The Deep Beneath (27 page)

The muscles in Freeman’s jaw twitched but he didn’t answer.

Ian shrugged and plunged the needle into Freeman’s burly upper arm and pushed down. Ian grabbed Freeman as he began to fall, and he helped him to the ground. He repeated the procedure with the other two. Within minutes, all three were laying on the ground, out cold.

“Your turn, Doc,” said Erika. She pulled the needle away from Dr. Dolan’s neck. Her arm was wobbly gelatin and her fingers were still cramped, but she was relieved to be able to give her arm a rest.

“It’s not necessary. I’m on your side, you know. Who do you think helped 9 escape?”

“Sorry, but we can’t take any chances,” said Erika.

“You can trust him,” Jack said. “That’s what I tried to tell you back when we were at that meeting room with Sturgis. Dolan is on Tex’s side.”

“Look, we don’t have much time before Commander Sturgis figures this out,” said Dr. Dolan

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” said Ian. He walked toward the door.

“Ian, wait. Before we go, which way do we go to find Tex?”

“Tex?” asked Dr. Dolan.

“H.A.L.F. 9. We call him Tex.”

Dr. Dolan’s eyebrows raised and he shook his head. He looked like he was going to say something, but Erika interrupted him before he could begin speaking.

“Why that name? Long story. Anyway, how do we find him?”

“Let’s get out of here before the doctor changes his mind or these goons wake up and off us,” said Ian.

“It doesn’t feel right leaving Tex here. Besides, if we’re going to make it out of here, we could use his help. He’s at least done it before.”

“But they’ll look for him even harder than they’ll look for us,” said Ian.

“We’ll part ways with him as soon as we’re in the desert. I promise,” said Erika.

“Besides, she will have her mercenaries hunt you down just as much if you go alone as if you take 9 with you,” said Dr. Dolan.

Jack was silent on the issue. Erika didn’t know if he agreed with her or not, but if he disagreed, he kept it to himself.

Ian seethed, his face pulled tight in anger. But he gave up the fight. “Fine, we’ll pick up Tex first. How do we get to him, Doc?”

“When you leave this room, turn left. Go to the end of the hall then make another left. Go down that hallway, and 9 is in the first room on the left. But you won’t be able to get in without a magnetic strip card to run through the security panel.”

“Easy. We’ll take Freeman’s.”

“Not so easy. You also need an authorized thumbprint.”

“Do you have an authorized thumb?” asked Jack.

“I do.”

“Okay then. Change of plans. Dr. Dolan, you’re coming with,” said Erika

“I know Jack said I could trust you. But less than five minutes ago you had me convinced that you were going to kill me. So I’ll take this with me, just in case.” Erika held up the syringe full of lethal chemical. “A toe out of line, Doc. Understand?” Erika hoped she wouldn’t have to use it on the doctor. She also hoped that she’d have the cojones to use it if the situation required it.

“I understand but you won’t need it. As I told you, I’m the one that helped 9 escape. If you are willing to help him get out of this place, then I am willing to help you.”

“Call him Tex,” Erika said.

The doctor nodded. Dr. Dolan went to the refrigerator and retrieved another bottle of Diprivan. His hands shook as he opened a drawer and removed a handful of syringes. He shoved the bottle and the syringes into his lab coat pocket.

“Just in case,” he said. Dr. Dolan opened his office door and pulled another white lab coat off of the hook. “Here, put this on,” he said as he handed the coat to Erika. It was at least two sizes too big for her, but it covered her clothes nicely. “You’ll stand out less if we’re seen.”

“What about coats for Ian and Jack?”

“They should stay here and guard the guards,” Dr. Dolan said. “They’re not likely to wake, but if they do, inject them again.”

Ian nodded, bent and picked up one of the rifles off of the floor. “Just in case.”

A vein in Jack’s neck pulsed and he shook his head. “I don’t like it. Splitting up, I mean. We should stick together.”

“We’ll move more quickly just the two of us and are less likely to cause suspicion. If we run into anyone, I’ll say Erika is my new assistant. I won’t be able to explain all three of you. We’ll have to come back this way to get you all out of here. You can rendezvous after we’ve retrieved Tex.”

Jack didn’t look any more at ease but picked up one of the rifles and handed it to Erika. “You should take one of these,” he said. He looked back at Ian and said, “Just in case.”

Ian nodded.

Erika took the rifle and was surprised at its weight. Her dad had been a border patrol agent until the job he loved killed him. He carried a gun to work every day but kept it and his rifles locked in a gun safe. He’d taught her how to shoot a pistol, not a rifle. And as much as she’d thrilled at the feel of the power in her hand, firing bullets at a target, she dreaded the possibility of firing at a living thing. “I don’t know, Ian.”

“You don’t know what?”

“If I can shoot someone.”

“You’re carrying a needle full of poison in your pants pocket, willing to shove it in someone’s ass, but you’re telling me you can’t shoot someone?”

“Shooting is different.”

Jack picked up the last rifle off of the floor and held it gingerly, examining it. “How’s it different?” he asked.

“Bloody.”

Erika held the rifle with both hands. “Not exactly blending in, am I, Doc?”

“Tuck the gun inside the jacket as best you can. Now come. We must act quickly,” Dr. Dolan said. He walked toward the door.

“What should we do if anyone comes in?” Ian asked.

Dr. Dolan answered without hesitation. “Use that thing in your hands.”

Ian and Jack both looked down at the guns then exchanged looks. Neither of them looked any more relaxed now than when the soldiers had their guns trained on them.

“Before you go, come ’ere,” Jack said.

Erika was reluctant to move away from the door and delay her attempt to liberate Tex. But she could see Jack’s worry for her written on his face. His eyes were watery and he looked as though he might cry at any minute. Seeing Jack so near to tears made her realize that she didn’t know what was lurking in the halls of A.H.D.N.A. She may never see him again.

She walked to Jack and moved herself as close as she could without them bumping their guns into each other. Erika looked up into Jack’s stormy grey-blue eyes, and he met her gaze. They were so close she could feel the heat of his body. And smell him. None of them had showered in days, and Jack’s pits threw off a pungent odor. But when he bent his head and kissed her full on the lips, she momentarily forgot how bad he smelled. She liked the feel of his scruffy chin against her smooth skin. For a brief moment, all that existed in the world was Jack and his warm, soft lips. The feel of his hand on her back. And then his lips were gone and she was again holding a gun in a room where she had almost met her death.

“Until you come back,” he said in a whisper.

Erika turned slowly and walked away without looking back. If it was to be the last time she saw him, she wanted to hold the moment in her mind unspoiled, the beauty of Jack’s eyes held tightly in her heart.

Dr. Dolan opened the metal doors and peeked his head out into the hallway before exiting the room. He motioned for her, and they followed the long corridor to its end. Dolan then used his key card to open another set of doors on the left.

The new corridor was muggier than the last. Beads of sweat formed on Erika’s forehead, and she felt sticky and uncomfortable.

“You feel that?” Dr. Dolan asked. “She’s not taking any chances with him.”

It took them about five minutes to walk the maze of corridors from Dr. Dolan’s office to Tex’s quarters. They did not come across anyone else in the halls. Dr. Dolan stopped in front of a door that had a metal plaque above it that said “H-009”. Dr. Dolan swiped his card through the reader, but nothing happened.

“Oh no,” he said. “It won’t open. Dammit, she changed the access.”

“What? You’re their doctor. Why would she do that?”

“She must have figured out that I was the one who helped him escape. Why didn’t I see it before?” Dr. Dolan smacked his head lightly. “That’s why she put me on death duty. Punishment for helping him.”

“What do we do now?”

Dr. Dolan didn’t answer. His eyes were set on the card reader beside the door as if he could somehow will it to work for him. Erika considered using her gun to shoot the door open but quickly dismissed the thought. If the door to Tex was the same six-inch thick steel as the door to her prison cell, it was unlikely a few bullets could open it. It was just as likely that the bullets would ricochet off and end up in her flesh.

As they stood thinking of their next move, Erika heard someone whistling. She turned in the direction they had come and saw a young, heavyset man, probably in his mid-thirties, dressed in white and walking toward them. Erika froze, her breath shallow, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.
Please don’t come this way. Please don’t make me have to shoot you.

“It’s Frank, one of the attendants,” Dr. Dolan whispered. “Keep the gun hidden and act like you belong here. He may be the answer to our dilemma.”

Frank stopped whistling when he noticed Dr. Dolan. “Hey, Doc. Is there a problem?”

“Ah, Frank. Just the man I wanted to see. It seems that my magnetic strip is not working properly on this lock. 9 is scheduled for an examination. Can you run your card and print for me?”

“I didn’t see anything on the schedule for him. I was told to leave this one in lockdown for a few days. Meals only was what she said.” Frank leaned to look around Dr. Dolan to see Erika. He eyed her suspiciously but didn’t say anything to her.

“This is my new assistant, Ms. Connor.”

Erika gave Frank a nod and tried her best to look normal and not like she was hiding a rifle in her coat.

“Newbie, hey? Pretty weird stuff we got going on down here, huh?”

Erika nodded again and pasted a congenial smile on her face. She was afraid to speak for fear that she’d say the wrong thing.

“Look, Frank, I’m in a bit of a hurry to check on him. You’ll have to get to know Ms. Connor another time. The order for the examination was given to me directly. The humidity is quite high, and she wanted me to do an unscheduled wellness check to make sure he’s not suffering permanent damage from the sedation.”

Frank returned his gaze to Dr. Dolan. He looked at the door to Tex’s room then back the way he’d come. Finally he said, “Let me see your card. Maybe you just need to clean it off.”

Dr. Dolan handed his card to Frank. Frank wiped the card on his white button-up shirt then turned and swiped it in the reader. When his back was to them, Dr. Dolan motioned at Frank with his head so that only Erika could see.

“Nope, it’s not working,” said Frank. “Darndest thing. I’ve never seen that happen before. Not unless someone is no longer …” Frank turned around and looked at Dr. Dolan then swiveled his head to look at Erika. His eyes widened and fear swept over his face.

Dr. Dolan had prepared a syringe full of the medicine he’d brought with him while they walked to Tex’s room. He pulled the prepared syringe from his coat pocket, thrust it into Frank’s arm and pushed down on the plunger before Frank had a chance to fling him away.

Erika let out a sigh of relief that she hadn’t needed to use the rifle on Frank.

“What the …?” Frank’s eyes blinked slowly as he turned his head, looking at each of them, trying to understand what had just happened to him. His motions were sluggish and he stumbled backward. “What did you do to me?”

“It’s merely a sedative. You’ll sleep a few hours, that’s all. Quickly, grab his card.”

Erika reached up and grabbed Frank’s keycard strung around his neck with a lanyard. Frank stumbled again, and Erika reached an arm around him, as did Dr. Dolan. They helped him gently to the ground.

“Hurry now. Swipe it.”

Erika did as Dr. Dolan requested. The keypad lit up green, ready for a thumbprint. Dr. Dolan reached down, grabbed Frank’s hand and placed his thumb on the print scanner. Within seconds, the door to Tex’s room slid open.

“Grab his legs. Come – help me. That’s it. We’ll drag him in,” Dr. Dolan said.

Erika grabbed one leg while Dr. Dolan took the other. They scooted backwards into Tex’s room, pulling Frank’s dead weight with them.

Tex’s room was more dimly lit than the hallway. Erika straightened up and allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness while Dr. Dolan pressed a button on the wall to close the door behind them. Erika blinked her eyes and peered around. To her right was a small table and two chairs. Another doorway to her left.
Probably a bathroom.
And just ahead was a single-sized metal-frame bed. On the bed was a lump curled into a ball. The lump didn’t move.

“Tex?”

No answer. Erika’s stomach lurched.
Are we too late?

“We must hurry,” Dr. Dolan said. He walked to the bed, bent down, and scooped Tex up. He grunted with the weight and looked like he might topple over. But he took a deep breath, straightened his knees and moved toward the door.

“Is he all right?”

“I think so. He’s likely just passed out like Frank here. But we have to get him to a lower humidity environment before he’ll wake up.” Dr. Dolan scurried through the halls the way they’d come as quickly as he could while bearing the weight of Tex.

Erika walked ahead of Dr. Dolan, scouting around corners. Dolan huffed and puffed behind her.
Hang in there, old man
.

Erika looked backward every so often to see if anyone was behind them, but they were alone. They were about fifty yards from the set of metal doors that would lead them back to where Jack and Ian waited when an alarm sounded. Red lights, embedded in the concrete ceiling, flashed as the high-pitched alarm whooped. Erika’s heart, already pumping hard from the exertion and danger, nearly leapt into her throat.

She stopped and turned to Dr. Dolan. He had fallen back and was about twenty feet behind her. She could see the struggle on his face. Tex was still limp and lifeless in his arms. “Did we trip an alarm?”