by Adrian Smith
The door shook and creaked. The timber around the hinges was weakening.
“Heads up, everyone. We’re going to let off these fire extinguishers, then the alarms, and make a run for it. If we stay here, we’re dead. It’s that simple. Once the fire retardant has been released, line up. Grab the waistband of the person in front of you and don’t stop. Try not to make any noise. We’re heading up the way we discussed. I’ll take point, Allie will bring up the rear. Questions?”
No one said a word. Ryan took a few moments to adjust his rucksack and satchel.
“Good. Hogai, grab that extinguisher. Daisaku! Let’s go.”
Allie clobbered a Siphon in the eye as it slammed into the door. Ryan handed her an extinguisher and, translating the script, instructed her as to the procedure. With a hiss, the dried carbon dioxide billowed into the Siphon-clogged passage. In seconds, the space was dense with white fog. It smelled like dry ice and was chalky to the taste.
Ryan held a finger to his lips and looked out the broken window. Siphon blood coated the edges. For now, it seemed to be working. He could see dark figures milling around, confused. Some turned in circles.
He hesitated a moment, then gave the signal. Allie pulled the fire alarm. Klaxons blared out and red strobing lights flashed. A robotic monotone voice called out in both Japanese and English, “Please remain calm and follow your marshal up to your designated route…”
The voice repeated the instructions over and over.
Ryan edged the door open as Hogai gripped his belt. Hugging the wall, he used it to guide them out of the executive lunchroom.
A Siphon stumbled around the corner and snarled at him. He cursed; the Siphon was blocking the open fire door. Daisaku burst past him and threw himself at the rabid man, pounding his fists against his chest. “You’re not going to take me, Yuki-onna.”
Three more Siphons sprinted out of the fog, growling. Ryan pushed Hogai behind him.
“Allie, take Hogai. I’ll hold them off.”
She nodded and squeezed around Daisaku, who had straddled the Siphon and was punching it over and over.
“Daisaku! Leave it.”
But the Japanese man ignored him. So focused was he on killing the Siphon, he continued to rain blows down on its head. What had come over him? The other Siphons screamed and moved closer.
Ryan shot the first in the chest and the next in the jaw, sending hunks of bone and blood into the air. The third slammed into him, knocking him off his feet. Ryan tucked into a roll and tumbled into the wall. In a split second the Siphon was on him again. He twisted and wrapped his hand around its neck.
The creature had once been a scientist. His round, wire-rimmed glasses were still perched on his nose. Whatever the virus did, it made them insane. The Siphon’s eyes stared blindly ahead, not reacting to movement. Its mouth opened in a snarl as it gnashed its teeth, determined to bite Ryan. Saliva dribbled out and its breath stank of old socks.
Ryan said a silent apology to the scientist the Siphon had been and, using the creature’s weight, snapped its neck. Ryan sprang to his feet and pivoted, hunting for Daisaku. Both Daisaku and the Siphon were coated in blood. Daisaku had spit-bubbles escaping his mouth as he gasped for breath.
“Tell my daughter … I’m sorry,” he said as he collapsed on top of the rabid creature, which had once been a woman. Her gray suit was covered in blood and mucus. Ryan checked Daisaku’s pulse. There wasn’t even a whisper of movement. He shook his head at the needless sacrifice.
Keep moving.
There was nothing to do for Daisaku now, but he hated leaving the man down here. Food for the infected.
Ryan turned and followed the others down the fog-filled passage.
By hugging the wall, he located the fire exit door and, to his relief, found it unlocked. Just like he predicted, it opened into a stairwell. Metal stairs spiraled up a cylinder of concrete. Numbers as tall as him were painted on the walls, indicating floor numbers.
Hogai and Allie slammed the door after him.
“Daisaku?” Allie said.
Ryan shook his head. “He went crazy.”
Hogai pulled his phone from his pocket and searched for a signal. He clenched his fist at his side.
Ryan didn’t blame the kid. One minute he had been doing his job, the next, all hell had broken loose. Armed men were hunting for them. Now humans infected by some super-virus wanted to snack on their spinal fluid.
The metal door shuddered, echoing into the stairwell.
He looked up at his frightened companions. “I’ll take point. Hogai, stay in the middle. Allie, I need you at the back with your staff. Keep an eye on our six. It’s a long climb. Everyone ready?”
Thump…
Thump…
Thump…
The Siphons began to slam into the door, shaking it in its frame. Ryan ran his eyes over it, searching for any weaknesses. He wished it had a lock. With one last look at Allie and Hogai, he began climbing the stairs, searching for hostiles, his handgun held at eye level. The klaxons blared through the thick concrete but, like the robotic voice, the sound was muffled.
On they climbed up the steep stairs Ryan paused at each level and checked the doors. So far, all the doors were holding. Whatever the virus did to make humans filled with rage, it appeared to reduce their cognitive abilities. Simple tasks like opening a door were difficult. How long was that going to last?
Ryan held a finger to his lips as he turned around. “Silently,” he whispered.
He theorized that the design of the fire escape was to get you up without delay. He was happy with that.
They reached the first floor and stopped.
“I’m going to look out the door. Allie, watch our backs,” Ryan said.
“Got it.” Allie gripped her bō staff and took a few steps back down the stairwell.
“You okay, Hogai?”
Hogai said nothing. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders as if unconcerned. It was odd. Half an hour ago he was scared, hiding behind a couch. Ryan creaked open the door, leading with his weapon.
Dull afternoon light shone through giant windows halfway up the front wall, giving the human-shaped piles of ash beyond a washed-out gray sheen. The klaxons had stopped, casting an eerie silence over the building.
Nothing moved in the wide expanse of corridor and foyer. Metal detectors and barriers blocked the way to the front exit. There were two conveyor belts for screening bags. YamTech took their security seriously.
Ryan gave the vicinity another scan and beckoned Allie and Hogai to follow him. He kept his gun raised and swept it from side to side.
He was confident Allie was watching their backs. She had proven herself adept, her Air Force career skills plainly evident. He liked the way she carried herself. Calm and focused. Willing to throw herself into the melee.
It wasn’t hard to spot the guard office up ahead. Three piles of ash lay on the floor, just inside the door. Ryan darted inside, checking the corners. Apart from the three dead guards, the office was empty. Blocks of monitors lined one wall, showing views through cameras all over the facility.
He searched them one by one. Most were empty, save for the frozen ash forms. A few showed Siphons milling around, docile. Frantic, he searched for any signs of Sofia and Keiko. It was a small chance he’d see them, but a chance was all he needed.
After five minutes, he gave up and punched the desk in frustration. Hogai looked up from his phone, his lips tight.
“Still no signal,” Hogai said.
Allie shifted some of the ash on the floor with a foot and bent down to pick up a Sig Sauer P365. It was an odd pistol for the guard to carry. Most professionals preferred the P220 or the 229. But any gun was better than no gun. Allie checked the magazine and slid it back in with a click. She slipped it into the waistband of her jeans and grinned. “I feel better now. Just need some ammo.”
“Any more down there?” Ryan said.
“This was the only one. Any luck finding your friends?”
“Not on the monitors. I’m going to search through there,” Ryan said, gesturing to the only other door leading out of the guard room. “Can you watch my back?”
“Sure.”
Ryan unplugged a couple of radios from a charger and handed one to Allie. He also grabbed the bundle of keys sitting next to the two-ways.
“Keep in contact. If you see any Siphons on this level, don’t hesitate.”
“Got it.”
Ryan went through the next few rooms, lost in thought. Everything since the sake bar had been one weird Twilight Zone event. His thoughts settled on the code from the Voynich manuscript. Why that phrase? “What is in my pocket?”
He shook his questions away and refocused. After the staff and changing rooms came up empty, apart from a locked cupboard, Ryan had one last door to check. The green paint was faded and, strangely, the sign was in German.
Achtung.
Beneath it was a grinning skull.
After several failed attempts at unlocking the door, it finally clicked open with the last key. The smell of death wafted up his nose. He gritted his teeth and jogged down the short corridor. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of thick concrete. Dark, brackish water dribbled down over peeling white paint. It stank of neglect and torment. Soft, yellow bulbs barely cast any light into the shadowy cells.
“Sofia! Keiko!” Ryan shouted. Emotion overcame him. He had lost Cal three years ago, and Liam the year before that. The thought of losing one of his closest friends, and her daughter too, ground into his soul, pulling it out to be stomped on.
“In here,” a voice croaked. He had trouble hearing it, it was so quiet.
“Sofia?”
Ryan sprinted down the corridor. In the second to last cell, he saw his friend. Sofia had her back hard up against the rear wall and was cradling Keiko in her lap. Bruises and welts covered Sofia’s caramel skin. An angry, purple egg of a bump had raised on her forehead. Her clothes were ripped and stained with blood and dirt.
“I knew you’d come,” Sofia coughed. “How did you know where we were?”
“We didn’t,” Ryan said, crouching down to peer at the lock.
“You played the percentages.” Sofia coughed again and pushed up on her elbows.
“Exactly. We knew where Keiko was last seen. That was our starting point and Jiro—the contact—heard a rumor about a beautiful woman being bundled inside. It had to be you.”
“The Yakuza brought me here, handed me to the guards.”
“Jiro gambles with one of the guards. You know how people talk after a few drinks.”
Sofia nodded and said, “For once I’m thankful of gossip.”
Ryan fumbled the keys as he searched for one that would unlock the cell. He paused and took a deep breath. “What did they do to you?” he asked. He took a bottle of water and one of the candy bars from his rucksack.
“What didn’t they do,” Sofia said, managing a smile. She gave Keiko some water before drinking the rest. “They tortured me in front of my daughter, among other things. Then nothing. I thought they had forgotten about us; I haven’t seen anyone since last night,” Sofia murmured, munching on the chocolate. “All the time, all I could think of was you guys. Don’t worry, I said to Keiko. Ryan and Booth will come.”
“I couldn’t leave you behind. There was no way. After we get out of here, though, you’re going to tell me all about these bloody codes and why everyone is trying to kill us. Maybe you can shed some light on what’s happened.”
“Happened?”
“You didn’t get an excruciating headache, about four hours ago?”
“You mean apart from the one I already had? There was something, but it was quick. Brief, even. Why?”
“It’s probably easier if I show you. Can you guys walk?”
Sofia and Keiko nodded. At least that was something. They were battered and bruised, covered in sweat and grime, but they were alive and functioning. Keiko grimaced and held her side.
They embraced Ryan once they had stood up.
“Thanks for coming to get us,” Sofia said.
Twenty-Six
Koyasan, Japan
After introducing everyone, Ryan let them all eat from the bento boxes he had taken from the lunchroom while he kept one eye on the monitors. Thankfully, the Siphons seemed to be inactive if there was no one around. Those he could see were standing still. Occasionally a Siphon would jolt its head to one side before becoming docile again.
On the way back through the locker room, Ryan had searched for a first aid kit and weapons. He’d located both in a cupboard. Sofia and Keiko had changed into the spare guard uniforms, discarding their tattered clothing. He had shown the Siphons to Sofia and her daughter and explained what had happened in the village. The excruciating pain. Umi self-combusting into ash. The passenger jet slamming into the mountain, burning and tearing through the forest.
The soldiers were still in the back of Ryan’s mind. It was only a matter of time before they swept this building. He wanted to move everyone on and get down the mountain.
He told Sofia and Keiko about the virus, about HQ being attacked, and the director and Zanzi missing.
“I’m sorry,” Keiko said, tears running down her cheeks.
“Hey, it’s all right, kiddo,” Ryan said. “It’s not your fault. No one could have predicted this.”
“Everything that’s happened to you was because I was silly enough to get caught.”
Sofia hugged her daughter and wiped away the tears. “You’ve nothing to be sorry about. I should never have sent you. It was too dangerous.”
Ryan couldn’t hold his tongue any longer. He had to know.
“Sofia. Tell me.” He held her gaze, unblinking. “They have a right to know as well. This affects everyone.”
Sofia blew out a breath. “All right. I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore.” She cleared her throat. “Six months ago, NASA officials, JPL scientists, and a few generals started to either disappear or die in mysterious circumstances. Both the FBI and the CIA were stumped. We were brought in and soon discovered that the officials in question had all overseen satellites or telecommunication access codes. In layman’s terms, the codes that control them and the information they receive and broadcast. Avondale and I figured out that, with the newly acquired satellites, someone controlled seventy percent of the world’s satellites, easily enough to cover the entire globe.”
“Why would someone want that?” Ryan said. “Money?”
“That’s what we could never figure out. The why.” Sofia grimaced and touched her swollen lump. She held a cold compress against it. “Maybe they did it so they could release this virus and control the information. We’ve become so reliant on our phones. We do everything with them. If a corporation, say ReinCorp, controlled all of that, it would be easy to switch it off or at least block.”
“ReinCorp again.” Ryan shook his head. “Always, that name comes up.”
Sofia nodded. “Booth figured out a pattern with the generals. We did a stakeout until we were certain, and I managed to hack into one of the general’s computers and track his movements. That’s how we got the codes.”
“Is that why the yakuza attacked us?”
“I believe so, yes. They were working for YamTech. They tortured Keiko and me until I gave them access to my computer. Do you still have that pendant I gave you?”
Ryan frowned, but handed it over. Sofia pressed the sides. It sprang open to reveal a thumb drive.
“I have a copy of all the codes here.” She snapped it shut again and slipped it over her neck, tucking it under her guard uniform. “And something else as well.”
“What?”
“It had Avondale and I stumped for days. Reams and reams of numbers, always with two initials at the beginning of the fifteen-number sequence. It annoyed me for days. The numbers were familiar, but different. I was updating Eddie with a new router when I figured it out. IP addresses. The numbers were IP addresses, but not.”
“But
not?”
“It’s hard to explain. I was hoping Jiro—the contact—would shed some light on it. I suppose he’s dead now.”
“Is ReinCorp involved?” Ryan said.
“ReinCorp? You mean the rich German guy?” Allie said.
“Austrian. Yes.”
“We believe so,” Sofia murmured. “LK3 could never trace the transactions. It was more of a hunch, so we went fishing and got a huge bite with the general.”
Ryan glanced at Allie. She was looking at him, a crooked grin on her face. “I thought you were a spy.”
“I was never a spy. An agent—yes.”
“Is there a difference?” Allie laughed.
“Connors was one of the best. If not the best,” said Sophia. “We had this one case in the Netherlands…”
Ryan grunted and said. “I don’t think this story is appropriate. There are civilians present.”
“Now I really want to hear it,” Allie said, laughing.
“Let’s just say he has no shame, this one. Best there ever was.” Sofia grinned. “He looked really handsome despite the get-up that day.”
“Was?”
“I’m retired.” Ryan said.
Sofia rubbed her lump again but this time frowned and glanced at her reflection in one of the black screens. “My injuries are disappearing. What is…?”
“Ummm, guys,” Hogai gasped, pointing at the screen.
Black commandos were striding up the steps and entering the grounds of the YamTech facility. In another camera, half a dozen Siphons were screaming as they ran toward the guard room down a long corridor.
Ryan muttered at his carelessness. “Follow me,” he said. He figured they had at least two minutes before the soldiers discovered them. Maybe thirty seconds until the sightless freaks arrived.
The ragtag group of survivors sprinted across the foyer and stumbled back into the stairwell. Howls and shrieks echoed through the door. Ryan cracked it open to see if they had been spotted.
Several figures milled around the foyer, twisting their heads and sniffing the air. Some wore the white coats of scientists. Others had on colored overalls, while yet others wore business suits. As one, they snapped their heads up at the open door, shook their heads, and shrieked. High-pitched and gurgled, it rattled around in Ryan’s brain.
