Blood Harvest (34 page)

“WHAT?!? I thought you disabled the elevators.”

“I did. And what is more disturbing is that I didn’t get any kind of online warning they had come back. Regardless, the reality of your situation is that you need to find some cover and fast.”

Steve regained his composure while Alpha, having again heard the entire conversation over the shared radio frequency, was already on the move.

“Are you secured on your end?” Steve asked as he followed Alpha.

“So far the only activity seems to be heading your way, but I never saw them coming to you so…” Chris let the unspoken words hang in the air.

Concern swept through Steve as he responded to what Chris was telling him, “All right, keep working, but if you have to abort in order to protect yourself you do that.”

“Got it,” Chris said with a little too much cavalier in his voice for Steve’s liking.

“I’m serious, if it gets too hot get out.”

“Yeah, got it,” Chris said, with a tad more conviction in his voice than the first time.

Steve bolted after Alpha who had re-entered the stairway and assumed a shooter’s stance, holding his preferred weapon, a .45 automatic pistol, in each hand.

Steve looked to the large weapons, “Not exactly ‘old school’.”

Alpha turned quickly to Steve then cocked his head while considering something. “Remember we have allies within these walls. Perhaps now would be a good time to call for them?”

Before Steve could respond the sound of automatic weapons reverberated through the stairway. Steve began to shoot back but had to immediately cease fire when Alpha leapt over the railing and dropped to the stairway one floor below landing between the two gunmen who had fired. The two startled men hesitated as Alpha landed and in that moment of hesitation Alpha pistol-whipped them into unconsciousness.

Steve made his way down to the ninth floor and moved from the stairway to the seemingly abandoned hallway. They were working their way down the hall when Chris’ voice erupted over the radio.

“I got it!”

Each man jumped at the sudden sound.

“What you got Chris?”

“The door is on a timer. I couldn’t override the security system, so basically I accelerated the timer. Instead of opening at seven tomorrow morning the system will disengage itself in approximately five minutes. Are you still on that floor?”

“No we moved to the ninth floor.”

“When that door opens, the heavy reinforcement of the structures in the room will give you the most protection. Not to mention that whatever is inside has to be highly valued by our adversaries. They would probably prefer it intact versus the alternative.”

“Good call, we’ll make our way back to…”

Steve wasn’t able to finish his sentence before Chris cried out, “Oh shit!” The sound of automatic fire proceeded Chris’ voice, followed by an eerie and unnerving silence.

“Chris!” Steve yelled into the receiver.

Silence was all that was coming from the other end. After a minute or so a voice came back to Steve, far more ominous then the silence. The voice did not belong to Chris and had a cold and merciless air to it.

“It would appear as though your friend has been seriously wounded. I’ve seen abdominal wounds before and I can tell you he has some time to receive care before it is too late. If you and your associates act quickly, he has a chance. Stop where you are and surrender yourselves to the security forces headed your way. You will not be harmed and we will make every effort to save your friend’s life.”

Steve went numb. For a moment he couldn’t even draw breath reflecting on what the man had said. Was Chris really wounded or was he already dead? Hell, for all he knew Chris might have escaped. It’s not as though he had any kind of confirmation either way.

Alpha whispered to Steve. “Go back up to the vault. I will head to our friend Chris.”

As Alpha turned to go, Steve managed. “Alpha…”

Alpha held his position, “Yes?”

“If they’ve hurt him…give the hunters the green light. Do it your way Alpha. Do you understand? Do it your way.”

Alpha stood slightly straighter and looked at Steve, nodding ever so slightly before bolting down the stairs.

“I have never been known for my patience!” The voice yelled over the radio, “Make a decision!”

Steve knew he had no choice. Slowly he turned the dial on the radio until it clicked off.

Chapter 47

Dr. Whelan looked at the radio dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected such an abrupt and expert disconnect of communications. No negotiations were made, no requests or even threats thrown around, just the simple act of quietly killing the radio.

The doctor turned to where Chris lay in a pool of his own blood, “Wow that was good. You guys are pros; that’s for sure, but you look as though you also understand the significance of your injuries. You know what it means to be gut shot, don’t you? Well, just in case you don’t it means your own shit is leaking out of your intestines and will slowly poison you to death. You’ll hang on for quite a while though and that excruciating pain you feel won’t dull with time.”

The doctor knelt beside him, his face inches from Chris’, “I’ll tell you what I’ll do for you.”

The doctor pulled his knife from its sheath. “I’ll make this quick for you, but only if you tell me how many people you brought with you.”

Chris’ face was contorted in extreme agony, but he managed to look at the doctor then back to the floor.

“Oh come on.” The doctor mused, “It shouldn’t matter to you anymore. Do you really want the last moments you have to be filled with this kind of agony? Come on, just give me a number and I’ll help you go quick.”

Chris looked up again, but this time he didn’t even glance at the doctor or the dozen well-armed men surrounding him. He was searching for a sound he actually felt more than he heard. Dr. Whelan and the rest of his men were oblivious to the low growl, but Chris recognized it immediately.

The look on the doctor’s face changed from mild amusement to confusion as a smile broke across Chris’ face.

“I wouldn’t want to miss a moment of this,” Chris grunted through clenched teeth.

Dr. Whelan looked around in a confused state to his men, some of who chuckled at Chris’ apparent audacity.

To the doctor, Chris said, “Guess what Bunky? You are about to have a very, very big problem.”

Frowning, Dr. Whelan stood and said, “You’ll change your mind with a little bit of time. When you are ready to talk let me know; otherwise, just die quietly.” Then Dr. Whelan turned to the computer tech Kunnert had sent from Daniels’ office.

“See if you can get the systems back online.”

“On it,” the tech replied.

“Uh…sir?” One of the security men beckoned to the doctor then to the building’s stairway.

Standing just inside the doorway was an enormous man, clad head to toe in black leather. He remained absolutely motionless as Dr. Whelan and the rest of the security force realized he was there and brought their weapons up to bear upon the man.

Although he was a few feet inside the doorway, Alpha’s frame filled the space making him look larger than in actuality. The face staring back at Dr. Whelan and the security force was emotionless to the point of looking lifeless as a corpse. And he never moved. Never turned his head to survey his surroundings; never looked to Chris, nor to the guards or even to the weapons they were holding.

Surprisingly it was the doctor who came out of the momentary bedazzlement Alpha’s presence initiated.

“Shoot him down!” Dr. Whelan yelled as he ran for cover.

Perhaps there was a hesitation in the men because Kunnert had warned them not to engage…someone…at the cost of their own lives. This had to be that man; however, instinct and years of training, along with an ingrained response of following immediate commands, found each man mentally making the choice to fire. Unfortunately, their slight hesitation was all Alpha needed. Before the first shot could be fired, he barreled forward and was on them.

The doctor did not enter the fray. Instead he brought his sidearm to bear and fired wildly in Alpha’s direction while running for the stairs Alpha had just exited. Alpha fired his weapons point blank into the bodies of the security guards; they crumpled to the floor broken, unconscious or lifeless.

The onslaught continued for mere moments. When it was over only Alpha remained standing, figures strewn all around him.

“The stairs…” Chris grunted. “He went…the stairs. Everyone else is on… tenth floor.” Chris realized the difficulty he was having drawing in the shallowest of breaths, but he forced the words out despite the white hot pain paralyzing him.

Alpha slowly turned his head to Chris, then to the slowly expanding pool of blood. Alpha moved to Chris’ side and knelt before him.

“You know what these injuries mean too, don’t you?” Chris asked with little surprise in his voice. “And you know you have to go help Steve right?”

Slowly, reluctantly, Alpha nodded his head.

“Good, good…Use the elevator; they don’t know we have access to it. Steve’s trapped up there….get him into the vault…it’s the only safe place.”

With those final words Chris passed out from the pain, blood loss and exertion. Alpha gently caught him as his body began to slump to one side. He propped Chris into a seated position with his back supported by the side of a desk and left him looking as if he had simply fallen asleep.

Alpha started toward the elevator doors when he suddenly stopped and glanced back at Chris lying unconscious against the office furniture. An idea had occurred to him, which he considered for the merest of moments before returning to Chris’ side.

Chapter 48

The vault door was surprisingly quiet as soft clicks sounded as the latch releases disengaged. The door opened effortlessly under its own mechanics and Steve watched impatiently as it slowly swung open and was wide enough for him to slip inside.

What he observed as he walked in froze him in his tracks.

Hundreds…thousands of bodies lay in industrial looking makeshift cots stacked like some surreal bunk bed/filing system. The sheer mass of people piled like parcels in a warehouse was unsettling, as was the apparent indifference to the humanity of those lying there. The scene became all the more devastating as Steve realized the majority were children, ranging in apparent age from as small as two years old to early teens, each naked save for the loose fitting hospital gown printed with serial numbers across the chest. Transparent tubes held clear liquids which flowed into one arm while red, presumably blood, barely trickled out the other arm. The blood was being collected by a small cylindrical device attached to the opening of each cot. Each body was catheterized to a tube which flowed away from the body and connected to a large collection duct shared by multiple users.

“My God...” Steve barely managed.

Steve also realized from the look on the faces of each immobile figure that this was everything Alpha had feared and he had only suspected. Each individual lying in their space was under the same “stasis” state as those who had fallen at
The Inferno
.

Steve wanted to start searching through the faces; he had a sudden desperate need to find Lei. Where were the adults? The room was so vast it seemed to go on for miles. The combined number of bodies stacked on the gurneys made the number impossible to count. As far as Steve’s eye could see, all of the victims here were children. His mind raced to figure out the whereabouts of the adults from the mine, as well as all of those people taken from
The Inferno
incident, including his fellow LAPD officers.

Steve was not going to get the chance to find any answers. A small group of security guards moved into the vault behind him. They were not subtle as they proceeded; Steve heard the sound of their footfalls as they entered the vault. He was caught out in the open and expected the guards to open fire as he dove for cover. None of them fired a shot.

Steve’s thoughts went to Chris and his earlier prediction that the guards wouldn’t risk damaging their prizes stacked so meticulously inside the vault. Despite the fact that the guards were not shooting, they were advancing. Steve knew it was only a matter of time before he would be pinned down and a safe shot could be made.

Steve only counted three guards; he could see them now, heavily armed and gaining steadily on his position. The weapons were high caliber assault rifles, the ordnance could easily penetrate the cover he was hiding behind. Steve peered around the bunk and to his surprise, saw Alpha sprinting around the corner of the vault. The man launched himself into the air, a feat which always seemed to defy gravity and never ceased to amaze Steve.

Alpha crashed into the three guards. With brutal efficiency he rendered each guard unconscious before any of them could fire a shot. He was about to motion to Steve when he realized his surroundings and what it contained.

The man deflated physically and the look on his face was so heart-wrenching Steve thought Alpha was going to fall to the floor and wail. Instead the look and physical weakening quickly vanished and the man straightened to his full height, powerful and determined. Reaching to his belt, he removed the small cell phone and flipped it open. He pressed a button on it and waited.