Riley finally used the last two items they had laboriously carried here — two small lockboxes with timers inside. He hooked the det cord from the tubes into the fuse ignitor on the bottom timer, then connected the one from the backup system. He looked up at Merrit and Giannini, who had gathered in close.
"My watch reads 0205," he said. "Seay's clearing the tunnel and will be out in thirty minutes. It will take us about forty to get out." He moved the hour hand on the tube clock back to eleven. "I'm setting the primary to blow in one hour." He moved the backup to 10:55. "The backup goes off in an hour and five if the primary doesn't blow. You all ready to move out?"
Both women nodded.
Riley pulled a pack of four double-A batteries from his pocket and tore off the plastic cover. He pushed two batteries into the backup clock, and the second hand started moving. Then he pushed two batteries into the primary clock, and immediately pressed buttons on his wristwatch, setting the stopwatch for one hour. He placed each clock into a lockbox, then locked them shut with two keys. He handed the keys to Giannini. "You take these."
"What do we need them for? I don't even understand why we're locking the damn things."
"I'm locking them because if there's a one-in-a-hundred chance that the Synbats come across this setup, I don't want them messing with the ignitors."
"They could just pull out the wires," she noted.
"They could," Riley agreed. "But there's only so much you can do. We've got fifty-nine minutes. Let's roll."
They set off down the tunnel, Riley in the lead, Merrit in the middle, and Giannini bringing up the rear.
Powers sat in the cab of his pickup truck and looked at the lights glowing in the foyer of the building. He reached into the cooler between the two seats, pulled out a soda, and popped the top. He took a deep draft, swished it around, and then swallowed. After a brief pause, he belched.
He pulled the handset for the remote fuse ignitor out of his parka pocket and leaned it on the steering wheel next to the soda, then took another long drink.
"Let's see if the master can still whip up a good dust initiator," he said to himself as his forefinger played with the power button on the control. He flipped it on. There was a bright flash inside the foyer, then nothing happened for a millisecond. The windows in the buildings suddenly imploded with a whooshing sound as everything was sucked into the vacuum caused by the blast. Another brief pause and the ceiling collapsed with a thunderous crash.
When the air cleared, the mission had been accomplished. The only thing they'd be trucking out of Biotech the following morning was a load of debris.
Powers put away the control and slowly drove off, steering with one hand as he continued to drink his soda in celebration, looking forward to the cold brew waiting back at Fort Campbell.
They were more than halfway back to the manhole, Riley in the lead, holding the flashlight with his right hand under the hand guards of the M16. His left forefinger was on the trigger as the light played over the walls, left to right, forward, and then back, in a continuous pattern. Behind him, Merrit stumbled along, exhausted, holding his pistol. In the rear, Giannini crabbed sideways, flashlight in one hand pointing back, revolver in the other. There had been no conversation since leaving the demolition site; each person was lost in thought or trying to tune into the hostile environment that enveloped them.
They hit one of countless cross tunnels, and Riley quickly scanned left and right, then unerringly continued straight on, due south. The walls seemed closer now and more forbidding. The darkness beyond the feeble reach of the flashlights was absolute.
Another cross corridor and Riley stepped out into the intersection. Taking a quick glance left, he swung to check right, and as he moved, a Synbat slammed into him from that side at full charge. Large, sinewy arms wrapped around him and he immediately dropped both weapon and flashlight to fight for his life, trying to keep the fangs from closing on his neck.
Directly behind, the second Synbat ignored the greater threat of Giannini and her pistol — its eyes focusing on Merrit. It leapt over the struggling forms of Riley and the first Synbat and landed on the doctor, slamming her to the ground. Merrit screamed as fangs tore through her shirt and into her stomach. Giannini swung her light around, pistol locked on the two figures struggling in the center of the beam.
"Get out of the way!" she yelled at Merrit.
Riley's left forearm was levered against the Synbat's throat. Saliva splashed on his face from the fangs just above him. He could feel distant pain as the Synbat swung at him with its powerful hands. He slammed his right fist into the creature's gut, with no apparent effect.
The second Synbat looked up as Giannini took a good firing stance, flashlight locked with her free hand under the barrel of the pistol. The clear shot disappeared as Merrit reached up and wrapped both arms around the Synbat.
"Let go!" Giannini shouted.
But Merrit held on as the Synbat reached down and twisted her head, breaking her neck. Giannini fired three times; two of the magnum slugs hit the Synbat, killing it.
The shots echoed in Riley's ears as the Synbat on top of him bit down on his shoulder. He heard, rather than felt, bone snap. The Synbat rolled, pulling Riley on top of him as a shield.
"Shoot!" Riley screamed as the Synbat's head dipped for a second attempt at his neck. He swung his right arm outside the Synbat's grip and jabbed his rigid fingers directly into the creature's face. The creature howled as three of Riley's fingers pierced its right eye. Riley felt the bones snap in those fingers as the Synbat reared back, and then it was gone.
Giannini fired her three remaining shots as the creature sprinted away into the darkness. She immediately knelt, snapped open the cylinder, dropping the empty casings to the floor, and slammed a speed loader against the empty holes. She stood and shone the light back down the corridor. "I think I hit it."
Riley forced himself to a sitting position, his back against the wall, feeling the bones in his right shoulder grate together. "How's Merrit?" he gasped.
Giannini backed up and knelt next to the doctor. "Dead. Neck broken. I told her to get out of the way, and instead she grabs the damn thing."
"She wanted to die," Riley said, breathing heavily.
"What?"
"We kill these — and if Powers destroys the lab — the only link to making the Synbats is her. She knew that. Now she's gone too."
Giannini shook her head and played the light over Riley. "Shit, you're a mess. Can you move?"
"Think so," Riley said, gritting his teeth. He grabbed her outstretched hand and started to get to his feet when his left knee suddenly buckled. "Son of a bitch," he muttered. "I didn't feel that get hurt." He reached down and tenderly felt around. "It isn't broken. Must have strained something when the Synbat jumped me."
"Here, I'll give you a hand." Giannini helped him to his feet and then wrapped his left arm over her shoulder. "Can you walk like this?"
They took a few tentative steps forward, Riley placing most of his weight on her whenever his left foot came forward. "Yeah."
They started moving. "But if another Synbat shows up, we're gonna be dessert," Giannini commented.
"We killed one. One's wounded. That leaves only one healthy Synbat, and I think it will stay with the young," Riley said. "But if we don't get out of here soon, we'll have more to worry about than the Synbats."