“But your masters were in cultural and environmental geography, why were you working with Dr. Haskin at Oak Ridge?
“He needed an assistant.” Tessa realized her involvement now had a deeper meaning. “Dr. Haskin had me grade papers, assist with experiments he deemed too sensitive for the general population of students and faculty. He trusted me, mostly because I didn’t know what the heck he was talking about most of the time. There was never any hidden agenda with us. He and his wife even took me with them on vacation. Mrs. Haskin was a doctor of internal medicine. I made their life a little easier. I wanted a free education and I got one. My assistant job paid $1500 a month and my tuition was free.”
Wiping the perspiration from her forehead, Tessa watched the ground swim up to meet them. When the door slid back, Tessa didn’t wait for assistance in unbuckling her restraints. The rotor blades whipped her hair into her eyes as a hand pushed her head down and forced her forward.
Two men in military type uniforms waited in the shadows of the main building. They motioned for the three to join them. They carried the carbine Black Diamond Specter XLs. Tessa thought the weapons alone looked menacing enough to get the situation under control. Bullet proof vests lay on the ground behind them and were immediately snatched up. She watched how quickly the captain and Zoric slipped into them. Abruptly Tessa found herself under the capable hands of Captain Hunter as he fastened her into the third vest.
Chase secured the vest and let his hands linger a little longer than intended on Tessa’s arms. “You’ll be alright, Mrs. Scott. However,” he drank in the wide pools of blue in her terrified eyes. “I need your promise you’ll follow my orders.” The pilot joined them carrying gas masks. The captain handed her one as the others took theirs. “We have reason to believe there’s been a breach here. A mayday call went out at 0600. Said they were under attack. Enigma has secured the perimeter, but…”
Tessa turned nervous eyes to her surroundings and began to spot other heavily armed men in shadowy corners. “But what?” she whispered in trepidation.
The captain pulled down her gas mask before answering. “Our video feed has people face down in some of the corridors. Gas sensors are on the inside. We won’t know the threat until we enter.” Zoric handed Chase some kind of electronic device that he checked quickly. When lights began to blink he turned his attention back to Tessa. He didn’t like a civilian getting involved in this. He could see that Tessa had begun to hyperventilate. Pulling up her mask so she could take a gulp of air, Chase couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to move an unruly curl that had fallen onto her forehead. Suddenly, Chase realized Tessa was watching his forefinger trail down her cheek with narrowed, angry eyes.
Slapping at his hand, Tessa squared her narrow shoulders. “I’m asking you for the last time, why am I here? Either tell me or I’m going to start screaming bloody murder.” Chase straightened to his full height and frowned. He took out his phone, punched in a code and turned it for Tessa to see. “Dr. Haskins made the distressed call. He said there were men in gas masks.” His look grew hard. “His instructions were to wire 100 million dollars to his off shore account by 1100 hours or the scientists he’d secured in a safe vault would die.” Chase played the recording as he glanced at his watch. Time was running out. He watched Tessa’s expression turn from resolve to uncertainty.
“Dr. Haskins would never do that!” Tessa protested and pushed Chase’s hand away as he tried to pull down her mask. “He’s a kind and a decent man. I once saw him rescue a cockroach from his garage and take it to the woods so his wife wouldn’t stomp on it.”
“That was then.”
Just as Tessa reached up to touch her mask she poked a finger in the captain’s hard chest. “Tell me what you want.”
Zoric knew Chase would not take this civilian’s obstinate manners much longer. His team followed orders blindly and without question. Even Benjamin Clark, head of Enigma, rarely second guessed Captain Chase Hunter’s methods. The captain, for all his education and experience, found it difficult to communicate with civilians in this line of work.
“You’re our eyes. The last schematics we have of this place,” Zoric tried to nudge Chase aside to defuse his rising temper, “is fourteen years ago.” Tessa’s brow creased at the preposterous notion that Home Land Security hadn’t reviewed this information after 9/11. “We’ve heard of a super vault. Do you know anything about that?”
“Yes! Dr. Haskins and another scientist I never met designed it. The vault could be used to store sensitive experiments, research and even people during a state of emergency.” Tessa shrugged. “I thought it was for tornadoes or something. Then one day,” Tessa’s eyes grew large, “he said it was only a matter of time before someone started a war. Dr. Haskins said everything you’d need to live for six months would be there.”
“Have you seen the vault?”
“Yes. He made me sign a document to never reveal its location because of its importance to national security. Dr. Haskins said there were only ten people who knew about the vault and only three who knew of its location. I was one of those.”
“Why you?” Chase smelled a May December romance. He could just imagine what a looker Tessa Scott had been fourteen years ago. Take away the ten extra pounds from childbirth; add a healthy tan, a free spirit and you have all the makings of a goddess in the eyes of a nerdy scientist who has his head stuck under a microscope all day.
“He trusted me because we went to church together. I was his kids’ Sunday School teacher.”
“Perfect,” Chase moaned as his eyes cut to Zoric who bore the faint smirk of a man who had been thinking the same scenario. “Well it appears your Dr. Haskins has made a deal with the devil himself. If he has allowed terrorists into Oak Ridge and murdered our scientists and done God knows what else, I’ll personally make sure he burns in Hell!”
Tessa surrendered with a nod as she pulled down her gas mask. It certainly didn’t look good for her friend. As plastic explosives were applied to the steel enforced door, she began to doubt her devotion to a man she’d known in college. A Christmas card with the family newsletter she received each year didn’t mean all was well. The children she so lovingly cared for were grown now, attending college at Stanford. What would make such a decent man go so horribly astray? She felt Zoric and the captain push her against the concrete wall as a blast opened the door to the unknown.
“Stay close, Mrs. Scott!” Chase warned as he motioned for his men to enter the building. “I don’t want any more civilians getting hurt. Follow my orders.” Chase watched her nod furiously that she understood as he pulled down his mask.
Tessa bent low behind the captain as he entered the building with Zoric at his side, both carrying P-90 automatic weapons. Nothing could have prepared her for what lie ahead.
“We’re under fire! Where the hell are you, Carter!” Sam demanded as she forcibly escorted three scientists down a smoke filled corridor. Moments before she’d set off a smoke bomb to cover their escape. Two men had appeared carrying pistols and began shooting wildly as Sam pushed her charges into a safe room and returned fire. She’d hit one of them in the chest but the remaining terrorists had yelled for help. When she heard the gunman coughing, Sam ordered the frightened scientists out into the hall. “Take a deep breath, and then run down the hall as fast as you can!”
“But what if there are more of them at the other end?” the short man in glasses said as he practiced gulping air.
“If we don’t get out of here, there won’t be an ‘other end’! Now move!” When they timidly stepped out into the corridor, Sam pushed them down low so as not to inhale too much smoke. They froze until her automatic weapon began blasting the silence. Sam later confessed she didn’t know the pudgy guy with glasses would be able to run so fast. He easily sprinted pass the younger, more athletic woman as return gunfire began to echo down the once tranquil halls of Los Alamos National Laboratory. The woman screamed as indiscriminate bullets bounced off the walls.
“Go! Go! Go!” Sam yelled as she stopped to reload behind some kind of computer tower blocking the hall.
“Sam! They’re safe! Now get the hell out of there,” Carter said not far from her. “I’ll cover you.”
“Here they come!”
Carter stepped out into the smoky fog and began firing his Glock as Sam backed up also firing before turning and running. Together Sam and Carter took cover and waited for the terrorists to approach. Visibility started to improve enough for the terrorists to slip from their protection. “Aim for their arms, Sam. We need to interrogate them. Are we clear?” he said whispering into her ear.
Sam kept her eyes on the target. “You get that close to me again and I’ll shoot you some place other than your arm.” Sam turned her face to Carter who smiled with desire. “Are we clear?”
“Perfectly.” Carter was but a breath from Sam’s enticing mouth. “Shall we?”
Sam nodded as they both stood and charged down the hall, yelling at the top of their lungs. The two terrorists were so stunned they didn’t get a round off before the Enigma duo slammed their weapons upside their faces, bringing them down to the floor with a loud grunt. The sound of their weapons hitting the floor drew a sigh of relief from Carter.
Sam’s man tried to get up until she kicked him so hard in the side that he curled up into a quivering ball. Slowly, Sam squatted down next to the man and rammed her gun into his ear. In flawless Arabic, Sam growled, “I love my job you piece of crap. Give me a reason to unload this gun into your head.”
Carter jerked the second man to his feet. When he tried to squirm free, Carter landed his pistol on his nose. Blood splattered on the both of them. “We have a few questions for you,” Carter said calmly looking down at his uniform. He looked at Sam. “I just had this cleaned.”
Sam stood. “So? Do you have a date or something?”
“Chicks dig this kind of thing. Now look at me!”
The man spit on Carter’s boots. “I tell you nothing!”
Carter sighed and looked at Sam. Without hesitation she shot her man in the thigh. A scream pierced the hall which got him another kick in the side.
“I told you in the arm!” Carter frowned. A satanic smile spread across Sam’s face as she began to reload her pistol and eye Carter’s captive. “Now,” his eyes turned back to the captive with the bleeding nose. “We were saying? Oh! We have a few questions we’d like to ask you if you have time.” Carter had transformed into his charming self.
“That woman is crazy!” the terrorist shivered as he dragged a sleeve across his bleeding nose.
“Yes. She’s also really hot,” Carter said smiling over at the angry Sam who had begun gritting her teeth. Never a good sign. “So, buddy,” Carter said slipping an arm around the terrorist’s shoulder. “Either you can talk to me,” he said before lifting a finger toward Sam, “or to her. She also really hates all that Taliban-control-the-women stuff. Unfortunately she doesn’t quite get the whole end objective of interrogation,” he laughed. “Am I right, Sam?”
Sam pulled the trigger and shot her captive in the arm. Another scream.
“Sam!” Carter shouted.
“You said shoot him in the arm!” Her wide, dangerous eyes went to Carter’s man then smiled sweetly with a sadistically show of gritted teeth. “Just following orders.”
Carter nodded. “I did tell you to do that didn’t I?” He shrugged nonchalantly.
“I’ll tell you anything! Just keep her away from me!”
“Can I kill this one?” Sam asked coldly as she looked down at the unconscious man on the floor.
Carter slapped the quivering captive on the back. “Well, let’s see how this one does. We may need that one if…What’s your name?’
“Jeremy.”
Carter laughed. “Of course it is! If Jeremy doesn’t work out we may need to ask yours a few questions.”
“Better hurry,” Sam said holstering her weapon. “Looks like this one may bleed out.”
“Got it! Hurry it is.”
Carter and Sam could play this kind of game all day. Fortunately for them, Jeremy was more than eager to answer all their questions.
Ten armed soldiers, Tessa guessed they were black ops, not that she really knew anything about black ops, but it seemed a reasonable assessment, surrounded them as Captain Hunter led them down the corridor. The first causality was a man in his late forties, early fifties. Face down in his own blood, it was obvious his throat had been slit. The sight of such a horrific murder forced Tessa to wobble with nausea. To think that she watched all those crime dramas on television using science to solve cases disgusted her. This drama became surreal as she lowered herself behind two of the soldiers. Stepping over the dead man, Tessa cringed, but forced herself to not look back. Her legs quivered with uncertainty and fear.
The captain tested the air and shook his head at the others. Tessa wasn’t sure if that meant there were no traces of gas or that they needed to proceed with extreme caution. Either way, Tessa reassured herself by touching the heavy mask again for the hundredth time.
The captain came to a halt and reached back for Tessa. Catching her by the hand he tugged forcibly forward. “Which way?” His voice was a bit muffled but Tessa understood. She pointed to the right. “How far?”
Tessa held up ten fingers for minutes. The captain nodded. Using her index finger, Tessa pointed down then used four fingers. Down four stories. Got it, the captain gave the okay sign and looked at his men who also made eye contact that they understood. Slowly the team began to fan out and room by room to look for intruders.
Eyeing the elevators at the first level, Captain Hunter had one of his men disable them. Visible blood splatter on the door leading to the stairs caught Tessa off guard. When she gasped, the captain followed her wide eyed stare. Motioning to one of his men, the soldier slipped through the door.
Zoric pushed up beside Captain Hunter and removed his mask. “Checked the gas sensors. None detected on this and the three levels below. Fourth level has been breached.”
Everyone pushed their masks down around their neck. Several men entered the stairwell. Tessa learned later they were checking other floors for causalities.
Captain Hunter touched his ear. “What you got for me, Vernon?”
Vernon sounded worried. “All hell broke loose here. Carter and Sam have a prisoner. Interrogating now. Doesn’t look good.”
The captain frowned. “My men have secured the first and second sub levels. Where is everyone?” he demanded looking around for ORNL employees.
“Someone on the inside activated the emergency protocol drill. If everyone followed procedure, most will be tucked away in a safe hidey hole on each floor. Our Intel says they look like steel cabinets about the size of a meat locker. See anything like that?”
Captain Hunter scanned the sterile environment where he now stood. Spotting a path of overturned chairs and scattered papers, he located a door that appeared to be the entrance to a cabinet. “There!” he murmured to Zoric. The two moved forward cautiously reaching the white, ceramic-like door in seconds. Each stood to the side with guns leveled with deadly aim.
Chapter 11
Tessa silently inched closer and lowered herself behind a work station. She rose up just enough to see Zoric fling the door open and the captain swing in with gun lowered. Several screams punctured the silence as Tessa watched Zoric turn into the locker, blocking Tessa’s sight. Next she heard the captain’s low words of encouragement and motioned to exit with his weapon. Hurriedly ten people filed out, pale and wide eyed.
“Take the nearest exit.” Captain Hunter sounded matter of fact without any kind of urgency. “He,” nodding to Zoric, “will show you where to go for cover. You did well today.” The captain then spoke a language to Zoric that Tessa did not recognize. Tessa wondered again about the relationship between the two, but not enough to erase the picture of the murdered man near the exit they’d passed moments earlier.
Tessa stood up
suddenly and took Zoric’s arm as he passed. Startled and more than a little pleased he stopped, eyeing her with interest. “There’s another exit, on the other side of those doors.” She motioned behind him. “It’s not another corridor. The only access is from inside.” Zoric let a little confusion slip into his eyes. “The way we came in will be…” Zoric nodded in understanding. Scientists were not accustomed to their world being turned upside down. If Enigma planned to cover this up, like Tessa knew they would, exposure to the grim reality had to be kept to a minimum.
The scientists looked at her with fearful eyes. One woman clutched a man’s arm while he patted her hand with nervous reassurance. Several others seem to be looking side to side while others appeared to want to rescue some work at their stations. “You must go now,” Tessa spoke softly, offering a weak encouraging smile. “This will be over soon. I promise. Nothing will be disturbed. We are not here for your work.”
“Why are you here,” an overweight man with a pug face demanded? “I’m not going until I know why those mask men came barging in here an hour ago and told us to take cover or else.”
Captain Hunter stood to his full height and rested his rifle on his other arm. “How many men?”
“Ten. Maybe twelve.”
“Which is it? Ten? Twelve?”
“Twelve. Now what is this about? A drill? Or are we under attack?” The pug face man put his hands on his hips and his voice showed more irritation than fear. “I’m not going anywhere until I get some answers. I’ll not be pushed around by some storm troopers.”
Tessa gasped at the ungrateful man who blocked everyone’s exit. Zoric smiled wickedly as his bloodshot eyes focused on the obstinate scientist. He pointed his weapon at the man’s chest as he spoke through gritted teeth. “I knew I didn’t like you the second I laid eyes on you.”
Captain Hunter lowered his weapon suddenly and swiftly grabbed the man by his white lab coat and yanked him aside. “Okay folks, out those doors like she said.” He nodded toward Tessa signaling that she now had that responsibility. “There’ll be someone to lead you to cover once on the outside. Keep your heads down and not a word to anyone! Understood?” They all nodded eagerly and began moving toward the door that Tessa had quickly opened and motioned for them. Although the scientists knew of the exit, their adrenaline had impeded their reasoning to the point of needing someone to point the way.
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