Inferno (The Glitch Book 2), page 13
“I think it’s this way,” said Gill. They followed him into the left corridor, the beams highlighting office doors of important sounding departments, until they came to one that wasn’t. “Here it is.” He pulled open the door to the basement, and they descended concrete steps. “Usually you would hear the heating and air conditioning systems, but it’s all been turned off.”
Machinery made up of huge pipes, electrical cabling and floor to ceiling control panels laid dormant, but he continued past them all, entering a corridor, and then finally they reached their destination. “I remember seeing the entrance to the sewer inside this room when I was a teenager. We used to dare each other to see how far we would go before our bowls got the better of us. I hope you all got strong stomachs as it’s a bit rich down there.” He turned the rusted handle of the metal door and a rush or cold putrid air escaped from the gap. He pushed it further until a metal staircase could be seen descending ten or so feet to a tunnel, and a small channel of water which ran along the bottom of it.
“Water?” said Mike.
“That a problem?” said Gill, slightly confused.
Mike looked at the big guy behind him. Elias shook his head. “Guess not then.”
“This tunnel will take you directly below where the old bank used to be. Now the modern building, and the headquarters. Shouldn’t take you more than twenty minutes to get through. I’ll be ready in forty, as agreed. I hope you are too.”
Mike nodded then headed down the steps, the others close behind him.
*****
Alexis lay on the double bed, and looked at the flat screen TV on the wall opposite. She had checked to make sure it was unplugged as soon as she was given the room, but memories of other screens paraded through her mind, followed by people with missing faces. As a profiler she had had her fill of gory crime scenes, most of the details of which never made it into the press for public consumption, but what the AI did to people was beyond even the most sadistic of serial killers she had come across.
We stopped it…
She let herself relax a little, but only a little because behind the TV was a stain across the wall of the room. She knew what it meant. It was where the ceiling has the slightest of holes, just enough for rain to seep through and ruin the flower pattern of the paper. She looked at her watch. Four more hours.
She thought about Mike, just the kind of man her psychologist brain knew was wrong for her, but yet she felt as if a part of her was gone, whenever he was. She sighed. In no way did she believe his son truly did exist still inside an old ranger’s neural tissue, but what mattered is, Mike believed it and that was a problem. Elias was infected, just as Gary was, the only difference being these nanites thought they were Travis, and so far weren’t beholden to the AI. That was something. But how long could the thing inside Elias’s brain resist? And if the AI got to it, would they know? Would Mike know?
Another sigh, this one longer than the first. She went to slouch more on the bed, to at least make an attempt to get comfortable, when a knock came at the door. Her hand flicked to her holster, which was now detached from her and lying within reach on the bed.
“Yes?” she said.
“Can you look after Brillo?” said Becky through the wooden frame. “I’m not good with dogs. Think he’ll be better with you.”
Alexis had never been good with them either. “Umm… sure.” She got to her feet and pulled the door open to the young woman, and Brillo who was seated on the concrete outside the door. She took a step back. “Why don’t you both come in. I’m not going to be able to sleep anyway, with what’s happening a few miles from here.”
“Actually, I need to be somewhere.” Becky pushed her hand out offering the leash.
“Where the hell do you need to be? We told you, you need to stay out of the rain.”
Anger came to the young woman’s face. “You’re not my mother. I got places to be. You taking this dog or not?”
Alexis took the leash and Becky turned and walked at a pace across the parking lot to a parked car, which promptly took off once she got in. Alexis looked at the sky which was already a patchwork of gray, then down at the dog which hadn’t moved, its tail sweeping the dusty floor behind it. “Guess it’s just me and you then.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“That has to be it,” said Mike being glad to leave the water, his feet soaked through. They stood on a few feet of concrete step above the fast flowing channel. He looked at Elias. “It’s all you from here.”
The big guy frowned, nodded, then walked past the others and walked slowly up the steps, then listened for a few seconds to the door at the top and pulled it open. This time they came out to a closet, one which hadn’t been used for a long time, for shelves with cleaning products from another decade sat covered in dust and cobwebs. “There shouldn’t be anyone in the basement,” he whispered. “But stay frosty anyway.”
“Can’t you hear them through the walls or something?” said Daryl.
“I ain’t got frigging super powers! Just be ready to do your bit!”
Daryl nodded.
Elias pulled the door open, which argued by creaking. The sound echoed off the stained walls of the corridor outside making everyone pause to see if there was any reaction. There wasn’t. They crept forward, Mike keeping his flashlight pointed towards the grime covered floor. Above them knocks and drumming noises were just audible. They arrived in a room full of equipment and machinery similar to that beneath the city hall building, except newer. It was just as dead though.
Mike looked at the pipes and cables that ran along the walls and ceiling, all being swallowed by holes which led up. “Can’t Travis gain access from down here?”
“The military is using their own generators and comms network,” whispered Daryl answering before Elias could. “Completely separate from the city. We have to go up a level, at least to the ground floor.”
They all looked at the only way out of the basement room. An innocent looking light gray door with a small glass window. Elias looked through it to a dark staircase, with just a hint of light at the top. He turned back to the others. “This staircase takes us to a corridor at the back of the building, and from there we should be able to get to one of the ground floor offices.”
Mike looked at his watch. “Ten minutes.”
Elias went to pull the door open, but Mike grabbed his arm. “Where you going?”
The big man looked at Mike’s hand, who then released it. “I’m going to see what’s going on up there. Maybe it’s clear.”
“And if you get caught? I’ll go.”
“Actually, I should go,” said Brad.
The other two fell silent.
“Okay,” said Mike. “But don’t wait around. Check out the situation, then come back. Don’t risk being seen.”
“I’ve been out for some years, but I’m not that rusty Mike. I’ll be fine.” Mike nodded, and Brad pulled the door open and disappeared into the shadows. The three remaining men glanced at each other without speaking. Mike leaned back on a foot wide metal pipe, while Daryl placed his bag down on the floor, then started rummaging through it. Elias looked through the small window, trying to see if Brad was already returning.
“Must have been odd, when you first saw him…” said Mike to Elias. Daryl looked up, then carried on checking he had the right items.
Elias continued looking through the door’s window. “Thought I was losing my mind. Still not sure I haven’t.”
Mike laughed to himself. “The past week has made a lot of people feel the same. I tracked the AI across a few states after what happened in the compound. I had no idea it was using my son, hell I didn’t even know I had a son.”
Daryl pretended to look busy organizing his cables.
Elias briefly looked down, then turned to face the special agent. “Honestly… I don’t know if what’s in my brain is really your son, or some computer version of—” He nodded in silence then continued.
“He’s talking to you now?”
Elias frowned. “Says he’s your son. Something about all of him was absorbed. His entire neural structure. Whatever that means. Anyway, my point is that, whatever it is, it wants to help. Wants to stop that other ‘thing’ that wants to end it all.”
Steps came from outside the door and Elias opened it. Brad walked inside. “Okay, there’s a small room above us, just holds supplies. No computers. Outside that is a corridor, which I couldn’t see anyone in. That has a few doors, which we got to hope are offices. I heard voices far off, but couldn’t tell from where.”
Mike looked down at his watch. “Get ready. It’s time.”
*****
Gill clicked his radio. Just once would be enough to set events in motion. He was sat in the driver’s seat of his car, parked alongside an old brick built warehouse. The railway tracks which bisected the city were to his left, and roughly a mile in the opposite direction was the modern bank building, now put to a different use by the army, and standing like a lighthouse against the night. Mike said they needed a diversion to break into the army’s computer systems. If anyone, even a federal agent had made such a request just eight hours before he would have said they were mad, might even have arrested them, but that was before what happened in the cell to Carlson, and then in the lobby of the station. He didn’t pretend to understand what got into the minds of the two that ended up dead, he just knew it was real, and he needed to do something to help stop it from happening to the rest of his city.
The burning sensation in his shoulder had dulled to a throb, no doubt because of the painkillers Greene had given him. “Not too many, doc,” he said. “I need to keep my mind clear.” So the pain was still there, but at least so was his concentration.
He looked in his mirror. Headlights were worming their way along the tracks, the one route through the city the army hadn’t put on a checkpoint on. All the freight had been canceled for over a week so there was no risk of any colliding with any trains, and a number of police sedans were quickly approaching. It was a simple plan. Get close to the tall building, then make as much sound and fury their horns and lights would permit. Just something to grab the attention of those inside, giving the intruders time to find what they needed.
Hanson’s vehicle stopped to the side of Gill’s, with its window down. “We ready?”
He nodded, then eased down on the gas, turning left and back on to the street which was a straight line to the headquarters.
Three blocks away, Mike and the others moved into the staircase and crept upwards, trying to mask the tap of their boots and shoes best they could, until reaching the door at the top. Mike had switched his flashlight off about halfway up, and now they stood in darkness, the only light coming from beneath the door.
Suddenly sirens wailed in the distance, and thumps and knocks echoed around the ceiling and walls around them. Mike placed his hand on the handle and opened the door towards him a few inches. The sound of soldiers running was almost as loud as what Gill and his colleagues were making, along with voices. Mostly angry shouts. Importantly, the sounds were moving away.
“Now,” said Mike and moved out into the corridor and without pause walked to the closest door, and pushed it open. Metallic silver surfaces reflected back to him. “It’s a kitchen, try the next door!”
Brad was already doing so. He paused, then nodded. “In here!”
They all ran through the open doorway, with Mike being the last inside who closed the door swiftly but quietly. Elias had already switched the light on in the small office, but by the looks of it, not one that the military were using, for it contained civilian computers and screens.
“Will this do?” said Mike to Elias.
The older man walked to the nearest screen, placed his hand on the top, then shook his head.
“Damn it,” said Mike.
“The other doors lead deeper—”
Before Brad could finish, the sound of boots entering the corridor outside were clear to everyone. Mike flicked the light switch and gripped the handle to the door and placed his weight against it, as did Brad.
The sound of their breathing was almost as loud as the clack of boots as the solder walked past and opened and closed another door.
“What we going to do?” said Daryl.
“Keep looking,” said Mike. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the phone. For an instant he hesitated handing it to the former Ranger. Something about the video that Travis made some months ago was more real than what was inside Elias’s brain. He handed it to him regardless. “I’m going to check out what’s beyond the other door, be ready to move.”
Brad stepped forward. “I’ll go.”
“No, it has to be me. If I get caught I got a better excuse for being here. Just make sure you get it done.”
They all nodded. Mike went to open the door.
“Your son’s proud of you…” said Elias.
Mike nodded and pulled the door open. Despite a momentary flash of emotion, It was a comment that needed to be filed away for another less critical time. The corridor was empty. He moved quickly outside, then jogged past the pastel walls and company employee portraits until he got to a door. Beyond were noises, but he couldn’t tell if they were coming closer. He looked back to Elias who was watching his every move, then pulled the door open. A cool draft washed over his face. Another smaller corridor, with a junction just fifteen feet away that he was pretty sure led to the large entrance lobby, was thankfully clear of any soldiers. He couldn’t see them, but irritated people discussed the ‘dumb’ law enforcement in the city, around the end of the wall. Immediately to his left was another door. He slipped outside the first then quickly moved forward, pulling open the second. Another office, but this space was almost filled to capacity with green heavy duty boxes, some of which were already open which the kind of tech he had only seen on field trips to Washington.
He spun around, moving back to the previous door and waved Elias and the others to him, while trying to hear what the people in the lobby were discussing. As the others moved into the small room he had discovered, he stayed near the door, watching and listening.
“Yeah, this is it. This is what we need,” whispered Elias. He looked at Daryl, who was already pulling a series of cables from his backpack and attaching the phone to them, then the other end to a rugged looking laptop they had pulled from one of the boxes. Elias grabbed hold of the keyboard with both hands. Its screen suddenly came alive with white static, which then became letters and words, each one moving so fast they were hardly readable.
Daryl looked between the screen and Elias, the big man’s eyes were rolled back in his head, with only the whites showing.
Mike looked back into the room from the door, not being able to see Elias’s face. “How’s it going? It is working?”
Daryl looked unsure. “I… err… yeah I think so.”
Outside, as the sirens faded, footsteps grew louder. “I think someone’s coming!” said Mike, pulling the door almost completely closed, but with still enough of a gap to allow him a view of the end of the wall to the lobby. He glanced back to the others. “How much longer?” Before Daryl could reply a shadow appeared outside and Mike pulled the door completely shut, holding the handle, and raising his finger to his mouth for silence inside the room. Footsteps moved to the other side, just inches away. The handle tried to rotate, but he held it firm. Then came a knock. Weak at first, then harder.
“Who’s in there?” said a stern male voice.
Elias started murmuring, the sounds coming from his lips, pieces of words and phrases. Mike looked at Brad who placed his hand across the big guy’s mouth, trying to muffle the sound as best he could.
“Anyone in there?” said the man outside again. They all waited listening to their own heartbeats. After what felt like minutes but was seconds, the man’s sigh was audible. He turned and walked off. Mike opened the door to an empty space again. He looked back to the others. “Is it—”
Elias started to waver, and if it wasn’t for Brad would have collapsed to the floor, but instead he helped Elias sit in the nearby office chair. The older man nodded. “Yeah, it’s done. We should go.”
Daryl unhitched the cables and gave the phone back to Mike, who then peered outside. It was the quietest since they sneaked in. “Quickly!” said Mike.
They scampered through each door, until they were back inside the staircase and descending to the basement.
“When will they know?” said Mike, as they ran through the gloom and back to the unused storage room, and then opened the door to the sewer.
“Not long,” said Elias slightly out of breath.
The damp air felt like freedom and success, as they quickly stepped off the bottom step and into the shallow channel of water.
“We have to move quickly,” said Elias.
“We know!” said Brad, splashing as he jogged through the tunnel.
“You don’t know. It’s already begun to rain!”
The repercussions hit everyone at the same time and they sloshed through the green-tinged water even quicker, with Elias starting to fall behind. He waved Daryl forward who was in front.
“What’s that noise?” said Brad.
A low rumbling echoed around the glistening walls.
Mike knew what it was, and fear almost froze his legs, but instead he charged forward, leading the escape back to city hall. “Keep moving!”
They picked up their pace, apart from Elias who was breathing heavily. The concrete slabs of the tunnel beneath their feet begun to vibrate, and the rumbling had become a distant roar.
“We’re almost there!” said Mike, the beam from his flashlight highlighting the ledge but the flush of excitement instantly left him when he saw the torrent of water surging towards them. Even if they were blind to what it could contain, the ferocity of deluge that was about to crash into them made them fling their hands to the surrounding walls, looking for anything to hold on to.
