The only van left with room was crammed with people, and Lydia had to lay Nina’s body across the floorboards. Cooper sat beside her, drawing his sister’s head into his lap. One of the guards shut the door and slapped the van’s side. It and the other vehicles took off for the emergency route, and Lydia led the two guards to where she had seen Mark. He was gone by the time they got there. However, the three did run into Sylvia, Jando, Aidan, Janice, Wren, Ryan, Donny, and a host of guards and armed volunteers. Arthur showed up right behind with the remaining guards.
“Everyone evacuated?” he asked Sylvia.
“All those alive,” she said. “But many…” She didn’t need to speak. Already the stench of death overwhelmed not only the Center, but the Cave as a whole. It was cold and gloomy, like a mausoleum, and Lydia wanted to leave it far behind.
Lydia noted the bullet-torn bodies in the hall. Any shooting would draw unwelcome attention soon. “We need to move,” Arthur said, indicating the bodies and reflecting her thoughts. “The last cars are in the parking lot. The snipers up top are holding their own for now. They won’t last forever. Get to the cars.”
They left via the rear entrance and rounded the building, keeping sharp eyes out for any mercenaries. Arthur radioed the snipers as they neared the front. “How are things looking? Any sign of them?”
“Whyte’s people outside the Center hunkered down in the dormitories. It’s all clear,” came the reply. The voice sounded a little slow, and the sniper spoke in a drawl. Arthur exchanged a funny look with Sylvia, and Lydia sensed something was wrong.
Arthur stopped everyone at the corner of the Center and peered out but could see no one. Only dead bodies of mercenaries and BEP forces alike in front of the Center. The vehicles were waiting there, ready to be taken. Sylvia’s rigid posture and his tense muscles warned Arthur that something waited in the wings. The suspicion spread throughout the group and the armed personnel and guards watched all sides, prepared for an attack.
Arthur radioed the snipers again. “Things still clear?”
“Yeah.” Lydia definitely heard something odd that time. Arthur looked back at the way they’d come, seemed to consider doubling back, and then ordered his group to stay hidden. He crouched and scurried to one of the trucks.
“That’s far enough.” Lydia peeked out from the corner. Standing on the third floor, with the snipers kneeling in front of him and restrained by mercenaries, was Whyte, proud and tall in his stark-white suit and slicking his gray-lined hair back into perfect photo-op position. He stroked his beard and his face lit up with delight. “Arthur, just the man I wanted to see. Would you mind joining us up here? And do bring your friends, too. I wouldn’t want them to miss this.”
Guns clicked above Lydia and she cursed the sudden turn. Mercenaries above leaned over the roof edge, with the group clear in their sights. A dozen more exited the Center from a hole cut into the metal, and others rose from the corpses scattered in front of the Center. They escorted the group to the Center’s entrance, while other mercenaries tramped down the hill from the dormitories, surrounding them completely.
Rogues of Overwatch Page 69
