Chapter 21 #2
“We’ll make more as long as we can,” Ivie said.
“Thanks,” I said. In the meantime, we still needed weapons. I asked Bubba Boom if the ISF’s weapons were still locked in the safe.
“Hank removed a bunch for his people and the Outsiders, but the last time I saw there were a few left. But he changed the code for the lock.”
I glanced at Logan. He huddled on the floor next to Domotor. Kneeling next to him, I hugged him close for a moment. Then I explained my need.
“Can you help?” I asked him.
He wiped his eyes. “On one condition.”
I waited.
“That I get to kill-zap Fosord.”
“I thought that wasn’t your thing,” I said.
“It is now.”
“No. We’re not killers. Anne-Jade wouldn’t approve and you know it. You can stun him, how’s that?”
“Can I at least kick him a couple times?” Logan sounded like a petulant child.
“Yes.”
“All right. I’m in.” He went in search of a few supplies, calling to Emek and Rat to fetch items.
The captain’s voice startled me. He called through the receiver. Sloan cupped his ear.
“…have us pinned down,” Captain Trava said. “We disconnected the gas, but we won’t last long.”
“Hold on. We’re on our way,” Sloan said.
“Go up the Quad I stairs. Don’t worry about securing the stairwell. Take two bombs, both stunners and go help the captain,” I said, digging into the laundry bag. The bombs had been built inside clear glass balls. A metal pin had been stuck through a small hole.
I gave two to Sloan and one to Riley. They both looked surprised.
“If we don’t have the air plant, we’re done,” I explained. “I’ll take Logan, two bombs and we’ll retrieve the weapons from the safe.”
“How are you going to bring all of them down here?” Riley asked.
I thought fast. “Laundry chute. Make sure you have bins half full of towels to cushion their fall waiting below. And put together another team plus the follow up teams. Once you have weapons, go up and secure all the levels. We’ll all meet in level five at Hank’s control room.”
“Yes, sir.” Riley snapped a salute.
Sloan laughed then rushed off with his team to help the captain. I helped Riley organize his team as I waited for Logan.
When Logan returned, he had a small cleaning troll tucked under his arm.
“Zippy?” I asked, hoping somehow, he found his way home.
“No. Still on level five,” Logan said. “This is his…younger brother, Zippy Too.”
Bubba Boom boosted Logan into the air duct, but before I climbed in after him, I grabbed Riley’s hand. “Be careful.”
“Shouldn’t I be telling you that?” He pointed to the burn mark on my chest. Riley slid his hands around my back, pulling me close. “Since you tried and failed to electrocute yourself, does this mean you’re done jumping in harm’s way?”
“I doubt it. In fact, I need to give you…” I dug in my tool belt.
“Your heart?”
“Pretty close.” I handed him the metal X. “Keep it safe for me.”
“A dangerous move. I could use this to keep you out of trouble.”
“You won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re one of the good guys. You’ll do what it takes to neutralize the Outsiders even if that endangers me.”
He grumbled. “Great. Go me.”
“There are perks to being a good guy,” I said, smiling.
“Ohhh…do tell?”
“Well, after all is said and done, the good guy gets the girl.”
“And then what happens?”
“Whatever he desires,” I whispered in his ear.
He jerked back in utter surprise.
After I had scrambled into the duct, Riley shouted to me, “Promise?”
I poked my head out. “Yes.” No need to add if we were both alive.
Climbing up to level four through the air ducts would be difficult so I led Logan to the near-invisible hatch on level one and entered the Gap between levels.
One thing Hank had time to repair was the ladder attached to the Wall.
It now spanned the entire four levels. I just hoped Hank forgot about it.
Getting to the ladder remained tricky, I balanced on the thin I-beam that attached the level to the Wall.
Without looking down, I crossed to the ladder.
Logan opted to crawl over and I worried he would fall. He reached it, but not without cursing. We climbed to level four and entered the air shafts. Quad A4 appeared to be deserted, but I wasn’t going to trust my eyes.
Removing the vent without making a sound, I poked Zippy Too into the room. A red light glowed on his head.
“Motion sensors,” Logan whispered.
I flipped the white switch on the troll’s body and the light turned green. Lowering him to the ground, I followed. Then Logan climbed from the shaft. He headed toward the safe and removed a small device from his pocket. While he opened the heavy safe, I reprogrammed the lock on the main door.
So far so good. One problem remained—bypassing the weight sensor on the floor of the safe. Logan worked on the sensor, and I counted at least thirty stunners and six kill-zappers inside.
“It’s off,” he said.
“Get back into the duct, I’ll hand you weapons. There’s a laundry chute about two meters east,” I said.
He grumbled about all the climbing, but he scaled the wall like a pro. I handed him two at a time, waited while Logan dropped them down the chute and returned for two more.
Working together, we managed to empty the safe. We also managed to alert the Outsiders. The door’s lock beeped. I glanced at the clock. It had taken us two hours to complete our task.
“Go,” I said to Logan. “Get back to level one.”
“How?”
“Laundry chute. Wait thirty seconds after you send the last weapons. I’ll let them know you’re coming.” I closed the vent and signaled Riley.
More beeps emanated from the door, then pounding and, finally the buzz of a cutter.
“And when can we expect you?” Riley asked.
“I’ll meet you on level five.”
“You better,” he grumped.
I removed the vent from the heating duct as the door flew open. By the time five people rushed into the room aiming their weapons at me, I had the stun bomb in hand. I recognized Phelen, one of Hank’s supervisors.
“Don’t move,” Phelen said.
Counting on my collar’s protection, I yanked the pin on Ivie and Kadar’s stun bomb and rolled it toward the group. They all glanced down, but nothing happened. A dud. Damn.
“Made you look,” I said.
“Ha. Ha.” Phelen deadpanned. He gestured to the door with his stunner. “Let’s—”
A bright flash cut him off. I dove for the heating vent as a wave of energy exploded from the bomb. The glass shards pelted the walls as they grunted. When it grew quiet, I peeked out from the duct. Lying on the floor, Phelen and his team remained motionless. A few sported cuts from the glass.
I checked to make sure the gashes weren’t too deep and they all had strong pulses. Then I removed all their weapons and anything else that looked interesting like Phelen’s communication device.
Back in the air shaft, I signaled Riley, warning him of incoming, and sent my loot down to the laundry room. I kept one stunner. “Any damage?” I asked him.
“One really annoyed Tech No, but otherwise all came through fine. How many did you neutralize?”
“Only five.”
“Better than getting caught. What are you planning now?”
Good question. “I’ll spy around level five. See what we’re up against.”
“Be careful. We’re starting our ascent. Bubba Boom is leading the Quad I team, and I have the Quad A stairs.”
I ghosted through the air shafts on level five for the next hour. No one guarded the brig. It was my first clue of something strange. Groups of Hank’s supporters raced through the hallways, but I didn’t see any Outsiders. And Lamont failed to answer my hail.
Sloan reported success in the air plant.
Riley and Bubba Boom encountered only a token resistance as they secured each level.
The fight to reach Hank’s control room in Quad A5 lasted a mere five minutes. We met up outside the double doors. They opened without trouble.
The control room appeared the same. Banks of computers. Half-completed consoles leaking wires. And Hank, sitting in the big captain’s chair in the center. He was alone.