by Brian Cotton
Chapter .45
Paxton led the way to the backdoor of the lobby. He opened the door and pointed the barrel of his PSD forward. There were no guards to be found so he relaxed. He turned and gave the signal for the others to file in. The door led to a hallway with white walls and shined, black tiles. At the end of it stood a white door. Paxton grabbed the silver handle with his left hand. With his right, he raised the PSD once more. He took a quick breath before he pushed down on the handle.
With the PSD shouldered, Paxton scanned the empty furniture and desks of yet another lobby. When he saw the coast was clear, he lowered the weapon.
“Move in.” he ordered through the mouthpiece.
The others obeyed. Kaspar entered the lobby with his PSD at the ready. This lobby had an eerie silence to him. There were no guns blazing; no one shouted orders. No comrades bleeding to death. Silence. The silence made him feel uneasy. The room’s lights were turned off; the only source of light came from the TVs on the wall. Kaspar looked up to one and saw Krys’s handiwork on a news broadcast. He smiled underneath his mask.
Paxton touched his ear again. The static disappeared to the point that he could hear Clarke’s voice clear.
“The main lab,” Clarke instructed, “is in the east wing of the building. Use room A8 to gain access.”
“Roger that.” Paxton replied.
All the doors in the lobby were made of well-maintained glass. The doors were clean and perfectly clear with the names of each room in bold, white letters. Paxton scanned them. When he found the one he searched for, he pointed it out to the others. The door had a security reader by the handle. Paxton reached up with his PSD then fired. The glass shattered, giving the team a clear entry into the A8.
Paxton moved forward ahead of the others, kicking the loose glass at the bottom of the door. He scanned for enemies but found none. Upon entry, the lights above kicked on automatically. The illumination revealed the inside of the lab. There were shiny metal desks lined up in the middle. Again, it was quiet. The only sound came from the buzz of the lights above. At the far left corner sat a glass structure with holes in the sides, black gloves attached. Paxton saw it and figured that was where the USR created their great contributions to mankind.
Kaspar stood in the back, his PSD held at the waist. He looked around the room. Just like outside, the offices had glass doors, names written in bold white. He started to move around and in the corner of his eye one of the offices caught his attention. It read: “DANIEL JOHNSON: TEAM LEAD”. The old bastard had been telling the truth. Underneath his mask, Kaspar cursed Danny one final time.
In the back of the lab stood a white, rectangular shaped object leaned against the wall. Paxton walked up to it. The machine made a soft rumbling sound. Down on one knee, Paxton examined the box. To the side he could see clear tubes that ran towards the box with the black gloves. The tubes fed a milky substance into it.
“Ron,” Paxton called out as he stood to his feet.
“What’s up?” Kilbourne asked. He walked over to the box.
“This is it, set the charges here.”
“On it.”
“Double time it,” Paxton ordered. “Your only function in life right now is to set those charges, do you get me?”
“Yes, sir.”
Kilbourne got down to one knee and removed the red bag from his shoulder. He pulled out the C4 first, then the charges. After he attached the plastic explosive to the box, he inserted the charges. Kilbourne started to fool around with the timer.
“Don’t worry if things…” Paxton began to say.
“You’ve got trouble!” Clarke cried through the ear piece.
“AMBUSH!” Kaspar called from the front of the lab.
From out of nowhere, an assault team of thirteen Agents began to pour through the broken glass. Kaspar took aim and fired off several rounds before he ducked behind a desk. At the far end, Paxton turned to face the Agents. He fired off his PSD in three round bursts while he ran for cover.
The assault team came fully armed with full body armor. They aimed their M4 Carbines and fired at everything in sight. Computer monitors went up in smoke. The doors of the offices shattered, sending shards of glass into the air.
Kilbourne worked on the charges faster than he knew he could. He connected the last charge then set the timer for ten minutes. Kilbourne reached down to pick up the PSD that lay on the ground. When he turned around, he saw nothing but the flashes of the automatic weapons. The rounds shredded his Kevlar vest and he fell to the ground. He lay in a pool of his own blood. He took his last breath…
“Ron!” Paxton cried out. “Goddamn it!”
Paxton reached down and switched the PSD to full auto. He popped his head up to see an Agent storm his position. Paxton, quick and decisive with his aim, put a burst of rounds into his enemy. The other members of the assault team began to take their positions around the lab. There would be no easy escape, Paxton knew. They would soon be surrounded and picked off one by one.
He moved his head over the corner of the work station. He saw the Agents forming up on the left hand side. They were going to flank him, then take out Kaspar and Krys. Paxton could not let that happen. He would not lose any more men tonight.
Paxton shot up from his cover and began to fire away. He drew the assault team’s fire. Paxton managed to take out another Agent in the process. He ducked back down. The computer monitor on the desk exploded before his head was fully down. He felt the sparks and few shards of glass rub against the back of his head.
Krys rolled over onto her back. An Agent tried to take cover beside her, oblivious to her position. She took aim. The barrage of automatic rounds took out that Agent’s legs. When he fell to the ground, Krys ended it with a burst to the head. She continued to move backwards on her back. She rounded the corner of the workstation. She saw another Agent and dropped him. When she finished rounding the corner, she pressed her back against the metal desk and reached in her flak jacket for a fresh clip. With a fresh clip, she rolled her back to the right. As soon as she was exposed, automatic fire ripped apart the tiled floor in front. She moved back over and took a deep breath.
Kaspar, still at the front of the lab, poked his head over the desk. He saw an Agent fire at someone. Kaspar squeezed the trigger. The rounds tore apart the Agent’s backside. A burst of fire came Kaspar’s way. He ducked his head back down just in time.
In the back, Paxton had a fresh magazine. He moved his body up from cover and searched for an enemy. He found one. He took aim. Something bit into the right side of his neck. Paxton reached towards the source of the pain before he fell backwards.
“NO!” Krys yelled.
Krys stood. She took aim at the Agent who had taken down her leader. He turned only to be taken down by the burst of rounds. Krys turned and fired away at another Agent while she ran towards Paxton’s position. The rounds disintegrated his body armor.
Kaspar moved his head up for a brief moment. A hail of gun fire destroyed everything in his line of vision. He ducked back down. His breathing increased. The adrenaline flowed through his body. His hands shook from his overworked nerves. Kilbourne was dead for sure. The same had to be assumed for Paxton, who wasn’t in any shape to fight now, anyway. All that remained now was himself and Krys. Kaspar looked down and touched the yellow fabric with his index finger.
Mother, I’m coming…
He held the PSD up and rested the stock against his shoulder. He stood and began to yell. The Agents drew their attention the source of the noise. They all aimed towards his position. The rounds from their M4’s shattered what was left of the glass office door beside him. Kaspar began to jog towards them, firing his gun away as he did. Kaspar took out an Agent before he lowered his head. He took cover two work stations over. He poked the barrel of the PSD over the desk and squeezed the trigger until the gun started to click.
Kaspar brought the gun back to his waist. He released the em
pty clip and then inserted a full one. There were only four Agents left. Kaspar and Krys…they had to a chance to make it out of this alive.
Hearing the yell in the back, Krys forced her body up from out of cover. She took out the Agent that Kaspar missed. She lowered herself back down. Paxton lay in front of her. Krys could see that he still breathed, but he was unconscious, blood leaked from his neck. There was nothing to be done for him at this point. He just had to hold on.
Kaspar heard footsteps coming from his right. He raised the PSD and was ready to make his move…
“Ryan!” Krys cried.
No, Kaspar thought. No, Goddamn it, no.
Krys stood and ran towards Kaspar’s position, firing away. She took out the Agent to Kaspar’s right. Still behind cover, Kaspar moved his head over and saw her running. He saw the flashes from her gun. What was she thinking?
An Agent got into position to fire at her. Kaspar saw him. He pointed his gun and pulled the trigger until it could fire no more. The Agent fell to the ground, his body riddled with bullets. Krys dropped and took cover at the work station in front of Kaspar. The two remaining Agents moved swiftly to her position. They were trying to surround her.
Kaspar saw it. He dropped the empty PSD to the ground. With a hand on each Beretta attached to his thighs, he yanked the guns free. He popped his body up and aimed each of the handguns at the two Agents. They saw him, turned their direction his way, and took aim at him as well. Kaspar squeezed each trigger repeatedly. The semiautomatics sent a spray of bullets towards the bogeys. He continued to pull…until each of the chambers locked back.
The Agents dropped to the ground. Krys moved up. She pointed her PSD in all directions. When she saw there were no lingering enemies, she lowered her weapon. Her attention turned to Paxton, who was slowly bleeding to death. Kaspar dropped the two empty handguns to the ground. He picked up the PSD and moved in towards Krys. He grabbed her by the arm. When she turned, Kaspar pulled her in close with his hands. He could feel on his chest that her heart was beating as quickly as his own. He then looked over at the timer.
4:34…4:33…4:32…
“We’ve got to get out of here now.” Kaspar said.
“I know,” Krys replied. She pulled away, “The others?”
“They are dead. If we don’t want to lie next to them we have to…”
“I hate to break this up,” Clarke said through the radio. “But, you guys have to get out now. Another van full of USR troops just pulled in front of the building. Get out now.”
“Let’s go.” Kaspar ordered.
Krys’s eyes were fixated on Paxton’s body. “He might still…”
“Maybe so, but we can’t drag him out of here, can we? We’d never make it past the timer. And, even if we did, the reinforcements would send us to hell.”
Krys sighed, “Fine. Let’s go.”
“Guys,” Clarke’s voice again, “you really need to get moving. Those reinforcements are already in the front lobby.”
“Any suggestions?” Kaspar demanded as the two began to move.
“The emergency exit is right in front of you. You see that red door in front of the bomb?”
“Yes.”
“Go through that. It’s going to take you outside.”
“Roger. And…” Kaspar started to say.
“What?”
“I’m…sorry about the others.”
“Don’t worry about that now. Just get yourself and Krys out of there.”
Kaspar pushed the red door open in front of him. As soon as the door moved, a loud buzzing noise filled the air. Krys tailed behind him. Once through the door, they ran fast through the knee high grass and weeds. They searched around the blackness for somewhere to go.
“What now?” Kaspar demanded.
“Umm…” Clarke’s voice said. “Look to your left. Straight ahead is an old abandoned church. You can try to hide out in there.”
“Copy that.”
Kaspar grabbed Krys by the hand. The two ran through the tall grass towards the church building. Kaspar kept moving his head from left to right. He was anticipating an ambush at any moment. With a squint of his eyes, the decaying exterior of the church came into view. The rusted cross which once stood on the roof had fallen off long ago. It was stuck in the grass on its side.
They arrived at the entrance. Kaspar let loose of Krys’s hand then played around with the door handle. The doors were locked, but he could see that the locks were rotting. He pushed Krys aside, raised his right leg, and kicked the door in. He let Krys move in front. Kaspar entered behind. He reached over for the light switch and the lights flickered on.
The lights revealed old, wooden pews. They once shined with a rich brown color. That shine was long gone, with green mixed in with the light brown color. Some pews even had the legs taken out from under them from the years of non-maintenance. In the front stood a stage with blue carpet that began to peel away from the floor. Kaspar walked across the wooden floor towards the stage. His eyes were fixed on the large, rusted cross that stood in front of rusted organ pipes.
When he reached the stage, he pressed his hands against it. He looked up at the cross then closed his eyes. He didn’t know what to do, but he tried to meditate once again. He knew that the two of them would need protection from…someone right now.
“I never pegged you for the religious type.” Krys said as she approached.
“Figured it couldn’t hurt.”
Krys placed her gloved hand on Kaspar’s shoulder. Her touch calmed him, but his mind was quick to move back to the task at hand. His eyes scanned the church frantically.
“We need something to barricade that door.” He said.
“I’ll help you look,” Krys replied.
On the stage, Kaspar saw two tall, metal bars with old candles at the top. He pointed them out. The two grabbed one then took them to the front. Kaspar took hold of the two doors then pulled them shut. They crisscrossed them inside the handles.
“Do you think it will hold?” Krys asked.
“Not for long.”
“What do we do now?”
“We wait. If we go out there, we’re dead. Maybe they won’t check here.”
“Maybe?”
“That’s all we can hope for.” Kaspar replied.
“And,” Krys breathed in, “If they do?”
Kaspar took a moment to answer. “We make our last stand.”