by P. T. Hylton
“As much as I hate to say it, now may be our best chance to kill Mark and Aaron. They’re trapped by the daylight, just like us. If we can find them and get to them...”
Chuck frowned. “Assuming we can make it through the million or so Ferals down here and get past any vampire soldiers they left as guards.”
“Yes,” Jaden said with a weak smile. “There is that. There are seven of my vampires left. I believe two more may still be alive in another location. They were attempting to lead the Ferals away and got separated from the group.”
“Those are long odds, Captain,” Chuck said. “He’s daysick. Not thinking clearly.”
Jaden didn’t bother arguing.
“Listen, Jaden,” Alex said, “you helped my team. Saved us from certain death twice. That doesn’t mean pissed about all this, but it does mean I owe you our help. We owe it to the Resettlers too. There’s no way we’re going to leave anyone from New Haven as a vampire slave.”
“Oh, thank God,” Patrick muttered. “I thought Chuck was going to talk you out of it for a second.”
“You want someone to hunt down vampires, you’ve come to the right place. That’s what the GMT is all about.”
Jaden looked at Alex and smiled. “We’ll give you all the support we can.”
“Thoughts on where we should start?”
Jaden nodded. “If you can help me get my other two team members, we can even the odds a little.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Ed shook his head in wonder. “Heh, the GMT teaming up with vampires for a mission. Who would have expected that?”
16
“The flight deck is the most heavily protected part of the ship from an electronic security standpoint,” Jessica said.
“Makes sense,” CB replied. “One thing you don’t want on a ship is the wrong person getting their hands on the controls.”
They were back in the tunnels in the belly of New Haven making their way toward the flight deck. A few hours of sleep had made a world of difference for Jessica and Brian, and even CB had managed forty minutes of shuteye before his senses of caution and his instincts told him it was time to move on from Wesley’s apartment.
He’d put it off long enough. It was time to make their big move. He only hoped the false leads from the residents of Sparrow’s Ridge would keep the faceless GMT off their tails long enough for them to pull it off.
“Our only hope,” Brian said, “is to get into the server room. Then I might be able to hack the system.”
“Will we be able to control the ship remotely from there?” CB asked.
Jessica shot him a look. “Afraid not. You really don’t know how this ship works, do you?”
CB chuckled. “I guess I was too busy risking my life on the surface getting you parts to learn about the flight mechanics.”
“Yeah, well, while you were playing hero, some of us were getting our hands dirty up here.”
“Oh, my hands got plenty dirty down there,” CB objected with a smile. “Blood’s hard to wash out from under your fingernails.”
Brian shook his head. “You two have a truly strange way of flirting.”
CB flushed. “We weren’t… It was just a friendly conversation.”
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “We weren’t flirting? Too bad.” She quickly changed the subject before he could respond. “Look, the flight controls are a physical system. It was built that way so no one could hack in and take control of the ship.”
Brian nodded his agreement. “Don’t get it wrong, there are plenty of systems on this ship we can control by hacking in. We could have some serious fun. But controlling the actual flight of the ship? No, sorry.”
Jessica stopped walking and pointed up. “This is it. Here’s how we get into the control tower.”
They stood silently, each contemplating the severity of what they were about to do. Taking control of the ship, what they would have been called a mutiny back in the pre-infestation days. Everything they’d been working for had been leading to this.
“All right,” CB said. “Up we go.”
Brian tilted his head. “Hang on. ‘Up we go’? That’s your motivational speech? I’ve heard you in dozens of briefings and you always get the team psyched for the mission. You can do better than ‘up we go.’”
CB chuckled. “I guess it’s not the most eloquent speech I’ve given. But honestly, what else is there to say? We’ve already been through hell together, and we know what’s coming next is going to be even more difficult. And that’s not even considering what happens after. If we lose, we’ll be killed. If we win, we get to work our asses off putting this city back together and convincing the people we aren’t traitors. Either way, it’s not going to be easy.”
Jessica looked at Brian. “I thought you said he was good at motivational speeches.”
“The positive part’s coming,” Brian replied. “At least, I hope so.”
“I’m afraid it’s not,” CB replied. “There’s nothing I could say that would make this easier. But I will say this. As much as I love Alex and the GMT, there are no two people I’d rather have by my side on this mission.”
“There it is,” Brian said with a grin.
Jessica’s eyes shone as she stared at CB. “That was… it was really touching.”
“I meant it,” the colonel replied. “Now, come on. Like I said before, up we go.”
CB laced his fingers and gave Brian a boost up into the ductwork. Then he gestured for Jessica to step into his hand.
Instead, she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close. For a moment, CB pulled back in surprise, but then he leaned toward her. Their lips touched, softly at first, but soon the passion overtook them both.
Finally, Jessica pulled away and smiled. “I figured a little extra motivation couldn’t hurt. Get us through this and we can see where that goes. Now how about that boost?”
As he lifted her into the duct, CB promised himself he would live through this. He wanted to experience a thousand more kisses like that one. And he was eager to see where those kisses would lead.
Jessica and Brian each lowered a hand. CB jumped, catching them both, and they pulled him up.
“Um don’t worry, I wasn’t watching,” Brian said once CB was in the duct. “And if I had been, I wouldn’t want to say another word about it, because it would already be super awkward. Hypothetically.”
CB was suddenly grateful for the darkness in the ducts so Jessica couldn’t see him blush.
They came out of the ducts in a hallway on the bottom level of the control tower. CB stuck his head through first, and when he saw it was empty, he breathed a sigh of relief. Other parts of the mission would depend on good fortune, but this hallway was the only place their success or failure would depend solely on dumb luck.
They moved through the hallway quickly and quietly, making their way to the door to the server room. When they reached it, CB stood watch while Jessica removed a panel and Brian went to work hacking the locking mechanism.
The lock opened with a soft beep, and Brian grinned. “Easy as that. I thought you said this was going to difficult, CB?”
“Why do I wish you hadn’t said that?” Jessica asked.
They stepped inside, and CB saw an organized maze of wires plugged into rows of servers. He stood by the door while Brian got to work. None of them spoke as the low hum of the electrical equipment filled the air. CB stayed close to the door, listening for any approaching workers in the hallway. Brian was too in the zone to notice anything outside his tablet screen, and Jessica paced back and forth, one moment listening at the door with CB, in the next moment looking over Brian's shoulder.
After about ten minutes, CB asked, “How’s it going, Brian?”
For a moment, CB thought Brian hadn't heard him, but he finally responded. "Great. I'm getting control of quite a few systems. My only concern is that even if I override the locking mechanisms to get us onto the flight deck, Fleming's people will also have control of the
systems on their end.”
“Which means his faceless GMT will be able to waltz right on to the flight deck," Jessica said.
“Exactly," Brian confirmed.
CB grunted in annoyance. "There has to be a way for us to lock down the flight deck. If not, there's no point to us even getting in there. It's going to take time for us to change the course of the ship, and we need those fake GMT goons locked outside."
Brian said nothing to that.
CB and Jessica exchanged a glance.
“Any thoughts?” Jessica asked.
“Just a moment,” Brian answered. “I’ve got us into the security system. Jessica, jack your tablet in. I’ll route the feed to you so you can make sure our route is clear.”
Jessica did as he asked, and less than a minute later she was watching a live feed from security cameras on her tablet.
Their entire level was surprisingly empty, but a few moments later Jessica gasped.
"Shit. Look at this, CB, we've got company."
CB peered over her shoulder and let out a curse at what he saw. Six of the faceless GMT members were marching down the hallway, their weapons drawn.
Jessica glanced back at CB. "I don't suppose this is a routine security check."
"Unless a lot has changed in the last forty-eight hours, GMT isn’t in charge of ship security. And even if they were, they sure as hell wouldn't need that kind of firepower while simply walking their rounds."
Jessica sighed. "I figured as much." She glared at Brian. "This is your fault for saying this was going to be easy."
Brian didn’t seem to notice the insult. “I’m almost done. Give me twenty seconds.”
“We may not have twenty seconds.” CB scowled at the security footage on the screen. "Is there another way out of here?"
“We’re in a data room." Jessica gestured to the floor. "The cables run under our feet. They built these rooms with a raised floor to accommodate all that. Pop out one of the floor tiles and we should be able to squeeze down through there. But first, let's see what I can do to keep them from getting through this door too quickly.”
She marched to the door and pulled off the panel with the controls. Then she quickly shorted them out so the door wouldn't be able to be unlocked with a security card.
“Got it!” Brian’s eyes were beaming with triumph.
CB clapped him on the arm. “Good work. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Brian grabbed a hook off the wall. Then he stuck it into a slot in one of the floor tiles, and pulled it up. He squatted and shone his headlamp into the crawlspace below.
"There's only about a two-foot gap between the raised floor and the steel deck," he said with a frown. "Looks like I'm going to have to suck in my gut."
CB squatted next to him and peered into the crawlspace. "We’ll make it work. Let's get moving."
Brian squeezed beneath the raised floor first, quickly followed by Jessica. CB was the last down, and just as he ducked his head under the raised floor, someone began pounding on the door to the data room.
"Colonel Brickman!" yelled a voice from the other side of the door. "Lay down your weapon and open this door. We are placing you under arrest. If you do not comply, things are going to get very uncomfortable for you."
CB’s muscular frame was almost too large to fit in the crawlspace, and he had to army crawl, his back and chest scraping against the top and bottom of the space. From behind him, he heard a distinctive hissing whine..
He touched Jessica's foot and whispered, “As soon as we’re under the next room, we need to get out of here. They’re cutting through the door. It'll only take them a minute or two to get through."
Jessica passed the message up to Brian, and a few moments later he pushed up a tile and climbed through into the next room. Jessica and Brian quickly followed.
CB looked around quickly as he emerged, trying to get a handle on their situation. They were in some type of office. Two maintenance workers stared with wide eyes at the three people who had just emerged from the floor tile.
Jessica touched CB's arm. "There is an entrance to a large duct system at the end of the next hallway. If we can get past the GMT, we can make it into it."
CB nodded quickly, ignoring the sting at hearing those fakers being called the GMT. “Let's do it."
They listened, waiting until the GMT made it through the door and loudly charged into the next room. Then Jessica led the way, taking them out of the office and down the hallway. At the end of the corridor, they reached a door. Jessica tried the knob and cursed.
“I take it the duct work is behind this door?” CB asked.
“Sorry, I didn’t think it would be locked.” She went to work prying the panel off the door controls and plugging in her tablet.
The distinctive sound of boots slapped against the deck echoed through the hallway, and a black-clad face appeared around the corner at the end of the hall.
The faceless GMT member froze as he saw them. Then he shouted, “They’re over here.”
CB glanced at Jessica. “Work fast.” Then he drew his pistol and fired a warning shot above the man’s head.
It was a risky move, as it could attract other guards to their location and it would help justify the fake GMT’s use of deadly force. But it would be worth it if it bought them enough time to get through the door.
Just as he’d hoped, the man disappeared back around the corner.
There was a loud click behind CB, and Jessica said, “Got it!”
CB backed through the door without turning, never taking his eyes off the end of the hallway until he was through and the door shut.
He turned to see the room. “Uh, so we’re trapped again?”
A few feet in front of him stood a chain-link fence with an old-fashioned lock on the gate. Beyond the fence was a huge eight-foot-by-eight-foot duct.
“What is this place?” Brian asked.
“It’s our way into the main ventilation system.” She gestured toward the huge duct in front of them. “This vents to the outside. It lets out stagnant air.”
“Huh,” Brian said. “And you want us to get in there?”
She shrugged. “I don’t see a lot of other options.” She pointed at the lock on the gate. “I can’t hack this one, but I’m hoping you can, CB.”
CB grinned. He raised his pistol and shot the lock. Then he gave the gate a small nudge and it swung open with a squeak.
They went through the gate and climbed into the massive duct system. It was like walking down a metal hallway. Every footstep clanged and every word they spoke echoed.
They hadn’t been walking long when they heard the sound of heavy boots hitting sheet metal echoing from behind them.
“Damn, we better move faster,” CB said.
Suddenly Jessica stopped. “Shit. I just thought of something. What time is it?”
Brian glanced at his watch. “About two.”
“I need the exact time.”
He looked again. “One fifty-seven. Why’s that important right now?”
“Because in three minutes, those fans are going to turn on and suck out the old air. It turns on for five minutes at the top of every hour. That’s how we regulate the air we breathe on New Haven.”
Brian nodded slowly. “So what you’re saying is it’s about to get really breezy in this hallway.”
Jessica nodded. “If we don’t secure ourselves in the next three minutes, we’ll probably die.”
CB grinned. “How much you want to bet that the faceless GMT doesn’t know that?”
Brian looked around, his gaze nervously darting from floor to ceiling. “I notice there isn’t a whole lot to hang on to down here.”
CB pulled his knife from his belt. “Guess we’ll have to make our own.”
He stabbed his knife through the sheet metal wall of the duct, working it to create a two-inch hole. Then he pulled his belt from his pants and wrapped it around the knife.
Brian’s voice was urgent when he spoke.
“We’ve got less than a minute.”
“Plenty of time,” CB muttered. He put the knife back into the hole in the sheet metal, pushing it all the way in this time until the handle cleared the hole. Then he twisted it sideways so it lay lengthwise against the wall. He tugged on his belt, and the knife clanged against the other side of the sheet metal, holding fast.
“Instant handhold,” he said. “Jessica, come here.”
She complied, and he wrapped the belt around her arm once.
“This isn’t going to be comfortable, is it?” she asked, grabbing the belt above her arm.
“Probably not.” There were only about six inches of belt remaining past Jessica’s arm. CB grabbed hold of it and turned to Brian. “You’re going to have to hold on to my waist, buddy.”
Brian hesitated.
In the distance, there was a loud click and they heard hydraulics.
“That’s the outer vents opening!” Jessica shouted. “Grab on, Brian!”
Brian stepped forward and threw his arms around CB’s waist. “Like I said earlier, not awkward at all.”
The sounds of boots against sheet metal were getting louder now, but it was quickly dwarfed by the sounds of the powerful motors bringing the fans to life. In the distance, the black-clad members of the GMT ran toward them.
“Hang on tight!” Jessica shouted.
The blast of air hit CB like a baton to the chest, knocking him off his feet. He’d expected the wind to be strong, but he hadn’t considered it would be anywhere near this powerful. He held tight to the belt, squeezing as hard as he could with both hands. Brian clutched his waist, hanging on to keep from being sucked down the corridor that had transformed into a wind tunnel.
CB glanced at the hole in the duct, thinking of how he’d wrapped the belt around the knife and hoping it would hold.
The five faceless GMT members struggled to remain on their feet in the powerful wind, a battle they quickly lost. If CB hadn’t been holding on for dear life, it almost might have been funny. They slid down the hallway, frantically trying to find a grip on the sheer metal of the duct walls and floors.
