Hell & Back (Outbreak Task Force)

by Julie Rowe

  Ruby watched him with wide eyes. “What was that?” she asked, her voice hushed.

  “That was a foot of armor-plated steel coming down between the inner and outer walls of the building.”

  “They can’t get in?”

  “I didn’t say that, but it’s going to take a lot of effort for them to penetrate the building.” He grinned. “And time. A lot more time than they’ve got to get the job done before our backup gets here.”

  Chapter Ten

  7:45 p.m.

  The smile on Henry’s face didn’t make Ruby’s stomach feel any less like it was going to revolt.

  The terrorists weren’t going to get in, at least not quickly, which would give law enforcement time to interrupt and stop whatever their plan was.

  She just didn’t have the confidence in the steel Henry had triggered to protect them that he had. These people had been able to access information they shouldn’t for a long time. Information and people.

  They would have known about the level-four lab’s security upgrades like they’d known about everything else—like what she drove to work and who her brother was. These people planned ahead. And now, less than an hour after finding out her brother had escaped, the lab was under attack. He’d called her supposedly encrypted phone. Had they hacked it? Or had they found out Nate was loose when he called DS’s work cell phone?

  Henry’s confidence only made her worry more. He’d put his trust in a system she was sure was broken.

  His smile slowly died as he stared at her. “Stop looking so sick. Backup is on its way, and the guys outside will shortly be stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

  “It didn’t take whoever is out there long to find out my brother got away.” She looked at the monitor showing the closest view of the men outside. They’d gotten out of their vehicles and were congregated near the front door. The group was clustered together, their heads bent toward each other. Were they discussing their next move?

  “What are they doing?” she asked, mostly to herself. “Having a staff meeting?”

  Why weren’t they lobbing grenades and trying to shoot their way in like Henry thought they would?

  A bright flare lit up from the middle of the group, making her jerk back and Henry lean forward.

  “What is that?” she whispered.

  Henry didn’t answer right away, but he watched the monitor with single-minded focus. “It’s a motherfucking blowtorch.”

  One of the men applied the business end of the torch to the metal exterior of the building. In the strange, flickering light, she could see he wore a pair of goggles. At five minutes, an SUV showed up at the destroyed guard shack. While they were trying to find a safe way to get around it, three of the attackers returned to fire on DS and his band of merry men.

  At ten minutes, the guy with the welding torch had cut a hole large enough for a person to get their arms and the torch through the exterior metal siding of the wall. A shower of sparks began raining out of and around the hole.

  Though she could barely see the man operating the welding torch, the camera continued to broadcast a shower of sparks from within the wall.

  He’d started on the steel barrier underneath—the obstacle that was supposed to keep bad guys out.

  Henry moved around to look at another camera set up at a different angle. “Fuck me.” The words came out in a hiss from between his clenched teeth. “They’re cutting their way through the armor.”

  She finally looked away to stare at him, a cold bolt of fear filling her muscles with razor-edged ice crystals. “They can do that?”

  “They are doing that.” One of his hands wiped his face. “Something that should be impossible with steel that thick.”

  “Unless the steel in that area isn’t as thick as you think it is,” she said.

  “Or they know exactly where the two sheets of steel meet.” He glanced at her, rage locked so tightly down on his face she feared he’d explode. “If the steel is thinner there and if they put enough explosives into the hole, they might be able to blow themselves a new door.”

  If they did that, they could get in and get to the collection of pathogens one floor beneath their feet.

  Forget cold, her muscles burned with the need to run. “So, all your security is…is useless?”

  He turned to glare at the screen. “They knew,” he muttered. “They knew our plans and got someone on one of the construction teams to ensure they had a secret back door into this building. They knew exactly what they’d be dealing with before they attacked. Personnel, procedures, protections. Everything.”

  “Is the list of who would know all that a long one?”

  “Nope. It’s damned short.”

  “What about the people who did the work? The construction crew?”

  “They were all vetted by the State Department, and because I’m a paranoid asshole, I had different crews doing different work. No one, aside from a dozen or so people, knew what the entire system was going to look like.” His hands shook as they opened and closed.

  How much effort was it taking to keep from pounding his fists on the keyboard?

  “I’ve made adjustments to the system since it was completed. Which leaves only one explanation.” He made eye contact with her. “They have access to real-time information like the security camera feeds.”

  “If that’s the case”—she tilted her head to one side—“why wait until now to use it? They could have broken in any time after the upgrades were done—months ago.”

  Henry grimaced. “I told you, their standard operating procedure has changed. They’re no longer content with creating chaos and killing specific targets. Now, it’s like they just want to kill everyone. Things didn’t get weird until the meeting we went to where the whole room full of people was given the details on the new security measures. They were all mostly government, law enforcement, and military. The information should have been safe.”

  “Anyone stand out?” she asked. “Anyone you didn’t recognize?”

  “The guy advising the army general.” He stared at the ceiling for several seconds then glanced at her. “I don’t know if there was enough time between that meeting and now for anyone to organize this assault, bring in a Guardian ASV, and have the men in place to enact their plan. Which reminds me…” He pulled out his cell phone and punched in a call.

  “Where are you?” he asked with an abruptness some would have characterized as unforgiving. He was silent for a few moments, listening to whomever he’d called. He explained the changing situation. “Exterior security has been breached with a blowtorch. These guys aren’t kidding around.”

  Another pause, then, “Roger that. Watch your six.”

  “DS?” she asked.

  Henry nodded as, on the security camera, the men suddenly stepped back and a large, irregular piece of metal fell to the ground, its edges still bright with heat.

  She leaned forward. “That doesn’t look twelve inches thick.”

  “When I catch the fucker who did this…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but he did straighten his back. “They’ve got themselves a hole.” Henry stood and took her shoulders in his hands. “Which means we’re out of time.” He pushed her toward the door.

  “What?” she asked, her gaze still snared by the action playing out on the security camera screen.

  He took her chin in his hand and made her look at him. “I need you to gather up some food and water, then meet me at the elevator. We’re going down to the lab level. I’ll explain once we’re down there. Hurry.” He paused, his lips pressed tightly together, his eyes cold and flat. “You’re right. Our security protocols are completely compromised.” His tone was as bald as naked bone.

  Her stomach flip-flopped, and she had to swallow or throw up.

  The whole building rumbled, and even the floor vibrated with something that was both s
ound and fury. An explosion.

  “We’re out of time,” he said. “I’ll meet you at the elevator.”

  Nodding, she sprinted to the room, her insides screaming at her to run faster, get away, hide. But there was nowhere to go. Nowhere safe.

  There wasn’t going to be a happy ending to this nightmare.

  No one was going to get here soon enough to save them or protect the weapons encased in ice. Weapons that could rival any nuclear bomb for devastation if let loose.

  No one was going to stop the men attacking the building from getting inside. All there was between them and the end of humanity was one floor of infrastructure, an army veteran, and a lab tech who didn’t know one end of a gun from another.

  This was it. She and Henry were going to die, and all she could think about was why the hell hadn’t they had sex sooner?

  The man rocked her world, and she wanted to do it again. Didn’t want a time limit or interruptions. Instead, what did she get? A bunch of assholes who were determined to kill not only a good time, but the best man she’d ever met.

  Cockblocked by a bunch of terrorists.

  She might not know how to shoot, but she really wanted to kill someone right now.

  Ruby raced into the panic room, grabbed her bag, and stuffed it with MREs, bottles of water, and a couple of rolls of toilet paper. She turned to run back out.

  The floor heaved under her, tossing her to the floor. Dust drifted down from the ceiling tiles in a light rain. What the…?

  Another explosion.

  Henry was right—she had to hurry.

  She got to her hands and knees, then to her feet, but just as she lifted her foot, a second explosion shook the building, dumping her back on her ass.

  The fire alarm began its relentless peal, and the overhead sprinkler system engaged, spreading tepid water onto every surface. That didn’t stop the scent of burned rubber, metal, and wood from coating the inside of her mouth with a thin layer of bitter chemicals. A third, smaller explosion caused an oddly discordant boom/metallic ring to race through the hallways.

  Anticipating another blast, she held herself still for one second…two. Nothing happened.

  The quiet brought her back into focus. The elevator. She had to get to the elevator.

  Ruby grabbed one more item—a baseball bat.

  It was probably a silly thing to take, considering everyone else coming to this party would have guns and other lethal weapons, but the heavy wood bat in her hands was more satisfying than any handgun. She knew how to use a bat.

  The hallway floor on the way to the elevator was coated in dust, bits of ceiling tile, and other debris. The air was full of the same, and she brought the collar of her shirt up so she could breathe through the fabric, filtering out the particles before they could find a new home in her lungs.

  She’d only gone about ten feet when her phone pinged with an incoming call. Henry.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  There was a one-second pause before his voice rumbled a reply. “Yeah, you?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I just left the panic room, heading toward the elevator.”

  “We have uninvited guests coming down in the elevator.” Anger sharpened his tone until the words alone were enough to cut her.

  She spun around. “I’ll go back to the panic—”

  “No. It’s the first place they’ll look,” he interrupted. “Hide in one of the labs. You’ve got the food and water I asked you to grab?”

  “Yes.”

  “As soon as these assholes are looking in the wrong direction, I’ll tell you where to meet me, and we’ll haul ass to the elevator.”

  “Okay.”

  “Put your phone on vibrate and keep it close.”

  “I’m putting it in my bra.” That was a stupid thing to say—he didn’t need to know that.

  “Stay safe,” he ordered, the words coming out of her phone in a growl. The call ended.

  She changed the sound setting to vibrate, then tucked her phone into her bra, picked up the bat she’d set on the floor, and hurried past the panic room.

  None of the labs were close to the elevator, but even on this floor, you needed to know the door lock code to get in. She keyed in the numbers on the door lock to the first lab she came to and let herself inside.

  There weren’t a lot of options for a hiding place. The benches were all desk-high and supported a variety of analyzers, microscopes, and other lab equipment—nothing big enough to hide behind. The industrial-size incubators and fridges were all set flush against the walls and were too large and heavy to move.

  She grabbed a surgical mask from a box near the door and put it on. That made breathing easier. How long would it take before whoever was attacking them made it this far?

  She skirted the long bench visible from the doorway and glass walls separating the lab from the hallway. A second workbench mirrored the first one. She crouched down and hid under the countertop between two rolling chairs lab techs used when looking at specimens under the microscopes.

  Under the counter with a backpack full of emergency food and water, and a bat, Ruby shook her head at herself. She officially sucked at hide-and-seek.

  Her phone vibrated—not a call, a text message, from Henry.

  Are you out of sight?

  I’m hiding under a counter in lab number two. Where are you?

  In the ceiling above the security room. I’ve got a hidey hole up here.

  Percussive pop, pop, pop of gunfire sounded somewhere else in the building. A lot of pops. More than one weapon.

  Did they just shoot open the door to the security room?

  Yup. Used way too much ammo. I think someone is in a bad mood. His message ended with an emoji whose grin was all teeth.

  All the bad guys had to do was decide to vent a bit more of that anger and put some rounds into the ceiling, and Henry would die. Did he think this was a joke?

  Hands shaking, she tapped in two short sentences. Are you crazy? Get out of there!

  His reply took way too long. I need to know how many assholes are here and who they are before I start killing them.

  Unable to formulate a thought, Ruby stared at the screen. Who did he… Why would he… Was he really gambling with his life for the sake of information?

  I’m connected to the security system via wifi.

  She could barely read his message, her hands were shaking so much. Is that supposed to reassure me? Can’t they use your wifi-connected phone to find you?

  That’s why I’m in the ceiling. It looks like my phone is in the room below. You’re safe. You’re not connected via wifi.

  She waited for him to relay more information, but no message came.

  Henry?

  He sent back a question mark.

  Okay, so he was still alive, right?

  How many of them are there?

  Three.

  Do you recognize them?

  Not specifically.

  What does that mean?

  They’re speaking Arabic. One of them has an Asian accent; the other two are from South Africa. The South Africans are also mercenaries, given their equipment and how they move.

  Can you get out of there now? Please?

  Just changing the password for the security camera system. They’re locked out now.

  A moment later, a second text came through. Don’t panic.

  What was that supposed to mean? Don’t panic about what?

  Another explosion sent a tremor through the building and…

  Had he detonated a bomb?

  For a few moments there was silence, as if the whole building was holding its breath, then she heard distant shouting. A few seconds later, the sound of more than one person running in heavy boots penet
rated the glass-walled lab.

  Someone tried the door, sending muffled thumps and metallic tings echoing loudly through the room. A series of heavy blows against the door, sounding close enough to have taken place inside the room, had her cowering.

  The attack on the entrance ended, and it sounded like a set of heavy feet ran away.

  She should have felt safe, but she didn’t. Something was off. How many people had she heard coming toward the lab? Two or three? How many had run away? One.

  Someone was still at the door. Someone who was waiting for a sign there was a person hiding in the lab. But why would they believe someone was in the lab?

  Her phone buzzed. She looked at it.

  Are you still in lab number two?

  Yes. I think there’s someone at the door.

  There is. I can see him on the security camera. He knows you’re in there.

  How?

  I don’t know.

  What’s he doing?

  There was a pause before the next text came through. The son of a bitch has a big fat grin on his face and a boner in his pants. Stay out of sight. On my way.

  What? No, no, no. She texted fast. No! The others will see you!

  There wasn’t a reply.

  Fear, disgust, and rage went to war in her stomach, rolling it over and over while she struggled to stuff her work phone deep in her bra. Ruby pulled her personal phone out of the pocket it was in and texted her parents.

  The FAFO has access to the security cameras in the level-four lab. Henry made sure no one contractor installed enough of the system to allow them access. There is someone in a position of power feeding them information.

  Before her parents could reply, she sent a second message.

  There are armed mercenaries inside the lab. Henry and I are going to try to keep them away from the pathogens here, but we need help!

  She put the phone away, grabbed the bat, and held on to it with both hands so tight the skin around her knuckles turned bone white.

  Someone punched in numbers on the door lock with several low pings, and the door opened.

  Don’t throw up, don’t throw up.