by Siegel, Alex
"Feeling good?" he asked Lisa.
"Feeling great," she replied. "Let's go faster."
* * *
Kyle was breathing hard but still going strong. He was enjoying the exercise after days of relative inactivity. He checked the GPS unit on his wrist. Six miles to go. He watched the ground so he wouldn't trip on a rock.
Lingering guilt troubled him. He was attacking a United States military facility. He didn't like to think of himself as a traitor, but the label was becoming more appropriate. He would commit serious crimes tonight. If caught, he would justifiably spend the rest of his days in prison. He couldn't ignore those plain facts.
Kyle kept running. It didn't really matter how he had reached this strange place in his life. The mission came first. He couldn't let down his teammates. Virgil and Lisa were depending on him.
Kyle was growing fond of his new friends. Virgil had the perseverance and sharp instincts of a good commander. He wouldn't crumble under pressure. Lisa was more like a ferocious animal. She was fun and friendly until somebody rattled her cage, and then she became a cold-blooded killer. Kyle had known plenty of fine Special Forces operatives just like her. They were useful in a fight.
He pushed onwards through the night.
* * *
"This stubborn refusal to cooperate grows tiresome," Dr. Z said. "I have better things to do than punish you over and over."
"Your frustration will end soon I think," Alfred said.
He sensed Virgil and Lisa approaching. Alfred didn't doubt they meant business this time.
"What does that mean?" Dr. Z said.
He had changed the form of torture again. Alfred and Sara were now tied to giant wheels spinning at high speed. He guessed he was circling at a hundred revolutions per second, and the centrifugal force was intense. Thick ropes prevented him from flying off.
"It means payback is coming," Alfred said. "I'm normally a compassionate, forgiving man, but in your case, I'll make an exception. I'll enjoy watching you suffer for your sins."
"I'm a man of science. I don't believe in sin."
"We'll see."
"You're starting to sound desperate," Dr. Z said. "I think the punishment is finally working."
* * *
Virgil checked his watch. Right on schedule, he thought.
The entrance to the A.D.I.C.S. Facility lay directly ahead. He and Lisa were approaching from the back side where the security was a little softer.
"Stop," Virgil said. "Let's just observe for a moment."
He and Lisa dropped down. Their black camouflage made them invisible to the human eye, and their cold bodies extended that advantage to the infrared spectrum.
Virgil watched closely. Three pairs of guards were patrolling inside the square fence, but more could be in the buildings. His biggest concern was a wooden guard tower.
"Do you want the tower?" he said.
"Sure," Lisa said, "and I'll also take out the two guards closest to it."
"That leaves the other four for me." He mentally plotted the route he would take.
"I'm ready."
"Then go."
Lisa kicked off so hard, she actually flew a short distance through the air. She hit the ground running. Virgil scrambled to catch up to her.
The fence was the first obstacle. Signs warned it was electrified, but a little electricity couldn't hurt Virgil or Lisa. They climbed fast, jumped off the top, and landed on the dirt inside the fence.
Virgil focused on his targets. He sprinted towards the first pair and arrived just as they were turning to face him. He clobbered both soldiers at once with his forearms. Then he kicked their faces to knock them out.
The other pair was an inconvenient distance away. They started shooting, and Virgil weaved to avoid the bullets, but a few rounds hit him. He took out one opponent with a flying kick. Virgil planted his elbow in the jaw of the other soldier, making a sound like wood breaking.
He checked on Lisa's progress. A man came flying out of the guard tower, and he screamed until he hit the ground. Then another did the same trick. Finally, Lisa jumped down.
"All clear," she said.
Virgil was worried that she had killed some of the soldiers, but he didn't have time to check the bodies. More soldiers would show up soon. He ran to a part of the compound where several large pipes stuck out. He heard air being sucked into one which was two feet across.
He ripped off a protective filter screen with his bare hands. He shrugged off his backpack and dumped the contents on the ground. Twenty-four canisters of tear gas, two blocks of C-4, and a variety of detonators fell out. He and Lisa pulled all the pins on the gas canisters and tossed them into the air shaft. He heard them rattle all the way down.
"Wait," Virgil said. "Let the gas work its magic down below."
Lisa shifted from foot to foot like an impatient child.
He kept an eye on the guards. Most were still, but two were moaning and moving around.
"Come on," Lisa said after two minutes. "That's enough time! If we stay up here, we'll get creamed."
"OK."
He tore off a chunk of C-4 and inserted a detonator. He set the timer for five minutes and dropped the charge down another pipe. It was the air intake for the backup generator.
The A.D.I.C.S. Facility normally got electricity from overhead power lines. Virgil placed another charge on the spot where the thick wires went into the ground. He set that timer for three minutes.
"Let there be darkness," Lisa said with a wicked smile.
"Cute," Virgil said. "Let's go."
They ran into the tunnel which led down to the facility.
* * *
Dr. Z was coughing so hard, he could barely inhale. Alfred wasn't sure what was going on. He felt fine, of course, but a yellowish haze in the air provided a clue. Gas? he wondered.
The regular lights suddenly went out, and battery-powered emergency lights switched on.
"Our friends are here," he said.
"How can you tell?" she said.
"I'll explain later. Let's get off this horrible contraption. It's time to be rescued."
Alfred began to fight with the ropes which bound him. Without electric power, the spinning wheel was slowing down quickly, and the forces on his body abated.
* * *
Kyle saw his target ahead. It was a big red fire station with garage spaces for three engines. Very tall radio antennas stood on the roof. A sign read, "Burr AFB Fire Company 1." He focused his attention on a white ambulance parked on the side.
He looked around to make sure the way was clear. Open land surrounded the fire station, and flood lights provided an annoying amount of light. There was no cover. He would just have to risk being seen.
Kyle ran hard. He was already tired, but he didn't slack off.
He arrived at the ambulance without incident. He wasn't surprised to find the doors unlocked. He was in the middle of a military facility in a desert after all. Who would steal an ambulance?
Kyle quietly opened the back doors and climbed inside. There was a padded bench on one side and a rolling gurney on the other. Cabinets with clear plastic doors held emergency medical supplies. He hid under the gurney.
Phase one complete, he thought.
* * *
Virgil and Lisa had entered the underground facility, and it reminded him a lot of Hell.
Noxious gas had seeped into every corner. With the electricity out and the ventilation system not working, the gas was a constant torment. Soldiers and technicians stumbled around in the haze, barely able to see or breathe. They coughed continuously, and puddles of vomit were everywhere.
Inadequate lighting added to the nightmare. Battery-powered emergency lights created pools of illumination, but some rooms and hallways were completely dark. Virgil and Lisa had night vision goggles, but the facility staff wasn't as lucky. A few carried flashlights or were using the flashes on their phones.
Virgil and Lisa made their way through the labyrinth of hallw
ays without trouble. The many surveillance cameras were inert. Armed guards had abandoned their posts or had simply collapsed. People trying to escape had left open the blast doors. Virgil had studied the floor plan thoroughly, so he knew the best way to go.
The facility was an interesting blend of old and new. Solid concrete walls and heavy steel supports showed the utilitarian style characteristic of the 1950's. Virgil remembered it from his childhood. Modern computer systems had been retrofitted. A flat panel display hung on a wall next to a sign warning about Soviet spies.
They came to a locked door. Bulletproof glass in a steel frame meant Virgil couldn't kick it open. He shrugged off his backpack and took out a wad of C-4. He stuck a detonator into the explosive.
"Hey!" a man yelled. "Freeze!"
Virgil and Lisa turned. A soldier was shuffling towards them with a drooping M4 rifle in his hand. His other hand was holding a wet towel over his face. His eyes were badly bloodshot, and he was clearly having trouble seeing. Virgil admired the man's dedication.
Lisa leapt forward and knocked out the soldier with a brutal spinning kick to his head.
"Take his uniform," Virgil said. "It might fit you."
She nodded.
He finished building the demolition charge. He packed the explosive into the gap between the door and the frame, and he set the timer for twenty seconds. He ran backward.
The explosion sounded like the crack of a whip but much louder. It knocked the door off its hinges. Virgil waited while Lisa stripped off her black camouflage and put on the soldier's uniform. Then they continued their journey.
The ratio of scientists to soldiers increased as Virgil and Lisa penetrated deeper into the facility. He could tell the difference by their lab coats.
They finally came to the obstacle he was most worried about. A giant steel door protected the alien containment cell. According to the specifications, the door weighed ten tons. Motorized hoists moved it around normally, but with the electricity out, the hoists were useless.
Virgil had brought extra C-4 in anticipation of this issue. He grabbed his entire supply, about three pounds, but he was worried about the explosion collapsing the ceiling.
"What's up there?" Lisa said.
She pointed at a staircase which curved up and around.
Virgil decided to check it out before blasting the giant door. They jogged up the stairs.
They arrived in some kind of control room. Panels of buttons and knobs were below a window. Video displays covered a wall, but they were dark.
Virgil looked through the window and saw Alfred and Sara in a chamber below. Their clothes were tattered, but their bodies appeared whole.
Disturbing contraptions filled the chamber. Virgil saw something like a torture rack with spikes. Electrical probes lined the interior of a cage. A rubber mallet was mounted on a big piston.
Alfred waved at Virgil and said something, but Virgil couldn't hear him through the thick window.
"We need to smash it open," Lisa said.
Virgil nodded. "An ounce of C-4 should do it."
* * *
Sirens wailed. It's show time, Kyle thought.
He heard people getting into the ambulance. He emerged from his hiding spot and saw two paramedics in front. They were wearing blue one-piece outfits with lots of pockets.
Kyle knocked out the paramedic on the right with a punch to the jaw. Kyle dragged the other into the back, and two more punches silenced him.
In the meantime, three fire engines left the station. They drove off into the night with red and yellow lights flashing.
Kyle quickly swapped costumes with the second paramedic. He pushed both men out the door and left them on the dirt.
Then he sat in the driver's seat, started the engine, and took off.
* * *
Virgil was holding a rope with both hands, and his feet were braced against a wall. Alfred and Sara were climbing the rope to escape from their cell. They pulled themselves through the broken window and stood up in the control room.
"You guys are a sight for sore eyes," Sara said enthusiastically.
"What have they been doing to you?" Virgil said.
"Very unpleasant things, but no permanent harm was done. I don't want to talk about it right now. Let's get the heck out of here."
"On the way out, we need to switch costumes. Look for soldiers who are about your size so you can steal their clothes."
"Won't they fight us?" Alfred said.
"Unlikely. This place is full of tear gas."
"I was wondering about that."
The team left the control room and headed towards the exit tunnel. Virgil was grinning. It felt great to have everybody back together, safe and sound.
After going a short distance, Alfred and Sara abruptly stopped. Virgil and Lisa turned back to see what was wrong. A tall man with a beard was lying on the concrete floor. He was alive, but the gas was making him convulse.
"Dr. Z," Sara said. "So nice to see you again. I was hoping for this opportunity."
The man looked up at her. Fear shone in his bloodshot eyes, but he couldn't breathe well enough to talk.
"These are my friends," she said. "They have abilities which might interest you. For example, this woman has the power to cause pain." She looked at Lisa. "Hurt him."
"Here?" Lisa said. "Now?"
"Make him scream."
Virgil had never seen this kind of anger on Sara's face. Even Alfred seemed eager to watch Dr. Z suffer.
Virgil shrugged. "Do it quickly."
Lisa crouched down over her victim and ripped open his shirt. She placed her hands on his chest.
Dr. Z's entire body stiffened. His back arched as if he were being electrocuted, and he made a gagging sound.
Lisa lifted her hands. Purple wounds bursting with puss and blood were left behind in the shape of her handprints.
"More," Sara said.
"Come on," Lisa said. "We have to run. Kyle will pick us up."
"More!" Sara glared.
Lisa grabbed Dr. Z by both wrists. He thrashed but didn't have the strength to escape her grip. Virgil watched blackness spread from his wrists up to his hands. It looked like severe frostbite, and she didn't stop until his hands were as wrinkled and black as raisins. He would likely need to have them amputated.
Lisa released Dr. Z. "Satisfied?"
"Yes," Sara said. "Now we can go."
* * *
What a mess, Kyle thought.
He was driving the ambulance, and he could see the A.D.I.C.S. Facility ahead. The normal lights were out, so the only illumination came from the headlights and flashers on the fire trucks. Many soldiers were meandering around, and some had shell-shocked expressions. Firemen were providing first-aid to the injured.
Kyle slowed down and approached cautiously. He looked like a paramedic, but if asked to perform like one, he would fail. He couldn't let himself get caught in that trap.
A soldier waving his arm caught Kyle's attention. Virgil, Lisa, Alfred, and Sara were huddled together as if trying to share body heat on a chilly night. They had switched clothes to Air Force fatigues, stolen from real soldiers. Nobody else was paying attention to them.
Kyle drove through the open gate and stopped but left the engine running. Virgil and his team immediately shuffled over, pretending to be tired or hurt. They climbed into the back of the ambulance. As soon as they were settled, Kyle turned the ambulance around and drove away.
He switched on the sirens and flashing lights. He sped towards the front gate of the base, following a route he had previously memorized.
"Any trouble?" Kyle said.
Virgil sat in front on the passenger side. "No. We had good intelligence, and everything went as expected."
"How many casualties?"
Kyle was afraid to hear the answer. The idea of American soldiers dying sickened him.
"We didn't check the bodies," Virgil said, "but I expect a few were killed. The initial assault was pretty rough, a
nd it was Hell down below. At least we didn't have to shoot anybody."
On balance, it was good news, but Kyle wasn't jubilant.
The ambulance arrived at the main part of the base. Dark buildings zipped by on both sides. Nobody attempted to stop them because they were obviously headed to a hospital.
Sara poked her head up front. "Have we met?"
"No. I'm Captain Dirk Kyle. I've heard quite a bit about you."
"What does he know?" Sara asked Virgil.
"A lot," he said, "but not everything."
She raised her eyebrows. "Management approved of this?"
"Uh, no."
"I see. Does he understand how much danger he is in?"
"I've tried to make that clear," Virgil said. "By the way, Cat Lady also played a part in your rescue."
"The club is getting bigger."
"Seems that way, although I don't expect Kyle and Cat to be full-time participants. I see them more in a spot role, but we needed the whole crowd to bust you out."
"Thank you for that," Sara said. "Next time, I won't let myself get caught. I went in hoping I could talk to the enemy and set them straight. It didn't work out that way, obviously. Where is Mei?"
"At our next stop."
Chapter Twenty-two
The phone on Colonel Knox's desk rang.
He grabbed the handset. "Hello?"
"Colonel Knox? This is General Eisan at Burr Air Force Base."
"Oh!" Knox settled back in his chair. "How are my aliens doing?"
"That's what I'm calling about. There has been an incident."
Knox became tense. "What happened?"
"Unknown intruders rescued them," Eisan said. "They're gone."
"How is that possible?" Knox said angrily. "You assured me they were being held in a heavily guarded, maximum security facility. I believe you used the phrase, 'God Himself couldn't bust them out.' Their location was top secret. Yet you couldn't hold onto them for two whole days."
"It's not entirely clear what happened. We know the facility was flooded with tear gas, and the power was cut."
"Didn't you have backup power?"
"The generator was destroyed," Eisan said. "It appears an ambulance was used at some point."
"Did you get any surveillance recordings?"
