by Siegel, Alex
They ran.
Chapter Fifteen
Tawni followed Aaron into a large open space. It contained a few dozen cages suspended by chains from the ceiling. She gasped in horror when she saw the people in the cages.
They were being held in conditions unfit for a lab rat. It was clear nobody had washed the bare metal cages or the naked captives in a long time. A nauseating mix of shit and urine had splattered the floor beneath. The men and women had to suck their meals out of plastic feeding tubes.
When they saw Aaron and Tawni, they immediately started screaming and pounding the bars. The captives sounded like monkeys instead of people.
The cages began to descend to the floor. Electric winches were lowering all of them at once.
"Fuck," Aaron said. He drew a gun for each hand.
The latches on all the cages released simultaneously. The captives slammed open the doors and charged. Tawni instinctively backed away.
Aaron didn't budge an inch. He just started shooting with a skill that amazed her. Every bullet found a target. Every trigger pull resulted in an instant death. The dozens of hysterical lunatics coming at him didn't seem to affect Aaron's aim.
As Tawni watched him work, she realized he was more than just incredibly precise. He was killing his enemies in a particular order. The dead bodies were building a protective barrier that slowed down the survivors. It had taken him just seconds to devise a successful plan despite being outnumbered and surprised.
Tawni heard other gunshots and realized Charles was also shooting. She had forgotten he was in the group. His invisibility trick was affecting her mind as well as her eyes.
Belatedly, Tawni engaged the enemy with her own gun. They were dying fast, and she only managed to get one headshot before all of them were dead.
Aaron began to reload his weapons. "Tragic."
"The innocent always suffer the most," the invisible Charles replied. "At least we ended their misery this time. A pity Wesley wasn't here. He could've healed them."
Tawni tried to locate his voice, but it seemed to come from all around.
"Tawni," Aaron said, "where were you? This isn't a spectator sport."
"I'm sorry. I froze."
"When there is killing to be done, you need to be right on top of it. Hesitation can be lethal in our business."
"Yes, sir," Tawni said. "I promise it won't happen again. I have to say that was the finest damn shooting I've ever seen."
"Thank you. Obviously, the enemy knows we're here. There will be more engagements. Stay sharp."
Aaron jogged off and she followed.
* * *
Norbert was lost. The whole building was laid out like a maze with dead ends everywhere. He had given up trying to find the way back to the original entry point. Any exit would do now.
He led Wesley into a room obviously used for surgery. It had an operating table, a respirator, a heart monitor, and other standard equipment, but the room also had some features of a torture chamber. The table had heavy leather straps for holding down the victim during surgery. There was a rusty cage in the corner equipped with manacles. A garbage can was overflowing with blood soaked bandages. Cockroaches scampered across the floor.
Norbert was past the point where he could feel more horror. He had already seen too much.
He looked around for another way out of the room. "I still don't understand what you're doing here."
"I'm a legionnaire," Wesley said. "The enemy is here, so this is where I need to be."
Norbert shook his head. "The role of a legionnaire is to fight and die for God. We're expendable. You're not. You have to lead the world to a better future."
"Why? I never volunteered. Nobody asked me if I wanted that responsibility."
"You were made for it," Norbert said. "Just like I was made to do this."
He heard a slight noise outside the door. Somebody was following them.
"Hide," Norbert whispered.
Wesley nodded. He climbed inside a supply cabinet and pulled the door closed.
Norbert looked around and noticed a blood stained sheet wadded up in a corner. He ran over to grab it. He laid down on the operating table and pulled the sheet completely over himself. Anybody who entered the room would assume he was a corpse. Finally, he used a knife to cut a tiny peephole in the sheet.
He remained extremely still. The bloody sheet smelled rancid.
After a couple of minutes, he heard the door squeak as it opened. Soft footsteps came next. He peeked through the hole with one eye and saw four guards in green uniforms. They looked scared.
They should be, Norbert thought.
Using his ears as much as his eye, he followed their progress through the room. A plan formed in his mind. Aaron had drilled Norbert many times on the importance of anticipating instead of just reacting. Always plan the last shot before you fire the first, Norbert thought.
He waited until the guards had walked past the operating table and were looking the other way. Silently, he pulled back the sheet and slipped off the table. He stabbed one guard in the shoulder just in front of the clavicle. The blade was angled to puncture the heart.
Norbert threw the corpse at the other guards. While they were distracted, he drew a gun and shot two of them in the chest. He rolled under the operating table before the last survivor could return fire. Norbert gave the heavy metal table a hard shove. It slammed into the guard with enough force to knock him down.
Norbert sprang to his feet. The guard was still trying to recover when Norbert stomped on his right forearm. The bones broke and the guard let go of his gun.
Norbert went to work with gusto. Very quickly, the guard had two dislocated shoulders, a broken knee, and cracked ribs. He moaned in pain.
"Wesley," Norbert said. "It's safe."
Wesley emerged from his cabinet. He looked at the mess and said, "You've been taking lessons from Aaron."
"That's a very nice compliment. Thank you. This man has information we need. Use your gift on him."
"I don't want to." Wesley shook his head.
"This isn't a good time for childish defiance."
"If you want him to talk, torture him."
"We're in a hurry," Norbert said. "More guards could be along any minute."
"But..."
"You're acting like a spoiled brat. The city of Chicago is on the verge of destroying itself, and you're not helping us stop it."
"I'll help," Wesley said. "I just want to do it my way."
"What way is that exactly? By ignoring your commander's orders? By interfering with a mission? By needlessly putting yourself in grave danger? By distracting and aggravating the adults around you? Maybe I'm just a little stupid, but I'm not seeing how this helps."
"You don't understand. You don't have a powerful gift."
Norbert glared at the boy. "I know people who do, and they don't act like you. They aren't a burden."
Wesley made a sour face and scraped his foot on the dirty floor. "You'll understand when you get a gift."
"I will?"
"A scary monster one. We'll have this conversation again, and you'll have a different attitude."
Norbert paused to digest this prophesy. "Nonetheless, we have a prisoner who needs to be interrogated. The world's most effective interrogator is right in front of me, and time is short. The next step seems pretty obvious."
Wesley scowled. He was clearly unhappy, but Norbert had no sympathy for him. Everybody had a job to do.
Wesley walked over to the disabled guard. "Who do you work for?"
"I'm not telling you a damn..." The guard looked up at Wesley's face and froze.
"Answer me."
Despite his injuries, the guard squirmed on the floor. The muscles stood out on his neck, and he was having trouble breathing. His gaze was locked on Wesley.
"Talk!" Wesley yelled.
"Dr. Ernie Rascher," the guard replied in a strained voice. He was fighting hard, but it was a losing battle. "He's the boss around here."
; "Where is he?"
"The control room."
Norbert smiled. This was the right way to get information.
"Where is that?" Wesley said.
The guard's body was shaking with the effort to resist. "Northeast corner of the facility."
"Which direction? Point."
The guard clenched his fists.
Wesley leaned down. "Which direction?"
The guard stared at his own arm as it lifted up and pointed. "Follow the overhead water pipes. They're made of copper."
Norbert stepped forward. "What kind of security can we expect?"
"Answer him," Wesley said.
"I don't..." The guard groaned. "Solid steel walls. The surface is electrified. It's disguised as a giant water tank."
Wesley turned to Norbert and said, "That's all he knows."
Norbert nodded. "Thank you."
He shot the guard in the head, splattering brains on the floor. The cockroaches would feast tonight.
"Let's go to the control room," Wesley said.
"No. You're getting out of this building. The real legionnaires will deal with Dr. Rascher once you're safe."
"Listen to me! I'm the Voice of Truth, and I say all of us need to get into that control room. The strands of destiny converge there."
Norbert glared at him. "You're not just saying this to stay in the game?"
"I never lie." Wesley's blue eyes were particularly impressive.
"But you don't exactly tell the whole truth either. We'll go, but you're going to explain it to Aaron. I won't get blamed for this one."
* * *
Dr. Rascher couldn't believe what he was seeing on the surveillance monitors. The tall, Asian woman was fighting a gang of fifteen insane test subjects. Rascher had released them a moment ago, expecting they would have no trouble destroying the lone intruder. It had seemed impossible for one woman to fight off so many attackers at once.
She wasn't even bothering to use a gun. Apparently, her sword was the only weapon required for this minor task.
She jumped and twirled in the air as if gravity didn't matter. Her sword sliced through flesh effortlessly. Her enemies were dying in clumps before they could even lay a hand on her. They were just practice dummies to her. Very quickly, heads and dismembered limbs littered the floor. Arterial spray was painting the walls red.
The security chief said in an urgent tone, "Sir, maybe we should go."
Rascher had a hard time arguing the point. He was rapidly losing this battle, and soon, there would be nobody left on his side.
"I need to make a call first." He grabbed the white phone and listened to it ring.
"This better be good news," Gains answered quickly.
"It's not. I'm thinking about abandoning the facility."
"Why?"
"These intruders aren't human," Rascher said. "They're killing everybody. I can't stop them."
"I thought you had a plan."
"It failed. What happened to the reinforcements you promised? Where are the Nonsectarians?"
"They're coming," Gains said. "It took time to get them organized and mobilized. You just have to hold out a little longer."
The Asian woman finished slaughtering the last of her opponents. She was covered in blood, so it was hard to tell if she was injured, but she wasn't acting hurt. She wiped off her sword and moved on.
"We may not have a little longer."
"We can't lose that facility," Gains said. "All our secrets are there. The whole operation will be exposed!"
That's your problem now, Rascher thought. Clearly, it was time to disappear. He had stashed away enough cash to keep him comfortable for a while. He would lay low until he found another employer willing to pay a fair price for his services. Mexico sounded like a good place to look for his next job. He knew a little Spanish and didn't mind learning more. He certainly couldn't ever go back to Europe.
"Rascher?" Gains said. "Are you listening?"
Rascher hung up the phone. He looked around his control room for the last time. Except for the security chief, all the guards and technicians were watching the displays on their consoles.
Rascher popped open a secret latch on the nearest console. He pulled, and it swung out on silent hinges. A passage big enough to crawl through was revealed.
"I never knew about that," the security chief said.
"Just wait here for a moment. I'll make sure it's safe."
Rascher got down on his hands and knees. He crawled quickly through the dark tunnel.
Working by feel, he found a panel on the side wall and pressed a solitary button. After a few seconds, he heard cries of anguish coming from the direction of the control room. He had switched all the console displays to a signal that forced people to commit suicide. Rascher didn't want anybody following him.
He continued crawling down the tunnel.
* * *
Tawni followed Aaron into a dimly lit laboratory full of electronic equipment. Gadgets crowded the shelves along the walls. She recognized the basic tools like pliers and wire cutters. She was even able to identify an oscilloscope, but the rest was beyond her.
An odor made her instantly nauseous. It smelled like rotten fish.
Aaron turned on a desk light. The scene in the room was so horrific Tawni's knees became weak.
Five security guards were lying on the floor, more or less. Some monster with incredible strength had torn them apart. Arms and legs had been ripped out of their sockets. One man's spine was halfway out of his back. It was hard to tell what parts had originally belonged to what bodies.
One of the corpses was in a condition that defied explanation. Its skin had deflated as if the guts had been sucked out by a giant mosquito. Black sludge oozed from the mouth and eye sockets. It looked like even some of the bones were missing. This was the source of the smell.
Tawni vomited onto the floor.
She wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "What the fuck happened here, sir?"
"Yvonne," Aaron said softly. "She had a little fun with the boys, followed by a quick meal. She's a hungry girl."
Tawni found it hard to comprehend. She would see Yvonne in an entirely different light the next time they met.
"I need you to do something for me." Aaron pointed at a door at the back of the room. "Some people are waiting to ambush us. I just heard them."
"I didn't hear anything."
"You don't know how to listen properly. Kill them."
"By myself?" Tawni raised her eyebrows.
Aaron nodded. "Impress me."
"Yes, sir."
She walked up to the door and pressed her ear against it. Her own breathing was too loud so she held her breath. She heard movement on the other side. Aaron was right again.
She stepped back to assess the situation. All the interior walls in this place were made of a single sheet of plywood or particle board. Bullets would pass straight through. The only problem was she didn't know where to shoot.
She looked around for something she could use. Her gaze settled on a small mirror among the tools, and she grabbed it. She drew a knife from a sheath strapped to her thigh. Now she just needed one more thing: a source of noise to cover her activities. She turned on a drill press, and it made a nice loud rattle.
She went to a corner and started carving a mouse hole in the wall. She pried away thin layers of wood with her knife. The drill press allowed her to work quickly without worrying too much about noise. When the hole was just big enough, she slipped the mirror through.
In the reflection, she saw three men in green uniforms. Two were on either side of the door, and the third was down on the floor. All three had their guns ready to shoot. Tawni stared at them until she had a solid mental picture of their locations.
She walked back and visualized her enemies on the other side of the wall. She drew her gun and fired three times.
Instead of opening the door, she returned to the mouse hole and used the mirror again. Two enemies were dead, but the one on t
he floor was just wounded. She placed her gun against the wall, adjusted her aim, and fired again. This bullet got him.
"All clear," she announced.
Aaron clapped politely. "Well done."
"Where did you find her?" Charles said.
Tawni looked around for the source of the voice. She was getting tired of his invisible man act.
"In an alley," Aaron said, "beating the shit out of some poor guy."
"You have a good eye for talent. The legate is going to like her a lot."
She frowned. "If you're going to talk about me, at least let me see you. That would be nice."
"I'm not invisible," Charles said.
"Yes, you are."
"Aaron can see me. The problem is yours, not mine."
"What do you mean?" Tawni said.
"He's on my right," Aaron said. "Just look really hard."
She stared at the spot beside him. For some reason, her eyes kept turning away. She refocused her attention again and again with greater annoyance each time. She was starting to understand Charles' strange gift. It wasn't that she couldn't see him. Some part of her brain just didn't want to. Or is afraid to, she thought.
Charles was definitely in front of her. She clenched her fists and forced her eyes to stay pointed in that direction. It was a tougher mental challenge than any test she had ever taken in school. The blood in her temples was throbbing. She finally caught a glimmer of an outline of him.
"I'm doing it!" she said. "I can see you a little. You're wearing some kind of rainbow robe."
"The Cloak of the Lord. Very impressive, especially for a new recruit. You have a great future ahead of you."
Tawni let herself relax. She rubbed her eyes.
Aaron suddenly fired his gun at the door. It opened and a man in a green uniform fell on the floor. He had been shot through the face.
"You missed one," Aaron said.
"Sorry, sir," Tawni said.
"We've wasted enough time here. Let's go."
He proceeded through the open doorway.
* * *
Smythe looked up at a long, metal ladder which led to a catwalk high in the air. The ladder was attached to a steel support post.
"That's what we need," he said. "A different perspective. Ladies first."