Subject Nightingale 1: Birth and Death

by Tim Cody

  “It's not ideal, but it gets us in,” Jonny said as he slipped through first, aiming his rifle left and right before motioning for everyone else to follow. “If the others are on schedule, we've got less than ten minutes before the next ECHO squad sweeps this floor.”

  Nightingale and Michaela went next, and then Theo behind them. As Jonny led them down the hallway, Nightingale reminded herself to keep her eyes up. The floor was littered with bodies, debris, and miscellaneous remnants from a hard-fought battle, and staring at it all upset her stomach.

  “Why are there so many bodies?” she asked, if only to hear a noise other than footsteps.

  “Because there are many more members of building security than ECHO,” Michaela answered.

  Nightingale let her gaze drift as she followed close behind. The walls that weren't crumbling and cratered were painted white, some bearing the Lab's slogan in tall, black block lettering. Nightingale caught glimpses of that room she woke up in as she read it: Until man is indistinguishable from gods. She saw herself sitting in that throne, hooked up to that machine, and she saw Doctor Metzger mumbling the phrase to himself.

  Shattered windows looked into large laboratories, filled with wrecked equipment that Nightingale didn't recognize. It all looked very technical and scary, and suddenly she began wondering what that doctor had been doing to her.

  “Theo, get us in,” Jonny said as he stopped in front of another steel door, this one labeled Security.

  “I'm getting real sick of prying these doors open for you, Jonny,” Theo said as he extended his crowbar and got to work.

  Jonny covered the hallway to the right. “I hope it's teaching you a valuable lesson.”

  “Yeah,” Theo muttered between grunts as he forced the door open, “don't play my queens when there's a king in the river.”

  “A king in the river?” Nightingale whispered, looking up at Michaela.

  “It is a card game,” Michaela responded, not taking her eyes off the left hallway.

  “Contact!” Theo shouted once the door was open, and Jonny and Michaela turned to train their guns on the lone member of building security.

  The man had come at him with a fire ax, his ammo completely spent on previous encounters with ECHO. He hurled its blade for the top of Theo's head, but Theo blocked it with his crowbar held high in both hands. He brought his knee up and into his attacker's crotch, and the ax fell to the floor with a clatter. Next he brought the thick end of the crowbar down onto his attacker's face, and seamlessly turned the motion into a strong grapple.

  Theo was now behind the man, but Jonny and Michaela held their fire for fear of the bullets going through. Nightingale remained huddled behind Michaela, keeping her eyes shut and away from the scene.

  The man gagged, pinned to Theo's chest with the crowbar pulled across his throat, and he grasped uselessly at the thick steel as he felt its hold on him tightening. With a quick twist of his upper body, Theo brought the man's head to one side, and snapped his neck with a quiet tchk! He let out a breath as the body slumped to the floor, and panted out his sudden burst of adrenaline.

  “Confirmed kill,” he said as he put his crowbar away. “Rest of the room looks secure.”

  Jonny and Michaela lowered their guns as they entered with Nightingale. The windowless room was mostly dark, bathed in the bright blue light of two large malfunctioning security monitors. Attached to the far wall, they only cast their light halfway across the room—it was barely even enough to illuminate the keyboards attached to the consoles beneath them.

  “Why's it so dark in here?” Nightingale asked as she crept toward the light source, one hand on the wall to help find her way.

  “Michaela, look after the girl,” Jonny ordered as he and Theo moved to a table in the center of the room.

  “Be careful, child, there are bullet casings on the floor. Do not trip.” Michaela stuck close to Nightingale, leading her to the monitors. “This is one of the security hubs for the entire building. When they fell under siege, they shut down all of their security operations to prevent them from being overridden.”

  Nightingale felt better under the light of the monitors. She looked at the door as it eased itself shut. “That's why all the doors are locked?”

  “Yes... Like a turtle hiding in its shell, the entire building is in a high level of lockdown.”

  On the other side of the room, Jonny pulled a tightly rolled map from one of his pockets and unfurled the large sheet across the table. Its glossy surface started to glow a gentle blue, and a white outline of the building appeared on its surface. The word Locating flashed several times, and then the blueprints for floor 25 appeared. A red dot blinked in one of the rooms to display their current location.

  “We've only got one chance to plot our course before we go off the grid,” Jonny said.

  Theo leaned his palms on the edge of the table, arms stiff as he looked over the map. “Are there any service shafts we can take?”

  Jonny shook his head. “The elevators are all down, and Tommy has the repelling gear.” He touched the edge of the map with his right hand and dragged two fingers vertically across its surface. The white outline of floor 25 rotated into a 3-dimensional image, and then when he dragged his fingers horizontally, several floors above and below 25 appeared. Several yellow dots populated the map. “These are the closest ECHO squads.”

  “It looks like Reverb got caught up.” Theo pointed at the yellow dot on floor 20, the word Reverb floating above it. “Buys us a little extra time to have that stairwell all to ourselves.”

  “Let's not waste it,” Jonny said. “It looks like Specter is on time,” he pointed to a dot on floor 30, “which means they'll be leap-frogging down to floor twenty-two in seven minutes. Reverb will be here in ten. That gives us seven minutes to figure out our route, and three minutes to get lower than floor twenty.” He looked up toward Michaela and Nightingale and called out, “We're heading out in seven. Be ready.”

  “Where do we go once we hit nineteen?” Theo asked.

  “Roger,” Michaela said, confirming Jonny's notice.

  “Which one is Roger?” Nightingale asked, confusion sweeping across her face as she looked between Jonny and Theo.

  “No, child,” Michaela chuckled lightly at the misunderstanding, “we say 'Roger' to show that we understand.”

  “Oh...” Nightingale thought about it for a moment, staring down at her feet as she leaned against the security console. “Well, roger.”

  “You are a quick learner,” Michaela said.

  “How come the guy who left was calling Jonny a different name?” she asked next.

  Michaela let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the console beside Nightingale. Her visage looked a little troubled as she explained. “Every family has a black sheep, I suppose...” She looked down at Nightingale, but could tell she didn't understand.

  “Is there a word for the opposite of 'Roger'?” Nightingale asked.

  Michaela smiled and clarified. “It is custom for soldiers to be addressed by their last names. But when Jonny first formed Glitch squad, he insisted we call each other by our first names... He said it was more personal—that it would help build camaraderie, and friendship. We all thought he was just some sentimental fool, but over time, we learned that it actually worked. We became close, like family, so when we enter combat, we truly have each other's backs.”

  “Why wasn't he calling him Jonny, then?” she asked.

  Michaela let out another sigh. “Tommy and Jonny never quite saw eye to eye... He was once in command of his own squad, but was demoted because of his own recklessness. Even after Jonny picked him up, all he wanted was to be in charge... But he lacks a certain quality that a good leader requires.”

  “What's that?” Nightingale asked.

  “Compassion,” she answered. “Tommy is a very smart man, and a very capable soldier... But without compassion, all you have is a ruthless killing machine...”

  Back at the map, Jonny and Theo were
wrapping up their escape plan.

  “With Tommy being in play as a wild card, it's difficult knowing how we'll have to adjust as we go,” Jonny explained.

  “So basically, our plan boils down to walking right out the front door?” Theo asked.

  Jonny just shrugged. “I told you it was gonna turn out to be a crappy plan. But it's the best we've got for now, so let's get moving. Check out the weapon lockers, grab anything that was left behind.”

  As Theo took to smashing the locks off the black steel lockers with the butt of his shotgun, Jonny tugged the combat knife out of the sheath attached to his shoulder and stabbed the map. He grabbed the map with one hand and the knife in the other, and tore it in two. Its blue light faded along with the positions of the ECHO squads, including their own.

  “We're officially dark,” Jonny announced.

  “A name can be a very important thing,” Michaela said to Nightingale. “What is yours?”

  “It's Nightingale,” she answered.

  Michaela's gaze suddenly turned sympathetic, and she shook her head slowly. “No, child... 'Nightingale' is just a codename that the Lab assigned you... You do not know your real name?”

  Nightingale frowned, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “N-no, I thought that...it was Nightingale... It's what everyone was calling me, isn't it? Why's everyone calling me something that's not my name?”

  “Doctor Metzger was using you for an experiment. It is likely he names all his experiments for his own record keeping.” Michaela's naturally blunt and honest personality shone through, but Nightingale seemed to appreciate the straight answers.

  “What was he doing to me?” Nightingale asked. She saw a glimmer of hope that Michaela, or another member of Glitch squad, may know something about her.

  “We do not know exactly what he was trying to accomplish... I am sorry. The file containing your information is very limited.”

  “Did it say where I came from? If we do get out of here, I don't even know where I'd go...”

  “I am sorry, but no... You do not remember where your home is?”

  Nightingale shook her head. “I don't remember anything before waking up here... Not even my own name, apparently.”

  “Well...” Michaela paused for a moment to think. “If you wish to be called Nightingale... Then I think it is a very pretty name, and it suits you very well.”

  Nightingale suddenly smiled and looked up at Michaela. The bird on her shoulder chirped happily. “Really? You think so?”

  “Yes, child, it is perfect.” Michaela smiled back and touched the top of Nightingale's head.

  “We're moving out,” Jonny said as he approached the two, cocking his rifle.

  “What is the plan?” Michaela asked as she stepped away from the console and jerked her rifle's hammer back.

  “Oh, it's a real winner,” Theo chimed in as he walked over. “We'll be outta here in ten minutes flat.” He tossed Michaela two hand grenades, and handed Jonny two as well. “Flash bangs and frag grenades all around. It's all that was left.”

  Jonny pocketed the grenades as he explained their plan. “In about two minutes, we'll have the east stairwell to ourselves for three minutes. If we can get to floor fifteen before that time is up, we can head over to the west stairwell. From there, we'll have five minutes to get to the ground floor. Then it's just through the lobby—right out the front door, and we're home free.”

  “Our plan is to walk right through the center of base camp?” Michaela asked. Once the ground level had been cleared, the lobby was turned into a base camp—a secure area with additional armaments and support should the ECHO squads require it.

  Theo extended his crowbar and began prying the door open.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jonny said, “it's pretty crappy, I know. But it's the best chance we've got—as cliché as it sounds, they won't be expecting us to just head through the lobby. But be prepared for Tommy's monkey wrench, too.” He looked at Nightingale, then, and smiled. “How about you, are you and your bird gonna be okay?”

  Nightingale looked up at Jonny a bit nervously, and panned her gaze to Michaela. Michaela smiled that warm and reassuring smile, and Nightingale nodded. “Roger!” she answered emphatically.

  Chapter 5

  Ten Minutes Flat

  For the next few minutes, Jonny had everyone waiting at the door to the east stairwell. They were flattened against the wall on floor 25, listening for signs of movement, guns held at the ready in case Specter squad got curious and poked their heads through the wide-open, malfunctioning door.

  “Right on schedule,” Theo commented quietly when they heard footsteps rushing down the stairwell. His shotgun was already cocked, so he waited against the wall to the door's right.

  “Be on your guard,” Jonny whispered, rifle raised and ready, and he stared down its sights from the door's left. “We don't know if the other squads have been tipped off about us yet.”

  Michaela was behind Jonny, and Nightingale was behind her. She was getting used to standing against walls like this, huddled behind Michaela where she felt safe. She kept quiet, even holding her breath as the footsteps were soon right outside the door. The nightingale on her shoulder was just as silent and breathless, waiting for Specter squad to pass before daring to move a muscle.

  Once they had passed she and the bird began to breathe again, and Nightingale let out a sigh of relief. “Are they gone?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Yes, child, we are clear,” Michaela answered.

  Nightingale hardly relaxed, though. A few moments after the other ECHO squad had passed, Jonny motioned for everyone to file into the stairwell.

  “We've only got a few minutes. Glitch squad, move out,” he said as he led the way.

  Michaela and Nightingale went after him, and Theo walked backward through the door, keeping an eye on their rear until they were in the stairwell.

  “Why are they going down to twenty-two?” Nightingale asked as she followed Michaela. Going from floor 30 to floor 22 seemed fairly random to her, so she was concerned that their patterns were difficult to predict.

  “Every ECHO squad is on a strict schedule,” Michaela replied. She knew Nightingale was only talking because she was so nervous, and she wanted to do what she could to help the poor girl relax. “We are each assigned a series of floors and a scheduled time. The schedules are organized in a way so every floor is cleared several times, and at evenly spaced intervals.”

  “So as long as we have the schedule, we know which floors are empty and when?”

  “That is correct—”

  “Lock it up, we got something,” Jonny said, and Michaela and Nightingale immediately silenced themselves.

  They had passed floor 19 before Reverb squad showed up according to plan, and were now standing outside their target floor—floor 15. The door was wide open, though.

  “It doesn't mean someone's in there,” Theo suggested, “it could just be busted like the others. Who knows how long it's been open like this.”

  “We need to assume there are hostiles in there,” Jonny said, looking at each member of his squad and Nightingale. “Stay focused, and stick close.”

  Jonny turned to head through the door, but the bird began to chirp in Nightingale's ear. Her eyes shot open wide, and she grabbed one of the pouches on Michaela's belt to get her attention.

  “Wait, my bird can go in first!” she said, suddenly quite proud of her idea.

  “Not now, child, we must remain focused,” Michaela answered. She didn't know why Nightingale thought sending her bird in first would help, but she didn't have time to ask.

  “No, I mean it!” She followed close as she explained, “I can...see through its eyes, or something... I've done it before!” Just like the rest of the building, the entire floor was in a deplorable state. Crumbling concrete, flickering lights, and blood-splattered walls lined their way as they trekked cautiously to the west stairwell.

  “Please, someone will hear us.” Her tone was
a bit firmer, and Nightingale was becoming frustrated.

  “Can you take a look ahead for us?” she whispered to the nightingale, and the small bird fluttered right off her shoulder. Nightingale gasped and grabbed Michaela's pouch again, shutting her eyes and holding on tight as her vision clouded. It was a gentler transition than the last few times, and the pounding in her head wasn't as intense. After a few moments, she was seeing through the bird's eyes as clearly as she saw through her own.

  “That bird's gonna get us killed!” Theo muttered as he watched it fly ahead of the group.

  “Calm down, it's just a bird,” Jonny said.

  It zipped around the corner, the speed turning Nightingale's stomach into a knotted mess as it weaved up and down between thick plumes of smoke. It followed signs for the west stairwell, taking the most direct route it could find.

  “Little one, you are bleeding,” Michaela said, and Nightingale instinctively opened her eyes.

  She caught a glimpse of Michaela and the rest of Glitch squad, hunkered down at a corner. Michaela grabbed either side of Nightingale's head and tilted her face up to keep her nose elevated. Her vision quickly turned back to the bird's, though, no matter how wide she opened her eyes.

  “I'm fine,” Nightingale insisted, but her words were laced with the pain of her headache.

  The bird turned another corner, but stopped in its tracks midair when it came to face to face with something Nightingale could only describe as a monster. She let out a frightened shriek, and her link with the bird broke.

  “There's something over there!” she shouted.

  “Keep your voice down!” Jonny shouted back. “Michaela, stop her bleeding, and then we're moving out—you've got thirty seconds.”

  “Roger,” Michaela confirmed, and removed a clean rag from her medical kit.

  “No, I'm fine,” Nightingale insisted, pushing Michaela's hands away. “There's something over there, I saw it! My bird saw it!”