Bunker Ten, page 9
part #1 of Dark Scotland Series
Cruickshank bounded to his feet, his whole body shaking.
“Head for the elevator!” the soldier shouted. “You need the base security code to activate it. The number is PD641….” His voice trailed off.
“What? What is it?” The terrified boy felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. The soldier pointed and Cruickshank whirled round.
May Rose was standing between him and the lift, flanked by five soldiers - they had stepped silently out of one of the doors dotted along the final corridor.
Cruickshank’s protector swung his gun violently back, slamming the stock into his shoulder and squinting along the barrel, but the boy was directly between himself and the girl.
The remaining guard was doomed and he knew it. The look on his face registered despair, anger and fear in one horrific countenance. Then he shut one eye and pulled the trigger.
The soldier to the far left of May Rose fell backwards, a fountain of blood spouting from his forehead. Cruickshank flung himself to the ground again as May-Rose’s other bodyguards returned fire. His only ally evaporated in a mass of blood and bullets. Somewhere in the distance a Klaxon horn began to wail.
The boy buried his head in his hands to block out the sight, bile rising in his throat.
“Go and see if the elevator is still operating,” May-Rose motioned to her escort. “My friend and I have to talk.”
The men turned as one and marched towards the lift. Cruickshank tentatively raised his head and May-Rose gave him a reassuring smile.
The boy was definitely not reassured.
“We haven’t got very long to get to the surface,” May-Rose said calmly. “Any minute now the Ops Centre will panic and change the security codes that operate the lifts.” Her voice was soft and childish with only a hint of her Asian origins. “Then we’ll all be trapped.”
Cruickshank kept silent. He was still sprawled on the floor, trying not to retch. There was a lump in his throat the size of a potato.
The girl raised a knowing finger. “But Jimmy Hicks and Leslie intended to install an override code on all the security functions,” she continued. “As part of their escape plan.”
She turned the finger and beckoned to the sprawling boy. Cruikshank got unsteadily to his feet, on legs that would hardly support him, hands held out placatingly in front.
“I don’t know anything about that, May-Rose.” he pleaded. “Honestly. I wasn’t in on the scheme until this morning and you had me brought down here before they got properly started.”
“Ah well, even geniuses make mistakes.” The girl’s narrow black eyes twinkled with misplaced humour. “I imagine that Lieutenant Dunwoody and his squad have instructions to kill anybody trying to get to the surface anyway. It’s called a containment contingency.”
She sighed wistfully.
“Jimmy’s override code would have come in very handy in the fight that’s coming. Cause, let’s face it, the only way you and I are getting off this base alive is to outwit Dunwoody’s men or kill them.”
The soldiers reached the elevators and one of them punched in the old code. It was obviously still working, for a whirr of cables indicated the elevator was descending. They stood back, not talking, not looking at each other.
“What have you done to these men?” the boy whispered.
“They’re under my protection and guidance now.” May-Rose smiled in their direction. “The human race has strayed, Cruikshank and I will gather or lay waste to those I meet, depending on whether or not they decide to join me.”
She gave an impish grin that made Cruickshank’s flesh creep.
“I’m here to save humanity from its sins.”
18.14
“Simon. You want tae come an take a look at this.” Diddy Dave was bent over his computer. “There’s something awfy funny goin on with the systems on the lower levels.”
“Are you still hacking into base security?” Simon scowled. “That’s asking for trouble.”
“Ahm jist havin a wee nosey.”
“What do you mean, funny? What kind of funny? Is this because of something we did?”
“If it wuz, we better get packin now.” Dave rubbed his greasy hair. “Communications are down and alarms are goin off all over the base.”
“Dammit. I knew Jimmy’s plan would backfire!” Simon snarled.
“Ah think we’d better find oot exactly what’s happening.” Dave said, tapping at keys. “Jimmy’s transmitters are powerful enough to reach the Ops Centre, an they work as receivers too. Let’s see if we can pick up signals from in there.”
“Are you crazy?”
The door of the dormitory burst open and Barn ran in. The other two almost fell off their seats. The larger boy stopped and began slapping snow from his legs.
“Were you born in a barn, Barn! Ever hear of knocking?”
“What’s going on guys?” Barn was bent double, breathing heavily. His face was an alarming shade of purple. “There’s sirens hooting all over the place.”
Simon bit his lip.
“All right Dave. Tap into the Operations room. See what kind of mess we’ve made.”
“Aye, aye Captain.” Despite his joking, sweat was standing out on the boy’s white forehead.
“Ah just hope there’s somethin we can dae tae fix it.”
18.15
There was a ping as the elevator reached the lower floor. May-Rose’s escorts stepped back and pointed their weapons at the door, just in case. As it slid open a metal canister was flung out, landing between their feet.
“Grenade!” One man shouted.
May-Rose’s soldiers flung themselves away from the cylinder, landing on the floor and curling into balls to minimise the impact of the blast on their bodies.
Major Cowper stepped out of the elevator, rifle in hand.
“Actually it’s a tin of spray paint,” he said, opening fire. “Thought I’d taught you better than that.”
The men on the floor were dead in seconds.
May-Rose turned and faced him.
“You don’t want to kill me, Major,” she said loudly. “I’m your salvation.”
Her voice had changed. Cruikshank couldn’t say how, but it definitely wasn’t the same person talking. He voice seemed to make the very air hum with a high musical sound and there was something so commanding in her tone that he couldn’t imagine anyone disobeying her.
Cowper seemed unfazed. He tossed the empty rifle into the elevator and drew his pistol. Then he advanced down the corridor towards the children - gun clenched, execution style, in both hands. For the first time Cruickshank noticed that the Chief of Security had white wires coming from his ears. A tinny sound accompanied the Major as he approached.
“Stop right there Major Cowper,” May Rose commanded, even louder.
“Can’t hear you I’m afraid,” Cowper shouted. He raised his weapon and pointed it at the girl.
“He’s wearing my MP3 player!” Cruikshank stammered.
May-Rose clenched her fists in fury. Cruikshank could almost feel her massive mental processes looking for a way to overcome this hurdle.
“Cruikshank, get into the elevator and take it to the surface,” Cowper yelled. The boy glanced at May-Rose then began to edge past her towards the Major.
“Stay where you are,” May-Rose hissed.
Cruickshank stopped dead, as if he had been slapped in the face. Though he strained every muscle to move, his legs refused to take him any further. He tried to will himself forward. It was no use.
Cowper strode forwards, grabbed Cruikshank by his blonde hair and pulled him roughly along the corridor. His gun was still trained on May-Rose.
“Get going!” he yelled at the boy.
Tears welled up in Cruickshank’s eyes.
“I can’t,” he pleaded in a small voice.
“You’re not going anywhere,” May-Rose said in her terrible commanding tone. Major Cowper’s face darkened. He swung his gun and pointed it at Cruickshank.
“Wait a minute! It’s not my fault!” the boy screamed.
Major Cowper fired. The bullet whizzed past, inches from Cruickshank’s head. He felt a burning sensation near his temple and a loud ringing filled his ears, momentarily deafening him.
“Go!” Cowper shouted. He lowered his gun and fired again. The floor between the boy’s feet exploded and splinters of wood and hot metal from the ricochet embedded themselves in the flesh of his legs. With a howl of pain, he turned and ran. Major Cowper kept firing and Cruikshank saw gouges appear in the floor beside him as he raced towards the elevator.
“Come back Cruikshank!” May-Rose screamed. “Cowper will kill me!” Her voice rose in pitch and volume till it finally drowned out the ringing in his ears.
“YOU COME BACK! COME BACK AND SAVE ME!”
The words were like molten metal, burning inside his head. He barrelled into the elevator and hit the far wall, clutching at his temples.
Major Cowper was still facing him, headphones on his head and a satisfied smirk on his face.
Cruickshank gasped in horror.
Behind the Security Chief another group of soldiers had appeared. May-Rose gestured angrily and the men moved towards the Major. With music blaring into his ears, Cowper couldn’t hear them approaching.
“Behind you!” Cruickshank screamed waving his arms. “Look behind you!”
“What?” Cowper frowned. Too late, he realised what the boy was trying to convey.
One of the soldiers opened fire.
Cowper sank to his knees with a cry, arms outstretched in a futile attempt to slow the troops pushing past him towards the elevator. Cruikshank reached up and punched the top button.
As the doors slid together, he caught sight of the Major for the last time, lying face down on the floor. The elevator shuddered and began to ascend.
The boy picked up Cowper’s rifle and paced back and forward until the lift reached surface level. As soon as the doors opened, he darted out and into the nearest cupboard, quietly shutting the door behind him. A few second later, footsteps rattled along the corridor.
“The elevator is empty,’ a voice rasped. “Thank God.”
“Call it in, then disable the damned thing and let’s get back to our stations,” another said. “Nobody is getting out of the lower levels this way and we’ve got a battle on our hands.”
The footsteps retreated again, leaving Cruikshank crouched in the darkness.
18.16
The Operations Room was in chaos. Commander Saunders and Lieutenant Dunwoody were shouting orders to the technicians and alarm lights were ringing on every console.
“Status report!” the Commander yelled. “What the hell is happening in the lower levels?”
“It… seems to be some sort of mutiny sir,” Warrant officer Took stammered in disbelief. “We’ve monitored our own men breaking the security cameras down there. There’s gunfire too, but we can’t get a coherent report because all the intercom systems are offline in the bottom level. Looks like they’ve been sabotaged too.”
“What in God’s name is causing this?”
“Before the cameras went down, we spotted the girl, May-Rose, in one of the corridors.”
“She’s out?”
Took hesitated. “She appears to be in charge of the rebels, sir.”
“Change all security codes right now!” Commander Saunders bellowed. “We have to keep her trapped.”
“I’m on it sir.”
“This has got to be the result of some virus.” Dunwoody looked up. He had a radio in his hand that he had been speaking into. “There must be a contamination down there driving your men mad.”
“Are your soldiers ready, Lieutenant?” the Commander snapped.
“With the codes changed, nobody down there will be able to use the lifts anymore, so I’ll deploy my men to cover the stairs. It’s the only exit left.”
Dunwoody pulled himself upright. “And I’m formally requesting that you put your remaining military personnel under my command during this period. Those that are still obeying your orders,” he added pointedly.
The Commander swallowed hard.
“Agreed,” he said finally, motioning to Took. “Raise all the troops you can. Place them under Dunwoody’s command.”
“Will do sir.”
The Lieutenant took the Commander gently aside.
“My men can stop people getting out but we can’t stop a virus spreading,” he whispered. “What’s the protocol in the event of a contagious leak in Bunker 10?”
“We seal off level six with blast proof vacuum doors. The air pressure in the bottom of the base is kept at less than the surface. Air flows downwards, keeping any airborne contagion from spreading.” He spread his hands in exasperation. “But we don’t know if this is a contagion. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”
“We need to get in touch with High Command. Let them know what’s going on.”
“Yes. That’s right.” The Commander was blinking rapidly, rubbing one hand up and down the side of his leg. “They have to be told.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Dunwoody snarled. “Things to get worse?”
The Commander swallowed again. “Open a link to HQ,” he said.
“Yes sir.” Took was about to obey when he gave a start.
“Someone’s trying to communicate with us from Bunker 10,” he said in astonishment. “Using the intercom.”
‘I thought it had been sabotaged?”
“So did I.”
“Patch him in on the loudspeaker.”
A cracked, pain filled voice suddenly filled the Ops Room. “This is Oliver Torrence…. Olly… from Project Flower… I haven’t got long.”
“Where are you Olly?” The Commander said loudly.
“He can’t hear you sir,” Took interrupted. “It’s a one way communication.”
But Olly was ahead of them. “I’ve barricaded myself in Bunker 10,” the voice said. “But I’ve been shot. Badly I think….” There was a burst of wet coughing and a low groan. “You have to listen to me,” Olly continued. “I know what you’re thinking, but there is no airborne virus down here, do you understand?” There was another violent bout of coughing. The Commander ran a hand over his face
Olly gave a ragged intake of breath. It was drowned out by a hammering sound.
“Someone’s trying to break into the lab to reach that man,” Dunwoody said.
“I repeat. There is no danger from a virus!” Olly’s voice was weaker now and slightly slurred. “It’s May-Rose.”
“Explain yourself,” the Commander urged, forgetting that Olly couldn’t hear him. But the injured man was getting to that.
“May-Rose can control others simply by talking to them. Don’t ask me how, but she can!”
A rasping whine spun into life, as if someone had turned on a power tool.
“I disabled the lower intercom systems except the outlet I’m patched into, but it won’t take her long to get them working again. You have to shut them down entirely. And for God’s sake destroy any means of communication with the outside world.”
Olly rallied himself for one final plea.
“If May-Rose can transmit off the base, she’ll be able to control anyone she reaches. I’m begging you, Commander.”
The whine had reached an unbearable pitch, as nerve shredding as nails across a blackboard.
“They’re almost in!” Olly cried.
“I think we should do what he says,” Dunwoody urged. “Just in case.”
Saunders was rigid as a stick of ice, his jaw working silently.
“But there’s something you don’t know about Pinewood,” he whispered. “There’s a secret protocol that is activated when…”
“Commander!” Olly shouted above the shuddering drone. “May-Rose has power beyond our imagination. You must not let her get out! Don’t let her talk to the outside world!”
There was a loud bang and then silence.
“What do you think?” Dunwoody urged.
“I can’t cut communication to headquarters, not without the authorization of my Security Chief, as well.” the Commander fumed. He grabbed Took by the shoulder. “You sure you can’t raise Major Cowper?”
“Sorry sir. I can’t reach him.”
Took suddenly looked startled.
“Wait a minute. Now there’s a visual communication coming in.”
Major Cowper appeared on the screen above their head.
“Sorry Sir, I haven’t had much of a chance to call in.” Cowper put a finger to his lips. “There are a lot of crazies with guns running around.”
“Do you know the situation?”
“Affirmative.
“You think that we should isolate Pinewood from outside communication?”
Major Cowper narrowed his eyes and nodded.
“I do sir. Most strongly.”
“Warrant Officer Took. Disable all communication links with the base. That includes HQ.” The Commander slammed his fist against his leg. “Authorisation Code 24ABD.”
“This is confirmed by Major Cowper. Authorisation 1234.”
“1234?” The Commander looked hesitant. “That isn’t a proper code.”
“But it’s working sir!” Took interrupted, tapping his keyboard. “Our lines to the outside are shorting. Only the internal communication system is still operable. Well… partially.”
“I have to go sir,” Cowper whispered. “Not very safe to stay in one place. I’ll report when I can.”
“Wait a minute…” the Commander began, but the screen went blank.
In the dormitory, Simon removed the headset and microphone. On the screen in front of him, the virtual Major Cowper was frozen in mid-goodbye. Simon’s hands were shaking so badly he could hardly tap the keys.
“Did I do OK?”
“Ye fooled them man. Gave it the full bhuna. Let’s just hope we’re doin the right thing, eh? ” Dave ran nervous fingers through his sweaty hair and held up the walkie talkie. “Ye werenae so smart wi the radio though. Ye left it switched on an the cell’s gone dead. I cannae get in touch wi Hicksy or Leslie.”
