“So,” I said, over the clatter of the Humvee’s diesel. “What did Thyssen tell everyone to keep them in line after the pandemic struck? Why did folks not leave to join their families?”
“Well, the facility was locked down weeks before the pandemic really took hold and wiped everyone out. Looking back, I must have been a true idiot not to see the signs. Thyssen had to have known ahead of time that the pandemic would go widespread. Otherwise, why lock it all down so quickly?”
“You were just following orders,” I said. “Being a good soldier.”
“Being an ignorant fool is more like it.”
“So no one questioned the lockdown?” Kel asked.
“Initially, there were some folks who wanted to leave, to go to their families. We were all afraid, getting the reports and stuff on television and radio. Two people, Franks and Bertram, were phlebotomists. They were the most outspoken about getting out of the lab.”
“What happened?”
“Well, we thought they left. Snuck out somehow. Went AWOL. No one ever knew for certain. They just disappeared one day.” Kel and I exchanged glances at Harmon’s reveal. That didn’t sound foreboding. No, not at all, I thought sarcastically.
“Anyway, Thyssen gathered us all in the living area one day and explained that he had had conference calls with doctors and scientists all over the world and there was no doubt that this super virus was wiping out the human race. He said that he and his team were working on a cure, but it would take time. He needed all of us to help maintain a semblance of order and ensure a future for humanity.” Harmon glanced at me in the rearview mirror, where Kel and I sat supposedly bound in the cargo area. “Thyssen is one hell of a speaker. He could probably sell ice water to an Eskimo.”
“Nice,” Kel said. “Another Hitler.”
“Who’s that?” I asked. To which I received some shocked looks from both Kel and Harmon. “What? I was only six when it happened. Schooling for me was learning how to survive more than anything else. I take it that it’s some nasty historical person, right?”
“You could say that,” Harmon replied. Then they gave me an unnecessary history lesson. In the end, though, I could see the Hitler reference might be applicable, in a fashion.
We all grew silent as we entered the gates of the missile base. Harmon wove the Humvee through the streets and toward what looked to be a solid concrete wall. Just as we came upon it, the road dipped down into a significant grade and I realized we were about to go underground. Into the lab complex.
Harmon stopped the Humvee and reached out to swipe an access card on a metal pedestal. There was a speaker that crackled into life.
“Access code?” The male voice demanded.
“Seven zulu eight eight two. Staff Sergeant Harmon.”
“Welcome back, Matt,” the voice said. “Any luck?”
“Two. One male, one female. Good shape, too.”
“You guys good?”
“Lost Richards. You gonna let me in or what?” Harmon put enough angst in his voice to sound like he had just lost a good comrade, but I felt that the emotion was coming from a different place entirely.
“Sorry, man. Sure. See you inside.” As the speaker crackled and then went silent, the concrete wall in front of us began to lift and slide into some hidden recess far above us. Harmon idled the Humvee ahead and as we cleared the door, I saw that the concrete had to have been at least two feet thick. In no time, we were sealed inside with whatever our future held.
“Listen,” Harmon said and he pulled the truck into a parking space in the expansive garage area. “The elevator is over in that far corner. Entry code is eight echo seven two foxtrot. Got it?” We both nodded. He paused and turned to look directly at us. “I really don’t believe everyone here is evil and dangerous. Ignorant, like me, maybe. But, try not to hurt anyone unnecessarily, you know?”
“Matt,” I said, calling him by the name I heard earlier, “We are only here for one person: Thyssen. Unless someone gets stupid and we can’t prevent his or her actions any other way, I don’t plan on killing anyone. I promise. Kel?” I asked, pointedly.
“Just Thyssen. That bastard is going to pay.” It sounded to me like Kel had been doing a lot of thinking in the last little while. I touched his leg.
“Hey,” I said, looking into his cloud-gray eyes, “We good? You cool?” He nodded, but it only gave me one more thing to worry about.
Kel and I clambered from the truck and bolted for the elevator, while Harmon went to deal with Rucker, the voice we heard on the speaker outside.
We entered the elevator car and I punched in the code Harmon had given us. Even as the doors were closing, Kel and I were drawing our weapons. We rode down the six levels in silence, exchanging a glance or two.
I thought back to what my father had told me. “You will survive and make me proud. You hear me? You will do whatever it takes. Are we clear?” The baritone of his voice still resonated in me as if he were here with me, now. A promise is a promise. I knew that what I was doing was putting that promise in jeopardy; but I had made another promise to myself long ago. If I could ever find the ones responsible for my parents’ deaths, I would. No matter what. Now, I was facing that moment and my heartbeat revealed my fear. I hoped that Kel could not hear it pounding in my chest.
The elevator bell announced our arrival on the main lab floor and I held my breath. I was prepared for just about everything except what I saw. Thyssen — I knew it was him by the smirk on his smarmy fucking face — stood there, arms crossed staring at Kel and I. The two soldiers with machine guns pointed at us had no expressions whatsoever.
“I’m going to kill Harmon,” I muttered.
“For that, young lady,” Thyssen stated, “You will have to get in line.” He nodded to the soldiers. “Take their weapons, search them for any more and secure them in my lab. They will serve as decent subjects, I think.”
With that, the soldiers were upon us. They even took the knife I kept hidden inside my boot. Kel looked as pissed as I felt, but there was little we could do at the moment. I ran scenarios through my head as quickly as I could but nothing seemed to play out well. I forced myself to remain calm and took in everything I saw. The hallway led away from the elevator and there were large offices on one side and what appeared to be individual laboratories on the other.
We were hustled, wrists zip tied behind our backs, to the last lab on the right. The soldiers, I noticed, did not have access. Thyssen walked up and swiped a card, placed his thumb on the scanner and the door latch released. They took us inside what looked like a sterile work area. One prominent feature, not standard for any lab I’d ever seen pictures of, was the addition of two plasticine chairs with leather straps on the arms. The soldiers strapped us into these chairs, securing us well enough that I began to worry. Perhaps my own arrogance was about to get the better of me. That thought led me to glance over at Kel. I was surprised to see a slight grin on his face. I cleared my throat but he paid no attention.
“Now, then,” Thyssen said as he motioned the soldiers back to the door. “What are your names? Where are you from? And, how did you survive the pandemic?”
“I think we’re the ones who should be asking the questions. You just fucking kidnapped us.” Kel retorted. I was curious to see where he planned to go with this new attitude. All of a sudden he seemed very calm. Too calm.
“No, I captured two intruders who were apparently up to no good. Why else would you have had guns ready to wield against helpless scientists?” At Thyssen’s words, I couldn’t contain my snort of derision. He turned to me. “You have a differing perspective, young lady?”