Riley grinned. ‘Now that I’d pay to see. But no, it doesn’t take long, twenty minutes, give or take. It’s a shame they’re so uptight over their secrets. I’d give my right arm to know what they’ve got in there these days, and in the laboratory complex below.’
‘Wouldn’t your father know? He’s a general, isn’t he?’
He shook his head. ‘Not a chance, it’s highly restricted, special access personnel only, or so I’m told.’
Her enquiries complete, talk returned to the collection of artefacts and remains they’d just seen as they worked their way back through the vault chamber’s exterior tunnels. They re-entered the museum on one of its upper levels and sauntered through the deserted exhibits in good humour.
‘Oi, what are you two doing in here?!’ a voice said.
Sarah looked round to see an aging security guard a little way away, shining a torch in their direction.
‘Run!’ Riley said to her before bounding away.
Sarah stood frozen for a moment as the security guard ran towards her, brandishing his torch.
‘Crap,’ she said and legged it after Riley.
The two of them soon left the man behind and Riley was laughing when he slowed.
‘What are you doing?’ she said, catching her breath, ‘Why don’t we tell him we work for the SED?’
‘Where would be the fun in that?’
Before she could answer, two more guards appeared from the other direction and the chase was on again. With Riley leading the way, the two of them led the guards a merry dance before exiting the museum and fleeing back to their SED apartments. The night-time hours had given way to early morning as the rush hour commute got underway, the nearby transport channel filling with vehicles and people, much like any other major metropolis in the world.
Having kept on running until they reached Sarah’s apartment, they were out of breath as they entered, broad grins on their faces as their evening’s sightseeing ended on a high. Sarah poured Riley a drink in the kitchen before being surprised when his hands slipped onto her waist from behind. He turned her round, his face now mere inches from her own. Her heart beat faster as he leant forwards to kiss her, his lips brushing hers. He stood back, giving her the option to pull away. She didn’t, taking his hand she led him into the bedroom. Reaching up she stroked his face, smiling, before kissing him. Her passion increasing, the ferocity of their embrace peaked. They tore at one another’s clothing, each craving the touch of the other’s flesh.
Naked, Riley hoisted her on up onto his hips as she sank down upon him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her skin against his, Sarah rose up as she lost herself in the heat of desire. Falling back on to the bed he thrust down upon her, his powerful strokes making her arch her back and grab the bedcovers as she rode the bliss of their sex. As time lost meaning she drew closer and closer to the edge. Letting out a cry of ecstasy, her other hand reached out to grab the headboard, knocking a switch in the process. A mechanical whirring brought her back from the brink and, clasping his body with her arms, she saw the blind to her window rolling up, revealing the walkway beyond and the passers-by as they made their way to work.
Sarah’s eyes widened. ‘Riley,’ she said as he moved rhythmically against her, ‘the blinds – people – are watching.’
Riley didn’t even glance at the window, choosing to regain her attention by kissing her deeply on the mouth and then down her unresisting neck. ‘Let them watch.’ He ran his hands over her breasts as he continued to pleasure her.
Sarah neared the edge once more, her face turned to the window as people looked and pointed at the naked lovers that would be the talk of their day.
Sarah shut her eyes, the thrill of being watched adding to the intensity as she climaxed, her body arching higher, her toes curling as her body released an explosive orgasm. As she rode more waves of pleasure Riley didn’t stop, bringing her to the edge again, only stopping sometime later when he eventually released himself. Flushed and sweating, Sarah, flicked the switch and the blind rolled back down, ending the spectacle for those partaking in their morning journey to work. Sinking down onto the bed, she rolled over to rest her head on his chest, her right thigh over his. The slow rise and fall of his breathing lulling her eyes closed as her troubles drifted away like never before.
♦
Cloying smoke filled Sarah’s lungs, a whimper escaping her lips as she struggled to beat back the flames that sought to consume the ancient Anakim maps cradled in her arms. Fire engulfed the timber house around her, the flickering tongues of the inferno setting her hair alight, the pain unbearable. Letting out a stifled scream, she sat up in bed, her brow and palms damp with perspiration. Calming herself down, she swept the strands of blonde hair that had stuck to her face back over one ear. Next to her, Riley’s naked form remained undisturbed, his deep sleep continuing unabated. Leaving him behind, Sarah got out of bed, pulled on a white T-shirt, and went into the bathroom to splash water on her face.
She looked at herself in the mirror, the same blue eyes she’d known all her life looking back at her. Except she knew inside she’d changed and that night had proved it beyond doubt. Having sex in front of strangers would have at one time appalled her, to share such an intimate moment in the full view of others doing nothing to excite her. Now, though, even thinking back to it brought back powerful feelings of arousal she hadn’t known existed within her. If I didn’t know better, she thought, I’d blame it on a side effect of using the Anakim transportation device; but she knew her tendency to take risks had been growing steadily for some time. Back in South Africa she’d been willing to risk all to uncover further evidence of Homo gigantis, entering the impact zone of the asteroid AG5 only days before it touched down off the South African coastline. And long before that, even though she’d refused to admit it until now, she’d taken risks beyond the norm. Many years ago, climbing in the Zagros Mountains in Iran, she almost paid the price with her life when she’d misjudged an ill-considered jump. Cave diving in Turkey, again searching for signs of gigantis, she’d risked all to reach an unexplored section of the subterranean system. Numerous other telltale incidents she’d reasoned away also returned from the depths of her memory, unbidden, unwanted, and yet speaking a truth she’d long sought to ignore. Curiously it had taken a moment of pleasure rather than pain to make her confront it. Her mother’s death had hit her hard and fast, rending a hole in her life she hadn’t been capable of repairing, and it was that single, terrible event that had irrevocably altered her.
‘Am I still sane, mother?’ she whispered into the mirror. ‘Has your death made me seek my own?’
She took off her top to look at herself naked, noting the dark bruises on her shoulders and sides and the pale white scars collected during her numerous misadventures criss-crossing the skin of her arms and legs. Sarah leaned down on the sink to stare deeper into her own eyes, the black pupils failing to relieve her torment. Perhaps mother’s death just exposed a personality flaw I’ve always possessed? she thought. A flaw born of the complex fundamentals that go into creating and moulding every person’s, every animal’s, base desires and needs.
‘Do I secretly welcome death?’ she asked herself, wondering if that question might yet become a self-fulfilling prophecy summoned from the dark recesses of her mind, remaining unanswered until she resolved her deepest, darkest fears; fears so repressed and integral to her psychosomatic being she might never unravel their self-destructive curse.
‘Sarah?’ Riley’s voice came from the bedroom.
Sarah barely heard him.
‘Sarah,’ he said again, coming into the bathroom as brazenly undressed as she herself, ‘are you okay? I thought I heard you talking.’
Sarah straightened up and brushed past him.
‘Is something wrong?’ he asked as she picked up her underwear.
Avoiding looking at his toned body, she slipped on her knickers. ‘I’m fine.’
‘Why don’t you come back to bed?’ He moved to
wards her and caressed her hand.
She snatched it away, lifting her arm up for him to keep his distance.
‘Have I done something wrong?’
She pulled on her remaining garments. ‘No, nothing like that.’
‘Then what?’
‘I need to clear my mind.’ She walked out into the lounge.
He watched her put on her shoes. ‘Do you want me here when you get back?’
‘I don’t know.’ She opened the door and looked back at him. ‘I’m sorry.’
Closing the door, Sarah moved out into the street, her emotions conflicted, her direction unclear. She needed to get some clarity. Her walk turned into a jog and gradually she increased her speed until she was running flat out, the physical exertion a welcome distraction from her internal turmoil. Eventually she tired and came to stop atop a bridge over a transport channel, looking out as cars whizzed by underneath and the monotube flew past above. She’d never felt as alone as she had in that moment and she was unable to keep a tear from rolling down her face, the salty droplet of water settling between her lips. Refusing to break down, she stood staring out into space, gritting her teeth against a building flood of tears.
‘I don’t have a death wish.’ She gazed down at the black road far below, the welcoming void between her and it beckoning to her with insidious hands. ‘I don’t,’ she said again, another tear streaking down her cheek.
Chapter Fifty
The door to Sarah’s apartment closed behind her, the latch clicking into place. ‘Riley?’ she said, moving through the rooms.
No answer was forthcoming; he’d left. Heaving a sigh she decided to contact Trish via her wallscreen and arranged to meet her and Jason back in the New Park district. She then took a much needed shower, the hot water helping to dissolve a melancholy that seemed to cling to her aura like a malignant parasite; its suffocating and pervasive embrace temporarily held at bay. After drying her hair with a towel she pulled on her grey USSB uniform before heading out to meet her two friends.
Returning to their previous meeting place, a sun-drenched meadow under the great dome, Sarah saw Jason and Trish had beaten her to the destination. The two archaeologists lay side by side on a rug looking up at the stunning technological masterpiece that was the artificial sky. Jason pointed something out to Trish, who leaned in to follow the direction of his extended arm and finger, seeking out his intended target.
‘Hey, Saz,’ Trish said as Sarah plonked herself down next to them.
‘Sazza.’ Jason acknowledged her. ‘How’d it go?’ He propped himself up an elbow.
‘Pretty good, I’ve found where they’ve stashed our artefacts.’
‘Including the pendant?’
She nodded.
Trish sat up. ‘You don’t look very pleased about it.’
‘With good reason, they’re locked up in one of the military’s vaults.’
Jason swore. ‘That’s it then, the whole sodding plan, out the window.’
‘Not quite,’ she told him, ‘there might be a way inside. It’s risky, but since we haven’t any other options—’
‘Don’t leave us hanging,’ Trish said in exasperation, ‘spill.’
‘According to Riley there’s a way through from the Smithsonian’s vaults to the military’s.’
‘That’s brilliant,’ Jason said, his hopes of getting back to the surface reignited, ‘isn’t it?’ he added, when Trish didn’t match his enthusiasm.
‘What do you think?’ Trish’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Jason looked at her blankly.
Trish groaned. ‘Sometimes I worry about you.’
‘What, why?!’
‘Never mind. I take it there’s a lot of security around these vaults?’ she asked Sarah.
‘Like you wouldn’t believe, cameras and security doors all over the shop. You need a special level eight activation on your multifunction card just to get to the Smithsonian vaults. Plus you need a code to enter the vaults themselves, although that won’t be a problem as long as it’s not changed frequently.’
Trish’s eyebrows rose. ‘How so?’
‘I made sure to memorise the code Riley used to access them, just in case.’
‘Nice,’ Jason said.
‘It would be, except the only way I figure I can get in there is to steal a card capable of opening all the doors.’
‘Like Riley’s?’ Trish said.
Sarah puffed out her cheeks. ‘There’s no other we know of that would work.’
‘And even then you’d have to break into the military vault,’ Trish said, ‘and God knows what kind of security systems they use inside them.’
‘Getting in might be possible,’ Sarah said, ‘but stealing the pendant and getting out again would be an entirely different ball game. Even if I did manage to make it back out they’d hunt me down, and fast. There’d be nowhere to go where they couldn’t find me.’
Jason looked thoughtful. ‘That’s not strictly true.’
‘Here we go,’ Trish said.
Ignoring her he looked to Sarah. ‘What if we were outside the base, outside the USSB? They couldn’t find you then, could they?’
‘Don’t be an idiot,’ Trish told him.
Sarah perked up. ‘No, I think he might be onto something, go on, Jas.’
‘Err,’ Jason said, put on the spot, ‘well, I was thinking, if you could make it out with the pendant then the best way to escape anyone chasing you would be to get out of the base.’
Trish made a noise. ‘You already said that.’
‘And,’ he said emphasising the word, his face a picture of concentration, ‘the only way to do that would be—’
‘To steal an air-shuttle!’ Sarah said in excitement.
‘Yes.’ Jason pointed at her. ‘Yes! So the plan would be you steal the pendant and then we make our escape straight after on the same night.’
Sarah’s eyes lit up. ‘That’s genius!’
‘Ha ha, in your face!’ He shoved an open palm towards Trish and rubbed it into her nose.
‘Argh, gerroff!’ She fought him off; he continued to plague her until she kicked him in the shin.
‘Ow!’
‘So that’s it then,’ Sarah said, ‘we take the pendant and escape the base all in one go, in and out, literally.’
‘Smash and grab, baby.’ Jason grinned.
Trish looked at them both as if they were mad. ‘I don’t like it, too much could go wrong.’
‘You just don’t like it because it’s my idea,’ Jason said.
‘That’s not it at all.’
‘It’s not a case of any of us liking it,’ Sarah said, ‘if we want to see the surface again it’s all we’ve got.’
The three of them sat in silence for a while as they each digested the idea of a permanent existence in the subterranean base. Despite the dust cloud currently wreaking havoc on the surface, they all knew the sun would return and life would continue as before. To leave that behind was almost inconceivable, although for Sarah the alternative was far from lacking in appeal.
‘Tell Sarah what we found out about the air-shuttle,’ Jason said to Trish, breaking the spell.
‘Well, we’ve read through the manual you gave us a few times and I have to say it looks quite promising.’
‘It’s more than promising,’ Jason said.
Sarah sat up straighter. ‘It’s possible to steal one, then?’
‘In theory,’ Trish said, ‘more so after what you’ve just told us, but I’ll get to that in a minute. The first thing we’d need to do is to select an air-shuttle that’s already prepped for launch. This is critical. As far as we can tell, as the launch manual doesn’t go into much detail on it, the process of preparing a shuttle is beyond what we’d be capable of doing; the task normally requires a team of people working for a whole day to complete.’
‘Prepped shuttles shouldn’t be an issue,’ Sarah said, ‘they normally have at least two ready to go at a moment’s notice in case of
emergencies out in the field.’
Trish looked pleased. ‘Good. From what we understand, the launch procedure for a shuttle is pretty much automatic. We’d just need to prime the appropriate mechanisms using a series of procedures which are reasonably complicated to follow, but not impossibly so. The three of us should be able to sort it.’
‘Doesn’t it require codes to activate it?’ Sarah asked.
Jason nodded. ‘Yep, but they’re all in the manual.’
‘Seriously?’ Sarah was taken aback.
‘It’s not that surprising really,’ Jason told her, ‘think about it, the SED is a secure facility inside a secure base. It’s probably never even occurred to them someone might want to steal a shuttle. Even if someone did they’d know they wouldn’t be able to get to the surface as their elevators are locked down.’
‘But they didn’t reckon on anyone using an Anakim transportation device,’ Sarah said.
He gave a wink. ‘Exactly.’
‘A shuttle launch also requires the use of two multifunction cards with SED level seven clearance or above,’ Trish continued, ‘which means if we do get the pendant and shuttle, one after the other, if you have Riley’s card that particular problem is solved as we can use it in conjunction with yours.’
‘Okay,’ Sarah said, ‘what about controlling the shuttle after the launch?’
‘Once the shuttle is underway,’ Trish told her, ‘the onboard computer regulates its speed and rocket burns.’
‘We can just sit back and enjoy the ride,’ Jason said.
Sarah looked dubious. ‘You won’t be saying that after you’ve ridden one.’
He grinned. ‘Wanna bet?’
Sarah couldn’t help but let a small smile creep onto her face. If anyone could lighten someone’s mood it was Jason. ‘Is that it?’ she asked Trish.
‘There is one thing we don’t really know about, the shuttle will come to a stop by itself, but we’ll have no clue who’ll be waiting at the other end.’
‘We should expect a number of ground crew to greet us,’ Sarah said, ‘but we’ll all be wearing Deep Reach gear so I can blag us past, say we’re on an emergency recon or something. With an unscheduled arrival it’s possible we won’t see anyone.’
2041 Sanctuary (Dark Descent) Page 56
