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precautionary measure, nothing more. We
have every reason to believe the base will be suitable for our
needs.”
    Voices erupted from the crowd. Who goes
first? How will we know the base is safe? How soon does the task
force leave?
    Vince struggled to regain control. “Four
people including the doctor will go with Martin on his way home.
They’ll stay in complete and constant radio contact with us, and we
should know if the base is all right in a matter of days. As to
when they will be leaving, that hasn’t been established yet. We
need a bit more time to prepare.”
    “What is it we should know about Martin?”
Chris asked, his tone so hostile and unforgiving it cut clearly
through the others. If he was supposed to trust this stranger with
his daughter’s life, he damned sure wanted to know everything about
him. Especially with the way the man had stared at her when they’d
first met.
    Vince didn’t want to answer Chris’s question,
considering the way the informal meeting was headed. Disclosing the
problems with Martin’s installation had changed the mood of the
crowd from hope to something approaching heartbreak and anger. But
Vince knew he had little choice now. Chris had put him on the spot,
and there was no way to back out.
    He shot Martin a troubled glance, but the
man—or whatever he was—was too new to such subtle human warnings to
catch it.
    Martin stepped forward boldly, looking out
into the sea of faces. “My name is Martin Kier. I have come to help
you in any way that I can. However, you should know I am not human
in the normal use of the word.”
    A new wave of murmurs ran through the
gathering, and everyone looked to Vince to see his reaction. He
nodded, and shouts filled the room, ranging in tone from anger to
utter confusion.
    “Wait!” Vince yelled. “Wait! Just hear him
out, okay? He’s not crazy.”
    “No,” Martin said as the room fell quiet. “I
am a biogenetically-created weapon, created by your own government
in secret. I am the prototype for what was to be a new breed of
soldier, which would end the need for this country’s men and women
to die in battle. I have survived the undead nightmare we live in
just as you have, though I was left alone. Everyone from my
creators to my guards perished. Until your Daniel contacted me, I
believed the human race to be extinct. I was made to serve you, and
now I can do my duty. I will see you all safely from this place,
this I swear.”
    At that precise moment, the doorway to the
cafeteria crashed open, and Jack, Mitchell and their small band of
cronies entered. All of them were armed. “Cut the shit, Mr. Kier,”
Jack said. “Don’t believe a word he says. He’s either insane, or
worse, the first of a military assault on this building.”
    “Jack...” Vince held up a hand and tried to
reason with him, but Jack hit him in the face with a loaded
revolver. The blow knocked Vince to the floor.
    “That’ll be quite enough from you today,
Vince. You and Laura may buy into his crap, but not me. I’m not
going to stand by and let him destroy everything we’ve worked
for.”
    Martin seemed to vanish. One second he was
standing beside Vince, the next he was twisting Jack’s arm behind
his back. The gun clattered from Jack’s grasp and his arm snapped
as Martin turned him like a shield toward Mitchell and the others.
Jack cried out until Martin slapped a palm over his mouth.
    “Stop this madness!” Martin shouted. “I have
no wish to harm any of you, but I will if you force my hand.”
    Mitchell blinked, trying to process what had
just happened. He motioned to the rest of the men to hold their
fire.
    Jack managed to shake off the effects of the
pain. He turned his head to look at Martin, who removed his hand
from Jack’s mouth.
    “How did you...” Jack began.
    “I am what I say I am,” Martin replied. “Do
you yield?”
    Jack nodded and Martin released him as Vince
fought to calm everyone down. Jack’s betrayal he could deal