‘The head of the U.S. Navy?’ Jim asked.
‘Yeah,’ Tom replied. ‘The last time I saw him, he had put on a bit more weight and grown a beard, but I think that’s him with his daughter. Given his rank, I suppose it’d make sense he was part of the group that came here.’
‘Did you know him personally?’ Marcus asked. ‘Was he a psycho? Involved with the Russians, perhaps?’
Tom glared at the Londoner. ‘No, he wasn’t. He was a good man, as far as I knew. I only met him a couple of times at a gala and a charity ball. He struck me as a kind, honourable man who—’
Marcus scoffed and interjected. ‘Yeah, so honourable he joined a group of crazed megalomaniacs and let the captain of a submarine kill all of his crew . . . Apart from you, that is.’
‘I doubt it was that simple.’
‘Okay,’ Jim said. ‘Let’s not start another argument. We’ve got a pair of two-way radios here. We ought to split up.’
Tom picked up the handsets and inspected them. ‘Military grade. They’re on secure channels.’ He tested the dials, but each channel returned nothing but radio silence. Tom chose a channel and handed one of the handsets to Eva. ‘We ought to split into two groups. We can cover more ground and explore faster that way. We need to find what we can as quick as we can.’
‘Agreed,’ Eva said, taking the radio and attaching it to her belt over her left hip. All she needed now was her old badge and she’d feel right at home. ‘Marcus, you’ll come with me. Jim, Annette – you want to go with Tom?’
‘Aye, that’ll be for the best,’ Jim said.
‘That’s fine with me,’ Annette said, smiling at Jim.
Eva could tolerate Marcus more than the others, and, despite herself, had grown to like him on some level – some deep, flawed level.
‘So what’s the plan, Wonder Woman?’ Marcus asked.
‘We check the rest of these cabins.’
The remaining cells were much like the first: empty with some bloodstains on the floors and the walls. Eva wondered if these had been used for torture. Perhaps the cabal of leaders and their cronies who had come here had had spies within their ranks too.
Given the notes Marcus had found on the sub, it wasn’t impossible. For the briefest of moments, she thought it probably wasn’t a good thing that Tom was armed. What if he was a Russian recruit after all?
No, she thought. He’d shown no sign of being a spy. She had to trust him.
Once finished with the cells, they moved eastward beyond the cabins and into the gloom of the cavern, leaving the airlock and the elevator behind them. Thirty metres into the cavern, Tom said, ‘Stop here for a second.’ He held up his hand, stopping the group in the middle of the narrow stone walkway, which terminated at a wall with two paths going off in opposite directions into dark tunnels cut into the rock. He looked to his left and cocked his head like a dog, tuning his hearing to some faint sound.
With a gruff whisper, Jim asked, ‘What is it?’
‘A rumble,’ Annette said. ‘Some generator or something. It’s new. I didn’t notice it before.’
‘She’s right,’ Eva said. ‘I hear it too. Coming up from down there.’ She pointed to the left tunnel. Darkness hid any details, but Eva noticed a cool breeze on her skin, indicating to her that there was clearly an opening there. The air smelled damp, but thankfully not of rot or the stench of the infected.
‘And here too,’ Marcus said, jabbing his thumb to the right.
‘Seems an obvious choice to me,’ Jim said. ‘We’ll take the left; you and Eva take the right. We’ll stay in touch with the radios for as long as we can get a signal and meet back here once we’re done exploring.’
Eva removed the pistol from her holster and held it up with her flashlight. The beam wasn’t strong enough to penetrate too far into the gloom, but it gave her confidence that they would at least get a few seconds of warning before anything, or anyone, jumped out on them.
‘Okay then,’ Tom said, turning to face Eva. ‘I guess here’s where we split. Let me know as soon as you’ve found anything. And check in every few minutes, let us know you’re okay.’
‘Likewise,’ Eva said. ‘I’ll see you all shortly. Don’t do anything stupid.’
‘We won’t,’ Jim said. He gripped her arm and released her before turning away and joining Annette and Tom. The group headed off down the left tunnel.
Eva gestured for Marcus to follow her and headed off in the opposite direction, their footsteps echoing back off the narrow cut walls. After a few minutes of careful walking, they became more used to their surroundings and picked up the pace. They came to the end of the tunnel and stopped in front of a pair of large double doors with windows inset at head height. Eva looked through the glass into a dimly lit corridor that reminded her again of hospitals: off-white walls, a sticky-looking vinyl floor coloured dull grey with flecks of brown mixed in.
‘Are you waiting for me to open the door for you?’ Marcus said. ‘I didn’t think you’d be the sort to like that kind of thing.’
‘The sort?’ Eva asked.
‘Yeah, all strong female and “Don’t need no stinkin’ man to open doors” and shit.’
‘Marcus, I have a gun. I suggest you open the damned door.’
‘Touché!’
Marcus pushed open the double doors but didn’t hang around to hold them open for Eva, though she was already on his heels, stepping through and sweeping her pistol slowly from side to side. No movement, no sound, not even a scent beyond the underlying non-smell of dust and stale, dry air.
Despite the absence of movement and sound, as they walked slowly down the narrow corridor, Eva had the unmistakable feeling of being watched.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Walking tunnels gets old real fast, Jim thought. They’d only been walking this one for about ten minutes, but he was already eager to be out of the gloom. Even with the beam from his flashlight guiding the way, the darkness still gathered around them, bringing with it a feeling of dread anticipation.
Tom and Annette were either side of him. They stepped quietly and carefully, trying to move as stealthily as they could so they could keep an ear out for any other movement beyond their own. Jim now realised what those dumb teens in slasher films felt like. It was obvious they had to go searching throughout the base, but they also knew there was likely someone just waiting to put a bullet into their heads – or worse.
The tension tightened in his guts. Acid reflux burned his throat. He gripped the pistol in his right hand tighter. He was glad to have it, not just for the protection it offered but also for the distraction from instinctively moving to a hip flask that didn’t exist. He felt the pull of the phantom drink on his hands as sure as his footsteps on the ground.
The air was thankfully damp, keeping his mouth from completely drying out. He was about to suggest they stop for a moment to drink from the flasks they had brought with them from the sub, but as he opened his mouth a metal glint in the beam of his light caught his attention.
‘A door,’ Annette whispered. She placed a hand on his shoulder. It trembled slightly.
Tom gestured for everyone to stay still. Jim nodded and switched off the light, hooking it back on his belt. He now used both hands to grip the pistol, giving Tom cover.
The navy officer checked the M16 and approached the door in a crouching walk, placing one foot deliberately in front of the other. Jim edged forward a few feet so he could keep Tom in focus.
Tom pressed his ear to the door and waited a moment, and then, with one hand, reached out for the handle. Not wanting to leave his friend exposed, Jim stepped closer and covered the open doorway.
Nothing stirred. Jim let out a small breath of relief. Tom stepped inside, then, a few seconds later, gestured for them to come in. Jim let Annette go first, and he followed inside, covering them.
‘Close the door,’ Tom whispered.
Jim did so. When he turned back to face the room, he saw it was some kind of control room. As large as
the bridge on the Bravo, it featured a large metal desk running along the main wall facing the door. A number of flashing buttons ran across the console in a row.
There were two wheeled office chairs tucked under the desk.
Above it, a flat-screen monitor hung from the wall, giving off a grey luminescence. A set of charts and dials on the screen updated in real time. Some of the symbols and units were familiar to him – air pressure, temperature, voltage and wattage – but there were others he didn’t recognise. On a smaller, second monitor below the first was a login screen with two input boxes asking for User ID and User Password.
‘What is this place?’ Annette said, approaching the console.
‘Looks like the main control room for the base’s air and power,’ Tom said. ‘Must be an automated system. If we could get into it . . .’ Tom searched the console desk’s controls and found a keyboard among the myriad buttons and switches.
‘Wait,’ Jim said. ‘What if we mess things up? Stop the air or something?’
‘That’s the risk,’ Tom said. ‘But this is the first computer system we’ve found that is actually working. We might be able to find something out. Or at least learn something about the network here.’
Jim couldn’t deny it made sense, but it still didn’t sit well with him. There were two chairs here but no bodies. Did it mean the operators, if there were any, were just on a break and due to come back? ‘Just wait a second,’ he said, and began to search the room, shining the light under the desks, his pistol aimed into the light.
He swept around every potential hiding place, but saw no evidence of a threat.
There were no footprints in the dust, other than their own, and there was no litter or evidence that anyone had been in here for a very long time. The chairs were in pristine condition and showed no sign of being sat upon recently; the cushions weren’t deformed or flat, and the armrests displayed no wear and tear.
Finishing his search, Jim said to Tom, ‘Okay, do it. See if you can get in.’
‘Here’s hoping,’ Tom said. ‘Can you shine some light over the keyboard for me?’
‘Sure.’
Tom approached the keyboard and tapped out a few letters. The first input box glowed with a light blue border as the letters appeared inside in a small, sans-serif font. Tom entered a bunch of names and passwords, but nothing worked. Each time he entered a combination, he got just a dull beep and an error message on the screen: Error! Credentials don’t match the database. Please try again or contact the system administrator.
‘Huh. So much for that,’ Tom said.
‘It was a long shot,’ Annette added. ‘We should move on, see what else we can find.’
‘Let’s update Eva first,’ Jim said.
Tom took the radio from his belt and pressed the trigger. ‘Bandit, this is Smokey. Do you copy? Over.’ They had decided to use code names and not mention their exact location within the base in case anyone else was listening in.
A few seconds later the radio squelched, and Eva’s voice came through. ‘I copy you, Smokey. Anything to report? We’ve seen nothing of note at this end yet. Over.’
‘Same here, Bandit. Let’s update again in ten minutes. Over.’
‘Roger that. Over.’
‘You didn’t want to tell her about this place?’ Annette asked.
Tom shook his head. ‘Can’t risk being too specific. Besides, it’s not like finding this place changes anything, especially as we can’t get into the system. Come on, let’s move on.’
They left the control room and continued on in a westerly direction. The tunnels now changed from exposed stone to a painted concrete: grey, naturally. About a hundred metres or so down through the concrete-lined hall, they came to an opening on the right with no doors. It reminded Jim of a hangar bay, only much smaller.
Instead, among the shadows, he saw a number of tall stacks stretching off into the darkness beyond. Tom stood with his back to one side of the opening. Jim took the other. Both pointed their firearms into the room. Annette took the flashlight and cast a beam inside.
One of the shelf stacks on the far side had toppled over, spilling a pile of unmarked cardboard boxes onto the floor.
‘I’m beginning to think we killed the last survivor,’ Annette said as she stepped inside with Jim and Tom flanking her. ‘Although, looking at the state of this place, I’d say there was definitely a struggle.’
They made their way towards the centre of the stockroom, which looked the least disturbed. On the shelves were hundreds of boxes of dried, foil-packed meal replacement powders in all kinds of tempting flavours: Pineapple and Cream, Roast Beef in Gravy, Banoffee Pie, Apple Crumble, and that stalwart of many wars, Spam.
Annette let out a small chuckle. ‘I can’t believe they were so nostalgic they made a powdered version of Spam,’ she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
‘I guess old habits die hard,’ Jim added.
‘Hey,’ Tom said. ‘I’ll have you know we consider it a delicacy. Or at least I do. When you’ve spent years in a sub eating boiled vegetables and the same tasteless meat over and over, a bit of processed salty Spam is a refreshing treat.’
‘If you say so,’ Jim said. ‘Feel free to help yourself. It’ll take some effort off Karel now that . . .’ Jim let his words drift off, realising how disrespectful this was to poor Li. He chided himself for forgetting so easily. They were so wrapped up with the base that they’d barely mentioned the poor woman.
‘We know,’ Annette said, dropping her eyes. ‘Li is missed, for sure.’
‘Don’t dwell on it,’ Tom said, not unkindly. ‘We can grieve for her later. Right now we need to focus on the job at hand if we’re to get back to the sub alive and with something worthy of the journey.’
Jim nodded. ‘You’re right. Annette, lead the way with that light, and we’ll cover you.’
They continued to walk up and down the rows of shelf stacks, looking for anything useful, but they found nothing. They returned to the toppled unit, which they’d left for last. The boxes were loosely piled to waist height. They contained more powdered meal replacements and assorted powdered milk drinks. Some of the other boxes were stamped with medical labels indicating that they contained bandages, swabs, needles, and other such supplies.
‘We could use some of these,’ Annette said. ‘If we’re making the return journey to the flotilla, it’d be good to stock up on medical supplies in case of injuries.’
‘Here,’ Tom said, reaching out to her, ‘let me take the light so you can grab what you want and fill your pack.’
Annette handed him the light and shrugged off her backpack to the floor. She opened the door and stepped forward to the supplies, checking each box before placing it in the pack. She reached over the top of the pile for one box in particular. Her arm brushed against a dozen or so others all balanced on top of each other like a game of Jenga.
They came toppling down away from her. She overbalanced and fell onto the boxes, reaching her hands out to brace her fall as she collapsed onto her front, crushing a bunch of supplies beneath her. ‘Fuck,’ she said.
Jim dashed forward. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, fine. Just embarrassed. Wanna give me a hand?’
She turned her head and slowly pulled her arm back to reach out for Jim – and screamed.
Tom shone the light down onto the boxes where Annette was staring with wide eyes.
Looking back up at them, through the fallen supplies, were another pair of unblinking eyes. Jim grabbed Annette’s arm and hauled her up and away.
‘What the hell?’ Tom said, leaning closer.
‘God, I touched it,’ Annette said, wiping her hand furiously down the front of her sweater. ‘It was damp . . .’
‘It’s dead, right?’ Jim asked Tom.
Tom swept away the supplies, revealing a very still, and very dead, body, partially clad in a white HAZMAT suit, pinned beneath the boxes. It appeared to Jim to be a man, perhaps no more than forty.
> ‘He couldn’t have been dead long,’ Tom said, stepping back. ‘His face has the same red sores as the last guy. Seems it got through his precautions.’
‘Hold the light still for a moment,’ Annette said, regaining her composure and leaning closer to the body. She put on a pair of latex gloves from one of the boxes on the floor and pressed two fingers against the man’s exposed neck. After a minute she shook her head. ‘Definitely no pulse,’ she said. She checked over the body, shoving more of the supplies out of the way to reveal the corpse’s arms and legs.
There was no obvious sign of trauma from the outside. It looked as if he had simply fallen on his back, taking the shelf stack with him, and died right there.
‘At least I don’t think he’s getting up any time soon, unless the government have invented zombies now too,’ Annette said.
‘I don’t think we should stay in here, breathing this air, even with our masks,’ Jim said.
‘You’re right,’ Annette said, closing her backpack and putting the straps over her shoulders. ‘Wanna give me a hand covering him back up? Probably better not to leave him open to the air. We can’t drag him all the way back to the farm for a burial.’
The three of them did their best to cover the body and stepped away from it. Jim radioed Eva to let them know in obscure terms what they had found. She replied that, from their end, they had yet to discover anything of interest other than more corridors.
When Jim finished talking with Eva he looked up to see Tom and Annette standing inside the open doorway, looking at each other, their brows furrowed.
‘What is it?’ Jim asked.
Annette pointed westwards down the hall. Jim walked to their position and looked out. At the end of the hall was a regular-sized door with a glass pane running down its middle. Behind the glass, a yellow light glowed weakly.
And in that light, a dark shape was moving from one side to the other.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Duncan knew he didn’t really deserve the position he had been given on the submarine since the others had left for the base. He had only got it because of his father, the venerable Jim. And yet, here he was, sitting in front of the camera screens, watching the morning sun glint off the choppy surface of the water, in charge of a multi-billion-dollar submarine.
Soil (The Last Flotilla Book 2) Page 12