Extinction Evolution (The Extinction Cycle Book 4) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith Page A

I’m assuming General Johnson does, too. Before I reach out to him, I’d like to hear the details from you.”
    Beckham’s heart was kicking harder than during a firefight with Variants. The future of everything he cared about depended on the next words that came from his mouth. She wasn’t a crooked politician like Chow had suggested, but despite the fact Beckham had saved her from Raven Rock, he could see in her eyes she didn’t trust him.
    Not yet.
    Over the next fifteen minutes, Beckham walked Ringgold through the key events of the past five weeks, starting with Building 8 and concluding with the shot that ended Colonel Wood’s life. Ringgold didn’t so much as shift in her chair during the first half of the story. This was a woman who had been grilled on Capitol Hill—a woman accustomed to hearing the very worst of what the government had to offer. By the end, however, her dark cheeks were flushed and a bead of sweat dripped from her brow. She placed her glasses back on, pushed them higher on her nose, and folded her hands on the table.
    “Dr. Lovato told me much the same,” Ringgold said. “Although your story is a bit more detailed and graphic.” She let out a sigh and looked to Horn and Chow, then back at Beckham.
    “I’m in a very peculiar situation here. On the one hand, I could reach out to President Mitchell personally and request his help. Vice President Black is acting Secretary of Defense and he could have some pull in the military, but with General Johnson at the helm, I’m not sure who we can trust. Johnson was Kennor’s confidant long before the Hemorrhage Virus ever got out of Building 8.”
    Beckham wanted to interject, but patiently waited for her to finish. From his peripheral vision, he saw Corporal Hook hurry away from the radio equipment to Smith. They spoke in hushed voices.
    After a long pause, Ringgold locked eyes with Beckham and said, “I’ve lost everything. My family. My staff. Every friend I ever knew. But the one thing I still have is my ability to communicate and to read people. I’ve built a career on those two things.”
    Smith raised his voice, but Beckham kept his gaze on Ringgold. He remembered the treaty she’d helped negotiate between Palestine and Israel a year back when she’d first been elected Secretary of State. No one had believed she could get it done, but she did, and had helped bring peace to a sliver of land in the Middle East that hadn’t seen it for centuries.
    “I saw something in you back at Raven Rock, Master Sergeant. Something that’s rare in men. I’m going to trust my gut on this one and believe your story. But before I contact President Mitchell and lay our cards on the table, I need to know something.”
    Beckham waited, his heart thumping so hard it felt like it was going to break through his ribs and plop on the table.
    “I need to know if you can protect me here,” Ringgold said.
    Beckham considered looking over at Chow and Horn. Instead, he nodded confidently. “I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety, Madam Secretary.”
    “Good enough.”
    Before Beckham could reply, Smith interrupted.
    “About that call to President Mitchell,” he said.
    Secretary Ringgold twisted in her chair. “Yes, Major.”
    “Corporal Hook just got word from Cheyenne Mountain. They are evacuating. The Variants have found the complex.”

    K ate spent the majority of the day with Ellis in the lab that housed the bioreactors. Her only break had been Lieutenant Colonel Jensen’s funeral. Since then, she’d struggled to focus on work. She tried to shake away the thoughts of his death, but every time she tried to concentrate, she saw Wood shooting Jensen in the chest. The shock of it all would come crashing back over her.
    Kate walked through the labs to the north end of Building 1. The bioreactors were kept in a room sealed off from the other labs. When Kate had first seen the twelve one-thousand-liter reactors, she hadn’t been sure what