‘My agent tells me you were trying to communicate with someone on that console, Professor,’ Myers said. ‘Who were you calling? Commander Hilt, perhaps, or some of your government friends?’
‘I don’t know what Joiner thinks he’s playing at,’ Steiner said, full of defiance, ‘but when word of this gets out, and it will, heads will roll and yours will be one of them.’
Myers laughed with genuine humour. ‘I don’t think so, but I like your style, Professor. You have balls, I’ll give you that.’
Steiner looked at Samson and then back to Myers again. ‘Well? What are you going to do with me, then?’
‘I’ll leave that up to the Director, Professor,’ Myers said, ‘but trust me when I say it’s in your best interests to co-operate.’ With the brief exchange over, the two men departed the room, leaving the agent outside to lock the door and resume his guard duty.
A muffled ringing came from a compartment on Samson’s chest armour. Taking off an armoured glove, he retrieved his personal computer phone, put it to his ear and moved away for some privacy. ‘Yes?’
‘Colonel, it’s Malcolm Joiner.’
This just gets better and better, he thought. ‘What do you want?’ he said, offhandedly.
‘I hear that Professor Steiner is under arrest.’
‘Your man Myers has him under guard.’
‘Are you able to get in to see him?’
‘Yes.’
‘That is convenient, Colonel. I need you to do me a favour.’
Samson said nothing and waited.
‘This is an opportune time for everyone concerned, Colonel,’ Joiner continued, undeterred by Samson’s lack of commitment to the conversation.
Samson remained silent, so Joiner went on. ‘I – we – could both be well served if our dear professor had not made it through the firefight.’
‘What do you want?’
‘I think that’s obvious, Colonel.’
Samson’s lip curled back in contempt and the phone in his hand creaked under pressure. ‘I’m not an assassin,’ he said vehemently, ‘and I’m not your lackey. If you want a man killed, do it yourself or use Myers; he’d probably fuck him if you ordered him to.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that, Colonel,’ Joiner said, his tone hardening. ‘I thought you a man of conviction, I was clearly mistaken.’
The line went dead; Joiner had hung up. Samson snorted in derision and put his phone away. He needed to get out of there, he felt confined, constricted. He called his team to him and without a backwards glance moved out of the building, his job done.
♦
Approximately five per cent of Steadfast’s population had managed to make it to the extraction zone in the forest, around twenty-five thousand people, plus Darklight forces. Commander Hilt had already loaded up the first elevator, which was surface bound. He’d also contacted Darklight units topside. They stood on full alert in case of outside U.S. military intervention.
Goodwin paced around inside the M.E.C.A. building where Dr. Kara Vandervoort helped bandage up some of the wounded civilians, the high tech office having been turned into a triage hospital. We’re evacuating these people, Goodwin thought, but why? He knew the professor must have a good reason, but he couldn’t guess what it could be. Why isn’t Steadfast safe any longer? And why is Malcolm Joiner, Director of Intelligence, trying to take over from the professor in some kind of military coup? His confusion pressed down upon him like a large, cold stone on his shoulders, making him feel disorientated and drained. He slumped into a chair, his head in his hands.
A soft touch on his shoulder made him look up.
Kara looked at him with concern. ‘Are you all right, Richard?’
He looked at his hands, they were covered in blood.
‘I’m fine, it’s not my blood,’ he said, wondering how it had got there and who it belonged to.
‘What is going on?’ she said, sounding scared. ‘People are saying the military opened fire on them and that the Darklight forces fought back to protect them.’
‘No,’ – he gave a weary shake of the head – ‘the military took on Darklight and civilians got in the way.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’
He managed a small smile. ‘Quite sure, thank you. I just feel exhausted for some reason.’
‘That’ll be the come down off of the adrenalin your body kicked out during the chaos,’ said a deep voice.
Goodwin looked round as Darklight’s leader approached. ‘Commander, any news from the professor?’
‘None, I’m afraid, sir,’ Hilt said. ‘I’ve lost contact with my men at the Command Centre, too; I fear it’s been taken. We’ve set up a perimeter. This chamber is pretty easy to defend, so we won’t have to worry about getting overrun. It also appears that the military aren’t pursuing us, they’ve pulled back. They must have realised that this sector isn’t worth losing more men over.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
‘Time will tell,’ Hilt said, before one of his men handed him a digital map. ‘Where shall we go when we hit the surface, sir?’
‘I have no idea, Commander.’
Hilt studied a hologram of the terrain. ‘Darklight has a large compound about twenty clicks from Steadfast’s surface location. It’s well concealed and we could fit most of these people in there for the short term. We also have vehicles topside to get them there, although it will take multiple trips.’
‘That sounds like a good plan to me,’ Goodwin said, happy to let someone else take the lead.
‘Sir,’ Hilt continued, ‘the civilians are getting a little out of control in some places. They want to know what’s happening and where they’re going.’
Goodwin sighed and pushed himself to his feet. ‘Has this station got a public address system?’ he asked Kara.
She shook her head.
‘Don’t worry, sir,’ Hilt told him, ‘we have a command unit with that capability. I’ll take you to it.’
‘Thank you, Commander, lead the way.’ He gestured the military man forwards with a bloody hand.
‘Perhaps you should clean that off,’ Hilt said, noticing the stains, ‘it won’t help calm people’s nerves.’
‘Good idea. Kara, have you—’ Goodwin’s voice trailed off as Kara was already handing him a damp paper towel. ‘Thanks,’ he said, giving her a small smile.
She squeezed his arm in support.
Handing Kara the now bloody rag, he followed Hilt out of the building.
‘It’s right over there.’ Hilt pointed at a large armoured van that had a plethora of domes and antennae on its roof.
The two men pushed their way through the milling crowd. Some people were crying, while many remained silent, in a state of shock. Others shouted out, calling people’s names, trying to find friends, colleagues and loved ones they’d become separated from in the dash to the evacuation zone.
As Goodwin passed one group of what, from their clothing, looked like engineers someone grabbed him and yanked him round.
‘What the fuck is going on!’ a man screamed into his face as his friends struggled to pull him back. ‘You’re in charge. My wife is dead because of you, do you understand? DEAD!’
Goodwin didn’t know what to say, and he just stood there in horror as the man’s grasp tightened, his eyes wide and staring in what looked like madness, the madness of grief.
‘BACK UP!’ Hilt detached the man’s hands from Goodwin’s shirt and pushed him back toward his friends, who encircled him as they attempted to calm him down.
Goodwin and Hilt moved off and increased their pace. ‘Thanks,’ said Goodwin, ‘it’s getting a bit ugly out here.’
‘And it’ll get ten times worse if nothing is done,’ Hilt said, as they finally reached the armoured truck. ‘Here, you better get up on top of the roof otherwise people won’t be able to see you.’
Goodwin grasped the ladder which was built onto the side of the
vehicle and pulled himself up onto the roof, wobbled, then stood up precariously. Hilt disappeared inside the van for a second or two and then reappeared with a microphone in his hand, which he passed up to Goodwin.
‘Are we on?’ he asked Hilt, but his voice echoing out of the domed speaker system answered his own question.
Goodwin looked out as a sea of faces all turned in his direction.
‘Hello,’ he said, his voice faltering.
Unsure as to how to proceed, Goodwin surveyed those gathered, the fear of public speaking upon him. The silence stretched on and he could see the microphone in his hand trembling from nervous tension. He caught sight of a scared looking little girl who perched on her father’s shoulders some thirty feet away. She needed reassurance, they all did, and it was his job to give it to them.
Gaining confidence, he began again. ‘Hello,’ he said, his voice louder and steadier than before. ‘The events of the last hour have been traumatic for us all and devastating for some.’ He looked over to the group where the man had accosted him. ‘There are some among you who have lost loved ones and friends.’ He paused, his emotions almost getting the better of him as his compassion went out to the grief-stricken husband, who even now held his gaze. ‘Some will blame me for their deaths,’ he continued, looking around at the many faces staring up at him. ‘Perhaps they’re right. It is my job to look after you all and to ensure no lives are lost. But lives have been lost and for that I am so very sorry and my thoughts and prayers go out to you in this horrific time. I wish I could tell you why this has happened, but I am as much in the dark as you are.’
He paused again to gather his thoughts. ‘For some reason the military who are supposed to protect us have, in fact, caused us harm, whether unintentionally or otherwise. We have all received the evacuation command to assemble at this location and this emergency protocol was issued by Professor Steiner himself. As yet I do not know the reasons for the alert, but we must take it seriously and head to the surface as fast as possible. Darklight sources tell us that the military are not pursuing us and that is a small comfort.
‘Many of you will be wondering where we will be going. To ensure our safety and to find out what has transpired here, we will be relocating to a Darklight base on the surface, some twenty kilometres away. What I do know is that Professor Steiner believes that this base is not safe.’ He held up his hand for silence as a swell of noise swept through the assembled crowd. ‘I understand your concerns and confusion as I feel exactly the same way, but I trust the professor with my life and if he says that it’s not safe, I believe him.
‘If anyone wants to stay behind, that is their choice. And while I believe the military will not harm them, as the Command Centre and other exit points appear to have been their main targets – seemingly to secure us and prevent our escape from Steadfast – I cannot guarantee this fact.
‘Rest assured that when I know more, you will know more. Please remain calm and organised, as we have small children and the injured to look after. Thank you for your time and I will speak to you all again when we have reached the Darklight outpost I mentioned previously. Thank you.’
Goodwin got down off the roof and handed the microphone to a woman waiting on the ground who wore a bright orange vest bearing the words Evacuation Officer.
‘Some of us managed to action the procedure for an emergency,’ she told him, stepping onto the bottom rung of the ladder.
Goodwin knew he ought to know her name, but it escaped him.
‘It’s Julia, sir,’ she said, catching his look of semi-recognition. ‘I work on the third floor, personnel.’
‘Yes, of course, I remember, the charity tri-athlete, right?’
‘Yes, that’s me, sir. I’ll try and get some organisation going for you.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, as she made her way up the ladder to address the people who now spoke amongst themselves, digesting the information Goodwin had just given them.
‘Excellent speech,’ Hilt said solemnly.
‘Thanks, I hope it helps.’
‘It already has,’ the commander replied.
A siren wailed in the distance, momentarily drowning out Julia on the speaker system.
‘Sir, the second elevator has been loaded and is about to depart,’ a Darklight operative told Hilt.
‘Very good, Lieutenant, thank you.’
‘Richard!’
Goodwin looked round to see Kara fighting her way through the press of bodies.
‘Come quickly,’ she said as she reached them, ‘it’s the professor; he’s making a video call, he wants to speak to you, it’s urgent.’
Goodwin excused himself from the Darklight commander and followed Kara back to her building.
‘He asked to be transferred to a private terminal,’ she said, showing him into a small room.
Thanking her Goodwin shut the door behind him.
On the wall in front of him a screen displayed Professor Steiner’s face; he was using his computer phone to make the call.
‘Professor, why didn’t you just go through to my personal device?’ Goodwin said. ‘More importantly, are you all right?’
‘Yes, I’m fine; I’m going through a secure military network as they’ve shut down all other communications in the base. I haven’t got much time; they’ve locked me in a room. Luckily they didn’t confiscate this phone, it’s my back-up and I keep it in an ankle holster.’
‘What are they going to do with you?’
‘I’m not sure, but I think Joiner wants me confined indefinitely so I can’t disrupt his plans.’
‘What plans?’
‘Something is going on, Richard, that even I didn’t know about. I can’t tell you everything I want to right now, but I can tell you to get out of Steadfast. Get to U.S.S.B. Sanctuary as soon as you can, along with everyone you have with you. How many are at your location?’
‘We estimate about twenty-five thousand, plus Darklight forces.’
The professor made a face. ‘I was hoping for more than that.’
‘I’m sorry, Professor.’
‘It’s not your fault. God, it’s mine. I should have anticipated something like this happening.’
‘Something like what? Damn it, Professor, what is going on? For pity’s sake, tell me!’
‘I would if I could, Richard, but my hands are tied. All you need to know is that you have to get to Sanctuary as quickly as you can.’
‘But I thought Sanctuary was a military run operation?’
‘It is, but I can get you access – well – I have the information to get you in, anyway.’
‘Okay, but why would we want to be at Sanctuary surrounded by the military when they were trying to prevent us getting out of Steadfast? None of this is making any sense to me at all.’
‘All I can tell you is that Steadfast is not safe.’
‘I realise that,’ Goodwin said irritably.
‘Right, and that’s all you need to know for now. Joiner won’t permit you to stay above ground as you’ll be deemed a security risk and they may detain or eliminate you.’
‘Security risk?’ Goodwin said, but Steiner had already continued.
‘Once you’re in Sanctuary they’re unlikely to kick you out again and you can believe me when I say they have the room. When you get there, find my office and access my system with this code: J P one zero one CLARITY, all one word and capitals. Go into my video archive folder and access the file entitled Fishing for trout.’
Goodwin typed all the instructions into his phone.
The professor looked up for a moment, alert for sounds or signs of movement outside his room. Satisfied, he continued. ‘Once you’ve watched the message, which explains everything, you will hopefully understand my reasons for not telling you previously.’
‘So how do we get into the base? And where is it, for that matter?’ Goodwin said.
‘It has a few entrances, but the one you will need is an auxiliary gateway that is rarely used. I’m send
ing you an access program through this system now.’ He went out of shot for a moment as he sent the file to Goodwin’s location.
Goodwin placed his phone on the magnetic data transfer pad and the procedure was complete.
The professor came back on screen. ‘Now, this will only get you so far, but I know someone on the inside who will help. His name is General Ellwood and his private phone number is now in your contacts list. All you need to tell him is that Professor Steiner needs one last favour. Do not tell him that you have thousands of people you want to get inside the base, just say it’s you and a few others. Deceitful, I know, but needs must.’
‘And Sanctuary’s location?’
‘Mexico; approximately two hundred miles north of Mexico City, to be more precise. The co-ordinates for the entrance are also now in your phone.’
‘Mexico City? Why on earth would the Mexican government allow a major U.S. military base near its capital city? And how have they kept it a secret, for that matter?’
‘Good questions. We have paid the Mexican federation massive sums of money and supplied them with military hardware and blueprints to some of our more sophisticated projects. The Mexicans also have a military contingent in and around the base to minimise outside interest and to police U.S. movements within their borders.’
‘So they actually have personnel inside U.S.S.B. Sanctuary?’ Goodwin said. ‘I bet the Joint Chiefs love that.’
‘It was unavoidable. They only have access to less sensitive areas, however.’
‘It’s going to take us some time to get down there, Professor. Won’t the military try to prevent us?’
‘Perhaps, but the Mexicans will be more of a problem, as you will be travelling in their territory. I think I’m about to get interrupted and I’m not sure when I will be able to speak to you again, so good luck and Godspeed. Take care, Richard, I hope—’
The phone went dead and the words Channel Blocked flashed on the display.
‘Take care, Professor,’ Goodwin said, full of sadness, and switched off the screen.
Chapter Nine
Revelations Page 11