Synbat Read Online Free PDF

Merrit."

"There's one last thing you need to do. Abort the Synbats."

Ward stared at the phone. He'd been afraid that would be the decision. Actually, he knew that it wasn't a decision made by Freeman. It was required. "Can we hold off on that until we get a chance to track them down?"

"They've already killed. If they've been stolen, we need to get them terminated immediately. If they escaped we can't have them wandering around the countryside. According to standard operating procedure, termination is the next step. You agreed to it when you got your security clearance. It's right here in black and white in your project response plan."

Ward knew he needed to stall. Two years of his work couldn't be destroyed like this. "They're probably holed up somewhere right now. Or whoever took them has them secure. They couldn't have gotten far. Once we get the direction finder running, we can track them down in no time."

The voice on the other end didn't bend. "Blow the collars. I'll be there in forty minutes. I've got a chopper en route to my location right now to pick me up. I want you to send everyone else home as they arrive. Tell them there's a federal security inspection shutdown and they'll be called when it's over. Don't go downstairs again. Keep everything the way it was. My people will need to go over it all."

Ward wasn't overly worried about what had happened. He was more concerned with what was going to happen. "How about if I access the direction finder and run an azimuth on them? If I find they're in an area where they aren't likely to run into people, I really believe we should hold off on termination. We've invested more than two years and sixty million dollars in this project."

Ward glanced nervously toward the parking lot again. For all he knew the Synbats could be right out there in the tree line. They might even come back on their own. He didn't want to face that by himself, but he also didn't want to lose the results of his efforts.

Freeman was implacable. "I repeat, Doctor Ward: Get an azimuth on them and terminate now. I've got an alert started at Fort Campbell to get us some help tracking the bodies. Just hope they didn't run into anyone else before now. Hold in place and do as instructed. I'll be there shortly."

There was a click on the other end. Ward stared at the dead phone for a long time. He realized that he hadn't told Freeman about what had been taken from the freezer. Time enough for that when the government man got here. Ward glanced up. The rain had finally stopped and a car was pulling into the lot. He rose and scurried across the foyer. He recognized the driver as the day shift security guard. Ward ran out into the parking lot and waved him over.

The car pulled up next to Ward and the guard rolled down the window. "What's up, Doctor Ward?"

Ward stood between the guard and the building. "The feds have called a security shutdown. They've got people en route now to do one of their unannounced inspections. I'd like you to park over at the entrance to the lot and tell everyone to return home. We might be shut down for a while -- today at least. Tell everyone I'll call to let them know when we're open again."

The guard frowned and tried to look around Ward at the building. "Security shutdown? What happened, sir?"

"Nothing happened," Ward snapped. "They're just running one of their damn tests and it's our turn to be checked. You can go home, too, after..." Ward glanced at his watch and estimated. "...after eight-thirty. Everyone should have come by then."

"Yes, sir." The guard could see the pickup truck. "What about Stan? Are you going to relieve him?"

Ward nodded. "Yes, I'll let him go once the test team from the feds are here." He started to head back and then remembered something. "By the way, let Doctor Merrit in. I'm going to need her to get the paperwork ready for the inspection."

"Yes, sir." The security guard drove off, back to the entrance of the parking lot.

Ward