“Try and think about more than whatever facts pop into your head about the plant. What connects you to it?”
Andrew took a step backward, as if hit in the head. If he wanted a name that meant something to him, it would have to go beyond just a common or scientific name. Willows had no significant meaning to him, other than being his favorite tree.
“You two coming or what?” Tech stuck his head out the doorway.
Tran and Andrew entered the adjacent room. Inside, racks and shelves held various weapons—several types of guns, blades, and even what looked like a rocket launcher. Andrew gawked at the impressive collection.
“Ever shoot a gun?” Tech asked.
“No.” Shuffling his feet, Andrew felt unease rising in his stomach. Was Tech expecting him to use a gun?
A black pistol hung on the wall. Tech grabbed it. He considered it for a moment and then approved it. Grabbing a magazine from another rack, he checked the bullets in it. Then he inserted the magazine into the handgrip of the pistol. It clicked as it locked into place.
“Safety on.” Tech held his index finger on the side of the gun. “Safety off.” He put his finger on the trigger. “Grip it firmly, otherwise the internal safety will engage and you won’t be able to shoot it.”
Tech held the gun with both hands, pointing it away from the others. “Just aim and pull the trigger. They have minimal recoil, so you shouldn’t knock yourself out.”
“Yeah, even I have one,” Tran said. He picked out a similar gun and loaded it.
Tech held the gun out to Andrew. Reaching over, Andrew took it by the handle, being sure not to touch the trigger.
“What about reloading?” Andrew asked.
Tech smirked. “Kid, if you go through that many bullets, we’ve got a lot more problems. I will teach you about it at a better time.”
The cold steel felt foreign to Andrew’s hand. He had never held a gun in his life. It felt heavier than he expected, but it was well balanced. He hoped it was as easy as they said, but dreaded the idea it would be too easy. He did not intend to shoot anyone.
Tech grabbed a pair of holsters from a shelf. He handed one to Andrew. “Wear it like a belt.”
Copying Tech’s actions, Andrew wrapped the belt around his waist and then placed the gun into the holder over his left hip.
Godlin grunted behind them. “We should use invisibility suits and not just appear. Venom might be expecting us, but he shouldn’t know who we are.”
“Agreed. They should be in here with the armor.”
“Invisibility suits?” Andrew asked.
Tran’s lips parted in a bright grin. “You’re going to love this.”
Chapter Twenty-One
White spot lights illuminated a massive compound, splashing up onto the side of the gray building. A large, glowing sign over the door read “Biotech Medical and Robotics: Making the future, today.” The air hung still, and a flurry of snowflakes drifted lazily to the ground. The sky was stained an inky black.
It seemed as if no one was around for miles, as far as Andrew could see, but he knew better. Tech, Tran, and Godlin stood in front of him, invisible, clustered together in a snow-covered field overlooking the parking lot.
All of them wore invisibility suits. The inside of the suit was lined with a silvery reflective material, but the outside was like looking through a piece of glass. Andrew even had a pair of flat goggles to conceal his eyes. The suit worked by bending light around itself, allowing someone to see behind it and not the object it concealed. It was invisibility by omission.
Tech had warned Andrew that bright lights would cause the suit to cast a shadow. Inside an office building, it would not be a problem. However, invisibility was not the same as incorporeal. If someone ran into him, the ruse would be over.
Andrew found his range of motion somewhat limited not from the suit, but the bulletproof vest he wore underneath. None of the other Keepers had taken one, not even Tran. The vests had too many drawbacks and not enough benefits for them. In addition to restricting movement, it also weighed about fifteen pounds.
The Keeper’s destination was a three-story building made of glass and steel at the opposite end of the parking lot. A few cars were scattered around out front, lit by sodium-vapor street lamps that cast a yellow-orange glow across the area. White snow covered everything in two inches of fine powder.
Three security guards watched the door. One stood outside, rubbing his hands together and shivering. Another stood just inside the door. The third sat behind a desk on the other side of the room. On either side of the desk was a hallway, heading off in unknown directions.
“What do you think?” Andrew whispered.
“That I expected to face down an army to get inside,” Tech replied. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Watch for a minute,” Godlin whispered.
A woman in a thick jacket went up to the guard at the door, nodded to him, and said something that the Keepers could not hear. She handed the guard what appeared to be an ID. He glanced at it and then returned it to her. She used the ID to open the door.
“If that’s the extent of security, then this is a joke,” Tech said.
Entering the building, the woman disappeared down the left hallway.
“Come on,” Tech said. His footprints appeared in the snow as he headed toward the building.
Trying to keep up, Andrew followed the others to the far side of the compound and stopped around the corner.
“Now what?” Godlin asked.
“When another person arrives we can slip in with them. They won’t see us,” Tech said.
“Might take a while before someone else shows up,” Godlin replied. Nothing moved in the parking lot, and the road that led out from the building, past a row of trees, had no cars driving by. “Could just rush the guard and take his ID.”
Focusing his attention on the doorway, Andrew said, “Or we could distract the guard and make him open the door. Once inside, we split up. We’ll have a better chance of finding Christine if we do.”
“That could work,” Godlin whispered. “And I bet they would open it for Raptor, which is Tran’s job.”
“Great,” Tran muttered, his tone less than enthusiastic.
“I’ll slip in first when they open the door,” Tech said. “Go on, Tran.”
The sound of a grumbling Tran faded in the direction of the entrance.
In the distance, the guard shoved his hands into his pockets and stomped his feet. Several moments of silence passed.
Andrew saw Raptor step out from around a corner of the building and walk up beside the guard standing outside. Andrew’s jaw dropped. He was not sure what he had expected to happen, but he had not expected Raptor to appear. She even wore her normal clothing—a black T-shirt and blue jeans.
“Wait, is that really her?” Andrew asked.
Godlin muttered, “That’s Tran. This should be amusing.”
Andrew could not find any difference between this Raptor and the real one.
“I believe you were expecting me.” The image of Raptor spoke in a stern voice.
The guard startled at the voice behind him. “Yes. I mean no. Who are you?” he sounded confused as he spun around.
“Let me in,” Raptor said as she tilted her head to the side.
The guard standing just inside pushed the door open and stepped out. The door started to close behind the guard, but then stopped. It opened slightly and then returned to closing. The third guard looked on, but did not seem to have noticed the door’s unusual behavior.
“That was Tech,” Godlin said.
Staring at Tran, the second guard reached for the gun hanging on his belt. “What’s going on? Who … no, what are you?”
“Bloody hell, they can see through it,” Godlin cursed.
“What?”
“Tran. They can see through it. Watch out.”
“See through what?” Andrew repeated.
Raptor shifted her weight from one foot to
the other as the guards pulled out their guns. She lifted both of her hands into the air.
Godlin answered, “Short version is Tran can become other people. Most humans fall for it, but a tiny minority don’t, and Venom’s guards are in that minority.”
The third guard inside noticed something was wrong. She reached for a walkie-talkie on her hip, but before she could touch it, she found herself flipping backwards. Landing harshly on the ground, her walkie-talkie went skidding across the floor.
The two guards outside opened fire on Raptor. No, Tran, Andrew reminded himself.
“Come on!” Godlin said. He rushed toward the two guards outside. Andrew followed him.
Tran dove off to the side, snow flying up around him as Raptor’s form changed into the image of Tran dressed in a gray suit. “I surrender!” He lifted his hands over his head. The two guards stopped shooting and started to walk toward him.
Andrew ran toward Tran, but the fight started long before he got there. Someone tripped the two guards standing outside, sending them flat onto their faces.
Tran scrambled to his feet and ran around the side of the building from where he had come.
All three of the guards started to get up, but the invisible Keepers tripped them, sending them down again. Andrew decided to keep out of the fight. Godlin and Tech had things under control. Their invisibility suits kept the guards from reacting properly. Someone threw the guard standing inside into the glass door. She hit it with a hard thud, but it did not break. She sank to the ground, knocked senseless. Meanwhile, someone else knocked the two guards outside into a concrete pillar holding up an overhang. They both dropped as well.
The glass door opened, and Andrew slipped inside. He said, “Tech, or whoever. It’s me, Andrew.”
“Hey, good. Was worried I’d have to look for you,” Tech replied to him.
Godlin and Tech carried the semiconscious guards outside. They stripped them of their guns and radios and then tied them together around one of the concrete pillars.
Tech reentered the building using an ID card he had stolen from a guard. “That’s bound to get some attention. I give it five minutes before someone notices. Maybe ten if we’re lucky and they aren’t paying attention.”
“They are strong Questers,” Godlin said.
“I noticed,” Tech replied. “It means we were wrong. Venom isn’t killing them, like we thought. He’s getting them to follow him and killing the weaker ones. This is bad.”
“Bad how?” Andrew asked, acting as a lookout. To his left were a pair of elevators. To the right, the hallway went on and turned a corner, leading to the rest of the building.
Sitting down behind the desk, Tech pulled himself in closer to the computer. “Means Venom is taking out the potential followers of more powerful Questers who might resist him. He’s taking control of the game by recruiting the best pieces. It’s a risky move, but well calculated. If this was chess, then he just made your bishops and knights switch sides, rather than removing the pieces from the board. If Earth wants them back, it’ll have to accept Venom as a Keeper again. He’s using them as leverage against the planet.”
Andrew moved around the desk. Monitors were stacked up on top of it. Displayed on them were different camera angles of the front door, the entryway, and the elevators. A final screen had spider solitaire playing on it.
“Now let me see what I can do for Mouse,” Tech said. A command line appeared, and the keyboard started to type by itself, inputting a string of code.
“Why not kill him?” Andrew did not like the idea of killing anyone, but Venom was clearly a threat.
Godlin replied, “Earth won’t allow it. He might not be a Keeper anymore, but he is still a part of Earth and his death would have consequences. He has to be contained and the damage he’s done corrected. If we kill him, then all the Questers he has following him could try to pick up where he left off, and we’ll have chaos on our hands.”
“I think I understand,” Andrew said.
The keyboard went silent. “Mouse,” Tech said. “Hey, got a present for you.” A squeak came from the chair as it leaned back on its own. “Enjoy.” The chair leaned forward and then slid itself under the desk.
“Splitting up?” Godlin asked.
“It’s our best bet. I say, Tran and me, you and Andrew.”
A grunt came from Godlin. “You and Tran go up the elevator; start on the second floor. Andrew and I will explore this level.”
“Fair enough,” Tech said in a cheerful tone. Tran gave a soft yelp as Tech ran into him and then pulled him away.
“Think you can keep up?” Godlin said.
Andrew nodded, but then remembered Godlin could not see him. “Yeah,” he said instead. “Just warn me if you make any sudden stops or turns.”
“Good,” Godlin said. He started to walk down the right hall, his steps just loud enough for Andrew to follow.
A door halted their progress after turning a corner. Godlin waved the guard’s ID card in front of the sensor, and the door unlocked. He went through first and then let Andrew inside.
They passed by many doors leading to various labs and offices. Nothing caught Godlin’s interest enough for him to stop and explore. Other than the guards, very few people worked in the building at this hour. All of them seemed content to stay in their labs, unaware of what was going on in the hall.
As they went through another door, a pair of guards came around the corner—a man and a woman. All of the guards wore a black, bulletproof vest over a black shirt with a pair of khaki pants. Andrew noted they also all carried a gun.
One of the guards spoke as they walked. “I mean it; something odd is going on. One guy already called in. Said he saw a door open on its own. Like ghosts or something.” He eyed the door that Godlin and Andrew had just come through as it closed with a clink.
Andrew squeezed his eyes shut. The guards had heard it.
“There! Just like that.”
“I don’t see anyone. You’re getting paranoid.” The woman waved a dismissive hand at him.
“That’s the point. You can’t see ghosts.”
“For the last time, there are no such things as ghosts.”
“Then explain why that door closed on its own.” He did not wait for a response, leaning in closer to her. “You can’t, can you? No, cause it’s ghosts.”
The woman pressed her hands together in supplication. “Will you please use your head? It’s probably some new cloaking technology the lab is testing out and we’re the guinea pigs. That’s why we were told some weird crap might go down today and not to get into a fight with it.”
“Damn, this place gets stranger by the day, I swear. I’m calling this in.”
The second guard held up her hands. “Fine, but I had nothing to do with it. Abraham’s not someone I want to cross.”
“It’s just a precaution.” The guard grabbed his walkie-talkie at his belt. Holding down the button on the side, he said, “There’s a ghost in the building. Be advised.”
The woman guard grumbled something to herself.
Godlin leaned in close to Andrew, whispering, “Abraham is Venom’s human name, from before he became a Keeper.”
Andrew hoped it meant they were on the right track. He returned his attention to the guards as the radio clicked and a response came through. “Someone knocked out James and the others at the front door, but it wasn’t ghosts. We’re on it.”
“Lock—” he started to say, but was interrupted as the power went out across the building.
The other guard cursed to herself. The first one yelled into his radio. “Get the backup systems online, now. Lock everything down—no one in or out!”
He shoved the walkie-talkie onto his belt. “See? See what I mean? Everything should have been locked down already.”
“He said to not get involved. This is getting involved.” She drew her gun, but kept it pointed down. She scanned the hallway, her back to the wall.
“I don’t care anymore. This
is creeping me out, and I’m not going to pretend nothing is going on. Who makes an order like that anyway?”
A heavy hand landed on Andrew’s arm, nearly causing him to yelp, but he kept the sound swallowed down. Orange emergency lights came on along the length of the hallway.
Godlin led Andrew past the two guards, out of their hearing range.
“Mouse,” Godlin said, letting go of Andrew. “Good job. Do you know where Venom might be hiding?”
A long pause ensued before Godlin said, “Thank you. Make sure the doors between us and there are open.”
“What did he say?” Andrew asked. He followed Godlin slowly, careful not to bump into him.
“Mouse said there’s a section of this building on its own power, and it did not go out with the rest. I’d bet Venom is there.”
Through a pair of double doors they could see a hallway that did not have the emergency lights on.
Godlin slowed his pace. “Easy,” he whispered. Andrew kept close to him.
The hallway had a few doors spaced along it. Andrew put his face up to a window and peered into the darkened room. He could just make out a table running the length of the room with several chairs scattered around it.
As they walked, the walls abruptly changed to gray concrete blocks with a red stripe down the middle.
Andrew felt a heavy arm hit him across the chest, bringing him to a halt. “What is it?”
“Look at your feet,” Godlin whispered.
Studying the ground, Andrew did not see anything out of the ordinary.
“What?” Andrew asked.
Godlin whispered, “Look at the wall. See the slits?”
Andrew studied the wall. He saw the narrow slits that Godlin had mentioned. “Yes, what does it mean?”
“Motion detectors. The suits we’re in aren’t invisible to infrared.”
“Oh,” Andrew whispered. “I guess we need a distraction. Too bad Tech and Tran aren’t here.” He grinned, unable to help himself from making a joke.
Godlin chuckled. “I have my own distraction.”
Andrew caught a glimpse of Godlin’s body as he unzipped his invisibility suit and reached inside. He pulled out his dagger and then closed the suit up, vanishing again. The black blade seemed to float in the air on its own. Godlin bent down to the ground. He muttered to himself as he waved the dagger back and forth. A misty, gray squirrel slowly materialized. The lifeless eyes of the creature were a deep coal black.
Stone of Power (Keepers of Earth Book 1) Page 28
