by Richard Dusk
The whole place would look neat if it didn't wear the marks of past fights - holes in concrete walls after bullets, and several broken Y-shaped pillars on the pier crumbled into pieces. Only the exposed inner metal structure held them standing. Garrett spotted another anchored Manta, but this one had one of its hulls broken off. Yellow crane, hanging from rails on the ceiling, held a jeep fifteen feet above the floating remains of the ship.
As they moved forward under catwalks continuing further in the tunnel, a long row of cargo containers placed at the very edge of the water shielded their view at embedded rails in the ground. Garrett watched them and let the recurrent yellow rays coming from lamps and passing through the gaps between containers hit his eyes. He saw the dirty, run-down wall with its grainy surface. It reminded looking at the slideshow made of dozens of same pictures. Same wall, same color, same texture. He looked at it absent-minded until one looked too different from others, which he realized after a few seconds.
"Did you see that?" he said, but everyone's surprised face gave him the answer.
"What?" Hodge looked out of the same window.
"Some mark similar to waves. Or more like their blurred outlines. Two identical waves opposite to each painted dark."
"Wings?" said Kaiden.
"Yeah, yes. That's exactly it. How do you know that?" said Garrett with a suspicious voice.
"Another question?" said Kaiden. "I've told you we experienced many gunfights and many deaths. One happened in the beginning, and then our own substitute Greenlanders turned against us. Ironic, isn't it? People have strange characteristics regarding their naivety of control and ownership over their life. That symbol you've seen, as I've understood it, are wings painted by them. They got used to this island so much that they quickly started to call it their home. Why wouldn't they as everything they needed we shipped to them for free. But for some reason, they began to disagree with our presence here. They demanded we stop with everything and leave. We basically had the same situation as before but now with our own paid people. Would you believe that? They thought they're liberators or uprising against the regime we established," he sounded bored.
"When they struck us for the first time, it happened right here. Right in this tunnel, a few hours after we announced the future of this island. They had to leave and get back from where we hired them. Short after that, they hit and surprised us with their weaponry. The equipment they possessed we didn't expect at all. Those fools found military explosives somewhere and blew up the ground entrance not so far away from the gate we've just come through. I must say it had to be quite a watchable show. They stormed inside like ants in hundreds, but we mobilized immediately. We made a line before they could advance beyond this tunnel, and then the massacre began. A bloodbath, but they've asked for it. This water we're sailing on turned red that day. Hundreds of dead bodies floated everywhere around. We immediately tossed into the water every man who fell, as we needed space to fight on these piers. Whether their men or our men, everyone suffered casualties. The moment I breathed the air inside here, it reminded me even the slightest detail of that day, but mainly the burnt, irony smell coming from red-hot barrels of my lads' guns," he said excitedly when he recalled this memory.
"We had no way to make another combat strategy than precise aiming and having a higher amount of people willing to fight than the enemy had. We couldn't use grenades, explosives, or rocket launchers because we would risk the collapse of the tunnel. When the fights took too long, and we saw our ranks were thinning and they were still streaming inside, we changed our attitude towards them, which saved the lives of the rest. We declared a temporary ceasefire to discuss the possible terms to prevent further casualties, and those morons agreed. They stopped fighting us when we began losing the strength. It bought us some time to send a few guys with machine guns to climb down to the gate and attack them from behind. After that little trick, we didn't lose a single man while they lost all of them. As no man came back to their families and homes, it broke their will, and we had a way easier job to force them to comply with our orders," he said ardently, and Garrett realized it wasn't dried paint on the wall he saw.
"I'm beginning to believe that killing is the only way how this corporation enforces its interests," said Garrett.
"Oh, come on, Garrett. You lived in the same world as I did. You know how these things were done. A few dissenters could never endanger power and intents of Diamond."
"No, I don't. I would never do anything like this. It's an unjustifiable, violent waste of lives," he shook his head. "You shot down men fighting for their home and families and then let them drown in the ocean. That's pure vulturism."
"Wouldn't you do this?" Kaiden rose eyebrows, and gentle contempt smile appeared on his face. "The last few millions of people out there are still suffering because of something you've built. You should know that it's not a waste of lives but material. I understand your indignation, but you still have a choice. Nobody forces you to go further and destroy X-RON or come back and live among others. You can stay here and rot."
"Enough," said Vince loudly. "We've got bigger issues than listening to your quarrels. That won't change anything. We planned to be at Sigma station hours ago, and we can't reduce the delay. With every hour passed, our chances for a smooth finish are lower. Garrett, follow Pace and Hodge. Take the girls and go downstairs. Switch your suits to the Arctic manually and prepare the cargo to be unloaded. We have four ATVs, so spread it evenly. I'll be with you in a minute."
Garrett noticed that Vince fixed his eyes on him for a fraction of a second before he turned back to them. They walked through the corridor when the voice sounded in his head.
'Well, Garrett,' it said in a manner of gentlemen, sitting at the table with properly chilled expensive red wine, smoking branded cigar, and inviting Garrett to join him. 'I'm exceptional, but from time to time, I make mistakes. It doesn't happen too often, which wouldn't be suspicious because of my brilliance, but I've got to allow me some statistical slips to rebalance my perfection. Now it happened again. For a good reason, of course. I admit the simple truth evident to everyone but me. I'm afraid I was wrong about you. Out of nothing, on one day, I simply came to your mind, trying to understand you and help you to be a better man. I honestly did because I know your limits and strengths better than anyone, including yourself. I know you hate me, but you've been disappointing me all the time. For that, I despised you for who you are. But now you've changed it all. You've changed the way I'll treat you and me furthermore. You just showed me how much wrong I was. You showed me you indeed are worthless,' the voice said the last sentence hatefully and began yelling. 'My fault was that I didn't abhor you enough; that I didn't show you the true meaning of your pointless life. I saw not only that you're capable of letting your daughter die, let the girl fell off the tower, but now you work with people who killed tens of thousands of people, and with your help, billions died. It's your responsibility and forever will be. Your and no one else's. You destroyed this world and ran away before you could save it,' said voice and continued calmly. 'You are a monster. I've called you many names, but the monster is my favorite. Same as the question you've never answered. How can you live with yourself?'
"Garrett?" said Jillian, with Lex standing behind her, and repeatedly snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Garrett! Are you all right? What's going on?"
"Eh, nothing. I just…"
"Is it your head?" she said. Garrett froze on the spot, surprised that she knew about his secret and frowned at her.
"What do you mean?"
"You look terrible and lost in thoughts. Did you forget to tighten a screw on CHED or what?"
Garrett, relieved by her answer, smiled and shook his head.
"It happens sometimes. I always begin to think about something, and there it goes."
"All right," said Jillian but looked like not believing him. "From this moment, I'll keep an eye on you to stop your meditations," she smiled and fist-bumped his chest. "C
ome on. We've got the world to save."
Chapter 24 The Burden Of Choice
Dressed in the gear with pattern changed to white camo, they stood in the feebly illuminated cargo area, waiting for Kaiden to stop and anchor the ship. Pace and Hodge examined their guns hanging on slings, and Vince with Lex stood aside in the corner, quietly talking and smiling from time to time. By the accent in their voices, they sounded like two old friends who grew up together and met each other again in their declining years. They had too much to talk about after all the years that passed. They both seemed not to be hiding anything just for a short moment. Jillian sat on the ICE box, leaned against the wall with crossed arms, and watched Garrett.
"What?"
"Nothing," she shrugged, and still staring at him began bouncing her crossed legs.
The ship slowed down, getting closer to the end of the water corridor, and they felt a light rebound from the pier. A muffled clicking and buzzing sounded from outside. Sudden jerk caused by robotic arms locked the ship in position, and Vince walked towards the control panel. He opened both halves of the cargo door and lowered the bottom one to align it with the floor. They heard creaking of rolling wheels and whirring of the turbine slowing down. The shadow on the water revealed something wide descending to them. Kaiden's quick footsteps sounded from the stairs behind, and he joined the team. A gantry crane above the back of the ship lowered hanging steel ramp with yellow-black-striped railing. Vince controlled the ramp and positioned it precisely at the cargo door. The moment it hooked on the ship and concrete ground, Garrett realized that the final chapter of their journey begins.
Lex disembarked as the first one, followed by others. The vast cold hall smelled of mildew. Ceiling and steel truss framework painted black with hundreds of hanging lights, contrasted with light gray concrete walls. They stepped on the aluminum grating and walked to the left around the ship. A long row of shipping containers ended here at two black, Diamond-marked trucks. Two large robotic arms held a container in the air, ready to load it on the truck standing closer to the ship. The second container still stood on a white train wagon with a yellow sign of biohazard and warning against teratogenic and genotoxic effects. Its rails ran from the same tunnel as their ship came and continued through hermetically sealed doors in front of Manta, marked 35C, and similar ones on the left side marked 35B. The engine looked the same as wagons but had a control panel in front. A black helicopter hitched to the platform on a flatcar, stood parked in the corner between these doors with all four rotor blades folded. Next to each of two marked doors were shut double roll-up gates marked with Roman numerals I-II and III-IV.
"Okay," Kaiden looked around. "We're going to take that train to the elevator. Lex, Pace, check the engine and uncouple the loaded wagon – we don't need it. Vince, you'll open the door 35C. Use access rights in your PCA, there won't be a problem to open it. You three come with me, we're going to unload the ship," he gestured, and everyone moved to their task.
"Thirty-five means the floor?" Jillian walked next to Kaiden.
"No, it's a label for security clearance needed to access the door. Everyone moved here using the navigation on PCA. Each number requires a different authorization. We are approximately a hundred feet below the surface, but it runs deep further in the facility. This base has roughly a hundred and fifty floors."
"What did they need such premises for?" said Garrett.
"It's half a military base and half a research station, but they worked together on combined projects. They thrived upon the benefits and results from mutual cooperation. They performed research that you would certainly consider inhuman. Eugenics studies, selective breeding, or enriching mutations. They aimed to build a perfect human - a unique new breed fully utilizing its abilities to drive the advances in a world we've never dreamt about. At least that was the way they presented it. But harvesting results from living subjects to make the required advance was a different story," he threw away the cover of something in the back end of the area and revealed a snow sled with wheels.
"What do you mean?" Garrett watched him hook it behind an ATV, but Kaiden signed him to grab the CHED and help him to load it on the sled.
"Which one is the only moment when you're able to observe genuine human nature forcing its way to the surface?" said Kaiden after they loaded both parts. "When does the brute inside release itself from chains and begins to fight?" he threw straps to Garrett to help him fasten it.
"Suffering, terror, pain, fear," said Garrett.
"You've got it, chief," Kaiden ironically tapped on his nose. "The less of human features remained, the more satisfying the results became. Stand aside. I don't need to hear Vince blathering again about my attempts to hurt you," he sat on the ATV, and the moment Garrett stepped back, Kaiden immediately rode out.
"He's such a jerk sometimes, but knows what to do," said Hodge. "Guys, do you know how to ride these?"
"Not a chance," said Jillian at the same time as Garrett agreed.
"Garrett, take that one. I'm going to show Jillian what to do, and we'll be there in a moment."
"All right," Garrett rode out to move ATV next to the train.
He advanced slowly and carefully as it has been long since the last time he sat on a vehicle like this. Kaiden stood next to the control panel of the robotic arm. His six-wheeler hanged in the air hooked on heavy-duty ropes, and Pace helped him to position it on a train wagon. Garrett saw other ropes lying on the ground and pulled them to his ATV. While he waited for guys to finish the loading, he walked around containers on the trucks. The rear door on one of them was slightly open. He felt the curiosity inside him grew. The locking bars invited him to grab the handle and open it. Garrett looked around to check that no one watched him, and opened the door to poke his head in.
The revolting stench inside hit his nose. He turned his flashlight on, and the light illuminated space half-filled with rotting rags. When he took a closer look, he saw that among all the dirty and bloody torn clothes of many colors are also black uniforms, the same as he is wearing now.
"Are you snooping around?" sounded voice behind him, and the door opened swiftly.
Kaiden stood next to him, holding the locking bar with one hand and looked at clothes, then at Garrett and back to clothes.
"As I've told you. Gunfights," he closed the door. "You should load your ATV, it's easy. I've got to help Vince. The security system rejected our access codes."
"Okay, I'm going," Garrett turned off the flashlight, and Kaiden accompanied him back to the robotic arm.
Jillian and Hodge began to load the rest of the cargo, and Lex managed to start the engine. The light electric whirring resounded in the air.
"Why don't we take the chopper?" Pace examined the helicopter. "It would be faster, safer, and easier."
"It would be faster, not safer," said Garrett. "Imagine falling six hundred feet down because chopper's engine fails. Or even better, disappears. Six seconds of your screaming till you hit the rocky ground will be followed by the searing pain of avgas burning on your skin. You would be choking in the smell of hot vapors of your rendering skin that would also burn your lungs. That doesn't sound as good, does it?"
"No," said Pace and immediately went off the idea. "We were lucky we'd made it here. I just want it to be over already."
"Don't worry, Pace," said Lex, who came to help them. "I know you're sick to death of everything, but guys will open the doors soon, then we'll ride a few miles, and we're there. See? What did I say?" said Lex when a huge locking mechanism loudly moved, and the door opened.
The vast unilluminated space appeared, and cold, moist air smelling of mold and decaying leaves blew on them. Kaiden and Vince stood right in the middle, turning their backs to opening and still tapped something on PCA. A light appeared at the far end of the circular concrete tunnel and rapidly neared to them until the last light on the ceiling went on, revealing a catwalk built on the right side with cables below and thick pipes on the left side. The rails they pl
anned to use spread far in the distance.
"Is everything ready?" yelled Vince to them, and Hodge gave a thumb up. Kaiden signaled to move forward, and they both stepped aside from the rail.
"Okay, get on everybody," Hodge moved to the controller.
The team sat on the edges of the wagon in the empty spots between ATVs. When they passed around Kaiden and Vince, they both jumped on the train. They moved less than fifty feet away from the entrance when the door shut. As they looked back, they saw a large number five painted across the entire door. Train speeded up, and they traveled through the cold tunnel with the wind blowing in their ears. Steady light shone above them with infrequent green signals hanging on the catwalk's railing. The double repetitive clacking of wheels echoed through the tunnel and intensified on every switch they passed through. In these parts, they could see another three rails running along with theirs. The crossings went through all the tracks and many times led to dead-ends.
"Everything's so huge in here," said Jillian to Garrett when they passed around armored vehicles loaded on a nearby train.
Garrett nodded, and their train turned into another single-tracked tunnel. They passed a mile until they reached the end of the track and stopped in a vast circular space encircled by six thick and rusty elevator pillars. A blast door by their left side looked stuck midway. The scary noise of huge, slowly rotating fan inside coming from black emptiness gave Jillian goosebumps. She stared in there and almost believed that she saw a movement of some monstrous creature running towards her. She knew this game of her brain but rather stood up and walked to sit on the opposite side of the train. The asphalt road on the right from pillars, wide enough for Deimos to drive through it, headed up and disappeared in the dark above them.
"Lights up," Kaiden wrote commands on his PCA.
The lights uncovered shaft above. Road ran all levels up around the pillars like a snake coiling its prey. The elevator creaked, and they began to ascend with the train. They felt the air changed every five floors they passed. It became gradually lighter and smelled differently, but got colder by few degrees than the warmer layers below.
