"Sergeant, can you repeat that last part?"
The comm were silent for a moment before McAvoy returned on the line. "I took a piece of metal in my left leg. I don't believe it has pierced my femoral artery, but I am bleeding quite a lot, and I can barely stand, let alone walk on it. I've made a makeshift tourniquet with my belt to reduce the blood loss."
"Sergeant, how far back are you?" Rick asked over the comm line.
The static on the comm line itched at Rick's nerves. Several moments passed before they received a response. When they did, Rick could hear the pain in McAvoy's voice.
"I don't know how far you boys got, but I'm maybe only two or three meters from where we last rested."
The static returned to the line. Wells exchanged a concerned look with Jacobson before clicking on his comm. "We're on our way, sir. Can you try to stabilize your leg until we get there?"
"I'm doing the best I can," McAvoy grunted. "I don't think big ugly and scaly will find me anytime soon, but the sooner you can get here, the better. I'd hate to have to take on that ugly son of a bitch down here on my own with a torn up leg."
Wells turned to Rick. "About what I said . . . you were right; I'm sorry. Sounds like the Morgan brothers have a spider sense we all need to pay attention to."
Rick shrugged it off. "Let's just get back to the sergeant and determine how badly he’s injured."
All three men nodded in agreement and retraced their steps. When they finally reached Sergeant McAvoy, he was ashen from the loss of blood and slumped over on the ground. Jacobson got to him first and felt for a pulse. He found one, but it was faint. Rick and Wells shined their lights down on Jacobson as he cut away a section of the sergeant's pant leg and began inspecting the wound.
McAvoy's assessment was correct; it hadn't hit his femoral artery, but he was bleeding pretty badly. Jacobson asked Wells to pull the med kit and his tablet out of his pack and to activate the scanner on the tablet. Wells rummaged through the backpack on Jacobson's back, trying to be quick but making sure not to jostle it around too much. Rick stood against the wall on the other side of the corridor, shining his light down on the sergeant's leg and trying to stay out of the way as the two men worked.
Once Wells had the tablet out and powered on, he handed it to Jacobson. Jacobson wasted no time in scanning McAvoy's wound to determine if there was any internal bleeding or further damage. Rick watched for the creature or any other possible hostiles while the other two worked furiously on stemming the blood flow from McAvoy's wound.
Wells reached once more into the pack and pulled out the med kit. He opened it and placed it next to Jacobson. Jacobson grabbed two syringes from the med kit, one was a sedative and the other was a specialized syringe. The syringe contained a liquefied sponge-like material that helped to reduce the blood loss of the wound by applying pressure on it internally. There was also a bottle of iodine to cleanse the wound.
Jacobson asked Wells to grab a pair of pliers from his pack. Wells found the tool and handed it to him. Jacobsen placed both syringes on the ground and then turned to regard Rick and Wells. Rick noticed the serious look on Jacobson's face.
"We need to remove the rebar that is protruding from his left leg. Once I give him the sedative, I need you, Wells, to carefully grab hold of the rebar with the pliers and slowly pull it out. Be careful; we don't want to create any further damage. Once the metal is clear of the wound, I will inject the clotting agent, and then we can apply a bandage to his leg."
Both men carefully rolled the sergeant to his right to fully expose the wound. Jacobson injected the sedative in the sergeant's left leg just above the makeshift tourniquet. Then he gave a count of twenty and nodded to Wells to begin. Wells carefully clamped the pliers down around the piece of rebar, which caused the sergeant to groan.
Wells repositioned the pliers and eased the piece of metal out. The sergeant screamed in pain as the metal came free of his leg and blood poured out. Jacobson quickly grabbed the bottle of iodine and poured it over the wound. McAvoy grunted in pain.
He then grabbed the other syringe and injected the sponge-like substance into the wound. Within seconds, the flood of blood slowed, and then stopped altogether.
Wells handed Jacobson a large gauze pad and medical tape to bandage up the wound. Jacobson laid the thick gauze over the wound. Next, he unraveled long strips of medical tape and wrapped it around the sergeant's leg. Once that was done, he grabbed a third syringe and injected a healing serum into McAvoy's leg.
The serum would allow McAvoy's body to absorb the sponge material and help speed up his body’s natural ability to heal. Within a few hours, McAvoy would be able to stand and walk on his leg with only some minor pain and discomfort. Until then, they would need to help support him so he didn’t put any weight on his leg.
Rick and Jacobson helped McAvoy to his feet. While up, he struggled to stand on both legs and had to rely on the two men to help him walk. McAvoy's additional weight wasn’t too difficult for the men to carry, so they crept forward. After they were able to get McAvoy a few yards down the corridor, Wells grabbed the sergeant’s pack and threw it over his shoulder. Once he had the equipment situated, he followed the other three men down the corridor.
The transit cab pulled up outside the Union Forest building. Standing at attention in front of the building was a host of twenty-four heavily armed security personnel and Smythe. Henry and Lenny looked at each other nervously. Smythe stood there in his charcoal two-button wool-blend suit, white silk button up shirt, red silk tie, and leather shoes with his arms crossed.
Henry knew what that smug smile on Smythe’s face meant; it meant: oh, I have you now, Henry Morgan. Henry wanted to punch Smythe in the face. At this point, Henry was certain his employment with Union Forest was over, so what did he have to lose if he took a swing at the smug bastard.
Henry leaned toward Lenny and whispered, "Okay, what's the plan?"
Lenny shrugged. He looked at the armed guards for a few more moments. "I think we're going to have to face facts and turn ourselves in."
Lenny winked at Henry, climbed out of the car, and raised his hands up into the air. "Okay, boys, you’ve got me! Here I am, the big bad computer hacker who's stolen your signal and data. Henry convinced me to come in, so here I am."
The security guards slowly climbed down the stairs, making their way towards Lenny, wary that he might do something. Once the guards were close enough, they apprehended the two men. After doing a quick check to make sure neither men were armed, they firmly secured their hands behind their backs.
Not finding any weapons on them, they started to go through Lenny's bag and found a laptop, a paper notebook, an old tattered book, and a thumb drive. At the sight of the thumb drive, Smythe descended the steps and quickly snatched it out of the guard’s hand.
"Well, what do we have here? You do realize hacking a government funded computer network is a felony, don't you? What was your name again?"
Henry scowled at Smythe. "His name is Leonard Kowalski. He grew up in Brooklyn and is known by his associates as Lenny."
Smythe turned and glared at Henry. "Was I talking to you? From what I can tell, you are in league with this computer hacker and were planning on escorting him into the building so he could gain access to our computer network."
Henry laughed at Smythe's little diatribe. "Seriously, Smythe. If you believed that, you’d have had the feds here to greet us, not this little brute squad. Where is Mr. Perkins? If you don't mind, I'd like to have a little chat with him."
Smythe walked up behind Henry and kicked the back of his knee, causing Henry to crumple to the ground. Henry cursed as his knee hit the pavement. Before Henry could get his balance, Smythe grabbed the hair on the back of his head and yanked it back.
"You see, you don't have any friends here anymore, and you are in some serious trouble. So if you think you're going to be able to walk away with your job still intact, you've got another thing coming. I'm going to make sure that you get to
spend some time in a deep dark prison."
Smythe released his hold on Henry and shoved him forward, causing him to hit his head against the side of the transit cab. Lenny stood there unable to help Henry since five armed guards circled him with their guns raised. Smythe signaled for his men to collect Lenny and Henry and escort them to the blue rooms.
The guards dragged Henry to his feet and shoved him and Lenny forward. Henry stumbled a bit because his head was still ringing from being struck against the transit cab. The guards weren't taking any chances in escorting either of the men. Henry had never seen these guards around the Union Forest building before and he certainly had never heard of the blue room.
The guards escorted both men into the building with six men in front, two on each side, and six men in the back with their guns raised, most likely aimed straight at the back of their skulls. They led Lenny and Henry around to the west side of the building, where they led them through a side door that Henry had never seen before. Things were not going as planned, and when Henry thought about it, the plan had gone right out the door when they had fought the guy in the Goal Post restroom.
When Henry glanced over at Lenny and saw the huge smile on the maniac's face, he thought, Lenny is enjoying all of this. What in the world is that goofball up to now? Henry looked at one of the guards to his right and demanded to know where they were taking them and why there were no authorities on the scene. None of the guards would respond to his questions other than to tell him to shut up.
After passing through the side door to the building, they entered a short hallway that brought them to an elevator. The corridor only allowed for two guards to remain in front and two behind the prisoners. When they reached the elevator, one of the guards stepped up and a retinal scanner scanned his eye to allow the elevator doors to open. The guards hustled Henry and Lenny into the elevator and then stepped inside themselves.
One of the guards pushed a button on the control panel and the elevator descended. In the background, some song about a careless whisper played on the elevator speakers. The two guards talked to one another about some girl the other guy was dating.
Henry leaned over to whisper something to Lenny. "I certainly hope you have a way out of this because I can’t hack a retinal scanner. Plus, I have no clue where they are taking us."
Lenny turned his head and whispered his reply. "Have a little faith. This isn't going quite as I planned, but, hey, we're in the building, and pretty soon you will get to talk to Perkins about Rick. Well, . . . that’s if they don't torturous us first."
Lenny stopped talking for a moment, and for the first time, it seemed like he was a little hesitant and nervous to Henry.
"You don't think they will torturous us, do you?” Lenny asked. “I don't know if I can deal with torture, especially if they do something to my hands; they are kind of my moneymaker."
Henry kicked Lenny in the leg. "You've got to be freaking kidding me. We are descending into God knows what, and you are worried about your hands? Why did I have to go to the Goal Post tonight and meet you? I should have just head home and watched the highlights of tonight's game on the news."
Lenny shuffled over to the corner of the elevator to pout. The elevator came to a stop and both men were ushered into another small corridor that was attached to an octagonal room with a door on each of the walls. Two guards pushed Henry towards one of the doors and shoved him inside the room. Once inside, Henry quickly understood why they called it the blue room; its navy blue walls were illuminated by lights that gave off a weird blue glow. Plus, all of the furniture was blue.
In the center of the room was a single metal table with four chairs. The guards directed him over to one of the chairs and forced him to sit down. Once Henry sat, they undid his bonds and then secured his legs and arms to the chair with zip ties. After they made sure his bonds were secure, they left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Henry heard a faint click of a door lock, and then the room went silent; even the sound of Henry's own breathing was muted. The room had some sort of sound-dampening field, which didn't bode well for Henry or his friend. It meant he could be held in there for some time and no one would hear him or Lenny shouting for help. Due to the fact that they were underground, Henry didn't hold out for any help from the authorities. Union Forest was keeping this off the books, meaning neither of the men would get a trial.
Henry adjusted himself the best he could in the metal chair and did the only thing he could do: he tried to sleep.
Lenny watched as the guards escort Henry through one of the side doors of the octagonal room. Once the door closed behind them, Lenny’s guards pushed him towards one of the other doors. He, however, wasn't going to go without a fight like Henry did. He planted his feet where he stood, refusing to move forward. Two of the guards grabbed him by the arms and started dragging him towards the room.
Just before they reached the door, Lenny slipped through their grasp and ran for the exit. One of the guards tried to throw a punch at him, but Lenny ducked to the left like a ninja, narrowly missing the jab.
"What the hell?!” Lenny said to the guards. “You are making a serious mistake here. Don't you know whom I work for? This is an unlawful arrest, and if my supervising officer were to find out about the mistreatment I've suffered here, and the mistreatment of his investigating officer, they'll rain down some serious amounts of fire and brimstone on your asses."
One of the guards punched Lenny in the gut. Lenny crumpled to the floor, gasping for air and trying not to vomit. The other guard knelt down next to him, lowering his head to look Lenny straight in the eyes.
"Where is your supervising officer now?" The guard asked with a sneer.
Before Lenny could respond, the other guard brought the butt of his gun down on the side of his head; he fell to the floor unconscious. The guards picked up Lenny's body and heaved him into the room, where he crashed to the floor. They made sure they saw the rise and fall of his chest before locking the door behind them.
The click of the lock echoed in Henry's ears, pulling him out of his sleep-like meditation. He opened his eyes and saw the door swing open.
Henry wasn't sure how much time had passed while he was asleep. After years of serving in the military, he had learned to slip into a meditative state or get sleep whenever the chance arose—which was not always in the most comfortable or convenient places.
The door fully opened and in walked Roger Smythe, looking pretentious in his charcoal two-button suit. He approached the table and pulled up a chair opposite Henry. He then laid a laptop, a small notebook, and a ballpoint pen on the table.
Smythe powered on his laptop and plugged in the thumb drive they had confiscated from Lenny. After Smythe finished looking at the files on the thumb drive, he arranged the remaining objects on the table and made a quick adjustment to his tie. He then folded his arms, cleared his throat, and looked Henry in the eye.
"I regret to inform you that your employment here at Union Forest has been terminated. Once our tech department has finished scrubbing your friend’s laptop, we’ll know once and for all that you’re a part of this duplicitous corporate espionage. After which, Union Forest will press charges, and you’ll be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Smythe stopped to take a moment to open his notepad. "Do you understand the charges that are being brought against you? And do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Henry sat up in his chair and stared Smythe straight in the eyes. "Roger Smythe, you are one stupid bastard if you believe that I am going to fall for this little trick. First, if I was being charged with corporate espionage, then you would have at least two federal agents here because even you and Union Forest aren't above the law. Second, you are unlawfully holding me and Lenny. Third, I have done nothing to violate my employment contract here with Union Forest.
So you have two choices: you either let me go, and we forget all about this or you choose to continue with this pretense, and I get away anyway
. When I do, I’m coming for you, and then, well, let's just say I’ll use all the knowledge and training the United States military taught me. And I’ll make sure that both you and Perkins spend the rest of your days in a prison that makes the ones they sent the terrorists to look like a country club."
Smythe seemed a little unsettled by Henry’s threats but composed himself and jotted down a few notes in his notepad. "Well, it appears that we are at an impasse. But you’re forgetting one thing: Union Forest is not bound by the laws of the United States because this land is considered sovereign soil. So we don’t need to notify the federal agents of your actions because they have no legal jurisdiction here. In addition, we can hold you for as long as we need to until you are extradited. Now as far as I know, the only people that know you’ve been taken into custody came with you. Think about that."
Henry was a little taken back by what Smythe had just told him. He wanted to lunge forward at him, but his bonds restrained him from throttling him. As he struggled against his bonds, cursing at Smythe, Smythe simply sat there cool and collected, waiting for Henry to stop his tantrum. What Smythe hadn't noticed was that while Henry had thrashed about, he had carefully loosened one of the chair’s bolts, and his bonds were rubbing against it, soon to be cut free. Two guards entered the room with guns raised, but Smythe held up his hand signally for them to hold.
Smythe looked at Henry. "I do believe it is in your best interest to calm down or else I will have to let these two gentlemen take over. I guarantee they will not be as gentle as I have been."
Henry immediately calmed down, visibly relaxing his body to show that he had finally been broken. Luckily, he knew that he had cut through the bonds enough to break through. Both guards lowered their weapons, and Smythe gave them the signal to leave. They nodded their affirmation and exited the room.
The Shadow Above The Flames Page 10
