The Way Out

by Armond Boudreaux

  43

  Gunfire. The sound was coming from two different places. From somewhere above her, on the upper floors of the building or outside. And somewhere else inside the building, but far away. Shouting voices.

  Braden!

  They had taken her to a different room after the old guy with the mustache had tased her. This room had no furniture, just large metal pipes that ran up one wall and several control panels on the opposite wall. Val sat cross-legged with her hands cuffed behind one of the pipes, which was warm and vibrated just slightly. It probably carried hot water. Val’s arms burned from being pulled behind her, sweat poured down her body from the heat, and she had a maddening itch on her face that she couldn’t scratch.

  More gunfire. It was like being back in Iran.

  Braden!

  Val strained against the handcuffs, pulling hard and hoping to break the chains. The effort did nothing more than gouge the skin of her wrists, of course. Soon she felt a warm trickle down her palms.

  “Dammit!” she screamed. “Damn every one of you!”

  She jerked against the pipe, but it didn’t even budge. Again, she gouged the flesh of her wrists.

  Braden! Where are you!

  A few times she thought she could feel the touch of another mind, but it wasn’t anything intelligible. More like the buzz she felt after a glass of wine. They must have put him far away from her so she couldn’t communicate with him. Or they had sedated him. Or killed him.

  She pushed the thought away. No, they wanted him alive.

  More gunfire somewhere inside the building. A man screamed.

  Outside the door to the room, running footsteps pounded down the hall and voices spoke frantically. Val caught snatches of what they said.

  “—knew I shouldn’t have taken this damn job—”

  “—gone insane—”

  Val screamed as they ran by. “Hey! I’m in here! Let me out!”

  But of course, no one stopped for her. They were running for their lives. Who the hell was doing this?

  Is anyone out there? she thought. Is there anyone who can hear me?

  Nothing. There were supposed to be three other telepaths here, but they were either out of range, sedated, or dead.

  “You lost this fight,” she said, letting her head fall back against the pipe. She would die here. Either someone would come and gun her down, or she would starve. The image of Kim’s bloody corpse came unbidden to her mind. He lay on the floor of a hospital room, his body pierced with more bullet holes than she could count. Then she saw Braden standing behind bars, his arm stretching through an opening toward her.

  More gunfire, closer this time, and more footsteps. But this wasn’t a crowd like before. A single person was coming down the hall.

  “Dammit,” Val yelled. “Somebody let me the hell out of here!”

  The door lock clicked, and the door swung open. Asa appeared there carrying an Mk 19 in his hands. One of his eyes sported an angry yellow and purple bruise where she had back-knuckled him.

  “I’m getting you out of here,” he said, crouching next to her. “Try not to punch or kick me this time, okay?”

  “What the hell is going on?” said Val.

  “One of the Anomalies is loose,” Asa said, fumbling with a set of keys. “Tolbert and the senator are dead. Marcus and the rest of the DHS agents are going around and killing everybody.”

  He unlocked the handcuffs. Val got to her feet, her shoulders, arms, and legs screaming at her.

  “Why the hell should I trust you?” she said.

  Asa reached behind him and took a pistol from a holster in his waistband. “Here,” he said, handing it to Val. “Don’t shoot me, okay? There’s one chambered already.”

  Val took the pistol from him and seriously considered shooting him in the face.

  “You’re a bastard,” she said. “How the hell did I ever think I loved you?”

  For a second, Asa’s expression turned sad. It was a look she’d seen several times in Iran.

  “You lose things, okay?” he said. “You lose things and people and you realize that none of this amounts to shit. The only thing is to have a good living and be useful to the people who matter.” He shrugged. “I make myself useful to the people who matter.”

  “So you don’t believe in anything anymore,” said Val. “You think that makes it okay for you to do the kinds of things you’ve done? Hunt down dissenters? Kidnap gifted kids? Shoot down your fellow agents?”

  Asa laughed then. Actually laughed, the son of a bitch. “How many kills did you have in Iran? How many people have you killed or hurt in the last twenty-four hours?”

  “I should have killed you at the creek,” said Val.

  “Probably so. But if you had, you wouldn’t make it out of here with your husband and your son. I’m your lifeline. Your only chance. Now let’s move.”

  Rifle at his shoulder, Asa stepped through the door and started down the hall toward the junction. Val followed, but walked backwards, ready to shoot anybody who came around the corner at the end of the hall behind them.

  “Who is Marcus?” she said.

  “Answers directly to the Secretary and the President,” said Asa. “He’s got orders to clean this whole place up if anything goes wrong. He and his men just wiped out the ground floor and the first sub-level. We’re on the fourth sub-level, so we don’t have a lot of time. I’ve been ordered to kill everyone who isn’t DHS, including you, your husband, and your son.”

  “And how the hell are we supposed to get out of here?” said Val, watching the junction at the other end of the hall.

  “That’s why you need your son,” said Asa. “Here we are. This is your husband’s room.”

  Val turned and stared at the door, unable to move for a second.

  “What the hell is wrong?” said Asa. “It’s not another damn trap.”

  But that wasn’t it. Val looked at the door and then at Asa.

  “We don’t have time for this,” he said, opening the door. He motioned for her to go through.

  Her heart thudding, Val stuffed the pistol into her waistband and stepped through the door.

  “Oh, thank God,” said Kim.

  He lay on a hospital bed, an IV in his arm and a strap across his chest to hold him down to the bed. He wore a hospital gown, and his bare feet stuck out from under a blanket.

  Val crossed the room and kissed him, breathing him in.

  “I’d love to have a nice reunion,” she said, drawing back finally. “But we have to go.”

  “Where’s Braden?” Kim said.

  Val crouched and unhooked the strap that held Kim down.

  “We’re about to go get him,” Val said. But when she looked at Kim, he was staring at Asa, who stood in the doorway.

  “You’re Asa,” Kim said.

  “Yes,” said Asa. “Not a lot of time for introductions, though.”

  “He’s helping,” said Val. “You have clothes?”

  “No shirt,” said Kim, “but everything else.” He pointed to a pile of clothes on a chair.

  Val touched his face. “Let’s get you dressed and go find Braden.”

  She held Kim’s hand and rested her head on his good shoulder on the elevator ride down. She could feel his heart beating. The bottom floor was a long way down. To Val it seemed like a mile, though she knew it couldn’t be that far.

  For the first half of the descent, none of them said anything. Finally, Asa spoke. “If you can make it out, the Dragonfly is still parked on the hill where we left it. It’s almost dark, so if you can get to it, you might be able to fly out of here.”

  But where will we go? thought Val.

  “Thank you for helping us,” said Kim, but his voice didn’t sound grateful. It sounded... changed, somehow. Val hoped it was just the pain medication they’d given him after the surgery.

  Asa glanced in Kim’s direction—not at his face, but at his feet.

&nb
sp; “No problem,” he said after a second. “Let’s just hope we all get out of this thing alive.”

  “What are you going to do?” said Val. “After we get Braden.”

  “See if I can find a way not to look guilty,” he said. “I’ve got a job and a reputation depending on me, remember?”

  Gripping Kim’s hand tighter, she said, “I remember.”

  The elevator came to a stop finally, and when the door opened, Val looked down another hallway. This one was long and brightly lit. At the far end, maybe fifty yards away, she could barely make out a room with a glass front wall and a small figure.

  “That’s one of the other Anomalies down at that end,” said Asa. He flipped a switch on the elevator’s control panel labeled STOP and stepped through the door. “Your son is this way.” He pointed to the left.

  Val and Kim stepped out of the elevator and looked around. The elevator shaft was at the center of an octagonal room with four identical hallways running in four different directions. At the end of each, Val could see rooms with glass walls. Three of the rooms were lighted and had figures inside.

  Mom? said a voice in her head.

  Braden!

  “Come on,” said Asa. He started down the hall to the left.

  Holding on to Kim, Val followed.

  “I can’t move fast,” said Kim. “You go.”

  “You need help,” said Val.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “Go.”

  Val kissed him on the cheek and ran. She passed Asa and hurtled down the hall. Her footsteps echoed. Braden stood watching her approach, his hands on the glass.

  “Mom!” he shouted, his voice coming through speakers mounted above the glass.

  “I’m so sorry, baby,” said Val when she reached him. She touched the glass where his hands were pressed. “We’re getting out of here.”

  “Mom, there are others,” he said, his voice clear and bright and beautiful. “There are others like me! We’ve got to help them, too.”

  “Stand back, Val,” said Asa, who stood next to her. “Braden, I want you over in this corner.” He pointed toward the door into Braden’s room.

  “What are you doing?” said Val, backing up.

  “My clearance doesn’t get me into his room,” said Asa.

  But for a second Braden didn’t move.

  “It’s okay, Braden,” said Val. “He’s helping us.”

  Braden stared at Asa.

  “Come on, kid,” said Asa. “We don’t have much time.”

  Not taking his eyes off Asa, Braden shifted to the corner.

  Mom, something’s wrong.

  What do you mean?

  “Cover your ears,” said Asa, aiming the rifle through the glass at the wall opposite Braden. Val cupped her ears.

  Asa let out a short burst of fire, the noise like needles piercing Val’s ears even with them covered. Glass shattered and flew, shards hitting the floor and making a sound like a thousand small bells.

  Braden screamed. When the whole sheet of glass had fallen, Val stepped through and wrapped him in her arms. The boy’s whole body shook.

  Mom, he’s going to kill the others, said Braden’s voice in her head.

  “I’m going to go and let the others out,” said Asa. His footsteps echoed down the hall.

  Val held Braden’s shoulders and looked at him.

  Are you sure?

  Tears welled in his eyes.

  I’m sure.

  Val turned and jumped through the opening where glass had been.

  “Stop!” she yelled, pulling the gun from her waistband.

  Asa stopped and turned on his heel.

  “Val, I’ve got orders,” he said. “And those two are dangerous. Take your family and go.”

  The ringing started in Val’s ears first, and then she saw it in Asa’s face. Kim, who stood farther down the hall past Asa, groaned and put a hand on the wall to support himself.

  “Stop, Braden,” said Val. “You’ll take us all out.”

  The ringing seemed to intensify a second, then it died. Val shook her head to clear it and then aimed the pistol at Asa’s chest.

  Asa stared at her, his face unreadable.

  “Come on, Val,” he said. “They’re dangerous. Take your family and go. Let me do my job. And tell your kid to stay the hell out of my head.”

  “Put the gun on the ground and step away,” said Val.

  Behind Asa, Kim started forward slowly.

  Braden, tell your dad to stop where he is and move to the left.

  “Val, this is stupid,” said Asa. “You wanted to save your family. You would do anything to save them. Here they are. And if you wait any longer, you might not make it out of here.”

  Kim moved to the other side of the hall. Val lowered her aim.

  Asa let out a long breath. “That’s a twenty-yard shot. If you miss, you might hit your husband.” He put out a hand and patted the wall with his palm. “These are tough. You might ricochet and hit any one—”

  Bang.

  The shot struck Asa in the knee. Blood sprayed out the back side of his leg, and Asa went to the floor screaming.

  Kim hurried forward and grabbed the Mk 19, which had fallen next to Asa.

  “Thank you, Mom,” said Braden, tears streaming down his face. “I don’t want to leave them.”

  Val kissed his cheeks and tasted the salt of the tears.

  “Come on,” she said. She took his hand, and they hurried to Kim.

  “Trade with me,” said Kim, holding out the Mk 19 with his good arm. Val took it and handed him the pistol.

  Asa groaned.

  Val looked down at him. His face was contorted with agony, and he rocked back and forth on his side.

  “We’d better tie that before we go,” said Kim. “He’ll bleed out fast.”

  “I can tie the damn thing myself,” said Asa, pulling off his shirt. His stomach had gotten softer and whiter since Val last saw him shirtless. “Damn you, Val. Why the hell couldn’t you just go? Those others are dangerous, and they aren’t anything to you.”

  “Because I serve,” said Val.

  44

  The woman’s ponytail bobbed as Jessica and Merida ran behind her, hurtling down the hall. Because she had been hooded when they brought her here, Jessica had no idea where they were going. She only knew that the gunmen were behind them. A dozen or more people—all of them dressed in scrubs, a few in lab coats—ran in a pack several yards ahead of them.

  “Where are we going?” said Merida, practically shouting to overcome the noise of running. “Is there a way out?”

  “We can’t get out by going up,” the woman said, her voice shaking as they ran. “The only thing we can do is to hope that the Anomalies will protect us.”

  “Anomalies?” said Merida. “What does that mean?”

  “You’ll have to see it to believe it,” said the woman. “But they’re the only protection we have.”

  Jessica knew what the Anomalies were. Her stomach turned at the thought of the telepaths being their only hope.

  As they ran, they passed room after room. Jessica glanced inside the few whose doors were open as they ran, noting desks, couches, hospital beds, and other types of furniture. A few rooms had tall islands with sinks and scientific equipment. This place reminded her of some kind of cross between a hospital, a hotel, and a science lab.

  Ahead, the hallway opened into a large room filled with desks and what looked like computer screens and hologram projectors. And on the far wall, the stainless steel double doors of an elevator awaited them. A door marked STAIRS stood next to it.

  “The elevator isn’t big enough for everybody,” said the woman, “so we’ll take the stairs.”

  “Why don’t we just—” began Merida, but an explosion of noise cut her off.

  The stairwell door burst open just as the crowd of people ahead of them reached the room at the end of the hall. Men with rifles and wear
ing SWAT gear poured through the door and started firing. People fell immediately.

  Merida screamed. Jessica grabbed her arm and dragged her through one of the open doors into a room that was lined with island counters. Screams and gunfire roared down the hall and into the room. Jessica could barely hear Merida shout, “What do we do?”

  Someone hurtled into Jessica’s back, nearly knocking her over. She turned to see the woman who had rescued them. She held her hand on her left forearm, and blood seeped through her fingers.

  The woman spoke, but it wasn’t loud enough for Jessica to hear. Maybe something like my friends.

  Jessica looked around for a place to hide. There were no closets, no tall cabinets, no windows.

  “Why doesn’t this place have any damn windows?” said Jessica, though no one heard her.

  She looked up and down the rows of islands. The cabinets under the counters.

  Jessica didn’t think that they would fit, but since there was nothing else that they could do, she led Merida to the other side of the room and started opening cabinets. They found a few that were big enough for someone to squeeze into, but they were all full of various equipment: microscopes, burners, and things that Jessica didn’t recognize.

  Despite her bleeding arm, the woman immediately went to work tossing equipment onto the countertops. Jessica and Merida quickly joined in. Glass shattered as they threw microscopes and other things on top of beakers and flasks.

  When they had cleared three cabinets, the gunfire and the screaming stopped.

  Jessica touched Merida’s hand and glanced at her. Tears welled in Merida’s eyes.

  It’s going to be okay, Jessica mouthed soundlessly to her, not really believing it.

  Looking unconvinced herself, Merida turned and crawled into her cabinet. Curled into a ball with her knees touching her chin, she barely fit inside. Jessica eased the door closed.

  “Hurry,” the woman whispered, climbing into her own cabinet.

  As Jessica eased into the remaining empty cabinet, she heard light footsteps coming down the hall. She pulled the cabinet door closed and waited. Would they search the cabinets? Would they see the room apparently empty and simply pass it by?