Unparalleled

by D. S. Smith

  Having planted a slab of explosive above the entrance to the boiler room, Lin Lee climbed slowly back up the drainpipe giving Bruce time to disappear from view. She climbed back onto the roof and headed back the way they had come. She knew by now all eyes would be on the boiler room and the guard hut. She had no intention of going near either.

  Bruce looked down at the guard hut beneath him. The roof to the hut was flat offering him an easy landing. He considered how he would get back up again after the explosives were set, but realised this would not be necessary. All he would need to do is get out of the range of the explosion. The security service already knew he was there so there was no need to hide as per Lin Lee’s plan. He approached the edge of the roof and sat down allowing his legs to dangle in front of him. Placing a hand either side of his body he pushed himself away from the edge and dropped to the roof of the hut. A conveniently placed drainpipe connected to the wall of the hut meant the rest of the descent easy. Reaching the ground, he stepped back from the hut to survey the courtyard, identifying the best location from which to observe the explosion. Happy he had a plan he reached into his pockets to retrieve the items he needed. First he removed a slab of plastic explosive and pressed it into position underneath a windowsill on the wall of the hut. He took out a detonator with two long wires hanging from it. He stabbed the detonator into the plastic explosive, allowing the wires to dangle freely. Finally, he produced the timer. He examined this closely ensuring the switch was set to ‘Disarmed’ before twisting the dial, setting a delay of ten minutes. He placed the timer on the windowsill and took hold of the two wires dangling from the detonator. He examined the ends to ensure there was enough bare wire to connect to the timer. One at a time he poked the bare ends into the spring-loaded terminals, giving them a little tug to ensure they were secure. He examined the configuration one last time before flicking the switch on the side of the timer from ‘Disarmed’ to ‘Armed’.

  The ensuing explosion tore through him, scattering his body parts across the forecourt with a mixture of brick, metal and glass from the guard hut.

  Chapter 54

  When the two agents entered the room to escort Stuart and Catherine to the laboratory, they found them laughing hysterically. Stuart was dressed in the white tracksuit provided by the agency. The outfit was way too big for him. He held out a hand to introduce himself to one of the agents but the sleeves of the top were so long, all he offered the man was a floppy cuff hanging from the end of his arm. This sent Catherine into another laughing fit which in turn started Stuart off again. The frivolity was short-lived as a loud bang shook the windows of the room. Stuart raised his hands to his head and ducked slightly. One of the agents told them not to worry, reminding them the explosion was expected and everything was under control. The second agent spoke into a tiny device in the palm of his hand before turning to his colleague and offering a slight nod. “Ok, doctor, Stuart, if you are ready we can head to the lab and meet the others. Just stick close behind me and I’ll guide you to where you need to go.” They followed him out of the room and into the corridor. He removed his pistol from its holster with his right hand, letting it point toward the floor on his right side. “Just a precaution,” he offered.

  His colleague removed his weapon also and followed to the rear, constantly looking back over his shoulder. Stuart’s heart began to pound so hard he wondered if the others could hear it. He felt like a condemned man being led to his execution, every step bringing him closer to a fate over which he had no control. He looked down at the loose material hanging over his hands. It wasn’t funny anymore, just pathetic. He rolled up the sleeves so his hands were free. No sooner had he done this he felt a warm hand take hold of his. He turned to see Catherine at his side. He offered her a half smile and in return she squeezed his hand lightly. She looked as nervous as he felt.

  The walk to the lab seemed to take a lifetime as they followed the agent through a maze of corridors lined with doors. No one had suggested they should keep quiet but not a word was spoken, the only sound being the occasional screech as the soles of their shoes rubbed against the shiny surface of the flooring lining the corridors. Every time they reached a corner the agent leading them would hold up his hand to halt them while he poked his head around to ensure the path was clear before they proceeded.

  They eventually arrived at the lab to find two more agents flanking the entrance. One of them reached for the door knob and pushed it open. Stuart was certain this was not the same room they had visited previously but he immediately recognised the Harmoniser booth and the computer banks. To his surprise the room was empty. Catherine shrugged at him and turned to one of the agents who looked equally confused. The second agent was talking into his palm. He finished his conversation before turning to inform them there had been a slight change of plan and the others would join them shortly.

  Chapter 55

  Terry stared at the monitor in disbelief as the smoke and dust cleared, revealing debris scattered across the forecourt. He knew Captain Mitchell could not have survived the explosion. What he saw now confirmed this beyond any doubt. He had no idea if the premature explosion had been an accident or a deliberate booby trap. If the latter was true their plan had been compromised and they had lost control over the situation. He spoke into his mouthpiece advising all stations to standby for further instruction and not to approach the blast site. If the explosion had been deliberate, there was every chance there would be a second device designed to cause further casualties as people came out to investigate. He turned his attention back to the boiler room screen. If Mitchell’s death had been an accident Lin Lee would be unaware of this and would proceed with their plan. He barked more orders into his mouth piece. “Group two, be extra vigilant now. The target could arrive at any time. Alert me immediately if you see any change at all on your screens.” He turned his gaze to monitors four and five. On monitor four he could see a flurry of activity as people in white coats worked the equipment in the room. On monitor five he saw Stuart Milton and Dr Carson talking to his agents in the second Harmoniser room. Terry rubbed his chin as he considered the situation they were now in. He had everyone where he wanted them apart from one person. The success of the operation now hinged entirely on the whereabouts of Lin Lee. He turned back to monitor two and stared at the screen, willing her to appear in the boiler room.

  Chapter 56

  Lin Lee was already in the building when the sound of a second explosion rattled through the centuries old college. She had gained access through an unlocked door that led to a utility shed on the roof directly above the laboratories. The fact the door was unlocked was fortunate but finding it was no coincidence. It was clearly outlined on a second set of blueprints she had received from her in-country contact. She had not shared this information with the Australian traitor. She had known of Bruce’s intended betrayal for some time. The rogue agent discovered by the British had continued to play both sides by alerting the Director to the fact he had been discovered. The signal for this was the use of the word oxford written three times in his last message without capitalisation of the letter o. The information regarding Bruce’s betrayal was indicated using his name at the end of a sentence followed by two full stops. This was then confirmed by repeating the two full stops at the end of the message. This information left her with no other option but to kill Bruce. She no longer needed his assistance to create the diversion. Her plans had changed thanks to his betrayal, but the planting of the explosives at the guard hut was the perfect opportunity to get rid of him. All she had needed to do was short out the circuitry of the timer, so no matter what the setting was, the detonator would activate as soon as the switch was flicked to “Armed”. On hearing the explosion, she had allowed herself a smile, pleased at the thought of having rid the world of another deceitful, misogynistic bastard.

  According to the college blueprints there was a chute leading from the utility shed, all the way down to ground level. Its purpose was to provide a route for pipes
and cables that served the rooms below. The dimensions shown indicated the space would be sufficient for her to climb down, allowing her undetected access to a room above the laboratory containing the Harmoniser. There she would plant enough explosives to create a downward blast that would destroy the laboratory, along with everything and everybody in it. First, she had to confirm the Harmoniser was indeed in the same room where she had first laid eyes on it. There was every chance the security services would have moved it to another location after learning of her imminent attack. She approached the area indicated on the blueprints as the access point to the chute. There was a metal hatch set in the floor against one wall. She lifted the hatch, revealing a number of cables and pipes fixed to a metal runner descending into darkness. It was going to be tight but she was confident her slight frame would fit into the space between the runner and the walls of the rooms. The cable runner would act as a ladder for her to climb down. She removed the rucksack from her back and retrieved a length of nylon rope and a set of night-vision goggles. She tied one end of the rope to the handle on the rucksack and tied the other end to her ankle. Slipping the goggles over her head and eyes, she lowered the rucksack into the chute and climbed in after it. At each floor level, the space in the chute narrowed as the cables and pipes were channelled at a ninety degree angle into the rooms they served. To pass she had to press her body hard against the cable runner. The task was made more difficult by the fact she now saw everything in different shades of green through the night-vision goggles. The building was five storeys high which meant she would have to repeat this twice more before reaching the second floor and her point of access. After several minutes, and a number of abrasions to her body from jagged edges on the cable runner, she reached the position of the second-floor room. She pushed the goggles up from her eyes to her forehead and placed an ear against the wall. She listened for around a minute but detected no sound from inside the room. Reaching down to her side she removed a large knife from a holster strapped to her waist. As quietly as she could she cut out a section of the plaster board. The wall was made up of two layers of board fixed to a wooden frame. The gap between the boards was about two inches deep and was filled with insulation. She pulled the insulation out of the way and made the hole large enough to place her ear against the board forming the inner wall. Again, she detected no sound from the room. She poked the tip of the knife into the inner board and twisted slowly until she had made a small hole through which she could see inside. The room was in darkness. She made the hole bigger and peered through wearing the night-vision goggles. It was completely empty. She took the knife and continued to cut through the boards making a space big enough for her to climb through. Once inside the room she stretched out her aching limbs to let the blood flow back into them before climbing back into the chute and continuing to the next floor. She wanted to confirm the Harmoniser was in the room below before planting the explosives. On arrival at the next level down she repeated the process of pressing her head against the outer board of the wall. This time she heard the unmistakable sound of muffled voices and movement coming from the room. She reached for her knife again but before she needed to start cutting a bright light flashed through the night vision goggles. She pushed the goggles up to her forehead and noticed the light was coming from a gap between one of the pipes and the plasterboard. At first all she saw was the back of a white coat, but then the person wearing it moved to one side revealing the unmistakable shape of the Harmoniser booth. Fortune shone on her for the second time that day. She headed back to the room above and began to assemble the bomb. She set three slabs of plastic explosive, one at each end of the room and one in the middle. An array of wires connected the detonators from each slab to a remote-control unit that would be triggered from her phone. The blast from the slab in the middle would be enough to kill everyone below and destroy the Harmoniser. To make sure the job was done the other two would bring the rest of the building down on top of them. She set the unit to “armed”. The only way the array could be disarmed now was by the correct code being entered into her phone. Any attempt to disconnect the wires would lead to immediate detonation. She surveyed the area one last time before climbing back into the chute and heading back to the roof to find a safe location from which to detonate the explosives.

  Chapter 57

  A second explosion convinced Terry that Lin Lee knew her original plan had been compromised. The boiler room had been destroyed. The screens through which they were monitoring it, now blank apart from the words ‘No signal’ bouncing randomly around the screen. Access to the air-conditioning ducts through that route was now impossible. The explosion had also knocked out the mains electrical distribution. Fortunately, the supply was backed up by emergency generators which had kicked in to maintain power. All essential equipment was backed up by uninterruptible power supplies so there was no disruption to the surveillance equipment or the Harmoniser system controls.

  “Where the hell are you Lee?” Terry asked out loud.

  He racked his brain trying to figure out what her next move might be. He looked back to the monitor displaying the original Harmoniser. His agents in white coats busied themselves, masquerading as scientists. This was Lin Lee’s target. She had intended to access the lab through the air-conditioning ducts but this was no longer an option. He had men posted by every entrance to the building. The doors and windows to the lab were guarded. Every other window front and back were being observed by men patrolling the grounds. Mitchell had informed him their point of entry to the college grounds was from the roof. Was there another way to get in from there? Terry shouted to one of his agents to fetch him the blueprints for the building. The man brought them over and spread them out on the table in front of his boss. Terry studied them closely, looking for an alternative way into the building via the roof. There were chimney stacks evident at various locations but none of these were big enough for a person to fit into. He could see no other way in without scaling down the walls and using the windows or walking straight in through one of the doors. All of which he had covered. He was just about to roll the blueprints back up when he noticed a box in the bottom right hand corner. The boxed contained text that read:

  ‘Rev 1 − 1954’.

  “Shit, these are over forty years old,” he said to his colleague, “Go to the library and see if you can find a more recent set.”

  Chapter 58

  The waiting was becoming unbearable for Stuart. He tried to remain reasonable but was becoming increasingly agitated. A second explosion had rattled the windows of the lab. This time the agents accompanying them had no words of reassurance to offer. They appeared to be communicating regularly with their superiors but if any explanation as to what was going on had been given, they were not sharing it with them. According to the original timing provided earlier in the day, Dr Cooper should have joined them by now to start the preparations.

  “Something must have gone wrong, they should be here by now,” Stuart said to Catherine. She agreed things were not panning out as expected but she did not want to cause Stuart further anguish by acknowledging this. Instead she tried to distract him by asking him what he was looking forward to most about getting back to his own world. Stuart sat down beside her and immediately relaxed as he talked about Lauren. “First and foremost I’m eager to get back to my wife to make sure her and the baby are ok. God only knows what she’s been going through.”

  He looked around the lab at the computer banks, at the Harmoniser, at the secret service agents guarding the door and finally back to Catherine. “To be honest I’m looking forward to just getting back to normality. Life with Lauren is exactly how life should be. We love each other, we love our jobs. We’re able to live a good life on moderate incomes and do the stuff that normal people do.” He was aware saying these things to Catherine may seem insensitive. But he knew there was no point in dwelling further on what had happened between them. He had to focus on getting back to the life he had all but given up on. “Do yo
u think your life will change much when the baby comes?” Catherine asked. Stuart smiled. “I know what you’re trying to do Catherine and I appreciate it. I may seem anxious right now but I’m not going to flip or anything. I’m just losing my patience. The uncertainty of what I’m facing is one thing, but being in the middle of what sounds like a war zone is a tad unnerving.” He stood again but continued talking to her. “In answer to your question about the baby. I’m sure our lives will change irreversibly, but I welcome that. Having kids is surely the very definition of normality. It may not seem that way at three in the morning when the baby’s screaming for a feed or a nappy change, or worse still, for a reason you can’t identify, but if that’s going to be the biggest change to my future life, bring it on.”