by Siegel, Alex
Tawni saw surveillance cameras all over and more were probably hidden. The long wall facing the street had no doors at all. She didn't see an entrance for visitors or even a sign. Bright flood lights illuminated the wide grassy lawn.
She spotted some bushes on her right. "Ten seconds."
Norbert, Smythe, and Odelia shifted their position.
As Tawni approached the bushes, she slowed gradually. The instant she came to a stop, the team slipped out of the van and under cover. They vanished into the foliage. Tawni gently accelerated away.
"Good luck," she whispered.
She turned left at the next intersection. The stop lights were flashing yellow, and she didn't bother to slow down. She continued one more block until she came to a huge empty lot. She drove straight onto the dirt and weeds. The van was full of munitions so she went very gently over the holes. She parked with the back doors facing the truck factory.
She got out. The sky was beautiful tonight, and she was far enough from the city lights to see constellations. She wondered if God were looking down on her now. She hoped so.
She went around to the back of the van and opened the doors. The cargo area was packed with dangerous toys.
She started by grabbing a crate full of smoke grenades. She pulled off the top and found it packed full of green canisters. Moving as quickly as possible, she lit the fuses and threw the grenades towards the factory. Each one produced billowing clouds of smoke. There were a lot of them, and it took her several minutes to empty out the crate. Her arms were already getting tired when she was done.
She reached for concussion grenades next. There were twenty-four in the box. She hurled these as far as possible and used the van as cover. The bright flashes of flame and booming noises were very satisfying.
When the case was empty, she looked around and listened. She didn't see any sign of trouble yet. She still had another couple of minutes to play.
She went for a RPG-7 next. The weapon felt big and clumsy in her hands. A tube made of metal and wood held a rocket propelled grenade designed to kill tanks. It would work just as well on brick walls. She aimed at the factory and pulled the trigger. Rocket flames dazzled her eyes.
She grinned so much her cheeks hurt. This was more fun than sex.
She quickly dropped another rocket into the tube and fired again. A second hole was blasted in the side of the factory.
She aimed the next rocket at a massive transformer on the ground. The RPG-7 wasn't very accurate, and it took three tries to score a hit. A secondary explosion included an impressive shower of sparks and a spray of burning transformer oil. The lights on the factory flickered and died.
Mission accomplished, she thought. She saw flashing yellow in the distance which didn't look like police lights. It seemed the enemy was trying to capture her with ordinary security guards.
She closed up the van, got in, and drove off. She had never been in a high speed chase before. She was looking forward to another new and exciting experience.
Chapter Fourteen
Smythe watched a hazy cloud of smoke drift around the truck factory. Distant explosions sounded like grenades.
When the moment seemed right, he sprinted across the street. Odelia and Norbert followed close behind. Everybody crouched as Smythe went to work on the iron fence.
He took a sprayer from his utility belt. He squirted a thin stream of liquid onto the bars, causing a strong chemical reaction. White smoke stung his eyes and forced him back. After half a minute, he kicked the weakened bars, breaking them off. The resulting gap in the fence was just big enough for the team to crawl through.
They ran across the lawn at full speed. The smoke wasn't thick enough to completely hide them from surveillance cameras, but Smythe hoped the continued explosions would be enough of a distraction to make up the difference. Either way, they were committed.
The team reached the wall of the factory. All three of them grabbed shaped charges from bags on their belts. The charges were placed to punch a hole in the brick wall about two feet square. Smythe wired the detonator and started the countdown. They moved to the side.
When the charges exploded, they were noisy but it wasn't bad. The racket Tawni was making was a lot worse.
Smythe examined the hole. It went all the way through to a room inside the building. Odelia and Norbert were right behind him.
"Wait," Smythe whispered.
He huddled against the wall. After a moment, he heard the most powerful explosion so far. All the lights went out.
"Now," he said.
Everybody lowered their night vision goggles and drew their guns. They streamed into the dark building.
Smythe looked around for danger. The goggles made everything look green and sparkly.
He seemed to be in a garbage dump. Piles of broken equipment surrounded him, mostly electronics, but some heavy machinery was mixed in. A rancid odor indicated some of the garbage was food.
"Ugh," Odelia said. "I already hate this place."
Smythe heard a big engine starting up somewhere in the factory. The lights flickered a few times before turning on.
"A backup generator," he said. "So much for darkness."
The team flipped up their goggles.
The dump was even worse when seen in the light. A lot of it was video equipment. He spotted a set of broken shackles. Flies were crawling over something wrapped in a bloody towel.
Smythe's phone started beeping oddly. He opened the cover and saw the words "lost signal." Norbert and Odelia's phones were beeping also.
"A jammer?" Odelia said.
"I'd better let Aaron know," Smythe said.
He went back outside. His phone service was restored as soon as he was clear of the building. His phone rang before he even had a chance to dial.
He answered the call. "Hello?"
"This is Aaron. We lost all three of you for a few seconds."
"I know, sir. There is some kind of jammer inside the building. We'll be out of contact for a while."
"Damn," Aaron growled. "Proceed with the operation anyway. Move fast and stay out of sight. Don't spend too much time in there.
"Yes, sir. I'd better get back inside." Smythe checked left and right. "I'm exposed out here."
He ducked back through the hole.
"We're on our own for a while," Smythe said. "We're going to run. Don't fall behind."
He looked around to choose a direction. Crudely built partitions divided the interior of the factory into uneven sections. They were made of wood or corrugated metal, reminding him of a shanty town. Most of the structures were built out of cheap plywood and two-by-fours. Some of the overhead lights were damaged or completely broken. Power cables dangled from the ceiling. It was a place built by anarchists who couldn't care less about safety.
He spotted a steel doorway that looked interesting. "Follow me."
The team ran in that direction.
* * *
Dr. Ernie Rascher stood in the main control room of his research facility. Power had been restored and the explosions had stopped. For the moment at least, it was calm.
Security guards and technicians sat at consoles all around the room. They could control everything from here. It was the one clean, safe place in the entire building. This room was his island of sanity.
It was time to call the boss. Rascher went to a white phone hanging on the wall and picked it up. It rang automatically.
Roger Gains answered quickly, "I'm getting very tired of calls on my emergency line. What's wrong now?"
"We were attacked. Somebody in a nearby field was using smoke and explosives. He knocked out our main transformer."
"Did you get him?" Gains sounded a little hysterical.
"I sent a large team out," Rascher said. "My men are chasing him now. For obvious reasons, I couldn't call the police. The facility seems secure at the moment. All the doors are guarded, and I haven't received any more reports of trouble. I think we weathered the attack well."
"It sounds like the attack was just a distraction. There might be something else going on."
"I had the same thought..." Rascher noticed movement on one of the surveillance feeds. He yelled, "Hey! I just saw something on camera 42!"
One of the security guards stopped the video and backed it up. Rascher came over for a closer look. It appeared a small figure dressed in dark clothes was running across the lawn.
"What's going on?" Gains said.
Rascher spoke into the phone. "Something strange. We caught a child sneaking across the grass on the north side of the building."
"How?"
"I don't know. There are no gates or doors on that side. How did he get through the fence? This is impossible."
"Your facility is obviously not as secure as you thought," Gains said. "Figure out what's going on and report back to me."
"Yes, sir."
"I'll gather up all the Nonsectarians and send them your way as reinforcements. It's time to circle the wagons. That's all."
"Don't worry," Rascher said. "If there are intruders, I'll catch them and use them for my experiments. They'll regret ever setting foot here."
* * *
Wesley was running as fast as he could. He was two minutes late, thanks to the stupid cab driver. The shroud of smoke had already cleared the building, and the lights were back on. Wesley's only hope was getting inside before anybody spotted him. Fortunately, he was small and quick.
He had found the gap in the fence easily. The hole in the wall was directly ahead in the expected location. He sprinted in a straight line, his feet thumping on the soft grass.
He dived through the hole and slid across the floor on his armored chest. He was on his feet with a gun in hand a second later.
He realized he was in a garbage dump. The stench made him gag. Most of the debris was broken equipment, tools, or cables, but that wasn't all. There was a bent steel cage big enough for a man. He also noticed a bloody scalpel on a pile of crusty bandages.
He looked around desperately for a clue about which direction to go. He had to catch up with the rest of the team quickly. He liked to think of himself as always brave and confident, but he didn't like being alone in this place. He was actually afraid. The last time he had felt this way was when his parents had died.
He noticed a door swinging back and forth on spring hinges. He dashed towards it.
* * *
Aaron stared at the satellite image on Bethany's computer monitor. The lack of information was driving him crazy. His imagination was filling the void with nightmare possibilities.
"Where is Wesley?" He looked around. "I haven't heard him whine in hours."
Bethany tapped on her keyboard. "According to his tracking signal, he's on the north side of the roof."
Aaron looked up and yelled, "Kamal! Do you see Wesley on the roof?"
"Let me check, sir," Kamal replied through overhead speakers.
There was a long silence.
"Well?" Aaron said.
"I can't see him, but some of the cameras aren't working."
"What does that mean?"
"I think they were turned off, sir," Kamal said.
Aaron took off at a full sprint. He ran up the stairs and bounded onto the roof. It was dark, cool, and quiet up here. After a quick search, he found Wesley's abandoned phone. One of the emergency rappel lines had been used.
"That little shit!" Aaron yelled. He grabbed his own phone and called Charles.
Charles answered quickly, "Did you find Wesley?"
"How did you...? You bugged my headquarters! That's how you were able to follow us."
"I had to. Sorry."
Aaron snarled. "We'll discuss this later," he said in a voice full of rage, "after we rescue Wesley. I want you and your team in front of the hotel in three minutes. I'll pick you up in the helicopter. Bring guns."
"We'll be there."
Aaron ran to the blue helicopter, climbed in, and turned it on. While the rotors came up to speed, he buckled his seat belt.
He was fuming. He wanted to wrap his hands around Wesley's scrawny throat. The boy had gone too far this time.
Aaron was supposed to wait two minutes for the engine to warm up, but he gave it just thirty seconds. He went to full power and the helicopter leapt into the air. His inexperience as a pilot betrayed him immediately. He fought to regain control and stop the helicopter from spinning.
As soon as he was straight and level, he shot over the edge of the roof and dropped down. The parking lot was crowded with cars, and the only clear space was directly in front of the hotel. The shocked faces of guests looked up as he plummeted like a stone.
The protection team was already waiting there. Aaron guided the helicopter to a bumpy landing on the asphalt. Everybody climbed into the back seats. Within seconds, he was lifting off again.
"We heard you lost the kid," Atalanta said in a snide tone.
"No," Aaron said. "The kid lost me."
"You know where he is?"
"I have a pretty good idea."
He flew towards the Crestwood industrial park at top speed. His veins felt like they were on fire.
* * *
Smythe, Odelia, and Norbert entered a large open space. A few dozen cages suspended by thick chains hung from the ceiling. Each of the small cages held a lone man or a woman.
The prisoners were naked and spattered with filth. Mounds of feces were on the concrete beneath the cages. Tubes were connected to canisters above, and apparently, that was how the prisoners were fed. The smell was nauseating.
"We've stumbled into Hell," Norbert muttered.
Smythe automatically made a medical assessment of the prisoners' condition. Most were unconscious or at least sleeping on the bare metal floors of their cages. A few were alert though.
One man spotted the intruders. His eyes bulged, and he screamed incoherently. The cage swayed as he threw his body recklessly against the bars. There didn't seem to be any intelligence in his actions. He was just a mindless beast full of rage. Some of the other prisoners began to wake up.
"Let's move," Smythe said. "One quick loop around and then we're leaving."
The team ran off.
* * *
Wesley heard screaming up ahead. He quickened his pace and entered a room of cages.
The horror of the scene stopped him in his tracks. His gift told him much more than he wanted to know about these people. There was unimaginable pain here. Their minds were so damaged they had become little more than animals. It would take a genuine miracle to pull them out of the dark places where they were trapped.
It would take the Beacon of Light.
Wesley promised himself he would come back and heal these poor souls, but not now. He had to find his friends first. He stared straight ahead and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him.
* * *
Tawni turned the steering wheel. Tires squealed loudly and the van slewed to one side. She was almost up on two wheels. She got through the corner safely and floored the accelerator. The engine roared in response, pushing her back in her seat.
She checked the rear-view mirror. About ten cars with flashing yellow lights were in hot pursuit. They had chased her all around the industrial park, and so far it had been an even match. The pursuers were fast, but Aaron had given Tawni a vehicle with plenty of horsepower. With courage and skill that had surprised even her, she had slowly managed to gain ground.
Her phone rang. Taking a call now was inconvenient to say the least, but she realized it could be important. With one hand still on the steering wheel, she pressed the phone against her ear.
"What?" she yelled.
"Where are you?" Aaron said. The sound of a helicopter thumped in the background.
"Running for my life, sir."
"Meet me at the north side of the truck factory in ten minutes. You're going inside with me."
"Did you hear me?" she said. "I'm running for my life!"
"Wesley is in trouble. I wo
n't hear any excuses. Be there!"
The call ended.
"What a grouch," she muttered.
She heard boxes sliding around in the van. She still had plenty of toys back there including a couple of pounds of C-4. She even had some more RPG-7 ammunition. That gave her an idea for how to end this chase.
She worked her way back towards the truck factory. She kept her eyes open for the kind of place she needed. A dark alley between two buildings looked just right.
Abruptly, she turned onto a curb and aimed for the alley. It was a bumpy ride as she drove over grass and bushes. She skidded to a stop inside the alley, blocking it with her vehicle. She ran around to the back of the van, opened the doors, and grabbed the RPG-7 tube. She snatched a rocket with her other hand. She continued down the dark alley on foot at a full sprint.
Seconds later, flashing yellow lights got her attention. She glanced back and saw cars stopping outside the mouth of the alley. They couldn't get past the van.
Breathing hard, she stopped running. She judged she had gone far enough. She crouched behind a dumpster and dropped the rocket into the tube.
She took another look back. Security guards with guns were surrounding the van and screaming orders. Headlights illuminated their neat green uniforms and caps. It would take just a few seconds for them to realize she had escaped.
Tawni aimed the RPG-7 but didn't fire. She was about to kill a lot of guys. It would be the most violent act she had ever committed by far. This was mass murder, plain and simple. The blood of those men would be on her hands for the rest of her life.
A burning in her gut told her to stop wasting time. Shoot now!
She fired and the rocket struck the van square in the grill. For one tick of the clock, nothing happened.
A concussive shockwave knocked her on her ass. A wall of fire rushed down the alley, and she barely had time to duck behind the dumpster. Hot gases singed her exposed skin and hair.
Her body was shaking when she took another look. The van was completely gone along with all the men around it. Parts of the building on either side had also been demolished.