The Longest Road (Book 3): The Other Side

by A. S. Thompson

  ***

  "Charlie will be reporting any action while we are in here," West said, as every man found a seat or hovered around the table. "Let's begin."

  "Wait, hold on!" Jenny said, reaching through the men. "I have an idea!"

  Everyone, including Steve, stared at Jenny as she snatched up the map. Furthering their confusion, Jenny rummaged through the cupboard, saying, "Where are they? I remember seeing them earlier."

  "Jenny, we don't have time for whatever games you're playing-"

  "I'm not playing any games," she replied, finally locating the three items she was searching for.

  Upon realizing her actions, West mumbled, "Crafty girl.”

  Everyone watched Jenny as she taped the map against the outside window. With the outside sun reflecting off the surrounding stones, the back of the map was illuminated making the paper appear like an x-ray over a light. She hurried back inside and tossed a dry-erase marker to West. "Now you won't have to ruin your map."

  "Good thinking, Jenny," West nodded as he pulled off the tip of the pen. "Now, the facility-"

  Originating from the back, a combination of a moan and yawn interrupted West. The sliding door was yanked to the side and there, using the wall to orient himself, stood Alex. Puffy bags hung under his eyes as he scratched at the stubble growing on his chin.

  "Why didn't you guys wake me up?" he started to ask, but a whooping cough cut him off. The convulsions caused him to drop to a knee. When the worst was behind him, Alex looked up, only to find raised eyebrows and suspicious stares. "Oh fuck off, I'm not dying people."

  Lisa came out from the darkness behind him, and she proudly put an arm around his back. "Come on, let's get some coffee," said Lisa, leading them to the pot next to the sink.

  "As I was saying,” West continued, “there is only one road in and out. It diverts off the highway and passes through a field of industrial solar panels. They all seem to connect to this conduit here, and I'm assuming that runs into and powers the facility..."

  He circled that spot, marking it as potentially useful.

  "From there the road arrives at the main gate. It looks like this spot is a checkpoint for personnel. I counted at least four guards stationed here at all times."

  “Since we are on the subject," Travis interjected, "the fence line is roughly ten feet high with barbed wire on top. Worse, I'm sure everyone saw signs indicating an electrified fence. I think it's safe to assume those signs mean business."

  "Serious question," interrupted Alex. He blew on the coffee and took a sample sip, "But does anyone know what really happens if you pee on an electric fence? I've always wondered." He panned right and left, but received no smiles. "Right, not the right time, got it. Sorry, go on, West."

  “The fence line continues in a semicircle until it gets to the surrounding rock formation that the facility backs up to. On both the north and south sides, are towers about twenty feet high. There appears to be at least two guards in every tower, and from those vantage points, they have an excellent view," West said, placing an X at each of the locations. "Back to the front gate. After entering, the road splits off into two paths: one heads straight to the front door, while the other curves around the building into a loading dock on the north side. Any questions so far?"

  He looked around, but no one appeared to have any.

  "Good. Let's continue. The facility's design is simple. It is rectangular in shape, three levels, and no windows other than a section of reflective glass paneling where the front doors are, here. On the western side, it is backed up to a mountain with large boulders and jagged rocks. Without rock climbing and rappelling equipment, this location is not conducive for an attack. So the only real points to discuss are the three remaining cardinal directions. We counted at least eight stationary guards on the perimeter at all times, but there were anywhere from four to eight walking the fence line at any given time. The guards on active patrol don't appear to take any specific route, at least none that I could decipher. Clint?"

  The Agent had already pulled out his map and waved it in the air. "Little girl. Put it up.”

  Eager, Jenny raised both eyebrows and pointed to herself with an expression of "me?"

  After receiving a nod of approval from Steve, she gladly taped up Clint's sketch, which wasn't as detailed as West's, but he quickly filled it in.

  "Alright, let's assume we entered through the front doors. Straight ahead is a pair of elevators. There the walkway splits off into a ‘T.’ Going left, or south, you will pass the security office on the immediate lower left corner, and further down are research and testing laboratories. We didn't enter any, but the signs on the outside indicated such. Back to the split. If you go right or north, that is where the manufacturing warehouse is located. The machine that does their processing is located against the northwest wall. If I remember correctly, there were security measures controlling access. The other side of the warehouse is the loading dock where shipments are packed and sent off. This northeast corner of the facility is also where the road connects to the building. There isn't security at that garage door, so I assume ingress and egress are controlled via the security room."

  "What about the second floor?" Travis asked.

  "I don't know."

  "And here I am thinking the Secret Service is supposed to pay attention to their surroundings," West teased.

  "I already told you," Agent Clint growled with annoyance, "we took a chopper in, landed on the third floor, walked into the building, and took the elevator down to the first floor. The President examined what he needed to and after, we took the same route back to the helicopter and flew away. Sorry, I left my x-ray vision back at the bunker."

  "Dennis, leave it," Agent Kim said, hoping to break up yet another round of 'who's better than whom.' "What would you guess is on the second floor?"

  "I wouldguess that is where the personnel sleep, because based on the operating size and capacity, and the fact the building is in the middle of nowhere, this place is an in-house facility."

  "What else can you tell us about internal security?" inquired Nick.

  "There wasn't much physical security. Mostly just cameras. They must assume that once you were in, you were in. I did remember going into the manufacturing room, the woman in charge had to go through a variety of security measures."

  "Who was inside there?"

  "Just scientists and technicians."

  "That leaves the third floor," Travis said, pointing to the top section of the map. "What can you tell us about that?"

  "The third floor wasn't really anything. Just the walkway in from the helipad, the elevator, and some administrative offices at the end of the hall."

  West scanned the maps, mind forming a plan as the discussion continued. "What about any other floors or maybe a basement or underground level. Anything that could provide additional access for us to consider?"

  Clint shook his head. "No. Nothing on the elevator panels. Nothing I remember seeing."

  "Bravo, people. Solid reconnaissance," Jones declared, clapping his hands mockingly. He was lounging against the RV's side door, but decided to come inside and do what he did best. "What you just described was reason after reason why you shouldn't do this. The perimeter is locked up with an electric fence. Then, there's only one way inside, and it's crawling with top tier bad guys. Then, let's even say you get past those obstacles and manage to make it inside, potentially awaiting for you is a state of the art security system that youmightbe able to get past...not to mention even more bad guys a floor above..."

  Around the room were blank faces. For all his ranting, though, Jones did pose a rational argument.

  "So tell us, Mr. Delta Force, what is the plan? Because I for one would love to hear it."

  "Why?" Travis asked, defending his fellow warriors. "It ain't like your ass is gonna be with us?"

  "Thanks, Travis, but I got this," West said, holding up a hand. "Simple. Breach the outer perimeter, gain entry, plant explosives, evac, and
detonate."

  "HAH!" Jones blurted. "What a brilliant plan that is! Let me guess, does this involve a 'guns-blazing' attack, too?”

  “If it comes to it.”

  Alex cleared his throat and added, "Let's not forget to score me some of the vaccine.”

  "So let me get this straight,” Jones continued, unconvinced, “Liz Baron has an unknown number of the best, most brutal, highly trained mercenaries protecting this place, and a security system that most likely won't be breached by our hacker nerd, and you guys still want to try? This plan is crazy! Worse, it's based on a ton of might’s, maybes, and ifs. The safe bet is to go to the bunker and tell everyone."

  "Thesafe bet," Travis emphasized, "would be to leave your punk ass here. It's not like you've helped out so far."

  Travis wasn't the only one who took West's side. Surprisingly, Clint added, "We can't let the vaccine leave here. The President said we-"

  "Your President is dead," Jones interrupted bluntly, "and we will be too if we follow his dying wishes. And that's exactly the case. He was dying, he wasn't thinking clearly. He didn't know everything we do now. Even he would tell you this is ludicrous. So show of hands, who wants to end up like him?"

  Jones looked around, but either no one was inclined to die, or be a part of Jones' crude survey. "Maybe Paddy here has a death wish," he continued, insulting Clint's heritage. "After all, it looks like you're one bottle of whiskey away from cirrhosis."

  "Jones," Nick said, rising slowly to his feet. "I strongly suggest you remember our talk. That's twice now you-"

  "Alright, fine, whatever, I'll tone down the racism," he replied, flamboyantly waving his hands in the air. "Seriously, Agent, tell me, what good will it do if we all end up dead like your beloved President?"

  Then, without any indication, Clint struck Jones in the face. The knuckles connected with Jones' chin, sending the billionaire against the bathroom door, then to his butt. Clint scrambled to get up and over the kitchen seat, but Kim and Eddy restrained him.

  Steve hadn't realized it, but he instinctively shielded Jenny away from the shoving and heavy bodies.

  "Everybody, cool it!" roared West.

  The chatter subsided enough for Agent Kim to speak and lessen the tension. "Dennis, calm down. Mr. Jones, next time I won't stop him, so I suggest you remain silent..."

  Jones lifted himself and wiped away the line of blood from his busted lip.

  "The President said we can't allow LIFE to complete their task. Whatever it is, is bad, and like West said, it has to be done now, and we are the only ones with the knowledge and ability to stop them."

  "Jones, shut up or leave, or both," West said, settling into his seat again. "Everyone else, I need ideas."

  "Why don't you just wait until the trucks are on the move and hit ‘em then?" proposed Travis.

  "Not an option," West replied respectfully. "Since you and some of the others weren't in the room, I'll explain again the two main reasons. First, taking out the trucks doesn't guarantee eliminating all the vaccine. They can still manufacture and would be warned of our intentions. Second, we might only be able to get one or two of the trucks before they react and divert. Additionally, they will still have their security team close by. We'd be exposed and cut down. We wouldn't have enough time and there isn't enough of us to successfully box them in and take them all out."

  After the explanation, almost every head nodded in agreement.

  "Elias, sorry, I mean, West," Alex corrected, "you mean we can't pull a Con Air?"

  Blank faces gazed upon Alex as he explained another one of his movie correlations. "You know, when Malkovich goes over the ambush at the airfield and one guy asks 'what's that?' And Malkovich says ‘that's a rock.’ Ah man what a great movie. Damnit, I did it again, didn't I?"

  West's response was somewhere between a snort and a chuckle. "I saw the movie years ago, but oddly enough, I remember the scene. The problem with that strategy is this," he said, pulling out a blank piece of paper to explain. "We don't know their routes, and the only area we know they would all be together and where we could do that is before the intersection to the main highway. And that isn't an effective site for an ambush. Yes, we would have cover from the solar panels, but the ground is flat and we wouldn't be able to box them in, so, again, we might only get one or two before the remaining trucks split up. That's why it is best to use the element of surprise and hit the facility while the trucks are inside."

  "What if they are looking at this the wrong way," suggested Nick, his expression was that of deep-reflective thought.

  "What'd you have in mind?"

  "Growing up, I was taught that whenever we had a problem, always work it out from the inside. Let's put aside the gates and guards for a moment. If we can't get access to the labs and manufacturing equipment, then we just might have to consider a blitzkrieg attack or reconsider an attack in transit."

  West frowned. "Good point. So Matty let's start with you. Assuming we get you inside the security office, how much time do you think you'd need to get into the system?"

  Eddy and Travis separated, giving West a direct line of sight to the computer hacker. "We are assuming this is ANT's top-tier system, right? Well, if it takes too much time, the system will discover that I'm trying to control it, and if that happens, I'll get locked out and treated like a threat, almost like how our bodies treat a virus. I mean I'm not going to be attacked by white blood cells, but I think you get the picture."

  "How long?" West pressed, not caring for the biology example. "How long until it realizes your intentions?”

  "Not long. A matter of minutes if we're lucky."

  "Minutes? That's it?" Jones said, voice full of complaint. He sensed the stares, backed up and defended himself. "Hey, that's a reasonable statement!"

  "I guess we better hope your fingers work faster than that thing's mind," Clint said, not liking the idea, but not suggesting an alternative.

  "Dude, you're 4LIX," Alex declared, patting Matty’s back. "You're a friggin’ computer hacking genius. You got this!"

  "Thanks, Alex, but I feel I need to reiterate that if I get it under control, it wouldn't be for forever. I could have it on our side for up to five, ten minutes, after that, no dice."

  Nick's head tilted to the side. "Have it on our side? You mean like control the facility?"

  "I was only thinking in terms of access and security, but ya, I suppose I'd own the facility for that time."

  "So you could, say, lock and unlock doors, turn off lights and stuff like that?" Travis inquired further.

  "That's rookie stuff. I'm talking like full, unabridged, unrestricted control over anything that is connected to the system, but remember, I wouldn't be able to for long.”

  "This goes without saying, but I just want you to know that your role isn't without risk."

  "Look, I'm not stoked to be in another front-lines/action roll, but I know there's no one else."

  Faint smiles seem to pass from person to person, confident as though Matty already had access and control.

  Alex set the empty coffee mug in the sink. "I hate to be Debbie Downer, but aren't we forgetting a little something? Like part two of Nick's ‘work it from the inside out’ plan. How do we get past the guards? And I'm assuming we want to do it stealth-like?"

  "Before that," Agent Kim purposed, "we still don't know how to get inside the building."

  "What if we take a hostage?" Steve suggested, signaling for a marker. He leaned over the table and explained. "Someone can create a diversion at the front entrance, while the rest of us get through the fence, from there we can get a hostage from the southern security post, use that person to gain access into the door on the south side."

  The majority seemed to be on-board with the idea, but West shook his head no.

  "It's not likely we will accomplish that. Even if we manage to distract the guards and take one hostage, they are trained. They won’t cooperate. They know to call out for help. That's how I'd react."

&
nbsp; "If not a guard, maybe a scientist?" Travis suggested. "Earlier, I noticed a couple labcoats step outside to smoke."

  "Sorry to cut you off, Travis," Nick said humbly, as an idea popped into his head. "What about using West's strategy from back at Camp? We gather the infected who are locked inside the casino at the edge of town, lead them to the front gates to create a diversion. Security will rush that spot, leaving the guard towers by themselves.”

  West's head rocked back and forth. "I like it. A diversion is always a good tactic."

  Clint grabbed the marker and circled the perimeter. "That still leaves the problem with getting past the electric fence."

  West used his finger to wipe off the unnecessary markings. "Just leave it to me."

  Agent Clint wasn't entirely convinced and his rough tone indicated as much. "You'll have to excuse me if I don't just 'leave it to you.' Mind sharing?"

  "Look, it's complicated, so I'm not going to waste our precious time going into the science and mechanics behind it. Just know that I’ve done it many times before.”

  "Is anyone else as confused as I am?" Eddy said, failing to understand the plan. "Have we figured out how to access the building without anyone knowing?"

  "We might just have to improvise."

  Alex snapped his finger. "What if we use the solar panels to our advantage? I saw two non-security dudes doing some maintenance work out there this morning. They drove out in a golf-cart, but they had a security escort. What if we sneak up to the converter thing they were working on, get into the box, and mess with the cables?”

  “I didn’t see any security cameras out that far, so we can move freely,” Kim noted.

  “Then a pair of us hide behind the panels and when the people come out to fix ‘em, take down one of 'em, and hold the other at gunpoint, switch clothes, and drive back inside with them?"

  "If they get caught or don't buy it, that could be our distraction anyway," added Steve.

  "A firefight in the panels would draw out the guards while the rest of us get in," Nick followed.

  "Assuming it doesn't come to that," Alex said, reaching over the table to the map on the window. "That person will ride back and once he’s inside, we do what Nick said and unleash the zombs on the compound. That's our distraction. So while that's going on, West cuts through the fence, we take out the south guard tower, and then have the other maintenance guy open the side access door and let the rest of us in. That will be our exit strategy too. This way we can avoid holding a guard hostage, since civvies should be way more likely to be cooperative. In the event shit goes south like Steve said, you guys can try holding a guard hostage. We all know it's not going to go down exactly like that, but I think it's the best plan we have."