Hugo roughly folded the map and jammed it back into his vest. He took a look out the small window in the door and took a deep breath. Again when he burst out of the stairwell the white coats were so startled they began falling over themselves trying to get out of the way. Hugo held his weapon high aiming in the direction he was running. He was very surprised he did not run into any guards or armed soldiers. But he was sure they would be on their way as soon as his presence was reported. Hugo hurried down the hall and turned right and stepped up to a double doorway labeled Stromerzeugung 7-79. The label was in German but Hugo knew by the map it was the power station for the complex.
He leaned against the right-side door. It was locked. He looked around and, seeing only a few people standing several meters away, he stepped back and fired two shots into the lock. The two shots sounded like a sputter with the silencer, but the door lock was mangled, parts of the lock flying in all directions. Hugo pushed the door and it opened, revealing what looked like a multi-level factory deep within the complex. There was a loud humming noise in the background. He stood in amazement for several seconds until an older man about sixty in white overalls popped around the corner of a piece of equipment and was face to face with Hugo.
“Wer zum Geier sind Sie?” he sputtered. Hugo reached out to the old man and gently led him back into a small corridor between the door and the equipment.
“Sprechen Sie Englisch?” Hugo asked in German. The old man looked at Hugo.
“Yes, I speak English. What are you doing here?” he asked nervously.
“I was sent here to guard the plant,” said Hugo smiling. “We have intruders in the complex and we believe they are heading this way. But first I have a small job to do.”
“Oh, my goodness. But you don’t work here. I must call the guards,” said the old man, clearly not totally understanding the situation. He stepped forward toward the telephone on the wall behind Hugo.
“No sir,” Hugo said sternly. “You cannot call anyone. Only emergency communications are allowed. And this is not an emergency.” The older man looked at Hugo with a puzzled look on his face. Hugo tried to change the subject. “Hey, what do you do here? This is the power plant for the entire complex?”
“I’m senior operations master of the power station,” the old man said proudly.
“Oh, so you know how this entire station works?” asked Hugo nicely, waving his hand across the area below.
“Oh, yes. I have to know that,” the old man explained.
“Well, why don’t you please tell me how it works,” said Hugo calmly, realizing the old man was not a threat and if treated with respect, he might tell him what he needed. “If I am to protect you and your station, I should know a bit more about what I am protecting, don’t you think?”
“I told you who I was; now you tell me who you are,” said the old man.
“I’m a security guard leader, Captain Werner, sent down here to guard the power plant. We are under attack and those in charge ordered me to come down here. “
“Strange,” said the old man confused. “I was not told of this. I should have been told of this,” he said, looking at the clipboard in his hands. He was clearly confused. “I don’t see anything here… ”
“We are under emergency orders,” interrupted Hugo matter-of-factly. “All normal operations are superseded by the emergency orders.” Hugo tried to change the subject again. “This is the first time I have been in this quadrant. It is very impressive,” he said, looking around the area.
While the rest of the building was very much like a regular building, this part was a factory. Huge pipes ran overhead. Rather than the office/hospital smell of the rest of the building, there was a slightly oily smell and the humidity was definitely higher. The noise was at times deafening.
“Yes, I see,” agreed the old man. “As you can see, this is the plant that produces all of the electrical power for the entire complex.”
“Wow, this is very impressive,” said Hugo, walking away from the old man farther into the room. He kept an eye on the old man as he came to a railing on an overlook. He was taking an awful chance the old man may see through his ruse. Hugo looked down. He gasped inwardly as he saw five levels below this one, all centered around a huge cylindrical tower at least four stories high. “I have never seen anything like this.”
The old man hesitated a few seconds and then walked over closer to Hugo. “That is because this does not exist anywhere else in the world. It is a geothermal power station modified to yield unlimited power.”
“Unlimited? How can that be?” asked Hugo. “Energy sources need fuel replacement periodically.”
The old man smiled meekly. “No, I don’t think this power source will run out any time soon.”
Hugo acted puzzled. “I don’t understand, sir. You mean this power station can run forever?”
“In theory, yes, it can. In practice, mechanical parts will wear out and will need replacement. But the source of the power is unlimited as we know it now.”
“How’s that?” asked Hugo.
“Our power comes from the volcanic action at the core of the earth. We drilled down to the level where we were able to reliably tap into the molten rock under the earth. Then we pump water down under pressure and it all gets turned to steam. The steam is used to run these turbines to generate unlimited amounts of power,” the old man said, motioning toward several steam turbines down on the lower levels. “Other countries such as Indonesia and Iceland are working toward this model, but no one has this technology. We are the world leaders, except we don’t share the technology with anyone. In fact, there is technology here that is highly secret. It is the key to the generation of unlimited power.”
Hugo noticed movement to his right. Two white coat technicians were walking toward them. “Here are two of my technicians now,” said the old man proudly. The technicians slowed their walk and looked cautiously at Hugo. Armed men were not the norm in these areas. Hugo let his weapon fall to his side.
“Do not be alarmed,” said the old man. “This is Captain Werner, a guard leader sent down here to protect us. Evidently we are under attack.” The two technicians seemed to relax a bit. “What do you need?” asked the old man.
“Sir, number four turbine is due for maintenance next week,” started one of the technicians. “I wonder if we can begin some of the preliminary work this afternoon. It would put us ahead of schedule.”
“Fine idea,” said the old man beaming. “See, my staff is on top of everything.” The technicians both smiled at Hugo and then turned and headed back down the far steps to a gantry way two floors below. Hugo smiled back without saying a word.
Hugo decided to make his move. “Sir, I’m afraid I must go down to the lower levels now to check out the security. Do you want to accompany me?” Hugo hoped the old man would just stay up here.
“You go ahead. I have other pressing needs about the plant. Please let me know if you have any questions or needs,” said the old man. At that, he turned and walked away, reviewing his clipboard.
Hugo smiled to himself. You know, sometimes it doesn’t take force to get what you need. Sometimes you can sweet talk your way in. And Hugo was the sweet talk king! Ladies or gentlemen, it did not matter. Hugo shouldered his weapon but made certain he could get at it quickly. He strolled down the walkway, stopping here and there to take a good look at the layout. His thoughts were to get down on the generator floor and try to blow up the portals down to the volcanic rock. That would cripple the power station and render the complex blind. All of the sensors and alarms would be out of service. Then they all stood a better chance of getting out of the complex alive.