Matt rose quickly from the seat, faltering momentarily but then dismissing the pain that radiated throughout his body. The guard behind Alex saw it happening first, but he couldn’t move fast enough. Alex was sitting in a chair between Matt and the guard. Alex saw Matt make his move and hesitated only a moment before she pushed her chair backward and into the guard. Alex and the man tumbled to the ground.
Harrison turned just in time to see Matt tackle him. Matt’s shoulder hit Harrison hard on the left side of his body. The collision caused Harrison to drop the assault rifle he was holding. The impact also spun them both around and they fell heavily toward the floor.
Matt hit the ground hard on his back. Harrison collapsed on top of him. Matt winced from the pain radiating up into his shoulder, but he reached out quickly with his left arm and grabbed Harrison around the neck. Harrison grabbed Matt’s forearm and began to struggle. Matt held the knife in his right hand and pressed it against Harrison’s neck. The man’s body stiffened, then stopped moving when he realized the cause of the pressure.
Matt looked over and saw Alex on her hands and knees on the floor behind the desk. The guard was nowhere in sight. Harrison started to move again. Matt pressed the knife harder against Harrison’s neck and the man stopped struggling.
Through the legs of desks and chairs, Matt could see the computer technician. He was across the room on the floor and underneath another work station. Cowering beneath the desk, the once confident computer god had his eyes squeezed shut while his lips moved frantically in a silent prayer.
Matt placed his left hand over Harrison’s mouth and pressed the knife harder against his neck. The guard was nowhere to be seen. Turning his head from side to side, Matt scanned the limited view from his position. He looked over at Alex who was doing the same. Then he saw a gun appear from above the desk in front of him.
“Come out!” the guard yelled. “Both of you.”
The guard continued to inch forward and the gun moved farther past the desk. With each step, Matt felt increasingly vulnerable. He was shielded somewhat by Harrison’s body, but much of him was still exposed. At this distance, any shot fired would likely penetrate Harrison before hitting Matt. Matt was trapped. He wanted to make a move for Harrison’s gun but knew that as soon as he released his grip on the knife, Harrison would be all over him. Without the element of surprise, Matt wasn’t so sure he could win a fight against Harrison.
The gunman’s movements grew more hesitant as he likely recognized that he himself was becoming more exposed the farther forward and past the barrier of the desk he moved. Little did the man know, Matt was powerless to do anything from his position.
Suddenly, Harrison started kicking and thrashing against Matt’s body. The gunman standing above heard the commotion and hesitated. Matt watched as the man started to point the gun downward. The gun was now pointed directly at Matt and Harrison. Harrison was struggling frantically now.
“Come out where I can see you!” the guard demanded. “I’ll shoot, goddammit!”
Matt began to release his hold on Harrison. But first, he slashed Harrison across the cheek with the knife. When Harrison howled in pain and instinctively reached for his face, Matt quickly grabbed the gun from the man’s holster.
Still holding his hands to his face and starting to roll off Matt, Harrison shouted to the guard. “Shoot, dammit, shoot!”
The guard tightened his grip on the gun. Matt dove under the desk, but at the same time reached his hand above the desk and fired two shots blindly. Matt heard a shot come from the other side and then a thump as something fell to the ground.
After several seconds, Matt slowly rose. Harrison’s gun was still in his hands. He quickly turned it on Harrison who was holding his cheek and starting to rise. With the gun pointed at Harrison, Matt walked to the other side of the desk and looked at the man he had just killed.
“Matt,” he heard Alex say.
It took a moment for Matt to draw his eyes away from the man on the floor.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” she said urgently, breaking his reverie.
He nodded. He reached into his pocket with his left hand, still using his right hand to point the gun at Harrison. He pulled out the flash drive and handed it to Alex. “Here, load the virus.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ALEX SLID INTO THE chair in front of the computer. Matt pushed Harrison down into a chair and stood over him while both men watched Alex at the computer. The virus search initiated by the computer technician had finished. 100%. No virus had been detected. But more important for their purposes, the computer was still logged on and waiting for instructions.
“What are you doing?” the computer technician asked urgently.
Alex inserted the device into the UBS port, and the computer waited for instructions to upload Patrick’s greatest hits.
“Wait! Stop!” the computer technician shouted.
From underneath the desk the technician crept forward and then leapt to his feet. Before Matt could react, the man lunged at Alex, grabbing her from behind. He wrapped his left arm across her neck and tried pulling her away from the computer.
Matt quickly stepped behind the technician without taking his eyes off Harrison. Matt tried to pull the man away from Alex with one arm while at the same time pointing the gun at Harrison with his other. But the technician’s hold was firm. Alex clawed at the technician’s forearm, which was firmly wrapped around her neck. Finally, Matt hit the technician on the side of the head with the butt of the gun. The technician groaned and fell to the ground.
Matt quickly turned his attention back to Harrison.
He was too late. Harrison kicked Matt, causing him to fall forward on top of the technician. Matt scrambled and then rolled over, the gun extended toward where he had previously placed Harrison.
But Harrison was now standing behind Alex, his arm stretched across her neck. The knife was clenched in Harrison’s hand and pressed firmly against Alex’s throat. The pupils of Alex’s eyes were huge and dark. Her fingers gripped his forearm, her gun sitting impotently on the side of the desk where she had left it.
The flash drive was in the hard drive but the program had not yet begun to run. The computer continued to wait for instructions.
“Put down the gun,” Harrison said calmly as his eyes hardened.
“Don’t, Matt,” Alex pleaded as Harrison pressed the knife tighter against her neck.
Matt looked from Alex to Harrison and back to Alex again. Harrison pressed the knife harder against her neck. He drew blood. But Alex mouthed firmly, “Don’t.”
“Matt, don’t be stupid. Put the gun down.”
Matt hesitated for a moment and then slowly started to lower the gun. Upon seeing this, Alex fell to her knees, pulling down hard on Harrison’s forearm as she did so. She tucked her head low as her knees hit the floor. Harrison tumbled over the top of her and directly toward Matt, who quickly jumped out of the way.
Harrison rolled completely around and rose easily onto his feet. He was still holding the knife, but now Matt was holding a gun and pointing it at Harrison. The man paused momentarily before speeding toward the door. Matt fired off a shot. The bullet pierced the wall of an office cubicle as Harrison raced out the door.
Matt turned back to Alex and saw her sitting at the chair in front of the computer for the server.
“We haven’t got much time,” Alex said as her fingers flew across the keyboard with a few commands. Matt stood over Alex as he watched the door.
“Are you finished?” Matt said after a moment.
“Yes.” She pushed herself away from the computer. “It’s done.”
“Then, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Matt hurried back to the technician and ripped the keys and pass card off the man’s belt.
Matt handed Alex her gun, and they raced toward the rear exit. He cautiously opened the door. A shot rang out and slammed into the cement wall within inches of Matt’s face.
&n
bsp; “Back,” he shouted as he jumped back and slammed the door closed. Matt gestured to a steel file cabinet against the wall and together they pushed it against the door. Pounding immediately ensued. Instinctively, Matt and Alex backed away. The cabinet began to sway under the assault. Their efforts wouldn’t keep anyone out for long.
“Now what?” Alex said.
Matt turned in a full circle and scanned the room. He strode over to the computer technician. He knelt down and grabbed him roughly. He slapped him awake.
“How do we get out of here?”
“I have no idea.” The technician said rubbing his head.
“Yes, you do,” Matt said pointing the gun at the man’s face. “Where is it?”
The man’s eyes widened. “Don’t, please, don’t,” he begged.
Matt pressed the gun closer. “Tell me.”
“Behind the old server,” he said quickly, gesturing to the back of the room. “There’s a door. It leads to a hurricane shelter underneath the complex.”
Alex was already headed over to the old server. He watched as she struggled to pull it away from the wall. From across the room, Matt could see a small space beginning to appear between the server and the wall. He could barely make out the outline of a door.
“How do we get in?”
“You already have the key,” he stammered, gesturing to the keys Matt was still holding.
Matt ran to the back of the room. Alex had been able to move the server a few inches from the wall. He handed her the keys, took her spot and pulled the server the rest of the way. He stepped aside and Alex moved in to unlock the door.
She hit gold on the third key and opened the door just as the cabinet slid far enough away from the entrance to reveal a shoulder pushing its way through the small space. Matt shoved Alex through the entryway. He shot one quick look over his shoulder before he started through the door himself. Harrison was forcing himself into the room. Matt stepped through the door out of the room just as Harrison raised his gun and fired off a shot.
Matt slammed the door shut. They were plunged into darkness. He fumbled for the handle. No lock. His fingers frantically ran along the length of the door and located a deadbolt above the handle. He quickly slid it into place. Groping blindly, he continued to explore the edges of the door. He found two other dead bolts to seal the thick steel door. One bolt slid into the concrete block ceiling and still another slid into the floor. He quickly slammed each of them into place.
A musty, pungent smell pinched his nostrils. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the blackness, and even then, he could see nothing. He slid his right hand down the wall. Finding the light switch, he flicked it. Nothing happened. Shots reverberated off the door from the other side.
Matt took two tentative steps forward. He almost plunged into darkness before realizing the floor beneath his right foot had disappeared. He grabbed the air and his hand hit a railing. They were standing at the top of a metal stairwell.
“Follow me,” Matt said as he descended the stairs into the darkness. “Just hang on to this railing.”
Despite Matt and Alex’s slow and cautious movements, the metal stairs echoed loudly. The pounding on the other side of the door had stopped.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Matt reached out with one hand. Holding the banister, he turned and walked under the stairwell. If this was a hurricane shelter, as Matt suspected, there had to be an alternate power source. Matt searched the darkness tentatively with his hands. Hurricanes had been known to take out the power anywhere from days to weeks in South Florida, and a military installation such as this would undoubtedly be prepared. Finally, he found what he was looking for. A generator.
“What are you doing, Matt?” Alex called from behind him.
“Just a minute,” he said as he continued to maneuver in the darkness underneath the stairwell. Within moments, he had the diesel generator roaring to life. The lights flickered on weakly.
The area was cavernous, like a fallout shelter designed to withstand a nuclear attack. The Florida limestone served as a natural floor and as walls for the underground compound. Cases of bottled water and canned foods, medical supplies, sleeping bags and flashlights lined the walls. This was hurricane preparedness in South Florida post-Hurricane Katrina style.
“There must be another exit,” Matt began. “One that’s some distance away. They would have been concerned that the entrance would be blocked if the building was completely leveled.”
Alex nodded.
Matt scanned the room. On the far wall, a map of the facility hung prominently. A red arrow helpfully pointed out their current location. He walked over and ripped the map off the wall. It showed a sweeping labyrinth that appeared to span the entire complex. Passageways led to each of the buildings and beyond. There were several different exits. Matt quickly identified two passages that led to exits outside the complex.
As Alex looked over his shoulder, Matt traced one of the passages with his finger. “This route will get us closer to the car but we’ll still be inside the gate so we’d still have to get past the guard station.”
Alex pointed to another route. “This exit will get us outside and away from the complex,” she noted before turning to Matt.
“They’ll expect us to take the route that gets us out of the complex and the farthest away,” Matt said with more decisiveness than he felt.
“I say we go with this one,” Matt continued as he pointed to the map.
Alex nodded.
Matt looked at Alex and then reached toward her. He grabbed the visitor’s tag hanging from her neck and ripped it off.
“You won’t be needing this anymore,” Matt said before ripping off his own. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
THE UNDERGROUND COMPLEX was being powered solely by the emergency generator so the eerily quiet passageways were dimly lit. But Matt knew that the light and the silence would be relatively short-lived if — or more likely when — Rabin and Harrison figured out where he and Alex were in the underground maze.
He had identified several exits on the map, most leading to other buildings on the campus. Rabin would know, as Matt did, that in light of the sophisticated security system, Matt and Alex could be trapped at any of those exits without the proper ID badges. The security clearance designations on their badges were limited before, but likely more so now that they had revealed their true intentions. Only two exits were not inside a building, leaving few options for Matt and Alex as well as few exits for Rabin to cover.
“So, Alex, tell me who’s side are you on now?” Matt couldn’t resist asking Alex as they moved quietly through the tunnels.
“Matt —”
“And, will you be switching teams again anytime soon?” Matt interrupted before she could respond. “I’d really like to know before we come face to face with Rabin and his goons again.”
“Let me explain.”
“You can understand why I might be a little confused.”
“Listen, Matt.” Alex grabbed his arm and he was forced to slow down. “The stuff I told you about me — my family, college, the Army — that was all true.”
This time he didn’t interrupt but he kept walking.
“Two years ago,” Alex continued, “my unit was deployed to Germany. From there we were sent to the front lines in Afghanistan about once a month, usually for two to three weeks at a time.” She hesitated. “For most of our missions we were dropped into hot zones, given a target and told to get in and out as quickly as possible. We’d been doing this for over a year.”
“I’ve heard all this before, Alex,” Matt interrupted gruffly. “Incredibly intense times. I get it. But what does that have to do with your lying to me, Stephen, Bob and who knows how many other people?”
She turned away from him and started walking again.
“On our last mission,” she continued slowly, “tensions were particularly high. We’d just received word that the military had
postponed — yet again — the date that we’d be returning stateside. CNN was also reporting on a suicide attack that had killed ten soldiers. It was on that note that we were asked to carry out yet another night raid.”
Matt recalled that night raids were regarded as the most effective tool against the Taliban insurgents. Commanders and whole groups of fighters had been killed or captured during these missions. They were also highly dangerous, with many coalition lives lost during these nighttime skirmishes.
“We were a relatively small group,” Alex said. “All Special Forces. We were sent into a village called Mian.”
Matt knew the village formally named Mian Poshteh. It was a farming community located in a remote district in Southern Afghanistan. It was used by the Taliban fighters as a supply route. The Marines spent several long months attempting to clear insurgents from the volatile region.
“The attacks were typically very quick and precise,” Alex explained. “More so now … you know, since the U.S. military started taking a lot of heat for operations that resulted in civilian casualties. On this one we were instructed to go in hard and fast. We were told that there was a militia meeting going on, that the men inside were heavily armed and that there were no civilians in the house. This was supposed to be good intelligence.” She paused for a moment. “But that turned out not to be the case.”
Matt felt sick to his stomach. He continued listening.
“We did just as we were told.” She continued slowly. “We went in hard and fast. But the insurgents must have gotten wind of us.” Her breathing grew harsher and the words now began to tumble out. “They had their weapons locked and loaded. Bullets started flying as soon as we crashed through the door.” Alex shook her head at the memory. “One of the insurgents raced to the back of the house. My captain and I — we followed him. My captain, Rick was his name, had already been hit once. He didn’t even realize it until later.”
Operation Mockingbird Page 21