Quiet footsteps pass us and I hold my breath, waiting for them to move on. We have to hope they won’t realize a guard is missing.
“…weather is shit. I hate foot patrol. Why couldn’t Jimmy have…” one of the guards complains, his voice disappearing into the night.
“Come on, let’s go.” Blake signals for me to follow.
I take a quick look at the guards’ retreating backs before I make a run for it. Our run is silent. While we’re standing in front of one of the many doors into this place, I look back to see that no one is chasing us, yet. So far, we’ve remained hidden. How much longer will that last? I have a feeling it won’t stay this way for much longer.
Chapter 35 – The Core
When Blake gets us inside the building using a keycard he has stolen from the unconscious guard, we hit our first lot of trouble. We have the misfortune of opening the door just as two guards are walking past it. I drop the backpack just as I’m kicked backwards in the stomach and collide with the wall behind me.
Blake has a few extra seconds to react to his attack and handles it well. He blocks the incoming punch and lashes out. That is all I see before I have to roll out of the way of another kick. The guard’s boot scrapes my arm as I rush out of the way and quickly bounce up onto my feet where I receive a punch in the face and my head hits the wall hard. I’m beginning to feel like a punching bag.
Blake is struggling with his guard and they’re tumbling around on the ground, kicking and punching each other. I look back dizzily to the guard who has been attacking me to see he is grabbing his radio from the top of his shoulder. The longer we remain unknown, the better our chances of getting the information we need and escaping.
Ignoring the gun tucked into my side, I jump up and charge at the guard. He loses his balance as I tackle him, pushing him harder as we fall together onto the ground. Not giving him any chance to recover I punch him and my fist collides with something solid. At first I think it’s the ground under us, instead when I see blood over my knuckles I realize the solid surface has been the guards head. He groans from under me and I take only a second of hesitation before I swing again and knock him out cold.
I stand shakily and quickly wipe my hands over my pants, trying to get the blood off me. I hate what I’ve just done, but I know I had no other option. Right now we’re in the situation of kill or be killed. Or at least, right now knock out or be killed. I have no doubt that these people have no idea who we are and will have no such orders as to catch us. To them we’re just intruders on government property. Top secret property to be exact. There most likely isn’t such a thing as a fair trial here. No arrests.
Blake also manages to knock his guy out then opens a door carefully just a few feet down from us and pokes his head in. He pops back out a second later and grabs his guy, dragging him into the empty room. I slowly pull on my guard’s arm and Blake is over in a few moments to help me. My head is pounding as hard as my heart is from the punch I took. I resist touching the sore spot, imagining another bruise to add to my collection.
Blake puts one of their portable radios into his back pocket as I move back over to the backpack I had just dumped haphazardly on the floor. I’m hesitant to pick it up, since I’m sure it’s due to explode in retaliation of my rough treatment of it, but we don’t have time for me to worry about that. When I place it back over my shoulders, leaning it against my back, nothing explodes, so I assume we’re fine for now.
We move quietly along until we reach the next door. Blake opens it and slowly moves inside. I follow and find what I guess is a staff room. There is a large table, chairs and a small kitchenette.
“We’ll put one in here.” Blake crouches down by the table and I carefully take the backpack off again.
I let Blake unzip it and take out one of the small, homemade bombs. I wince, watching him set the timer for just under half an hour. I’m sure one of these will have to malfunction and explode early. Blake and Dean only learned how to put one together merely a few days ago.
Blake gently places it under the table so it’ll be hidden if anyone comes into the room. They’re easily made and if you know what you’re doing, easy to disarm. For that reason, we need them hidden to make sure they all get the chance to explode.
The time is twelve past three. We have less than half an hour to do this and so far we have only placed one bomb. We have to do better. If worst comes to worst and this doesn’t mean the end for P.A.G.E., it will at least give them something to worry about for hopefully a long while. Definitely long enough for us to stage a breakout to get Charlie and Will to safety.
We manage to place another two bombs on this floor before we decide it’s time to move levels. The blue prints show this place goes down several floors. If we want to do a lot of damage, we have to make sure this whole building is destroyed.
We hear several guards talking through the radio. One guard mentions the cameras being down and another guard from outside the building responds with the weather being bad. The way it’s hard to hear him makes me think the wind will be helping us a lot tonight, too.
We stop short in the hallway, seeing several guards exiting from the stairs. They’re all talking quietly to each other.
“We need to pass those guards and get down the stairs. I don’t trust any elevators right now. We get stuck in there and we’re sitting ducks.”
“How do we get past them?” Four onto one doesn’t seem fair.
“I could probably get two shots off before they get a chance to fire back; that’ll even it up a bit.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” A sick feeling overwhelms me as my fingers brush the gun on my side. I know I’ll have to use it eventually.
A piercing alarm rings out then. I cover my ears to block out some of the awful noise.
Blake holds the radio up to his ear as I glance around us in fear. Have we been found out or have Dean and Rose? Are they okay?
The guards respond to the alarm and rush off in different directions, one coming straight for us. Blake puts his arm out so I’m forced to step back, and we hug the wall. Just as the guard turns the corner, Blake steps forward and surprises the guard. He knocks him over and then quickly bends down and punches him once in the head before grabbing my arm and rushing me towards the stairs.
“Rose and Dean have made it to the Main Intel Sector, which I’m assuming is where the main computers are.”
We knew Rose and Dean were unlikely to make it that far without being seen; obviously most of their security will focus on that area. I just hope we get lucky, and are in and out with no one the wiser; you know, until we blow the place up.
As we run down the stairs, we hear gunshots in the distance. I fear badly for Rose and Dean, but my feet keep me moving downwards. We have to stay focused for Will and Charlie’s sake.
We go down three flights of stairs before Blake stops us.
“What is it?”
“Look at this door; it’s heavily secured.” Blake points at the two separate key pads and warning signs over it saying ‘Authorized Personal Only’ written in large, bold, red letters.
“So?”
“So, there must be something important here. Come on.”
Blake moves behind me and grabs out a bomb from the backpack while I’m still wearing it. I don’t like that idea at all. I like to be able to see it at all times when a bomb is being handled, but I don’t have time to argue. Blake places it in front of the door and then sets the timer. I can see how obvious it is there. We’re supposed to be hiding them. Anyone who walks passed will see that. Blake doesn’t seem interested in leaving it there for long.
“Go!” He grabs my arm and hauls me upwards. We run up the next flight of stairs and duck down the next door when we hear an explosion go off.
“What the hell?” I scream, not caring in that moment if anyone hears us.
“Let’s take a look in there.” Blake opens the door and we’re surrounded in a cloud of dust and smoke.
&nbs
p; “We don’t have time —” I call out after him, but he has already disappeared inside.
I follow through the smoke and find the last few steps have been destroyed, as well as the door that had been locked. Blake’s back disappears into the room and I reluctantly follow him in. What I see is nothing short of disturbing.
Rats are scurrying along the ground, and I shriek as one runs over my foot. Several more are still in cages that haven’t been destroyed in the blast. This place is a lab. I hate to think what they’re testing on these rats. Isn’t this just a government office building? I thought it would simply hold information and computers, not a lab with test subjects. I pick up some of the pages that have been blown about the ground. I can’t really make sense of what I’m reading, but I see enough to know these rats brains are being altered in some way.
What are they doing here? What does all this mean?
“Come on, we should set a couple up in here.”
Blake unzips my bag again as I look around myself, trying to avoid rats both dead and alive. Blake places one bomb by a set of filing cabinets and another in the center of the room under a table.
I feel closed in as we move to leave the room. We’ve just set a bomb off; it’s a clear message that there are issues down this side of the building, and being trapped in this room and underground is not a place I want to be.
Footsteps race towards us from down the stairs and I shudder to think how many guards are coming for us. Blake grabs my arm and moves us into a back room, closing the door behind us. He places another bomb on the ground and I know we don’t have much time to escape the room before it explodes.
I try another door that is there and find it unlocked. I race through it, sensing Blake behind me. We manage to get to another door before the explosion goes off. My entire body shakes from the shockwave. I think the walls rattle enough that they might collapse around us.
I lose my footing and fall to the ground and then turn my head to see Blake is down with me. We both ignore any injuries we have, get up and keep running. The alarm doesn’t sound so violent down here, but the screams from the guards do. We must have killed some of them and possibly seriously injured more. I don’t want that. These guards haven’t personally done anything to us. They just happen to work for bad people. It doesn’t mean they deserve to die.
“This way!” Blake finds a new exit that leads to a different set of stairs. My legs protest as we race up them. We don’t meet anyone along the way.
With time starting to run out, Blake leaves a bomb at each level we run up to. We peek out of the ground level door, knowing we only have ten minutes to escape, but find it swarming with guards. We’re seen peeking out and have to run up the next flight of stairs as gunshots ring out behind us.
We burst out the next door and duck immediately as more gunfire erupts on this level. We’re able to hide behind a wall as I feel bullets flying past me as they penetrate through a wall. I’m frozen. Blake grabs my arm and pulls me downwards. Pieces of wall and plaster scatter around us as the onslaught continues. I close my eyes to shield them for just a moment, but it’s long enough to lose sight of Blake. Cold fear runs through me as I start to feel alone and scared.
I see a set of heavy black boots step around the corner. I slowly glance up, seeing the guard’s uniform and the gun aimed at my head. My eyes lift up to stare at the man’s face. This is the man who is going to kill me. He’s staring intently at me. I think I even see his lips twitch into a smile. He’s happy he’s about to shoot me dead. I know this is my dream, I know this is where my mission ends. I don’t have time to reach for my own gun. I don’t have time to beg for my life. I watch in what feels like slow motion as his finger moves over the trigger and he begins to squeeze it.
Blake shoves the guard out the way and the gun goes off. I have no idea if I’ve been hit, other than the fact that I’m still alive to be thinking. Before the guard can right himself and fire again, Blake holds the gun to his head and quickly pulls the trigger.
I scream as blood flies everywhere, looking away from the lifeless body that drops heavily in front of me. I have a strong urge to vomit, to get rid of anything that is in my stomach, so I do. I throw up until I have nothing left. I know I’ll never be able to keep food down again, never be able to sleep, to dream, to smile. Sadness and darkness press down on me, and I forget how to breathe.
“Come on!” Blake almost pulls my shoulder out of its socket as he drags me along, gunfire still following us. I think if I got shot right now, I wouldn’t feel it. Maybe I’ve already been shot? Numbness is pressing down on me and the only way I know my legs are working is because I stay upright. I can’t feel them slapping against the floor.
Blake throws me into a room and slams the door shut. He grabs my backpack from my arms and rips it open. If that had been shot we would have been blown to smithereens. There are two bombs left. Not left with a lot of options, Blake sets them both at the door.
I look down at my watch, but I’m too distracted by all the blood on my arms to take in the time. It takes me several moments to look away from it. When I am able to read the time, I see that it’s three thirty-eight. We have only two minutes before this building will be no longer. That is, if our plan works. If not, then the building will survive, but there is no way we will.
Being trapped in this one room with two bombs will be the death of us. There is no getting out of this alive. I look out the window into the night sky and wish I could see Charlie again. Wish for one last hug, one last kiss. My one condolence is that soon I’ll be with Dana. I hope there is something after death. I hope I can spend eternity with my best friend.
Bullets continue to fly at us, some moving through the wall, others just denting it. I hear loud banging noises from the door and assume someone is ramming themselves into it, trying to knock it down. Blake moves two desks in front of it, but they’re slowly being moved as the men outside charge at the door.
“We have no choice,” Blake yells at me before he takes his gun out and fires at the window several times.
Glass smashes everywhere, and as the wind bashes into us, so does the glass. I feel cuts all over me, however there isn’t time to worry about it. I let Blake take my hand as we stand on the ledge and take two deep breaths before we jump.
We hit the ground hard then I roll for several feet before colliding into Blake, who is dazed from his fall. I quickly stand up and pull him up with me. The rain pours down over us and the strong winds make it impossible to hear anything.
“We need to go!” I yell, tasting freedom as we half run, half limp towards the fence.
We’re on the opposite side to where we’d been when we entered, so we have to cut a new hole. I look around us anxiously, hearing a new alarm go off this time. It has guards spilling out of everywhere, and I imagine this one might be a fire alarm. A small amount of relief hits me, knowing that most, if not all, of the guards will hopefully be out of the building when the bombs go off.
We make it out onto the street and a few steps along the pathway when I hear the first explosion go off. I turn my head as we run and seconds later more explosions sound. The wind, along with the sound wave, is enough to wreak havoc on the street. Parked cars turn over and trees look like they’re being ripped out of the ground. I lose my footing, as does Blake, and we fly in the air before slamming hard into the road. My arm grazes along the ground. Blake has blood running down his face as he looks like he has lost half his skin down his cheek. The explosions shouldn’t have been that dramatic, but if there were labs in that building, then maybe there were other chemicals that mixed and exploded, too.
Shaking, we get up and keep running until we reach a car we have stored two blocks away. We get in and then Blake starts the car up and speeds away. If Will was in this car, there is no doubt he would have been sick from the way Blake is driving. I would have been sick from the driving if I had anything left to throw up.
I look backwards, hoping Rose and Dean are out there some
where safe and alive, on their way to meet us in New York.
***
It’s a tense wait in our New York hotel room, using the last of our money to rent out the room. I’m anxious to see Rose and Dean. We’ve agreed to wait until the following morning before we leave. There is nowhere Blake and I can go. We don’t know where Charlie and Will are and we won’t be able to know if P.A.G.E. has been damaged enough to stop them from hunting us. We’ll be stuck.
Blake is also surprisingly quiet and I feel nervous as to why that is. Is he upset? Has he been hurt worse than he’s letting on? His face doesn’t look as bad as it had earlier, yet it still looks sore. He also seems to be limping a bit, but when I look closer to see if it is a limp, he always stops moving. The room isn’t very long to pace in anyway.
“Stop thinking about me. I’m fine,” Blake blurts out.
I’m surprised by his outburst until I remember who I’m with, Mr. Mind-Reader.
“I’m sorry. I just want to know that you’re all right.”
Blake growls quietly, but moves and sits down on the edge of the bed, his back to me.
“I’ve never killed anyone before.”
I think back to the guard who had tried to kill me. Blake shot him in the head. “I’m sorry you had to do that.”
“I’ve gone from zero kills to who knows how many. Does that make me a serial killer?” Blake’s voice breaks.
“No, this is a war of sorts. You’re not a murderer, Blake.”
“I feel like one.”
“Please don’t, no one would blame you for what happened.”
“You don’t think their families will? I know how I felt when I thought you had helped kill my family; what do you think their families will think of us? Will think of me?”
Taken By Force (Taken Trilogy Book 2) Page 34