Jason drove his elbow up into Crawford's jaw, then landed a smashing head-b.u.t.t on the bridge of his nose. Blood sprayed everywhere. Jason grabbed for Crawford's right forearm and pushed the M-16 away. Shots sprayed wildly into the cave's vault. Then with all his might, Jason pressed the forearm longways over the metal rail - kept pushing down until he heard bones snap. Dazed, Crawford yelped in pain, thrashing viciously. The M-16 slipped out from his grip, tumbled over the railing and disappeared.

Crawford brought his left elbow down between Jason's shoulder blades directly on the spine. He followed it up with a knee to Jason's face.

Jason reeled, stumbled backwards and collapsed on to the platform.

Crawford used his left hand to yank the knife out from Hazo's shoulder. Hazo screamed in anguish as blood began spilling out from the unplugged wound.

Jason sprang to his feet and squared off with Crawford.

'Still got some fight left, eh?' Crawford said, grinning deviously. His misshapen right arm dangled limply at his side, and he clutched the defiled knife in his left hand.

'Plenty,' Jason said, wiping blood from a gash over his left eye.

'You're gonna need it, boy,' Crawford warned, with a menacing thrust of the knife. He eyed the spinning numbers on the nuke's console. 'You can't stop this now,' he said. 'Even I can't override the countdown.'

'I'm not asking you to stop it,' Jason replied, crouching in a wrestling stance.

'You're a c.o.c.ky son of a b.i.t.c.h, aren't you?' Crawford said. 'But tell me, Yaeger ... when you found Al-Zahrani drowned in his own filth, didn't you just love it?'

Jason didn't answer.

'Must have been thrilling to see him go like that.' Crawford kept low and shifted side to side. 'All that horrible suffering. After what he did to your brother, it must've tickled your d.i.c.k.'

'You don't know s.h.i.t about my brother.'

Crawford tested Yaeger's reflexes with another thrust of the knife. Jason pulled back nimbly. 'But I know plenty about you you, Yaeger,' he said. 'You want revenge. You want blood. And here I am handing you retribution wrapped in a bow ... and you're fighting me? You want this just as bad as me. These rats ... this plague ... it's the answer to all our problems.'

'A plague won't stop fanaticism. It's not a solution. Nothing that can kill so many innocent people is a solution.'

'That's not the way I see it,' replied Crawford.

Jason tipped his head towards the nuke. 'Time's fleeting. Best make your move now if you think you might have a chance at saving your pets.' He could see in Crawford's frenzied gaze that a bleak realization was taking hold.

Crawford stepped closer, forcing Jason to back-step to the open edge of the platform near the ladder.

Then something popped up over the lip of the platform and a bright light suddenly flashed in Crawford's eyes, making him raise his left hand to shield them.

Jason sprang at Crawford, grabbed his flak jacket with both hands and planted his right foot in Crawford's stomach. He tugged the colonel forward while dropping his back on to the platform in a somersault and using the momentum to flip Crawford upwards. He thrust his legs and the colonel launched over the edge of the platform.

Clinging to the ladder with the flashlight in his hand, Meat ducked as Crawford went airborne.

'No-o-o-o-!' Crawford yelled as he did a full twist. He landed hard on his back. His head smacked against the rocky ground, but the helmet spared his skull from being split open. The rats immediately retreated from the repeller so that a wide circle opened up around him.

Meat pointed the light down at him. The colonel's body was contorted into a pretzel shape. The left leg was bent completely sideways; the right arm pinned beneath the torso. With his left arm, however, he was struggling to retrieve the M-16 that had landed just out of reach. There was no movement below the waist. 'That's gonna leave a mark.'

'Thanks,' Jason said, holding a hand out for Meat.

'What are friends for?' Meat said, clasping Jason's hand and stepping up on to the platform.

'Aaaaaaah!' Crawford screamed in frustration, his outstretched left arm still half a metre from the rifle. He glared at his ruined legs, trying to will a response. But there was zero movement. 'd.a.m.n it, Yaeger! You broke my f.u.c.king back!'

'What's the matter ... colonel's got a boo-boo?' Meat cajoled.

'We can't mess around, Meat,' Jason said. 'We don't have much time.'

81.

'Hey, buddy,' Jason said, kneeling beside Hazo. He used his knife to cut Hazo's wrist free from the railing. Hazo's complexion was sickly and trickles of blood were dribbling from his nostrils and ears. 'Looks like you've had a tough time since we've been gone.'

'I do not feel so well, Jason,' Hazo muttered, his eyes distant and cloudy.

'We're going to get you out of here. Are you able to stand?'

'No. I'm too dizzy.'

'I'll carry you.'

'No ... no.'

'Fine,' Jason said. 'Meat will carry you.'

Hazo managed a thin smile, waved his hand dismissively. 'Is it true that Al-Zahrani is dead?' he asked, looking directly into Jason's eyes.

Jason couldn't lie. 'Yeah, buddy. He's dead.'

'This disease killed him? This plague that is inside me?'

Jason hesitated. 'We didn't find him in time. We weren't able to treat him.'

'Is there a treatment, Jason?' Hazo asked, his voice weak. there a treatment, Jason?' Hazo asked, his voice weak.

Jason didn't know what to say. The medic was dead and according to Tommy Flaherty, Stokes had indicated that there was no vaccine. Finally, with his heart in his throat, he shook his head.

'Can I spread this to others?'

Jason swallowed hard and felt a surge of emotion fill his chest. He could tell that Hazo already knew the answer, but needed him to make peace with it. 'Yes.'

'Then I must stay here. You know that.'

A feeling of utter helplessness wrenched Jason, made his head numb. He'd already lost two men today.

'Jason, we've got a problem,' Meat said, monitoring the scene below. 'The rats. They're moving closer.' He also noticed that the tiny yellow light on Crawford's walkie-talkie that had been blinking in a steady rhythm had now turned to a sporadic pulse. 'I think Crawford's gizmo got a good jolt when he hit the ground. Looks like it's fading out.'

Jason glanced at the nuke's digital counter. Fifteen minutes, eight seconds. There was no way they could carry Hazo outside in time. And with a broken back, Crawford wouldn't be making it out either. Unfortunately, there'd also be no time to interrogate the colonel.

'Hazo's right,' Meat said. 'We don't have much time. And there's no way we can allow these rats to get out of here. Let the nuke do its job. It's the best option we've got to stop this thing from spreading.'

Jason nodded and turned his attention back to Hazo. 'You're a great man, Hazo. Your family will be very proud when I tell them what you've done.'

Meat peered down at Crawford again and his eyes went wide. Though the colonel had given up on the M-16, he was now using his good arm to make a play for the apple-sized grenades clipped to his vest. 'Oh you f.u.c.ker,' Meat hissed, baring his teeth. 'Don't even think about it!' He raised his rifle, took careful aim at Crawford and squeezed off three rounds. One of the rounds split the colonel's wrist, the other two sank deep into the bulletproof flak jacket.

Crawford bellowed out in pain and spewed a string of obscenities at Meat.

'And that goes double for you too,' Meat replied, grinning.

'Thank you, Jason,' Hazo said. 'Thank you for showing me hope when I saw nothing but despair. When I meet my father again, it will be with dignity. Now you must go. Please.'

82.

Meat descended the ladder while monitoring the scene directly below: rats streaming up and down the ramp leading into the container, as if staging a raid.

'Make sure you don't get bit,' Jason warned, as he gripped the ladder's side rails and swung his foot out on to the top rung.

'Duh,' Meat muttered. Reaching the lowest rung, he leaped out over the horde and landed safely in the shrinking circle of clear ground that surrounded Crawford.

When Jason looked over at the colonel, he couldn't believe what he saw. Crawford was now hammer-swinging his mangled hand at his walkie-talkie, trying to smash it. 'Meat! Stop him!'

Meat dashed over to the colonel and grabbed the thrashing arm with both hands. 'Give it up, Crawford!'

'f.u.c.k you!' the colonel seethed, grimacing from the pain.

Cranking the arm down, Meat dropped his knees on to it, pinning it hopelessly to the ground.

Jason jumped down off the ladder and came up behind Meat.

Crawford's entire body quaked from the adrenaline coursing through his system. 'You don't know what you're doing!' he ranted madly. 'Don't let them them win! It's them or us! Don't you see?!' win! It's them or us! Don't you see?!'

'Yeah, yeah ...' Meat said, s.n.a.t.c.hing the blood-covered walkie-talkie from Crawford's belt. 'I'll take this, thanks.' He tossed it to Jason.

Crawford spat in Meat's face. 'You're a disgrace!'

Using his sleeve to wipe the saliva from his cheek, Meat replied sarcastically, 'And aren't you just sweet as a cupcake?'

'Take his grenades too,' Jason said.

Meat plucked the three grenades from Crawford's flak jacket and clipped them to his own belt.

Meanwhile, Jason went over to retrieve Crawford's fumbled Bowie knife, which had landed within inches of the advancing wall of vermin. Crouching to grab the knife, he stared at the mind-boggling infestation - a sea of beady eyes filled with unnatural bloodl.u.s.t. He was certain that plague DNA alone couldn't account for the rats' wild behaviour. What had Stokes been feeding them? He stood and paced over to Crawford.

'You're responsible for quite a few deaths today, Crawford,' Jason said. 'Mostly good men who believed in you ... trusted you. That's a lot of blood on your hands. As far as I see it, it's high time for you to pay for what you've done.' He dropped the knife on to Crawford's chest. 'You can keep that, tough guy. See how well you do against them.' He motioned to the rats. 'Capeesh?'

Crawford's jaw jutted out, his eyes boiling with rage and defeat.

'Come on, Jason. Let's get outta here,' Meat said, motioning to the entry tunnel.

'Just a sec,' Jason said. He unclipped the light from Crawford's M-16 and set it on the ground to illuminate the spot.

'Wh- ... what are you doing?' Crawford demanded.

Slowly backing away, Jason grinned while holding up the sputtering walkie-talkie. With each step, the ultrasonic barrier retreated from Crawford and the hungry rats encroached a few inches more into the circular void - countless hungry eyes glinting red in the light.

The colonel tried desperately to grip the Bowie knife with only the limited function of a thumb and a pinkie. The blade slid off his chest and landed just out of reach. 'Aaaaaaah!' He propped himself up on his good elbow, and tried to drag his crippled body away from the rats. That didn't work either.

'Hazo!' Jason called out.

'Yes, Jason. I'm still here,' came the Kurd's weak reply from high up on the platform.

'Can you see this?' He glanced up at the platform and saw Hazo's head pop into view.

'Yes.'

'This is for you, buddy. G.o.dspeed, my friend.' Jason took another step back. The rats spilled over Crawford's paralysed legs and began feeding.

Crawford screamed b.l.o.o.d.y murder. 'd.a.m.n you, Yaeger!'

Holding the flashlight to his watch, Meat reported, 'We only have twelve minutes left.' But he could tell that Jason was determined to make the colonel suffer.

Jason paused for a long moment to let Crawford wallow in terror. Then he took another step backwards. The rats scurried up the colonel's thighs and genitals, clawing viciously, gnashing and tearing away flesh in chunks. Crawford couldn't yet feel the pain, but the sheer horror that showed in his eyes consumed the last ounce of his bravado.

Jason counted slowly to ten. Another step backwards brought the rats over the colonel's chest. They chewed wildly at his flak jacket, digging for flesh. When they attacked the mangled arm still trapped under his torso, the unG.o.dly pain finally registered. Shrieking in agony, Crawford swatted madly at them with his other arm, but the effort was futile.

After another ten-count, Jason took a further step back.

Now the rats fought for the tender flesh of the colonel's neck, ears and face. Crawford's thrashing arm, thick with clinging rats, was now useless. When he screamed one last time, a rat buried itself in his throat, while two more clawed at his eyes. The body went into spasm.

Satisfied, Jason dashed towards the tunnel where Meat stood anxiously waiting.

The black wave crashed over Crawford's body.

'Feel better now?' Meat said.

'Much,' Jason said, setting the transmitter on the ground just inside the narrow entryway. 'That should hold them back long enough. Now let's get the h.e.l.l out of here!'