Shadow of the Sun

by Laura Kreitzer

CHAPTER 16: UNDERGROUND

  During the ride, I felt anxious, nervous. Andrew was in another truck, and I knew the small stocky man was with him. Of course, Andrew could escape if he wished, but he would do this for me and for those angels trapped in their prisons. The windows to the large SUV were tinted so black I couldn’t tell if it was night or day or where we were going. Not that I’d ever want to find this place again.

  “He’ll be fine,” Joseph said to me, pulling my attention from the window I’d been staring at for nearly two hours. I couldn’t see anything, but I wasn’t really looking—I was thinking. “I promise.” There was a slight note of jealousy in his tone, which almost made me blush, but I had other things on my mind.

  “And the others?” I whispered. Who knew who could be listening right now? I had every right to be suspicious.

  He nodded slowly. “We called in Director Halistor. He refused to help until we found you and brought you safely to the lab. Even my superior requested that it be you who does all lab work. You’re the best in your field.”

  I breathed out a sigh of relief. “What happened to Sally?”

  He chuckled. “Director Halistor sent her home.” His smile grew in width, and amusement lit his features. “She accidently set off two alarms in one day. She’s rather nosey.”

  I smiled back. “You have no idea.”

  He chuckled. “Why did you ask her to come along in the first place?”

  “Karen revealed some information to me that . . .” I trailed off, realizing he wouldn’t understand what I was talking about. “Anyway, I needed a friendly face in the place. I’m sorry she was a pain. Normally she’s my pain, and I can just send her away on an errand when she becomes overbearing. As I see you did.”

  “I learn quickly.” He smiled knowingly at me.

  I wondered exactly how much Karen had informed him about the angels. Surely she didn’t keep him completely in the dark. It would be nice to have one person aware, even if his information was limited. I didn’t want to be alone in this anymore.

  The vehicle took a turn, and I slid in my seat. The driver acted as though he wasn’t paying attention, but his eyes flicked to the rearview mirror more than once. Joseph made this same observation to me in a low voice, and we both laughed. It was as if the huge stress bubble had finally grown too thin and burst.

  We came to a stop, and the driver rolled his window down to speak with men standing guard outside. From what I could see, they were heavily armed. They made several security checks before admitting us. I made sure to remember everything I could about this facility to help with our escape. But with Joseph, Karen, and Andrew on my side, I hoped that it wouldn’t be a problem breaking Lucia and Ehno out.

  Once we were on the other side—behind enemy lines—I watched suspiciously as the vehicle holding Andrew turned to the right. We turned left, and I protested immediately.

  “I have to stay with the subject,” I ordered.

  In response, the driver pressed a button, and a sliding glass window rose between us. Anger boiled up in me. “You take me to him right now,” I demanded, banging rapidly on the dark glass. I took a deep breath, planning on arguing furiously through the glass.

  Joseph gently, yet firmly, grabbed my arms and brought me back against the seat. Electricity zapped him, making him jump back.

  “Calm,” he said through gritted teeth, shaking his hand and looking discomforted. “We must act normal. If they suspect that you see them as more than subjects in an experiment, they’ll toss you out of here so quickly your head will spin.”

  I huffed and crossed my arms against my chest. “Of course,” I said crossly, “you’re right.” My instincts disagreed. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  He put two fingers to his lips to suppress a smile, though I could easily see through it. “Don’t worry. Karen will be waiting for him.” He shook his wrist again. “And wow, you seriously have some juice there. Be careful with that.”

  I stared at him. “I don’t know how to control it yet. I mean, I hope I can learn to manage it.”

  The vehicle stopped, and the doors automatically unlocked. Joseph reached over me and opened the door. “After you.”

  When I stepped out, I took in several things at once. Buildings lined up perfectly in the ghostly moonlight, all of them the same size and type of structure. There were keycard readers and palm scanners, similar to security at the entrance of Zelko Corp., except there were armed guards at every corner, constantly walking back and forth, their eyes suspiciously flying to every movement or shadow. And at this time of night, it was us that they found interesting.

  Several guards turned our way, watching. On top of the buildings were satellites, radio towers, and other equipment that looked important. Spotlights lit the main road between the buildings. Beyond the lights, all I could see was inky blackness. I wondered where we were.

  Joseph walked ahead of me and pulled out his keycard, which had a gold strip on it. He swiped it and put his hand on the screen on the door. It welcomed him in, and the door opened with the suction-noise of something airtight. My heart pounded furiously in my chest as I followed behind him.

  A short woman, shorter than me by almost a head, scampered up to me with a lab coat and a keycard in hand.

  “Dr. Moretti. Hi, I’m Susan, and this is your lab coat and keycard.” Boy, she got straight to the point. No reason for pleasantries. “This color here,” she said, pointing to the orange strip on the back, “is what your security clearance is. You can only open doors that have the color orange, green, or yellow. Blue, red, and gold are restricted. Follow me.” She marched off down a hallway.

  Joseph looked over his shoulder and had a huge grin on his face. I shot him a What’s That Look For kind of stare, but he only turned to follow Susan, his shoulders shaking with mirth. I wanted to whack him across his shoulder blades.

  “We need to scan in your right hand,” Susan called. I approached the desk she stopped at. Before I knew it, she had yanked my wrist out and put my palm against a screen. She typed aggressively across a keyboard, and then yanked my wrist and scanned my hand twice more.

  When I freed myself, I put the lab coat on. They had already embroidered my name and title on it: “Dr. Gabriella Moretti, Supernatural Specialist.” When had they had time to do that?

  Susan turned back to me when she was done. “All right, now that everything is in order, we have some business to attend to. Agent Carter.” She leaned her head in his direction. “Did you want to come with us?” She raised her eyebrows almost to hairline level, her voice sarcastic.

  I sent him a pleading look that I hoped spoke the words I couldn’t say aloud: please don’t leave me alone with this woman.

  “Ms. Joy, I’m here to assist and protect Gabriella. We, at the FBI, believe she’s in danger,” he said, straight faced—more straight than mine at least. I bit my lip in laughter. “I’m her shadow until we feel the threat has been eliminated.”

  Susan stared him up and down, all six feet plus, as if she looked down on him instead of up. “Fine,” she snapped. “If you feel that’s necessary.”

  “I do.”

  I sighed in appreciation for his lie. Her ranking was not as high as his, and she had to take him at his word.

  We reached the end of a hallway, which was in all white: the walls, ceiling, and windowsills. There was an elevator, which needed an orange security-level key card. Susan looked over her shoulder. “Are you going to scan your card and palm?”

  “Oh. Sure.” I had thought we were waiting for the elevator. I frowned and swiped my keycard, which was accepted, and I placed my palm on the screen. It took a few seconds to scan, but then a robotic female voice greeted me as if we were old buddies. I had a feeling that we might just become that if I had to stay here for long.

  The door opened with a ding, and we all got on. I wondered where we were going. Outside, there appeared to be only two floors.

  When we stepped inside, and
I saw the options, I understood. This really was an underground facility. There were at least seven levels below ground. I was impressed. At Zelko Corp., there was only one floor below ground, which contained the highly sensitive labs, including the Fishbowl. I speculated on how many labs they might have under this building alone and wondered whether all the other buildings were also equipped with underground levels and whether they were connected below ground. So many questions, so many possibilities. Breaking out was going to be more problematic than I first realized.

  Surprisingly, elevator music played. My expectations of what a government installation would consist of were obviously inaccurate. I felt tense and alarmed, but I tried to hide this from Susan and her prying eyes. I didn’t trust the woman as far as I could throw her, and she was really plump around the middle.

  Without my permission, my mind wandered. Where was Andrew? I felt a sudden desire for his comforting hand to be in mine and his arm around me with the current racing between us. We had an undeniable connection. I mentally sighed. It was in that moment that I realized how attached I had grown to him. Stupid hopeless longing; I was already doomed to heartache. An old commercial ad about drugs flashed through my head. This is your brain on Andrew. Commence smashing of brain.

  When the doors slid open on the fourth level below ground, I was immediately blinded by bright lights. The whole place was suffused in mysteries and secrets. By the look on Joseph’s face, he had never been on this floor either. We both shot each other curious glances as we stepped out of the elevator and followed Susan. She marched like one of those mall walkers, and we had to pick up our pace to catch up with her.

  I tried to take in as much as I could as we made our way down the hall. There were labs to my left and right. The walls were made of glass, and I could see scientists working on experiments, even at this hour.

  When we passed the doors to the first two labs, I noticed a symbol displayed on each door. It was two snakes in attack positions against each other. Around the image were the words: “United States of America Copperhead Project.” The first lab to my right was the cancer research department, which was full of animals in cages ranging from monkeys to mice. A woman held a clipboard and wrote on a chart as she observed one of the monkeys.

  Across the hall, the lab on my left was full of chemistry and biology experiments providing medications and treatment plans to the lab rats—or so said one of the signs on the lab wall. There were culture tubes, some of the latest microscopes, fume hoods, and different color liquids. Across one of the counters, a man measured something into a beaker.

  I nodded my head in approval at what I saw. Joseph was at my ear. “We’re not as bad as you think,” he whispered.

  My eyes shot up to meet his dark ones. “I didn’t think that,” I protested. “But these . . .” I lowered my voice. “These angels are alive and breathing. What we’re doing is inhumane, and you know it.”

  He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m on your side.”

  I lowered my voice to the point where he could barely hear me. “Does that mean you’ll help me?”

  He shot me a dazzling smile. “Oh, Karen and I have already been planning an escape.”

  “So she told you about—”

  “Yes. She did. Now if only she would keep her eyes off Darren we’d be farther along in our plans for Operation Liberate Angels.”

  A smile spread across my face. “Operation Liberate Angels, huh? That’s an interesting title.” I wondered how much they had investigated in a few hours time.

  “Do you like it?” He waggled his eyebrows.

  “Totally.” I chuckled.

  “Good. I was the one who came up with that. When others are around, we call it Ola—like a name. If someone asks, we say we’re talking about Karen’s wild older sister who became a stripper in Vegas.”

  I shook my head in disbelief and smiled wider. “You’re joking, right?”

  He looked at me in faux scorn. “Absolutely not.”

  “You’re full of it.”

  He bumped me with his shoulder, and we continued to walk down the hall. We passed a bathroom on the left, and then took a right turn down another hallway. Again, there were glass walls showing labs fully in operation. Lab technicians worked on both sides. To my right, it looked as though they were building some type of fully functional, human-sized robots. To my left the door said: “Bioengineering.” I couldn’t even imagine what they were doing in there.

  “We’re here,” Susan said crisply with an obvious case of resentment. Her eyes roamed over Joseph again before she turned to me. “This is strictly your lab. You have the right to revoke privileges. Karen will show you how to do this if you wish.”

  I nodded to show her I understood, and she stepped out of my way and went back down the hall without even a goodbye. The click of her heels against the floor grew fainter until I couldn’t hear anymore when she cut the corner.

  I turned back to face the door and read the title across it, which said “Supernatural Beings Department.”

  “It’s like we’re on the geek squad,” I joked, and Joseph chuckled beside me. “Well, let’s hope this works.” I swiped my key card and placed my right hand against the scanner. Just like in the elevator, a female voice welcomed me, but this time by name. The door clicked open with the now-familiar sound of a sealed vacuum being opened. “Talk about special services.” I smiled at Joseph.

  “You have no idea. I heard that if you have top clearance, the machine brews you a cup of coffee exactly how you like it,” Joseph said, absolutely serious. Something flashed in his eyes.

  “I don’t believe you for a second.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you have top clearance, and I don’t see a steaming cup of coffee in your hands yet.”

  He realized I had observed his keycard clearance. He smiled again, a wonderfully warm smile. “You got me.”

  Before I pushed the door all the way open, I turned around to face him full on, all joking aside. “Why doesn’t our lab have glass walls?” Maybe I was just being paranoid.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” he asked.

  I shook my head, and he sighed, mood souring.

  “They don’t want the others knowing what goes on behind this door, especially now that we have live subjects. Most of them don’t care to know, anyways. These people are scientists. The supernatural is . . . well, un-provable.”

  “I’m a scientist,” I scoffed. “I received my PhD by the time I was nineteen from Yale. I was at the top of all my classes.”

  He didn’t even question me. “It doesn’t matter to the guys around here. Surely you didn’t take classes on this at Yale?” He raised a single eyebrow and gestured to the sign on the door.

  “Well, no. Of course not. But you wouldn’t need special training for this if you had my credentials,” I growled, pushing the door open. “It’s just a little ridiculous—” I stopped in my tracks at the sight. My argument was completely lost as a spasm of horror hit, and a small angry cry of shock left my lips. Joseph put his hands on my waist and pushed me forward so he could shut the door behind us. Ignoring Karen, I rushed past her. My hands went straight to the glass wall between me and my angels. “Andrew.”

  He placed his hand on the glass where mine was. “Gabriella,” he said devoutly.

  Tears sprang into my eyes, and I tried to blink them away but there were too many.

  “No. Please, don’t cry,” he pleaded.

  I searched him over. My gaze landed immediately upon his hair—the only obvious difference in his appearance. They had cut it, but they had done it haphazardly, as if they had taken shears to it and shredded it off. In the craziness of the situation, I couldn’t help but think the wild haircut suited him and his personality. He was still in his jeans and T-shirt.

  “This is all my fault. I’m so sorry, Andrew.”

  “It’ll be okay,” he soothed through the thick glass.

  I choked a little.
I couldn’t believe he was the one soothing me. It was like he always had some strong impulse to comfort me. My heart jumped. There was a warm hand on my shoulder, and I looked behind me to see Joseph, his face no longer the smiling man from moments ago. Even his eyes were darker.

  “You need to move away from the glass.”

  When he caught a look at my expression, he abandoned his stiff disapproval.

  “Why?” I cried out. “You expect me to ignore the fact that they’re in here?” I looked around the room and noticed there were five cells like this one. Ehno and Lucia were separated in two of them. I lowered my voice. “They’re angels.” Each breath was sharp in my chest. I was livid.

  Several lab technicians looked up from whatever they were doing to see what all the fuss was about. Joseph ignored them and leaned in closer to me. “I know,” he whispered patiently. “But there are cameras everywhere. Remember what I said on the ride over here. You can’t let them know you’re as close to them as you are. I can promise you that we can speak freely, but your actions are being watched.”

  No reason to be paranoid, I thought sarcastically. My eyes looked swiftly to all the corners. They really were watching our every move. I backed away from Andrew, distressed. My mind couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing. Andrew, my Andrew, and the other beautiful angels all locked away, caged like animals. I couldn’t stand to see them like that. The very thought burned and caused a dark flush to creep its way under my skin. Irritation and a heavy vexation choked me. I knew what I had to do, if I was being honest with myself. It was time to fight back.

  Hardly able to tear my eyes away, I turned toward the lab techs who had stopped what they were doing to stare at me. My temper flared, but I had to remember what Joseph had said to me in the car. Be calm, assured, like this was no big deal. But it was, and that was why I was so troubled. The most heavenly, unearthly creatures, who only saved human lives, were now contained by the very people they protected. It made me sick and ashamed.

  With significant effort I controlled my expression. Smooth, calm, serene. I had to make them believe I was on their side, though I knew I’d lose brownie points once I spoke. Everyone was frozen, staring at me expectantly, but I was unable to give them any orders they’d want to hear. Tough.

  “Out,” I ordered with assured authority. It was time to get down to brass tacks.

  Smiling, I stood there, enjoying the effect of my words. Everyone, I saw with some satisfaction, turned to leave—even Joseph and Karen. In this tense moment, I had to fight a mad desire to laugh. It was like I was some queen they had to obey. One lab technician, whose nametag read “Sue,” sent me a look of utmost loathing and disbelief as she passed. I didn’t have time to care as I watched her swell indignantly and march out, her brown hair pulled into a tight bun at her neck. She was probably wound just as tight as her hair. I glowered at her backside.

  “Not you or you,” I said and grabbed both Karen and Joseph from behind at the same time. Joseph jumped with a slight spasm in his face, as if I had shocked him, and I grimaced. I probably had. Oops.

  Karen’s face displayed the same startled look, as if she could feel my electrical power, but she seemed to just shrug it off as if it was no big deal. It probably wasn’t, for all I knew.

  The technicians flooded out of the room. When the door shut behind them, I turned to the two remaining allies and to the three imprisoned angels. “It’s time to get busy.”