Phantom Prospect

by Alex Archer

  Annja ran past her cell, relieved that no one appeared to have visited her since she escaped. She kept going along the corridor. It started to slope downward pretty fast and Annja had to slow her pace or risk falling forward from her own momentum.

  She skidded to a stop twenty yards away from another doorway. This time the noise was much louder than it had been up on the catwalk. Annja could hear all the different machinery.

  And, along with those sounds, she could hear Cole screaming.

  I have to get to him, she thought.

  But she couldn’t risk running out and getting them both killed. She had to sneak out there without anyone knowing.

  But how?

  Annja crept up to the doorway and risked a look, hoping that the answer would reveal itself to her.

  29

  The first thing Annja spotted was a group of workers in coveralls heading out of a room that hadn’t been visible to Annja from the catwalk. One of them was still zipping up the coveralls and Annja suspected that there might be more sets in what she hoped was a changing area. Judging by the makeup of the group, which included three women, Annja felt a surge of hope.

  She waited until the group passed her spot and then she cautiously crept toward the next doorway. She could see a polished stone floor that gleamed from the constant dampness that seemed to pervade every aspect of this complex. Just beyond the doorway, she spotted a series of metal lockers set against the stone wall and beyond them another doorway where Annja heard what sounded like flushing toilets.

  And they gave me a pail, she thought. The bastards.

  She checked the first locker and found it locked but then spotted a bin full of used coveralls. Quickly, she grabbed one and stepped into it, zipping it up to her neck and effectively covering her body.

  Fortunately, the coveralls had booties and Annja hoped that her absence of shoes would be hidden from view.

  She wished the people wore masks but that didn’t seem a likely event, so she took a deep breath, checked to make sure the sword was ready to pull out if she needed and then stepped out of the changing room just as two more workers entered.

  “Hey,” one said, barely even looking at her.

  Annja smiled at the one that spoke to her. “Hey.”

  And that was the extent of the exchange. Annja took a breath and tried to remain nonchalant. Clearly, not everyone here knew who she was or even what she looked like. That was good news.

  Outside the changing room, she looked around and spotted Cole still hung up on the wooden board. She started making her way over to where he was.

  The guards near Cole seemed not to even notice her as she drew closer and closer. Annja’s heart hammered, but she had to commit to this. She had no idea how they were going to make it out of there, but judging from how Cole screamed, he wasn’t going to last much longer if they kept shocking him the way they were.

  She closed the distance to ten feet and was ready to jump the closest guard when she saw a new guard come down from a circular stone staircase cut into the back of the rock. He pointed at the Taser holder and shook his head. “That’s enough now. There’s no sense in killing him. At least, not yet.”

  Cole’s head slumped forward and Annja saw sweat running down through the muscle valleys on his body. She frowned and bit back the surge of anger she felt coursing through her veins.

  “Get him down and take him back to his cell.”

  The guards complied and Cole fell forward into their arms. As he did so, his eyes fluttered open and he saw Annja.

  Annja winked at him and she saw the immediate reaction of relief in his body. But he checked it and nodded toward the area by the staircase.

  Annja looked over and saw something she hadn’t seen before. A video camera was stuck on a rotating pole that covered that particular part of the lower cavern. No doubt its feed led back to the control room she’d spotted from the catwalk overhead.

  Cole was still staring at her so she nodded once and then he slumped forward again. Two of the guards dragged him away and Annja was relieved to see that they headed back the way she’d come down from her own cell.

  The relief was short-lived, however. She realized that if they got Cole back to this cell, they’d see that Annja’s own door was a mess and she was no longer in her cell.

  She turned and started working her way toward where the guards were carrying Cole.

  “You there.”

  Annja’s heart sank. She turned. “Yes?”

  “Are you supposed to be over here?” It was the guard who had stopped the torturing of Cole. But he didn’t look even remotely friendly. The submachine gun slung over his shoulder wasn’t at the ready, but it was close to his hands. And the expression on his deeply scarred face was a portrait of evil and hatred.

  “Aren’t I?” Annja said.

  He shook his head. “All drill workers are supposed to be over in that area there.” He pointed in the opposite direction that Annja was headed. “Get over to where you need to be. You don’t want the boss looking for you and I don’t need any extra bother today.”

  Annja smiled. “Great, thanks.” She started walking in the same direction that she had been heading. She was close to the opening. Just six feet to go.

  “Did you hear what I said?”

  She nodded. “Yep, I just have to check on something over here first,” she said.

  Four feet away from the doorway, she heard the ratchet of the submachine gun’s charging handle slammed into place. The guard had a round ready to fire into her back if he wanted to. “Doesn’t seem like you heard me,” he said.

  Annja considered her options. If the guards got Cole back to his cell, she was finished. If she took this guard out, she was finished, as well. There was no other option left but to make a messy scene.

  As she came abreast of the doorway, she grabbed a small rock she’d noticed on the ground and wheeled around, aiming with perfect accuracy at the guard’s head.

  Before the man had a chance to react, the rock struck him between the eyes and he slumped to the floor. Annja grabbed him and his gun before they could draw attention and dragged him into the changing room. She struggled and heaved until she stuffed the body in the laundry bin and then stripped off her coveralls.

  Annja grabbed the gun and raced toward Cole’s cell.

  She turned the corner and came face-to-face with one of Cole’s guards heading back at a run. She could see the body of the guard she’d killed in the distance.

  Annja collided with the oncoming man and they both went down, their respective guns clattering on the stone floor.

  Annja had the faster reaction and instantly shot her right leg out toward the guard’s head. He saw the kick coming but didn’t have enough time to block the savage blow that snapped his head back. He lay still.

  Annja scrambled to her feet and grabbed at the two guns, slinging one of them on her back and running for Cole’s cell. As she ran, she wondered about the absence of radios on the guards, but quickly dismissed it as a nonissue. Probably due to the solid rock that surrounded them, radios were unreliable.

  She went up the slope toward the row of cells and saw the second guard examining the entrance of her cell. Cole was nowhere to be seen.

  The guard saw Annja and started to aim his weapon at her. “Hey—”

  Annja’s trigger finger twitched and the gun recoiled in her hands as three rounds tore into the guard’s chest, shredding his black turtleneck and splattering blood across the walls.

  He dropped and Annja knelt next to his body, grabbing his keys off the belt he wore. She called out, “Cole!”

  “Annja?”

  She raced to a door past her cell and fumbled with the lock. She got the door open and saw him struggle forward. He collapsed into her arms. “So it really was you. I hoped, but couldn’t be sure.”

  “It’s me, you big jerk. Now come on, we’ve got to get you out of here.”

  She wrapped her hands around him and took his weight. He was heav
y and outweighed her by a great deal. Annja took a breath and propped him up.

  He tried to stand by himself. “Let me go. I can manage.”

  “You sure?”

  He nodded. “I feel like shit, but if we can get the hell out, I’ll fake it long enough to escape.”

  Annja took the submachine gun off her back and handed it to him. “It’s going to get messy before we’re clear.”

  They headed out into the corridor. Cole looked down at the dead guard and scowled. “I wanted to kill that guy myself. Talk about a sadist.”

  “No need now. We’ve got to get out of here. I’ve taken out three guards so far and my actions won’t stay hidden for long.”

  “You got three of them? You’ve been busy.”

  They headed toward the lower level of the cavern. Annja led the way. “I saw a submarine from the catwalk. And there are two sharks. They must be submarines, as well.”

  “Of a type,” Cole said. “But I think they’re here specifically to scare the hell out of anyone who stays in this area.”

  “You have any idea what’s going on?”

  Cole shook his head. “Not a clue. For some reason, though, the gas they used didn’t completely knock me out, so I was pretty aware when they unloaded me from the shark.”

  “You must have been surprised when the shark swallowed you up only to find that it wasn’t real.”

  Cole almost chuckled. “You could say that. I imagine you were the same way, obviously.” He frowned. “But how the hell did you get swallowed up?”

  “Long story,” Annja said. “Let’s just say that after I saw you presumably killed, I was more than a little bit upset with that shark. The next time it came around, I decided to take it on and that’s when it happened.”

  “Take it on?” Cole shook his head. “You make it sound like it was some back-alley fight.”

  “Yeah, I know. Pretty insane, right?”

  “Sounds like it.” Cole smiled. “I’m glad you’re here, though.”

  “Well, we’re not out of the woods just yet. We need to get one of those submarines and disappear before someone finds out that we didn’t think too highly of our accommodations.”

  They passed the second guard Annja had killed with the kick to the head and Cole whistled. “Impressive.”

  “Necessary,” Annja said. “Let’s leave it at that if we could. I’m not what I would consider a bloodthirsty woman. But if need be I can do the deed.”

  “Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Cole said.

  “Done.”

  They ran down the slope toward the lower level. Annja thought she heard noises behind them, but she couldn’t risk looking back.

  “Something tells me that our advantage of surprise may be up,” Cole said.

  “You might be right.” Annja felt certain she heard footsteps pounding the stone corridor behind them. No doubt reinforcements had come in from the catwalk. “Dammit,” she said.

  “What?”

  She stopped running. “Your cell.”

  “What about it?” Cole asked.

  Annja shook her head. “I can’t believe I forgot. You were probably under surveillance just like I was. They had a camera in there. And the light was on. They know you’re out and they know I’m out, too.”

  “That’s not good.” Cole looked behind them. The sounds were growing louder. “How do you want to handle this?”

  Annja checked the magazine on her gun and saw that it was full. She slapped it back and pulled the charging handle. “Only one way to play it as far as I’m concerned. I wasn’t born to be someone’s prisoner.”

  Cole nodded. “Good. Let’s do this.”

  Annja pointed behind them. “We’ll be sandwiched between two sides if we keep going to the lower level.”

  Cole nodded. “Then let’s do what they don’t expect. Let’s meet these guys head-on and hit them before they can do the same to us.”

  “Good plan,” Annja agreed.

  They turned and ran back up the slope. The sound of boots tramping down the corridor was clear. Annja saw shadows coming at them. Three by the look of it.

  She waved Cole to her side and they both dropped to their stomachs. From the prone position, they would at least have a small advantage.

  The guards rounded the corner.

  “Now!” Annja said.

  She and Cole opened fire.

  30

  The bullets struck the three guards running down the sloped corridor. By the time they recognized the ambush, it was already too late. Annja fired tight, controlled bursts the way she’d been taught by an old friend who had served in special operations. She raked the three guards and noticed that Cole seemed equally adept with his gun.

  The guards went down under the hail of gunfire.

  Annja was up and checking them to make sure they wouldn’t be able to somehow squeeze off another shot, then she and Cole headed away.

  Cole was breathing hard. “Now what?”

  Annja eyed him. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just winded. I think that last Taser session took a lot more out of me than I thought.”

  “If you need a break—”

  “What I need is to get out of this place. So don’t even think about leaving me behind. I can hold my own. Just point in the direction you want me to shoot and I’ll get it done.”

  “I noticed.”

  Cole shrugged. “Boy Scout camp.”

  “Right.”

  “Okay, I took an auxiliary police course one time. The highlight was getting down on the ranges and going full-auto. Guess it stayed with me.” He nodded at Annja. “What’s your excuse?”

  “Classified,” Annja said. She pointed back down the slope. “We need to get back there now that we’ve eliminated this threat.”

  “You think they’ll be waiting for us?”

  Annja nodded. “I’d bet on it.”

  “Great.”

  Annja held his arm. “If we get down there and fight our way through, we head for the dock across the way. It won’t be easy, but if we can make it, then we can get on board and escape.”

  “You know how to pilot a submarine?” Cole asked.

  Annja tried to grin. “How hard can it be? As long as I’m surrounded by metal and bullets can’t get to me, I’ll be happy to learn as I go.”

  “Stick with me,” Cole said. “I’ll get us out of here. Or at least into the water. I have no idea what direction to head once we do that.”

  “We’ll figure it out.” Annja slowed her pace as she came around a shallow curve in the corridor. Noises drifted up to her. She motioned for Cole to stop.

  Cole came closer and whispered in Annja’s ear. “Did you hear that?”

  She nodded. “Probably the other half of our welcome party.”

  “Now what?”

  Annja shook her head. “What option do we have? We can’t wait here all day and risk them getting more reinforcements or sending another party down behind us.”

  “Best defense is a good offense?” Cole said.

  Annja nodded. “I’ll take the lead. You come second.”

  “Right behind you.”

  Annja ducked down and slid out into the straight portion of the corridor that opened up on the lower level. She could see a stack of wooden crates near the doorway. This contingent was obviously smarter than their brothers on the upper level.

  As soon as they saw Annja, they opened up and sent a volley of bullets shrieking at her and Cole. Annja barely had enough time to register what she saw and push Cole back before the first rounds slammed into the walls near them and ricocheted up the corridor.

  Cole fell down next to her. “Shit!”

  Annja frowned. This wasn’t good. The longer they were trapped there, the better the chances of them getting captured again. She had to do something to break the stalemate or it would be all over for her and Cole.

  She looked at him. “You trust me?”

  Cole frowned. “What—I have to prove that to
you now? Of course I trust you. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because I’m going to do something that will probably seem pretty damned crazy.”

  Cole smirked. “So, business as usual apparently.”

  She rolled her eyes and then handed him her submachine gun. “Here, take this.”

  He frowned. “What? You need this. Why give it to me?”

  “Be quiet, Cole.” Annja summoned her sword. Next to her, she heard Cole gasp. “What th—?”

  She put a finger to his lips. “Not a word. I don’t have time to answer any questions right now. If this doesn’t work, then don’t bother asking anyone about it. No one else knows.”

  Cole’s eyes were wide but he accepted her response and nodded dumbly. “All right.”

  “Here’s the plan,” Annja said. “I’m going to charge their position.”

  “With that?”

  Annja smiled and looked at the sword. “You’d be surprised what this blade can do.”

  “Or where it came from,” Cole said. “But I won’t ask.”

  “Thanks.” Annja smiled. “When I charge them, they’re going to be a bit surprised.”

  “You don’t say.”

  “That’s your opportunity to get some good fire on them. See if you can take out as many as possible in the short span of time the surprise will give me. It won’t be long if these guys are any good. They’ll switch back on and start shooting at me. And I don’t think I can block bullets with the sword.”

  “All right.”

  Annja took a breath. “Isn’t this fun?”

  “I prefer diving with sharks.”

  Annja nodded. “Welcome to my world.”

  “Is it really like this?”

  Annja thought about it for a second as another volley of bullets echoed off the corridor walls. She looked back at Cole. “With an almost startling regularity.”

  “Wow.”

  Annja squatted and prepared herself. She took a few deep breaths to fully oxygenate her blood and then nodded at Cole. “Here we go.” She looked back at him. “Make sure you don’t shoot me in the back.”

  She ran out from around the bend and screamed as she ran straight at the stacked crates, her sword held up in front of her.