Selene ground her teeth. They were so close. Sav wasn’t far now, and if they didn’t hurry, security was going to realize someone was messing with their cameras.
“What should we do?” Darius whispered.
Rikkard looked back at them, and Selene shrugged.
“Wing it?” she suggested.
Rikkard narrowed his eyes, and Selene smiled.
The boss was never a fan of her devil-may-care attitude, but Selene didn’t see much of a choice. Either they stood there for ten minutes, or longer, waiting for the perfect moment, or they took the first chance they got, and made a run for it. If they were lucky, no one in the labs would see them and they’d be one step closer to Sav. If they weren’t, security would be on them and they’d have a firefight to contend with.
“Get ready.” Rikkard sighed in defeat and turned back to the hallway. The buzz of a saw or maybe a drill whirred in her ears as he scanned the labs for a whole thirty seconds. Then sixty. The wait was agonizing. But at almost the two-minute mark Rikkard said, “Now.”
He leapt from the wall first, keeping low as he raced down the corridor, his back just reaching the top of the frosted glass. Selene waited as the others followed, glancing back and forth at the labs as they went. She saw the backs of heads, white lab coats, and a few ponytails. A couple more steps and they’d be home free.
Selene jumped out to bring up the rear. An adrenaline filled grin lit her face as Rikkard reached the end of the hall, and slipped around the corner into the next. Flik and Rem followed, leaving only her and Darius exposed.
Her heart pounded in her ears as she glanced back and forth at the labs, silently praying no one would turn around.
A flash of black fur on a metal table made her freeze. She hadn’t gotten a good look in any of the labs until now, but when she glanced at the surrounding labs, each pair were dissecting, injecting, or otherwise torturing some kind of creature.
Her vision blurred as she looked back through the first window. She blinked to right herself, but her world spun as one of the doctor’s moved, giving her a full view of a large gorilla with a metal faceplate over the left side of his normally happy simian grin.
Everything stopped, including her heart. Kong, the juvenile gorilla she and Rikkard had saved all those years ago, lay on the table, his face twisted with pain as he shivered and jerked against his restraints.
The buzz of a drill filled her ears, and Kong cried out as a man with a long medical drill stuck the sharp end into Kong’s hip.
“Selene!” someone yell-whispered down the hall.
Someone grabbed her wrist, and yanked her sideways, but she ripped her arm free as fury enveloped her. She looked up into the wide eyes of a female doctor, the one standing on the other side of her precious baby Kong, and the woman’s mouth stretched in a scream.
Selene flung open the lab door, and the woman’s scream rang in her ears. She raced across the lab just as the man drilling into her gorilla looked up. She wrenched the drill from his grasp and slammed the still bloody, whirring end into his face, sending a splatter of blood across the white floor as he fell back.
The woman on the other side of the table fell against the counter, and Selene brought her rifle to her shoulder as alarms rang through the bunker. The whine of her gun competed with the wail of the doctor, before red flared from the muzzle and the woman’s expression was removed from her face.
As the woman’s body collapsed to the floor, Selene breathed heavily, everything catching up with her at once, overwhelming her pounding heart as she spun around to face Kong.
Her fingers trembled as she ripped his restraints free. His thick hair was greasy and unkempt as it brushed her arms. Tears burned the back of her eyes as a whimper escaped him.
How could someone do this to him? How could someone be so cruel to this defenseless animal?
Rikkard’s boots squeaked in the doorway as he slid to a stop, his eyes flying wide.
She barely raised her gaze to meet his, and simply threw Kong’s bindings onto the floor. “Help me!” she snapped.
Rikkard started and rushed to join her, unbuckling Kong’s left side while she undid his legs, strained flat against the metal table. That couldn’t be comfortable.
Kong’s head lolled back and forth as he blinked sleepily. His fingers twisted on the table and his whine increased in pitch.
Tears fell down her chin as she wrapped her hands in the hair of his chest. “Kong.” Her voice snapped like a branch. “It’s me.”
Kong’s eyes widened in recognition as he focused on her face. He brought his hands up above his chest, flicking his fingers to sign to them: Home?
Selene squeezed her eyes shut and nodded vigorously, unable to stop the tears pouring down her face. “Yes, Kong. We’re taking you home.”
And she dared anyone to try and stop her.
Fire coursed through her veins as she wiped the tears from her cheeks and released his hair. Slowly Kong rolled off the table, getting his feet beneath him. He swayed, his hip obviously bothering him as he favored his other side.
Rikkard’s brows furrowed as he glanced between them, a million emotions flashing across his face. He’d always loved Kong too, even though he sucked at expressing it.
“Guys,” Darius chirped in her ear.
Selene cleared her throat, taking deep breaths to get a hold of herself.
“We’re here,” Rikkard said, his finger to his ear.
“Incoming.”
Selene exchanged a look with Rikkard. They had to get Kong out of there safely, but first, they had to get Sav. They still had a mission to do. This wasn’t over yet.
Selene and Rikkard joined the others at the end of the hall, bringing Kong with them. Their eyes widened at the sight, but Darius and Rem teared up, just like she had, while Flik scowled, most likely angry with them for wasting time.
“We’ve got to keep going,” Rikkard said.
Selene agreed. “We’re almost there. We can have a stand off by the cells.”
“There’s no cover between here and there.”
“There has to be something.”
Selene jumped as glass shattered, peppering the floor with shards. Darius narrowed his eyes in determination as he pulled two metal tables from a lab, flipping them on their sides as the lab personnel cowered at the back of the room.
“Good thinking.” Selene helped him and Flik position each table to guard their three sides. Kong ducked at the back, slouching with exhaustion. “Stay down, Kong,” she instructed. He nodded slightly, keeping as low to the ground as he could.
“All right, we’ve got cover,” Flik said. He scanned the hall. “But we need to get to Sav.”
Selene nodded. “Right. Rem, Darius, Rikkard, stay here and distract them for as long as you can.” Rikkard opened his mouth to argue, and she held her hand up. “I’ll be fine, I’m with Flik. Watch Kong.”
Rikkard narrowed his eyes, but Selene left no room for argument. “Go,” he said.
She brought her rifle to her shoulder and slipped outside the barrier. If they didn’t go now, they’d encounter security on their way to Sav.
Selene turned with Flik, and took off down the hall. Their boots slapped against the linoleum as they raced around two corners, and into the back hall. The door to the cells clicked open. Rem must be watching them.
They raced inside, out of the red cast hall, and into bright artificial light. The long room was lined with six cells: four in the middle and one on either side. The doors were made of glass, and inside each cell was a small cot, a metal toilet, and a table bolted to the floor.
All were empty, but one.
Sav sat against the back wall, his knees pulled up to his chest, and his face buried against them.
Flik leapt across the room and slammed his hands against the glass. “Sav!”
The black man started, and looked up in surprise, his green eyes widening. His entire body tensed with fear, but upon seeing them his gaze softened and his legs lowered.
&n
bsp; Selene slammed her hand against the panel beside the door, and the glass door shot into the wall.
Flik flew inside, and grabbed Sav by the wrist, yanking the large man to his feet and throwing his arms around him.
“Flik,” Sav mumbled, patting him on the back as Flik did the same. “You came.” He grinned from ear to ear, and his eyes watered.
She couldn’t imagine the relief he felt. He must have thought all was lost. Even if he’d only been there a few weeks, she remembered how quickly she’d lost all hope.
“Of course we did.” Flik chuckled and squeezed the man tightly before stepping back. They both left the cramped cell.
“We weren’t going to leave you behind,” Selene said, smiling.
Sav wrapped his arms around her next, easily lifting her right off the ground. “Thank you, both,” he said against her hair.
Selene squeezed him tightly before patting his back to get him to put her down. Once she was back on her feet, she tucked her hair behind her ear. “Don’t mention it.”
“We can continue this reunion later,” Flik said. “Right now, we’ve got to get the hell out of here before security rains from above.”
Sav raised his eyebrows in confusion, but Selene knew exactly what Flik meant. With alarms going off, security upstairs had to be alerted to their presence by now. They had to get out of there, reunite with the others, and shoot their way out if necessary.
“Right,” Selene agreed.
Flik handed Sav a pistol from his belt while Selene opened the door again. She peeked into the red cast hall just as two guards disappeared around the far corner. She stepped back inside. It looked like whatever Rem was doing to scramble the cameras had worked. There might be an alarm going off, but security couldn’t tell where they were.
“Let’s go.” Selene stepped into the hall, and quickly raced to the first corner, back the way they’d come.
“We’re taking fire in the east lab hall!” security buzzed through her ear.
“We’re taking fire in the west lab hall,” another added.
“Come on,” Selene urged and together they circled back the way they’d come. Before they rounded the corner into the same hall their friends were sure to be, Selene froze, then leapt back around the corner.
Two guards stood at the junction, speaking on coms, rifles in their hands. They snuck peeks around the corner before pressing back up against the wall.
Selene held up her fist for the other two to freeze, then held up her index and middle finger to indicate two enemies down the hall. Then she counted down.
One. Two. Three. Now!
Selene leapt around the corner alongside Flik and Sav. Laser fire burned from the tips of their weapons, and slammed into the backs of the security guards crouching beside the corner. One went down with a hole in the back of his head, while the other cried out, a hole burned through his thigh.
He fell onto his ass, grabbing the wound, and discarding his rifle in one motion. Sav raised his pistol, and was the first to shoot the man in the chest.
The guard’s writhing stopped, and he fell lifeless onto his side.
Selene sighed in relief and rushed down the hall. Not wanting to be shot by their own teammates, she held her finger up to her ear. “We’re coming back,” she said. “We have Sav, and we just took out two men in the east hall. Don’t shoot!”
“Roger,” Rikkard said in her ear.
Selene nodded to her comrades, and they slipped back into the hall. Rikkard pointed a rifle their way, the neck rested on top of the metal table, but relaxed as soon as he saw it was them.
The three of them joined the rest of their team as lasers fired from the other side of the hallway.
They ducked behind the tables, crouching next to the cowering Kong, but Selene couldn’t resist glancing down the south lab hall. Glass littered the floor, along with two black-clad bodies. Hopefully they’d ward off any other guards who thought of taking that route.
“How many?” Selene asked.
Rikkard glanced between her and the hall with laser fire shooting over them. “Two, maybe three.”
“They like to run in pairs it seems,” she said. “We can ignore them and continue back the way we came.”
Rikkard nodded.
“Two coming from the south east hall,” Rem said, pointing the way they intended to go.
“Well, damn.” Selene flicked the power gauge on her rifle. It whined as it charged. “They’re going to wish they stayed in their cubicles.”
Sav flashed a grin, and Flik’s lips twitched in a tiny smile.
“I’ll cover you,” Rikkard said, turning to the west hall to return fire.
Selene turned to Kong and ushered him after her. “Stay with Darius.”
Kong nodded, hoisting himself up onto his hands and feet before slumping after Darius.
While the rest of them pushed open their barrier and snuck into the lab hallway, Rikkard shot over the side of the metal table. A strangled grunt came from down the hall, and the laser fire paused, giving Rikkard enough time to join them.
Selene led the way, rifle at her shoulder. She stuck close to the wall, and paused at each junction, unable to stop herself from checking on Kong at every pause.
Every time she saw the blood thickening his fur, she wanted to scream—or kill someone, or both. Yeah, definitely both.
“They’re coming,” Rem warned.
Selene motioned for them all to hold back. She waited until she heard footsteps, then leapt out, her trigger finger slamming down so fast, she shot the two men in the chest before they could raise their weapons.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and motioned for the others to come out.
Leading the way in silence, Selene took the same route back to the stairs, and they all clambered in and up to the first sub-basement floor.
“Not far now,” Selene said.
“More guards coming down the elevator,” Rem said. “Half a dozen.”
Selene nodded. If they waited for them to pass, they wouldn’t have to engage as long as they kept to the outer hallways and circled around to the bunker’s emergency exit.
“They’re in the hallway,” Rem continued his explanation as Selene led them down the corridor and turned into the next. “They’re breaking into three groups. One headed down each side, another down the middle.”
“Shit,” Selene hissed. From what she could remember of the map, that meant they were bound to run into at least one group. If they didn’t take them out quietly, they’d have the rest on their asses.
Rikkard met Selene’s gaze. She worked her jaw. She didn’t want anyone else getting hurt. She wouldn’t let any of them get hurt. She’d never forgive herself if anything else happened to them, especially Sav and Kong after all they’d been through.
“Stay here,” Selene told the group. “Rikkard, let’s take them out.”
Rikkard nodded, but Flik stepped in.
“Wait a second,” the alien said. “We should all go.”
Selene shook her head. “I’m not having anyone else die on this trip.”
Anger flashed across Flik’s face. It wasn’t fair of her to use Lanny against him, and it probably wasn’t right to bring it up in front of Sav, who had no idea what had been sacrificed to save him, but she had to. For all their sakes. Selene and Rikkard could take care of this alone. She didn’t want to have anyone else to worry about.
“Wait until Rem gives the signal,” she said. “We’ll lead them away.”
With a stiff nod, Flik faced Sav’s questioning gaze.
Selene turned to Kong and took his hairy face in her hands. “Be good, and stay with Darius and the others. We’ll be back as soon as we can, I promise.” She raised her eyebrows, holding his gaze until Kong nodded in understanding. Still, he whimpered and leaned against her hand.
She smiled and patted his cheek. “A few more minutes and you’ll be free again.” She stepped back and turned to Rikkard. “Let’s go.”
Selene and Rikk
ard raced down the hall, rifles at their shoulders. They only had two guards to worry about initially, but it’d be best to lead them away, and create the illusion it was just the two of them. That way, the others could slip away while they caused a distraction.
As they rounded the corner, two guards appeared in their path.
“Hey!” one shouted. “Stop!”
The other brought up his rifle, but Selene and Rikkard had already dove into another hall.
“Two intruders heading south on subfloor one,” the words buzzed in her ear.
Perfect. Just as she’d planned. The rest of the floor’s guards would head their way, and then she and Rikkard could circle around to head out after the others. More than ever, she was glad she’d planned for two escape vehicles. While the others got clear of New Manhattan, Selene and Rikkard would be close behind.
Selene turned west, then south again, heading toward the middle pair before turning west again.
“Team alpha in pursuit,” the same voice said.
“Team delta on the look-out,” another said.
They ran as fast as their legs could take them until a blast of laser fire left a burned hole in the wall. Selene skidded sideways to duck out of harm’s way, and Rikkard slid in behind her.
“Intruders heading east!”
Selene continued down the hall, only to circle back around to the same outer corridor. They sprinted to the end of it, and back into the same hall in which they’d left the others.
“We’re almost there,” she panted. Sweat trickled down her temple, and her fingers grew clammy around her rifle.
“East lab hall clear. Where did they go?”
Selene flashed a wicked smile as they reached the same hall as the elevator, and their escape. The door to the tunnel was still left slightly ajar, and Rikkard reached it first, whipping it open.
Red lasers flew past her head, and slammed into the wall as she hit the door.
“Intruders escaping through the tunnel! All units converge now!”
Rikkard grabbed her arm, and yanked her through. Once she was safe inside, he pulled the door shut and blasted the control panel next to it for good measure. No one would be following them this way.
The Zahkx Alliance: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 2) Page 17