"If I'm within range of the virtual private network, yes."
"And the Delta team?" Ridley asked.
"We'll have a mountainside buffet of science personnel in need of saving. And below that is the campground. Once outside, the Delta team will be preoccupied with saving themselves and the civilians. If they show, they'll get the same treatment as the Hydra. We'll prep the helicopter and have it ready to leave in four hours. In the meantime, we need to open the gates and get the race started. If the creature makes it to this level before we leave, well, we don't want that to happen." He looked Ridley in the eyes. "Once we're gone we'll level the site. The mountain, Delta team, and Hydra will all be destroyed."
FIFTY- SEVEN
With Beck leading the way, Knight, King, and Bishop made their way to the main level. As they entered the loading dock area Knight had used to enter the facility, they saw a crowd of people rushing through the main tunnel, toward the glow of daylight beyond. The exits had been opened.
"Something isn't right," Beck said.
"What is it?" Knight asked.
"There's no security." She looked at King. "They're using these people to lure the Hydra outside. They're bait."
"Probably for us, too," King added, then sighed. He looked at Knight, now armed with his MSG3, and Bishop, who held his machine gun toward the ceiling. "Knight, Bishop, take up position at the end of the tunnel. If the Hydra shows up, slow it down. Give these people a head start." They nodded. He looked at Beck. She was one of them for now, and received the call sign any temporary member of the team had to live with. "Pawn, you stay with me.
Beck flashed a grin. While most people took the call sign as an insult, she recognized it for what it was, a chess piece. She was on their side, on the right side, for the first time in a long while. It felt good.
"We'll cover your backs outside," King added, "and make sure Gen-Y isn't setting a trap for us. Go."
With that, all four descended the small staircase that led into the loading tunnel, merged with the moving mass of humanity, and continued to the end. Upon reaching the exit, Bishop and Knight split up and took positions on either side of the door, aiming their weapons back down the hallway. Knight knelt behind a fallen tree, steadying his aim. Bishop placed his machine gun on top of a boulder, letting its bipod hold the gun's weight while he took aim. They knew at that moment that the people fleeing the facility had seen the Hydra in person. Not one of them looked at the armed strangers with fear. One even said "good luck" as he passed.
Outside, the flow of people didn't continue down the road. People seemed to know that staying together was a bad idea. They split up, some in small groups, some on their own, fleeing into the woods in different directions. Rounding them all up, let alone eating them all, would prove a challenge.
King knelt to one knee, scanning the area for Gen-Y security. Beck stood behind him. "I disabled the security cameras and sensors. They won't be able to track us so they'll want to be more organized before launching an attack."
King lowered his weapon and took his PDA out of his pants pocket. "Cover me for a minute. Just in case."
After switching on the PDA, it connected to the satellite network, then sent a request signal to Deep Blue. Forty seconds later, the line picked up and Deep Blue's silhouette appeared. "Sorry for the delay, King."
"Check the satellite imagery. Infrared. You should be seeing something."
The screen went blue for a few moments as Deep Blue worked things on his end. A satellite image of the area emerged on the PDA, along with his voice. "It looks like the mountain is bleeding people, King. What happened?"
"You feeling open-minded?"
"Your friend looks like an alien and has a body bonded by heavy water. I'll believe whatever you tell me."
"The Hydra is alive. Back from the dead. Fully regenerated and hungry as hell."
Deep Blue's image appeared on-screen again. "Funny you should mention that. I've got Rook and Queen inbound. ETA one hour fifteen minutes. They say they have a potential cure for your friend. Something used by Hercules to stop Hydra's regeneration abilities long enough for him to sever its immortal head. Activate your GPS transponders. I'll get them to you ASAP."
"Copy that, but see if they can squeeze another mach or two out of the Crescent. I'm not sure if we'll be around in an hour."
Deep Blue's shadow nodded. "The satellite feed will stay open. Use it to coordinate your actions. Who's that behind you?"
King looked back. Beck was looking over his shoulder. "A friend. Pawn."
The designation of Pawn said all that needed to be said. They could talk details later. "Good enough. God speed, King." The screen returned to the infrared satellite imagery. Orange splotches wove through the forest in a wide swath, but eventually turned in a single direction. Downhill. Toward the campground.
Before King could curse their bad luck, a burst of gunfire turned him around. He ran to the exit with Beck, fighting against the flow of people and looked inside. At the far end, where the last few stragglers fled, the Hydra rampaged. Bodies flew through the air missing limbs, spewing blood, and splattering against walls. The four Hydra heads took bites from the bodies, but never slowed its motion as it seemed to prefer still-living flesh over the freshly killed. King wondered if the creature was intelligent enough to know it was a man that had imprisoned it for so long and was exacting a kind of revenge. Or maybe it had simply gone mad, like a regen?
Bishop unloaded with his machine gun, sending high-caliber bullets whizzing over the heads of the last few people running down the hallway. The Hydra fell over as the stream of bullets struck its front legs, spilling the creature to the ground. Knight fired his weapon, one accurate round at a time, focusing on the Hydra's eyes. Blinding it. Stumbling it up. But only slowing it down. Each burst eye and ruined leg quickly healed. As the last of the fleeing Manifold personnel ran past, Bishop's belt ran out of rounds. A moment later, Knight's magazine ran dry.
They watched in awe as the Hydra pounded down the hallway. It moved clumsily at first, as its legs and eyes finished healing, then picked up speed. When it roared with all four heads stretched out toward them, King shouted "Run!" and all three men leaped into the woods, bunny hopping fallen trees, plowing through brush, and, within thirty seconds, passing the slowest of the Manifold personnel. King wanted to stop and help, but with ammo needing to be switched out and the Hydra hot on their heels, they wouldn't stand a chance. Until they'd regrouped, the scattered mass of people were on their own. That is, unless their own security force stepped up.
King remembered Beck and looked for her. She was gone. Damnit, he thought. How could he have let her disappear like that? Better yet, why did she leave?
A roar rolled down the mountain from behind them and propelled them forward. As they slid down a steep incline they heard a voice call out to them, "Here! Over here!"
A woman wearing glasses and a lab coat waived to them from inside a small cave. King ran for the cave, followed by Bishop and Knight. "There's room for all of you." She ducked inside the cool, dry cave that descended slightly into the mountainside — a gift left from the passing of ancient glaciers. King motioned Knight and Bishop inside as a rustle of leaves told him someone else was approaching from above.
One of the stragglers, an overweight man, working for each breath, stumbled down the incline. King lunged for him and took him by the shirt. The man shouted in fright at King's sudden appearance, but silenced quickly upon realizing he wasn't being eaten. King shoved the man into the cave where he was caught and sat down by Bishop.