I wait for a moment, trying to decide whether to stay and wait it out despite Marcus’s wishes, or continue on with Jansen. With regret, I have to accept that rescuing Evie is out of the question for the moment.
The cold metal duct seems to squeeze tighter around my body, though it is not getting any smaller. I’m not claustrophobic—or at least I never was before—but I need to get out of here soon.
Jansen and I continue to pass more rooms: an office with a sleek black and metallic desk and unusual modern art; a few medical exam rooms with the typical hospital beds, scales and counters with sinks; a few rooms that are shielded with darkness, so I cannot tell what they are. Still no sign of Wisecraft, Rosenfritz, or Trident. Still no security room.
Jansen pauses at an intersecting duct. He hesitates a moment too long, which tells me that he is not exactly sure where he’s going.
“I think it’s just up here,” he says, continuing on a straight path.
After a long journey without passing any more grates, I wonder if we should turn back. But there must be something out here, or else the duct would have ended. We continue on, and I’m hopeful that I might find some secret room that might be inaccessible through the public corridor. A secret room that may be sanctuary for the Trinity.
With the monotony of our journey and fewer grates to peer into, I start to relive a moment not to different from this. The first time I escaped Crimson I did so through an air duct. Of course the difference now is that I’m breaking in, not out. How much I’ve changed in the past year. Back then, I never would have dreamed of being in this position. I would have found a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere, content to spend the rest of my life in peaceful hiding. Never would I have dreamed of taking down the three most treacherous human beings to have ever lived.
I’m about to tell Jansen to give up and reverse back to the nearest intersection to look, but before the words can leave my mouth, he speaks. “I think this is it, up here. In the nooks around his body I see something. Or, I think I see something anyway. It’s like a faint glow that I can only see when I don’t look directly at it.
When he finally reaches it, he sighs in disappointment.
“Nope. We need to go back.”
“What is it?” I ask eagerly.
“The Web.”
“The air duct goes to the Web?” Underneath my incredulity, I begin to formulate a plan. Or perhaps a backup plan. A way to get Evie out safely.
Retracing our path, I awkwardly slither backward in the duct. I try to move as swiftly as possible, but I feel like I’m moving at a snail’s pace. By the time I reach the first grate, my elbows and knees are chafed from most of my weight being put on them as they rub along the hard surface. I continue backward and nearly drown in relief when I reach an intersecting duct. I pass through it backwards to give Jansen the lead.
We turn left and after passing two grates we stop.
“Here it is,” Jansen whispers. I stretch out my neck as if it were even possible for me to see past him, which I can’t.
“What does it look like,” I whisper. “How many are in there?”
“Three—two men, one woman. Pollen, stay here.”
Before I can respond, I hear three explosions, the force sending violent tremors through the metal around us, the noise resounding through the duct like thunder in my eardrums.
Chapter 33
(Marcus)
She’ll be safe in there. Now we can get to work. After that precarious stunt she just pulled, I’m not taking any more risks with Pollen. I thought we were in this together. Evidently, she has her own agenda. And if she won’t let me in on it, I’ll make sure she doesn’t put herself in the line of fire again. She’ll be safe with Jansen—his mission to take over the security room poses a much lesser risk than ours.
The beating of footsteps grows louder. Sage flicks his head back toward the intersecting corridor we just passed. Nicron ducks to the left. I follow Sage to the right and we both check the doors to see if any are unlocked.
“Got one, guys.” Nicron’s voice sounds like static in my earpiece. Unfortunately the backups have arrived and Sage and I can’t cross the corridor without being seen.
“Marcus!” Sage says in a hushed tone. I whirl around and he jerks his head toward the open door in front of him. We both dive into the darkness and shut the door behind us. We stand still in silence, waiting for the Enforcers to pass.
“So where are we going?” Sage asks, while searching out the tiny square window into the hallway.
The room is pitch black and the only illumination comes from the window that Sage is blocking. As I stumble back toward the door, my foot catches on something hard and I fall forward, colliding with what seems to be some piece of furniture, maybe a bureau or dresser. I suck in a quick slice of air to keep from crying out, and then feel my way back to Sage.
“We need to get to the lowest level. That’s six down—possibly seven if it was intentionally left out from the plans. Once Jan gets security shut down we’ll go down the main corridor, taking a left at the second crossing to get to the stairwell.”
“So you’re suggesting we just skip down the corridors and waltz down the stairs as if we belonged here?”
“I’m not suggesting anything.”
“There could be Enforcers all over this place.”
“And if we confront them, then we’ll have to do what’s necessary.”
“Isn’t there any other way? Some secret corridor where we can’t be seen? Surely the Trinity have something.”
“If they do, it wasn’t on the prints. You want to cram yourself into the air duct, be my guest. Otherwise, we do this my way.”
“Damn, Marcus.” Sage shakes his head. “And I thought I was leading this thing. I guess I’m following you now. You know this place better than any of us. We’re gonna need to take these guys out though.” Sage cracks the door and peers out. Stomps echo down the massive stairway that leads to the entrance above. Once they see the bodies they’ll be on to us.
“Nicron, you there?” Sage calls into his communicator.
“Yeah, man,” Nicron answers. We are all outfitted with an earpiece that allows us to listen in on communications among us. I just wish I had gotten an extra set for Pollen. At least she’s with Jansen—he’d let me know immediately if something were wrong, so I’m glad we haven’t heard from him yet.
“Once we’re out of here, Marcus is going to lead us to our target. We take out any and all Enforcers along the way. No bargains. No prisoners. Got it?”
“Affirmative. How long should it take Jan to get to security? I thought he’d move pretty fast through the ducts.”
“Me too,” I answer. “But it’s a large facility and with Pollen tagging along, it may be taking longer than expected to find and secure the area.” I’m not willing to let abstract thoughts of Pollen in danger sink through. I know she’s okay. But agitation begins to eat at me.
Another few minutes pass with no word from Jansen. I can hear a ruckus on the stairs. The Enforcers are heading back down.
“I’m here guys,” Jansen calls out a few moments later. “Sorry it took so long. You’re all clear.”
“Ten-four, Jansen,” Sage replies. Hang tight, we’ll meet you there. Let’s go boys.”
Following Sage from the room, I take a deep breath and huff it out, looking down the corridor in both directions. Nicron dashes towards us from the other side. Upstairs, yelling bounces down like a rubber ball, and heavy stomping grows nearer.
“Heads up, guys,” Nicron calls out after he peers around the corner of the opposite corridor.
The footsteps hammer in tune to the thump in my chest. I check my magazine—five bullets left before I need to switch out. I snap it back in place and lunge out into the intersection taking one shot. An Enforcer goes down, tumbling over himself down the final three steps.
“How many,” Sage demands.
“Six. Well, five now.”
Nicron leans out and shoo
ts. Shots are fired back, reverberating through the corridor like an aluminum pan being smashed into a gong multiple times. Sage jumps out from behind me, taking two quick shots. When he returns a red slash is ripped through the arm of his shirt. Looks like a bullet grazed him.
After Nicron takes another shot I leap out and take down what looks like the last Enforcer. Most of them are injured and still capable of shooting, but Nicron darts out and helps me incapacitate the last of them. I stare at the heap of bodies lying at the base of the stairs. They won’t be following us now.
Just when I thought it was quiet, a rumbling in the distance suggests more Enforcer’s are on the way. Security or not, there’s no mistaking the sound of gunfire. I signal the others to follow me, and race down the corridor, counting the intersections as we go.
As soon as the Enforcers charge around a corner in the distance, I turn left with the others on my heels. The stairs should be at the end of this corridor.
The stairwell is just as creepy and mundane as the corridors we just left behind. The flickering lights give off the essence of electricity in the air. We take the steps down, two, sometimes three, at a time.
A swish and bang sound down below and the clopping of heavy boots march up toward us. I ready a second magazine for my gun. I peer down the hollow space between the staircases. It’s hard to see how many are coming, but it looks like more than five or six. I keep moving down the stairs, then pause to aim and shoot.
“Agh!” a voice cries out. I take another quick shot and jump back when I hear the return fire. Sage shoots downward with me at the Enforcers below, while Nicron takes the guys above that followed us here.
Soon, as the Enforcers close in on us, it becomes apparent that we are grossly outnumbered. We dash for the nearest door, which is only two floors down from where we started, and I hold it open for the others. Nicron goes first, followed by Sage. “Come on, man!” Sage shouts.
Just as I’m about to chase Sage into the corridor, a giant arm bears down on me and my chest plummets to the ground. I didn’t even see it coming. On the floor, his weight nearly suffocates me, pressing all available air out of my lungs. My cheek flattens against the cold concrete like a wad of bread dough. I thrust my elbow back with all my might, jabbing the Enforcer in the ribs. He tumbles off me giving me just enough time to climb to my feet before he pelts me across the jaw. I drop to my hands and knees, spitting out a mouthful of blood. A jolt of pain hits my lower ribs as his boot makes contact, then another one from the opposite side. I try to hold myself up but my arms give out to the pain and I drop again.
An echoing boom blasts the two Enforcers away. I roll over. Sage stands above me. A tiny tuft of smoke catches a glint of light as it streams from his pistol.
“Get up,” he commands and grabs my arm. My ribs crunch and pain radiates throughout the side of my chest. At least one of them is broken, but now’s not the time to stop and examine my war wounds. I run as fast as I can after Sage down the corridor, huffing through the pain that stabs with each and every inhale. I scrape my tongue along my teeth to make sure I’m not missing any. They all seem to be there, though the distinct metallic taste of blood flows freely.
Up ahead, the corridor opens up into a vast open space. Enforcers casually walk back and forth and some look to be seated at tables. Nicron dodges into a door to the right and Sage and I follow. Next we find ourselves in the back of what looks to be a dry storage room for a cafeteria. This was one of those floors I had hoped to avoid. There are way too many Enforcers to fight off. If we don’t get out of here, we haven’t got a chance.
“Marcus!” Jansen’s voice tickles my eardrum. “Marcus, Pollen’s taken off after Evie. Should I follow?”
“Yes!” I reply, just as Sage commands, “No! Stay where you are.”
Sage and I exchange a look that could tear down the largest redwood.
“In here guys!” Nicron says as he opens a heavy steel door that leads to the refrigeration unit. With the pounding of footsteps just outside the door, we have no choice but to follow. Nicron shuts the door, trapping us in the frigid room surrounded by heads of lettuce and huge vats of mayonnaise. Another door lies on the opposite wall, giving us another out if we need it. I lift my shirt and grab a tub of butter, placing its cold plastic side against my ribcage.
“Marcus, you may know your way around this joint,” Sage barks, “but I’m still in command. Our primary goal is to take down the Trinity, not protect Pollen. She got herself into this. She’ll deal with the consequences.”
“But you said yourself, she’s too important to risk,” I argue.
“So is our mission. Look, if she’s going after Evie that means she’s not going after the Trinity. Which means she’ll be in much less danger. Plus, I think we’ve caused enough of a diversion for her to get out with Evie safely.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Through the thick walls and the hum of the refrigeration fan motor, I can hear muffled voices shouting in the storage room.
“Let’s move guys,” Nicron calls as he begins to push open the far door of the unit. I drop the tub on the floor and follow. The door leads to the main area of an industrial kitchen. Three long aisles are flanked by monstrous ovens, cook tops, mixers, and vats. The air smells of chili and cumin. The five cooks look up at us and all but one go back to their business of preparing food.
“You okay man?” says the overweight guy in desperate need of a shave. His white apron is stained with grease and some orange substance that I can’t identify. I glance to the left where one of the kitchen workers pushes a cart through a swinging door. Through it I see what seems to be hundreds of Enforcers mingling in the cafeteria.
“Over here,” Nicron calls out.
I follow Sage to the door Nicron just shot through. Now we’re in another corridor.
I don’t know where we are anymore. Or how to get back to where we are going. Right now we are on the defensive, simply trying to stay alive. Up ahead Nicron rounds a corner. Sage follows and I trail behind. The other Enforcers are catching our tails again, coming out of the kitchen and a few from the cafeteria.
I turn the corner and almost plow into Nicron. His gun lies on the floor like a dead roach. Sage and Nicron both stand, unarmed, with empty hands in the air. Beyond them, a mob of Enforcers, guns trained on all of us. Behind me, the other Enforcers have finally caught up.
“Drop it,” says the Enforcer in the front. With uneasy hesitation, I drop my gun and wince at the clatter it makes as it hits the floor.
Chapter 34
(Pollen)
When the ringing in my ears finally fades, I look up to find Jansen falling through the grate feet first into the security room. I glance down at the square room lined with monitors. A man sitting in a rolling office chair is hunched over a control panel, a steady stream of glistening blood leaking from his neck. Another man lies in front of the door in a crimson puddle. A woman lies next to a chair, moaning, her back adorned with a bright red stain.
Slowly, I climb through the grate, and drop to the floor. The soles of my feet sting with the sudden impact. Jansen gently rolls the chair with the body to the side and searches the control panel.
“I’m here guys.” Who is Jansen talking to? I spin around the room, but only find the dead and wounded Enforcers. “Sorry it took so long. You’re all clear.”
When he sees my troubled expression, he lifts his hand to show me a rectangular object with blinking lights.
“Communicator,” he says and I nod in response.
“So, what now?” I ask while my eyes focus on a monitor that shows some Enforcers standing around a door leisurely in conversation, as if taking a break.
“Now we wait for the others.” Jansen propels himself backward onto a flat desk surface, making himself comfortable. The gesture irritates my nerves and inflates my impatience.
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I’m going to get Evie.” I turn and roll a chair under the grate.
&nbs
p; “No, Pollen.” I’m taken back and almost speechless by Jansen’s sharp objection. Usually he’s on my side, backing me up on pretty much every issue. And even if he’s not, he always tries to play peacekeeper. “It’s too dangerous. And Marcus will kill me if I let you out of my sight.”
If Marcus were here I’d be tempted to smash my fist into his perfect face. Why can’t he see he can’t keep over protecting me? I love him with all of my being, but I can’t respect his wishes. I won’t. Instead I slam my fist down on a control panel, crushing the dials and knobs. I turn to Jansen.
“I’m not a child or a puppy. I don’t need to be watched.”
“I know, Pollen. Trust me, we have this all worked out. Just have some patience. We’ll get Evie together, and then we’ll destroy the Trinity. We can’t be rash now.”
“I’m not being rash! All I need is thirty seconds. Thirty seconds to take out the one Enforcer in her room and pull her into the duct. We’ll go on to the grate we found in the Web. It’s simple and it’s the safest way to rescue her.”
Jansen shakes his head. “I’m not disagreeing with you, Pollen, but I have my orders. And that is to keep you with me until Sage and the others get here.”
The woman on the floor moans again. Jansen hops off the desktop and approaches her.
“You didn’t kill her,” I mumble.
“I couldn’t bring myself to kill a woman.”
Jansen takes a ceramic mug, half full with tea, from the desk above the moaning woman and lifts her partially to allow her to drink from it. Now’s my chance.
As I hop on to the stool and reach for the grate, I hear the clatter of the breaking cup and the woman shrieks sharply. A hand sinks into my ankle when I’m halfway through the grate.
“Jansen, let go!”
“No, Pollen!”
The Trinity (Fall of Venus) Page 21