Kinetics (24 page)

Thin lines on the wall appeared made of
bright white light.  The section of the wall that was outlined then slowly slid
into the ground. 

Behind the wall sat a V shaped
aircraft.  It was a grey color, smooth finish with no lines what so ever.  The
cockpit was molded with the top and a passenger area tucked underneath.  The
engines were hidden in the wings, and there was a gun mounted to the front.

“Who can fly this thing?” I walked
around it, taking it all in.

“Aside from your father, I am the only
person that has been trained to fly this aircraft.”

“Will you pilot for me?” I emerged from
under the wing.

“It will take an hour to prime the power
cell and make sure that it is safe to fly.  She has been sitting in this room
alone for almost two years.  I now regret not giving this vehicle more attention.”
He said walking over to the wall next to the door.  He pulled a lever that was
hidden inside of an electrical box. 

The ceiling opened like a huge steel
iris.  Sunlight poured in from the outside as the sun made its final decent
behind the mountain. 

~//~

After Chuck had determined that the
aircraft was safe and the power cell was primed, he began to warm up the
thrusters.  He opened the back where there were four seats and enough room for
three stretchers.

“What exactly was this thing being built
for?” I climbed into one of the front seats and pulled the safety harness over
my shoulders.

“Your father designed this craft to be
used for med-evac extraction in times of warfare.”  He climbed up into the
cockpit.  The door at the rear closed as the engines began to hum loudly,
building power.

The small craft lurched slightly as it
began to lift off from the ground and gain altitude through the port in the
roof.  Chuck angled the nose of the craft and accelerated towards our
destination.  The floor of the craft became transparent; I could see the trees
whipped by underneath of us.  The aircraft flew very similar to a helicopter.

I wondered if my father designed the
aircraft because he thought something was coming or if he just had a good
idea. 

“How long is the trip going to take?” I
hoped that Chuck could hear me.

“I am only going to fly at Mach one for
safety so the trip will take almost two hours.” It sounded like he was sitting
right next to me.

“Let me know when we get close.”

“Yes ma’am.”

I laid my head back and closed my eyes.

~//~

“I hate to disturb you but we are
approaching the address that you gave me.” Chuck said pulling me out of a half
sleep.

“Where would you like me to land?” he
asked as we swept over the hospital. 

“Get us a few miles away, somewhere
secluded.” I tried to get a good look around.

Chuck set the aircraft down gently in a
clearing south of the hospital.  I could see the building from between the
trees if I held my head just right.  I climbed up into a tree at the edge of
the clearing to get a better view. 

“I am going to have to sneak in; I can
see at least six police cruisers in the parking lot.” I said down to Chuck who
was checking the aircraft over.

“Are you sure that you want to do this alone?”
He looked up at me.

“I don’t want to waste the time.  There
is too much red tape dealing with them.” I lowered myself down from the tree. 
I jumped the last five feet stumbling just a bit with the landing.

“What would you like me to do?”

“Stay here.  When I come up with a plan
I’ll call,” I handed him my cell phone, “and I’ll tell you what to do.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded.

“Please stop calling me ma’am!  Keep the
phone turned on, it’s already set on loud.”

He gave a nod.

The trees weren’t very thick at the
bottom but the top blocked out the moon’s light.  I moved in the same direction
and refused to make any turns so I wouldn’t get lost.  After about ten minutes
I found the edge of the trees.  The path opened into someone’s back yard.

Houses all built in the same style; with
slight color variations lined both sides of the street.  Most of the windows
were dark; there was a light here and there.  I kept low and cut through the
front yards and crossed the street. 

I stalked through a huge park that had a
basketball court, baseball field, and a pool, and then I hopped a fence into an
empty field.  Then I entered the hospital parking lot ducking behind the cars. 
It was rather empty but there were enough to keep me out of view of the
hospital windows.  The cop cars were parked at the front of the parking lot; all
of which were empty. 

I found a side entrance that gave access
to a smoking area.  The break area was unoccupied.  I looked into the window at
the dark corridor.  I tried to open the door but it was very securely locked.

I followed along the outside of the
building and searched for the ER entrance.  The parking lot in front of the ER
was much fuller than the rest of the building.  There were a dozen or so people
sitting around the waiting room.

I went inside and approached the
receptionist. 

“Can I help you.” The large woman asked
in a nasty tone.

“I think my arm might be broken.” I said
holding it gingerly.

“Please take this form and fill it out. 
Bring it back to me when you are done and we will get you in as soon as we
can.” She said handing me a clip board.

“Is there a phone that I can use?  My
phone seems to have disappeared.” I said looking as pitiful as I could.  She
pointed to a phone near the end of the counter without saying a word. 

The phone had a sign on the wall above
it that read
Public 3 Minute Max.

I picked up the receiver and dialed my
number and waited.  Chuck answered the phone just before it went to voice mail.

“Hey Chuck could you get me from the
hospital.” I said then dropped to a whisper, “I am going to try and sneak in,
helipad in one hour.”

“Understood.” He said.

“Thanks.” I said loudly and hung up the
phone.

I took the clip board to an empty seat
near the door that lead out of the waiting room, and into the rest of the
hospital.  It was locked.

I watched pretending to fill out the
form.  A nurse came from the exam area and began to speak to some of the sick
people that were scattered around the room.  I could see her keycard dangling
from her hip, help on by a small metal clip.

I got up suddenly and ran into the
bathroom in a hurry like I was going to be sick bumping into the nurse as I
went.  I grabbed the card, melting the thin rope as I stepped back to
apologize.  I slipped the card into my pocket.

“I’m so sorry.” I said through my hand
feigning the need to vomit as I turned to finish the sprint to the bathroom. 

I burst into the bathroom making a show
of things.  I waited for a few seconds and then cracked the door a hair to
watch the nurse.  When she was finished with the patient she went back to the
door and swore when she had realized that she had lost her card.  She turned
around and went to the receptionist.

“Could you buzz the door?  The stupid
thing broke I swear they get cheaper every year.” The nurse said with a tired
smile.

The receptionist frowned and pressed a button
under the counter, unlocking the door.

I waited for a good ten minutes before I
went through the motions in the bathroom so that it seemed like I had really
used the facilities.  I walked out, made sure that the receptionist wasn’t
looking before quickly leaving the ER.

I walked in the shadows back to the
break area door.  It was still empty so I held the card next to the panel. 
There was a small beep and the lock clicked.  I opened the glass door and
slipped inside. 

I wished I had kept my phone, I needed a
flashlight.  I crept along the walls.  The whole wing of the hospital was
empty.  I looked into a room thinking that I would find a patient room, but it
was empty.  I walked slowly and as quiet as I could until I found an employee
locker room. 

I opened a few of the lockers until I
found a doctor’s coat that fit me without looking ridiculous and grabbed a
stethoscope.  I put it around my neck and closed the coat.  The coat brought
back memories of the Aurora facility and the smell wasn’t helping.  Memories
that I didn’t know that I had, but considering that we were in that godforsaken
place for over a month and I only remembered a few days, who knows what I could
have repressed.

I went back out into the hallway and
found the nearest nurse’s station, as empty as the hallways; the whole wing of
the hospital seemed to have been shutdown.    I got onto the computer and
looked for patient listings.  There were no John or Jane Does.

The Aurora Corporation logo flashed all
over the screen.  Rage flashed when T realized the hospital was enemy
territory. 

I began to look for things out of the
ordinary and I came across two people who were on a floor of the hospital
alone.  I assumed that would have to be them.

Steven and Heather Smith, which should
have stuck out as bad as Doe, were alone on the Fourth floor of the hospital. 
That made it easy; all I have to do is get them to the roof.

I put the computer back the way I found
it and left the nurse’s station for the stairs.  I checked the door on the
stairwell for an alarm.  There wasn’t one so I headed up.

I stopped before exiting on the fourth
floor and took a deep breath. 

“Act like you own the place.” I told
myself, trying to calm down.

I opened the door to see a long hallway
with doors down each side.  The last door at the end of the hallway was guarded
by two police officers.

I had found Ryder and Vanish.

I walked straight down the hallway to
the guarded door.  The police officer on the right moved into my path and held
up his hand, “You are not supposed to be up here.” He said when I was close
enough.

“The doctor went home for an emergency;
they brought me in to take over for the night.” I said as convincingly as I
could, but I could already tell they weren’t going to buy my act.

“Do you have your ID badge?” he asked
crossing his arms over his chest.

I rummaged in my pocket and felt the
nurse’s badge.  I didn’t use it because it would only destroy my ruse. 

“I must have left it down stairs.” I
said flashing my friendliest smile.

“Well when you go and get it I will let
you in.” he said turning his hip to flash his gun.

“It’s down on the first floor I just
need to take a few notes, and make sure they are sleeping well.” I said making
a big show of everything.

“And once you get your badge you can do
just that.  I’m tired of you nosy reporters trying to get in here.” He said
playfully punching the other officer in the shoulder.

“I do have to say, she is the best
looking imposter of the day.” The other officer said grinning ear to ear.

The two men stopped joking in instantly
and both pulled their guns.  I threw up my hands and dropped to the ground.  A
rain of bullet fire peppered the two men in front of me.  I covered my head.

When the bullets stopped, I opened my
eyes to see the two police officers both dead.  The wall behind them was Swiss
cheese and covered in blood.

I took a deep breath and shot to my feet
spinning to look at the murderers.  I didn’t think, I held out my arms and
blasted a flame down the hall taking out no less than a dozen Saber soldiers
that lined both sides of the hallway.  Behind them at the other end of the
hallway, leading the group, was someone that I thought I would never see again.

Jolt.

My flames whirled around him and
dissipated.  He stood unshaken with a nasty grin on his face.  There was
something different about him.  Bolts of energy randomly arched from his body
to the walls surrounding him.  His eyes were glowing blue, and when he opened
his mouth to speak his teeth were the same color as his eyes; bolts of energy
arching from his lower jaw to his upper.

“Fancy running into you here.” He said
taking a step forward and examining his soldiers. 

“You should be dead.” I said trying not
to panic.

“Funny thing, there is a chunk missing. 
I don’t remember much after our last encounter but I really don’t care.  I have
a mission.” He said walking a few steps closer, checking another of his
soldiers. 

“I don’t want to fight.” I said taking a
steady step backward towards the door.

He looked up at me and smiled, “It seems
that you have done a good job of taking these guys out.” He paused.  “Version
three Sabers, so disappointing.  They really need to get these things worked
out.  You’d think heat resistance would be at the top of the list.” He added. 
“You said that I should be dead.  I do remember a blast from, what is it you
call him?”