Dane Curse

by Matt Abraham

  A loud buzzer screamed as the sirens lit up.

  “Sir,” a guard to my right said, “are you carrying any metal?”

  Lynx’s expression didn’t change, but there was panic behind her eyes.

  “No.” There was nothing on me, but I touched all my pockets, looking for something foreign. When I found it I could’ve kicked myself. “Oh, wait. Yes I do. Here you go,” I said, showing it to the guard.

  “What’s this, sir?” he asked.

  A lock pick. “A lab tool.”

  “And your name, sir?”

  “What?”

  “Your name?” He picked up a clipboard and pen.

  “My name? Of course. It’s…” I couldn’t look at my ID. But Lynx had just told me. It was… “Wagner. Doctor Wagner.”

  The guard nodded, wrote it down, and waved me on. “Sorry for the delay, have a good one.”

  We passed another group of security guards who were listening to the radio on the desk. “The biggest news continues to be the murder of our city’s beloved protector Pinnacle. Authorities have yet to release any information regarding the mysterious crime, however a joint press conference has been announced by SPEC Director Marc Humphries and Team Supreme’s Glory Anna after the President’s address…” The guards were so engrossed they failed to notice how nonchalant I was.

  I leaned toward Lynx “Sorry. I forgot I had it on me.”

  “No harm, no foul. You handled it well.”

  “Thanks.”

  Lynx led the way down a large, white hall to the central elevator. The doors slid open revealing a barren, silver interior. Lynx stepped in first, and turned around. “Are you coming?”

  “You’re sure this is wise?” I asked, looking inside. “Maybe we gained entry so easily for a reason.”

  “Of course it’s wise, how else are we going to get to the fifth basement?”

  “Fifth?” It felt like something punched the back of my throat. “Maybe this is a bad time to mention it, but I’m not a fan of tight places.”

  Lynx laughed. “And here I thought you weren’t afraid of anything.”

  “Afraid? No. Wary? Of a few things,” I said, looking around the interior, “and being trapped in a box is one of them.”

  “Will it help if I start clucking like a chicken?” She was amused. Normally that was a nice look on her. “Come on. I’ll protect you.”

  I stepped in.

  The doors slammed shut behind me, and the yellow lights above turned red. Lynx grabbed my arm. Her nails dug in. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing. I did nothing.”

  “Oh my God.” She was staring upwards, her head darting back and forth. “We’re trapped. Are you carrying any weapons?” She grabbed my jacket and shook me. There was a wild look in her eyes. “I told you to leave them in the car.”

  “No, all I got is the ID you gave me and these stupid glasses!”

  “My father must have found out about our plan.”

  Two tiny hatches, about the size of dimes, opened on each wall. They began spraying a light mist.

  “Gas. We’ve got to get out of here,” Lynx said. “Open the door, now.”

  I spun around, and pushed my fingers into the tiny crack between the doors, but they were sealed tight. There was no room for a grip. I tried again, but the metal refused to give. “No good. What else you got?” I clamped a hand over my mouth, trying to let the air in but keep the gas out.

  “Let me try.” She pushed me aside, and focused on the door. Nothing happened. She closed her eyes tight, and put her hands on it. Still nothing happened. “My TK isn’t working!”

  “Lynx, how could they know we’re here?” I asked, looking for any point of weakness in the all metal box.

  “They couldn’t.” She started breathing heavy. “What should we do?”

  “I don’t know.” I looked for something, anything, to help me get the doors open. The red lights were just bright enough to let me know I was out of luck.

  We were trapped.

  Then the lights returned to their normal yellow. The small gas hatches clamped shut. I looked over at Lynx. She was all smiles. “I have an idea, how about we press this.” She reached out a finger, and pressed B5. Then the elevator kicked to life, and we plummeted downward.

  “What the hell?” I had to stop my fists from shaking. “Was that normal?”

  “Of course. The elevator seals us in, and the red lights and gas disinfect us of any foreign bacteria.” She smiled. “You didn’t think we were trapped, did you?”

  I forced my breathing to return to normal, and shoved my hands into the pockets to keep them from grabbing her throat. “You’re a laugh riot.”

  “Sorry, I thought it might lighten the mood. But actually, it’s a long way down, and while I didn’t ask before I think it’s time you tell me; why exactly are we checking up on the only source of Black Bleach?”

  Chapter 25

  “I think it’s involved.”

  She didn’t look convinced. “Do you think someone took a dose of Black Bleach and killed Benjy? Because I can tell you that it’s not safe for use.”

  “I’ll let you know what I think later. For now I just need to check on it.”

  “Ok. Let’s go do that.”

  After what felt like a lengthy trip the elevator finally stopped. The doors opened and we stepped out into a hallway. The air was chilly, and smelled like lemon pine disinfectant. I took a look around. In both directions fluorescent lights illuminated white floors and walls that seemed to run on forever.

  Lynx pulled out a piece of paper and looked it over. “It’s this way.” She motioned me to the left. We started down the corridor, turning here and there. The only thing cutting the silence was the echoes of our footsteps. I didn’t see another person in any of the hallways, only dozens of identical doors each with a small window, a silver handle, and a biohazard warning sign promising grim death.

  “What’s that?” I asked, motioning to the scrap in her hand.

  “It’s a map.”

  “Is this your first time here?”

  “No, but I’ve never been to this particular lab before. I had to look up the directions and the office number.”

  “They have numbers?”

  Lynx pointed to the top right corner of the next door we passed, and sure enough there was a set of five digits, tiny and barely noticeable.

  “Those aren’t a lot to go on. Hospitals use different colored lines on the floor so people can find their way around easier.”

  “Yeah, but disorientation is the point. These halls were designed by the same architects that do casinos. They keep unwanted visitors confused, and going in circles. There are stories of people who’ve worked here for years getting lost for whole weekends. I don’t believe them, but it’s possible.”

  “At least we don’t have to worry about cameras.”

  “No,” Lynx said. “Nobody wants a record of what goes on down here. Besides, you’d have to be pretty stupid to try and break in.”

  Looking back down the hall I couldn’t help but agree.

  After another couple of turns we finally arrived. “This is the one.”

  I pointed at the Biohazard Level Five sign hanging on the door. “Is this accurate?”

  She shook her head. “That means nothing. Every door has one of those. Even the break room.”

  Some of the tension in my shoulders relaxed. “Great.”

  “Hey, don’t get too casual. I’d say that for ninety-five percent of these rooms those signs are one hundred percent accurate.”

  I stifled a shiver. Most people think that being invulnerable means you’re impervious to death, but nothing is further from the truth. Lots of things can kill a guy like me such as drowning, exposure, or fire. Some are quick, others are slow and painful, but biological weapons ran the entire gamut. “Ninety-five,” I said. “That still leaves five percent non-lethal.”

  “You’re good at the math,” she said. “Now give me your ID.” The loc
k on the wall was a flat, white square, and Lynx waved my keycard over it, then twisted the handle, and the door swung open. She returned the card, and I followed her in. The room was dark and cold, with a sense of impending dread that would feel at home in any dentist’s office.

  “This way.” Lynx kept the lights off, and led me to the back where we went through another door, and into a second room. It was much darker and smaller with just enough space to fit six people comfortably. There was a safe hanging on the back wall. It was tall and wide, but not deep, and had a glowing keypad in the corner. Lynx punched a twelve-digit password into it and the doors slid open, bathing the room in a soft green light that shone behind one hundred vials hanging in ten rows of ten. Each one was about the size of my pinky and had a number printed on the front next to a bar code. Inside was a thick, brackish liquid with tiny bits of suspended debris.

  I leaned in. “I thought it would be blacker.”

  “Me too.”

  “So, how do we check them?”

  “Like so.” Lynx removed what looked like a staple gun with a small screen on it from the inside of her coat, and held it up to the vial in the top left corner.

  “How’d you get through security with that?”

  “I’m authorized. Being the boss’s daughter carries with it certain privileges.” Lynx pressed its trigger and the gadget cast a yellow light through the liquid. A few seconds passed, and a handful of letters and numbers appeared on the screen. “See that. It’s the molecular makeup of Black Bleach. This vial’s the real deal.”

  “One down,” I said, “ninety-nine to go.”

  She nodded, and started working her way to the right. The first row went quick enough as did the second, each of the specimens proving to be authentic.

  “Could someone just have taken a little bit from one?” I asked.

  “No. See here.” She pointed to a number on the vials, which were the same for each. “This is the amount of liquid the individual dose holds. If any, and I mean any were removed this would tell me.” She finished with the third row and again, everything checked out.

  But when Lynx began on the fourth row she froze. “Was that you?”

  “Was what me?” I asked.

  Lynx stopped breathing and stared at the door. The lights in the outside room were still off. I strained my ears, but all I heard was silence. After a minute of playing statues she relaxed. “Never mind, it was probably nothing.” She returned to her work, completing the fourth row without incident, but halfway through the fifth Lynx stopped dead. “Son of a bitch.”

  “What?”

  She double checked the specimen. “This isn’t Black Bleach.”

  “What is it?”

  “How should I know, I’m not a chemist. It could be ink, it could be jam. All I can say for certain is it’s a dumb dose.” She turned back to the display on the safe. “Let me see.” She pressed a few buttons causing a stream of numbers to fill the screen. “That’s not possible.”

  I looked at the numbers. “What?”

  “These are all the records of when this case has been opened. Date, time, and identity of the accessing party should all be saved.” She turned to me. “But there’s nothing, it’s been wiped.”

  “So,” I said, “whoever removed it from the lab didn’t want anyone to find out about it. Makes sense, I wouldn’t want a paper trail either.” I looked at Lynx.

  There was terror in her eyes. “No. You don’t understand. Me, Gravel, none of us could do that. Only one person has an override code this powerful. But it doesn’t make any-”

  “It’s your dad,” I said, “isn’t it?”

  Lynx nodded.

  “That’s all I needed, let’s get going.”

  Lynx returned the dose.

  As she closed the safe the lights in the outer room clicked on. A voice called out, “Hello, Ms. Lynx, are you in there?”

  Chapter 26

  Lynx turned to me. “Hide!”

  “Where?” I motioned around the tiny room. “It’s not like there’s a closet or a bed... ”

  “Pick a place.”

  “There is no place!”

  The voice called out again. “Ms. Lynx?”

  A second one joined it. “Are you alright, ma’am?”

  “Those are Sindicate men, they’ll kill you,” she said.

  “Not without a fight,” I whispered, and turned towards the door, fists up and ready for a game of knucklebones.

  She placed a hand on my arm. “You think that’ll bother them?”

  I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye.

  I could hear the footsteps. They were getting louder.

  “They’ve got ways of dealing with invulnerables. I’ve seen guys like you get the spurs. It’s not pretty,” she said, “or quick.”

  They were almost here.

  “So what do I do?”

  She squeezed my arm. “Just relax.”

  I did as she said.

  The door opened hard. Light from outside poured into the tiny room. Two guards pushed in. I could tell by the way the men carried themselves they were powered, and battle hardened. The one in front clicked on the light, and said, “Here you are.”

  “Yes.” Lynx was standing in the middle of the room, inches from him, hands on her hips. “And now that you’ve found me, what do you want?”

  He looked over her shoulder. “Oh, well we just wanted to-”

  “Wanted to what?” Lynx said.

  “Well, we’re looking for someone. A Doctor Wagner.” The man searched to the left, the right, and then down on the ground. I was surprised he kept at it. If he had only looked up he’d have seen me staring right back at him from the ceiling where Lynx had me pinned with her telekinesis. “What are you doing here, ma’am? This is a restricted area.”

  “What did you just say to me?” Lynx drove the heel of her hand into his face. The man flew out of the room, and crashed onto some equipment outside.

  The second guard froze in place. “Uh, sorry ma’am. I don’t mean to bother you, but there’s no Doctor Wagner on our list. We’re, uh, a little confused,”

  Lynx turned to him. “I don’t care about your confusion.”

  The guy was tough, he had to be given his chosen profession, but he took a healthy step outside. “I’m sorry, ma’am. It’s… I… we weren’t informed you’d be here. If you’ll allow us we’ll post a guard in the hall, and they’ll escort you out when you’re finished. There’s no rush, of course. I didn’t mean to offend, but we’ve been put on alert. I hope you understand.”

  “Alert?” Lynx asked. “When? By whom?”

  I heard his distant words. “Just now, your father’s orders. Sorry, ma’am.”

  Lynx closed the door, and lowered me to the ground. “That’s not good,” she said.

  “Yeah, for one of us.”

  “Exactly. This is going to be tricky. I can’t float you over my head the whole time. You’ll have to find your own way out.”

  “And how do I go about that?”

  “Simple. Give me a head start. When I leave the guards will follow, and you’ll be down here alone. Maybe.”

  “Maybe?”

  “There might be more patrolling.”

  “Alright.”

  “So any way you can, get to the elevator, take it out of the basements, and up to the second floor. It’s occupied by admin offices so it won’t be subject to the same attention as the rest of the building. Then take the stairs on the west side down to the first floor, and leave through the fire exit. I’ll be waiting with the car.”

  “Get to the elevator. Got it.” That sounded easy enough, but “I don’t remember where it is. All these halls look identical.”

  She nodded. “Here, take the directions.” Lynx handed me the scrap of paper.

  “This is it? 3-R, 2-L, 3-R, Past 3 on right…” I said. “R is right and L is left.”

  “That’s correct. All you have to do is take a left out the door and backtrack,” she said. “You
got it?”

  I looked at the paper. Maps were more accurate back when they thought you could sail off them. “Sure.”

  “Great,” she said, “and whatever you do don’t use that ID to open any doors. When we’re on alert it’ll tip off the guards to your exact location. Ok, I’ll see you outside.”

  Then she took off. I waited five minutes, though it felt like thirty, before I left the Black Bleach and crept through the outer room. When I got to the door I pulled the blinds on the window open a quarter inch, and peered out.

  Nobody in either direction

  I opened the door, stepped into the hall, and turned left, hugging the walls as I went, which makes you less visible, or so they say. Frankly that bit of wisdom seems more plausible when you’re in a bar than it does when you’re moving through a Sindicate lab, but I got to the first corner without being seen. I looked both ways to make sure no one was around, then made my way to the next one. It felt like a mile between them, but when I got there it was clear too.

  I continued on to the third, turned right, and got about five paces before I checked the paper and stopped. Damn. That was a wrong turn. I spun around, but before I could take a step I heard voices. I ran to the corner, got low to the ground, and poked my head out to see a pair of guards, one guy and one dame, both blond and thin in black uniforms. They were walking down the hallway I just left, straight towards me at a slow pace, stopping at every door to check that it was locked.

  I had to get across the hallway, but couldn’t without being seen so I turned around, and looked for something to duck behind. But in an empty hallway there aren’t a lot of options. I tried the closest door. It was locked. I moved to the next one. It wouldn’t budge either.

  I ran to the far corner as quietly as I could, and peered down it. All clear. I stepped around the corner and hid, figuring all I had to do was wait for the guards to pass by so I could resume my path to escape. But instead they turned down the hall, and were coming straight to me.

  “This is bull anyway,” the guy said.

  “Yeah, but what else is there to do?” asked the dame. “Personally I’d rather be safe in a bunker like this than walking the streets. With the length of my rap sheet there’d be a line of white capes outside my digs ready to put their spangle-y boots on my neck.”