Lenny jumped up from his seat and rushed over to one of the side cabinets in the room, where he grabbed a few items. "However, I may have tripped a few internal alarms when I hacked into their systems."
Henry groaned at this statement. "What have you done?"
Lenny turned to reply, his face scrunched up in frustration. "Well, since it took longer than I thought to retrieve the information about Rick and his team, the Union Forest techs were able to back-trace their hacker to this vicinity before I could pull the hardwire from my devices. So if your Mr. Perkins is as good as his job title says he is, then he probably sent Stenick to keep an eye out for me or anyone who looks suspicious."
Lenny darted back to his desk and grabbed one of the laptops there. He snapped a battery into place and gave a quick nod of approval.
"This laptop is brand new and never been used so they shouldn't be able to trace it. With that key card I gave you and this thumb drive, I should be able to create a backdoor to the mainframe, where I can pull the rest of the data we need to find out where Rick is. This time, however, I'll need to send a full database dump of the Union Forest mainframe to an off-site data core that I’ve hidden outside the city."
Lenny grabbed a backpack from beneath his desk and placed the laptop and drive into it. Henry grabbed Lenny by the arm, drawing his attention. "What are you planning?"
Henry groaned as he watched an impish grin appear on Lenny's face.
"Well, as I see it, the best option is to have it appear as though you apprehended me after discovering I tried to hack into your computer earlier without your knowledge. Afterwards, you’ll drag me back to the Union Forest building for questioning and arrange to have the police come and arrest me."
Henry could tell by how fast Lenny was talking that he was becoming more excited with the details of their cover story. Henry tried to interrupt Lenny several times when he kept ranting on and on about his plan. He wanted to make sure nothing went wrong so that it wouldn't fall back on him.
Lenny spun around and tossed a watch to Henry. "Put that on. Not only is it water proof, but it also has a GPS tracker in it. Plus, it lights up."
Henry put the watch on. As he secured it on his wrist, he watched Lenny activate something on his computer.
"There we go. Now my system is monitoring both of us. Oh, one more thing. When we head back to the restrooms, you're going to have to put on one hell of a show for everyone to see, including our ‘friend.’ Once you’ve prostrated me on the floor, you’ll need to identify yourself as a Union Forest security
officer who followed me here on suspicion of a threat to the company. Then explain to our friend that you've apprehended me, and you’re taking me in for questioning and that he’ll need to call it in to Smythe or Mr. Perkins."
Henry's mind spun with all the uncertainties of what Lenny was proposing. Lenny didn't seem to notice Henry’s apprehension or didn’t care because he rambled on, explaining the rest of his plan.
"When we arrive at your office, you’ll need to have me handcuffed or zip tied. It needs to appear legit. I'm sure both Symthe and Perkins will be waiting there to interrogate me. I'm hoping this will help draw their suspicions away from you. However, I suggest that you ask to remain present when they interrogate me since I’m an old friend and you want to make sure I'm not harmed, but you felt it was the right thing to do to bring me in."
Henry growled in frustration before turning to the nearby wall and punching it. "This is insane! This plan of yours will never work in a million years. How do you know Smythe and Perkins won’t have the military police come collect you and throw you in some deep dark hole? If they are in as deep as you say they are, what would stop them?"
Lenny stood there for several moments, mulling something over. Henry could see Lenny running the calculations in his head as Henry nursed his sore hand.
"I need you to trust me,” Lenny pleaded. “I can't tell you how I know, but believe me, Union Forest isn’t as connected as they used to be with the government. Yes, they’ve been able to manipulate some officials over the years, but things aren’t as solid as they once were." Lenny winked at Henry.
Henry flexed his right hand over and over again, trying to sooth the pain that was flaring up in his bruised knuckles. "What happens if they don't let me stay in the room for the interrogation?" His anger slipped away as he continued, "Smythe doesn't particularly like me, and I'm sure after today’s little encounter, he dislikes me even more."
Lenny lifted his pack to his shoulders and placed a reassuring hand on Henry. "I don't have all the answers, but I know that you are quick on your feet and will come up with something. And you're probably right. They, more than likely, won't let you stay for the interrogation because they'll want to do everything in their power to get the information they need, but that's the risk I'm willing to take for Rick."
"Then how in the world are we going to get them to explain about Rick and what’s going on? You certainly can't hack their system if they are interrogating you," Henry exclaimed, letting his frustration of the situation show.
The deflated look on Lenny's face made Henry regret his sudden outburst. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that, and I know you’re trying to help. I guess I can’t see how we're going to pull this off. Smythe and Perkins are not stupid, and I'm worried about Rick. In the past, I've been there to help bail him out. But this time, I have no clue how to get him out of this mess."
Henry plopped down on the chair. It felt as if the entire weight of the world had suddenly fallen upon his shoulders, forcing him down into the chair. Rick was the only family he had left, and he couldn't lose him, too. Lenny walked over and placed his hand gently on Henry's shoulder.
"I honestly don't know how we're going to pull it off. But I know we have to try because if we don't, then Rick is lost."
Lenny stood there, watching Henry and waiting for a response. Seeing no answer, he walked over and sat down in his plush swivel chair.
Henry studied Lenny. Could Lenny, the same scrawny little kid that had been Rick’s and his friend growing up, and the same kid who had worn thick glasses and shabby clothes that were two sizes too big, pull this off?
Henry could see the compassion that rested in Lenny's eyes while he patiently waited for Henry to say something. Heaving a sigh, Henry asked the real question on his mind. "Why are you doing this?"
Without a moment’s hesitation Lenny responded. "You and Rick saved my skin so many times when we were kids that I lost count. Today is the day I can pay you guys back. It's the least I can do for both of you. When my Mom died and my Dad took to the bottle, you two were my saving grace."
Henry felt a lump form in his throat. He tried to choke it down as he spoke.
"Let's go see if this plan of yours will actually work, and let's hope the two of us don't end up in federal prison or worse."
The smile returned to Lenny's face. "My friend, when have I ever steered you wrong?" Lenny paused. "Well, maybe it's better you don't answer that ‘cause I remember that trip to detention after Mrs. Robert’s science class."
Henry chuckled at the memory of that day.
"You know,” Lenny exclaimed, “I still claim that mixture was the right solution to put in, and it was Mrs. Robert's formula that was wrong."
Henry shook his head. "Whatever you say. Let's get this show on the road."
Henry was the first to leave Lenny's Batcave. He slowly walked back down the corridor, leaving Lenny to close the door and activate his security system. Lenny soon caught up to Henry. When they reached the restroom, he slid the wall plate aside, allowing them to duck inside. Henry walked over to wash his hands in the sink, and Lenny walked over to the door. He cracked open the door and surveyed the common room of the pub.
"It looks like your guy is still sitting in the same booth as when you walked in, but now he is facing the restroom doors. We need to make this look good so that . . ."
Lenny stopped talking when he heard the click of a hammer being pulled
back on a SIG Pro semi-automatic pistol.
Henry turned to see a guy dressed in a pair of jeans and a polo shirt exit one of the stalls with his gun leveled.
"Gentlemen, I would appreciate it if the two of you accompanied me and my companion to the Union Forest building. Now if you would kindly put your hands in the air, I’ll secure your hands behind your backs."
Henry silently cursed his stupidity. Why hadn't I checked the other stalls, he thought. Neither he nor Lenny had noticed that one of the restroom stalls had been occupied.
Henry slowly raised his hands in the air and cursed himself for not being more observant. The man with the gun motioned towards the door and both men walked towards it.
"Hey, Henry, do you remember Walter Reyes?" Lenny asked.
Henry did remember Walter Reyes and what had a happened all those years ago. Walter had picked on Lenny for months and had eventually caught up with Lenny in a side alley. Walter had pinned Lenny down on the ground, punching him over and over demanding Lenny's lunch money.
Henry and Rick heard about what was happening from some friends, so both brothers rushed to Lenny's aid. When they arrived, Henry and Rick had tossed some old discarded soda bottles down the alleyway. The sound of the shattering glasses distracted Walter. Lenny hadn’t wasted any time before throwing his knee up as far as his twelve-year-old frame would allow him, right into Walter’s crotch. Henry remembered the high-pitched gurgle that had come from the boy’s throat as Lenny had scrambled away.
Lenny reached back and flicked the door so that it appeared that it had bumped into him, which then caused him to suddenly tumble to the floor. Lenny cursed loudly as he crashed to the floor. The man pointed the gun at Lenny, yelling at him to get up off the floor. Lenny groaned in pain, cradling his left knee. Henry could tell that the man was distracted, so he wasted no time in reacting.
Henry’s right hand shot out like a serpent, grabbing the man's wrist and twisting it hard to the side. He then used his left hand to disengage the gun from the attacker’s hand before slamming his elbow into the man’s face. Henry heard the crunch of the man’s cartilage in his nose beneath his blow. The man stumbled back a few steps with blood running from his nose. Henry charged in, landing a few more solid blows to his head and sides before he crumpled to the floor unconscious.
The door to the bathroom burst open as Stenick, who most likely had overheard the commotion, rushed in with his gun out. Lenny slammed the door on the man’s arms, causing him to cry out in pain and drop the gun. The gun hit the floor, and Lenny kicked it away. The brutish thug kicked his knee out, hitting Lenny square in the face. Henry watched as his friend’s nose bent at an odd angle and gushed blood. Stenick kicked Lenny again for good measure, sending him across the floor.
Henry gauged that he would not be able to reach the gun in time without a fight. He surveyed the room for anything he could use as a weapon and found an old grungy mop in a bucket near him. He ran and grabbed it. As soon as his hands wrapped around the shaft of the mop, he swung it around in an arc, hoping to keep Stenick at bay and away from the dropped gun.
Stenick reached for the gun anyway, and Henry quickly swept the mop out in front of him, causing the thug to dodge to his right. Henry slid the mop’s head along the floor, pushing the gun farther out of reach.
He quickly reversed and slammed the other end of the mop along the right side of the man’s head with a loud thud. The man's head snapped abruptly to the left, slamming it against the heavy wooden door. Henry stood there, waiting with his makeshift weapon gripped tightly in his hands ready to defend himself against the man’s next attack. The man stood there dazed and confused for a few moments before he crumpled to the floor unconscious.
"Well, that went well," Lenny said as he tried to stem the flow of blood that dripped from his nose. Henry noticed how absurd Lenny looked and rolled his eyes.
Lenny picked himself up off the floor and staggered over to the sink, where he cleaned himself off as best he could. "It's safe to say our original plan is fracked."
Henry shrugged.
"You know those two probably called for backup, and if they don't return to Union Forest with us, Smythe will know something’s up."
Henry sighed and nodded.
"So what are we going to do with them?" Lenny asked.
Henry and Lenny dragged both unconscious men over to the utility closet door. Lenny took out his lock picks and, after a moment or two, opened the door. They placed both men inside. Henry looked for something to tie them up with when Lenny produced some zip ties from his pack.
When Henry asked Lenny why he had zip ties in his backpack, Lenny glanced at him and said, "Doesn't everybody?"
Once they had both men bound and gagged, Henry walked over to the restroom entrance door. He peeked out into the common room, which was clear of all patrons. He noticed the bartender was on the phone frantically speaking with someone on the other end.
Henry turned back and yelled, "The commons room has been cleared out, and it appears that the barkeep is on the line calling for help. We’ll have to find another way out."
Lenny finished cleaning himself up and walked over to an electric panel that was located on the wall inside the utility closet.
"Well, luck seems to be on our side," Lenny said.
A broad smile crossed his face when he opened the electric panel and flipped a switch inside. When he did, a section of the utility room wall shifted slightly forward. Lenny walked over to the wall, running his hand along where it was and then pulled. The wall swung inward and hit one of the unconscious men on the head.
"Oops!" Lenny exclaimed.
Behind the wall was a metal door with a biometric scanner panel. Lenny placed his hand on the panel, and the door opened.
Henry walked over to the utility room door, where the new exit led to the alley behind the pub. Henry raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you tell me about this door before?"
Lenny shrugged. "I didn't think we needed to use it, and besides, it wasn't part of the plan. I mean, come on, do I have to tell you all my secrets?"
Henry looked back at the door to the restroom to make sure it was still closed, dumped the handguns into one of the toilets, and motioned for Lenny to leave. Both men stepped out into the alley behind the supermarket and raced towards 18th Avenue. They flagged down a transit cab and jumped in. Once inside, a feminine voice asked the passengers for their destination.
Lenny tapped a red-colored card on the panel. "Please take us to Marine Basin Marina on Bay 41st Street, and per my authorization pass, do not record or log this destination."
The light on the dash turned yellow and then flashed green with the words "Authorization granted. New destination accepted. And no record will be logged. Thank you for using Transit Cab, General Carmine."
As the transit cab pulled away, Henry turned back to make sure no one had followed. When he was certain no one had, he turned back around to ask Lenny who General Carmine was, and why the transit cab called him by that name. Lenny must have seen that Henry was about to ask him those questions because he shook his head and placed his index finger over his lips, signally Henry to remain silent.
Lenny pulled out a notebook and wrote something in it. When he was done, he flipped the notebook over for Henry to read. He could barely make out what was written because of Lenny’s bad handwriting but figured out most of it, which read “I will tell you once we arrive at our destination. The cab is programmed to record any conversations the cab’s A.I. determines are threats to national security.”
When Lenny was certain Henry had read his entire note, he sat back and pulled out an old tattered book. Confused and irritated, Henry sat in the back of the transit cab watching the world pass by. He hoped that this plan of Lenny's would work, and he'd be able to find some way to get Rick safely home.
Water dripped from the ceiling onto Rick and the others while they made their way down the tunnel. Unfortunately, the stench of the sewers worsened the farther westward
they went.
They passed more than one half-eaten animal corpse, which were so bloated and decayed that they were impossible to identify. They also passed several skeletal remains of villagers who were picked so clean that it was impossible to tell if they were men or women. Piles of human and animal waste, which had been washed down through the storm drains, polluted the area.
Years of neglect had allowed debris to get caught at critical junctions, which, over time, created makeshift dams where the feces pooled. The men waded through these nasty pools of waste and muck.
What the Beast hadn't destroyed or consumed washed out into the streets by the torrential rains, and into the sewers. It was as if Mother Earth herself wept over the death and destruction that had been wrought upon those who lived on her surface.
The men continued to trudge through the thick muck and waste. Rick felt an intense headache coming on. He mentioned the headache to the others—who were complaining of headaches too. McAvoy ordered the men to change from their breathers to their gas masks. The men quickly removed their packs, grabbed their masks, and secured them in place before continuing down the tunnel.
Rick sighed in relief. The stench of the sewers went away, replaced with the smell of rubber and steel. His headache began to subside as he followed Jacobson and Wells down the concrete tunnels.
He allowed his mind to wander a bit as they walked. The walls and ceiling of the sewers were rent with cracks giving the tunnel a foreign and alien look. Some of the cracks were so large that roots and other plant life had wormed their way through the tunnel walls and down into the darkness.
It reminded Rick of when he and Henry would go out and play in the woods at night when they visited their grandparents. The woods had always appeared more ominous at night. Many times, they had gone into the woods without a flashlight and wandered through the trees, pretending they were space explorers on an alien world.
The otherworldly appearance that the vegetation created in the tunnel was nothing compared to the imaginary difficulties he and his brother made up. The light was extremely dim in the tunnels, and many times Rick or one of the others would trip over a root or vine that was hidden under the water’s surface. Several times the team had to take various side tunnels or corridors to avoid large twisting roots that blocked their way.
The Shadow Above The Flames Page 7
