Vektor (37 page)

“Anything?” he whispered.

Grisha shook his head. Farrington leaned over him and examined Building Six. Windowless for the first two of four stories, the target building showed no signs of life through his night vision goggles. The front of the building was attached to the concrete enclosed tunnel that connected it to Building Five. There were no more buildings beyond Building Six. The Virology complex was configured as a series of six connected buildings. Each consecutive building represented a higher level of security, providing a simple, progressive security arrangement. An employee cleared to work in Building Five could access areas appropriate to their duties anywhere between the main security station and the entrance to the access tunnel leading to Building Six.

Likewise, in order to ultimately reach Building Five, that employee would have to pass through each consecutive building in numeric order, forward or backward. Each building was separated by one of these enclosed tunnels, protected by security card readers. The system kept track of their security card use and verified that no security point was skipped. Employees authorized to work in Building Six had to endure additional security measures.

A manned security station in the lobby of Building Six monitored the entrance to the tunnel, actively granting or denying access. The door leading into the tunnel from Building Five was constructed of bullet-resistant, shatterproof glass surrounded by a thin, reinforced metal frame, allowing the security station to visually verify that only one person stood in the card reader vestibule, without relying on security cameras. The cameras were mainly utilized to match the identity of the security card user with their Vektor profile.

The final measure only compounded their problem. Building Six’s security system included a few cutouts from the main security program. Most important, the alarm system was independent, sounding directly at the Vektor Quick Reaction Station (QRS) and alerting mobile patrols via electronic tablet. This added security feature posed a challenge for his team. Misha could disable the cameras and the door, but there was nothing he could do within the security system to hamper the guards’ own vision. The sight of armed men huddled outside of the tunnel would guarantee the quick arrival of at least a dozen ex-special forces security contractors, which is why he had been more than happy to include the breathing version of Arkady Belyakov in the most updated plan.

“Misha, confirm that the alarms for Building Five are disabled,” he whispered.

“All security features through Building Five have been deactivated, with the exception of the cameras outside of the access hallway.”

“Good work. We’re accessing Building Five. Send Gosha and Belyakov.”

“Understood. Gosha is en route.”

Yuri patted Grisha on the back and went to work on the nearest ground-floor window with Seva.

***

Dressed in one of the custom-fitted Vektor security uniforms provided by the mafiya, Gosha peered through the security station’s front window into the parking lot, checking for any signs of a roving security patrol.
Bratva
surveillance confirmed that the roving patrols occasionally checked on the main station, peering through the door. If they arrived and found one guard on duty instead of two, they might access the station and investigate, which would put Misha in a tough situation. They had hastily cleaned the walls of obvious bloodstains visible from the door and changed into the Vektor security uniform provided by the mafiya, but the room wouldn’t stand up to the most cursory inspection by anyone approaching the security counter.

They had dragged the bodies into the security vault located behind the counter, but there was no way they could adequately clean the sheer volume of blood that had pumped onto the black-and-white checkered linoleum floor behind them without dragging in janitorial gear. They wouldn’t be in place at Vektor long enough to justify a tidy wipe down. Any curious security officers that decided to step inside the lobby would join the pile of bodies in the vault.

“Gosha, you’re up. I’ve deactivated all security through Building Five. Press the green button on the access panels to open doors. Do not enter Building Five until Yuri is in position. The security guards in Building Six will be able to see you as soon as you enter.”

“Got it,” Gosha said, motioning to the scientist with his hand. “Time to earn your family’s release, Dr. Belyakov.”

“What are you looking for in Building Six?” Belyakov asked.

“Don’t worry about that yet. Just keep your mind focused on what will happen to your family if you fuck this up. Get moving.”

Gosha followed the scientist across the lobby, pausing to hand his PP2000 to Misha. The security uniform provided no possible way to conceal the compact submachine gun, and main station guards were not issued weapons. Only the Building Six station guards, roving patrols and Quick Reaction force carried weapons.

A few minutes later, Gosha paused in Building Three. “Hold up,” he said.

The scientist stopped and slowly turned around, exposing beads of sweat that had formed on his ghostly pale face. The guy looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

“All right. Here’s how this will work. Another team is waiting for us in a room next to the access panel leading into the Building Six tunnel. The door to that room will be open. As we approach the transparent security door, you focus on the access panel and only the access panel. Do not look at the men in the open door. Understood?”

“Yes,” Belyakov replied.

“One of the men will slide a weapon in front of me on the floor. I will kick this into the vestibule with us. If I kick this into the back of your feet, you do not look down.”

“Won’t the guards see it?” Belyakov asked.

“No. The cameras cannot pan down to the floor, and the door’s frame is thick enough along the floor to block their view. Are we good?”

“Yes. You’re going to kill them like the others,” he stated.

“That’s right,” Gosha said.

“You’re going to kill me too,” Belyakov said.

“I’ll kill you if you don’t follow my directions. When we approach the access panel, you will use your card,” he said, handing Belyakov the security card, which was attached to a lanyard.

“They only allow one person through at a time. No exceptions. This won’t work,” Belyakov protested. “They won’t open the door with you in the vestibule.”

“Then you and I will have to convince them to make an exception. Stick to the script.”

***

Gennady Lyzlov sat up at his station and examined the rightmost computer monitor closely. One of the camera feeds showed two people walking briskly through Building Five’s main hallway. He used a computer mouse to take control of the camera and magnified the image, recognizing the scientist immediately. Dr. Arkady Belyakov. The scientist was no stranger to late-night laboratory work, but he usually arrived with one of his colleagues or lab assistants in tow, not a security guard.

“What do you think of this?” he said to his partner, who had already taken notice.

The second guard, sitting in a chair to the right of Lyzlov, leaned forward to check the computer screen.

“Zoom in on the guard,” he said.

The image shifted slightly, panning across the guard’s face.

“He’s definitely not one of the two guards at the main station,” the guard said.

“Let’s see what they want. Keep your hand near the alarm,” Lyzlov said, pointing to a gray button the size of a teacup saucer located to the far right side of the desk.

***

Gosha kept three feet between himself and Belyakov as they approached the vestibule. He wanted to give Yuri adequate room to slide the unsuppressed PP2000 along the floor between them. The trick would be to kick the weapon hard enough to get it over the vestibule lip. Too hard and he might flip it, which could momentarily expose the black metal submachine gun to the guard station thirty meters beyond the final door. Too soft and it might not make it over, requiring him to shuffle his feet to push it the rest of the way. Either of these scenarios might draw unwanted attention. Eliminating the guards without raising the alarm would require a near perfect confluence of events, which couldn’t be forced.

He watched the scientist pass the open doorway on this right, thankful that he didn’t panic. As Belyakov opened the vestibule door, Gosha approached the same point in the hallway, sensing movement in his peripheral vision and resisting the same temptation to look. He heard the metallic clatter of the PP2000 slide across the floor directly in his path. Without looking down, he brought his right foot forward in what appeared to be a normal step and connected with the weapon, sending it forward. The PP2000 slid toward the angled lip, slowing down as it rose slightly. It stopped at the top of the lip, perfectly exposed to the guard station, before it dropped into the vestibule. Gosha’s earpiece crackled.

“Take the guard on the left first. His hand is closest to the panic button. Guard on the right is armed with the same weapon at your feet, carried in a sling set across his right back. If you can’t convince them to open the door, I’ll open it for you, but you’ll lose any element of surprise.”

He nodded slightly. Element of surprise was a stretch of the word in this case, but he understood what Misha meant. Just the simple act of opening the door would occupy one of the seated guard’s hands for a fraction of a second. He would need that time to pull this off. If their assessment of Vektor’s security was completely accurate, the guards assigned to this station were rotated from the Quick Reaction team.

Before Belyakov could raise his security card to the reader, a voice echoed through the vestibule.

“Good evening, Dr. Belyakov. Sorry to bother you, but I need the security guard to step out of the vestibule.”

“Much to my dismay, this gentleman is required to stay in my presence until further notice. We have a situation worse than Monchegorsk, and the director insists that I be guarded at all times. He escorted me from my home,” Belyakov started.

Very nice. Right on script. The guard on the right stood up to face them.

“I’m just following orders. Mr. Ivkin was explicit in his directions,” Gosha said, invoking the name of Vektor’s security director.

“I spoke with Dr. Rodin and Zaslovsky on the way over, and they have escorts as well. They’re a few minutes behind us,” Belyakov said. “I’m surprised you haven’t been notified. This is a bit annoying.”

“I’ll have to verify this with QRS,” said the guard on the right.

“Hold on, officer,” Belyakov said, turning to Gosha. “Can’t you leave me here? This is a reinforced concrete tunnel, and unlike you, these guards are armed. I think a handoff at this point wouldn’t violate Mr. Ivkin’s instructions.”

“I don’t know,” Gosha said, “he was really clear about this. I don’t want to lose my job.”

“What could possibly happen? You can’t follow me around the building. You’re not cleared beyond this point. They’ll buzz the door, and you can watch me safely enter the tunnel. I’ll personally call Mr. Ivkin and notify him that you did your job well and that I arrived safely at the lab.”

“I suppose that would be all right,” Gosha said, putting on a conflicted face.

Belyakov swiped his card across the reader, turning the door handle LED indicator green. He turned to the guards next and pleaded with them. “Officers, please open the door, and I’ll call Mr. Ivkin. He shouldn’t put you in a position like this. We have a major disaster on our hands, and we don’t have time for this kind of miscommunication. Your station should have been notified immediately. It’s not this guy’s fault.”

“All right, but he stays in the vestibule,” said the guard on the right.

“That’s fine, as long as you call Mr. Ivkin to explain,” Gosha said, tensing for the moment the door buzzed.

His earpiece activated.

“Go,” was all Misha said to set everything in motion.

Gosha immediately kneeled to retrieve the submachine gun, beating the buzzer by half of a second. While he raised the submachine gun to his shoulder, Belyakov threw the door open and pinned it to the left side of the concrete hallway with his body, clearing Gosha’s field of fire. The operative quickly centered the leftmost guard’s head in the PP2000’s holographic sight and fired a short burst, not waiting to see the result. He had a margin of milliseconds to engage the second guard, which didn’t allow him the luxury of confirming the kill. He shifted to the second guard and fired a longer burst center mass, unaware that the guard had managed to retrieve the weapon slung around his back and put it into action.

The first armor-piercing rounds from the guard’s hastily fired burst struck the bullet-resistant glass at a shallow angle and deflected into the doorway, striking Gosha in the chest. The brute penetration force of the remaining rounds shattered the glass, chipping the smooth concrete tunnel surface behind it.

Knocked backward into the vestibule by a sledgehammer-like strike to his chest, Gosha lost his balance and hit the door frame with his head, sending a flash of light across his vision. He wasn’t exactly sure what had happened to him, but he slid to the floor confident that the two guards were dead, as evidenced through his blurred vision, by the two massive scarlet stains on the wall behind the security station. He lost consciousness as the rest of his team poured through the vestibule, crunching the glass around him.

***

Farrington followed his team through the vestibule, assessing the situation. The two guards were obviously hit, but their status was unknown. Gosha lay slumped against the vestibule wall, unresponsive to Seva’s attempts to revive him. He hadn’t seen any blood or gore in the vestibule, which gave him hope that Gosha had only been knocked unconscious somehow. Grisha reached the security counter and reported.

“The guards are dead. I think they were knocked clean of the desk. I don’t see any sign of an activated alarm on any of their screens.”

“Misha, can you confirm that they didn’t hit the alarm?” Farrington said.

“Hold on. I’m reviewing the feed. A couple more seconds…and, we’re clear. Neither guard hit the panic button, unless the back wall is one big panic button. Gosha nailed them both.”