PART TWO #2
"We should," Tomi adjusted his glasses. "I mean, if things are still working."
"Okay, you check how things stand outside. Maybe all this is just some technical fault and a chain of incredible coincidences." He ordered him, purely to keep him occupied with something.
Tomi nodded, set the microphone down nearby, and sat at the console, getting to his laptops. Nick nodded toward the girl:
"Nika, please, you'll come with me."
"Where to?" she asked with interest.
"We're going down. But not by the elevator — that stays here. We're taking the stairs, it's fastest that way."
Nika nodded and followed him toward the exit. He stopped.
"Wait for me by the elevator, please," he suggested.
He turned from the entrance and headed toward the changing room at the bottom of the room. He needed the keys and cards that unlocked the staircases. Passing the now-lit elevator, he paused:
"Tomi, since when has this been on?" he pointed at the glowing call button on the elevator.
Tomi turned to see the object of Nick's curiosity. Having seen it, he turned back toward the screens:
"I believe it came on when everything else did. I didn't look into it."
Nick nodded to himself, but couldn't resist and pressed the call button.
The elevator, which he'd believed broken and unusable, came to life and, in protest from its drive motors, answered the call.
Not expecting any life in the decades-dead elevator, Nick stepped back from the doors, a little frightened.
He collected himself and glanced furtively toward Tomi, who was still absorbed in the screens as he typed something on the keyboards.
The whole situation resembled all too closely the horror films he loved to watch, and somewhat childishly he half-expected some monsters, multiplied over the years in the darkness of the mountain, to step out of the elevator.
The elevator stopped with a screech of brakes and the doors opened, and the flickering light of an old neon tube shone on him.
He peeked inside — no monsters, and the elevator was no different from the others he'd had occasion to see.
The only difference was that on the keypad on the left side there was but a single button.
The elevator doors began to close, and Nick decided he'd investigate the whole thing later.
He entered the changing room, gathered his ID cards, and headed for the exit.
He paused a moment, turned toward the security locker.
He unlocked it and took out a stun gun, which he slipped into his pocket.
"You never know…" he muttered into his beard as he left the room.
He quickly rejoined Nika, who was waiting beside the big elevator.
"It doesn't work," she stated.
Nick looked at her. He went up to the controls and tried to activate the safety railing. The lock stayed locked. Nick then tried to send the elevator down. But it didn't respond to his attempts.
"I told you it doesn't work," Nika crossed her arms over her chest.
"What the hell, there's power…" he peered under the control mechanism and checked the cables, "everything looks fine. What's wrong with it now?"
Nika seemed amused and asked him:
"Has it ever switched off like this before? Maybe there's some control panel?"
Nick was still fumbling with the cables to no avail and tossed out:
"It's never been jammed before," he finally gave up and straightened. "Simply put, this is the first time I've seen this."
"Okay, and do you have any engineering knowledge?" she looked him in the eye.
"No." She got a curt answer.
"So why bother with things you don't understand? You don't have to impress me," Nika replied, and looked around the large room. "And you mentioned some stairs?" she asked.
Nick straightened, nodded, and without a word headed for the staircase on the side. He unlocked the gate via the console and, as the powerful motors opened the heavy metal grille at the entrance, explained:
"The descent is steep and not very well lit. The staircase is circular, so keep to the right side, along the wall."
She nodded, watching the stairs wind downward. Nick went on:
"Always hold on to the railing and be careful not to get dizzy. We've got four floors to the bottom, but the distance is greater because of the tall construction," he said, and started down.
Nika followed him. She was greatly fascinated by the space and the way it was built. Soon they reached a more level section. She noticed a heavy metal grille at the exit and a card reader for the cards Nick carried around his neck on a lanyard.
"What's in there?" she asked, pointing at the gate.
"Just warehouses of goods for the supermarkets."
Nika nodded and continued down. They passed two more landings that way, and the deeper they went, the stronger the vibrations beneath them grew.
Soon a muffled music could be heard, along with the ever-present murmur of people.
The staircase ended at an exit marked –4, and Nika noticed a heavy grille that prevented any further descent down the stairs.
"What's down there?" She went up to the grille and took hold of the cold metal. The cold, gleaming metal was indifferent to her touch.
"Just some laboratories, they don't matter to us," Nick replied as he approached the gate at the exit.
"Oh, hmm…" Nika grew interested the moment he mentioned a laboratory. She sized up the weight of the grille once more and gave up on further inquiry.
The noise coming from the room was unbearable.
Nick was fiddling with the lock, which was clearly refusing to cooperate, while she watched the people passing, laughing, from room to room of the large foyer.
Now and then someone would stop, noticing the girl behind the grille, but they'd go on about their business, not paying it much attention, because the girl didn't look upset.
She darkened and grew sad. She knew that nearly everyone, herself included, had family outside.
Family it was impossible to reach at this moment.
Family that, if Tomi was to be believed, would die very soon or be exposed to the horrors of nuclear war.
Nika grabbed the heavy grille and shook it, letting out her rage and frustration.
Nick looked at her, giving up on the keypad and the card.
"Something's not working. It won't accept my codes, and for the card it shows a message that there's no authorization."
Nika gave up shaking the grille and looked at him:
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I think we're cut off, I think we don't have access to the party, and I think the people inside are cut off from us," Nick raised his voice so she could hear him.
"That's interesting. It seems the systems are connected and that something has taken control of the security. Before, I had access to this whole warehouse complex."
Nick leaned against the exit grille and pointed to the other barrier that blocked entry to the lower levels.
"I had access there too — my security card opened all those barriers." He let the now-useless piece of plastic drop to his chest and hang from its lanyard.
You could see he was thinking, but, used to unforeseen situations, his brain worked fast. He turned and surveyed the foyer full of people. His eyes widened with satisfaction, because he'd recognized someone. He bellowed with all his might, startling Nika for a moment.
"Erik!!! Hey, Erik!!! Over here behind the grille!!!"
Nika came over and looked in the direction Nick was all but screaming, straining to overpower the music and the murmur. She noticed enormous hulks in leather jackets and one bearded man peering around questioningly, searching for the source of the call. She joined Nick.
"We're over here, Erik!!!" Nika shouted and pushed her arm through the gate, waving toward the bearded giant Nick was staring at without blinking.
Erik noticed the small hand obviously waving at him through the slit in the metal of the exit and headed toward the heavy metal grille.
Blinded by the floodlights, he made out a small, clearly female silhouette, beside whom stood someone familiar.
A smile spread across his face when he recognized the man.
"Oh, Nick — otherwise known as the host of this excessive and unbridled party." He glanced toward the girl, who pulled her hand back and stepped away from the grille, clearly frightened by his appearance. "Having fun?" he winked at Nick.
"Drop it, Erik," Nick cut the joke off before it began. Erik suddenly grew serious. "We have an enormous problem, you need to find Ana."
Erik nodded, but still asked:
"Something I should know?"
For a moment Nick didn't register the question, then he understood:
"Not now, but gather your crew, gather ALL the crew you trust."
Erik nodded. A dangerous gleam appeared in his eyes. He looked around, hunting for trouble.
"My boys are at your disposal, friend, you know that."
Nick shook his head:
"Not for me, Erik, you're not needed by me."
Erik looked at him questioningly, not understanding. Nick called him closer and handed him the stun gun through the gate. Erik took it, recognized the item he'd been given, and tucked it into his jacket, still fixing Nick with his gaze. Nick pleaded through the noise of the foyer:
"That's for Ana, and please…" he looked at Erik, "take care of her."
Erik nodded, but still asked, worried:
"Is Ana in danger?"
"We're all in danger, please believe me and let Ana lead you for now!"
"Nick, what on earth is going on?" Erik still stood indecisively by the gate.
"You'll understand soon, there's no time now. Please, find Ana!" Nick was almost begging.
Erik nodded and began pushing through the crowd. He stopped only a moment to exchange a sentence or two with a colleague at the entrance, and then vanished from Nika's field of view. She turned from the entrance toward Nick and asked.
"What now?"
Nick was just about to answer when suddenly the power went out and a terrible rumble shook the bones of the shelter down to its foundations, buried deep in the mountain.