Cobra Z Read online

  COBRA Z

  Book 1 of the Necropolis Trilogy

  Sean Deville

  “If thou openest not the gate to let me enter, I will break the door, I will wrench the lock, I will smash the door-posts, I will force the doors. I will bring up the dead to eat the living. And the dead will outnumber the living.”

  — The Epic of Gilgamesh

  Important Characters

  British Government

  David Osbourne MP – Prime Minister

  Arnold Craver – Head of the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (MI5)

  Bill Dodson – Prime Minister’s Private Secretary

  Mitchell Tanner MP – Chancellor of the Exchequer

  Sir Peter Milnes – Metropolitan Police Commissioner

  Claire Miles MP – Home Secretary

  Sir Nicholas Martin – Chief of the Defence Staff

  Sir Michael Young – Head of MI5

  Sir Stuart Watkins – Head of MI6

  ‘Davina’ – Interrogator MI6

  Jeremy Smith – Sergeant, Metropolitan Police

  British Military

  Major David Croft – Investigating Officer for the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure

  Captain Lucy Savage – Head of Biomedical Science, Porton Down Research Centre

  Captain Mark Grainger – Grenadier Guards

  Captain Lewis Hudson – SAS

  Sergeant Craig O’Sullivan – SAS

  US Government

  General Roberts – Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  Ben Silver – White House Chief of Staff

  Keith Johnson – CIA Director

  Damian Rodney – President of the United States

  The Sons of the Resurrection Cult

  James Jones – The Chief Cleric

  Abraham – Cult Leader

  Fabrice Chevalier – Warrior of Truth

  British Civilians

  Jack Nathan

  Gavin Hemsworth

  Owen Patterson

  Elizabeth Holden

  Ref: FGu5867th

  Top Secret

  The Civil Contingencies Committee Command Structure Platinum

  Eyes Only

  WARNING

  Unauthorised reproduction/viewing/ distribution of this document will result in prosecution under the Treason Act 1695 and may carry a penalty of life imprisonment under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998

  Confidential Report on Project Z43851-5

  Report by the Joint Intelligence Organisation

  Ref: FGu5867th

  Date: 21.04.14

  At roughly 8PM on the 17th of April 2014, there was a containment breach at the BSL-4 genetic laboratory facility at the Hirta Island Research Complex, designation RESURRECTION. Although the breach was ultimately contained, 17 people lost their lives, including facility director Professor Clive Cook and head of security Stewart Goldsmith. It is as yet not known where a pathogen this virulent came from, how it escaped containment into the general facility, how it spread so rapidly, or why those infected manifested the symptoms that resulted in the tragedy. What is known is that the security lockdown prevented the contagion from escaping into the outside environment, and that the incident has now been deemed to be contained.

  The following is a transcript of the final video log of Professor Clive Cook. This was sent via Intranet to the secure server at the facility where it was retrieved after the event, along with the video logs of the surveillance cameras. Many of Professor Cook’s words were inaudible due to the background noise. Some of the details have also been redacted as they fall outside the security clearance of many on the Civil Contingencies Committee.

  “The virus got out [INAUDIBLE] know how. I’ve barricaded myself in [INAUDIBLE] not hold for long. Their strength is incredible. We never imagined [REDACTED] beyond all recognised scientific norms [INAUDIBLE] … and most of my research team are dead. Oh God, what have we done? How did this happen? You must not open up the facility. The lockdown must stay in place. All my research has been uploaded to the central server, but please, I implore you, this research must be abandoned. I was wrong, I was so very wrong. [INAUDIBLE] cannot be repeated. [REDACTED] ignored my advice. I told him we were rushing this, and I told him [REDACTED] would be a disaster. Oh God, they are breaking through; I can hear them … I can feel them. I was bit … I can feel them in my mind. Why does this itch so bad? In my head … they are in my head. They are so hungry. Why is my mind on fire? Fire, yes, fire, that’s what I meant to say. I tried to activate the fire sterilisation system, but it malfunctioned. Activate it from the outside, cremate everything in here [INAUDIBLE] … I can see them. They are [REDACTED].”

  After analysis of the situation, Major Croft has stated he is in agreement with the position put forward by Professor Cook, and as the surveillance feed showed no uninfected survivors, the sealed-off sections of RESURRECTION were fire sterilised as per SOP on his orders. It is the government’s position that research into project Z43851-5 be terminated due to the unexpected nature of the outcome and the potentially catastrophic infectious nature of what occurred. It is notable that none of the research data on the official server shows any indication that this was a result of the research officially being performed at the facility.

  Video feeds of the event as it transpired have been uploaded and will be available during the briefing. Attached, you will find summary data on the reasons for the research and the results Professor Cook had hoped to achieve. You will also find the report by Major Croft, which details the events that occurred and the steps he felt necessary to secure the situation.

  Yours Sincerely,

  James Flynn, Prime Minister’s National Security Advisor

  Report on the 17.04.2014 containment breach at the BSL-4 genetic laboratory facility at the Hirta Island Research Complex, designation RESURRECTION

  Ref: FGu5867th

  Date: 19.04.14

  Upon arrival at the facility, I found the lower-level laboratory area sealed and intact. Due to the nature of the apparent contagion, and the fact that all personnel in the quarantined zone were verified (via biometric data transmitted from their implanted microchips) as being either dead or “infected” (I use this word as an assumption as to the cause of the incident), I ordered immediate thermal sterilisation of the laboratory area on my authorisation as granted by s.5(1c) of The Civil Contingency Act 2004. As you are aware, the laboratory is supplied by two filtered positive pressure air vents and one access door. All three were sealed prior to sterilisation, and action is underway to permanently block off these potential access points with concrete, as whatever occurred is deemed too dangerous to risk exposure to the outside world. It is my recommendation that this facility never be re-opened, and a quarantine zone is being erected around the facility that supplies the laboratory under my authorisation as granted by s.5(1b) of The Civil Contingency Act 2004. The four-level subterranean structure above the laboratory is planned for controlled implosion to ensure nobody can access the sealed area in the future.

  Through analysis of the surveillance feeds and the biometric readouts, I have not ascertained the source of the outbreak. It does not pertain to any of the research recorded in the official logs. I, therefore, suspect and deduce that there was unsanctioned research being done. I have, however, been able to ascertain patient zero. Dr. Johansson, the senior virologist at the facility, was the first to experience visible symptoms of the virus. His biometric readings show a spike in blood pressure and temperature, followed by a massive breakdown at the genetic level, with a rapid and violent expulsion of bodily fluids. He was seen on surveillance in the canteen area drinking coffee several minutes before he underwent seizure. Dr. Smith and Dr. Carter, along with three junior scientists, were all present when this occu
rred and went to his aid. The seizures stopped and then Dr. Johansson attacked his colleagues, biting three of them. The time stamp showed that they too underwent seizure within 5-10 minutes, indicating a virulent pathogen with a very short gestation period. They each went on to attack multiple individuals. The ensuing chaos saw the facility overrun. The video of Professor Cook shows compelling evidence that we are indeed dealing with a new form of pathogen.

  Those affected show very specific symptoms of uncontrolled rage, increased strength, and an almost insatiable desire to attack other species, not just humans. One of the affected individuals was seen on video attacking the caged rhesus monkeys. He was able to rip the locked cage door from its hinges, losing a finger in the process, indicating they have a negligible reaction to pain stimulus. These symptoms follow a brief period of illness, including vomiting, abdominal and head pain, with diarrhoea and loss of bladder control. As witnessed on the various videos taken by the CCTV, those affected also have distinctly bloodshot eyes that seem to bulge out.

  There is nothing in the computer logs to indicate what this potential pathogen is. The facility was reportedly working on the early stages of the Methuselah cure, an artificially manufactured gene coding virus that it was hoped could slow the ageing process. None of the test animals showed similar symptoms, and there is no indication in any of the research that this eventuality could occur, and as already stated, I believe this was either unsanctioned research or research sanctioned outside the normal chain of command that was being done in secret. Even so, it is unknown how any manufactured pathogens could escape the BSL-4 containment protocols set up at the facility. Fortunately, the quick acting nature and the virulence of the pathogen meant its affects became apparent before it could escape the BSL-4 lab. The control computer designated TRQ did what it was designed to do and sealed the facility.

  As reported in my last briefing, I strongly suspect that this is another act of deliberate sabotage. I believe persons unknown have used this facility as a production site and/or a test ground for a new bio-weapon. I have no information on how this could occur. Close inspection of the computer log shows voids in the data, suggesting manipulation and deletion of files. I would advise a thorough re-vetting of all staff at similar government facilities, and immediate investigation of all staff employed at this facility since its conception, by the intelligence service MI5. One thing of note, the number of bodies in the BSL-4 lab is one short of the designation for that facility. There is no record of any other individuals working there, but the facility is definitely one personnel member short, and there are indications of manipulation of the employee files, the entry and exit logs, and the data files themselves. This suggests to me that somebody left the facility prior to the event occurring. This might very well explain the disappearance of the transport helicopter from the island the day before. Search and rescue has not located it, the assumption being made that it crashed into the Atlantic.

  It is not beyond the realms of possibility that whoever this was sent a blueprint for the pathogen electronically via what might well be a compromised network. I do not believe they would have been able to smuggle a physical sample out – not with the security procedures in place. As you are aware, transport from the BSL-4 laboratory level requires the discarding of all clothing, and the full body scans would have detected a foreign object, even if in a body cavity. On sight interviews with surviving facility personnel has not shone any light into the identity of this unknown individual, although there are some who do remember a Caucasian male who is not on the list of the dead. An artist’s impression has been attached.

  A full diagnostic examination of the operating systems of all facility command and control computers is now warranted, and I ask the home secretary to authorise this.

  Major David Croft, investigating officer

  Analysis of the cause of the 17.04.2014 containment breach at the BSL-4 genetic laboratory facility at the Hirta Island Research Complex, designation RESURRECTION

  Ref: FGu5867th

  Date: 20.04.14

  This is a preliminary analysis of the data collected by Major David Croft and from the servers of the TRQ computer. Conclusions may be subject to change.

  A full audit of the biological material stored and used at the facility does not correlate with the symptoms that manifested at the facility. There are to date no known natural or artificial pathogens that create these symptoms in a human host, and there is no indication that the manipulations of the test strains for the Methuselah cure resulted in this. Indeed, the viral strains being investigated were still only in the computer-modelling stage and had yet to undergo fabrication. The biological data collected from the implanted microchips prove that this was not a psychosomatic event and that some sort of infection was involved. We believe that, whatever the cause, it was created (or at the very least perfected) on site and in secret. This would require several personnel to be involved. I can only, therefore, assume that it was done with Professor Cook’s knowledge, which does seem to correlate with his last video entry. This does also implicate someone in the upper echelons of either government or the country’s security apparatus.

  The pathogen itself seems highly contagious, although we do not believe it to be airborne. More likely it is spread by direct physical contact with body fluids, definitely through bites and blood-to-blood transmission, but also probably by getting bodily secretions on the skin and mucous membranes, such as the mouth and the eyes. Although direct analysis of the pathogen would have been preferable, I totally support the decision to sterilise the site. Better to eradicate the unknown than face this in the outside world.

  It is my contention that patient zero was deliberately infected, most likely via his insulin which would have been freely available in the medicines fridge. I suspect the person responsible left the facility several days prior. Supply logs show Dr. Johansson only had two days of insulin left on his prescription and would have had to leave the BSL-4 level to retrieve more from the facility’s pharmacy. His microchip recorded him taking his insulin 10 minutes before the symptoms developed.

  With my knowledge of contagious disease, I believe this to be an artificially created pathogen and that the Hirta Island incident was a covertly ordered test run of what can only be a weaponised virus. This poses a very real threat to the stability and the security of this country.

  Captain Lucy Savage, Head of Biomedical Science, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down

  Prologue

  6.02PM, 16th April 2014. Hirta Island Research Facility, BSL-4 Containment level access tunnel

  It really shouldn’t be this easy. It shouldn’t be this easy to kill 17 people and get away with it. Setting his bags down for a moment, he took something out of his inner pocket and zipped up his weatherproof overcoat. He pulled up the hood, tying its laces tight around his face, bracing himself for the icy Atlantic that waited outside. Placing his travel bag over his shoulder, he held his ID badge with his right hand and picked up his suitcase again with his left. The corridor ahead turned left, and he walked along it towards the secure exit. As usual, there were no guards present, and he stepped up to the door, placing his ID badge against the reader. Hidden cameras scrutinised his biometrics, ensuring he was actually the owner of the card. After a moment, the reader flashed green, and the door unlocked itself, his departure authorised by the central computer. Putting the ID in one of the coat’s outer pockets, he pushed the door open with his shoulder. Deep within the facility’s computer system, a Trojan virus began to eradicate all data related to the card and its owner. By the time the door closed behind him, it was as if he hadn’t even existed.

  He walked out of the research facility, into the driving rain that some might think was sent as a divine force to drive him back within the building that was soon to become an illustration of hell. God it was cold up here, and he pulled his weatherproof overcoat tighter. Cold it might be, but better to be up here than to fall victim to the heat that would
incinerate the whole lower level several hours from now. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t want to do this. They were his friends down there, his co-workers, people he had known for years. But none of them were true believers; none of them felt the spirit of the One True God in their hearts. Most of them were atheists, and deep down, he knew that ending their sin now would only lessen their torment in the afterlife. So in a sense he was, some could argue, doing them a favour. He still struggled with the logic of that one.

  The helicopter was already landing, unsteady in its descent as the wind relentlessly buffeted it. But it was not to be defeated, and it finally landed. The side door opened, ready to embark its three passengers; the other two already stood patiently at the heliport’s edge. Of course, the computer logs and the transport logs had already been doctored. By whom he didn’t know, but he had faith in Brother Abraham. Brother Abraham had powerful followers, true believers in the One True God, hiding deep in the heart of government. The travel log would say there were two passengers, but of course, the helicopter would never reach its destination, so there would be no witnesses to his travel. Running over to the helicopter, hand on his hat to stop the Atlantic from stealing it, he glanced back at what had been his home for the last three years, unaware of the merciless death that awaited him less than thirty minutes from now. He paused. He realised he was going to miss the people down there, but he had trust in the word of the Lord. For as Brother Abraham always said, God came first.