"Rheka, you must go." "I will do what I have to." "You must come back and retrieve it later." "It will speak." "There is no other choice." "This is my duty." "Now, please." "...Kali." "I see him." "This way!" "Hey!" "Well, well, you led us on a merry dance, didn't you, huh?" "No... crap." "What is it?" "It's not in him anymore, is it?" "Look at him." "Where'd you put it?" "Hey, hey, hey." "He's not going to answer." "When the bug leaves the body, you die." "It's part of the deal, and it's been in him for a Iong, long time." "Help him out, will you?" "Okay, people, moving on." "Spread out." "He must have passed the bug on to somebody." "Wait." "The old lady he was running with." "Find her." "Arigato." "Onryuji-san, what happened?" "Suki's never done anything like this before." " Suki?" " Giant lizard creature." "Oh." "She's usually so docile." "He can't understand it." "No one was hurt, but there was much panic." "People running through the streets, screaming." "Wow, just like in the movie." "No." "Nothing like a movie." "Where is she now?" "She's been sedated offshore while we build an enclosure on one of our islands." "Last night she was fine, this morning all of a sudden, it's like a switch was turned on." "Okay, so a giant lizard creature loose in Tokyo." "How we going to spin this?" "So?" "Well, it looks like our spin is holding up." "Anyone who saw Suki now thinks it's part of some big Hollywood blockbuster shooting down by the harbor." "Good." "I'm getting pressure from New York to keep this story quiet." "Our new head of house there, Terrance Wexford, is very keen on making his mark." "You're under pressure?" "What's that about?" "Nothing." "Everything's fine." "Listen, Magnus, I know you, okay?" "I know when something's up." "I promise you, when the time comes, you will be the person that I talk to, all right?" " Henry." " Sorry to bother you, Doc." "Got some breaking news out of London." "What is it?" "I'm patching through a video right now." "What is that?" "Dear God." "London calling." "Well, we caught her, but as you can see, she's still a little riled up." "We just came back from Tokyo." "They had a similar problem with Suki." "What happened?" "She went psycho, broke out of her enclosure for no apparent reason." "Now, I've received dispatches from Sydney, Rio, and Lagos." "all of them are reporting similar incidents." "In each case, one or two abnormals suddenly started acting up, out of the blue, no warning." "What is causing this?" "No idea, but we'd better figure it out, and quickly." "So far we've been lucky no one's been seriously hurt, but that won't be the case forever." "It could be a virus, like Lazarus last year." "Maybe, but this is a very select group of abnormals, and the behavior response is totally different." "Lazarus triggered violence." "This, whatever it is, is causing outright fear." "A change in atmosphere?" "No way." "Our satellite feeds would have detected something like that." "Besides, the Peruvian Seppulus is incredibly sensitive to these kind of fluctuations, and yet Lima's reported no problems." "Which leaves us with sound." "Something sub-sonic?" "Doubtful." "Pterodactyls have a high tolerance for that." "Can I just say that arguing over the cause at this point in time is useless." "We need to initiate an immediate global alert." "We're not there yet, Terrance." "Only a handful of abnormals have been affected so far." "almost causing a panic in London and Tokyo." "Why risk further exposure?" "Dr. Magnus, I've just received a report." "A giant sand ray has been found in the desert a hundred kilometers east of Minya, dead." "Surfaced inexplicably." "This is the middle of its hibernation cycle." "all right, everyone, please, let's not panic." "There has to be a reason that this is happening." "We just have to remain vigilant until we can figure out what it is." "In the meantime, survey your sentient abnormals, and keep tabs on the rest." "Report any changes in behavior to Declan immediately." "Dr. Magnus, I must insist" "That's all." "Thank you." "I'm sorry, Dr. Magnus?" "Yes, Ravi, what is it?" "I'm not sure if this falls under our purview, but I thought it was worth mentioning." "A man was found shot dead in Dharavi." "He had the mark of Kali on his left leg." "Kali?" "Yeah, it's an ancient cult dating back 5,000 years." "Its followers were rumored to be able to foretell disaster." "So they're abnormals?" "We've no idea." "We've never actually made contact with them." "I appreciate it, Ravi." "Thank you." "I'll be in touch." "So, what do you think?" "You think this Kali thing ties in?" "I've no idea." "This situation's so fractured, anything, no matter how insignificant, could be a factor." "What?" "You want me to go to Mumbai?" "I have to stay here and manage this situation." "You mean manage Wexford." "Yeah, you picked up on that, did you?" "Yeah, just a little." "Okay." "Take Kate with you to Mumbai." "It'll be fun." "'PWe're going on a trip," he says." "'PIt'll be fun!" he says." "'PPlease stop talking for two minutes," he says." "Hey, I have just been on a plane for 1 5 hours." "I am entitled to a little complaining." "Yeah, well, try flying through Tokyo and London first, and then we'll talk." "Dr. Zimmerman, Miss Freelander." "Namaste." "I am Dr. Ganapathiraman." "Hi, Dr..." "Doctor." "I'm Will." "Then you must call me Ravi." " Thank God." " l'Il be Kate." "Kate." "Pavitar. 'PPure.'P" "No, just Kate." "I have rooms ready for you if you need to rest." " Absolutely" " No, actually, we're fine." "Why don't we just get started?" "Moving fast in Mumbai?" "That's a bad idea." "What are we, here on vacation?" "Bring on the heat." "Female." "You can tell by the markings." "Hmm, yes." "Oh, young, too." "Maybe 60, 70 years old?" "Damn, there aren't that many of these left." "I've arranged for a helicopter transport to Cairo." "We should do a biopsy on the wings, tail, and cephalic lobe, send them to London." "Declan can do a full work-up, see if there's any link to the other abnormals." "Any chance we can get access to the victim?" "We're in good with the local authorities." "They've given us the crime scene, and I've arranged with the coroner to "borrow" the body for a window of time." "Should be delivered to the Sanctuary this afternoon." "The cops have anything yet?" "Still haven't lD'd the body." "They think this was just another drug deal gone bad." "I don't think so." "Talk to me, William." "Well, the spatter angle seems very long." "I mean, do you think slum gangbangers carry that heavy a caliber?" "Doubtful." "Cheaper the gun, smaller the bullet." "I'm thinking... military issue." "These are new treads." "It's a recent acquisition." "Yeah, those kicks cost." "Okay, so... some dudes with expensive boots and even more expensive guns were here." "So not a local job, then." "Well..." "I'm saying no." "Not unless the locals buy their guns direct from the manufacturer." "Armor-piercing 9 mil." "Still jagged." "Russian." "Pricey." "You thought I was just a token Indian, didn't you?" "Okay, so, all of this points to a professional, if not military-style hit." "Why?" "I mean, who is this guy?" "And what did they want from him?" "Or this cult he belonged to?" "Hey, Ravi, what's this?" "Ah, a shrine to the Goddess Durga." "They're fairly common." "Okay." "So the witnesses say that the victim was being chased, but he had a good head start." "There's lots of ways out of this alley." " Why did he stop here?" " 'Cause he was headed this way?" "Yeah." "Hey, what do you make of this?" "Nice call." "Uh, Dr. Zimmerman..." "Will Z. with the score." "You guys are good." "Is that supposed to be there?" "No." "Huh..." "Let's get this back to the Sanctuary." "Helicopter is a half an hour out." "Apparently, they had some problems with navigations." "That's all right." "It's giving me a chance to study these samples." "What do you make of this?" "Evidence of nociception." "Exactly." "This creature was in pain." "Which explains the fear reaction, but what caused it?" "I still don't know." "I have to compare notes with Declan when I get back to London." "Pili?" "You worked with Terrance Wexford in Berlin, right?" "Yes." "How do you think he's enjoying his new post?" "I think he's enjoying the authority of it immensely." "I see." "Thank you, Pili." "You think this was hidden by the dead guy?" "Or someone else." "Or it means nothing." "We'll run some scans, see what turns up." "Kate, Indian military has no record of any personnel operating in Dharavi during the time of the murder." "Okay, so we're looking for career mercenaries, ex-military." "I'll send out a few emails, see if any KR or blackwater guys were in town." "No trace on the casing we found?" "None, but we do have an ID on the victim, one Ajay Paveljit." "No immediate family." "No fixed address." " Huh." " The body's downstairs." "We're ready to start the autopsy." "Wow, I am, uh, jetlagged." "I think I better turn in, but why don't you do the autopsy, and we'll just go over the results tomorrow?" "I thought he was a doctor." "He is, just not the kind that likes autopsies." "Hey, wake up!" "Don't make me come in there." "No, seriously, don't make me come in there." "Hey!" "Wow." "Next time you should actually try sleeping." "Oh, I don't know..." "I guess it's the 22 time zones in two days." "Well, snap out of it." "Ravi's downstairs." "He says he's got something." "all right, I'll be down in a minute." "Tests on the statue came back clean." "There's nothing unusual about it, however..." "I completed the autopsy on Mr. Paveljit." "According to his DNA scan, he's human, so imagine my surprise when I examined his internal organs and found evidence that he was over 200 years old." "What?" "But his DNA is normal?" " You're sure?" " Absolutely." "He's 100% human." "I ran the test three times to be sure." "Crafty son of a bitch." "Stares down the barrel of a gun not 20 feet away from where he hid the bloody thing." "That's devotion." "So where is it now?" "Well, often, that's a good question." "Any sign of the old woman, or the statue?" "No?" "This one said he saw someone take the statue, a man." "Was he a white man like me?" " Yeah." " Yeah?" "Competition." "Hmm." "Magnus's people." "It would be so crappy if they got to the bug before us." "Lads, this just got more difficult." "How was Egypt?" "Tiring, and what's the other word I'm looking for?" "Ah, yes, sandy." "What's been happening here?" "Well, you'Il be pleased to hear that most of the affected abnormals have calmed down substantially." "Whatever was causing the flare-up seems to have dissipated somewhat." "Well, that's a relief." "These are the locations where the events took place." "London, Tokyo, Sydney, Rio, Lagos, and Cairo." "There doesn't appear to be a common link between them." "No pattern that I can discern." "You're saying all these places were affected at the same time?" "Yeah, roughly, why?" "Well, if it was some kind of trigger, it would have to be very strong and moving very quickly." "An EM pulse of some kind." "Maybe." "But that doesn't align with the symptoms we're seeing." "Exactly." "I mean, none of the abnormals we're dealing with are usually affected by EM spikes." "Not to mention, I don't know anything powerful enough to send a pulse worldwide like that." "Still, I'll have Henry go over the satellite data." "There must be something we're missing." "You were right about the pulse." "Chinese weather satellite caught a trace of a unique energy signature right around the time the incidents began, but I followed it to this." "It's an EM pulse originating in Mumbai, right in the heart of Dharavi." "Dear God." "Yeah, that's pretty much what I said." "So, what do you think it means?" "That this is somehow connected to the Cult of Kali." "And voila." "Drink this." "Thanks." "I don't know what's wrong with me." "I feel like I'm dying or something." "Maybe it's something you ate." "You know, the first time I was here," "I had a samosa off the street cart." "I barfed for, Iike, two days straight" "Okay, thank you." "That's great." "Wow." "Maybe you should go back and lie down." "Yeah, maybe that's a good idea." "Do you want me to come with you?" "No, thanks, I'm fine." "Why don't you just keep asking about the cult?" "You sure you're okay?" "Yeah..." "Yeah, I think I just need to sleep." "Quickly!" "They're coming!" "Shelter!" "They must not find him." "You lost him?" "No, he wasn't feeling well, so he headed back to the Sanctuary early." "Did you check the hospitals?" "Nobody fits his description." "What about his cell phone?" "We tracked it using the GPS." "Found it in a ditch." "I've organized a search." "We have people going door-to-door." "Don't worry, we'll find him." "Show me this statue you found." "Kate?" "He's out there, which means I am too." "We just found out, sir." "She only landed here 90 minutes ago." "Bribe an official." "Get a passenger manifest." "You can't just come to me and say," "'PGuess what, Boss, she's suddenly in town."" "Sir, she flies a private charter with a bogus flight plan." "There's no way we could have known" "Enough, enough." "I mean, this- this isn't a game." "It's a one-shot, once-in-a-lifetime thing." "Some mooks from the local Sanctuary, one thing." "Helen Magnus?" "Whoa, she's another, and it means if we screw up, even marginally, we're going to get pinched, or die, or worse." "No more surprises." "It commemorates the Ceremony of Acceptance." "You recognize it?" "From a conference in Brazil about 40 years ago." "Markings are similar, signifying a cult member's initiation as a Doot." "'PDoot?" I don't know that word." "Ancient Urdu dialect meaning 'Pherald" or "guardian,"" "or in some translations, 'Pprophet"." "It was believed that the Doots could foretell disaster-- earthquakes, tsunamis, and the like-- and that the advance warning gave the other cult members a chance to escape." "Seems like someone with that ability would be worth more alive than dead." "Definitely." "You're sure there was nothing inside these?" "They're completely solid." "Scans for surface residue are still pending." "Huh..." "The pattern inside here changes, the design loses symmetry." "Something's missing." "Durga, where have you been?" "I've been looking for you." "I tried to call, but you didn't answer." "What's wrong?" "Are you sick?" "What's happened to you?" "Why won't you answer me?" "Will he survive?" " I don't believe it." " What?" "Tests show surface residue on the statue came from a Makri." "I'm not familiar with that species." "You wouldn't be." "It's an incredibly rare species of abnormal spider that requires a warm-blooded host to survive." "I thought they were extinct." "Something that rare would be very valuable" "Oh, no." "This isn't about money." "This is about something far worse." "The Makri is a subspecies off-shoot of a marine-dwelling abnormal known as Gephallis bertallosso." "It's a massive arachnid creature capable of manipulating tectonic plates via focused magnetic resonance." "You're talking about Big Bertha." "The one who makes the earth move." "And the waters rise." "The Makri is its tiny genetic cousin." "They may well have a link, a chemical, or even psychic bond that allows the host a deeper connection to Big Bertha." "So if anyone finds this Makri" "They could potentially use it to locate the most powerful abnormal on Earth." "Wait, but Big Bertha is dead." "You killed her four years ago, yes?" "We all know that." "Dr. Magnus?" "Not exactly." "You kept her alive and lied about it?" "Historically, creatures as powerful as Big Bertha have a symbiotic relationship with other life forms on this planet." "I felt that euthanizing her would create far greater problems." "Tidal patterns would be altered, undersea ecological systems completely destroyed, massive geological shifts." "The best course of action was to keep her secure and under watch." "Killing her posed far greater risks than keeping her alive." "Where is she?" "A specialized containment field at the bottom of the Indian Ocean." "Which you kept hidden from the entire Sanctuary" "It was necessary!" "To keep her and the rest of the world safe." "It was my prerogative, Ravi." "My choice." "Okay." "Fine." "We need to dispatch ships immediately, increase security to the entire area" "Of course." "I'll get Henry on it." "He'll coordinate, but we need to find Will." "If the Makri behaves the way I believe it does, then it could well be a doorway into finding Bertha's location, which is no doubt what the mercenaries were after when they killed Mr. Paveljit." "What happened to me?" "You went away for a while, but now you're back." "Why did I get sick?" "Because of the Makri, the ancient spider inside you." "The former host, Ajay, was being chased by bad men." "He hid the Makri in the shrine of Durga." "You found it." "You were not supposed to." "But why did it" "The Makri needs a host." "When it doesn't have one, it speaks for all the world to hear." "It chose you, which is a great honor." "I should get back to the Sanctuary." "The streets are not safe." "For that matter, the Sanctuary may not be either." "You must stay hidden until you get proper training." "Trained?" "To become a suitable host." "It is in the blood of my people to withstand the trials of the Makri." "You are strong, but you are far from being ready." "Helen, news travels fast." "Terrance." "You kept Bertha alive after all we discussed." "It was necessary." "And I appreciate your opinion, but things have changed considerably." "Do you have any leads?" "At the moment, we're at a bit of a disadvantage, but Bertha is secure, I assure you." "And let's hope she stays that way." "You're certain this Makri is linked to her?" "We are now." "Let me come to Mumbai, help you analyze everything you've learned." "You don't need to do that." "Besides, you've got your hands full in New York." "You have my complete support, Helen, you always have, but people are questioning your judgment." "I can handle it." "I hope so." "What is the Makri?" "It's what gives you your power." "My power?" "To be a Doot, a prophet." "It is through you that the destroyer of the world communicates with us." "Kali..." "She is extremely powerful." "Without the Makri to help us speak to her, we'Il be as helpless as leaves in the wind." "That's the woman of my visions." "That's Kali." "You're seeing her already?" "Then your connection must be very strong." "What are we going to do?" "Run and hide." "Go, go, go, go, go." "Check in there." "We've got search ships moving into the area now." "We should be at Bertha's coordinates in six hours or less." "Good." "I want you on a plane immediately with the weapon." "We'll monitor her sensors from here." "Yeah, about that." "Just so you know, I went over the sensor logs." "You know how she's supposedly been asleep this whole time?" "Well, guess what happened at roughly the same time as the Mumbai EM pulse?" "She responded to the call of the Makri." "Yeah." "She emitted a magnetic burst so low in frequency that the sensors didn't detect it until I did a full scan, but it was powerful enough to briefly alter the earth's magnetic field." "Magnetic north was shifted by one hundred-thousandth of a degree." "Navigation instruments all over the world were affected." "Doc, that is power." "Let's go, come on Let's go." "Well, who said good things don't happen to good people, huh?" "Dr. Will Zimmerman?" "And you..." "Oh, I've been looking for you for years." "If I'm not mistaken, you're the last surviving member of the cult of Kali." "You're too old to withstand it, so the spider's got to be in him." "Please, you must not do this." "Are you kidding?" "Is she kidding?" "Of course I must." "This is huge!" "Hmm?" "I was sure your boss was going to find you before I did, so I think this is kismet." "Karma." "Fate." "all that stuff." "Get that set up." "Who are you?" "Who, me?" "Just a guy... with lots of money, and people." "I like to get my hands on rare stuff, you know?" "Why, did you think I was someone a bit cooler?" "An abnormal?" "Hmm?" "Don't I wish it." "But you just wait." "What are you..." "What are you going to do to me?" "You mean you haven't worked it out yet?" "Okay, so you know that little thing inside of you?" "It's like a dial-an-earthquake in a box." "You see, you are..." "psychically connected to" "Kali." "Yeah." "Well, I was going to say Big Bertha, but sure." "Big Bertha?" "And Kali..." "One and the same." "I know, I know, you thought she was dead." "So did everybody thanks to Sheriff Magnus." "But she's still alive and kicking, and whoever has that bug inside of them..." "They control her." "So, my friend here is going to hit you with a Iow-frequency magnetic pulse, and I'm not going to lie to you, that little thing is not going to like it." "No, not one little bit..." "But to tell you the truth, it's the only way to get the bug out, all right?" "So... sorry, Will." "Wait a second." "Just hold on a second." "Hold it, hold it!" "What have you done?" "Relax, he's perfectly okay." "You just need to send your signal out, don't you, little buddy, before you're ready for your new home." "Henry's en route." "Good." "I need a detailed list of all naval traffic within a 500-kilometer radius of the coordinates around Bertha" "What is it?" "Satellites just picked up a disturbance in Mumbai." "It's the EM pulse again." "The Makri." "It's coming from a warehouse about six kilometers northeast of here." "We need to let Kate know." "I will." "The pulse went global." "They've probably detected it by now." "I need a few minutes." "Start packing up." "Copy that." "Start packing up!" "You're not prepared for this." "I've been training for years for this moment." "Rocky on the courthouse steps." "I know all about you people." "I've mimicked your diet, oxygen levels, nutrients." "I've mastered your meditation." "I've opened more chakras than you can shake a stick at." "Oh, Bibi..." "No, I'm prepared." "You cannot force the Makri to take you as a host." "It must choose." "Oh, the whole religious bit." "Ceremony of Acceptance, commune with the Gods, tinky winky woo-woo." "I've read all about that." "There's more to it than you know." "It's a bug!" "It needs a host." "It's science." "I have a sensor alert from Bertha's containment location." "What?" "Movement." "I see it." "Can you compensate, flood the area with sedative?" "already done." "Her system's beating it." "bloody hell, they found her." "Sir, it's happening." "Lock onto her tracking beacon." "Got it." "Is she emitting any magnetic energy?" "No." "Are any of our ships close?" "Nearest vessels are 29 kilometers out." "It's not good enough." "They're tracking her." "What about their ships?" "Two Sanctuary vessels within 30 K." "Watch this." "Magnus, what's happening?" "I don't know." "I've lost telemetry on Bertha." "I don't have a position." "Neither do I." "Magnetic burst just scrambled their system, sir." "Two Sanctuary ships dead in the water." " And their homing beacon?" " Disabled." "Could be interference." "Reboot the system." "Kate, what's your position?" "We're almost there." "Sorry..." "Really." "It's just business." "Go to hell." "Sir, we've got Sanctuary personnel in the vicinity." "They're closing in." "Okay, people, let's get the hell out of this hole!" "Put her in the van." "What about him?" "He's already dead." "Converge on the warehouse." "Converge on the warehouse!" "Reboot is complete." "I've lost all satellite data for the region." "Well, get it back!" "I can't." "Dammit." "They used her to blind us." "They've got Big Bertha." "Oh, Will..." "Oh, God..." "Call Magnus." " No pulse." " Oh, God." "Come on." "Come on, Will."