The Alpha Strain Page 9

  When they stepped through Aunt Nozi’s front door, Alex was instantly greeted by several boisterous black kids who clung to Ezra’s legs. They ranged between the ages of five and eleven and beamed with happiness. Their joy was infectious and simultaneously admirable. Even though their clothes were either several sizes too big for them or several sizes too small, and they were all barefoot, they had not a single care in the world. Bubbling with life they followed Ezra as he led Alex through the bustling township. Once at the edge of the community of patched shacks, Ezra handed each of the kids a lollipop and a handful of candy. “Off you go now. It’s time for school,” he added as they skipped happily off down the path.

  “They’re not mine just in case you wondered.”

  Alex smiled. “You’d make a great dad though.”

  “Maybe one day when all this is over. Come, I have a friend who found us a new car. We’re a solid twenty minutes from the library. I’d say we get on with it.”

  And true to his friend’s promise, they found their transportation parked and ready under a nearby tree. Looking every bit like a drug lord’s car which clearly didn’t belong in a rural settlement such as this, Alex dared not ask where the shiny black Mercedes came from. The less she knew the better and when Ezra threw his hands in the air communicating a silent ‘don’t ask’, her suspicions were confirmed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The tranquility of the abandoned road leading out of the township was short lived. Alex and Ezra realized anew that the country was still very much at war when the road ahead was blocked off by an oversized fuel truck. Throwing caution to the wind, Ezra slowed down well in advance but didn’t stop. He knew these tactics all too well. This was a country whose people now played by their own rules. Alex shuffled nervously in her seat when Ezra cocked his gun in his lap. “What’s wrong?” She asked as she followed his lead and took her gun off safety.

  “See the shadows moving behind the truck’s wheels?”

  Alex nodded.

  “We got ourselves some hijackers. They force you to slow down and then they pounce on you.”

  “To do what exactly?”

  “Whatever the hell they want. They’re mostly after the cars and any valuables like mobile phones or laptops. If you don’t cooperate they kill you.”

  “How many do you think there are?”

  “Hard to say but I’d guess at least four.”

  “And I suppose that opening to the side of the tanker was intentionally created as a trap,” referring to the makeshift drive-through on the one end of the truck.

  “You guessed it,” Ezra confirmed.

  Alex turned back to look behind their car. “Can we turn back and go another route?”

  “We could but it’s a hell of a detour around the city. I’d say at least a three hour drive; and that’s if we don’t run into any deterrents.”

  “Well, then I reckon we fight them off.” Alex said as she climbed to the back seat.

  “I guess now will be a good time to see what your friend gifted us with,” unzipping a khaki duffle bag to reveal a small arsenal of curated weapons.

  “I suppose I don’t need to ask if these are legit,” clicking the magazine of a sniper rifle in place. “I’m pretty sure this is a government issue SSG-69. Let’s see if this baby delivers. Hold it steady, Ezra.” Alex instructed as she pointed the barrel through the space below the passenger seat’s headrest.

  “Ready?” she checked.

  “Ready,” Ezra answered.

  Alex shot a clear round hole through the glass that left the entire front window intact. With sniper precision the bullet hit her target and the first hijacker fell over from behind the wheel. A split second later, Alex fired off the next bullet and another body fell flat to the ground. All hell broke loose as an army of six more hijackers retaliated. Crouching down behind the steering wheel and the dashboard, Ezra drove the car directly towards the truck and pulled the handbrake, spinning the car’s rear wheels parallel to the stationary fuel truck. Alex had switched positions and guns and fired a succession of shots from an automatic machine gun through the rear passenger window. One of her bullets grazed the tarmac and sparked a pool of fuel that had leaked onto the road from the fuel truck.

  “It’s going to blow, Ezra! Go, go, go!” Alex yelled for Ezra to drive through the hijackers’ decoy lane around the truck.

  The Mercedes’ tires spun pale gray smoke into the air as Ezra turned the car towards the open lane and sped through seconds before they felt the explosion’s powerful impact from behind.

  “Hahaa! That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” Ezra cheered displaying every bit of his young age as he caught sight of the fuel truck exploding in his rearview mirror. “Remind me not to mess with you.”

  Alex smiled climbing back into the passenger seat next to him. “Let’s just hope your friend wasn’t planning on getting his car back,” she commented while she knocked her gun’s handle against the remaining pieces of broken glass in the window.

  “I’m pretty sure he won’t since it wasn’t his in the first place,” Ezra laughed. “And with any luck this episode was the last hindrance and we can finally get to that library now. I’m curious to see how this treasure hunt plays out. Who knows? Once we have that tooth in our hands I might just have a reason to leave the army and join you.”

  “I can only hope you will, Ezra.”

  And as if the universe heard their pleas, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing and fifteen minutes later, they parked the car a street away from the Johannesburg City Library’s front entrance. Evidence of vandalism from the night before still smoldered on the steps to the front door. Bookshelves and mounds of half burnt books greeted them as they walked toward the entrance. Alex tried to control the nerves that gnawed away at her insides as she squatted down next to the ashes.

  “Let’s hope the book we’re after isn’t amongst these.”

  Unlike the museum’s doors that were firmly locked, the library’s doors stood wide open. A stray cat darted past their feet from inside the doorway. Alex tightened her sweaty hands around her handgun’s grip and aimed the weapon at the space in front of her face. Synchronized in silence the pair moved back to back through the front door; alert and ready to shoot. The sudden noise of a bird frightened off its perched position in the roof trusses, heightened their senses. Relieved it was just a couple of pigeons they slowly continued through the foyer. They appeared to be alone but nothing on this mission so far had come without surprises. Continuing in full alert, they climbed over the steel turnstiles and proceeded through to the enormous room of books. Tall bookshelves, overturned in some places, deposited scattered books across the royal blue carpeted floors. Above their heads the galleries that stretched out from the walls looked undisturbed. A final check confirmed they were indeed alone and Alex bolted away from Ezra towards the bookshelf closest to her.

  “What are we looking for exactly?” Ezra whispered.

  “A book, with the numbers 927.381 on the spine.”

  Alex dashed from shelf to shelf as her eyes worked through the numbers on each row of books. Ezra did the same on the opposite end.

  “My numbers are all in the three hundreds,” he called out.

  “Keep looking. I’m positive it’s a book.”

  Several minutes passed as the two ran from shelf to shelf.

  “There have to be a million books here, Alex. How sure are you we’re actually looking for a book?”

  “Oh it’s a book, Ezra. Trust me. I spent half my life in libraries. Keep looking.”

  “I’d listen to Miss Hunt if I were you.”

  Volkov’s obnoxious voice echoed through the library. Caught completely off guard Alex took cover behind the bookshelf. A sudden overwhelming sensation of dread took over her mind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was aware Ezra had also ducked behind one of the shelves in front of her but there was no way of telling where Volkov was.

  She swallowed in a futile attem
pt to slow down her rapid breathing as she waited for Volkov to speak again.

  “It took my men all night tracing your steps. Miss Alex Hunt; renowned relic hunter. Yes, I now know exactly who you are and what it is you’re after. It appears we’re after the same thing.”

  Alex strained her ears trying to establish his position over the hollow echoes of the library. She detected shuffling of feet somewhere behind her. She slid her back along the bookshelf down to the floor taking up a squatting position and held her gun up against her nose. Her fingers flexed around the trigger and she carefully popped her head around the shelf in both directions. The shelves behind her delivered no one and she leaned her head back in position against the wood barricade. A drop of sweat trickled down her brow. She squeezed her eyes shut to help it along.

  “Why don’t you and your young South African soldier surrender, Alex? I could do with your skills on my team. I’d certainly pay you far more than the pittance you’re earning at the moment. You and I would make a formidable team, don’t you think? You can be part of something much bigger and more important than finding ridiculous lost treasures. Help me find that tooth and I’d not only let you live, but I’ll let you enjoy the splendor of my very own paradise; my very own Garden of Eden. This tooth is the only piece missing, Alex, so if you think I’m going to let you steal my piece of paradise, you’ve got something else coming. One way or another, I’m going to create a new human race, Alex; with or without you. No man on this planet can offer you what I am offering you right now so I suggest you consider it carefully.”

  Alex swallowed uncomfortably as disgust pushed its way up into her throat. The man was clearly deranged. But, as much as Alex wanted to believe his mission was impossible, she also knew Ivan Volkov not only had the money, he also had the power and influence to make anything happen.

  Hell would freeze over before she would play a part in his twisted game of pretending to be God. She had to do something. Five shelves ahead of her Ezra poked his head around the shelf and spotted her. He signaled that he suspected two of Volkov’s men were on top of the overhead gallery, confirming her hiding place was bound to be exposed if they carried on walking. Alex signaled back that she was going to make a run for it. She took a deep breath and bolted for the wall, disappearing in the shadowy safety under the overhanging gallery. From her position under a row of desks, she saw Volkov’s shiny black shoes slowly pacing the aisle toward Ezra. Crawling on her hands and knees under the tables she came back within Ezra’s vision and warned him of the impending danger. Ezra’s eyes widened but she held up her palm for him to wait. She needed a distraction to lure Volkov’s men out and away from Ezra. She closed her eyes searching her mind for ideas. In the distance the pigeons cooed at the entrance. If only there was a way of frightening them it could create the distraction they needed. Her eyes frantically searched for something to throw toward the birds. Apart from the books, there was really nothing else that would travel the distance while going unnoticed through the air. Annoyed she moved her gun from one hand to the other and then she froze. A bullet; she’d use a bullet. With resurrected vigor she pulled a bullet from her vest pocket and crawled across the floor, taking up a new vantage point behind a cupboard. Aware of Volkov’s men still pacing the gallery above her head, she flung the bullet through the air in the direction of the perched birds. Much to her surprise her launch was flawless and the pigeons squealed in frenzied mayhem through the air. Alex disappeared under the desks and watched as her distraction lured Volkov and all four of his cronies out from their hiding places. Seizing the opportunity Ezra ran toward Alex and together they disappeared through an office door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Once inside, the presumed office revealed the library’s large archive room. Ten narrow walkways divided the floor to ceiling steel shelves that displayed dozens of old books, folders and sealed filing boxes.

  “Here,” Alex whispered to Ezra, standing at the bottom of an antique-like spiral staircase located in one of the dark corners at the back of the room. Skipping every second step, they leaped up the hand carved wooden stairs that eventually delivered them inside an even darker, cramped loft office. In the centre of the much smaller room stood an oversized wooden desk encrusted in a thick layer of dust and piles of leather-bound books. It smelled like an attic and appeared to have been out of use for years. Unable to see much, Alex flicked on the small desk lamp and picked up one of the brown leather-wrapped books. She drew in a sharp breath. “These books are signed first editions, some of them dating back a hundred and thirty years. They must be worth a small fortune!”

  “Alex, have a look at this one!” Ezra excitedly let out and pointed to one in particular.

  Unlike the other books which clearly hadn’t been used or moved in years, he handed her one that was entirely free from dust as if it were left there the day before. The brown leather-bound book was covered with gold embossed rock paintings and a scarlet silk ribbon ran through the middle of the book’s pages.

  Alex turned the book over. Her eyes widened at the sight of the digits on the spine which read 927.381. A tingling sensation in her chest engulfed her as she pulled at the ribbon and flipped the book open.

  “Is this what I think it is?” Ezra whispered over her shoulder.

  “Uh-huh,” was all Alex managed to utter as she flipped through the book’s pages.

  “So now what? What are we looking for? Wasn’t there something about a foot in the riddle?”

  Alex quoted the rest of the riddle from the museum’s index card.

  Between jackets and spines lie the hidden root that reveals to all the submerged foot.

  “Yup, that’s the one. Now I hate to be the one to crash this party, Alex but we should really get out of here. Your bird decoy won’t hold them off for much longer,” Ezra added.

  Ezra hovered at the top of the spiral stairs. The office below was quiet but Volkov was a smart man. He looked around to see if there was another way out and marked the hatch in the ceiling above his head.

  “This might be our only way out Alex. Bring the book. We have to get out of here now!”

  Alex nodded in agreement. She shoved the book into her pants’ waistline in the small of her back and covered it with her black combat vest. Ezra was tall enough to lift the hatch off with ease.

  “Get on,” holding out his interlocked palms for Alex to step onto. She did and Ezra lifted her up through the hatch into the safety of the roof.

  “Hurry,” Alex whispered for Ezra to pull himself up. He did so effortlessly seconds before they heard the office door below open up. Replacing the door to the roof hatch, Alex and Ezra moved quietly from rafter to rafter in the direction of the front of the building. They trod lightly, hoping the narrow roof trusses would remain sound under their weight. Several rats scurried away under their feet as they manoeuvred the tight, dark space in the library building’s roof. A few paces away they noticed a beam of light cutting through the darkness to reveal an illuminated area not far from where they were.

  Alex led the way to find an air duct skylight pushing out onto the roof. The duct’s metal hinges were bolted to the roof trusses. Alex reached for her Swiss knife in her pants and flicked the screwdriver attachment into place. With the sun sitting higher by the minute the roof was hot and uncomfortable and it took several minutes to loosen each screw. But eventually the hinges came apart and they lifted the metal rectangular box away from the roof. Alex managed to squeeze her body through easily, but Ezra’s shoulders were too broad; even at a sideways angle. Alex lay on top of the angled roof that was slippery with years of piled on dirt. She dug her combat boots down hard onto the black clay tiles and yanked four roof tiles off from around the duct cavity until the space was big enough for Ezra to climb through.

  Positioned halfway up against the side of the pitched roof it was steep and slippery.

  “We need to climb up to the ridge. We’ll get a better footing there,” Alex suggested and managed to easily pull
herself up to the ridge. Once there they hung their legs over the sides as if on a horse and lifted themselves across the ridge to the nearby valley of the roof. Alex didn’t hesitate and slid her body down along the valley to where she landed feet first on a flat stretch of the roof. Ezra followed. Relieved the roof opened up to a fair strip of leveled surface, they ran across to where it abruptly stopped dead at the back of the building. In front of their feet was a sheer drop to the street below delivering a gaping space between the library and the neighboring building’s roof.

  Behind them they heard Volkov’s men ripping up more roof tiles around the air duct. Alex eyeballed the distance to the next building. “Do you think we can jump across?”

  Ezra looked back and then across to the next building’s flat roof. “Not sure. We’d need a hell of a runway to leap this far.”

  “Is there another way?” Alex asked stretching her head over the side of the roof in search of a fire escape. There was none.

  The announcement of Volkov’s men on the roof’s ridge behind them sent shockwaves down her spine.

  “I guess we have no choice now, do we?” Alex alerted Ezra. The pair hastily walked backwards until they were satisfied the runway’s distance would be sufficient to propel them over the gaping space between the two buildings.

  A last reassuring visual exchange triggered Alex and Ezra into a full sprint across the flat roof. Adrenaline surged through their veins, forcing every bit of oxygen from their lungs as they both leaped through the air. Deafened by the sound of their thudding heartbeats, a brief moment of weightlessness possessed their bodies; ensued by the undeniable piercing sound of open gunfire. Alex was aware of Ezra’s feet successfully hitting the roof in front of her as her body thrashed into the edge of the building. Piercing pain stung her hands as she gripped the sharp edges of the brick with her fingers. The blow against her ribs knocked her wind out and she gulped for air. A bullet hit the brick next to her, missing her head by mere inches before she felt Ezra’s strong hands around her wrists.