DR. CATALYST PULLED INTO THE TASKER MIDDLE SCHOOL parking lot. The darkened sky was awash with the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. Before leaving his hotel room, he’d grabbed a black Windbreaker with FBI written across the back, and threw it on. He always kept several sets of fake identities and uniforms handy, including authentic-looking credentials. Driving through the city streets, he parked the truck at the emergency perimeter set up around Tasker Middle School. Approaching the barricade and keeping his damaged right arm in his pocket, he flashed his credentials to the policeman who was manning the barricade and speaking into a two-way. His name tag said STUKACZOWSKI.

“My name is Agent Winchester, out of the Miami office,” Dr. Catalyst said. “I heard your alert as I was driving back to the city. Thought I’d stop and see if there was something I could do to help.”

Lieutenant Stukaczowski looked hard at the badge and then up at Dr. Catalyst.

“We’ve got a situation here. Have you heard about that Dr. Catalyst creep?”

Dr. Catalyst tried hard not to smile. “Only what I read in the papers and hear around the office. I usually work on cyber-crime cases.”

“Yeah, well, he’s a real nutcase. He’s got some kind of genetically altered bats he’s let loose now, and some of them have gotten inside the school. There was a band concert tonight and a lot of the critters went after the kids and their parents. It’s chaos. Thirty people injured so far,” Lieutenant Stukaczowski said.

“What a madman,” Dr. Catalyst said.

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” Stukaczowski said.

“Do you need an extra hand?”

“Honestly, no. I think we’ve got it covered.”

Dr. Catalyst was about to ask him another question when he saw a silver Buick he recognized pull up about twenty yards away.

“All right, then,” he said. “I’ll be going. Good luck.”

He hurried back to his truck, making sure Dr. Geaux did not see him as she exited the car. If she did, everything would be over. Climbing back into the vehicle, he sat with his head down and his cell phone placed by his ear, as if he were taking a call. His window was rolled down, and he could hear Dr. Geaux and Dr. Doyle as they ran to Lieutenant Stukaczowski.

“What’s the situation, Tom?” she asked.

“Those bat things got into the school during the concert. Bunch of people got bitten up and stung pretty bad. Some have already been taken to the hospital. We think we —”

“Have you seen Emmet and Calvin?” she asked.

“What?” Stukaczowski shook his head. “No. Why?”

“There were at the concert tonight,” Dr. Doyle said.

“Well that doesn’t mean —” said Lieutenant Stukaczowski.

“Is everybody out?” Dr. Geaux shouted.

“We think so…. We don’t know for sure.”

“We’ve got to go check.” She started to push through the barricade.

“Rosalita,” Stukaczowski said, taking her by the arm. “We can’t go in. We open one of those doors and we’ll have hundreds of those things loose and more people will get injured. The firefighters are trying to figure out a way to get inside safely. Let me call it in.”

As Dr. Catalyst watched from his vehicle, Lieutenant Stukaczowski keyed the two-way. “All units this is Command One. I need visual confirmation on students Calvin Geaux and Emmet Doyle. Check all ER units. Get eyes on them, people.” A series of “copy thats” came back over Lieutenant Stukaczowski’s radio.

Dr. Catalyst backed up his truck and pulled away, slowly circling the school. The streets around the building were full of emergency vehicles. If any of the Blood Jackets were around, he didn’t see them. The colony likely had an entrance and exit into the school by which they departed each night. By now they had probably found a nearby hunting ground where they gathered the necessary amounts of blood. Something must have happened to cause the attack inside the school, perhaps some threat to their nest. He had chosen the baldfaced hornet specifically for this reason. They were fierce protectors of their homes.

But if what he had heard was true, if that sanctimonious little brat Emmet Doyle was still inside… well, this could be an opportunity that might not present itself again.

Circling the school, he discovered that most of the police, fire, and rescue efforts were concentrated at the front. It made sense. Most of the victims inside would instinctively rush toward the front door in their attempts to get to safety. That is where the first responders would concentrate their resources. But the back of the school was relatively free of any activity. None of the emergency personnel were thinking that someone might try to get into the school, only to get out.

Dr. Catalyst turned down a side street and parked his truck at the curb. From the truck’s toolbox mounted behind the cab, he removed a black ski mask and several dozen long plastic zip ties. He was still wearing his FBI Windbreaker. Anyone who spotted him would likely assume he was part of the rescue effort.

Hurrying down the street, he cut across the rear parking lot to an emergency-exit door hidden in an alcove along the back wall. He could hear the fire alarm blaring inside the building. That would cover his entrance. The door was locked, but with the handle of his pistol he knocked out one of the door’s glass panes. Reaching through, he pulled on the bar and the door popped open.

Before he entered the school, he sifted through his pocket and pulled out a small electronic device, roughly the size of a smartphone, and switched it on. The device was his own invention, a high-frequency transmitter that was designed to disrupt the bats’ echolocation ability, making them think he was an undesirable food source. If it worked, it would prevent his being swarmed by the creatures. He’d carried it with him ever since releasing them.

Once inside, Dr. Catalyst listened for the sound of voices over the shrieking fire alarm but heard nothing. He quickly hustled down the hallway to the next door and looped a zip tie through the handles, securing it. Someone would have to cut through it from the inside before they could get away. The thought of it made him smile. He would work his way around the entire building, securing all the doors, making sure no one could get in or out.

If Emmet and Calvin were still inside, they would be trapped until his Blood Jackets finished them off.

The very thought of it made Dr. Catalyst absolutely gleeful.