“Where are they now?” Brian asked Phil, who was still gathering himself after the unexpected assault.
“In between levels two and three, as you know, sir. Those levels are farther apart due to the sewer infrastructure. I show them as having gone through the door leading to the tunnel entrance in 1B, right here, sir.” Phil pointed to a diagram on his monitor.
“Where does that lead?” Brian said without looking at him.
“Nowhere sir, it’s a dead end.”
“All right, instruct Alpha team to recover them alive if possible.”
Phil passed along the orders to the head of Alpha team, who was standing by waiting for the remainder of the team to muster.
An entire wing of the underground complex was set aside to house and maintain the security force. The fourteen members of Alpha team were on duty, which meant they were required to muster within two minutes. The armorer unlocked the rack of Bull Pup FN P90s and retrieved two H&K CAWS twelve-gauge shotguns. The short submachineguns and shotguns were designed for combat in close quarters, perfect for the enclosed spaces of the complex. As the Alpha team members raced to their muster point, the armorer handed them their weapons. Each man also carried a Sig Sauer 1911 sidearm. At one minute thirty-eight seconds, they deployed to the second level.
Julian inched down the ladder with Simon in front of him. It was slow going but he paced himself in order to keep Simon safely between himself and the ladder. “One step at a time son, you are doing fine.” Simon’s small arms shook with fear. “Daddy, don’t let me fall.” “I have you son, do not worry. Easy does it.”
Susan waited at the bottom of the ladder, looking up and fretting. “They’ll be coming. We have to hurry.” Julian ignored her and continued to reassure Simon.
Susan had explored the abandoned tunnels during her off-duty hours as a way to get away from people in common areas of the complex before this all started happening. It was off limits to the staff, but she befriended the custodian and he had been happy to show her the labyrinth of tunnels.
Julian reached the bottom of the ladder and Susan handed him a hard hat with an attached headlamp. “There’s no lighting in the tunnels. Stay close to me,” Susan instructed as she opened the steel door. Thankfully, the security command center had not disabled the electronic locks.
Susan turned on her headlamp and told Julian to do the same. They hurried down the dank, earthy-smelling tunnel, long unused for any purpose. They made several turns and Julian realized he was completely lost. If Susan were to betray him again, she could lead them directly to Brian and he wouldn’t know until it was too late. Several hundred yards later, they made another turn and came to a dead end.
Julian grabbed Susan’s arm and spun her around to face him. His light pointed directly into her face. “You have led us into a trap. I should kill you before they come for us.” She looked frantically left and right, as if looking for a way to escape Julian’s wrath. “No, Julian, there’s a pipe! We have to find it and crawl through it. It connects to the active sewer system outside the complex.”
Still not convinced she was telling him the truth, he was about to throttle her when they heard a noise coming from back where they had entered the maze. “They’re coming, Julian! We have to hurry!”
The Alpha team leader divided his men into two groups. “Follow the tunnels. If you come to another split, divide your numbers and continue. Command has assured me there is no way out of here.”
Susan located the grate covering the pipe. It looked like it was welded shut. “Julian, help me,” Susan said as she stuck her fingers into the grate, trying to turn it counterclockwise. Julian did as she asked and the grate gave just a bit. They redoubled their effort and the grate loosened and gave a clank when the stops reached the release points. They set it aside and Julian inspected the impossibly small diameter. Susan could see his concern.
“You can fit, believe me. I’ve done this before.”
Julian looked skeptical. “Why would you have done this before?”
She smiled. “For fun.”
Julian shuddered. Simon followed Susan into the pipe and scurried along behind her, seemingly unafraid. Julian didn’t mention it to Susan because there was no choice in the matter, but he had horrible claustrophobia. He could picture himself entombed in the pipe like a mummy, forever stuck.
He heard the sound of something striking the side of the tunnel. He had no idea how far back they were, but they were coming. He took a deep breath and stuck his head into the tunnel. He narrowed his shoulders as much as he could and pushed himself in. The constriction in his chest made him dizzy, but he pushed with his feet until his butt was in and his feet left the floor of the tunnel. The tightness of the fit threatened to send him into a full-on panic. He rested his head against the bottom of the pipe and tried to calm down.
Then he heard Simon. “Come on daddy, it’s not far, you can make it.”
His son must have been listening the times he explained his fear to his wife. How it could completely disable him, cause him to panic. The sound of Simon’s voice renewed his resolve and he wiggled forward. If he relaxed his shoulders they would wedge him tight, and he couldn’t move his arms much more than a few inches at a time. He had to coordinate each movement. Exhale, squeeze his shoulders, wedge his arms forward, and push with his toes. Each repetition moved him about three inches forward. He was completely in, so there was no turning back, no turning at all… Stop it! You will send yourself into an anxiety attack.
“Daddy, we are through. You can do it daddy.”
He concentrated on the process and just tried not to let his mind go anywhere else.
It was a very old pipe, made of terra cotta. The sections of pipe were joined together every six feet, and there was an almost imperceptible narrowing. When Julian reached the first one, he almost lost it again. His heart rate shot up and he couldn’t control his breathing, which only made moving more impossible. Simon was talking to him constantly now, encouraging him, egging him on.
“Alpha Eight to Alpha One, we are at a dead end, orders?”
“Alpha One to Alpha Eight, backtrack to last split and light a flare.”
What the team didn’t know was that there were actually six tunnels that ended where the old tunnels had been sealed. Only one of them had the pipe that connected the old system to the new system.
“Alpha Six to Alpha One, we are at a dead end also, over.”
“Alpha One to Alpha Six, same orders, move back to the last junction and light a flare, copy?”
The original team of fourteen had eventually broken into five groups of two, leaving Alpha One with three other troops. They had night-vision equipment, but what their leader had just ordered caused each team to remove their night vision to light the flares as a signal to the others. Alpha One’s group came to a dead end and they searched the entire area. Finding no sign of the targets, they returned the way they had come.
If he had told his men to search each dead end instead of having them immediately return to the junction, they may have found the pipe with Julian wedged inside it. Alpha One’s mistake—thinking they had somehow gone by the targets—was just the break needed for Julian to make good his escape.
Susan paced nervously waiting for Julian while Simon continued to talk down the pipe. It had taken Susan and Simon about five minutes to traverse the distance. It was going on twenty-five minutes and Julian still hadn’t made it.
“I see him, I see him!” Simon squealed.
“Shhhh, Simon, not so loud.” Susan got down next to the end of the pipe and saw Julian about four feet from the end. Somewhere in his passage, his light had gone out. She reached for him but he was just a little too far away. She climbed back in and was able to get ahold of his hands while her feet still touched the floor. “Simon, pull on me,” she called back to the boy. She pulled on Julian, and with Simon’s help they got him out. Julian embraced them both as soon as he regained his feet.
“Don’t cry daddy
, we made it!”
Hearing a voice alerted the security team they had missed something. They followed the sound until they came to the pipe, its cover lying on the floor. “Alpha One to base, we have located what we believe to be an egress. No sign of the targets, over.”
The radio transmission from the Alpha team was now being broadcast over the loudspeaker in the command center. When Brian heard that message, he went ballistic.
“You fucking imbecile!” Dr. Pearson yelled at Phil. “If those three escape I will shoot you! Do you understand?”
Phil paled a bit and responded to Alpha One. “Base to Alpha One, pursue immediately, over.”
“Alpha One to base, negative, the egress is a pipe and it’s too narrow for any of the team to pursue, over.”
Brian grabbed the microphone off the desk and screamed, “Then blow the damn wall down!”
“Alpha One to base, roger sir, we will have to RTB for explosives, sending a runner now, over.”
Brian grabbed Phil by the shirt and dragged him out of his chair. “Get them some damn explosives, and you better hope to god they don’t get away.”
Phil called the armorer and told him to hightail it to level two with some C4 and detonators.
Chapter 39
Day 11
Somewhere in the sewer
Atlanta, GA
Susan, Julian & Simon
With only one light between them, Susan tried to keep the pace reasonable. Julian carried Simon piggyback and was happy just to be free of the pipe. Susan had explored this far before, but they would soon be as far as she had ever gone. “I know there is a treatment facility to the west of the CDC. If I’m right, we need to find some active flow and follow it.”
“By active flow, do you mean sewage?” Julian asked.
“I’m afraid so. It’s a sewer, you know.”
“Yes, and as dark as it is we will be lucky to avoid a pack of the turned.”
The thought had never occurred to Susan and she stopped dead in her tracks. She had been cloistered in the complex since this all began and had never had to deal with the possibility of encountering one of those who had turned from the vaccine, let alone a pack of them. Julian regretted that he had said it now that he saw how it frightened her.
“We’re probably fine. With all the empty buildings aboveground, I don’t see why they would be down here,” he said lamely.
The Alpha team set the explosives and retreated all the way back past the access point. Alpha Eleven, the demo expert, shouted loudly, “Fire in the hole,” and punched the detonator.
Julian heard and felt the explosion. He knew immediately what it meant. “We have to move faster, they will be coming.” Susan’s headlamp bounced up and down as she nodded. She began to trot. Julian grunted, readjusted Simon on his back, and followed suit.
Brian stood with his arms crossed, waiting for a new report from the Alpha team. “Phil, get me Dawson on the line from the cages.”
Phil picked up the phone and called down to the lowest level where they kept the turned. They’d been using them for research, and that’s all they were really good for now that a cure was openly not an option. Until now, Brian thought, a little smile curling the edges of his mouth.
“Dawson, stand by for Dr. Pearson,” Phil said, handing the phone to Brian.
“Dawson, I want you transfer sixty of the turned to level two and let me know when you have them there.” He paused while Dawson replied. “I don’t care how, dammit, just get it done.” Brian threw the handset onto the table in front of Phil.
“Sir?” Phil said with his eyebrows raised. “I have my team down there. Do you want me to recall them?”
“No Phil, I don’t want you to recall them. They are to pursue the prisoners.”
“But sir, if you’re going to release sixty turned into the tunnels, my men will be attacked.”
Brian eyed him coolly. “Do you want to join them, Phil?”
“Ah… no sir.”
“Then shut the hell up and do as you’re told. I don’t plan on releasing them until I have your men back out of the tunnels. Quit being such a little bitch.”
Phil turned his chair back around and wondered if Dr. Pearson had lost his mind completely.
Dawson opened the door to the emergency stairwell on level X, then got on the elevator and rode it to level two. Level X didn’t stand for level ten, nor were there only eight levels between the two. Level X was close to two thousand feet below the surface. As he rode the elevator up, he considered his options.
I could keep going up and just leave the complex. Nah, that’s not what I signed on for. I’ll have to let them know the good doctor is not following their prescribed protocol.
The elevator dinged and he got off on level two. He went to the stairwell and opened the door. Securing it to the wall with the built-in hook, he went in and looked down the now-lit stairwell. It made him a bit dizzy. That’s taller than the damn Empire State Building. He went back into the hallway and picked up a wall-mounted phone.
“Command center,” Phil answered.
“Let me talk to the doc, Phil,” Dawson said.
Phil held the receiver out to Brian. “It’s Dawson, sir.”
Brian took the phone. “Dawson, go to room 1B and prop that door open as well, then go back to level X. I’ll call you when I want you to release the turned.” He handed the phone back to Phil.
“Eric and… what’s your name?” he asked, pointing at another security officer sitting at a computer monitor.
“Mike, sir, my name is Mike Oster.”
“Mike, Eric, come with me,” he said and turned to Phil. “Give me ten minutes, then recall your team.”
“Yes sir,” Phil said, relieved.
Brian led the two officers with him to the elevator, then pushed the button. They stood there in an awkward silence waiting for it to arrive. “Where you from, Mike?” Brian asked the younger of the two men.
“Maine sir, born and bred,” he said. “Don’t suppose there’s much left there now.” He returned his eyes to his shoes.
“Don’t be silly, Maine is still there son. Now, your parents on the other hand are most likely not, but we’ll rebuild, you’ll see.”
Mike looked even more stricken as Eric snickered.
The elevator arrived and they went to level two, then down the hall to room 1B. They went in the room and found the ladder that led to the tunnel access. As they approached the door to the tunnel, Brian stopped and held up his hand like he heard something. He whispered to Mike, “Give me your gun.” Mike handed Dr. Pearson his gun and peered at the tunnel opening. Brian shot him in the head. Mike’s brains coated the wall next to Eric, who stood frozen in shock.
“What the fuck sir?” Eric stammered.
“Shut up and drag him over to the door,” Brian said, waving off Eric’s concern. Eric did as he was told and dragged his former co-worker the ten feet to the door.
“You have a knife?” Dr. Pearson asked him.
“Yes sir,” Eric answered, still looking at Brian as if he had two heads.
“Well, quit gawking at me and slit his throat. Make sure you get the arteries.”
“What?”
Brian raised the pistol and pointed it at Eric’s chest.
“You heard me. Now get it done so we can get out of here.”
Eric pulled a folding Buck knife from his pocket and opened it. He bent over Mike, then turned and threw up.
“Oh for chrissake, give that to me. I swear to god, I have to do everything around here.” He rolled Mike over onto his stomach, grabbed him by what little hair he had left on his demolished head, and pulled it off the floor until his neck was exposed.
“You have to go deep when you do this or you won’t hit the jugular,” he said, driving the knife into Mike’s neck and drawing it around to the other side. Blood spurted out onto the floor and Eric puked again.
“Come on, you pussy. You were a big help,” Brian said, rubbing his bloody hands on Mi
ke’s back.
Eric looked at Mike and wiped his mouth with his shirtsleeve. He followed Dr. Pearson to the ladder.
Dr. Pearson pointed. “Up you go, and if you puke on me I will shoot you too.” He laughed. Eric didn’t.
When they reached level two, Brian casually shot Eric in the back of the head. He fell like a bag of potatoes to the floor. “I have got to find me some more intelligent help. Fuck, you couldn’t see that coming?” he said aloud to the dead officer.
He cut his throat, let him bleed for a minute, then grabbed him by the heels and hauled him away from the ladder, out of the room, and to the emergency stairs. He looked at his watch. Ten minutes had passed and he was sure that Phil, the dumbass, had recalled his men.
He picked up the wall phone and dialed up level X.
“Dawson here.”
“Dawson, release the turned.”
“Yes sir.”
Brian hung up the phone and walked to the elevator, pushed the button, and calmly waited for it to open.
Phil watched in horror when Dr. Pearson shot Mike. He rewound the video several times, trying to see what it was that Mike had done to warrant being shot. He was so wrapped up in watching and rewatching it that he missed the initial shooting of Eric. He had finally come to the conclusion that Mike must have broken protocol somehow and Dr. Pearson had to shoot him to keep the mission secure. He went back to the monitors and found Dr. Pearson waiting for the elevator. Where was Eric? He scrolled through the cameras until he came to the one outside the emergency stairway on the fourth level. From the camera’s angle of view down the hall, he could see a blood trail. It led from the door of 1B to the stairwell door, where the door blocked his view. When he zoomed in, he could see a pair of boots just visible beyond the door.
“Base to Alpha One, abort and return to base, repeat, abort and return to base, over,” Phil called frantically.
After an excruciating thirty-plus seconds, Alpha team responded. “Alpha One to base, confirm RTB order, over.”
Apocalypse Family (Book 2): Family Reunion J Page 22