Swarm

by Devon C Ford

  The door had magically opened with the wristband as it had for Harrison, but Annie had not come online and spoken to him as she had for Harrison. Her systems had been in sleep mode, not that he would understand that. The activation process only started when ARC Annie sent the automatic signal that they were returning.

  Not noticing the other doorway as its precisely engineered frame sat virtually smooth in the steel wall and finding nothing of interest he had left and never returned.

  Now when he entered, a voice coming from nowhere made him cower behind the nearest solid surface.

  “W…lcome Mister Tan…ka.”

  He recovered himself quickly as he could see his men were equally afraid of the voice and were shrinking from it. He was The Tanaka and only the weak showed fear, so swallowing the terror his body was filled with he forced himself to stand.

  “Who…Who are you?” he asked, trying to control the tremble in his voice. No response so he asked again, this time with more fire.

  The crackling voice responded, “To a-activate v-v-voice interface, say, Annie.” Tanaka let his misogynistic anger rise. A mere woman was daring to give him commands, a crime punishable by, at the very least, a severe beating.

  He forced his rage to subside but still tried to show his displeasure as he snarled in reply. “Annie. Who are you, and where are you?”

  “Error, y-y-ou areee not authorized.”

  How could he be not authorized, he was The Tanaka, the protector of The Source, the one who had the power to control The Swarm and this mere woman was telling him he was not authorized.

  Taking a second to once again compose himself he continued, “Annie, why am I not authorized?”

  “A-uthor-izzation rem-removed.”

  His chest puffed with indignation. “Who removed it? Get it back, now!” In the silence that followed as he waited for a reply, he realized he had not said her name. Embarrassed that he had forgotten and angry that for once he was not getting the respect he knew he deserved, he shouted, “ANNIE, WHO REMOVED IT?”

  “E-errorr, you a-are not authorized.”

  He was at a loss as what to do next, this magical voice was defying him, but he couldn’t see it to punish it for its defiance. He stood for a moment, his hands on his hips, the scowl on his face showing his displeasure. Looking around the room he saw the cost of the attack on his people. Bodies lay intertwined in death all around him before the barricade. The deaths did not bother him, his only thought was they had failed him.

  Fighting down his disgust he angrily kicked the corpse nearest to him before clambering over the piled-up bodies of his men and climbed over the barricade, jumping nimbly down the other side. Spent shiny brass bullet casings littered the floor. Picking one up to study it, he put his nose to the still warm metal casing and the pungent aroma of burned powder filled his nose. These were the bullets he needed to make his talisman work again and to make it more than just a symbol of authority and power. They would put him on an equal footing with his enemies enabling him to kill them all.

  He was about to ask Annie another question when he spotted Collins’ body lying near the opposite wall. The body didn’t interest him, but what was on a strap around his body and in the holster on his hip did. Ignoring everything else he rushed over to it and, oblivious to the blood and gore that his ruined head had covered his body with, tried to pull the pistol from its holster, struggling with it until his thumb caught the release button and it slid free.

  Nothing else mattered around him as he held the gun in his hand. It was the same model as his own, the one he had handled lovingly and stared at in wonder for more hours than he could count. He depressed the button that made the magazine drop from the handle and looked at the shiny brass cartridges with wonder. Reinserting the magazine, he pulled back the top slide charging the weapon.

  His finger curled around the trigger as he aimed at the dead body lying by his feet and squeezed it. The body jerked as the bullet struck the dead man’s assault vest. Once more he stared at the gun, a look of pure evil joy on his face. He reached for the old leather holster, then held the older, worn version of what he held in his other hand and pulled it easily from the smooth, polished leather. Taking one last look at what had been his symbol of authority and power he, without caring, casually tossed it aside and replaced it with the new one.

  Turning his attention to the rifle still attached to Collins he bent over and struggled for a few moments as he pulled the strap from where it was caught under him. Again, he stared in awe with childlike delight at the modern-yet-ancient rifle before raising it to his shoulder and looking down the barrel. The floating red dot on the holographic sights confused him until he realized that as he moved the rifle around, the dot moved with his eye, marking where he was aiming at. Unable to stop himself he pulled the trigger, the gun bucked into his shoulder as it fired, the bullet sparking against the metal walls opposite him. He pulled the trigger again, but this time only received a click in reply. After two more failed pulls on the trigger, understanding dawned on him that it was empty of bullets.

  He had spent enough time playing with his old pistol that he had enough rudimentary understanding of guns to quickly identify the magazine release button and eject it. Empty. Collins was lying dead at his feet face down. With no more compassion than if he was kicking a chair, he used his foot to kick him over, his ruined head spilling more gore over the floor.

  Crouching next to him Tanaka pulled a magazine out from a pouch on his vest and inspected it, smiling at the shiny bullets nestled inside. Pushing against his body when he stood up, he noticed the item on his wrist. It was the same as he possessed, albeit it a lot cleaner and newer, but the same as he had used to open the outer door all those years ago and still carried with him today in the inner pocket of his jacket along with the beacon. He rarely looked at it because as far as he knew, it served no purpose other than to gain entry to The Source.

  Then it struck him, if he wasn’t authorized, would this wristband be? Pulling it from Collins’ corpse he strode toward the closed door he knew his enemy had escaped through.

  Chapter 17

  Beware the Minotaur

  Annie kept up the commentary on what Tanaka was doing just the other side of the door.

  When they heard the report of the first gunshot, dulled by the thick door, Hendricks swore. “That’s not good news, he has guns now. Another tactical edge we’ve just lost.” He looked at Weatherby. “You’d better show us to this secret bunker of yours. Geiger, strip Stevens of his weapons and ammo, we are going to need as much as we can get if we expect to get home in one piece.”

  Geiger nodded and knelt next to his dead friend and after gently and respectfully rolling him over, relieved him of both his weapons and ammunition. Standing, he slung the rifle over his shoulder, handed Henricks the pistol and some magazines, offering Jones a few and stuffed the rest into his own tactical vest.

  Hendricks indicated to Weatherby to lead the way.

  Annie spoke into their earpieces. “I’ll monitor your position and activate the lighting as necessa—Tanaka has just removed Collins’ wristband and is approaching the door.”

  The door hissed and began sliding open.

  Hendricks turned to face it raising his rifle. “Close it now, Annie!” he shouted and began firing single shots through the opening.

  Tanaka was taken by surprise as the door began to open the moment he approached. He caught a glimpse of the man called Hendricks who had come to the Springs to talk raising his weapon and dove out the way as it spat flame and bullets through the gap, missing him by inches.

  Sliding to a stop against a desk he pushed the magazine in his hand into the weapon and aiming at the widening gap, pulled the trigger. Not having charged the weapon it wouldn’t fire and not knowing what to do he dropped it in disgust and pulled out his pistol. He aimed wildly at the door and kept pulling the trigger as the gun bucked in his hand with each shot, filling him with an immense sense of power.


  The door stopped opening and started to close as Annie overrode the system. Tanaka looked around in desperation, he couldn’t let the door close. Bullets from Hendricks’ gun still spat through the gap, ricocheting as they struck the opposite wall forcing his men to cower in fear. The only object near the door was the body he had stripped the weapons from. Scrambling over to it he grabbed Collins’ limp carcass and with strength he didn’t know he possessed and half threw, half slid it into the diminishing gap. The door was not designed to be as secure as the main one and the moment the it touched the body it reversed direction as the main door had done and started opening again.

  Hendricks was still firing through the door when Collins’ body slid into the diminishing gap. His eyes grew wide with horror when it began opening again.

  “The door has a pressure safety system; I can’t close it if it’s blocked,” Annie told them, her voice sounding almost panicked as they retreated down the long corridor. Hendricks fired one last long burst through the now fully open door and screaming at them to run as he turned and followed.

  In the silence that followed Hendricks’ last volley, Tanaka sat with his back against the wall regaining his breath. The only noise over his heavy breathing was the door hissing as it kept trying to close only to open and repeat the process every time it touched Collins’ body. Tanaka smiled as he knew with certainty that they now had no place to hide. All he needed to do was to reorganize his remaining men and lead them further into The Source to hunt them down. Reaching for the rifle he had abandoned in favor of the pistol he studied it for a while before locating the charging handle which he pulled and saw with satisfaction a bullet sliding into the chamber as he released it.

  Edging close to the door he risked a quick glance through it seeing the last of the group disappear around a corner at the end of the long, brightly lit passageway.

  He stood up and, seeing the fear on the faces of most of his remaining men, addressed them. “We have them now.” He held the rifle over his head. “We have their weapons.” He changed his expression to one of sorrow as he theatrically waved at their dead lying piled in and around the main door and lowered his voice. “We must avenge our brother warriors and make the newcomers pay for what they’ve done to us. When they’re all dead we shall take their weapons and destroy their puny compound.” He raised his arms and his voice again as he could see he had them hooked.

  “When they are dead, we will destroy the Three Hills tribe and every one of you, my brave warriors, will have the first claim of the spoils. You will have the pick of the prettiest women.” He paused and looked at one of his men who he knew had different tastes. “And the men, too.”

  That earned him a laugh, as the men nearest to the one he had singled out slapped him on the back as he beamed with pleasure, not even the slightest bit embarrassed about having his tastes publicly aired.

  “Who’s with me?”

  The men roared in unified response as he bellowed.

  Fired up, the men ran through the door ahead of Tanaka who waved them through, happily letting them lead the way and face the guns of the enemy before him. He followed his men, stepping over the dead body and removing from it every full magazine he could find.

  ~

  Running fast, Weatherby led them deeper into the complex with Annie turning on the lights as they approached each intersection and corner. Weatherby faltered as the roar of many voices echoed down the empty corridors.

  “I shall turn off the lights so they cannot follow us,” announced Annie

  Hendricks countermanded her. “No, don’t. When I order it, darken the area we are in and keep them lit up.”

  “Jimmy, I don’t understand why?” she asked.

  “If they catch up with us, they won’t be able to see us, but they will be lit up like a Christmas tree. We’ll be able to pick them off easier than firing blind into the dark. Also, if we draw them deeper into the facility before turning the lights out it’ll be darker than the labyrinth at Knossos and they may never find their way out,” Hendricks explained.

  Annie’s voice this time sounded surprised. “I understand now, thank you, Jimmy.” She then whispered conspiratorially, “Does that make you the Minotaur?”

  Anderson, surprised that at such a time Annie would deem it appropriate to attempt humor, shook his head in disbelief. “Annie, really. Now’s not the time to try one-liners you know.”

  “Sorry, David,” she replied immediately, sounding mildly chastened but with an undertone that she still believed the jest was well placed. Kind of a ‘sorry, not sorry’ tone.

  “I am monitoring all of your vital signs and calculated you needed a distraction to lower the stress levels you are all showing. If you maintain your current pace, I estimate you will reach the hidden complex with an excess of five minutes to spare as they are having to search a greater area and not go to it directly as you are. If everyone is a little calmer, I reason it will avoid unnecessary delays or accidents on the way to our destination.”

  Unable to argue with her logic once again, Anderson just mentally shrugged and continued to follow Weatherby as he led them deeper into the facility.

  Many long and exhausting minutes of frantic running later they were all breathing heavily as they arrived at a door on sub level twelve.

  “Annie, where are they?” Hendricks asked as he pulled a canteen from his belt and took a drink before passing it to Jones who accepted it wordlessly.

  “They are still searching level two. Do you want me to turn the lights off?”

  “Not yet, Annie, let them all reach at least level six.” He turned to Weatherby who was standing beside a door, one of many that were lining the long corridor they were in. “Is this the one?”

  “Yes,” he replied simply and waved his wristband over the pad on the frame. A light on it flashed green and the lock clicked. He pressed the handle, opening it as the others filed in after him.

  They found themselves in a small room, no larger than some cupboards. Anderson looked round expecting to see a large bombproof safe-type steel door set thickly into the wall, not the smooth metal paneling the room was lined with. Weatherby smiled at their confused looks and walked to one of the walls. He pressed his wristband against the top corner and held it there for a few seconds until the paneling clicked and swung open, revealing a short passage that ended at a heavy-duty steel door.

  “Annie, can you open the door please, you have the codes on the files I gave you access to earlier.”

  “Of course, Mister Weatherby,” she replied, matching his politeness.

  Noises of bolts sliding and mechanisms turning sounded deep inside the door before it smoothly opened. They held back, watching as lights flickered and turned on lighting the room beyond. With a triumphant smile and a flourish of his hands he gave a theatrical half bow and said, “Shall we?”

  They dutifully trooped inside, gathering in what looked to be an entrance hall as the steel paneling behind them closed with a click followed by the heavier dull clunks of the main door closing and locking.

  Hendricks looked around and smiled. “Annie, let me know when the first one reaches level six.”

  Chapter 18

  Eyes in the Dark

  Tanaka’s rage was building the deeper they explored the vast complex he had never known was hidden within The Source. Finding nothing but empty rooms, corridors and stairwells they ventured deeper and deeper, his anger swelling and building with each frustrating step.

  Looking at the remarkable condition the whole facility was in, he questioned why it hadn’t remained in use when his ancestors had emerged from their hundred-year sleep. It made no sense to him why, when there was all this, they chose to live in sometimes squalid conditions on the surface.

  Mainly he thought about where his enemies had vanished to and why his idiotic, incompetent warriors had failed to find them yet. He lashed out, demanding results with threats of punishment to encourage them.

  And then the lights went out, plunging th
em all into utter darkness.

  ~

  The bunker was just as Amir had described it, fitted out as a luxury apartment befitting the money and status of one of the world’s wealthiest families. The reception area they first entered opened into a vast living area complete with an enormous seating area still furnished with very expensive and comfortable-looking, neatly arranged chairs and sofas. A dining table that could seat at least twenty people created another area along with an open plan kitchen.

  I stood in the middle of it all and whistled my appreciation of the luxury. “Amir?” I asked the question I guessed most of us had on the end of our tongues. “Exactly how big is this place?”

  “The main apartment has five bedroom suites plus what you see here.” He pointed to a door at one end of the room. “There’s a spa, swimming pool and fitness area, including a fully equipped medical bay with an operating theater through there.” He gestured casually down a passageway as though such things were normal. “Beyond that are the staff quarters sufficient to house eight.” Looking at our faces he gave a small shrug. “What can I say? I was building it for my mother, and I wanted her to have the best of everything. It was the least I could do for her.”

  “Where are the cryo pods and supplies and…” Hendricks said pointedly, “most importantly, the way out?”

  Weatherby pointed to a set of double doors on another wall. “Just through there. It also has access via a hidden goods lift to one of the main storage areas above. It’s how I managed to build and stock it in secret. There were so many contractors and engineers on site the whole process was compartmentalized by its very nature; most people didn’t know what another team was doing other than constructing a different part of the complex.”