough on the system – but he realized he’d likely have to replace whichever of those six guards was Cain’s closest man.
He ducked behind another building and replayed the visual record he’d made of the encounter with Cain using his contact-lens digital recorder. He merely closed his eyes and watched it all again, taking careful note of the details.
From what Raife could tell, the guy on Cain’s immediate left, about thirty years old, built like a steamroller with nearly white blonde hair cut into a flat-top, was the one he’d need to duplicate and replace.
Replaying his earlier night-vision surveillance, Raife traced the muscleman’s movements back to his quarters, then found his way to that location and laid in wait for him.
He’d bought himself some time with the story about Unger, as Cain and company would assume the doctor was on it and not investigate themselves.
Raife switched his lenses to infrared once again, so he could see through the walls if anyone was coming.
It was only a few minutes later that Flat Top approached and entered. Raife quickly garroted him and used his disguise technology to “become” Cain’s right hand man. He checked the guy’s ID and learned his name was Gary Trainer.
Raife used an electron blade to cleanly slice off Trainer’s right thumb. He then used that thumb to gain security
access to Trainer’s laptop and dig through the files for anything that could help him with this mission.
He learned that Cain was mounting a coordinated assault today, staged from nine hidden compounds across the country. Each was designed like this one – about an acre of mostly-empty buildings above ground, and ten acres of below-ground facilities reaching eight stories down.
The surface region, which sat atop a lead-shielded ground covering, was mostly used as a decoy to mask what was really going on in the vast subterranean complex.
And what was going on was the makings of a bloody revolution.
Cain had managed to develop a biological weapon and a means of delivery.
From what Raife could gather from Trainer’s computer files, Cain was planning to strike today. He’d target twenty-eight major U.S. cities, twelve military bases, and eight aircraft carriers with a compound that would kill every living thing in less than six hours, then become inert after an additional eighteen hours.
Within a day, Cain would control the country and begin remaking it to mirror his own maniacal ideals.
With this knowledge, the concept of bringing him in alive seemed less appealing than ever, but Raife had to keep his eyes on the prize – the enormous treasure he’d accrue for delivering Cain intact.
With this in mind, Raife left Trainer’s quarters and headed down into the bowels of the facility. He carried Trainer’s thumb, which allowed him access to the most critical areas. He made his way to the main control center, where the weapons deployment infrastructure was housed.
He silently killed three guards and two scientists on duty in the facility, then accessed the computer using Trainer’s bioscan and codes he’d gleaned from Trainer’s laptop.
He made some alterations to the planned strike, destroyed the computers with a barrage of silenced weapons fire, then exited quickly and arrived at Cain’s offices just as the man himself was preparing to head to the control center.
“Sir,” said Raife, “we need to talk. Privately.”
Cain eyed Raife carefully. He looked suspicious – but then he probably always looked that way. “Very well. But make it quick – we have a schedule to keep.”
Raife walked Cain down a corridor and around a corner to a small alcove that led to a storage room. “Sir, you have been betrayed. Either one of our own men, or someone has allowed a breach – an intruder – to sabotage our efforts.”
“Explain.”
“I just came from the control center. Our men are dead. And the computer has been damaged beyond repair. Before it was destroyed, someone reprogrammed the missiles. Forty-seven of them are set to launch into space and detonate outside the atmosphere. The other one is headed directly here.”
“What? How can this have happened?” Cain was enraged, and he grabbed Raife by the neck, shoving him up against the wall with surprising strength. “What are you going to do about this, Mr. Trainer?”
“My top deputies, who were in charge of security at the control center – I have executed them for their failure,” said Raife, struggling to breathe in the grip of this madman. “I suggest I get you to safety – we can travel east – I know a place we can regroup that is outside the effective radius of the bioagent. But we must leave now.”
Cain was fuming, his face flushed as he took great heaving breaths. He let go of Raife and said, “Fine. Get me out of here, then.”
Raife hurried through the compound, weapon at the ready, making sure Cain was keeping up. Truth was, the only hurry was making sure they got out of there before anyone discovered his dirty work at the control center, or the dead guards at the south gate – because there was no missile on its way – Raife had sent all forty eight into space.
Nothing like getting your mark to willingly go with you – much easier than dragging them kicking and screaming, or knocking them out and carrying them through a fire fight.
They passed another guard at the east gate.
“Sir, what’s wrong, what’s happening?” the man asked as Raife and Cain ran past.
“Nothing,” called Cain. “I have business outside the gate. You go to the control center and make sure it’s locked down. Everyone stays here until Trainer and I get back.”
He was sacrificing his whole army.
Or so he thought.
Once they were outside the compound and over the first hill, the trees got thicker and they started to slow down to a brisk walk.
Raife could feel his face starting to change – the extra exertion speeding the reversion process.
It was time to make his move.
He turned to Cain.
Cain saw Raife’s face in flux and his eyes widened. “What the?”
“It’s over, Cain.” Raife took up a fighting stance, ready for the megalomaniac to attack. “I’m taking you in.”
“Very well.”
Raife was surprised at his compliant nature, but did not lower his guard. “What?”
“I said, very well. I’ll come without a fight. As you know, my intelligence is off the charts. I know better than to try to fight a well-trained agent such as yourself. Why get any more bruises than necessary?”
Cain held out hands, wrists together.
Something didn’t feel right, but Raife didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. The sooner Cain was in cuffs, the better. He could figure out his angle later.
Raife slapped a pair of titanium mag-cuffs on Cain. The cuffs had built-in GPS locator technology, so Cain could run but he couldn’t hide.
They walked east for about two miles in silence, then Cain said, “So, what are they paying you?”
“Let me guess, you’ll double it?”
“If that’s what you want. But money is so quaint. I can offer you power and resources beyond anything money could buy.”
Raife wasn’t interested in taking anything from this slimeball, but just in case he revealed any useful intel, he said, “Keep talking.”
“Well, I understand you have wasted my stockpile of HXC bioweapon. And I am somewhat – disturbed – by that. However, no great endeavor was ever achieved without setbacks along the way, and I have more backup plans than the president has girlfriends. If you join me, I will guarantee you a high station in my coming global administration. I’ll give you a few countries with which you can do as you please.”
“That’s great, but how are you going to rise to power with all your weapons destroyed? What kind of backup plan are we talking about?”
Cain smiled. “Gathering a little intel, are we? They paying you extra for that?”
“You expect me to hop onboard with you, without any concrete details of how you’ll bounce back from this? Today was your big day, Cain. You’d been working toward this for years. How many more years would it be before I started to see some payoff for letting you go free?”
“A reasonable question. Let’s just say I know better than to put all my eggs in one basket.”
“Are you saying the bioweapons were a decoy?”
“Perhaps you are sharp enough to join my team.”
“So, right now, you’ve got your second-in-command off somewhere, waiting for you to take charge again and resume your plans?”
“My deputy, Ryan Gainsboro, is a remarkable and brilliant man. He doesn’t need me to hold his hand.”
“Ryan Gainsboro? The famous nanoscientist?”
“Yes, that Ryan Gainsboro.”
Raife led Cain across a shallow stream and up the other bank as the sun shot through a canyon in the mountains to the east. “Well that’s ironic. He invented the very tool I used to capture you. This facial nano-disguise was his big breakthrough before he disappeared. I had no idea he’d joined your cause.”
Cain chuckled to himself. “There is much you don’t know.”
Raife felt the air warming up slightly in the morning sun. All around, a thin veil of fog that hovered just above ground level was beginning to dissipate.
He looked back at Cain. “Why?”
; “Why what?”
“Why are you so bent on world domination?”
“Why not? I was created for a purpose – to rule. I will bring order to the chaos of this world. I will guide the human race with my superior intellect. I am power. It is my destiny.”
“Well, I just don’t understand the attraction to power. Give me a nice quiet island all to myself, maybe a good woman. But lording it over people? That’s just not for me.”
“Very well. An island it is. Or how about a whole archipelago? Would that do for you?”
“Yeah, that’d be great.”
“I will make it happen.”
“Yes, but at too big an expense. You would murder millions of innocents to get your way. That’s not my style. It’s not worth it to me. I’ll make my own way, thanks very much.”
“Very well.”
Raife turned around and looked at Cain.
And he drew in a sharp breath.
Cain’s face was mutating. Morphing. Changing into something else.
Into another man’s face.
Into Ryan Gainsboro.
Gainsboro saw the look on Raife’s face and began to laugh hysterically.
Raife jumped on the nano-scientist and pinned him to the grassy ground with a vice-grip around his neck. “Where is he? Where’s Cain?”
Gainsboro continued to laugh and choke at the same time.
Raife yelled at him some more, but soon realized it was useless.
He’d been fooled by his own tactic.
And this servant of Cain was surely too loyal to break. The fact that he’d taken this assignment proved he was willing to die for his leader.
Raife released Gainsboro’s neck, and slugged him hard across the jaw, knocking him unconscious. Then he looked back toward Cain’s compound in the valley below.
He switched his lenses to telescopic and magnified the view as several large doors opened in the dusty ground of the complex.
Missile silos.
Was it possible he’d been played all along – that the control center had also been a decoy?
As the tips of the missiles rose out of the ground, Raife couldn’t believe he’d been so wrong about this mission.
He’d been warned about Cain, but was confident he could handle him.
But he’d underestimated this man.