EARTH PLAN (17 page)

CHAPTER 28

The gunfire stopped outside the door of the lab.

It grew quiet.

Charles and the professor looked at each other, still both holding their machine guns that were aimed at the door.

“What do you think happened?” Charles whispered.

“Sound like our help arrived. Or, they’re all dead,” the professor said.

“Guess we’ll find out…”

There came a knocking on the door, then they could hear a faint voice calling, “Professor!”

“Who the hell is that?” Charles asked.

“Who knows? Could be a trap. I’m not opening it.”

The phone ran, startling them. They looked at the phone.

“Are you going to get it?” Charles said.

“I suppose I should…” The prof lumbered over to the phone carrying the machine gun. “Hello?”

“Professor, it’s Lang,” said the voice on the other end.

“Oh, thank God!”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, we’re fine, but there was shooting outside the door of the lab.” He looked at the door while he was talking. Charles looked on, still gripping the gun tightly in his sweaty hands.

“That was Chang and his team who are there to rescue you. Chang just called me and said the situation is now secured in your house. You can open the door of the lab now and come out. Chang will take you to our safe house.”

“A-alright. If you say so. Thank you.”

“You are more than welcome, professor. I’m just sorry it had to come to this.”

“Me, too. Talk to you later, I guess?”

“I will be in touch. Goodbye for now.”

“Goodbye.” The professor hung up the phone. He laid the gun carefully down on a table.

“We're saved?” Charles asked.

The prof nodded. “Good lord, I can’t imagine what state the house is in. My wife is going to freak out if she sees it!” He shook his head, rubbing his face.

“I’m sure she’ll understand…I mean, she knew what sort of work you were doing and the dangers, right?”

“Try telling that to your wife when she finds dead bodies in your house!”

“Oh. Yeah.”

The prof picked up the gun and walked over to the door. “Come on, we’re getting out of here. Our rescue party is here.”

Charles got up with his gun and moved to the door. “Then why are we taking the guns?”

“Just in case.” The prof punched a code into the keypad and the lock clicked open. He spun a wheel that cranked open the emergency door, and the airlock seal broke. The door rose up into the ceiling again. He then opened the regular door, aiming his gun at the opening. Charles did the same, aiming into the hallway beyond the door.

The door swung open.

There was blood spattered in the hallway and a trail of blood on the floor, leading up the stairs.

Chang appeared, with a grim look on his face. He held a small machine gun and had on a belt with more ammo. He was dressed in blue coveralls with the logo of a moving company on the chest. “Professor? Charles? Are you alright?” He lowered his gun.

“Yes, fine. Is it...clear out there now?” the prof asked.

“Yes, but please watch your step. The house is now secured. But there have been some causalities—the men who came here to kill you have been killed by my men. So, there’s some bodies. Prepare yourself. We’re cleaning up, now. When that’s done, we’ll all get out of here and go to the safe house,” Chang said.

“I need to call my wife,” the prof said.

“Where is she?”

“She should be on her way home from work anytime now. I don’t want her to walk in here and…”

“Yes, I agree. Call her and have her wait someplace we can pick her up; somewhere in public where there are a lot of people around. It’s not safe for her to come here. We don’t know if there are others watching the house yet, but I’m assuming so.”

The prof nodded and turned back into the lab to use the phone. The call he had been dreading to make for years was now upon him. He dialed.

“Hello?” his wife Wendy said on the line.

“Honey. Something has happened at the house. Don’t come here right now. It’s not safe.”

“My God, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” The prof sat down, tears welling up in his eyes. “It’s time for us to leave, now. Don’t come home. Find somewhere in public and wait. We’ll come pick you up, soon. I’ll bring our bugout bags. I’m so sorry…”

“Oh, honey! It’s not your fault. We knew it might come to this, right? And, we’re both alright with it? Right? I know I am. Your work is that important.”

“Yes,” he said, a tear running down his cheek. “Our home…”

“We’ll make another home.”

“Yeah.” He nodded slowly.

She told him where she was going to be waiting, and he hung up. “All arranged,” he managed to say.

“Good,” Chang said. He dabbed some liquid from a bottle onto a towel, then wiped the blood off the floor with it. The prof and Charles watched this with amazement,

“You guys come prepared,” Charles said.

“We do,” Chang said. “You can head on up and get your things together. We’ll leave shortly. Take all your extra ammo and any other guns with you.” He went back to cleaning up the blood.

“We'd better grab the slides and the other stuff,” Charles said. The prof nodded and they went back into the lab.

“Just take the samples and the computers. Leave the rest of the gear, we can replace it,” the prof said.

They gathered up their research materials into a steel suitcase, then took the extra ammo out of the cabinet, and a couple of handguns with holsters that were in there. Minutes later, they came out with the suitcase, a duffel bag full of the guns, and a couple of laptops.

They walked up the stairs, looking at the trail of blood, but there were no bodies. They both wondered where the bodies were, expecting to see one at any moment. But it was not until they got up to the main floor that they could see what had become of them.

There were four body bags on the floor with bodies in them. There was a pile of guns, equipment, and personal effects next to them. Blood smears were on the floor that three men under Chang's direction were cleaning up, also wearing blue moving company coveralls.

“Why did this happen all of the sudden?” the prof asked.

“It seems someone got news of your discoveries, recently. We’re not sure who, but you can’t stay here any longer, of course. Our Guild has many enemies, and it seems one of them is on to us now. There was an attempt on Lang’s life early this morning as well, but thankfully that was repelled, too,” Chang said.

“Geez, he didn't mention it. I didn’t think this was going to get so dangerous, so…life-threatening,” Charles said.

“We are in dangerous times. There’s no telling what’s going to happen. We’ve got a couple of leads on who these men worked for. We’ll track it all down,” Chang said, looking at the body bags. “In the meantime, we’ll get you someplace safe.” He looked at Charles and the professor.

“Where we’ll be under lock and key, I suppose?” Charles said.

Chang smiled and stepped off a few paces. He spoke into the walkie-talkie that was on his shoulder. Once the message was relayed he took the radio off his shoulder and put it into an inner pocket of his jacket, so it would not be seen.

Charles noticed the other men were doing the same thing, and also putting their guns into bags.

“Keeping a low profile?” the prof said.

“Yes,” Chang answered. “Don’t want to alarm the neighbours anymore than they might already be alarmed.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t called the police already,” the prof said.

“We kept it quiet. Silencers.”

A couple of the men brought large trunks into the house. Charles and the prof watched as Chang and his men folded the bodies up, one to each truck, sometimes having to push them in really hard, breaking bones.

“Oh, geez,” Charles flinched.

“Terrible, terrible,” the prof said and shook his head.

Chang helped one of the men carry a trunk out. He smiled to the prof and Charles.

“It doesn’t seem to bother him a bit,” the prof said.

“I guess he’s been through it so many times, he’s desensitized,” Charles said. He watched out the window as they carried the trunk to a waiting truck that was marked as a moving company. “Good cover.”

The rescue team made several more trips out to the truck with the trunks until all the bodies were loaded up.

The professor gathered what things he wanted to take with him from the house, handing some bags to Charles to carry, too.

“All set?” Chang asked the prof.

“I guess so. I hate to leave here, but…” The prof took a wistful look around his house, knowing he might never see it again. “What will become of the house? The lab?”

“We’ll have it under constant watch, with guards posted inside and out, until we can dismantle the lab and sell the house,” Chang said. “We’ll remove any traces of what happened here today, of course.”

The prof nodded, as this had all been arranged with Lang beforehand, down to the legal paperwork having been signed and put in place for all this to be handled by the Guild. “Yes, that’s the plan.” He made a tight smile and walked out of his front door for the last time.

Chang put the prof and Charles in the back of the truck with one of his men, saying, “It's safer for you in here; no windows.” There were a couple of large bench seats with seat belts installed in the cargo area. And the trunks with the dead bodies.

Chang left two of his men in the house, then got into the driver’s seat of the truck. He drove until they reached a restaurant where Wendy was waiting for them. The prof and Charles tried not to look at the trunks.

Chang pulled into the back lot of the restaurant, looking around carefully. He parked near the entrance and left the truck running. “I’ll be right back,” he said to the others through the slot in the wall.

He got out and quickly strode to the door, glancing all around. It was getting near dusk, and he wanted to get this done and get back on the road as soon as possible. The others waited nervously in the back of the truck. Chang’s man kept his jacket open so he could easily reach the gun under his arm, if needed.

Inside the restaurant Chang found Wendy sitting at the bar having a drink.

“Time to go,” he said, sliding up to her. He put his back to the bar, facing outwards.

“Oh!” she said, jumping a little in surprise. “Chang, right?”

He nodded and bent towards her to whisper, “We really need to go. And please, don’t repeat my name in here.”

“Oh, OK. Sure. Right, I get it.” She nodded and started to dig in her purse for some money.

The bartender came up near Chang, “Something for you, sir?”

“No, thanks. I’m just picking her up.” Chang smiled.

“Very good, sir.”

Wendy put some money down on the bar. “Thank you.”

“Thank you, enjoy your evening,” the bartender said.

Chang took her gently by the elbow and guided her out the back door.

“Is it serious?” she whispered to him. He nodded. “Oh dear, I was afraid of that!” she said.

They exited the restaurant, and he opened up the back of the truck and helped her inside. Then he closed the door and quickly came around to the driver’s door and got in. He drove off in a hurry.

Wendy and the prof embraced. “Hi, honey,” he said, kissing her.

“Hi,” she said, looking sheepish.

“You remember Charles?” he said to her.

“Yes, of course! How are you? Good to see you again. I wish this was under better circumstances.” She shook his hand.

“Thanks. Me, too.”

“What happened? Do I even want to know?” she asked.

“Not really,” Stan said. “The bottom line is we can’t go home again. I’ve got your bugout bag and some extra things.” He pointed to the bags on the floor. He didn't mention about the bodies in the trunks to her, and Charles didn't either.

“Good…and I’m really sad to hear that.” She sighed. “What about your work?”

“It’s safe,” he said and patted the suitcase near him. “But our house is not a safe place to be right now. Some men broke in, but Chang and his men...took care of things.” He nodded to Chang's man.

“You’d better not say any more, professor. For her safety,” the man said.

“Right,” the prof said. He took her hand. “I’m sorry I got you into this…dark business.” He looked like he was about to cry.

“Nonsense, honey! I know your work is important and important work comes with risks at times. I’m proud of you for sticking to your course and doing what you know is right.”

“Thank you,” he said and smiled weakly. Then, he just held her hand as the truck kept driving.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“I’m not sure, honey,” the prof said.

“To our safe house,” Chang shouted through the slot in the wall. “Out in the country. Better I don’t say exactly where. We don’t know who might be listening.”