“Alright, alright, we get the point,” Richard conceded. “Let’s wait and see what Matt has to say about the tanks after he goes out.
“What do you want me to do?” Ethan asked.
“Stay close to us, we may have to run out and provide cover fire if Matt gets caught out in the open,” Richard replied.
“Alright,” Ethan said, clutching his pulse rifle like it was going to fly out of his hands at any moment.
The three of them followed behind Matt and then waited silently as he crept through the shadows towards the hangers. The guards remained at their post near the central building and up on the catwalks, peering out every so often in a predictable manner. A foot patrol canvased the area around the labs every five minutes, but they never ventured near the warehouse. Richard wondered if the smell from the corpses was keeping them away. Whatever the reason, it was a welcome break, and the guards kept their distance.
After a few minutes, they saw Matt returning from the hangers, pausing every so often to avoid detection.
“What did you find?” Richard asked anxiously once he reached them.
“One of the tanks has a tiny bit of fuel in it, but I doubt it’s enough to even get us off the base. The power cell has a partial charge, so I think the tank will start and run, but again, we won’t go far unless we find some more fuel for it,” he reported.
“Are the weapon systems operational?” Richard asked.
“The tank has to be running to access the weapon controls, but it’s an independent system that is not tied to the mechanical functions.”
“What does that mean?” Richard asked.
“It means the weapon control panel may have been locked-out by the last user. If that’s the case, we won’t be able to fire the tank’s weapons, but it still would be drivable. Again, I won’t know until I start it up,” Matt replied.
“So you are confident you can operate the tank, but we need more fuel, and the weapons system may, or may not be locked out?” Richard asked.
“Yep, but the armor on the tank is sound, so unless the Augs have RPGs, it’s impervious to their small arms fire,” Matt added.
“What type of fuel does the tank require?” Richard asked.
“Diesel. If you like, I can go back out and try to find some for it?” he offered.
“Alright. We’ll keep you covered in case a guard spots you. Just remember, once the shooting starts the mission is blown, so kill as many Augs as you can and then head for the labs. The rest of us will meet up with you there. From that point on, try and destroy as much of the facility as possible with the grenades. With Dr. Stone absent, we will not achieve all of our goals, but at least it would cripple them and allow our escape,” Richard remarked. Matt nodded and then headed back out. Everyone kept a close eye on his movements as Matt entered one of the hangers and disappeared from view. A few moments later a dark figure ran out from the hanger and into the open tripping a floodlight. A guard on top of the catwalk immediately drew his weapon and fired at the figure before it could run for cover. Richard and Mitch gasped while Ethan held his hand over his mouth to prevent from yelling. Mitch aimed his pulse rifle at the guard and started to pull the trigger.
“Wait!” Richard said in his ear. “Let the smoke clear, it looked too small to be Matt.
“You’re right,” Mitch whispered a moment later as the floodlight revealed a small charred animal smoldering on the ground. “I thought that was Matt,” he added.
“I wasn’t sure myself, but Matt’s a big guy,” Richard remarked.
The light went off after a few minutes and Matt quickly made his way back to the utility tunnel, seemingly shaken by the near miss.
“What the hell was all that about?” Matt questioned once they were safely back inside.
“You scared an animal out of the hanger, and when it ran into the open, a guard opened fire. We thought it was you for a moment,” Richard added.
“Thankfully not!” Matt replied as he wiped several beads of dirty sweat from his brow.
“Did you have any luck finding more fuel?” Richard asked.
“No the animal incident cut my search short, but I did get a good look at the larger building with the vents in the roof. It’s full of water tanks and there are billions of mosquitoes buzzing around inside of it.”
“I knew it. That must be where they inoculate the mosquitoes with the larvae,” Richard added with a hint of vengeance. “For now, we might as well head back into the warehouse and wait for Dr. Stone to return. Who would be willing to take the first watch?”
“I will,” Ethan replied.
“Okay, but be sure to notify me immediately if you see Dr. Stone,” Richard insisted.
“I will,” Ethan said. “You don’t have to worry about me, I’ll come get you if I see anything important.”
“Alright, one of us will be back to relieve you in a few hours,” Richard replied as he and the others headed down the tunnel towards the warehouse.
“Ethan has come a long way,” Mitch remarked as they walked along.
“Yeah, I thought so too,” Richard replied. “He’s a good kid.”
“How long have you known him for?” Mitch asked as he looked over at Matt.
“He joined our clan about a year ago. I think he was going to college before the Augs took over and I also remember him saying something about taking care of his grandfather. I’m not positive about that,” Matt said as he went over to his sleeping bag to relax.
“I think I’m going to take a break too,” Mitch remarked with a yawn.
“Alright,” Richard replied. “I’m going to work on the attack plan a little more.”
“You can rest too, goodness knows you deserve it,” Mitch added before slipping into his sleeping bag.
“I will, I just want to go over the plan in my head a few more times,” Richard replied as he stared down at the diagram he had drawn.
After an hour of mulling it over, he finally succumbed to sleep deprivation and snoozed off without realizing it.
Matt woke up first, and after stopping at the restroom, he proceeded down the utility tunnel to check on Ethan. When he reached the metal door, Ethan was nowhere to be seen. “Ethan? Where are you?” he said in a low voice, hoping to find him. “Damn it!” he muttered to himself after thoroughly searching the tunnel and the area just outside the door. “Ethan?” he called out a couple more times as he retraced his steps, reluctant to tell Richard.
“What’s wrong?” Richard asked as intercepted Matt at the end of the tunnel.
“Ethan’s missing!”
“Oh crap! Richard said as he ran through the tunnel in search of him.
“I looked everywhere,” Matt said in a worried tone as he followed after Richard.
“Did you look outside?” Richard asked when he reached the door.
“I did, but I didn’t go too far,” Matt replied.
“Damn it!” Richard remarked when he noticed a fresh pool of blood on the ground in the pre-dawn light.
“What are we going to do?” Matt asked.
“It’s getting light, so we have to choose between waiting all day for the sun to go back down in order to search for Ethan, or make the most of the deteriorating situation and attack the facility now. If the Augs have captured Ethan, I’m afraid they will torture him until he talks. This might be our last chance to attack before they figure it out,” Richard said with a look of disappointment.
“I want to wait until nightfall and then look for Ethan some more,” Matt replied sternly. “He might have gone out to look for some fuel, and can’t get back without being seen.”
“I would love to wait, but if that’s his blood on the ground, then he didn’t just go out for a stroll. Once the Augs realize he is not alone, the entire base will be searching for us,” Richard argued.