[Project Eden 02] - Exit 9

by Battles, Brett

  “The factory needs to be destroyed,” he said, forcing himself not to be distracted.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Immediately.”

  “Consider it done.”

  24

  I.D. MINUS 54 HOURS

  SANJAY KNOCKED ON the door of the managers’ office.

  “Come in,” a voice from inside said.

  Reluctantly, he opened the door and walked in. In truth, he wasn’t sure if he should be there at all. The last thing he wanted to do was anything that might upset his bosses. The money he’d already saved from the work they’d given him was more than he’d ever had at one time, and there was no sign this was going to end.

  Though there were four desks in the room, the gray-haired senior manager was the only one there. The rumor was that he was German. Sanjay had never asked him, of course.

  “Yes?” the man said.

  “I am sorry to disturb you.”

  “What do you want?”

  Sanjay hesitated for just a second, as he once more recalled the words he’d rehearsed. “I’m wondering if you might know where my cousin has gone.”

  “Your cousin?”

  “Yes. His name is Ayush. He’s a coordinating officer. He was here yesterday, but last night he did not return to the dorm.”

  “Ayush? How do you spell that?”

  As Sanjay told him, the man typed his cousin’s name into the computer. When he was through, he read the screen, and seemed to soften a bit. “Ah, yes. He’s your cousin, is he?”

  “Yes.”

  The man smiled. “Nothing to worry about. Ayush and one of the work squads have been assigned to a task outside the city. They should be back in a few days.”

  “Thank you,” Sanjay said, relieved. Then, feeling it necessary to explain himself, he added, “Usually we tell each other if we’ll be gone, but he must have forgotten.”

  “You’re probably right. It did come up quickly, so perhaps he looked for you but couldn’t find you before he had to go.”

  “Thank you again.”

  __________

  SANJAY WOULD HAVE left it at that—in fact, had intended to leave it at that—if it were not for one thing. When he got back to the dorm that evening, someone else was using Ayush’s bunk.

  Why would someone else be given his bed if he was coming back in a few days? Sanjay asked around to find out who else had been assigned with his cousin, then discovered that their beds had also been filled.

  So far, he had enjoyed working for Pishon Chem. Mainly it was the money, of course, but they had been fair in their other dealings, too. This seemed out of character, and he didn’t like what it might mean about things to come.

  A job is a job, a voice in his head reminded him. Ironically, it was Ayush’s. And it was right. A job was a job, and questioning it after having spent so much time without a real one was not advised.

  He headed out into the dark, warm night, thinking he just needed to take a walk and clear his mind. As he neared the building the managers used, he saw the youngest of the bunch, a man named Mr. Dettling, smoking a cigarette outside the main door.

  Dettling had always been nice to Sanjay, and had been the person who delivered the news of his promotion. Maybe, if Sanjay worded things carefully, he could find out if there was anything going on he should be concerned about. He changed his course and headed toward the European.

  “Good evening, sir.”

  Dettling jumped. “Sanjay. Jesus. I didn’t…see you.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

  “I was just out for a walk.”

  “Well, don’t walk too long. Tomorrow’s going to be really busy. We’re just a couple days from starting.”

  “A couple days?” Sanjay said, surprised. “I did not know the official date had been set yet.”

  “Keep it to yourself for now. We’ll make an official announcement in the morning.” He tossed his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his foot. “Well, I should get in. Have a—”

  “One question, Mr. Dettling.”

  The man looked at Sanjay expectantly.

  “I was told my cousin, Ayush, and several others would not be back for a few days. Will they be back in time? He is important to making sure things run smoothly.”

  For a second or two, there was uncertainty in the man’s eyes, almost…fear. This was quickly pushed away by an accommodating smile. “They were needed elsewhere in the city. Your…your cousin will be replaced by someone else here who will do a fine job.”

  “Elsewhere in the city? But I was told—”

  “I really need to go,” Mr. Dettling said. “You should head back, too, and get as much sleep as you can.” He turned toward the building.

  In the city? The gray-haired manager had told Sanjay that Ayush and the others had been assigned somewhere outside the city. Was it possible Mr. Dettling just didn’t know the details? Yes, but it seemed unlikely. In Sanjay’s experience, the managers had always been in sync on information.

  Could it be Mr. Dettling just forgot? Sanjay would have believed that more readily except for one thing—that look of uncertainty and fear before he answered. It almost seemed to Sanjay as if the man were making up a response that he thought would be satisfactory.

  Sanjay didn’t like this. Not at all.

  Had Ayush gotten into trouble? Was he being punished or something? Or had he really been assigned to a new project? Whatever was going on, Sanjay wanted to know. Ayush was as much a brother as a cousin, and it was better to be sure that everything was all right than to wonder.

  All this went through his mind in the seconds it took Mr. Dettling to walk over to the door, unlock it, and head inside. Without even hesitating, Sanjay rushed forward and caught the door just before the lock clicked into place.

  He waited, listening to Mr. Dettling’s receding footsteps, then eased the door open a few inches. On the other side was a well-lit hallway that ran halfway through the building. There was no one in sight so he let himself in.

  The ground floor was the working floor, where the managers’ office was located along with several other rooms that were used for meetings and training sessions at the start of the job. Though Sanjay had never been above this floor, he knew upstairs was where the managers lived. Which meant he had to be extra careful to not be discovered.

  An image of Kusum flashed through his mind. Working for Pishon Chem had brought him closer to a life with her. He knew how she felt about him now—the same as he felt about her. Because of his employment, her father was even coming around to the idea of them being together.

  Just be careful, he told himself. You can be in and out without anyone knowing.

  All he wanted was a look at the assignment sheet. On it would be the location where Ayush had been sent. If it wasn’t too far away, he could go talk to his cousin himself, and make sure everything was okay.

  The only copy he knew about was in the managers’ office, so that’s where he headed. The office was at the far end, along a small back hallway. Sanjay walked as quickly as he could, stopping occasionally to listen ahead, but always continuing toward his goal.

  As he reached the short hallway, he peeked around the corner first, then immediately jammed himself against the wall. The door to the office was open, and there were voices coming from inside. He hesitated at first, then moved into the hallway, hugging the wall until he was only a foot away from the door.

  He recognized one of the voices as Mr. Dettling’s. The other belonged to a manager whom Sanjay had seldom talked to. They were speaking in German or whatever their native language was. Either way, he didn’t know it, so he couldn’t understand what they were saying. He was about to sneak away and return to the dorm when he heard Mr. Dettling say his name.

  For half a second, he thought he’d been seen, but, no, Mr. Dettling was still in the room, not standing in the doorway. Sanjay paid closer atten
tion.

  His name again, then, “…Ayush…”

  When the older man spoke, the only words Sanjay understood were “Ayush” and “Gamdevi.”

  Knowing he would be pressing his luck to wait any longer, he quickly made his way out of the building.

  Gamdevi. Gamdevi…Road?

  Gamdevi Road was where Ayush had taken Sanjay for his interview with Pishon Chem. He was told they were temporary offices, and figured they were no longer being used once the company moved to the compound.

  Was that where Ayush had been sent?

  There was only one way to find out.

  __________

  IT WAS NEARLY midnight when Sanjay reached Gamdevi Road. As was typical most anywhere in the city, there were still plenty of vehicles and pedestrians out and about.

  He worked his way through the crowds to the building Pishon Chem had used. Their office had been in a storefront at the far end of the building on the street level. As he walked up to it, his heart sank. The windows had been partially covered with paper, but not enough to prevent him from seeing that the space beyond was completely empty.

  His guess had been wrong. Whatever reason the man had mentioned Gamdevi, it apparently had nothing to do with either his cousin or the company’s old office.

  I’m making a big deal out of nothing. Ayush will probably laugh at me when I tell him about it.

  Feeling like a fool, he wandered over to a food stall near the street and ordered some pani puri. Once it was ready, he sat down on an overturned bucket and popped one in his mouth. As he chewed, his eyes gazed down the street on nothing in particular. It would take him at least an hour to get back to the compound, which would probably mean he wouldn’t be asleep until two a.m. He shook his head in self-annoyance. He would get three hours’ rest at best before a day that was already going to be busier than usual. He would be a wreck by bedtime tomorrow night.

  He shoved a second pani puri into his mouth and pushed himself to his feet, knowing to delay any longer would just make the next day worse. But instead of starting down the street, he remained where he was, frozen in place.

  Getting out of a cab fifty feet away was Mr. Dettling. Sanjay watched as the man approached the building and walked up to an unmarked door between two of the shops. As soon as he was sure Mr. Dettling couldn’t see him, Sanjay followed.

  The manager pulled out a set of keys, unlocked the door, and went inside. Since it had worked one time already this evening, Sanjay raced forward to grab the door before it completely closed. Unfortunately, this time the distance was too great and the door clicked shut.

  Sanjay sprinted around the building, looking for an alternate entrance. Everything was locked. Frustrated, he scanned the building again, looking for any possibility, and spotted one. At the back of the building, one floor above ground level, was a wide terrace. If he could get up there, it might lead to another way in.

  Using a large bush and the rough surface of the building itself, he climbed the wall, and was soon high enough to pull himself onto the terrace.

  The space was not part of an apartment like the balconies on the floors above, but rather an extension of a restaurant that had apparently just closed for the night. While there were no customers around, there were still a few employees inside cleaning up.

  Sanjay waited until they had stepped into another room—the kitchen perhaps—then entered through the back door and cut across the dining area. There was another door at the far end that led to the interior of the building, a lobby with access to a staircase and elevator.

  Sanjay chose the staircase and raced down to the ground floor. He took a moment to get his bearings, and tried to find the entrance he’d seen Mr. Dettling go through. He finally discovered it through a narrow hallway that seemed to be used by the people who took care of the building. It snaked around the elevator shaft, and around to the front of the building where the door was.

  But all it really told him was that Mr. Dettling could have used it to get to the lobby and then taken the elevator to any floor. Sanjay headed back toward the lobby, thinking he might be able to figure out which floor the man had been on when he came back down, only he didn’t make it all the way. There was a door he had missed when he came through the first time. It was on the same side as the elevator shaft. Sanjay turned the knob and the door opened.

  Just inside, stairs led down to a basement level. If there hadn’t been a light on at the bottom, he would have closed the door and moved on, but there was, so he knew he had to check.

  Quietly, he descended the concrete steps into a long corridor that ran off to the left and right. He listened, not knowing which way to go.

  Voices. Faint, and…from the right.

  He went toward them, making his way past several doors until he reached the one where he could hear two distinct voices behind. Like at the managers’ office, they were speaking a language he didn’t understand. The door had two different locks. He carefully tried the knob, but it didn’t budge.

  Sanjay was trying to figure out how he was going to get on the other side when one of the voices—Mr. Dettling’s, he realized—suddenly increased in volume.

  Sanjay knew he’d never make it to the stairs in time. There was, however, a doorless entryway only ten feet back that opened onto a dark room.

  He ducked inside, and had just moved into the shadows when the locks on the other door turned, and Mr. Dettling and a second person entered the main hallway. As they passed his hiding place, he tensed, sure he would be discovered, but the two walked by without stopping. When they reached the staircase, Mr. Dettling continued to talk for several minutes, then the other person said something. A woman’s voice.

  Sanjay peeked out, and saw that the woman had her back to him. Mr. Dettling was completely out of sight on the staircase. If Sanjay wanted to see what was on the other side of the locked doors, this was his only chance.

  He moved into the hallway and crept quickly to the door with the locks. Behind him it sounded like the conversation was ending. He put his hand on the knob, hoping they hadn’t locked it again when they exited. It turned. He pushed it open, slipped inside, and closed it again.

  He was in a short hallway. There were three doors that led off it. Out of the farthest one, he could hear a low, rhythmic beeping noise. Not just one pattern, he realized, but several, at slightly different speeds.

  In the hallway behind him, he could hear footsteps approaching the door. Having little choice, he stepped over to the nearest room and opened the door. It was dark inside so he went in, but left the door open just a crack so he could keep an eye on the woman when she walked by.

  He heard the outer door swing open and shut. Locks were turned, then the woman’s footsteps passed his doorway and continued down the hall. He watched her through the crack. Not surprisingly, she entered the room the noise had been coming from. What did surprise him was that she was wearing a nurse’s outfit.

  As soon as she disappeared, he reentered the hallway and followed her. When he reached the doorway the noise was coming from, he paused at the jamb and leaned forward just enough to get a look inside.

  It took him a moment to process what he was seeing. There seemed to be a plastic wall about a third of the way into the room, cutting the space into two. On the larger, enclosed side were five beds—hospital beds—each occupied.

  No longer thinking about being seen or not, he stepped inside so he could get a better look. Yes, definitely hospital beds, and the beeping was coming from equipment set up next to each of the patients.

  Though they all had tubes taped across their faces and looked in pretty bad shape, Sanjay recognized them. He’d seen four of them on and off around the Pishon Chem compound. The fifth he’d seen almost every day of his life.

  Ayush.

  “What are you doing here? Who are you?”

  The sound of the voice knocked him out of his trance, and for the first time he looked at the front half of the room. There was more medical equipment he
re, most set up on tables that lined the plastic wall. There were also several chairs, two of which had been occupied until a moment before by female nurses. Both women were now on their feet.

  “What’s wrong with them?” he demanded. “What have you done to them?”

  “You can’t be here,” the closest nurse said. “These people are very sick. You need to leave.”

  He looked at her, still trying to comprehend the situation. “Sick? How? From what?”

  The other nurse grabbed something off a back table, and seemed to be fiddling with it.

  “You need to get out now!” the first said.

  Sanjay pointed at the plastic wall. “That’s my cousin! What’s wrong with him?”

  His words seemed to startle the women. They looked at each other, and back at him.

  “Where did you come from?” the second nurse asked.

  “What do you mean, where did I come from?”

  “How did you know to come here?” the first asked.

  “I saw Mr. Dettling. He was down here a few minutes ago.”

  “You know Mr.—” The first nurse paused. “You work on the Project?”

  “Of course.” He pointed at his cousin again. “Ayush and I both do, and so do the others you have there. What happened to them?”

  The second nurse had moved closer now. Whatever she’d grabbed earlier was out of sight behind her. “They’re very sick,” she said. “You shouldn’t have come here. You’ve probably made yourself sick, too.”

  “How can my cousin be sick? He was fine yesterday. No problems at all.”

  “I’m sorry,” the first nurse said. “Sometimes it just happens quickly.”

  As he looked at her to ask, “What happens quickly?” the other nurse stepped toward him, her hand moving out from around her back.