Ojai.”
“So I guess we're never going back again,” I said.
“Actually, we need to head back before dawn,” Moto countered.
“What?” Felicity and Sonya both asked in unison.
“Why?” I asked, feeling genuinely confused.
“After I sent Sonya to watch over you and my brother, Franco started a new project on the base,” Moto explained. “He had his men track down and kidnap a scientist named Dr. Winterbourne. They brought him back to the labs and have been keeping him there ever since. No one is allowed in or out to see him, except for Franco's men.”
“So what's the big deal with this scientist?” Felicity asked.
“Yeah man,” I joined in, unable to believe we were actually going back to face our known enemies, as if nothing had happened. “What's so special about this Dr. Winterbourne guy?”
“Nothing much,” Moto shrugged. “Except he created the zombie virus.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“So it's true then,” Felicity said, feeling numb at hearing his words. “Someone actually made this plague that's ruined the world. Someone is responsible for all of this misery, after all.”
After I had been brought back from being turned into a zombie, Moto had given me similar news. I remembered feeling as shocked as Felicity was at the revelation. The idea that someone had intentionally created a virus that caused so much death and destruction that it brought down all of mankind seemed like a hard pill to swallow at first. Over time I'd come to accept it as part of human nature – the dark side that yearned for chaos and annihilation, the dark side that built bigger and more terrifying weapons like the atomic bomb.
There will always be people like Franco and John , I thought. Men who crave absolute power, and the means to inflict suffering on others.
“Who ordered it?” Felicity asked.
“We don't know,” Moto replied. “It was approved by the vice president, but the president himself most likely knew about it.”
“Not signing gives him the ability to deny knowing later on,” Apache scoffed. “When it all hits the fan.”
“How did it get out?” I asked. “I mean, was it intentional?”
“We don't know that either,” Moto admitted.
“What do you know?” Sam asked innocently, looking up with his big puppy-dog eyes.
“We know that we don't want Franco being able to synthesize a new antidote,” Moto patiently explained. “Or something even worse.”
“What do you mean by something worse?” Felicity asked. “What could be worse than the zombie virus?”
“We're not planning on finding out,” Moto said curtly.
“So what is the plan then?” I asked. I was ready to go to war if Moto commanded. I'd heard enough. There was no way I was going to let John and Franco get away with whatever diabolical scheme they were darkly dreaming up, no matter what it was. These were bad guys, plain and simple, and it was our job to stop them or die trying. Moto looked pleased, but not surprised by my enthusiasm.
“You and I will take the Humvee back,” Moto said, doing his best to hide a smile. “We'll radio ahead and try to get hold of my personal security detail. That way we can get a bead on what we'll be in for when we arrive. We'll leave in the morning so we have full visibility. It's still dangerous to travel between the base and Xanadu, even in the armored vehicle. We never know when we might run across another horde of flesh eaters.”
“What about us?” Felicity asked indignantly. Sonya crossed her arms as well, looking equally outraged.
“You'll stay behind, for now,” Moto instructed.
“Like hell I will,” Sonya started, but Moto held his hand up and stopped her.
“Look,” he said. “We need to keep you and the rest of the gang here, out of harm’s way, at all costs. You've already been through enough to turn your hair white. I'm not going to allow you to suffer any more.”
“Allow me?” Sonya fumed.
“This is still a military issue,”