by B.V. Bayly
Chapter Forty-Three
The team sprinted in pairs. Gabriel stayed with Father Clarence, following his rush towards the towering wall of steel. Each pair spread out along the base of the massive wall, avoiding the shine of the lights. His hand ran across the series of bolts and heavy plates – thick welds running between each of the pieces to form an impressive barrier.
“Lowest density is here.” One of the soldiers scanned the wall with a set of goggles. The soldier signaled his partner to begin their job. He pulled a hand-held laser cutter from his pack. He pulled at the fuel line attached to it – giving himself room to work.
Gabriel jumped as the laz saw popped loudly against the steel. He hoped no one heard the noise. The sound dulled as it dug into the steel, heating the surface around it with a soft glow. He stared at the cutter as it worked its way through the armored steel – it was slow, the soldier making adjustments for speed and cutting depth every several inches. Nate grew restless, whispering into his radio for updates and checking his wrist watch. He crept over to the soldiers working on the armored wall.
He returned to Father Clarence and Gabriel. “The damn plating on the wall is too thick. They reinforced it from the inside with something. The laz saw is having problems cutting through it. I didn’t think it would take this long.”
“I don’t think they like uninvited guests.” The Father smiled.
“Time isn’t our friend. If the team at the main gate gets too aggressive and we are not inside – we could lose all the information about who’s behind this place.” Nate glanced at his watch again, throwing up his hands in frustration.
“Can we preheat the steel with flares or something to help the laz saw move faster?” The Father frowned at the wall.
“Heat?” Gabriel was confused.
Nate grunted as he wrapped on the wall with his knuckles. “This is armor plating. It’s damn thick too. The only weakness is heat, but using flares is going to draw a lot of attention. I don’t –”
Gabriel cut him off. “I can do it.”
“What?” Nate stared at him.
“I can melt steel. Heating up the wall will be easy.” He shrugged at Nate, not sure how to explain it any easier.
Nate grabbed him by his vest, pulling him as they went back up along the wall to where the team was trying to cut through it. He pointed at the wall then spoke over the radio, “Robins get ready to speed up.”
Robins looked back at Nate, plainly confused by the order. Gabriel reached out, placing his hand against the rough steel wall. A pulse of heat filled the air as the rusted steel surface turned red and glowed. Robins quickly adjusted the laz saw and pushed it towards Gabriel’s hand. His partner, Volmer, secured clamps into the thick cuts of steel, grasping the back of the plates. Gabriel remained focused, kneeling on the ground beside them. His left hand glowed against the steel plating as he kept it just in front of the saw.
Things were going well. With his help, the team was making up for lost time. Only a couple of feet remained as the laz cut through the plating without a problem. The rest of the team stayed silent, scanning the area for any signs of discovery. Father Clarence had moved up in front of Gabriel to keep him covered.
“Simply amazing.” Father Clarence commented over the radio.
Nate threw a rock at him hitting him square in the back. “Pay attention.”
The Father turned away from Gabriel and looked down the wall into the darkness. Gabriel followed his stare, struggling to make anything out past the lights. The tall trees even vanished in the darkness. A single pulse of light flashed from the tree line. Followed quickly by another, just seconds after the first. Father Clarence fell back against the wall, grabbing at his shoulder as he fell.
“Sniper!” Nate hollered over the radio.
The team hit the ground and fanned out looking for cover.
Father Clarence rolled into the base of the wall beside Gabriel. “I’m alright,” He grunted over the radio. “They’re close!”
Gabriel’s eyes flashed with heat, his vision warped the darkness into a silhouette of outlines. There was movement in the tree line, two figures repositioned behind a makeshift blind of branches, their rifles at the ready. He crawled over the injured Father, trying to keep his eyes focused on their attackers location.
“I can see them –”A pulse of light exploded from one of the barrels. Before Gabriel could react, it slammed into his chest, sending him toppling over backwards.
“Gabriel!” Nate’s voice erupted in his ear.
“I’m fine.” He whispered back, his heart pounding in his chest. “The ore stopped it.”
“Don’t move! Everyone stay low to the ground, they’ve got us completely pinned.” Nate ordered.
“They’re in the tree line. About 200 yards up, hiding in a blind, right side off the wall.” Gabriel stayed still, playing dead.
“Lawrence. You see them?” Nate whispered.
“The blind is in my sights.” The soldier replied.
“Chamber an incendiary round. Punch one through the blind.” Nate paused.
“Taking the shot.” Lawrence whispered.
A streak of fire blazed out across the darkness, as the round slammed into the blind. It exploded into flame. The air around Gabriel filled with muffled popping noises as the team targeted the blazing blind. A dozen shells pounded into it, sending embers and shattered wood flying. The shooting ended and Robins twisted the top of a small black container, throwing it out in front of them. It erupted with a thick grey smoke, covering them. The team rushed towards Gabriel, surrounding him, each scanning the area around them for more enemies.
Nate’s voice came over the radio after a minute of terrifying silence. “We’re clear.” Gabriel breathed out and climbed to his feet with Robins’ help.
Gabriel’s heart pounded in his chest, the ore burning inside him. He could see a faint black silhouette moving through the smoke towards them. Nate ran towards the priest, holstering his side arm and signaled the rest of the team to flank out and cover them.
Nate ripped open Father Clarence’s vest and shirt with a knife, inspecting his wounds. Gabriel joined him.
The Father faked a smile. “I must have forgotten to say enough prayers this morning!”
“That’ll teach ya.” Nate rolled him over, inspecting the exit wounds. “God still loves you though. The bullets passed straight through.”
Ing dropped to his knees beside the Father, taking his pack off to reveal a field kit of medical supplies. Nate rifled through it, setting the items he needed on the ground beside him.
“This is gonna hurt,” Nate warned Father Clarence as he put on some latex gloves.
The Father recited a prayer in Latin as Nate sprayed the wounds down with an aerosol can. The priest winced in pain, continuing his prayer, over and over. Nate smeared a blue paste over the wounds, front and back, his fingers digging deep inside the openings. Blood spit back at him, as his fingers came back out of the wound. They laid the Father down on his back, and put a loose stick in his mouth.
“Bite down.” Nate’s jaw line tensed.
The blue paste steamed, and a scorched meat smell filled the air around them as the paste cauterized the wound. Nate grabbed at the father’s flailing arms, fighting to keep him still. Gabriel helped to hold him down as the priest writhed in pain.
Nate eye’s met his gaze as they fought to hold on to the Father. “Another couple of seconds! I know it hurts like hell. You won’t feel a thing soon, I promise.”
A minute later, the Father passed out. Nate patted Gabriel on the back. “He’ll live, but I have to send a man back with him for pickup, which cuts into our team. You alright?” He pulled out a chunk of ration, tore it in half, and offered it to Gabriel. “That was too close.”
He nodded, taking the food with shaky hands. “I’ll be good.”
One of the soldiers picked up the Father, hoisting him over his shoulder and sprinted toward the cover of the woods.
Na
te looked around at the remaining team. “They were watching the wall, they guessed we would come in this way. We don’t have a choice to turn back. We need to focus, who knows what else is going to be waiting for us. Whatever it is let’s hit it hard and fast. Gabriel, you’re going to have to go alone. Find the main vault and take out the black ore there. The rest of us will put charges in the laboratories and then we all get the hell out. Destroy as much of that ore as you can, the rest we’ll bury in rubble.”
“No problem,” Gabriel said with his mouth full.
“Alright.” Nate looked at his watch. “We’ve got nine minutes until our intercept teams hit their reinforcements. That buys us, maybe, five more minutes so we gotta move fast in there, but be careful.”
The hole in the wall was ready, the team already making their way inside. Nate pointed for Gabriel to join them. He stepped through the steel panel to the inside of the wall, which was lined with cinder blocks. He waited as the soldiers knocked out some of the cinder blocks, creating a space they could slide through. The small opening led to a bright white hallway with lights buzzing softly overhead. Two of the soldiers assumed flanking positions at the end of the hallway, and signaled it was clear. Two more soldiers stayed back behind the cinder block wall, securing the heavy steel panel back in place with clamps from the inside to hide their entrance.
Nate gathered everyone up. “Okay. Robins and Lawrence will hold our exit. Ing and Grutz will take the west labs.” He pulled out the layout of the building, marking it off for the soldiers to see. “Volmer and I will take the east labs.” He ran his fingers along the map to the opposite side of the building. “Gabriel, you know your path. Now that we are inside, the boys at the front gate are going to get loud. That should keep the halls clear in here, but my guess is they know we’re coming, so don’t take any chances and move silently.”
Nate synced his watch with everyone, including Gabriel, marking twelve minutes on a timer, then he thumbed the radio. “Alpha, Bravo, Charlie … we are home … I repeat we are home … knock on the front door.”
A simple “roger” came back over the radio.
“I want radios on all the time in here. We need to know what everyone else does. No mistakes – let’s be fast. In and out.” Nate gave Gabriel a final pat on the back as they travelled down the hallway, then split into different directions.
The back of the building was abandoned just as Nate had predicted. Gabriel found his entrance to the lower levels. The maintenance hatch in front of him popped open with ease. Two stories of steel rungs hung from the wall below him, each covered in rust and slime. He took a deep breath and set his foot down on the first rung.
The dark hole was eerie. He climbed down carefully, passing dripping pipes and electrical wires running along the walls. Keeping his focus on the slippery rungs, he made it to the bottom. Safely stepping off the last rung, he checked his watch – 8:51. He tried the door leading out, but the handle didn’t move. Locked. He kicked the door open, the lock blowing out part of the wall as it smashed open. He bolted down the hallway to a large steel door as his map had showed him.
Staring at the keypad to the left of it, he remembered what Father Clarence had explained to him in one of their meetings. “Melt the green and white wires together so they short, then pull out the 8 pin cable reader from the unit and plug it into this …”
Gabriel pulled the electronic device out of his vest and followed his instructions, prying the keypad open with a small steel tool. It sparked as the device activated, scanning for the right sequence. A small click on the chip sounded out and the steel door slid aside revealing a decontamination room, with white suits hanging on the walls. He quickly ran through the chamber and burst the door at the end of it open with another good kick.
“How’s it going?” Nate’s voice echoed in his ear.
“Just making my way to the vault. Not a soul here. Maybe the snipers were just lucky.” He sprinted through the area, turning down another hall.
“I hope so.” Nate didn’t sound convinced.
Gabriel rounded two more corners, ignoring the doors on either side of them. His boots screeched as he came to a sudden halt. He stared back down the hallway where he came from, pulling out his map. He retraced his steps. Damn. “Nate!” Gabriel twisted around, looking up and down the hall. “They don’t match!”
“What do you mean? What doesn’t match?”
“The floor plan is different.” He tried not to panic.
“Do your best to find it.”