The mass of Rabids down there is astonishing; the cars that I hit and from which we can still hear the alarms can hardly be seen. Neither can the Discovery. All have Rabids swarming over them, like a mass of flies in a swarm. The courtyard is about a third full at the moment and filling up constantly. Most Rabids are trying to get to the main entrance where vicious fights are breaking out here and there between them.
At the front of the mass, by the entrance, the throng is tight and Rabids from farther back are climbing over the top to get closer to the front. At the front, they are already two bodies high.
Dead eyes look up at us looking down on them.
If they carry on like this, they will reach this level and if they do, are these thick glass windows going to keep them out?
The lift pings, the doors slide open and Stacey gets in, followed by me with Emily back in my arms.
"See you in a minute," I say to Dan and Lindsay who will wait for the next one; these lifts aren't big enough to take us all. I reach out and press number seven but the lift doors don't close until I have pressed my security card onto the panel next to the lift controls. The doors then close and the lift starts to rise.
“How are you doing, Stacey?”
“I’m okay, Andy, thanks, but I am worried about my parents. I tried ringing them while Emily and I were sat on the sofa, but it kept going to answerphone.”
“They tried to ring me about half an hour ago, which is positive. I am sure they are alright, so let’s try them again when we are upstairs.”
“Okay, Andy. I will. I am relieved that we finally got here; it does feel safer, so thanks again for bringing me.”
“Don’t be silly, Stacey; you are virtually part of the family, there is no need to thank me. I mean it. In fact, I should be thanking you for your help with this bundle of hair.”
We both smile and then the lift pings again and the doors slide open. As we get out, I press the Ground button to get the lift down to Dan and Lindsay as quickly as possible. This is the only lift that comes up to the seventh floor.
The seventh floor of the Orion Building is where all the major decisions for the company are made. Directly outside the lift, there is a mini reception area solely for this level, with a reception desk and sofas. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the courtyard below, then behind the reception are various conference rooms, guest toilets and a small kitchen for taking care of the guests.
To the left of reception, there is a wall with a security door. I turn, still holding Emily and we head toward that door. Again, I get my access control card out ready to open the door, but as we approach, it opens.
“There you are, I’m so relieved to see you all.”
Catherine, my Personal Assistant, walks through the door towards us and—as ever—she is looking radiant. She is wearing a slim red dress with sleeves that come to just above her elbows. The dress has a black trim that seems to match the colour of her shoulder-length hair perfectly; today, it is straight, by the way, but is often curled. And of course, she is wearing matching black accessories and stiletto shoes. But it is her stunning smile that wins the day as always, especially with her matching red lipstick. She is a glamorous, sophisticated woman; many people take this to mean she is either 'up' herself or hair-brained, but this is far from the case. I find her highly intelligent, organised and grounded. This may make her sound too good to be true, but it’s not—or maybe I’m just a bit biased.
Catherine comes over to us and gives me a kiss on the cheek and squeezes my arm, then her attention turns to the girls.
“Hi, Emily! I hear you have had a frightening time getting here, but your dad tells me you have been very brave, haven’t you?” Catherine says softly to Emily who is now sitting up in my arms.
“I tried to be brave, Catherine, but the horrible monsters were trying to get us in the car, and it was very scary.”
“It sounds very scary. They are horrible aren’t they, but they are locked outside now, and I bet you are hungry, aren’t you?”
“I am hungry. Have you got something to eat?”
“I certainly have, Emily!” Catherine turns to Stacey.
“Hi Stacey, it’s good to see you again. Are you okay after that horrible journey?”
“Yes, thanks, I think so, but it was a relief to get here.”
“I should think it was.”
The lift door behind us opens and Dan and Lindsay emerge, chatting away.
“Everything okay, Dan?” I ask.
“Yes, Boss. Everyone is in their positions and will report any developments, but they will be relieved to get more firepower just in case.”
“So will I; let’s get that sorted.”
Catherine turns to lead the way through the door into the main area of the seventh floor and she looks just as good from behind. Her red dress has a black zip running right down her back, and the fabric clings to her curves as she walks.
Funny that even with all the horrors going on around us today, following Catherine and seeing how gorgeous she is, takes my mind completely. I find myself wondering what delights would be revealed by undoing that long zip, and I enjoy it while I can.
We move into the main area and immediately on the left is the large Tactical Room, which has all the features of the Security Room on the ground floor. This one, however, can override the ground floor one if necessary. The Tactical Room is where operations are planned and monitored when underway and it has many other devices the Security Room doesn’t have, including an advanced multi-touch display table, which is basically a table with a computer screen as a top. On the right is a meeting room, and next to that, the Boardroom with a large oval desk in the centre, surrounded by leather executive chairs.
The floor then opens up; the left side has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the courtyard. It has quite a large informal seating area, with several grey leather sofas and coffee tables. This space is known as the lounge. There is also a smaller canteen and kitchen, with the usual kitchen appliances just off the lounge to the left. Food can be sent up from the main canteen upon request.
Opposite this area are the executive offices, some bigger than others, but all with an integrated smaller office for assistants. My office is in the far corner and is one of the bigger ones, with amazing views towards both Hyde Park and over the city beyond.
Sir Malcolm has, of course, by far the largest office, which is very tastefully decorated and has as well as his humongous desk, a glass-topped table with chairs for meetings, two brown leather Chesterfield sofas, a very large television screen and a very well-used bar area.
Emily is quite familiar with it up here. Although I don’t like to, I do sometimes have to bring her into work. More often than not, it’s on a weekend when I can’t avoid having to come in and Stacey has other plans, or sometimes we pop in on the way to or back from a day out. She doesn’t seem to mind as long as she’s entertained, and I make sure there are things here to keep her occupied. There are DVD’s, toys, colouring and such, and everyone makes a fuss of her when she visits.
“Right, who is hungry then?” Catherine says and heads towards the small canteen.
I think everyone is; putting Emily down, we all follow Catherine. The two tables in the canteen are full of food and I have to admit I am starving, which is not surprising after the ‘excitement’ of this morning. Burning adrenaline equals hunger.
“Dan and I have got a few things to sort out first, but you all carry on.”
Emily already is carrying on; she is filling a plate whilst chewing on something. I go up to her and tell her I have things to do but will be back in no time. She protests, saying she doesn’t want me to leave her, but with a little reassurance, she agrees that she will be fine staying with Stacey and Catherine.
“Are you ready, Dan?” I say while I put my backpack down, which is still over my shoulder. I place it on the other table and then quickly reach for a sandwich.
“Yes, Boss,” he replies through a mouthful of food.
We both leave them to their feast and walk across the lounge towards my office, stopping on the way to look out and see how the courtyard is fairing. The mass of Rabids is still growing but it’s hard to get a good look to see the situation at the main entrance from up here.
Entering my office, we both go straight to the windows that look out over London. A long silence ensues as we take in what we see.
“Fuck me,” is all that either of us can manage to say at the moment, and it comes from Dan. I just stand there speechless, trying to make sense of what is happening and not just what I am looking at outside the window, which seems to be my home city of London falling into chaos. I am also trying to get my head around what we have just been through and what we have seen. Can this virus or whatever it is be halted, or is it unstoppable? The longer I look at the havoc unfolding outside, the more pessimistic and helpless I feel.
Close to the building, Rabids can be seen everywhere, and many seem to be heading this way, making their way farther out into the city, but many also seem to be wandering around aimlessly.
On the opposite side of the canal which runs parallel to the back of the building, there are dozens of them, stopped by the canal. Some are trying to climb over the gate on the footbridge that crosses the water a short way down to my left, which thankfully someone has had the foresight to close and lock.
There are a few Rabids actually in the canal, whether by accident or choice I have no idea. Some of them flounder around, attempting to swim and get out, I can only presume. Others are just floating, either face up or face down in the water. Whichever way around they are floating, all are still moving from time to time; but how can they still be moving if they are face down? I just don’t get it.
Looking out across the city really makes my stomach tighten and fills me with dread. There are plumes of smoke all around, the dense black billowing enveloping the city. The sunshine is still strong, but it is now hard to make out London's landmark buildings, which normally can be seen easily from this office.
Military helicopters are zigzagging the skies, too many to try and count, some circling around and others hovering. I see at least one firing missiles at the ground over Kensington, whilst others are moving at speed both in and out of the city, back towards Heathrow.
More explosions happen away to our right. I can’t see any helicopters in that vicinity, so assume they must have come from a drone, which are bound to be flying high all over the city, controlled and flown from miles away.
I gather my thoughts, getting my head back in the game. I check my watch. 12.04, and I turn away from the windows. We can’t control what is going on out there, all we can do is to try and take all the precautions possible and protect ourselves in this building.
Going over to my desk, I pull out the bottom right-hand drawer, revealing the built-in safe. Electronic, it requires a six-digit passcode which I enter, and a light next to the keypad turns orange. I press my right thumb against a panel situated on the other side of the keypad and the light turns green. The safe is open.
Lifting the safe door up and back reveals several folders in the main compartment, which I ignore. What I want is in its own little compartment to the left, the key that is required to open the Armoury. There are only three of these keys, another being in Sir Malcolm’s safe in his office, while the last sits in his safe at home. The key is one of three things needed to open the Armoury, together with a six-digit passcode and either my or Sir Malcolm’s full palm print.
Sir Malcolm does not want anybody to have access or even know about the Armoury. I have only had direct access for the last couple of years following a bout of illness for Sir Malcolm. This meant that I couldn’t access the Armoury for a particular operation that Orion was carrying out for one of the 'Supermajor’ Oil Companies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Annoyingly, I was forced to make other arrangements that were not completely satisfactory.
Closing the safe and getting up, I see Dan has also turned away from the windows and is ready to move. We stand looking at each other for a second.
“You okay, Boss?”
“Yes, mate. Just trying to square this shit in my head and what it’s going to mean for Emily. And I’m concerned about Josh.”
“I know what you mean, I’m finding it hard. God knows how I’d feel if I had two kids caught up in the middle of it.”
Dan is a very genuine man, pretty much says what he is thinking but he has never married and never had children, not that he is admitting to anyway. He is of the opinion that relationships and the line of work we are in don’t mix, and I for one can’t argue with him even though I have two beautiful children and wouldn’t change that for the world.
“Are we good to go?”
“Yes, I’ve got the key, let’s just pop and check on the girls.”
“Any excuse for another sandwich. Some things don’t change,” he jokes.
“Funny fucker.”
“I do keep you entertained, Boss, you got to admit that.”
“I’m not admitting anything,” I say laughing. “Come on, let’s go.”
We go back over to the canteen where all four girls are seated around the table, Emily, Stacey and Lindsay still eating while Catherine has a cup of coffee cradled in her hands.
Picking up another sandwich, I give Dan a sideways glance and see him smiling from ear to ear. He takes my lead though and picks up one too. Going around the table, I give Emily a kiss on the top of her head and tell her I’ve got more things to do but will be back shortly. She seems fine, a lot calmer now and doesn’t really protest.
“Catherine, can I have a word, a minute?”
“Of course, Andy,” she says smiling.
I walk out into the lounge area and she gets up from the table and follows me.
“Dan and I are going down to the Armoury; we are going to be fifteen minutes or so. Are you okay up here with the girls? Maybe when they finish eating, you can put a DVD on for them out here?”
“Of course, Andy, don’t worry about it. The girls and I will be fine,” she says, her hand curling around my left arm, which feels good.
“Thanks, can you also pull the blinds so they can’t see the courtyard?”
“Good idea,” she agrees, her hand still there.
“Have you seen anything of Sir Malcolm?”
“Only briefly at around 8.30 this morning, he was very offish. He is in his office, I am pretty sure of that.”
“Okay, thanks, Catherine, I’ll go and see him when we get back. We’d better go.”
Her hand slides off my arm, and I go back in give Emily another kiss on the head and grab another sandwich, this time not giving Dan the satisfaction of a look before we move out towards the lift.
“How’s the sandwich?” Dan asks as we are walking, chuckling to himself.
“Leave it!” I reply sternly trying not to chuckle back.
Chapter 12
As we go back out into the mini reception area and towards the lift, I check my phone again, but nothing new has come through. I will try to phone Colonel Reed back as soon as I have a spare minute, and I must try Karen and Jim again when we get back up here with Stacey.
I am surprised Jessica, the children’s mother hasn’t at least been in contact to see if they are okay, but I’m not exactly amazed either. She could be anywhere; she was in Spain the last time we spoke, three or four weeks ago, so she may not even have heard what is going on?
Dan is on his radio checking in with his men. I can hear that there is nothing major new to report, although one of his men is concerned about the build-up in the courtyard and tells his men that we’re on our way down.
I press the button for the lift and the doors immediately slide open; we get in and I press G.
“What are your thoughts about arming the civvies?” I ask Dan as we descend.
“Dodgy, Boss. The last thing we want is them shooting each other, or even worse, shooting us by accident.”
“Yes, but if this goes pear-s
haped and these things get inside, we are going to need all the firepower we can get.”
“True, your call I guess, that’s why you’re paid the big bucks, Boss.”
“Okay. Get one of the lads to take them through the basics of handling the hardware but don’t issue them with any guns unless things do go pear-shaped—and then only to the ones who they think can handle them.”
“Understood.”
“One of the lads can spend a bit of time with them, take one man off patrolling the perimeter, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
The lift comes to a gentle stop and the doors open onto the main reception, which is quiet. The doors at the entrance are still shut tight and no noise is coming from them. I’m a little surprised by this, considering what is out there on the other side of them.
Mick sits at the reception desk. He has brought the chair around to the front and it looks almost like he is seated at a bar facing outwards. One elbow on the booth, a cup of coffee also resting on top of the booth. And lying next to it is his sidearm. He and Ian will be rotating between here and the rear service entrance, down the corridor off reception and around the back of the building. It is cut off and I can understand why the two men are taking it in turns.
Mick sees Dan and me exit the lift and straight away, he gets up and comes over to us, picking up his gun.
“Okay, lads, what’s the craic?” Mick says in his Australian accent whilst walking over to us.
“Not much to report at the moment, Mick. Anything we need to know about from your end?” Dan asks.
“Nah, mate, all quiet here, the odd bang and scream from the door, but nothing to worry about. When’s the extra firepower arriving? This ain’t gonna cut it if they manage to get in?” Mick jokes, waving his gun in the air.
“Agreed,” I say, “we are just en route to sort that out, we are just going to check how it’s looking outside.”
Capital Falling Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3] Page 9