Chaos

by David Meyer

  “He doesn’t have more time.”

  “He needs it and we have to give it to him. I’ve got an idea. If it works, we’ve got a chance.”

  “If not?”

  “Well, then it’s been nice knowing you.”

  Chapter 58

  Although cool on the outside, my insides broiled. I shifted my footing, trying to get comfortable.

  It didn’t work.

  I stood just outside the pneumatic tube, slightly off to the side. My position mattered. When Chase penetrated the wall, he needed to see me. But he also needed to see the Omega.

  The noise level outside the tube increased and I heard scuffling noises. It wouldn’t be long before they found the Sand Demons’ symbol and opened the door. Frankly, I preferred it that way. I was tired of waiting for the inevitable.

  Gradually, I got my restlessness under control and expelled it to the far corners of my body. It was still there, just beneath the surface. Still, that was the best I could do given the circumstances.

  Will Chase believe me? Or call my bluff?

  The next few minutes would determine the future. Not just for me, not just for my friends, but for New York and perhaps, the rest of the world as well. It was all so simple, yet so complicated at the same time. I could count the possible outcomes on one hand, but predicting the most likely one was impossible.

  How would it all end? Would I buy enough time to escape with the Bell? Could I manage to do it without causing harm to Diane? Could I rescue her?

  Or would I die and in the process, enable Chase to recover one of the deadliest inventions in the history of mankind?

  I directed my flashlight at the small, hunk of plastic in my hand. It looked real enough, but it, along with the wires that extended from it, was just a prop. I twisted to the side and followed the wires as they trailed across the floor. My beam finally settled on Beverly. She stood next to the Omega, leaning into the interior.

  After a few moments, Beverly removed her head from the Omega. She caught my eye and flashed me a thumbs-up.

  I heard a soft sliding noise. I spun around just in time to see the bedrock door open. Quickly, I stepped into the tube and leaned against the wall, adopting a casual pose.

  Dust cleared. Chase materialized before me. He stood on the opposite end of the tube, arms crossed. His eyes reflected ecstasy as he stared over my shoulder and took in the Omega.

  Chop off the snake’s head and the body will die.

  My hand reached for my pistol. I wanted to shoot him right in his cleanly shaven face. But somehow, I managed to stay in control. The moment I opened fire, it would be open season on me, Diane, and everyone else. Even if I managed to kill him, I doubted his soldiers would stop shooting until we were dead.

  Shifting position, I deliberately drew his attention.

  His eyes flitted toward me. His expression changed, reflecting a mixture of surprise and suspicion. “Cyclone,” he said in a booming voice. “I can’t say I’m not surprised.”

  “Me neither. I’ve been one step ahead of you this entire time.”

  Chase strode toward me. I considered doing the same and meeting him in the middle of the tube. While it was essential for him to see the Omega, I didn’t want him to know about Beach’s pneumatic car just yet.

  But he stopped after a few steps. His expression changed again, morphing into one of amusement. He snapped his fingers.

  One of his guards marched forward, pushing Diane ahead of him. She looked weak and pale. But she was alive and I was determined to keep her that way.

  I turned back to Chase. “We want to make a deal.”

  He chuckled. Reaching for his jacket, he withdrew his Smith & Wesson Victory Model. “It’s too late for that.”

  This was it, the moment of truth. I lifted my hand into the air. His eyes shifted to the hunk of plastic in my fingers and the long wires that trailed away from it.

  “I don’t think so,” I replied. “If you want to live, put your gun away.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because if you don’t, I’ll use this device to blow up the Bell. You may have survived Hiroshima. But there’s no way in hell you’ll survive this.”

  Chapter 59

  Chase pointed his gun at me and I held my breath.

  Then his hand wavered.

  And in that brief moment, I saw a spark of uncertainty in his eyes.

  Standish stepped forward, next to Chase. He folded his powerful arms across his chest and shot me an amused look. “You’re not fooling anyone.”

  “Go ahead then,” I retorted. “Shoot me. Shoot me and see what happens.”

  Standish looked at Chase. “You heard him, Jack. Shoot him and be done with it.”

  I held up my hand, displaying the plastic hunk. “This thing here is hooked up to explosives. Those explosives are currently sitting in the Omega, surrounding the Bell. So, if you shoot me, I press this button. They blow up, followed by the Bell, followed by, well, everything.”

  “That wouldn’t do anything but make a big mess.” Chase frowned. “The Bell is nothing more than a particle accelerator.”

  “As we stand here, the Bell is creating Red Mercury.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “It needs to be in operation at all times.” I narrowed my gaze. “Otherwise it loses stability and becomes explosive. And since the Bell is always working, there’s always a small amount of Red Mercury inside.”

  Standish glanced at Chase. “Don’t listen to this crap. He’s lying.”

  “Maybe I am,” I said. “But are you willing to risk your life to find out?”

  Chase gave me a skeptical look. “What do you know about explosives?”

  “Nothing. But your old friend Beverly, well, she knows all about them. And she assures me that the moment I press this button, this whole place blows up.”

  Chase pointed his gun at my face. “Then I guess I’d better shoot you quick.”

  “Beverly’s in the Omega. If you shoot me before I reach the button, she’ll just blow the explosives manually.”

  “I want to talk to her.”

  “Too bad she doesn’t feel the same.”

  “Beverly!” he shouted.

  Glancing back, I saw her stick her head out from inside the subway car. “Did I hear my name?”

  “This has gone far enough.”

  “I don’t work for you.” Her voice stiffened. “Not anymore. Now do us all a favor and listen to Cy. No one needs to die today.”

  As she vanished back into the Omega, Standish shook his head. “You’re a liar. A damn good one maybe, but still a liar. A couple of ounces of Red Mercury wouldn’t just kill us. It would kill everyone above us as well. And I know for a fact you could never do that.”

  He was right, of course. There was no way in hell I’d ever kill innocent people. But if they didn’t believe my threat, then I was as good as dead. “Why not? If I don’t do it, your boss will.”

  “He’s lying,” Chase said. “Just like I told you he would.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  Standish sneered. “I’d believe Jack over you any day of the week.”

  I glanced at Chase. “You told me before you didn’t want to kill me. Is that still true?”

  “Of course.”

  Liar.

  “Then, look at it this way. You want the Bell. You want it so badly that you’ve spent the better part of your life searching for it. I’m not looking to be a hero. I just want Diane back and safe passage out of these tunnels. If you agree to those terms, you’ll have your Bell in a matter of minutes.”

  Chase hesitated. Then he lowered his gun.

  Standish shot him an angry look. “Are you really listening to this crap?”

  Chase snapped his fingers. Instantly, the guard pushed Diane forward.

  He shoved her to her knees. Repositioning himself, he pointed his gun at her head. “Put the detonator down. And do it slowly. Then I need my little traitor friend to exit the Omega.�
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  I did my best not to look at Diane. But I couldn’t completely avoid those pained blue eyes.

  I’d expected the situation, prepared for it even. But as I stared deep into her eyes, surging anger threatened to overwhelm me.

  I breathed deeply. After a moment, the surge dulled. My mind crystallized. Backing down wasn’t an option. Although it would buy Diane a few seconds, I’d lose all my leverage. We were in a standoff and if I blinked, my entire side would die.

  “Go ahead and shoot her,” I said. “But if you do, I press the button.”

  “You have five seconds. Five…”

  My face twisted defiantly.

  “Four.”

  “Three.”

  An unwelcome thought crossed my mind. We were locked in a lethal standoff and as far as Chase was concerned, the explosives were like a gun with a single bullet. The moment I used them, the standoff ended and everyone lost. Knowing that, he might decide to murder Diane, assuming I still wouldn’t detonate the Bell.

  “Two…”

  Panic gripped my chest. What if he shot her?

  “One…”

  I steeled myself and glared into his eyes.

  “Zero.”

  Chase didn’t move a muscle.

  Neither did I.

  With an annoyed grunt, he pushed Diane onto the floor.

  Relief swept over me. “Are we done with this nonsense? I’d like to get on with our deal.”

  “What do you propose?”

  “You leave Diane with me. Then you wait outside for five minutes. After that, this room and everything in it is yours.”

  “How do I know you won’t use the time to set a trap for me?”

  “We have nothing to gain from fighting. That’s a battle we won’t win. I just want to take my friends and leave.”

  Standish gave me an amazed look. “You’re just going to walk right by us?”

  “Of course not. There’s a maze of maintenance tunnels connected to this station. We’ll leave through one of them.”

  “How do I know you won’t detonate the explosives once you’re gone?” Chase asked.

  “And blow ourselves up too? I’m a little crazy but I’m not suicidal. I just want out of here. And I want to take my friends with me.”

  Chase stared at me. Then, he nodded. “You’ve got five minutes. After that, we’re coming in with guns drawn, explosives or not.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Chase glanced down at Diane. Before I could react, he reared back and kicked her in the head. Her face distorted to one side and blood splattered onto my clothes.

  I started for him but he lifted the gun again. “You’ve got five minutes,” he said. “Use them wisely.”

  Seething with anger, I watched him back away and leave the tube. Moments later, the door slid to a close.

  Leaning down, I checked Diane.

  Her eyes fluttered and looked up at me. “I should’ve known you had something to do with this.”

  “I didn’t mean –”

  “Look, I don’t know what this is all about,” she whispered in a pained tone. “But that man’s insane. He’ll never let us escape.”

  “I know.”

  “Then, what’s your plan?”

  “Let me put it like this. The easy part is over. The hard part comes next.”

  Chapter 60

  As I helped Diane out of the tube, I felt fireworks shooting off inside me. She was in even worse shape than I thought. Her face was pale and dripping with sweat. Her clothes were unkempt and covered with dirt and blood. She clutched her stomach as she walked as if she were having gastrointestinal problems. Unfortunately, I knew it was far more serious than that, given the sheer amount of dried blood caked on her shirt.

  At the end of the tube, I heard a soft pop followed by a choking noise. A sudden gust of wind bowled into me, bringing with it a lungful of musty, dusty air. I coughed. Clearly, Cartwright was making progress.

  But was he making enough of it?

  We hustled over to Beach’s car and I helped Diane into the rear. Then I ran to the opposite end, away from the Bell.

  “I finished clearing off the debris,” Beverly said. “How is she?”

  “If we get her to a doctor, she’ll live. But she doesn’t have much time.”

  “Did they buy your bluff?”

  “They’re confused but it won’t take Chase long to get his act together.”

  “Do we have the five minutes?”

  “We’ll be lucky if we get two.”

  She put her hands on the back of the pneumatic car and began to push with all of her strength. I joined her and after twenty seconds of backbreaking effort, we managed to get Beach’s old car moving.

  At first, it took all our combined strength just to move it an inch. The second inch was a little simpler and the third one was even easier.

  Ever so slowly, we pushed the car along the groove toward the open tube. Despite its heavy weight and old age, it slid at a smooth and silent pace.

  I saw shifting shadows out of the corner of my eye. They moved swiftly and silently, barely making a disturbance in the station. Four of them stole out of the tube and angled themselves toward the Omega.

  Undoubtedly, they worked for Chase. They must’ve snuck into the tube before the door closed over. Since they were professional soldiers, I knew that they were equipped for the situation. Night-vision goggles were an absolute certainty. I just hoped that they weren’t paying too much attention to the slow-moving pneumatic car.

  I eased myself out of the line of sight and continued to push against the car as hard as I could. Things were about to get ugly. Real ugly. And once that happened, all bets were off.

  Suddenly, the station exploded into flames. The ground rumbled and a mighty boom pierced the air. A shock wave barreled into me and I fell to the ground. Looking up, I saw chunks of metal flying in all directions, slamming into the bedrock walls with chilling force.

  As I rose to my feet, a burst of smoke spread out from the mangled wreckage of the Omega, blanketing everything in sight. Squinting, I saw four bodies lying on the ground, writhing in pain. They were still alive.

  But I doubted they would last for long.

  I might have been lying about the gadget. But I sure as hell wasn’t lying about putting explosives in the Omega.

  Angry and confused shouts, muffled by distance, filled the air. The explosion would force Chase to reconsider his options. But it wouldn’t be long before he tried again.

  There was no point in keeping quiet any longer. Grunting, I threw my shoulder into Beach’s subway car and heaved. With Beverly’s help, it slowly began to move again.

  We pushed it all the way to the mouth of the tube. It screeched as its bottom scraped lightly against the Sand Demons’ metal tracks.

  I glanced at Beverly. “Get in there. And keep the door on the other side closed as long as possible. Whatever happens, don’t let Chase and his men into the car.”

  As she vanished into the interior, I stepped back and quickly examined the tube. The metal rails would present a problem. I just hoped the car could handle them.

  “Cap,” I called out. “Tell me you’re done.”

  I heard a metallic cough and then gears churning. Another strong gust of wind blasted out of the air flue and caught me right in the face. It blew me straight back into the car, which started to move. For a moment, I imagined myself glued to the back of it, racing through the tunnel at top speed.

  But the wind quickly died off and I fell to the ground, gasping for air. My eyes burned from the dust particles and it took me a few seconds to blink them away. As my vision cleared, I saw a shadow emerge from the open wall that connected the station to the passages.

  My body tensed.

  My hand slipped to my holster.

  I grabbed hold of the pistol and watched as the figure darted toward me. As Cartwright’s face came into view, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “We’re ready to roll,” he announced
. “At least I hope we are. Just so you know, this is the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “Crazier than stealing the Bell and guarding it for over three decades?”

  “Well, okay. Second craziest thing.”

  I hopped into the car, catching a glimpse of Beverly in the process. She knelt on the other end, arms tense, both hands grasping the doorknob. Spinning around, I offered my hand to Cartwright.

  He jogged over to the west side of the tube and opened a control box. Then he turned around and looked at me. “The instant I pull this lever, the air’s going to burst out of here like nothing you’ve ever felt. So grab hold of me and then shut the door as quickly as you can.”

  “Let me do it.”

  “No, I –”

  Loud blasts filled the air and reverberated against the bedrock walls.

  Time slowed down.

  Horror filled my gut.

  Cartwright stumbled and fell to a knee.

  I saw the blood, the bullet holes.

  Kneeling down, I peered into the dimly lit station and saw a single moving shadow in the vicinity of the Omega. It was struggling to rise to its feet. I felt a rush of anger. Grabbing my gun, I squeezed the trigger a few times. The shadow dropped like a stone, wriggling in pain.

  I looked back at Cartwright. Shaking all over, he stood up and hobbled to the wall. He gave me a tired smile. “I’m done, Cy,” he wheezed. “Take good care of her.”

  “Cap, wait…”

  He fell against the box. His hand pushed the lever. I tried to jump out to help him, but a sudden burst of wind sent me sailing back into the car’s interior. As I scrambled to my feet, I felt the car floor shuddering and realized we were already shooting through the tube.

  I struggled to the rear of the car and slammed the door shut. Then I looked through the small window and watched as Cartwright’s lifeless body slid to the ground and vanished into the darkness.

  Chapter 61

  As we thundered through the tube, I felt a moment of odd serenity. For more than thirty years, Cartwright lived a troubled life, full of anxiety, stress, and paranoia. He’d dedicated every ounce of his soul to protecting something he barely understood for reasons he couldn’t fully explain. And now, after all that time, he’d found peace at last.