"Dr. Arnold," the artificial intelligence declared through the room's speaker.
"What is it, LIA?" Beth replied, irritated.
"Security has reported a Code One outside. Guardsmen are responding to a mass amount of infected gathering at the front gates."
Beth pulled up the security camera feeds on her computer and observed the skirmish. "Connect me with Mr. Butler."
Moments later, her computer screen displayed a live image of the Farm’s chief security officer. "What is it, Doctor? Kinda busy at the moment."
"That is precisely why I am calling you. What’s going on down there?"
"Nothing for you to concern yourself with. Security issues. Just dealing with a few infected."
Behind Mr. Butler, a pair of Guardsman were seen laughing while they fired automatic weapons through the fence. Some of the infected went down, but more replaced them, and more pushed up against the fence.
"I agree that security is your designation, but when your idiot men spray bullets into my solar panels and relays, we have a very big problem! I have a facility to run and cannot risk another power issue! I still have other orders to fill and will not be held responsible for your men recklessly self-inflicting this facility. Now tell them to stop shooting at once!"
Mr. Butler snorted at the request. “Are you crazy, Doc? What do you suggest I do? Ask these things to go away? We have to put them down-"
"I would watch your tone," Beth snapped. "In case you forgot, you and your men work for me here. I do not presume to know how you should respond to the infected, but I will not allow you to continue your current course of action, and if you have a problem with that, you can call Dr. Stone directly and ask him."
"So you're telling me that in no way are we allowed to shoot anywhere in the vicinity of the solar panels?"
"Correct."
"That's crazy! What do you expect? Let them pile up and put our sidearms to their heads and shoot each one, one at a time, until they're dead?"
"Sure. I don't care what you do, so long as you don't mess with my panels…”
After taking some much abuse from Albert, Beth found herself loving the authority.
"I'm not the security expert, you are, or at least were supposed to be. Now you will update me when it has been resolved. Am I clear?"
"Yes," Mr. Butler replied, bitterly.
"Good, now tell them to stop shooting immediately!" Beth reiterated, ending the communication. She continued watching the monitor as Mr. Butler ran out to the guards and relayed her command.
The men appeared confused, but they stopped firing and waited for their commander's directions. During those seconds, the infected piled up.
Beth counted nearly fifteen bodies deep and more than double that amount wide. She watched a few crawl on top of their undead companions and over the fence, only to be killed before standing.
Satisfied with her show of power, Beth strolled over to her personal refrigerator and rewarded herself with a diet Coke. Just as the soda covered her tongue, LIA interrupted with another message.
"Dr. Arnold, we have a security threat."
"Enough!" Beth screamed at the invisible system. Her growing hatred of the artificial intelligence had reached a tipping point and her new found ego had given her a new high. "I've had enough with you! I am the chief administrator here, not you! I was tasked with overseeing the Farm, not you! I didn't take this job to be constantly micromanaged by a computer!"
"But Dr. Arnold, there are unregistered people-"
"But nothing!" Beth shouted. "I have already taken care of the security threat!"
"Dr. Arnold, I must insist, I was programmed to be involved in every process of the Farm, including its security and I must inform you that-"
"Forget about the Farm's security!" Beth interrupted, flailing her arms and caring not for the soda as it spilled onto the tan carpet. "Mr. Butler is taking care of it! Your job is to do nothing now unless I tell you to! Nothing!" She paused to make a slight adjustment. "I take that back, unless the production is affected in some way, you are to remain in standby mode. Let the security team deal with any and all security issues, am I understood?”
"Yes.”
"And, LIA, if you report this to Dr. Stone, I will personally go down and take a sledgehammer to your CPU."
"Entering standby mode now."
***
"Damnit, Longhorne, did you forget your code again? That's the fifth time this week. Besides, Butler called for a Code One. You guys should be responding to the gate," the guard said opening the security office door.
He assumed the man wearing a Guardsman jacket and matching hat was one his comrades requesting entrance, but he couldn't have been more wrong.
And in five-seconds, the mistake would cost him his life.
As the door opened, West lifted his head.
The Guardsman named Jericho didn't have a moment to react as West drove a six-inch blade deep into the man's stomach and twisted. West rammed forward while covering Jericho’s mouth to dampen the yelps and cries for help. Then, in a fluid motion, West abandoned the blade in its place, and wrapped his now free hand around the back of the man's head. He forced Jericho’s neck until hearing the familiar popping sound he was accustomed to.
Travis entered behind West, but diverted his path to the Guard at the computer. The man with a high and tight haircut was staring at a monitor of a camera facing the main gate. Travis utilized West's move and snapped the man's neck.
"Matty, move! You're up!" West called.
Agents Kim and Clint ushered the computer hacker into the room, while Charlie and Dylan maintained a physical defense in the hallway.
Matty hadn't been at the system for ten-seconds before West asked, "How long?"
"Dude, seriously? Give me some time," Matty replied calmly. His fingers flew over the keyboard, and with each passing second, his nerves began to settle.
"David, how's it looking outside?" West asked.
Agent Kim sat behind a pair of monitors that were split into quarters. Each section provided a real-time feed of the building's exterior. "I don't know why, but they are shooting the infected one at a time. Good for us, it's slowing them down, but it doesn't look like it will last much longer."
"Matty?"
"Not gonna make it happen any faster, West."
"This is taking too long," Clint thought out loud. "We should just start shooting through locks."
West ignored the unrealistic suggestion and called out over the radio. "Everyone, I need an update. Over."
First to reply was Eddy's deep voice. "Nothing to report. The security is busy at the gate."
"All clear from the tower. No one has ventured to the south yet," Steve called next.
Then came Nick's response. "The security has taken out about half the infected. My guess is about another minute and a half until the rest were taken care of..."
Nick's finger had remained depressed over the transmit button when he said, "Alex can you hand me the night vision? Alex?"
Then the call went silent.
West stopped pacing and asked, "What is it, Nick?"
Moments later, the Native American’s voice returned. "I'm sorry, but I don't know where Alex has gone to. His rifle is here, but he's not."
West caught an "I told ya so" look from Clint and growled. "Alright stay-"
But a voice from the speakers above interrupted the conversation. "Hello. Who are you and what are you doing in this office?"
Startled and thinking they had been exposed, everyone looked to West, but the reply came from someone else.
"We are running routine maintenance. Who are you?" Matty said, not taking his eyes off the screen.
"I am LIA. I was not informed of this. Running maintenance on whose request?"
Matty spun around and looked at West. "Running maintenance at the request of, uh," he began to say, stalling for help.
"Elizabeth Baron," West said, hoping the name would pass.
West leaned
in at Matty's request. "This must be the A.I. Talk to it and keep it busy so I can finish."
"I apologize, but I was not informed there was to be any maintenance, nor do I recognize any of your faces..."
At the sound of the last word, all heads instinctively tilted up at the cameras mounted in the corners; a mistake which was certain to lead to further facial assessment.
"None of you register in my database, and as such, I am obligated to report your presence."
"West, I'm not done yet," Matty mumbled.
"That's because..."
West thought fast and hard. He knew he couldn't allow the system to report their presence. He looked around at the others, but no one was coming to his aid. So, he said the first lie that came to him.
"We are part of a new security team."
"I was not aware of a new security team," LIA replied quickly. "I will direct our head of security to your position."
"No, don't," Kim declared, jumping into the improv. “Doing that will compromise our security exercise."
"What security exercise?"
"We weren't supposed to say anything, but we are not here on routine maintenance," West admitted, before following up with another lie. "We are supposed to be here secretly to test the building's security."
"Ya, that's why you don't recognize us and that's why no one told you," Travis added. "Ms. Baron wanted you to be surprised and see how you reacted."
"And you reacted perfectly," Kim complimented, speaking to it as though it was a person. "You really did a great job. We will include that in our assessment."
West leaned over and spoke to Matty like a ventriloquist. "Where are we at?"
"Almost there," Matty said, fingers scrambling to invade the system.
"Why do I not detect any vital signs coming from Mr. Johnson or Mr. Merick?" LIA asked, processing the two dead Guardsmen.
"Because they are playing dead?" Kim said, shrugging.
"We are out of time, Matty," West said, voice returning to its original stern tone. "Now or never. Can you get in or not?"
"False. I replayed the security footage and observed you murder them. Furthermore, I detect your cohort is attempting to infiltrate my system. You are a security threat. You will be reported immediately."
Then came the sound of silence as everyone held their breath. The charade was exposed. They had been discovered. Certainly, the alarm would sound at any moment, and they would be forced into a premature shootout.
All eyes fell on West.
Looks of "Do we stay? Do we abort? What do we do?" would be crippling to a lesser-seasoned man, but West was trained to adapt and react. Fortunately, this time he had to do neither.
Matty's fingers input one final sequence, and then stopped moving altogether. "4LIX always finds a way," the computer hacker declared, spinning around. His face was smug and full of confidence. "Everyone meet LIA."
"Hello," the artificial intelligence said politely. It was as though everything before had been forgotten or erased. "I am happy to assist you for the duration of your exercise."
"Were you too late? Did it report us?"
"LIA, you have not reported our presence to security, correct?" Matty inquired directly.
"That is correct."
"There ya go, West. Oh, and LIA, you will give my friends full access wherever they need to go."
"Good work," West said, patting Matty on the shoulder.
"I'm not gonna lie, as much as I'd like to take all the credit, it wasn't all me. I still needed more time, but for some reason, LIA was ordered into a standby mode. I don't know who did it, but by doing so, they allowed me direct access and now control. For how long? I don't know, so I'd hurry up."
"Sometimes it's better to be lucky. How about covering our tracks?"
"Already on it. I disabled all security cameras, and now I'm going back and erasing prior footage."
But the relief of success was short-lived as Kim grabbed the monitor. "Uh, West, we got a problem."
Matty swiveled his chair around to face the monitor. He pulled up the same feed Agent Kim was viewing; the raining sparks and popping lights resembled fireworks. "It's starting," he said, blood draining from his face. "Nick and the others must have had no other choice."
"Damn" West growled, "I thought we'd have more time. Everyone move now! Rendezvous here in ninety-seconds."
***
First out the door were Agents Clint and Kim. They tore off toward the research labs next to the security office. Steps behind them were West and Travis, who went right, toward the warehouse. Last, were the Canadians, who after bringing their heads together, tightened up and left the room.
Charlie, a left-handed shooter, posted up at the corner facing the front door.
Dylan dropped to a knee and his foot backed up against Charlie's. He watched the hallway leading down to the south door.
The radio on the belt of the Jericho came alive with yelling. "Code four, code four! All Guardsmen respond immediately!"
The same words repeated twice more, though slightly varied.
"What should I do?" Matty called out.
"Deal with it," said Charlie and Dylan simultaneously.
He sat back at his station and starting typing. "LIA, are there more guards in the building?"
"Yes. Most off duty remain in the recreational room and dormitories located on the second floor."
"I mean currently. Where are they at now?"
"There are ten men entering the elevators, and another twelve getting ready."
"You hold the elevators. Both of them. Lock all stairwells and restrict access only to my friends."
"Understood."
"That should buy us some time," Matty mumbled as he scanned the multiple security feeds.
Outside, the guards pointed their barrels at the hills and fired. Through another camera, Matty observed a pair of guards retreat to the front entrance.
"I got two threats yanking on the front door," Charlie yelled for everyone's benefit.
"Don't worry. I told LIA to lock the doors. They won't be able to get in with their cards."
Matty was suffering from the worst case of restless leg syndrome as he pulled up the feed with Clint and Kim. The two agents corralled scientists at gunpoint and planted their explosives. "Dylan, keep a lookout. The agents should be coming out soon. Don't shoot them."
"Okay."
"What the hell is this?" Matty mumbled as he stumbled upon a restricted access feed. He zoomed in on eight rooms. Five were occupied with frightened individuals. The other three were empty and of those three, two were smeared with blood. "LIA, what’s going on there?"
"They are test subjects who were brought in from the desert."
"Test subjects? For what?"
"Dr. Stone needed subjects to test Ambrosia."
"LIA, can you make a copy of the tests?"
"Certainly."
Matty removed a flash drive from his bag and plugged it into the computer's USB port.
"Guys, I think we have another problem!"
"What is it?"
"I think there are people being held captive here. We need to help them!"
"What?"
"Are you serious?"
"Ya. Something doesn't feel right. I think there's some serious, mad scientists shit going on here!"
Matty heard curses of disbelief from each man outside.
"LIA, where are they being held?"
"They are located one floor below in the testing laboratory. Would you like me to call the main elevators?"
"Come on guys, we have to go help them!"
"Sorry, eh, but we can't leave!"
Matty was at a loss. He stared at the test subjects: people, scared, helpless people. His morals pounded his gut.You can't get to them without bringing security. But you can't leave them. They don't deserve to die here...
***
"You pie the left, I'll take the right," West said to Travis. Without being seen, each leaned around the entryway leading
into the warehouse.
"I got men and women in lab coats and jumpsuits on my side," Travis said, right eye downloading the visual data. "Looks like they're busy working; making notes, and checking the vaccine."
West watched the workers fill cases, stack them and forklift the finished pallets to the other side of the room.
"Moving double-time. Must not be long ‘til those five trucks are outta here."
"There's too many. It'll take too long to group everyone up or hold them at gunpoint," Travis said. "They all have to know what they are a part of here, and if they didn't then-"
"Ignorance is no excuse," West said, though the statement was disconcerting. Worse, he knew the statement was oxymoronic. His mind reverted to the day in the abandoned factory in New York.
You were a patsy too, maybe just as ignorant. But Travis is right. There's not enough time to corral everyone together, plant the explosives, then get out.
Travis's eyes remained fixed on the warehouse personnel. "What's the plan, I know you have one."
"I count three armed men, but we have to assume everyone is a threat..."
West's mind played out the best scenario.First, we deal with everyone. Then we take out the machine. Cover Travis while he plants the C-4. After, we head over to the trucks. Some look packed already, but it doesn't matter, Chucky. Travis will cover you while you toss the explosives in with the payload or plant the C-4 underneath. Good? Good.
"Here's what we do..." West said, giving Travis the condensed version of his thoughts. "I want to be out of here in forty-five seconds."
Out of the dozens of scientists and workers stationed in the warehouse, none stood a chance. Some barely had their hands up, others attempted to plead for their lives, but West and Travis fired indiscriminately.
Damn you, Chucky, West thought, hating himself for killing the unarmed. But deep inside, he knew, he had to believe, that this situation didn't allow for hostages. More so, it called for quick decisions, right or wrong. He didn't know about Travis, but he would deal with his conscience later.
"This is an interesting operation," LIA said over the loudspeakers. "I assumed this exercise would not call for actual casualties. May I ask what you are doing?"
The Longest Road (Book 3): The Other Side Page 18
