Counterstrike

by Peter Jay Black

  Jack ducked under the window and hurried along the hallway. Every time he reached a door, he stayed low in case, but the other rooms were all in darkness.

  Good, he thought. That meant most of the workers had gone home like he’d hoped – the two in the other room seemed to be the only ones working late. Hopefully they’d leave soon and –

  Jack’s heart leapt into his throat and he spun back.

  ‘What?’ Charlie mouthed.

  Jack stabbed a finger at the door with the workers and mouthed back at her, ‘Obi.’

  Charlie frowned for a second before realisation swept across her face like a bolt of lightning.

  The Outlaws had no way to warn Obi about the workers. And, even if it wasn’t too dangerous or time-consuming for one of them to go back to tell him, what could Obi do about it? Nothing. Despite Obi having a great disguise, he had no way to hide the unconscious guard.

  Charlie knelt down, looked at the door and then at Jack. ‘Lock.’

  He nodded. ‘Do it.’

  Charlie slipped a set of lock picks from her sleeve and set to work. A minute later, there was a soft click.

  She peered through the porthole and gave Jack a thumbs-up. The couple working in there had not heard what she’d done.

  ‘Come on,’ Jack whispered.

  Charlie, Slink and Wren hurried up the corridor to join him.

  Jack quietly opened the end door and peered through. To his relief – and just like the three-dimensional plan – on the other side was another corridor.

  Jack glanced back to make sure everyone was following, then silently crept through.

  The corridor was broken by the occasional window and door. Jack hurried over to the first window. Inside was a desk, two chairs and a filing cabinet. Several pictures hung on the walls, and on the desk was a photo of a man and woman sitting by a river.

  Jack let out a relieved sigh.

  ‘What is it?’ Charlie whispered.

  He turned to her. ‘It’s an office. Just a normal office.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘So – it means they’ve just rearranged the rooms down here, that’s all – no major redesign of the Facility.’

  That meant the mission would get back on track.

  At least he hoped so.

  The four of them moved silently along the office corridor, opened the door at the end and looked into the last hallway.

  This too was exactly like the blueprint – the left-hand wall was made of solid glass.

  Jack held up a hand, making sure the others kept back, out of sight.

  Through the glass wall he could see several rows of computers and desks. Seated in chairs at terminals were two men. They seemed to be data-inputting – reading from tablets propped up next to their screens. But, even though they were concentrating on their work, they were facing the glass wall, which meant they’d be bound to notice anyone walking past.

  Jack looked back to the group and raised an eyebrow at Wren. ‘Ready?’ he whispered.

  She smiled and nodded.

  Jack took a step back. ‘Go for it.’

  Wren slipped off her backpack, removed a skateboard and put it on the floor in front of her. Next she took out a telescopic tube, ten centimetres in diameter, with a handle one end and extended it to three metres long.

  Wren lay on the skateboard, facing up, and nodded at Charlie.

  Charlie grabbed Wren’s feet and shoved her forward.

  Wren shot along the corridor, keeping as flat as possible, and when she drew near the door in the glass wall, she put one foot down and stopped.

  Jack peeked around the corner at the two men. Due to their monitors restricting their field of vision, they couldn’t see Wren as long as she didn’t sit up.

  Wren slowly extended the metal tube up to the electronic lock. Once in position, underneath the lock and the frame, she twisted the handle and two thin blades emerged from the end.

  Slowly she edged the blades up into the gap between the electronic lock and the door frame.

  Jack glanced over at the men, but they were still focused on their work.

  Wren pressed a button on the handle and there was a small crack of electricity.

  One of the men’s heads snapped up.

  Charlie signalled for Wren to stay put.

  Everyone waited in anxious silence.

  Eventually the man refocused on his screen and resumed typing.

  Wren retracted the blades and the tube and lay it on the floor next to her. She then reached into her pocket and slipped out a grey box with two LEDs.

  She switched the device on, fixed it to the end of the tube and held it up in front of the electronic lock.

  The red light flickered but remained firmly on.

  ‘That’s it,’ Charlie whispered. ‘That’s a power detector. Red light means no juice. She’s shorted the lock. They ain’t going anywhere.’

  Jack turned around and flicked a switch, plunging the hallway into darkness.

  Wren leapt to her feet and pulled back against the opposite wall.

  One of the men said something to his co-worker, stood and walked to the door. He tried swiping his card in the lock, but nothing happened. He then tried again, with the same result. ‘Power’s gone,’ his muffled voice said. He cupped his hands over the glass and peered out. ‘Must be a trip switch.’

  Wren stayed still in the shadows.

  ‘Guess it will reset in a few minutes,’ the man said. He turned from the glass and sat back at his desk.

  Keeping close to the wall, Jack, Charlie and Slink sneaked past and to the door at the far end.

  ‘Well done,’ Jack whispered to Wren, as he held open the door.

  She smiled. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Remember,’ he continued, ‘we have no way to stay in touch with you from here on in. If something happens, save yourself and get out of here, OK?’

  Wren shook her head. ‘No way I’m leaving you guys.’

  ‘If you have to, just do it,’ Jack said. He looked at the electronic lock on the door. As soon as they tripped an alarm later in the mission, it would automatically engage. They had no way to get back out without Wren opening it from the other side. Which was why she had to stay here and wait for their return.

  She already knew this of course. ‘I’ll be here. I promise.’

  ‘I know you will.’ Jack ruffled her hair, then closed the door and hurried down the stairs with Charlie and Slink.

  When they reached the second underground level, the three of them paused by the door, listening.

  Slink grimaced and adjusted the laces around his busted ankle.

  ‘Hurts?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘Yeah. Agony.’

  Hearing nothing but the generators, Jack opened the door and they snuck through.

  On the other side, the noise was almost unbearable.

  Jack cupped his hands over his ears and nodded at a room to their right. They could just make out a guard through the window.

  At least with this racket he’d not hear them.

  As they crept past, Jack looked at the door – but there was no lock, which meant, as he’d suspected, there was no way to seal the guard inside the room like the others.

  Jack, Charlie and Slink walked between the giant generators, reached a heavy fire door and went through.

  On the other side, as expected, they stood facing the huge tank filled with water. The door closed behind them, plunging the room into eerie silence.

  The three of them stepped to the edge of the pool and peered down at it. The water was murky, a greenish-grey colour.

  ‘Look.’ Charlie pointed a few metres away. The water rippled. ‘Did you see that?’

  Slink frowned. ‘What’s in there?’

  Charlie walked a little way along the edge, then knelt and rolled up her sleeve.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Jack hissed.

  Charlie plunged her hand into the water and plucked something from it.

  Slink said, ‘What. The heck.
Is that?’

  Charlie held up a grey cylinder with a pointed end, just like the mini missile-type devices they’d found in the crates – only this one had a propeller and a rudder.

  She turned it over in her hand, revealing a watertight panel secured by screws.

  ‘Another payload bay?’ Jack asked her.

  ‘I think –’ Charlie cried out and dropped the missile back into the water with a splash. She winced and shook her hand. ‘Stupid thing gave me an electric shock.’

  Jack stared at the rippling water as the missile slipped back to the depths.

  These missiles carried some sort of payload, could be launched into the air or water . . . Jack had one of his bad feelings.

  He looked at the retractable bridge on the other side of the pool – the green light on the button seemed to beckon them like a mysterious lighthouse on a dangerous ocean.

  He turned to Slink. ‘We have to hurry.’

  Slink nodded. ‘On it.’ He hobbled over to the metal framework and started to climb. Halfway up, he winced and clutched his ankle.

  Charlie wrung her fingers. ‘Be careful, Slink.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah.’ Slink reached into his pocket for a second, then clapped hands, sending a puff of chalk into the air.

  Carefully he resumed climbing.

  ‘I have to admit,’ Jack said quietly to Charlie, ‘that’s the slowest I’ve ever seen him move.’

  ‘Slow is good,’ Charlie muttered back. ‘Slow is safe, remember?’

  Jack smiled. ‘Where’ve I heard that before?’

  She was right though – Slink needed to take his time, especially with a busted ankle. Besides, it looked dangerous up there.

  When Slink finally reached the top of the framework he was at least eight metres off the ground. He grabbed on to the first crossbeam and swung out.

  Charlie clutched Jack’s arm.

  ‘He’s fine,’ Jack said – though he too was feeling more than a little anxious.

  Slink moved hand over hand, his legs swinging back and forth like he was walking on an invisible gantry.

  Now he was just relying on his hands, Slink moved with the ease of a monkey swinging through treetops. He was already nearly at the other side.

  He stopped.

  ‘What’s he doing?’ Charlie said, redoubling her grip and sending a bolt of pain through Jack’s arm.

  Slink looked back at them and a cheeky grin swept across his face.

  ‘He’s messing with us,’ Jack said.

  ‘Slink,’ Charlie growled.

  Slink looked up at his hands and continued along the framework until he reached the upright scaffold on the other side.

  Jack let out a breath. ‘He’s fine.’

  ‘He’s gonna get a slap,’ Charlie said, letting go of his arm.

  It took Slink a minute to reach the ground and limp over to the bridge controls. He hit the green button and a motor whirred as the bridge extended across the tank.

  The second it touched the other side, Jack and Charlie ran across it.

  Charlie thumped Slink’s arm. ‘Idiot.’

  ‘I prefer “thank you”,’ Slink said with a smile.

  ‘Thank you,’ Jack said.

  ‘You’re welcome.’ Slink winced and took the weight off his ankle. ‘Be nice to sit down.’

  ‘Go hide behind that,’ Jack said, pointing to a large filtration tank.

  Slink nodded. ‘See you guys soon.’

  Jack stood in front of the security door. ‘Remember,’ he said to Charlie, ‘as soon as I open this, the alarm will go off and we –’

  ‘Need to leg it like a couple of nuns late for church?’ She smiled. ‘Yeah, I know. Don’t worry, I’m right behind ya.’

  ‘OK.’ Jack glanced back to make sure Slink was out of sight, then took a breath and threw open the door.

  A piercing alarm sounded.

  Jack and Charlie sprinted down the stairs, vaulting several at a time, and at the bottom they ran through the door to the third underground level.

  They now found themselves in front of hundreds of server cabinets, each three metres high.

  Charlie glanced at Jack. ‘Are you sure you know the way through this?’

  Jack nodded, though he hadn’t thought about the server-room layout since he’d lain down in his room. And look how that had ended – in a nightmare. Also, a lot of other things had happened since then.

  Feeling Charlie’s gaze on him, Jack pointed at the opening between the server cabinets a few metres away.

  They heard hurried footfalls on the stairs behind them.

  ‘Go.’ Jack ran through, with Charlie close behind.

  Five metres ahead, they came to the first intersection and went right.

  The main door banged open.

  At the next junction, Jack paused.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Charlie hissed.

  ‘Wait.’ Jack closed his eyes a moment, picturing the layout.

  A pair of heavy boots were close behind them.

  Jack’s eyes snapped open and he darted right, then left, then second right, past a clearing with several terminals, left again and along ten more metres of server cabinets.

  At the next junction he stopped, looked left and right.

  The boots were still behind them and gaining.

  Great. The guard knew his way through this labyrinth.

  Charlie glanced nervously over her shoulder. ‘Jack?’

  Jack closed his eyes, muttered under his breath, ‘Right, right, left, second right . . . ’ His eyes flew open again. ‘Left. No, wait, right.’

  Then ran right and darted immediately left.

  ‘Here,’ Jack said, pointing at a thick cable mounted to the wall.

  Charlie slipped off her bag, pulled out a u-shaped device and clamped it over the cable.

  ‘You sure it will work?’ Jack asked her.

  Charlie put on her backpack. ‘Positive.’

  Jack grabbed her hand and they followed the wall to the end. They rounded the next corner and, to Jack’s utter relief, in front of them was the black door to the chamber.

  ‘Hey!’

  They spun around to see the guard running straight for them.

  Jack and Charlie sprinted for the black door, threw it open and leapt inside, slamming it shut behind them.

  Charlie hit a button on the wall, locking it, and stepped back, panting. ‘That was close.’

  A buzzer sounded.

  ‘We’ve got two minutes before the air is removed and we suffocate.’ Jack gestured at the lock on the other door. ‘You’re up.’

  Charlie hurried over and pulled several tools from her hip bag. She unscrewed the lock’s cover, revealing a circuit board, and set to work.

  Jack paced the chamber and counted off the seconds in his head. When he reached ninety, he felt the first heavy twinge of anxiety, but he dared not interrupt her.

  Ten more seconds and a fan above their heads whirred to life.

  Was this preparing to suck out all the air? Was it already doing that? How long did they have?

  One hundred and ten seconds.

  Jack wiped sweat from his forehead.

  Charlie muttered something.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I said . . . ’ She reached into the lock with a pair of tweezers – the buzzing sound stopped, along with the fan. She looked at him. ‘. . . I’ve got this.’

  Jack sighed and shook his head in relief. ‘I ever tell you how amazing you are?’

  Charlie stood. ‘Yeah, you might have mentioned it, but not nearly enough.’

  As with the other security doors in the Facility, Charlie would have to stay in the chamber while Jack went through the rest of the Facility on his own.

  He stared at the door.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘Not so much.’

  Truth was – the mystery room really bothered him.

  ‘I would say you don’t have to do this,’ Charlie said, ‘but I know you better than t
hat.’ She gave him a half-hearted smile. ‘Good luck.’

  ‘Cheers.’ Jack hated not knowing what he was about to face. He hated not having been able to plan for this in advance. And, above all else, Jack despised Hector for forcing them all to go through this.

  Before he could change his mind, Jack grabbed the handle and opened the door.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  On the other side of the door, Jack looked slowly around the room. At first he wasn’t sure that his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

  He appeared to be standing in a traditional Japanese house. The walls were made of paper and wood, and there were two sliding doors to his right that stood open – one led to a kitchen, the other to a bathroom.

  The main area had wooden flooring and in the middle, sitting behind a low table, was an elderly Japanese man dressed in a black-and-grey kimono. On the floor next to him lay a samurai sword.

  The man didn’t move – he just sat with his eyes closed – and if it wasn’t for the slow rise and fall of his chest, Jack would’ve sworn he was a statue.

  In front of the samurai was a traditional tea set, with a steaming ceramic pot of water on a stand, two cups without handles and several bowls.

  Jack’s eyes moved back to the sword, and – keeping close to the outside wall – he took a cautious step towards the black door at the other end of the room.

  The samurai remained frozen, breathing in slow rhythm.

  Jack took another step. Then another. All the while he kept his gaze fixed on the man.

  It was only when Jack drew alongside him that there was a sudden flash of silver.

  Jack gasped.

  The samurai held out the sword an inch from Jack’s arm, blocking his path.

  Jack remained rooted to the spot.

  Slowly the samurai opened his eyes and looked at him.

  For a long while they just stared at each other.

  Jack cleared his throat. ‘Can I . . . ? Can I get past, please?’ Though he knew the answer to that.

  ‘You are a child,’ the samurai said, keeping his gaze locked on Jack’s.

  ‘I’m fifteen.’

  The samurai’s impassive expression didn’t react. He gestured to the floor opposite him with his free hand. ‘Sit.’