Page 44 of Breaking Danger
Jon knelt and reached for a piece of material on a side pocket of his backpack. He knew exactly which side pocket. He was slightly OCD when it came to gear. Gear saved your life. He pulled the material out. Dynapack. Infinitely tough, infinitely stretchable, infinitely strong. He went down on one knee, bending his torso forward until his back was parallel to the ground. He handed her the stretch of Dynapack. “Put the case on my back, then wrap this around it. If you pull the corners, they will stretch into ribbons. Pull them forward and help me tie them around my chest.”
He knew how weird that sounded, but Sophie didn’t hesitate. The material was top secret and a miracle. In a moment, Sophie had placed the case on his back and the Dynapack on top. Each corner stretched so easily it could have been chewing gum, except this chewing gum was hyper-resistant to just about everything except maybe a .50 bullet. The four corners stretched around his chest and she helped him tie it in a solid knot right over his sternum.
His scanner let out a high-toned beep.
The fifteen minute mark.
They had to hurry.
He stood and jumped to see how tightly the case was secured. It didn’t budge. Bless the US military for having thought up Dynapack. The case weighed about forty pounds. In training they’d marched for fifty miles humping double that. No problem.
He went down on one knee again.
“Add my backpack to that.” She lifted the backpack over the case. His backpack straps were also made of Dynapack so she just lifted the straps over his shoulders. He shrugged, settling the backpack in place. He was at around 60 pounds. No problem.
His scanner let out a high-toned beep.
The ten minute mark.
“Okay. Pack a small backpack if you want, some personal items, girl stuff, whatever. We’re heading straight for Haven and there’s everything you could need there but—I have to tell you, Sophie, you might never come back here again. So if there are some family mementos, whatever, you’ve got a minute to put it together. One. And dress warmly.”
“Right,” she said and disappeared into the bedroom. Exactly one minute later she came back out with a long lightweight Nomex coat over her clothes. Gloves and a watch cap. She had a smallish backpack with her.
He looked her over carefully. “Tuck your hair completely into the cap. You don’t want someone to catch you by the hair.” She obeyed immediately, watching him for more instructions.
She looked as ready as she’d ever be.
They were at the door and he pulled his stunner. He also had his Glock 92, which would stop a rhino in full attack mode.
“Is there a side entrance to the building?”
“Yes,” she answered. “The back stairwell exits onto an alleyway.”
“Okay. This is how it’s going to work. If the road ahead is clear, you go first and I’ll watch your six.”
“Six?”
“Your back.” She nodded. “If we’re attacked, I’ll take point and you stay behind me, just as close as you can. Is that clear?”
She nodded again.
“Say it.”
It was a principle for people who could find themselves in stressful situations. Pilots repeated verbally every single order. So did warriors going into battle.
“When there are no infected in sight, I am ahead of you. If there are infected, I stay close behind you.”
He nodded. “I rappelled down from the roof. I left two ropes, both with an automatic hoist system and handholds at the bottom. I don’t think the infected have the kind of intelligence that can recognize a rope.”
“No, they don’t,” she confirmed.
“That’s what I thought. Because if we’re being chased there’s no question of going up the central steps and climbing up until we get to the roof of the Ghirardelli building. We’d be chased and caught. They’re fast. So we’ll outwit them. The two ropes are on the west wall, close to the front left corner. Repeat that.”
“Two rappelling ropes, west wall, near front left corner. They have a hoist function.”
“If I don’t make it—” She opened her mouth and he lay his forefinger across those soft lips. “If I don’t make it,” he said firmly, “try to get the case off me then get to the ropes. If it’s impossible to get the case, just head for the wall. You geeks are smart. The men up at Haven could try to capture an infected for you. And then you could—I don’t know. Isolate the virus, make the vaccine. You can do that, right?”
“In theory,” she said. “But it would take weeks.”
