A loud bang on the door startled Sam as a security officer on the other side yelled, “The threat has been neutralized; everything okay in there?”
“Yes, everything is okay,” Sam replied and started turning the round center door wheel lock which looked like what you would see on a large safe or compartment door in a ship. The wheel was well maintained and turned silently until it reached its end stop and clanged to a halt. Sam could see through his host’s mind that opening this door in this manner was against protocol; there were a number of security verifications that Sam was ignoring.
As Sam pulled on the surprisingly heavy door; starting its swing inward, his four roommates realized what was happening and started screaming at him not to open it. Seeing that he was not stopping; they rushed to stop him physically, but it was too late, Sam had the door open, and one of the security men was already stepping through the threshold.
Sam continued his conversation casually with the security officer, sweeping his arm across the room, indicating everything was good, as he could see. The four equipment operators were now pulling on Sam to get him into the room and started to close the door. His host had a shotgun and a sidearm but no grenades; he had to get the grenade from the fallen man who was his prior host. In less than a second, he slipped through the touching bodies of the guards until he was inside the officer nearest the corpse. He took a knee and removed the grenade from the headless body. The four operators inside the room, now along with the shotgun guard, were physically pushing the security officers out of the room and the door was halfway closed now. The security officers were instinctively pushing back, both confused at this change of heart on the part of the shotgun guard and from an adrenaline high. Sam moved a step forward to add his weight to the mix. In the jostling, Sam kept close to the various men’s bodies as he covertly pulled the pin on the last grenade.
With a quick shove he created enough space to roll the grenade past the numerous legs and feet farther into the room. Touching the security officer closest, he transferred and in a chain reaction of arm extensions and skin contact, transferred through six people, making it halfway down the short hall by the time the grenade exploded. The instant release of energy from within the room slammed the heavy metal door shut on one of the officer’s hands who added his screams to the more muffled shouts from inside the room which quickly ceased, leaving the lone scream of the officer trying to pull his hand free.
68
“NOOOOO!” LI YELLED IN DISBELIEF as he watched a flash on the screen followed by blackness as the telltale compressed thump of another explosion on the lower level reached his ears.
The camera within the control room was apparently destroyed but the camera over the door looking into the corridor was still working and he could see the security officers huddling against the walls.
How could this be? The Demon had been obliterated by gunfire! There had not been anyone within reach. Maybe it was wrong to think a live body was necessary - what are we up against!?
69
PENG’S NAME POPPED INTO SAM’S mind, Where is Peng and the Professor?
With the control room presumably destroyed, Sam headed back to the data center to try to find them.
Following along the outer wall, Sam came upon them huddled defensively in the corner of the data center farthest from the control room. Peng had obtained a rifle and leveled it at Sam as he approached.
“Peng, it’s me. It’s time to get you out of here,” Sam said, holding his hands over his head.
The Professor looked quizzically between Sam and Peng wondering what their relationship was.
Mostly for the sake of not alerting the Professor, but also as a means to communicate their story if and when Peng might need to explain what happened today, Sam started playing the role. “Peng, we have reviewed the video footage from ZG all the way up to the events here and even continuing on the cameras now, and understand Commander Kung forced you to come here today. We are here to help you and the Professor and to keep you safe. Now, please, put down the gun and we can go upstairs and sort everything out.”
Peng understood what was happening and glanced briefly at the security camera. Sam was relieved, knowing Peng had picked up on the camera reference as a cautionary indication that they were still being observed. Peng slowly put the rifle on the ground in front of him and kicked it towards Sam.
“Thank you Peng, let’s move towards the elevator.”
The corridor area in front of the elevator was crowded with security personnel, most of them assisting the wounded.
Sam had Peng and the Professor wait just inside the data center until the elevator opened up. No-one was paying much attention to them, and Sam directed his captives into the corridor and then onboard. Nobody joined them and they had the elevator to themselves as they rode up.
The upstairs corridor was also busy with people, and Sam was able to maneuver their group down the corridor to the main building entry lobby without incident.
“Professor, I am sorry for everything that has happened here but am glad to be able to get you to a safe place. Unless you have any issues requiring medical attention you are free to go,” Sam said.
“Thank you,” the Professor said with a slight wave as he turned to leave.
Sam motioned for Peng to head toward the exit.
70
LI’S BLOOD PUMPED HARD WITH frustration which he was having difficulty controlling. This demon was proving to be vexing, and Li’s typical control and coolness had started to slip.
His instincts kicked in again. “Where did he go?” he said out loud to himself. He had lost focus when the control room blew up and now frantically searched the various monitors in the security office looking for something out of place.
“OFFICERS, look for anyone acting out of character!” Li yelled at the junior officers in the room with him.
Almost before finishing his first sentence, “THERE!” Li yelled, pointing at a monitor showing Peng and the Professor walking ahead of a security officer.
“But that is just a security officer escorting the Professor and his visitor out of the data center,” one of the junior officers said questioningly.
How could he describe what they were really looking for to these officers without sounding crazy. “Everyone leaving that level is a suspect. We must detain and question everyone who was down there at the time of the last explosion,” Li directed, although he wasn’t sure how the hell they were going to actually do that.
71
SAM LED PENG OUTSIDE WHERE it was now dark and a light rain had begun to fall.
Thick clouds were moving in to block what light the half moon had to offer. The clouds were veined with pollution from coal plants and car exhaust, adding an acrid taint to the rain that was coating the city. Mixing with the oils and grime already on the streets and adding its own twisted concoction, the initial rain made roadways and sidewalks slippery as they waited for the full downpour to rinse some of it away.
Sam could see the silhouettes of a few police vans which must have brought the reinforcements. A little conspicuous, but there weren’t many options. Choosing expediency over stealth, Sam went to the first van to check for keys, which were still in the ignition. Theft of a police vehicle carried such steep penalties in China that there was no worry of leaving keys in the ignition. They now had wheels, and Sam stepped up and slid across the bench seat, beckoning Peng to take the driver’s seat. They were both wearing security uniforms and did not look out of place in the van cab.
Getting settled, he looked out his passenger side window and immediately locked eyes with Commander Kung standing silhouetted in the building doorway.
“Oh shit, oh shit, stay cool,” Sam thought out loud. Li shouldn’t be interested in Sam as he was occupying a standard security officer. Shouldn’t be any reason to panic, there wasn’t any reason Li would be after his host. But it sure didn’t look like that was the case, and Li wasn’t looking away, actually he was yelling instructions to
his two cohorts and pulling out his sidearm.
“GO PENG, GO, GO,” Sam yelled as the trio started sprinting towards them.
Peng had not seen Li or the steely intent in his eyes. “Where are we going?” Peng said as he started the ignition, unaware of the danger they were in.
“AWAY!” Sam yelled louder as he lunged towards Peng and slammed his foot on top of Peng’s foot, pegging the accelerator pedal to the floor.
Peng screamed hysterically as his injured toes were being flattened once again. The passenger window exploded and the front windshield spiderwebbed around the hole from Li’s bullet as it exited the cab.
The van lurched forward, veering to the right, on course to crash into the building they were trying to escape from. Keeping his foot smashed over Peng’s, Sam forced the steering wheel back the other way. Peng was still screaming and reflexively fighting Sam’s efforts.
Having put a little distance between themselves and the building entrance, Sam briefly lifted his foot so Peng could remove his from the sandwich. Peng stopped screaming but was delirious from the pain and exertion. Sam yelled at him to switch places with him and was practically sitting on his lap in his haste, holding himself up by the steering wheel and slammed the accelerator again. Eventually Peng slithered out from under him across the bench seat to the passenger side, and Sam started checking his mirrors for pursuit.
They were driving on the large pedestrian paths which were used periodically by maintenance vehicles but were primarily pedestrian ways to the buildings off of the large quad. Clots of students gathered at building entrances slowed their progress despite aggressive honking efforts.
Looking in his side mirror, Sam now saw another security van closing on them. Their pursuer was taking advantage of the path Sam had shorn through the students, the distance closing fast.
“We have to lose these guys and get a change of clothes,” Sam thought out loud. “How did he know I was occupying this body?” Then, responding to his own question, said, “maybe he was tracking you, Peng, and made the assumption since I was with you? I don’t know.”
“They have my family,” Peng said, staring out the shattered side window, throwing Sam’s train of thought off-kilter.
“After this is over, they will kill them,” he added flatly.
Sam wanted to console Peng but was distracted by the van getting larger in the rear view mirror.
“Look, Peng. Your country has been attacking my country for the past couple of weeks and there are thousands of people dying, as we speak. We believe if we takeout one more operation center similar to the one at this location we will be able to stop, or at least slow, the attacks.” Sam paused to swerve the van violently around a group of people who weren’t moving quickly enough. “That is my priority at the moment, but I want to help you and your family. I just can’t do it at the expense of the main mission. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Will you help me?” Sam asked, risking a glance at Peng who was now staring forlornly out the front window.
When Peng didn’t respond, Sam added, “We’re really in this together at this point; if we get caught we are both screwed, and currently we are not in the best situation with Li right on our ass.”
Peng turned to look at Sam, “If you promise to do what you can to help me, then I will help you.”
“I promise, Peng, I will do everything I can,” Sam said connecting with Peng’s eyes.
Peng held Sam’s eyes for a second. “Okay, then we need to switch seats again.”
72
AN ENORMOUS THUNDER CLAP RATTLED the van windows, and a jagged spear of lightning flashed across the sky as fat drops of rain suddenly enveloped everything.
The explosion startled both Peng and Sam in mid seat switch, but they managed to complete the maneuver without crashing.
Peng threw the wipers on full blast, but the rain was so thick they were going to have to slow down to see where they were going. The good news was there were no longer any people outside in their way.
Looking in their mirrors, they could now only see the glowing starred orbs from the pursuing van's headlights.
Peng pulled his seatbelt over him and clicked it into place, and gave Sam a look to do the same. Then he floored the gas, spinning the wheels until the rubber started to bite again into the wet surface, at which point they rocketed forward.
Realizing Peng meant to go faster and not slower, Sam hastily buckled in and braced himself as he stared into the wall of water in front of them. Either Peng had a special ability to see through water or he was rolling the dice and hoping for some luck to get away from Li and not die in the process.
Sam yelped and braced for impact as four foot high hedges materialized in front of them. If these were the hedges separating the quad from the street then that meant there was a row of parallel parked cars on the other side of them.
The van barely reacted as it trampled through the plants but rocked violently to the side as it impacted the rear quarter of a parked car. Sam and Peng’s seatbelts locked as their bodies flew forward at the same speed while the van smashed to a stop against the car. The van’s rear had spun into a cluster of parked bicycles behind the car, exploding into a brief metal hailstorm.
The men were left with the sound of the heavy rain drumming on the roof top as the van rocked back and forth. A mewling sound brought Sam back to the present. His feet were scrunched up on the dash, and he had to command his legs to relax to put them back on the floor. Peng looked at him, quizzically cocking his head slightly to the side. At this point Sam realized the mewling sounds were emanating from within his own rib cage. As with his legs, he had to manually command the sound to turn off. Peng returned his attention to the van and the road that faced them out the windshield. They needed to move before Li caught up to them.
Peng floored the gas pedal. Thankfully the engine responded, but the wheels spun on the slippery road. When the wheels started to bite, they suddenly lurched sideways instead of forward. Sam and Peng turned to see Li’s vehicle T-bone them, and heard the dense sound of compressing metal and the shattering of the remaining glass in the cabin. If the passenger window had not already been blown out by the gunshot, Sam would undoubtedly have smashed his head on it.
The impact left the two intertwined vans in the middle of the road. Where’s Li? The alarm rang in Sam’s head, snapping him out of his daze. He could put a gun through the window at any moment and end the mission once and for all. Unbuckling as quickly as possible, Sam opened his door, thankful it still worked, and looking to his right saw that both Li and his passenger appeared to be unconscious. Peng had followed him out of the passenger door and they both stood appraising the scene in front of them.
The front of their van was smashed, rain poured through the glassless windows and the pursuers’ van was embedded in the side of theirs.
Li’s van didn’t look quite as bad but the font end had been shortened by at least six inches. The flashers were on, creating a strobe effect in the darkness, which Sam’s eyes continuously tried to adjust to.
The rain was still falling heavily and they were quickly soaked where they stood. Motion in the cabin caught Sam’s attention as Li looked to be coming around. Sam strode forward quickly. Li abruptly sat up and looked directly at him. More than the surprise of his awakening, it was Li’s appearance that froze Sam in his tracks. Li had not had his seat belt on and his face appeared to have taken the brunt of the impact, covered in blood from a large gash on the top of his forehead. But worst of all it looked like he had bitten his upper lip off as the entire top row of his teeth were showing, his face frozen in a happy rictus. It was both terrifying and comical. Snapping out of his reverie he instinctually lunged forward and integrated into Li to stop whatever intent he had.
The security officer, suddenly back in control of his body, stumbled back a step, then reached for his sidearm. Peng immediately recognized the Slip had departed the officer’s body, and cold-cocked him with his
rifle, dropping him to the wet cement.
Li’s head was foggy from the impact, and he had a bevy of his own aches and pains. When Sam occupied a person’s mind and body, he was affected by the physical aspects of that body. The longer he was integrated, the more he became aligned with the idiosyncrasies of the chemical makeup and physical makeup that then influenced his behavior to some degree. The multiple traumas and extremes of the stress of the past days had caught up with Sam, and the grogginess of Li’s brain at the moment combined to make Sam slaphappy and comically unstable.
Getting out of the van, Sam stumbled a bit before getting his feet somewhat under him, swaying slightly like a drunken sailor. The rain mixed with the blood coated his face in a red sheen. Peng had recognized his slip from the officer and knocked him out: they made a good team. He tried to stand straight and snap to a salute for Peng as he exaggeratedly staccatoed out each word through his frozen tooth grin, and flapping lip flesh, “GOOD. JOB. SOLDIER.” his mouth moved like a marionette’s, open, closed, open, closed.
Peng and Sam looked at each other and burst out laughing, doubling over as the day’s madness was relieved through their mad cackles.
“YOU…DESERVE… A…PROMOTION..,” Sam managed to get out through his uncontrollable laughing as he looked up at Peng with his hands on his knees, making the most of Li’s skeleton smile snapping it open and closed as he spoke.
This sent them into further hysterics until their bodies, already traumatized, were in such pain from the laughter that they had to force themselves to stop.
“Whooo! I needed that,” Sam said, wiping tears from his eyes futilely, as they were just as quickly replaced by rain.
73
The Slip Page 17