"Let's check it out then," Stevens said.
He punched in the manual control code for the security cameras. The images on one of the four screens stopped jumping about.
"Check the lower levels first," Bolan directed. "Wherever they've got her, it's bound to be out of the way."
Stevens selected the cameras on Level 4.
One at a time, he worked his way from camera to camera. The effect on the screen was that of taking a quick walk along the halls.
In the dim light, it was difficult to see more than a few yards on either side of each camera.
Stevens was working his way along the outermost corridors. On the third side of the large rectangle marking the boundary of the plant, he stopped.
"Look at this. I think we got something." Bolan noticed two men leaning against the wall.
They were positioned between two doors, both of which were closed.
"Where is that, Matt?"
"The lowest level. It's on the west corridor. Unless they're hiding out for a smoke, I'd say they're guarding something. Or somebody."
"Is there anything important on that level of the plant?" Bolan asked.
"No. It's storage and offices. Big rooms mostly and a couple of engineering labs. But they're not being used much yet."
"That's got to be where they're keeping her." Mack Bolan got to his feet. "We're going to make plans. Then we have to get moving. As near as I can figure it, we have less than two hours. These animals have to be out of here by dawn."
Cohen paced anxiously while Bolan sketched out his plan of attack. As soon as Bolan finished, Cohen picked up his Ingram and opened the door. As he stepped through, Bolan grabbed him by the shoulder.
"We get Rachel, first thing. No matter what."
Cohen smiled grimly. "You'd better believe it." His voice was metallic, deadly flat.
"Okay, this is it," Bolan announced as he followed Cohen outside. As Stevens and the others stepped out into the open, an earsplitting hiss issued from the plant. Bolan stared up at a serpentine cloud of steam. The cloud snaked skyward, gradually torn to shreds by the cold wind.
"Holy shit," Stevens yelled.
"What's wrong, Matt?"
"The reactor's venting. There's only one reason it'll do that. The reactor core is melting down. That steam is radioactive!" Stevens didn't have to tell them what it meant.
They sprinted across the frozen snow.
Eli Cohen reached the main entrance to the Unit 1 reactor first. Bolan, Stevens and Tony Giancana, one of Stevens's men, were well behind him and to the left. While Eli approached the entrance, the others angled in toward the side of the building, keeping to the shadows. One man had been sent over the fence to find a telephone. The remaining two were to sweep the rest of the plant for strays, then join the others. Cohen nodded to the guard on the door and pushed on it. As soon as the door closed behind him, he turned. Poking his head back out, he called to the sentry. "Got a cigarette?"
The man reached into his pocket, pulling out a pack of Camels. He tapped one free and extended it to Eli.
"Thanks," Eli said, stepping back outside. He fumbled in his coat for a lighter. The guard snapped his own lighter, and Eli bent into the flame. "I hear they got a girl locked up someplace inside."
"Yeah. Good-looking broad, too. Wish to hell I pulled guard duty on her instead of standing around in the cold."
"Who is she?"
"I don't know. They got her on Level 4 someplace. Way to hell and gone downstairs. David Lawrence is watching her. If I know David, though, he's doing more than watching her, you know?"
The guard never heard Bolan move in behind him.
The big guy locked an arm around the man's neck.
With a swift jerk, he snapped it. The dead man dangled just briefly in Bolan's grip, then Giancana dragged him into the shadows.
"Okay, Tony." Stevens said, "You wait here for Daniels and Grissom. As soon as they get here, move in. We'll be on Level 4. Once we get Rachel out, we'll need all the help we can get taking the control room."
Bolan and Stevens joined Cohen inside the building. The concrete floor echoed hollowly under their feet. Bolan was silent. Glinkov would be in the main control room, he knew. The dim lighting in the broad corridors was almost ghostly. Everything in the plant was built on such a colossal scale that he felt insignificant.
"Come on, she's on Level 4. Let's go." The three men rushed to the elevator bank.
Bolan and Cohen each pressed the down button at the same time, their thumbs colliding. The elevator took a long time to arrive. Its slow climb marked on the bank of lights gave Cohen time to think. The cameras had show at least two guards. The attack force had been spread rather thin, so he doubted there would be more. On the other hand, where the hell was everybody?
"Something's wrong."
"What?"
"I don't know. But I don't like the way it smells."
Of the remaining men, he had seen only three, one at the outside door and one at the control room door. That left more than a dozen men unaccounted for.
Before he had a satisfactory explanation, the elevator arrived. They stepped inside. Cohen pressed the button for Level 4 and walked to the rear of the large car. Then it hit him. It was a setup. Some of the others were below. Glinkov didn't trust him.
"That's it. Mack, it's a trap. I knew it was too easy. I couldn't figure out where everybody was. Now I know. They're waiting for us down there."
"No, Eli. They're waiting for you. They don't know Matt and I are here. That gives us the edge. Let's take advantage of it."
When the elevator reached the lowest level of the plant, the door opened with a soft sigh. Eli stepped cautiously into the corridor. To the left, there was nothing. To the right, he could see the dim outlines of several doors along the near wall. The opposite wall was blank. He waved Bolan and Stevens out.
"Eli," Bolan whispered, "wait here. Give Matt and me two minutes. We'll work around to the other side. When you get to the guards, make sure they're both watching you. We'll hit them from behind."
Eli nodded. Bolan and Stevens turned to the left and sprinted down the next passage. Eli counted the seconds. The hands of his watch barely seemed to move. Finally the two minutes were up.
Slowly, keeping close to the wall, he headed down the corridor. In the dim light he couldn't see very far ahead.
The first door on the right was closed. Cohen opened it with a turn of the knob. The room was pitch-black.
He felt for a light switch. When it clicked on, the room was bathed by flickering fluorescent illumination. It was an office of some kind, empty except for its furniture. Cohen walked on to the next doorway. Another empty office. And another. Six in all. There was a long blank space. At its far end, barely discernible in the dim light, was the figure of a man.
He walked more quickly now, approaching the guard with a confidence he didn't really have.
"Rachel Peres around here anywhere?" The guard tilted his head to the door beyond.
Beyond the guard, he couldn't see the second sentry. It puzzled him, but there was no time to worry about it.
And beyond the guard, Cohen saw Matt Stevens.
And the Executioner. Mack Bolan reached into his coat for the Beretta. It was risky, but there was no choice. Eli Cohen knelt to tie his bootlace.
With a clear shot, Bolan squeezed. The Beretta coughed. The slug bored through the guard's temple.
Blood sprayed over Cohen's neck and hands.
Catching the slumping body before it fell, he placed the dead man against the base of the wall. The door was closed. He turned the knob and pushed the door open. It was dark inside. As with the other offices, he reached for a light switch. Nothing happened.