“We’ll be ready,” said Paul, his face now unreadable.
As I checked the corridor both ways, the vague sense of uneasiness I felt grew a little worse. I put it down to nerves and shrugged it off before gesturing for Luke and Ben to follow me. Paul closed the door behind us.
I led the way, stopping every now and then to listen and make sure the patrol wasn’t in the vicinity. Again, we were lucky enough to avoid them and arrived at the last corner before the north wing entrance in about two minutes.
We came to a stop and even though it was unnecessary, I put a finger to my lips to indicate the other guys should be quiet. Luke rolled his eyes as if to say der. They both squatted with their backs against the wall while I took off my backpack and opened it, pulling out two of the zip ties and handing them to Luke. He indicated that he wanted another, and I looked at him with a question in my eyes. He just nodded to hurry me up. I shrugged and gave him a third, then put my backpack against the wall next to him.
I unclipped the Taser from my belt and I stood up straight, hiding the immobilizing weapon in my hand. Luke and Ben gave me a thumbs up and I took a deep breath before rounding the corner.
I was expecting the Homeland guards to be standing when I entered the corridor and was surprised to find them sitting on their haunches with a deck of cards on the linoleum floor between them. Their heads snapped up when I appeared, but they soon relaxed when they recognised me. One raised his eyebrows to the other as if to say what does this punk want. Even better, they stayed right where they were, one looking at his hand of cards while the other eyed me lazily. I picked him as my first target.
“Oh hey,” I began, as I closed to within a few feet. “I was just wondering if….”
I pressed the trigger on the handheld Taser and lunged at him. The blue arc came to life with a crackle, his eyes had barely widened in surprise before the weapon was jammed up against his neck and he fell to the linoleum convulsing. I let the Taser clatter to the floor and drew my Beretta, aiming it at his buddy’s face. He had shot to his feet and was desperately trying to free his own weapon.
“Don’t.”
He didn’t argue, his hands went up and I whistled. Ben and Luke came running as I ordered the Homeland guard to turn and put his hands against the wall.
“Nice work,” said Luke. He went straight to the guy against the wall and told him to put his arms behind his back.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” asked the guard with his face squashed against the wall.
“Hush,” said Luke, smacking the back of the guard’s head. I suppressed a nervous giggle at Luke’s spontaneous treatment of our captive. He quickly secured the tie around his wrists and zipped it tight. Meanwhile, Ben tied my Taser victim’s hands in the same fashion. The fallen guard was moaning now, and the convulsions had abated. I kept my gun ready in case of further resistance.
“Why did you want three ties?” I asked Luke, when he had finished and spun the guard around.
“Watch.” He pushed down on the guard’s shoulder. “Sit please.”
“Fuck you!”
This time Luke punched him in the gut and the bigger guy bent over, gasping for breath.
“Please, sit down…”
This time the guard did as he was told and after some awkward maneuvering, Ben and Luke managed to get the men into sitting positions and back to back. Luke then used the third zip tie to loop through the two ties already around their hands.
“There you go, they’re not going anywhere.”
“Well done,” I said, picking up my Taser and handing it to Ben. “If they start calling out or give you any trouble, use this on them.”
“It would be my pleasure,” said Ben unable to resist pressing the trigger so that the blue arc of electricity crackled to life.
“Come on,” I said to Luke and we went to the doubles doors the Homeland guys had been guarding.
I swiped my card, but the little indicator light stayed red. I tried it again, no good. Luke was already running back to the captive guards. I began to feel a little desperate now, imagining that at any moment the patrol might pass and see what we were up to. I didn’t want a confrontation this early in the game.
Luke was back in a second with one of their cards. I held my breath as he swiped it. Thankfully it went green this time and I pushed the doors open carefully. The lights were dimmer in here, that same pale yellow as on the lower level. The corridor continued a little way past the doors before opening into a large carpeted area with a scattering of sofas and bean bags. Something caught my eye, a slight movement at the far corner on the right. It was gone just as I saw it.
“I think that was Indigo,” whispered Luke, who had a better angle than me. “She was peaking around the corner.”
Indigo! My breathing quickened as we neared the corner carefully. Luke went around first, his assegai held out before him. I followed him. It was Indigo, she must have been waiting. We could see her at the end of another narrower corridor, urgently ushering the other girls along. They were all there—Brooke, Allie and Paul’s sister, Ava.
We waved at them to follow and stepped back around the corner as they reached us. Luke lowered his weapon and I barely had time to turn around before they were upon us. Allie made a beeline for me and fell into my arms just as Brooke reached Luke, grabbing him in a bear hug. Ava hung back, looking a little lost, and Indigo smiled at me over Allie’s shoulder. She smiled! Hopefully that meant she hadn’t been disgusted by the declaration of love on my last note. I felt myself redden as Allie finally released me from her grip of death and Indigo stepped forward.
She then did the most wonderful thing. She fell into my arms and kissed me on the lips. Now I know what they mean when they say the earth moved. I felt the most amazing feeling of wellbeing rush over me and I kissed her back. My first real kiss. Even then, in that magical moment, I half expected that she might suddenly pull away and reject me.
“Okay lovebirds, we have to go.”
Luke’s voice sounded like it was coming from a very distant place, like I was at the bottom of a deep well and he was calling down to me. Indigo broke away from the kiss and I reluctantly released her, looking around at the grinning faces of Luke, Allie and Brooke. Even Ava was smiling shyly at us. I felt my face burn with embarrassment as I slowly came back to reality.
“All right,” I said gruffly. “Let’s go.”
I led the way back to the entrance and pulled the doors closed when everyone had passed through. Ben was where we had left him, the captive guards sitting quietly at his feet. “No problems?” I asked.
“No, they’ve been as quiet as church mice.”
“Good.”
I looked at Luke and gestured to the doors. “Should we leave them in there?”
“Not a bad idea. If the patrol spots them here the way they are they will raise the alarm. If they’re not at their post, they might just report the anomaly when they get back after their patrol.”
Three minutes later Ben, Luke and I had them in the corridor behind the doors. Thankfully they had kept quiet.
“Should we Taser them?” Ben asked, obviously keen for some action. “It might keep them quiet for a bit longer.”
“Easy Ben, they’ll be fine here. The patrol’s swipe cards won’t work on this door, so even if they wanted to, they wouldn’t be able to open these doors. No need to risk permanently damaging these guys.”
I saw the mouthy one open his mouth, possibly to threaten us, but then he seemed to think better of it and looked to the floor.
“Let’s go,” Luke said.
18
We took off at a moderate pace. Again, I led the way, behind me trailed the girls with Ben and Luke bringing up the rear.
“So, what’s the plan?” Indigo asked, her eyes bright with excitement. Even with the fading bruise on her face, she looked beautiful in the dim light.
“We’re going back to collect the other group. Paul, that’s Ava’s brother, and his two
friends Beau and Toby.”
I paused as we reached an intersection, gesturing everyone to be quiet. I peeked around the corner to the left and quickly pulled my head back. I had seen the patrol passing along the corridor running parallel to ours. That meant in a few minutes they would be rounding another corner and travelling up the corridor where they would intersect with the North wing passage. I checked once more and then said urgently, “come on!”
We darted around the corner to the right, a little more urgency in our step. “And after we pick up the boys?” Indigo prompted, puffing a little because of the fast pace.
“Well, we then head towards the exit. We’re going to have to make a stand at the lobby; we can’t get to the exit without going past. If…when we get past that obstacle, we’re home free.” There was no way I was going to tell her now that I wasn’t going with them. I would leave that unhappy news until the last possible minute. Thankfully we arrived back at the dorm before she could ask me any more questions.
Perhaps because I was thinking about Indigo, or maybe just because things were moving too quickly. I didn’t stop at the door to the boys’ room even though I had a bad feeling. I ignored my spider sense (as Luke called it) and just pushed it open and took a step into the room…and froze.
Believe it or not, Paul was the first person I looked at. He was standing near the rear of the dormitory with Toby and Beau standing beside him. They wore shocked expressions, but it was Paul that drew my gaze. The shamed expression on his face told me all I needed to know. I felt the heavy pain of betrayal in my belly, even as my mind began working furiously to find a way out of this mess.
“So, it’s true then. I didn’t want to believe it.”
The Professor sat on Luke’s cot and next to him stood Mr. Ragg, his face expressionless. There were two Homeland guards in the room as well, Bradley and the heavyset Maddox… both had their weapons drawn and trained on me. I wondered briefly where Williams was.
I pushed against Indigo with my back, moving to the centre of the doorway in order to obscure the line of fire.
“Don’t bother, Isaac. You’ll find that Leroy is in the corridor behind you. He has orders to shoot if any of you try to run.”
I looked over my shoulder at Luke. He turned and looked into the corridor before nodding to me, his mouth a grim line.
“Good, now why don’t you all come in so we can have a little chat about this … escapade.”
Part of me wanted to scream, but I deliberately forced myself to remain calm. This wasn’t over yet. Keeping my hands by my side, I took a few steps into the room. Indigo hesitated.
“Come in young lady, there is nowhere else to go.”
The rest of the group filed in and the Professor called over our heads, “Leroy, make sure we’re not disturbed please.”
“Yes Sir.” Leroy shot me a smug look as he pulled the door closed. I turned back as the Professor stood.
“Now put your weapons on the floor please.”
Reluctantly, I unclipped my belt and bent over, placing it on the floor. The rest did the same with their sharpened knives and Luke also put down his handmade spear and knife… and that was all. His gun was tucked into the back of his pants. They didn’t know he had it, and they couldn’t see it from where they were standing.
The Professor clasped his hands behind his back and began to walk to and fro in front of us, much like a school principal may have done in front of misbehaving students.
“Now what are we to do with you, my friends?” he asked when he finally came to a halt and faced us. “If not for the sense your friend, young Paul, displayed by coming to me, you may well have catastrophically breached the security of this facility.”
“Oh Paul…” Ava’s soft voice came from behind me.
“We’re not your friends, and frankly Paul is no friend either. Friends don’t betray each other,” I said, bitterly.
Paul flinched. “Isaac, it wasn’t like that! I had to protect Ava, she…”
“And what you can do is let us go. Right now,” I interrupted Paul, continuing to address the Professor.
The Professor’s eyes widened—I think he was expecting fear and regret, perhaps a little begging, not steely resolve and demands.
Luke chimed in. “And make it quick if you don’t want your mad scientist ass kicked.”
There was a long silence, finally broken when the Professor laughed. He laughed hard, bending over double until tears were streaming from his eyes. The two Homeland officers were smiling as if they were in on the joke, but I could tell they had no clue. Ragg just stared…at me.
Finally, the Professor’s maniacal laughing petered out and he wiped the tears from his eyes. When he looked at us again, his smile was gone. I didn’t like what had replaced it.
“Oh, you two… I thought you were intelligent.”
“We’re smart enough to know that you killed Sonny,” I said.
If my words had an effect, they didn’t show. Luke’s next sentence did though.
“And to know that you have a new virus that you’re going to use on the Chinese.”
I saw a tell-tale flush on the Professor’s neck, but I also saw a change come over his face now that the cat was out of the bag.
“You’re right, I have. I have engineered the key to getting our country back, and your friend Sonny was instrumental in enabling me to perfect it. You see, we had retro engineered the flu virus within a month of the attack, and it wasn’t difficult to engineer a new Sino variant… but we lacked the… rat we needed to test it on. Then, of course, you arrived, a fortuitous turn of events, almost as if God had planned it that way.”
“You crazy fuck,” said Luke.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll make sure that your friend is recognised for his service to the country when we have this great nation back on its feet. But as for you, you must be punished for your sabotage…your treason. Mr. Ragg, make an example of Mr. Race please. Here, while everyone is watching.”
Mr. Ragg crossed the floor quickly and gripped me by the upper arm. Of all the men in the facility, he was the only one that physically intimidated me. I didn’t resist—not because of fear, that wouldn’t stop me. No, it was because I didn’t see the point right then. I allowed him to drag me into the center of the room and push me to my knees. It was imperative I didn’t try to resist before I saw an opening that might afford me at least a small chance of success.
“No!” Paul rushed from the back of the room, racing past Maddox and Bradley before they could react. He grabbed Ragg’s arm. “Professor, you said no one would get hurt!”
“Well, I actually said your friends wouldn’t be harmed. Mr. Race just stated quite clearly that he is not your friend. Continue, Mr. Ragg.”
Paul became frantic, he wouldn’t let go of Ragg’s arm. “No! …You promised!”
I saw the opening I was waiting for as Paul’s struggles distracted Ragg. With one swift movement I turned and aimed a rabbit punch at his groin. His reaction time was fantastic though, he managed to turn ever so slightly, my fist glancing off his thigh before hitting its mark. The resulting punch wasn’t incapacitating, but it hurt. He nimbly stepped out of my reach, pushing Paul in the chest as he went. The smaller boy went flying through the air and landed against Luke’s cot, the back of his head crashing into the metal frame with a sickening thud.
Apparently, Luke had been awaiting his own opportunity and as Ragg stalked back towards me, my friend stepped away from the rest of our group and strode just as quickly towards the Professor, his Beretta aimed at the man’s forehead.
“I wouldn’t if I were you…”
The two Homeland guards, distracted by the scuffle, were too slow to stop Luke. They looked tentative as they turned their weapons on him. For the moment I dismissed them. Ragg had stopped dead in his tracks, his intense gaze now on Luke, who stood just a foot away from the Professor. I saw the lethal man’s brain ticking over as he tensed. Despite the risk, I could tell he was going to make a move an
d it would be a swift deadly one.
“Just shoot him, Luke. Now!”
My shout had the desired effect—Ragg hesitated.
“Stand down, Mr. Ragg!” the Professor said.
Like a deactivated terminator, Mr. Ragg suddenly relaxed and stood up straight, his hands falling to his side. I got to my feet.
“And those two,” said Luke, waving his weapon in the general direction of the two Homeland guards.
“Put your guns down,” the Professor ordered.
“On the floor,” said Luke. “And kick them away.”
I went across to Paul, giving Ragg a wide berth. I put two fingers against his throat, gratified to feel a strong pulse. There was blood pouring from a cut on the crown of his head and his glasses were hanging from one ear, the left lens cracked.
I felt soft movement beside me as his sister crouched down. She placed her hand on his forehead and looked at me, her eyes filled with concern.
“Is he okay?”
“He’ll be fine, it’s superficial but will bleed a lot.”
“He didn’t do it to hurt you…”
I nodded, not sure yet how I felt about Paul. His treachery was a massive blow to us, but that didn’t make it any easier to see him hurt.
“I can’t let you leave,” said the Professor, in a measured voice.
“You don’t have a choice, asshole,” Luke said grimly.
I picked up the gun that Bradley had placed on the floor.
“Ben, tie these two up please, the same way we did earlier. Toby, help Ava get Paul to his feet.”
Ben approached with my backpack. He’d been carrying it since we had freed the girls. When he placed it on the floor and opened it to get some of the nylon ties, I reached in and grabbed two as well before walking over to Ragg. I kept the gun trained on him as I approached warily.
“Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
He just looked at me with those snake eyes of his, dead, no feeling behind them.
“Luke,” I said.
Luke stepped forward and this time placed the muzzle of the gun against the Professor’s forehead.
America Falls (Book 3): Cold Comfort Page 11