by Shawn Keys
The trailer rocked and bounced as it made its way down a rough trail. A soft beeping sounded as it backed them into the camp’s SUV chop-shop. Then, the whole container gave a groan and shook under them as a crane grabbed hold of it and lifted it up and onto the stack of raw materials waiting to be used. The trailer shuddered one last time as it was plonked in place.
Then, nothing.
It was strange, to feel so still for so long. They heard the crane rumble away, and the voices from the unloaders congratulate themselves and head off for lunch. The squelch of the truck’s wheels in the muck was loud, fading as the hauler headed back toward the city, leaving its load behind.
It was over. They were inside the camp.
Kyle exhaled, checking his watch. “Well, might as well settle in. Going to be a few hours at least. Can’t see Rebecca getting to us until after nightfall.”
It ended up being after midnight. It wasn’t just waiting. It was waiting with the need for being almost totally quiet. They felt safe enough whispering, but they didn’t dare risk trading stories or rambling into stray, philosophical conversation. A random bit of laughter could give them away, and they couldn’t be unfocused when they heard that door being pried open. They couldn’t talk strategy, because until Rebecca showed them the details of the camp, they had no idea where and what they were going to need to do to get the access they needed. They had to lurk there with nothing but their own thoughts to keep them company, speaking only to confirm that each other were still awake.
When they heard heavy shears cutting through the door seal, the sound reverberated in the silence like a hammer blow to their senses. They hunkered further down among the palettes, not yet sure that this was their insider coming to set them free. They clutched their weapons tightly, dressed all in black from toques to hiking boots, hiding every inch of color they could, leaving only the color of their eyes to be seen.
A louder rattle echoed in the chamber as the hasp was pushed up, and the huge double doors creaked open. They weren’t thrown wide. Instead, only a small crack formed between them. A wedge of wood was jammed into place to make sure the doors didn’t swing closed, and then Rebecca’s athletically slender shape slipped through the breach. “Hello? Hutchings? Moraker? Are you in here?”
Waiting a couple more seconds to confirm no-one else was sliding in behind her, Kyle emerged from the shadows. “Nice to see you again, Rebecca.”
Even in the darkness, hot anger was making the woman’s eyes shine. She hissed, “This is insane. None of us should be here! These people are out of their goddamn minds. If we had a lick of sense, we would get the hell out of here now!”
Jackie came out of her crouched hiding spot. “A little late for that now. We’re here, and this container isn’t going to get us out of here. Hope you have an idea about that, because otherwise we’re going to be swimming.”
“Swimming?”
Jackie shrugged. “Or running the blockade at the gate. We’re definitely not going to be hopping that electrified, barbed-wire fence, are we?”
Shivering at the whole idea, Rebecca said, “I have a couple ideas. It’s a lot easier to get out than in. I can’t be sure they won’t see us going. Stealing a couple SUVs and driving out the gate without stopping might get us shot at, and they’ll know we were here, but we’ll be out and alive.”
Dazz came up next to them, her petite body blending so well into the darkness that she looked like a living shadow. Or maybe, it was just the strangeness of not seeing her bold flair of purple-pink hair standing out. “It all depends on how much I can get while we’re here. If I can get a huge data dump, we might not need to get access again. If we don’t get anything, then what we really need is an access key and to get out of here without being seen. Otherwise, they’ll just switch it all around.”
Kyle nodded, then looked to Rebecca, “Either way, we need a computer with access. Have they told you enough about where to find them?”
Rebecca nodded. “We were given our new IDs two days ago.” She made a disgusted sound. “They encouraged us to think about the nickname we would pick for ourselves. Can you believe it? Pilots get call-signs, but usually from our friends to stop us from getting too full of ourselves. They end up being half-mocking in a friendly sort of way, skewering the pilot to keep their egos in check. Not these ones. We get to pick our own and try to sound ‘awesome’. They gave us a list of all the ones that were already taken. GodsGift. TotalPackage. HammerBlow. HeadShot. Like a bunch of preening roosters all trying to outdo each other.” She snorted. “Pathetic.”
“How are the other students buying into it?”
“Oh, half are cautious but coming around. Part of that is them realizing they don’t have a lot of choice. The other half of them are already committed. Fucking Sterling already picked his nickname: IronRod. He said it was meant to be a play on his name, but his smile said otherwise. Lecherous bastard.” With the revelations she had been given, Rebecca’s hatred had spawned into something maybe even stronger than Kyle’s own.
He guessed he might understand. She’s been made into a fool, duped by those she was supposed to love and then tossed in here to be brainwashed. He’d hate the whole lot of them with the proverbial fire of a thousand suns, to be sure. Then again, having them try to kill me a bunch of times worked pretty well, too. My hate is boiling away just fine as it is. He said honestly, “Sorry we had to keep you involved in all this. If it makes you feel any better, we picked you because we knew you’d be one to call bullshit on all this if you had the chance.”
Rebecca huffed. “Lucky me.” Then, a little softer, said, “But if you hadn’t, I’d be in the same boat as the rest of them: convert or probably die. Guess this is the better way.” She shook her head. “Wish I could pull the others out before it’s too late.”
Kyle shrugged, apologetic. “Can’t save everyone. Best we can do is blow this wide open and hope they come through alright. Maybe if they aren’t already converted, they can turn state’s evidence and sell out the instructors.”
Dazz pushed them back on topic, “For that to work, we need to get in. What kind of access do you have?”
Rebecca shrugged. “Like any email system. I wasn’t forbidden from sending a message to any of the numbers, though I was warned that they were given out randomly. I could end up messaging the head of the whole damned organization, and that wouldn’t go over well. They told me to only message those who had messaged me first, to be safe. There were no directories. No connections or references. They said that there were some collaboration sites connected to it, but I wouldn’t get access to those until I was a little more senior.”
She cursed. “Damn. That means we can’t just use your login. I figured as much, but doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck.” She held up a cell phone with a small modem attachment. “Which means I need to get onto a computer that is used by one of the senior people. I doubt any of them will be sloppy enough to leave themselves logged in, but the information will be resident in their memory somewhere. I’ll connect to some of my friends on the outside and let them hack their way in. This deep behind their own protection measures, we’ll have a chance.”
Rebecca thought hard. “If you want to be sure, the only real option would be Director Reigns. He’s the head of this place. Plus, he lives in his own little cottage, rather than inside the admin building with the other instructors.”
Kyle frowned. “Could be insanely defended.”
She shook her head. “No way. There is a big atmosphere of trust around here. Since nothing comes in and nothing goes out, and since they make all the rules, they would tear this place apart if anyone stole anything from anyone. We were told the penalties here are severe. Theft means you aren’t committed to the cause, and think more about yourself. If you aren’t committed, you aren’t one of them. If you aren’t one of them… well, that lake out there has swallowed more than a few people who have ‘flunked out’.” She shivered again, totally amazed that her father would have fed her over
to a place like this.
Jackie smiled. “Which means this guy might have a lot less security to prove his control over the place. Needing a lock and key would be admitting that he doesn’t have full control.” She shook her head. “Can’t see him being that careless with his computer.”
Kyle shrugged. “That’s fine. If we can get in there, doesn’t matter if we need to break open a hundred locks to get at the computer. I was only worried about sitting around outside his cabin trying to pick locks while drones are watching.”
Dazz urged them on, “Alright then, let’s go! Sitting around here is giving me the creeps!”
Rebecca gestured at the door. “We’re the second container up, so there’s a ladder right outside the door. It’s wood, so it won’t bang quite as loudly against the metal, but don’t move too quickly on it! You’ll still make a racket.” She stole back to the door, peeked out to make sure the area was still clear, then moved smoothly down the rungs, following her own advice.
One after the other, they went down. Kyle went last, making sure they hadn’t left anything of their presence visible, then easing the doors closed. He placed the snipped seal back into position, hiding the cut ends as best he could so that it looked whole. It wouldn’t pass a close inspection, but a guard walking by and glancing upward might be fooled.
Once down, they returned the ladder to its stowage and got ready to make their crossing of the camp. They hadn’t come unprepared. The size of their hiding spaces had limited what they could bring along, but not too badly. Jackie had an MP5 as well as her service pistol. Dazz had kept with the same mix, since both took the same ammunition and were simple to use. Kyle had his assault rifle gifted by Danielle’s Dad, as well as a pistol and enough magazines to make a good showing for himself with both. They had considered buying something like night-vision goggles, but after trying on a few they had rejected the idea. Special forces trained for years to get used to the monochromatic tunnel-vision they caused, especially while firing weapons. Kyle resolved to work on that in the forest once back at the chalet, but for now he knew he would just trip over his own feet.
Fortunately, the camp wasn’t totally unlit during the evening. Pools of light were shed by a few lamp posts, and that light added to the moon’s glow gave them some contours and details they could use to make their way across the compound without having to feel their way in pitch darkness.
Despite the shreds of visibility helping them along, they still took their time. Rebecca led them past a small maze of buildings, dodging the occasional wanderer and even more occasional patrol. It was understandable; they had invested a lot in perimeter defense. They had good reason to think that anyone who was inside the gates had a right to be there.
Rebecca stopped with them near a corner of a building, pointing at the only two-story building in the camp. “That’s the central headquarters. Additional guards. Students not allowed. It’s another reason why patrols are so light out here. That’s the only place where anything highly secret is kept, aside from the Director’s cottage.”
The whole way through, Jackie had snapped photos with her night-vision camera. She’d taken a whole series inside the compound where the SUVs were built. Out here, she was taking others to show the full extent of this operation. “I’m guessing the security camera controls and stored footage are all in there,” she groused. “I would love to see video and images taken during the day, showing this place while it’s active.”
“I could show you where the security detachment is. It’s along the back of the building with its own separate entrance. Open all night, though I’m sure they won’t welcome unexpected visitors.” Rebecca sounded willing, but not at all hopeful it would be worth going.
Jackie chewed on that. “How many people manning it?”
Rebecca shrugged. “I have no idea. The only time I’ve seen inside is on our tour, and that was in the middle of the day. Full staff. Maybe ten people.”
“How many did you see on the monitors? All the data analysis people will be asleep. They’ll have a 24-hour watch on the monitors, but that’ll be a lot less.”
“Ummm, I think it was two.”
“Two, plus maybe a third as a supervisor.” Jackie rolled that through her mind a little longer. Then, she glanced at Kyle. “I’d say it’s worth the risk. But it could turn things noisy.”
Kyle glanced left and right, then down at his watch. One hour gone. Maybe six more before it starts getting light. Thank goodness it’s the middle of winter on the west coast. No snow, not freezing, but still not a lot of sun. He ran through the list in his mind, then nodded. “What the hell? The more proof, the better off we are. This whole thing is a risk. Rebecca, can you point out the cottage to me?”
She pointed to a copse of trees not far off. “Follow that path. It’s tucked back in the woods a little. Only saw two guards on the outside.”
He protested, “Thought you said there was trust! Light security!”
She shrugged. “That is light security in a place like this! They treat this guy like a general in the Army, alright? Having only two guys is nothing.”
Kyle sighed. “Fine. We’ll get by. I’ll take Dazz and try to get into his computer. Jackie, you go with Rebecca and see if there’s any way you can grab some stuff off the security cameras. Don’t do anything too loud unless you call me and warn us before-hand. I don’t want to be sneaking up on some guard outside this Director’s house just when you choose to set off fireworks.”
Jackie smirked at him. “Don’t you trust me, yet?” She tossed her head at Rebecca, “You and me. Let’s go.” Together, they shuffled back to the last cross alley leading behind one of the out-buildings, vanishing into the night.
Dazz frowned. “She’s going to cause trouble.”
“Yeah, well, so are we. Can’t see us getting through this without needing to hurt someone,” Kyle admitted.
Dazz’s mouth hardened into one of fierce enjoyment at the idea. “Good. My debt with them ain’t quite settled yet.”
Scooting between the various areas of additional light, they moved through the light forest that was surrounding the cottage. They stayed away from the pathway, which would have them come out in full view of any guards that were securing the building. What they found was as good as they could have hoped. There were two of them, but they were lounging on a porch, of sorts. Like two people who knew they were status symbol guards with no real threat in the area, they chatted amiably in their seats. They kept their voices down, trying not to disturb the man inside, trying to stay awake until their relief arrived to finish out the night.
Kyle was trying to figure out how to make an approach on them when one guard stood up, gave a yawn and said, “I’ll do a quick circle. Need to stretch out my legs.”
The other guard laughed. “Shit, man. We got another couple hours. Only takes ten minutes to walk the whole trail.”
“Yeah, I know. I timed myself last time. And the time before. But it’s better than sitting here doing nothing. I’m going to swallow a fly before too long, I’m yawning so much.”
“Alright, alright, suit yourself. I’ll hold down the fort. But I get the next circuit.”
“Not sure about that. I take ten minutes. But you… last time, you got conveniently lost for a lot longer.”
“Hey, I wandered down the wrong trail!”
The guard about to leave snorted. “Yeah, sure. I’m thinking Mindy appeared out of the night and helped wake you up.”
The seated one struck an innocent note. “What? She’s a perimeter guard! If she was that far inside the fence, that would be completely improper. How dare you suggest that she’d be so lax?”
“Whatever, man. She’s hot. I get it. Just keep your pants up while we’re guarding the boss, alright? Otherwise we get demoted back to the perimeter as well. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be forced to drive and walk through the forest all night instead of getting to sit here and watch a closed door.”
“Stop giving m
e shit. If you aren’t back in ten after all that, maybe I’ll start thinking Mindy found you instead. Maybe she isn’t that picky.”
The departing guard gave a rude gesture with the finger normally used for that sort of thing, then turned and walked down the path.
Dazz didn’t have to be asked. She stalked after him, murder etched on her face. Kyle caught a small flash of steel in the moonlight.
Knowing he wasn’t going to have long, Kyle focused on the guy in his seat. He steeled his spine. He had pulled the trigger on a few people, and he felt justified each time he’d done it. But there was a weird difference between that and the thought of jamming a knife into someone. Doing it up close and personal like that was a different sort of courage. He was going to be close enough to hear the guy grunt and the wet, squelching sound of the blade slicing into flesh. Yeah, totally different.
Fortunately, he had also trained for it a lot better. His crash course in guns had come fast and hard over the last few months, but his jiu jutsu training had been teaching him the use of weapons like knives for his whole life. True, you didn’t take it all the way, but the mechanics were ingrained into him. As long as he held his nerve, the rest would take care of itself. He called up a little anger, picturing that this guy was one more bastard would gladly hang him like a dog. That helped.
He came in hard from behind, jamming the tip of the blade right into the base of the guard’s skull. He wasn’t sure if he caught the perfect sweet spot, but he was sure that he had severed the guy’s spine with one stroke. If death wasn’t instant, it was certainly quick. He followed through, driving deeply into the man’s brain. Ripping the blade free, he rolled the guy onto the ground, guiding his fall so he didn’t collapse with a bunch of noise.
From down the trail, there was the sound of a minor scuffle. There was a small mutter of surprise, then a heavy thud of a body hitting the gravel.
