The warehouse was as big as an American football field, and, full or not, the sounds inside were deceiving. Though the steps were still headed in his direction, he couldn’t be sure if they were thirty feet away or seventy. He should be able to hit the target at both distances, but he wanted to ensure that he didn’t miss, so the closer the other person was, the better.
With a suddenness that surprised him, the steps ceased.
Fifty feet for sure, maybe closer. He breathed deeply, trying to psych himself up. Just do it. Just roll out and take the-
“Hello. You hiding back there. I know you can hear me.” The voice was female, coming from where the steps had stopped. “I’m sure you realize there’s no way you’re getting out of here, so I’m guessing you’re probably trying to figure out how you can do the most damage while you have an opportunity. It’s the way I’d be thinking, anyway. I should tell you, though, no matter what you try, you won’t succeed.”
The hell I won’t!
Knowing it was now or never, the guard twisted out from the cover of the crate, and brought the barrel of his gun around to point at the spot where he knew the woman would be. His first shot left the chamber before he registered what he was seeing.
Rather, what he was not seeing. Where the woman should have been standing was…nothing.
He swung the gun left and right, looking for her, ready to pull the trigger at the slightest movement.
“Sorry to disappoint,” she said, far closer than he expected.
Even before he could respond to her voice, something hit him in the chest, and his whole body seized in uncontrollable spasms. His gun flew from his hand as he fell writhing to the floor.
Finally, the source of the pain stopped.
A Taser, he realized, his mind able to focus again.
He lay panting on the floor, every muscle weak and tingling from the massive jolt of electricity. Though his mind was screaming at him to get up, he knew that was impossible.
He heard movement, then footsteps walking right up to him.
Clack, clack, clack.
It was over. His end was coming. He trembled as the woman stopped beside him. She had short blonde hair, and what he would have called an Eastern European face-high cheekbones, slightly Asiatic eyes, and full lips. He had never seen her before.
“Go ahead. Do it,” he said, his eyes glancing quickly at the gun in her hand.
She leaned down and touched something near his waist. When she stood again, she was holding his security badge.
“Good. You have full access.” She smiled at him. “Relax. It’s not time for you to die yet.”
“Sir, we’ve received a message I wanted to make you aware of.”
The DOP looked up from this computer. Major Ross had entered the conference room at the back of the Cradle, and was standing just inside the door. “What is it?”
“An emergency signal from NB328.”
“What kind of emergency?”
“A break-in, sir.”
The DOP frowned. “Verified?”
“No, sir. It was the automated signal. We haven’t been able to reach the security team there yet.”
“Where is NB328?” While the DOP was familiar with their storage depot locations, he didn’t even try to remember what each had been designated.
“Costa Rica. Outside Carrizal.”
Carrizal. A basic storage depot if he wasn’t mistaken: food, clothing, fuel, some vehicles, and the standard weapons cache. Nothing particularly special about it.
“How long have they been out of contact?”
“We just received the message. I came straight here.”
The DOP considered their options. If they weren’t so close to Implementation Day, he would have automatically said they should just wait for someone at NB328 to check in, but time was one thing they no longer had. “How quickly can you get someone down there to check?”
“There’s a team in Monterrey, Mexico, but they’d have to fly commercial, so it would be at least four or five hours. There is another option.”
“Yes?”
“Perez, in South America. He finished up with the job in Argentina last night, and is flying to Colombia as we speak. He should be landing in thirty minutes. He could refuel and be in Costa Rica in under two hours. The drawback, of course, is that he’s alone.”
“Send him, and get the Monterrey team moving, too. Perez can scope out the situation, and if it’s more than he can handle on his own, the team will be there soon enough.”
“Very good, sir.” Ross turned to leave.
“Major?”
“Yes?”
“Keep me in the loop. I want to know everything that’s going on.”
“Yes, sir.” Ross left.
The DOP returned his attention to his computer terminal, but instead of continuing what he was doing before, he brought up the specs on NB328. It was just as he recalled-a basic depot.
Potential raids on the warehouses had always been a possibility. The world was a violent place, and stores of goods were vulnerable. Because of this, the security had been beefed up at all the depots in anticipation of Implementation Day, so he was confident the team at NB328 could deal with whatever the problem was. If they ran into problems and losses were incurred, it would be unfortunate, but negligible when it came to its effect on the Project as a whole.
He switched back to his previous screen, certain that the matter would be satisfactorily resolved.
As with all the Project’s warehouses, there was a vault on the lowest level, protected not only by the secured entrance to the underground floors, but also by an impenetrable composite door on the vault itself. Impenetrable by force, at least, not if you had the key.
Karie and Gleason accompanied Olivia and the prisoner in the elevator to NB328’s lowest level. When the door opened, Gleason pushed the man out, and Karie and Olivia followed.
There was no need for directions. While each of the facilities might vary in size, all were laid out basically the same. This way, if personnel had to be moved between locations, they could jump in immediately without the need of an orientation period.
Olivia led the way, passing contingency dormitories and the medical wing before turning down the short hallway to the vault. The first door they came to was similar to the others on this level, the only difference being that it needed to be opened via a security code.
“Enter the code,” Olivia told the guard.
“No way.”
She’d expected that response. She looked at Karie and held out her hand. “Radio.”
The woman handed it to her.
Raising it to her lips, Olivia said, “We’re outside the vault room entrance. Looks like we’re going to need that information.”
“Got it right here,” a voice came back, crisp and clean. “You were correct, ma’am. Mr. Heath does have family on the survival roster.”
The guard tensed.
“A sister and a teenage niece. They live in Arlington Heights, outside of Chicago. Both have already been administered the vaccine. You want their address?”
Olivia looked at the guard, an eyebrow raised in question. “Do I need it?”
“No,” he said, then punched the code into the keypad.
The room inside was about the size of a small studio apartment. Along the opposite wall was the actual door to the vault. It had a blue-gray sheen and fit flush with the wall. There was a control panel mounted to the left.
“You know what I want,” Olivia said to the guard. “And you know what we’ll do to your family if you don’t cooperate.”
“And if I do?” he asked. “You’ll leave them alone?”
“As long as you do as I ask, yes.”
He studied her face as if trying to determine if she was telling the truth. She was, but only because it would be a waste of time to bother with his family.