ASYLUM: Chapter 11

 

Chapter 11

   Yeah, where to start, we knew he hadn’t left the facility through the gate. We knew he hadn’t flown out. He may have walked out, gone over the fence, but then what? He was a foreigner with no intimate knowledge of the immediate surroundings. It was at least an hour-and-a-half drive to Silver City, so there wasn’t much of a chance he had walked there. Could he have been picked up by a passer-by? Yes, but would you stop and pick up a stranger walking along the road in times like ours? I doubt it, but it could happen. Could he have been picked up by someone connected to Global? Possible, maybe likely. If he had been picked up as part of a plan, the likelihood of us finding him were slim at best.

   What was the simplest most direct place he could be? Quite literally, here, in the Global Facility. Who would be crazy enough to harbor a man like Becker? Even if Becker was rabidly pro-genocide, he was obviously insane and could not be trusted in a civilized community. Alright, let’s start with the closest possibility.

   I went to the Common Area of the barracks and turned on the TV. Just out of curiosity, I checked the news channels. Only one was currently broadcasting, MSNBC. Joy. Not. I watched it until I was sure; it was a continuous loop I had already seen. I pressed the menu button and then accessed the architectural plans for the facility. I started in Phase Five and began to slowly work my way backwards. Why not Phase Six? I figured I knew where every room was in Phase Six, both first and second levels. I had walked every single room during inspections and installation. I went over the plans with a fine-toothed comb, but nothing jumped out at me. Granted, this was a cursory viewing, using the plans, a more intensive first-person could be run if necessary. I switched to Phase Four and again, started a room-by-room look thru. The first thing I noticed? Marlow’s ‘condominium’ had a blank area where it should be on the plan. Interesting, but really? If there were a secret room or secret apartment within the condo, would they do something so obvious, as eliminating the entire residence from the plan in order to hide it? More likely, it would draw someone’s attention. I skipped the condo and proceeded on.

   Phase Three, Phase Two, Phase One, nothing. I went back to Marlow’s condo. I had been told it was really luxurious and took up space in both 1^st and 2^nd levels of Phase Four, but again, nothing on the plan. Okay, he was the head cheese, the Honcho, and deserved his privacy. There are always ways to turn a stone though. I turned off the TV and decided on a walk. I stopped at our room and picked up my bag of possibles. I had taken to doing the same thing Debra did when she ventured out within the facility. I carried a shoulder slung bag that contained a number of items that might prove useful if I was caught in the shit away from my room. My Auxiliary gear was still in the room at the Dependents Barracks where Debra and I sometimes slept for our own security. I left our room and started towards Facilities.

   I was starting to walk past the Ready Room and decided to take a break instead. Limping into the room, I grabbed the first chair and sat down. Once sitting, I pulled another chair over and elevated my bad leg. In frustration I wondered if the leg was ever going to heal; it had been weeks since I was injured. I glanced around the room and then noticed Packer sitting in his office and staring at me. I sighed, and then gave him a cursory wave. He stood up immediately and came out.

   “Daniel.”

   “Major, I have a question, something I thought of last night while lying in bed.”

   “Okay, what is it?”

   “I read somewhere that a Naval Ship’s Captain could marry people at sea; is that true?”

   “No, not unless he’s an ordained Minister, then he can. Why?”

   “There’s no churches, or temples, or anything inside the facility, are there?”

   “No, when I brought the question up once, I was told there was no need for one because everyone here was smart enough to recognize intelligent design was a falsehood.”

   “Ah, of course.”

   “Again, why? Thinking of making an honest woman of Debra?”

   In irritation, I said, “She doesn’t need me to be an honest woman.”

   “Come on, Daniel, you know I don’t mean any disrespect.”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “No, there are not any houses of worship inside the hole, but did you know Gilly is an ordained minister?”

   “Seriously?”

   “Yep, she’s actually performed quite a few marriages. Some of them military weddings.”

   “No shit, oh, sorry.”

   “That’s okay Daniel.” He looked away for a moment and I could tell he was nervous, “Look, about yesterday…”

   “Please don’t apologize, Major. If anything, I should. It’s just sometimes it hits me out of left-field, you know?”

   “Actually, I do know. Twenty years in the Army, fifteen in the Rangers, I’ve seen some shit, Dan, and sometimes it hits me too. I’ve actually been treated for PTSD.”

   “You have, really?”

   “Yeah, I have. You can find yourself in a hole and it can be hard to pull yourself out. If I would have been married to a lesser woman than my Gilly, well, let’s just say I was lucky when I fooled her into marrying me.”

   I smiled, “Debra says a woman likes to be pursued until she catches the man she wants.”

   He laughed, “Yeah, they’ll never admit you caught them, but they always caught you.” He sat there quietly for a moment, and then said, “If you need someone to talk to, someone that’s been there, I can listen.”

   I took my leg down and stood up, “I need to get going, Major, I’ve got a project I’m working on and it’s really pulling at me. I’ll touch bases with you later, if you don’t mind.”

   “Sure, anytime, Daniel, anytime you want.”

   I walked to the door and saw a group of EXSEC folks standing in a group and talking in the direction I wanted to go; I didn’t really want to walk through them, so after hesitating, I turned back and looked at Packer for a long moment, then returned and sat back down. I cleared my throat and finally said, “What is it you want to ask me, Major?”

   He leaned forward and said, “I’ve watched the end of that video a half dozen times, the moments just before our people broke in and took him down. You, you were intentionally antagonizing him, you were trying to make him loose control, weren’t you?”

   Barely above a whisper, I softly said, “Yes.”

   “Why? I mean, you could have saved yourself from some serious injuries if you just would have waited three, maybe five minutes.”

   “I didn’t know someone was coming, I didn’t think anyone was coming, all I knew was the pain. It was everything, all encompassing, the pain was all there was, nothing else mattered anymore. It was all gone, every bit of me, pain was all there was. I knew it was going to end when he tired of it, so I decided to speed the process up, that’s all. Pretty simple if you think about it. All I had to do was piss him off. So, you see, I wasn’t the hero everyone thinks, I wasn’t the guy that heroically raged until my last breath. I was a coward; I took the only way out I could see to escape the pain. I quit.”

   “Jesus, Daniel, is that what you think? That what you did was cowardly? What you did, you were the mouse giving the hawk the middle-finger-salute. The final act of defiance at the bitter end. Daniel, he didn’t go nuts and lose it because you said you were going to stick his head up his bony ass, he lost it because you were going down as a man, the kind of man he could never be. When you screamed fuck you at him, he knew he lost, it was over, he…lost. Period, end of story. No matter if you lived or died, you won, you beat him, and he knew it.”

   I was surprised for a moment and just stared at him, then I said, “Do you really think so? I mean, do you think he realized he lost?”

   “Of course, he did, look, you knew we found other recordings in his apartment, right?”

   “Yes.”

   “He had twenty-three other victims he killed the way he was trying with you. Every single one broke down and begged him to stop, those are the ones he enjoyed. He started off enjoying what he was doing to you, but soon he stopped having fun because you wouldn’t give him what he needed. You didn’t give him fear and submission. You fought to the end and then screamed FUCK YOU!”

   From behind me I heard a lone woman’s voice, “Oorah, Brother!”

   Turning in my chair, I saw Danni Monroe standing in the doorway of the Ready Room and behind her was Daniel Smith, “Hooah, Brother!” Five or six others were gathered also and had been listening to Packer, all of them responded, “Hooah,” or “Oorah,” depending on which branch of the service they came from. Then from the back, I saw Debra coming forward and when she reached me, I struggled up to meet her.

   She slid her hands behind my neck and rose up on the balls of her feet as she said, “Hooah, Lover!” And then kissed me to a loud raucous shout.

   After the kiss, I leaned down next to her ear and asked softly, “Did you know that Gilly Packer is an ordained minister?”

   She leaned away slightly so she could look at me and said, “No, I didn’t.”

   Then I said, “I’ve never done this before; I don’t know how to do it right; so, I’m going to throw this at the wall and see if it sticks.”

   She squinted her eyes at me and said, “What?”

   “Will you allow me the honor of becoming your husband?”

   She blinked and asked, “Did you just ask me to marry you?” We had been referring to each other as our fiancées for quite a while, but I had never actually asked her, it was just an accepted given.

   “Uh, yeah, is it too soon?”

   “Nope, it’s not too soon, and yes, I’ll marry you. With absolutely no reservations.”

   A feeling of intense relief swept over me, I knew before she answered that she loved me, but her unequivocal response to my request removed all doubt. Behind her Danni spun in a circle as she chanted, “Party! Party! Party!”

   Dan Smith walked up behind Debra and said, “It’s about time you realized how lucky you are and grabbed that brass ring. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to jump in with both feet.”

   “Yeah,” I said. “I guess a near death experience can make you reassess your priorities. Right?”

   “Right.”

   I turned around to look for Packer, but I saw his back as he passed by his office door and then turned down the hall towards his apartment. I felt a moment of disappointment he had left, but he was a busy man after all is said and done. Then there was a round of handshakes as everyone present, congratulated me on my luck at catching Debra. I knew a lot of people really liked her, but I was surprised by the tinge of jealousy I sensed in some of them. I don’t mean they were mean-spirited, just that maybe they wished they were me, and she was on their arm instead of mine. Then I heard Packer say behind me, “If this isn’t a reason to break out the good stuff, there will never be a good enough reason.”

   I looked back and he and Mrs. Packer were standing there smiling. He was holding a tray with a number of shot glasses on it and Gillian was holding a large unopened bottle. He set the tray on a table and Gillian handed him the bottle, which he proceeded to break the seal on. She began flipping over the glasses and arranging them. When he pulled the cork from the bottle, he sniffed it and smiled, “You folks are going to love this.”

   “Is that some more of your thirty-year-old bourbon?” I asked. “That stuff was good.”

   “To tell the truth,” he said. “I honestly don’t know how old this is. My grandfather gave it to my dad when he married my mother, and my dad gave it to me when Gilly and I got married.”

   “Major, are you sure you want to…” Debra started to say.

    “To quote a lovely young lady, ‘with absolutely no reservations.’” He smiled and began to pour.

   After everyone had a full shot glass in their hands, Packer held his in the air and said, “For Honor!”

   Everyone repeated the toast, “For Honor!” And drank the shot of bourbon in one swallow.

   Packer refilled the glasses, and this time, he deferred to his wife. Gillian raised her glass and softly said, “For Love.”

   “For Love!” The men threw the drinks back, but I noticed Gillian, Danni, and Debra sipped from their glasses.

   “Alright, you apes,” Packer said. “All of you are still on duty, get back to it.” Several of the guys laughed and began leaving after replacing their shot glasses on the tray. “Sergeant Smith, Sergeant Monroe, stick around.”

   Gillian motioned for Danni and Debra to follow her and she led them to another table where they sat and began to talk. Packer sat down at the table he and I had sat at before and indicated Dan and I should do the same. “Okay, the ladies have some planning to do and I believe you have something on your mind, am I right, Smith?” Dan and I glanced at each other and then back at Packer. “Damn, this business of the two of you having the same name is confusing to say the least.” He pointed to me, “You said you have something pulling at you and that raises the hair on my arms, what is it?”

   “It’s not something that either of you can help with at the moment, but I need to finish this business with Becker. I am consumed with finding him and, well, I just need to finish it.”

   “I kind of thought that was what was bothering you,” Packer said. “You need some closure.”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   Dan asked, “What can we do to help? You realize, Administration probably spirited him out of here, right?”

   “That’s what I originally thought, and it may be the case, but I’m not ready to give up. I started looking at the construction plans on the TV and the only place that could, maybe, have somewhere to hide him is in Marlow’s condo in Phase Four.”

   Packer asked, “Why do you think that? I mean, this place is huge, he could be hidden away anywhere; look how long it took us to find you.”

   “There are existing plans for every room in the facility on channel 150, except the condo. That area of the plan has been left blank.” I answered.

   Dan looked dubious and said, “Leaving that blank on the construction plans would be a dead giveaway for anyone searching for anything. Seems kind of foolish to me, but not so foolish if you might want to misdirect someone.”

   “Believe me,” I said. “That idea passed through my head, but consider it from a different perspective.”

   “Which is?” Asked Packer.

   “Any alternative place he could be, would involve an increasingly complicated manner of removing him,” I stated. “So instead of looking for the most complex manner of disappearing him, we examine the simplest, first.”

   Dan nodded and said, “Occam’s razor.”

   I smiled and nodded.

   “Uh,” Packer muttered, “Do I want to ask?”

   Dan took the bait, “In the 14^th century, there was a philosopher named William of Ockham who relentlessly utilized what was then called, The Law of Parsimony, which was, that the simplest of a number of competing theories…”

   “Stop,” Packer said. “I already get it, start simple and work to the more complicated; if I hadn’t actually served in the Rangers with you, I might suspect you were trying to bull shit people about being a dumb ass Grunt. Okay, checking the plans is the simplest place to start, but you already said the plans are blank concerning Marlow’s condominium. So, that idea is already dead; where do we go from here? I guess we could force our way in and search the place.”

   “No,” I said. “We can’t. If we did, we would be ignoring the Bill of Rights concerning illegal searches. We need an approved search warrant provided by the judicial branch. You were the one that said we would follow the Constitution, and I fully support that decision, but you did sort of tie our hands.”

   “Damn it,” he said. “Okay, we go down to the Grant County Court House and…” He stopped and shook his head. “I wonder what the chances are of the Courthouse still being there?”

   Dan shook his head, “When I was talking to the guys that took those four bodies down, they mentioned the county building complex was on fire.”

   “Before we start making this whole thing more complicated, let’s check the original blueprints and see what we can find, first.” I said.

   “Where can we find those?” Dan asked.

   I pointed in the general direction and said, “Facilities, they have all of the original plans on file.”

   “Let’s do it then,” Packer said. The three of us stood up, but Packer walked to the table the women were sitting at, leaned over and spoke softly to Gillian and then rejoined us. “Always let the ladies know where you’re going,” he said. “Life is easier that way.”

   They passed me as we walked out and then Packer stopped, “Let’s take the cart, that way we won’t have to go slow for Gimpy here.”

   After we sat in the cart and Packer started driving, Dan asked me, “Is your leg going to get any better?”

   “Horne says it would if I stopped re-injuring it. I can’t even guess how many times I’ve tripped myself and taken a header.”

   “Does he know what’s wrong with it?”

   “Actually, he says, he thinks, it’s just a deep muscle bruise and maybe a bone bruise as well. I can tell he’s a little concerned about it involving a bone bruise. I guess the upper thigh bone produces red blood cells, so he’s been monitoring my red cell count.”

   “Yeah,” he said. “That could be problematic.”

   “Do me a favor and don’t tell Debra that, I don’t want her to worry.”

   “Got it.”

   Packer parked in front of Facilities and we walked inside and then into Morgan’s office. I didn’t tell him why, but I told him I was going to help Major Packer look up some info on the blueprints. I led them into the Print Vault and started looking for the appropriate plans, sure enough, the plans for Marlow’s condo were on file. We took the roll of plans to a print table and I spread them out.

  “Holy shit,” Packer said.

   “First time looking over a set of plans?” I asked

   Packer and Dan both answered, “Yes.” Then Dan asked, “How long did it take you to learn to read these things?”

   “I had a semester of plan reading in Apprenticeship School, then another semester of system design where they would give us small jobs we had to draw systems for. The final test for the class we took home with us and we had to design a 200 head system from the city connection to the inspector’s test valve. I had fun with that one. That caused me to become more interested in construction design and I took two more years at a community college.”

   “So, you know what you’re doing with these.” Packer said.

   “Yeah, pretty much.” I started going over the plan specs and then I pulled a notepad from my pocket and wrote down some numbers, which I then handed to Dan, “See those file cabinets down at the end?”

   “Yeah.”

   “Walk down there and see if you can find a file with these numbers on it, it might also be listed alphabetically under ‘Marlow Residence.’”

    “Okay,” he said.

   I went back to examining the plan and then started examining the elevations. They even had an elevator between Level One and Level Two of the residence, nice. Dan returned and handed a folder to me, “It was under Marlow Residence like you suggested.”

   “Thanks, Dan, listen, this is probably going to take a while, you two might want to take off.”

   Packer said, “Yeah, I didn’t realize there was so much to this, so I’m headed back. Sergeant Smith, you want to ride with me?”

   “Yes, Sir, I can’t see me being any help here.”

   They left and I started going through the folder. According to the paperwork, the original projected cost was going to top out at about $1.3 million, wow! And that was for only three thousand square feet of floor space. The Marlows must have had some pretty expensive amenities installed. It was when I was looking through the file, that I came across the first discrepancy. According to the original proposal, the elevator was going to be lifted and lowered by an electric motor and cable system, but there were no purchase orders for that type of elevator system. That, in and of itself, was odd, but then add in cable elevators were almost always installed in high rise buildings, not in a two-story structure. There was also extra money allocated to tunnel out the extra head room necessary for the motor and cable spools to be mounted at the top of the extended elevator shaft. When I went back to the blueprints, there was an elevation plan featuring a hydraulic piston elevator. You needed more room beneath the elevator for a hydraulic piston design. Interesting.

   I decided to cut to the chase and went to the last sheet that listed the final cost of the condo. Holy shit! As I said before, it was estimated to cost $1.3 million, the final cost after over-runs was $3.1 million! $1.8 million over budget! Are you kidding me? I decided it was time to sharpen my pencil and I buried myself in minutiae.

   I lost track of time and even what was going on around me as I became completely engrossed in my work. First one set of plans, then another set and then a third before going back to the others again. They did an excellent job of hiding what they were doing, but it was all there if you knew where, and how, to look. My leg was really starting to bother me from all the standing, so I went to the cage where I kept the tools for my crew and brought back a stool. The small notebook I brought with me was woefully inadequate, I ended up going back to my crew cage and bringing back a ream of blank paper. I was filling sheet after sheet with notes and then arrows connecting one note to another, and then I had to start numbering the pages so I could reference notes between pages.

   “Hon? Honey? Earth to Dan! Hello?”

   I was startled so bad I slipped off the stool and ended up sprawled on the floor when my injured leg couldn’t support me. The damn thing had fallen asleep.

   “Oh, Shit, Honey, I’m so sorry!” Debra was behind me with her arms under my own and trying to stand me up.

   “What the hell?” I stammered.

   “I’m sorry, I kept calling to you, but it was like you were in another world, so I, well, I guess I got a little irritated and…”

   “No, no, that’s okay, when I get involved, I guess I sort of shut everything out. I’m sorry, you know how I can be.”

   She ran her hand down my leg and held it on my thigh, “Your leg is ice cold, damn it, you’re going to fool around and lose that leg! What the hell, am I going to have to babysit you?”

   “I said I was sorry, and no, you don’t have to babysit me, I mean, come on.”

   “Did you eat like you promised?”

   “Uh,” crap.

   “That’s what I thought. I went by the cafeteria and got you a Reuben sandwich, they had fresh Rye bread without seeds, the way you like.”

   “Really?”

   “Yeah, I got you a couple of Kosher dill spears also, and French fries.”

   My stomach was starting to rumble, “You’re the best, Babe.”

   “Can we eat here? Is there somewhere we can sit?”

   “No eating or drinking in the Plan Room, but I guess we can go down to my crew’s tool cage; we have a card table in there we can use to eat on.”

   “Do you have chairs in there?”

   “Yeah, but they’re not very comfortable.” I looked at all the plans I had scattered about and felt a moment of panic; I didn’t like walking away from something when I was on a roll. Things were falling in place and…screw it. Maybe some time with Debra and talking it out would help organize things for me. Besides, she often was able to think of things I wouldn’t normally consider. “Yeah, let’s go to the tool cage.”

   She smiled and started gathering the bags our meals were in. I starting looking for my cane and didn’t see it anywhere, “Damn it.”

   “It’s under those papers over there,” she said as she gestured with a hand full of bags.

   It was, I could see about an inch of the curve of the handle protruding from under the spread plans. How does she do that? It’s like she’s reading my mind. I glanced at her and she was smiling at me, “I know,” she said. “Sometimes I feel like you’re reading my mind too.”

   A little on the creepy side, but I laughed and started walking towards the Tool Cage. “Yeah, some people would probably associate our interactions with some form of metaphysical connection, but I think it’s just us being connected so closely we subliminally recognize the other’s needs, or wants.”

   “Yeah?” she smiled up at me. “So, what am I thinking right now?”

    “We keep a fold-away cot in the Tool Cage,” I said as I smiled.

   She started to smile, but it faded away, “Do I think about sex too much? I mean, do you think maybe, I’m kind of…”

  I cut her off and said, “No, and no I don’t. Let me ask you this, do you have any idea how good it makes me feel, knowing that you want me the way you do? Do you remember the morning after the first time we made love?”

   “Of course.”

   “Do you remember getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom without covering yourself first?”

   “Yes, I didn’t even think about it, it just seemed like…”

   “You could trust me,” I said.

   “Yes, I’ve always been a little embarrassed about being nude around guys after, you know, but with you it didn’t even occur to me.”

   “I had this intense feeling of, I don’t know, peace, tranquility, as you walked away and it felt so right to me, for me.”

   She shifted the bag in her right hand to her left and held both bags as she grasped my left arm and leaned her head on it as we walked, “Yeah, me too.”

   We didn’t say much after that until we reached the Tool Cage. We pulled out the card table and set it up, then two of the fold-up chairs, sat down and started to eat.

   “Okay,” she said. “I know you’re looking for places Becker may be hidden away, Packer and Dan told me that, and the reason why you’re looking here at Global. The Occam’s Razor thing, but isn’t it kind of counter-intuitive to apply a scientific system of proof in a manhunt?”

   “No, not at all,” I replied. “Reduced to its most basic expression, Occam’s Razor, as most people see it today, states the simplest explanation, or solution, is often the correct one, but that’s not really what the Law of Parsimony, or Occam stated, what he was actually alluding to…”

   “Daniel, remember when we were escaping from Phase Six and I made a comment about ‘mansplaining’?”

   “Oh, uh, it’s kind of hard to explain why I’m thinking what I’m thinking if I don’t explain why…”

   “Dan, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one, especially when mansplaining starts peeking at you from over the intellectual horizon.” I started to respond, but I sputtered to a halt as I struggled to express myself and she started laughing, “If you could see the expression on your face right now.”

   I could feel my face growing hot and I squirmed in my chair before I finally laughed and said, “Hapless?”

   “No, more like, caught with your hand in the cookie jar.”

   “Sorry.”

   “Don’t be, Hon,” she reached out and squeezed my hand. “Just cut to the chase.”

   “Okay, uh, where was I?” Then I took a sip from the carton of milk she had brought me.

   “Something about, blah, blah, blah, simplest explanation, blah, blah, blah.”

   I choked on the milk and started laughing again as I wiped away milk trickling out of my nose.

   “Ewww,’ she whined. “Now I’m supposed to eat my dinner?”

   “Stop it!” I said through my laughter, “This is serious.”

   “I know it is, but I haven’t heard you laugh like that in a long time, you needed it, and I needed to hear you do it.”

   “Okay, if Becker was concealed somewhere within the facility, eventually he would be discovered and captured.”
  “Wait, hold on, Danni, Dan, and their group, were the ones that captured Becker, they literally caught him in the act.”

   “That’s right.”

   “This is where, for me, it starts get a little unclear, how did Becker get away? There’s no way Danni or Dan would have lost him. What happened?”

   “Danni and Dan’s search team consisted of five people, with them were, the two medics and another guy from their squad.”

   She nodded in agreement.

   “Dan used the battering-ram, to slam the door, Danni rushed in, grabbed Becker and threw him to the medics who were following her and Dan into the room. They started cutting me free and then supported me so I wouldn’t fall out of the chair I was on. Then she called for the medics, they turned Becker over to, uh, Carlyle?”

   “Carlson,” she corrected me.

   “He saw you coming from down the corridor with your team, and told Danni you were on your way. She screamed at him to not let you in, and I said the same thing to her, ‘Don’t let Debra in.’ Then I warned Dan of the same thing, Carlson was trying to keep Becker subdued, but then two INSEC guys appeared and said they would restrain Becker, which allowed Carlson to run and intercept you. Unfortunately, the two INSEC guys were not really Internal Security, and took off with Becker, supposedly to lock him up in the INSEC office. They never arrived.”

   “Daniel, I swear, I hope you never have to give me a battlefield report, we’ll all be dead before you finish.”

   “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

   “Maybe, but you could have said, two fake INSEC guys left with him and we haven’t seen him since.”

   “But,” I shook my head and said. “Do I have any redeeming qualities?”

   “Yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed to marry you.”

   I scooted my chair back from the table and beckoned to her with my hand, “Come here for a minute.”

   She walked around the table and stood next to me, “What?”

   I patted my lap and said, “Sit down.”

   “No way, not with your leg the way it is.”

   “If you sit right here,” I said as I demonstrated where, “You’ll be a good six inches from where the injury is.” 

   She shook her head and said, “No.”

   “Babe, you haven’t sat on my lap since before I was in the clinic and I really miss it, please? If it hurts, if there’s even the slightest discomfort I’ll tell you, okay?”

   “Daniel…”

   “Please?”

   She swung her right leg out and then placed her foot on the floor beside the chair. She leaned forward and slowly lowered herself down as she pressed her pelvis against my abdomen. When she finally settled in place, I slid my arms around her and pulled her tightly against me. The two of us sighed in unison as she enveloped my neck with her arms. I was just deciding there was a chance this was going to go somewhere if we didn’t stop when I heard someone clear their throat.

   Debra immediately stood and placed her hand on her holstered weapon. Morgan stepped into the pool of light from the overhead, “Smith? Why are you still here?”  He asked as two additional people joined him in the light. They were both wearing INSEC, black uniforms and I started to tense up, but then I recognized Mark Wilson.

   “I was doing some research in the Blueprint Vault. My fiancée, Debra Tarn, brought our dinner here so I could continue with the work I was doing and since there’s no food or drink allowed in the vault, we came out here to eat our dinner. What’s going on?” I asked.

   Wilson stepped past Morgan and said, “Two of Morgan’s workers are missing and we wanted to look over their worksheets to see where they were supposed to be when they went missing.”

   I stood up beside Debra, “Who? What division?”

   Morgan said, “Nadia Tooles, and Stacy Menendez.”

   “They don’t even work in the same division,” I said.

   Morgan agreed, “No, they don’t, so I’m thinking maybe their missing isn’t connected.”

   “Menendez is in my Auxiliary Squad;” I added, “You should notify Major Packer also.”

   Wilson asked, “She is? I didn’t know that; I’ll tell the Major when we finish here.”

   “Okay,” Morgan said. “When you finish your, meal,” He smiled. “Lock up when you’re done.”

   Under her breath, so only I could hear, Debra said, “Oh, god.”

   “Yes, sir, I will.”

   Debra returned to her chair and resumed eating as they walked away. “Okay,” she said. “Fill me in on what you’ve found.”

   I could tell she was embarrassed again and wanted to talk about something, other than what had just happened. “The original cost estimate for Marlow’s condo was 1.3 million dollars and…”

   “What! Can you imagine what might have been done with that money?” She said. “That’s ridiculous!”

   “Yeah, I feel the same way, but I also recognize he fronted a great deal of money to build this place. I don’t have a problem with wealthy people spending their money, it usually trickles down in one form or another.”

   “Still…”

   “If you think $1.3 is a lot, how about another 1.8 million in cost over-runs?”

   “You’re shitting me, how could you possibly spend that much money on a hole in the ground? I mean, they always say the three primary factors for the price of real estate is location, location and location, but 3.1 million for what? Three thousand square feet?”

   “Exactly, they hid things they were doing by inflating costs all through the structure.”

   “Can you give me an example?” She asked.

   “Sure, let’s look at exterior doors. The main entrance is on Level Two. It’s super ornate and very secure. There’s another entrance on Level One for the help to come and go from. Just a plain appearing door that provides access to a service corridor, so the employees can enter and leave without passing through the main living quarters. The door is plain, but very secure, just as secure as the front door on Level Two. However, it was damaged after installation and was replaced, but not just the door, the steel door frame was also reordered and replaced.”

   “So?”

   “The steel door frame was embedded in the poured concrete outer wall of the residence. In order to replace the frame, the concrete would have needed to be removed and then re-poured with the new frame in place. That would have involved an extra cost and a work order that doesn’t exist.”

   “Maybe they just didn’t write it up?”

   “I work construction, Babe, believe me when I say nobody does anything extra, without writing it up.”

   “Okay, but…”

   “There’s more, kitchen appliances, a complete set of quality plumbing from toilet, to shower, to sink, on and on, ordered, delivered, paid for, and then upgraded at the owner’s request, but none of the previously bought material or equipment returned to the supplier for credit.”

   “It sounds to me like the Marlow’s have more money than sense.”

   I felt like laughing because it was the first thing I thought when I saw the work order, but I didn’t. “It does sound like it on the surface, and maybe the Marlow’s were hoping for just such a negative stereotype to be applied to their decision, but I believe it was a conscious effort to obfuscate their real intent.”

   “Which is?”

   “A panic room.”

   “A panic room?”

   “Yes, sometimes called a safe room. You build it into your home to provide a safe room to retreat to if your home is invaded. It’s become popular among the social elites to have one built into their homes.”

   “Okay, but those are only intended to slow down an invader until the police arrive, right?”

   “In a traditional accepted use of the concept, yes, but not necessarily in the situation we find ourselves in at the present. I had the same thought, what good would it do to have a safe room, if no one was coming to the rescue, or it was going to take too long for help to arrive? No matter how safe, your safe room is, if no one is coming and there’s no way out of your safe room, why even have it. All the people who want to get to you have to do, is wait until you get hungry, or run out of air, or water and you have to come out or die.”

   “Exactly,” she said. “How could they possibly escape a safe room that’s a hundred feet underground?”

   I smiled and said, “Shortly after the initial construction of Phase Four was completed, a new hydrology consultant stated that the three wells that had previously been drilled might not be sufficient to meet the requirements of the growing proposed population of the facility. As a result, a new, larger, well was ordered drilled adjacent to the facility. Unfortunately, the drill site was misplaced and they missed the point they needed to drill at. It ended up being outside, of the inside, of the complex. After this was discovered, it was determined the fourth well wasn’t needed because the hydrologist miscalculated the need for water and the bore site was abandoned and then capped.”

   “So? It was a major screw up, but shit happens.”

   “Want to take a guess on how big the bore hole was they drilled for the unneeded well?”

   “Eight, maybe ten, inches?”

   “Try four feet.” I smiled, “And then, the Clean Mountain Water Club threatened to file suit if the bore wasn’t sealed with concrete in order to avoid contamination of the water table. In a pre-court hearing, Global agreed to line the bore hole with concrete pipe with each section waterproofed with environmentally safe sealer. CMWC agreed to the fix, but only if a method was in place to allow visual inspection of the installed piping to ensure its future integrity.”

   “Which was, a ladder, all the way to the bottom,” Debra sighed in exasperation as she said it.

   “Yep.”

   “How much do you think that cost?”

   “Doesn’t matter, Marlow had his way out if he needed it, and one other thing you may find interesting, the Clean Mountain Water Club? It gets its funding from an environmental charity that is funded by, are you ready? Mary Marlow’s, A Better World Foundation.”

   “Holy shit.”

   “It’s a fricking merry-go-round, Debra”

   “Okay, so Marlow has a secret room and you think that is probably where he is hiding Becker?”

   “That’s my guess for the way he completely disappeared so quickly,” I said.

   “We need to talk to the Major, right now. If there’s a way out for Becker to escape…” She paused.

   “What?”

   “Two women disappear from inside a sealed community?”

   “Oh, Christ!” I said, as I started becoming physically ill. “We have to go, now!”

   I jumped up and tried to run, but promptly fell, I started levering myself up and Debra grabbed me from behind to help, “No!” I said as I pointed the direction, “Get to Wilson, he might still be in Morgan’s office!”

   She released me and ran as fast as she could. I finally got my feet under me and picked up my cane from where it lay next to the chair, I had been in. I limped as fast as I could after her. Moments later, she came running back, “They’re gone! They already left!”

   “There’s work carts outside,” I said as I changed the direction I was going. “They said they were going to tell Packer about Menendez.”

   We rushed outside, well, Debra did, and we unplugged one of the carts, got in and drove as fast as it would go to the front of the EXSEC Bunker. There was a group of personnel standing out front, probably preparing to go on duty. As Debra jumped out of the cart and ran towards the entrance, she shouted, “GEAR UP! WEAPONS HOT AND READY TO ROCK!” She raced past them and into the Ready Room.

   I followed as quick as I could and as I approached, Sergeant Bellows asked, as he was inserting a magazine into his carbine, “Smith? What’s going on?”

   “Becker, we know where he is and we think he has two more victims right now, doing what he did to me.”

   “Where?” He asked as I passed by.

   “Phase Four, Marlow’s condo.” I turned into the Ready Room and saw Debra talking to Packer and Wilson; Wilson was speaking into his radio.

   Packer saw me coming and said, “Daniel, how sure are you about this?”

   “Rock solid!” I answered as I pulled my notebook from my shirt pocket and leafed through the pages before I ripped out a page and handed it to him. “GPS co-ordinates where the escape tunnel exits. You might want to send a team there, asap!”

   “On it,” he said. He walked to a red button mounted on the Ready Room wall and punched it with the heel of his hand. A klaxon started blaring, then a calm woman’s voice said, ‘Red Alert, Red Alert,’ and then the klaxon sounded again, then the recording of the woman’s voice again calmly saying, ‘Red Alert, Red Alert,” I realized I recognized the woman’s recorded voice, Gillian Packer.  

   Bellows entered the Ready Room and Packer motioned him over. He stepped forward and saluted, “Yes, Sir.”

   Packer said, “Your squad was preparing to go on patrol, right? Do you have a GPS on you?”

   “Yes, Sir, and I have my handheld GPS.”

   “Leave one of your teams to cover the main entrance, no one in, no one out.”

    “Yes, Sir.”

     “I want you to take your second team and proceed to these co-ordinates,” he held out my handwritten sheet of paper and Bellows took it and looked at it, “You will find a hatch, maybe camouflaged, and make sure you capture or kill anyone that comes out. Preferably capture, but do not endanger yourself, or your people.”

   “Hooah, Major!” He spun on his heel and jogged out.

   I was wondering where Debra disappeared to when she walked in with Danni and Daniel. All three were wearing full battle rattle. Danni and Dan stopped just inside the door and she started applying camo to Dan’s face as he stood still. Debra walked to me and motioned me to the side as I realized the extra gear and weapon she had was mine. I followed and she pulled out a chair from a table and said sit, I did. She pulled out another chair and sat down facing me. She reached into a pouch on her vest and handed me what appeared to be a green cosmetic case, “I need my war-paint applied.”

   “What? You want me to put make-up on you? Babe…” She reached out and opened it, inside were four shades of camouflage cream. “Oh, okay.”

   She smiled as I started applying the different colors, but I noticed she kept looking over at Danni and Dan. I glanced over and saw Dan start putting on Danni’s camo creme. I finished and reversed the compact so Debra could exam what I had done, “Good job, Honey, maybe some night you could do a whole-body job on me?”

   I smiled at her as I realized she was trying to diffuse the growing tension, “You bet.”

   Suddenly she reached out and turned my face towards Danni and Dan as she said, “Here it comes, watch.”

   Danni was standing so close to Daniel, as she spoke to him, that the pouches of her armor vest were touching his. She finished whatever she was saying and looked down as he leaned forward and spoke into her ear. She jerked back and looked up at him again and from the movement of her lips, I knew she had said, “What?” And then he replied with, I think, “I know.” She got an outraged expression on her face and punched him the upper arm, then smiled as he bent down and kissed her. For a lesbian, she sure was enjoying that kiss.

   I turned and looked at Debra and she had a wide smile on her face, “I was right!” I said. “She did have the hots for him!”

   Debra giggled and said, “I guess so, she’s had a lot people fooled for a long time.”

   “But, why? I mean…”

   “I’ll explain later,” she said. “In the meantime, I brought your weapon and gear, but that does not mean you are getting involved until we are in the condo and in control of the situation, understand?”

   “Yes, Sergeant Tarn.”

   “Daniel, I’m serious, I want you well-armed, but I don’t want to worry about you dodging incoming on that bum leg, okay? Promise me, please.”

   I could see it in her eyes, genuine fear, “I promise, Babe, for you.”

   She nodded as she stared into my eyes, “Good, I know you would never lie to me. Now I can relax and do my job.”

   I stood up and dragged my FLC across the top of the table as Packer began to speak to the assembled troops, and that’s what they were. They were no longer “security personnel,” they were soldiers, warriors, getting ready to practice their trade. The warning Klaxon went silent, but the room was filled with the chatter of a couple of dozen people talking.

   “Listen up!” Packer said loudly and the room went dead quiet. “1^st Squad is currently providing security at the main entrance and providing a net at what we suspect is a bolt hole from a hidden escape tunnel. We are going to raid the Marlow’s official residence and search for Major Karl Becker. 3d Squad will serve as an assault team on Level 2 of Phase Four. 2nd Squad will act as an assault team on Level One of Phase Four. 4^th Squad will divide into two fire teams to act as reserves for Squads 2 and 3.” Someone in the group groaned at the news 4^th Squad was a reserve component. “Suck it up buttercup,” Packer said. “We all have a job to do. Be aware, we know that Marlow’s personal entourage, servants and bodyguards all live within an area referred to as ‘the compound.’ We suspect these people maybe be fanatically loyal to Doctor Marlow and fully capable of an effective armed defense of the area. Watch your six! INSEC will be staging a pincer movement from the back side of Marlow’s compound,” he nodded in the direction of Wilson and his fellow INSEC member, “So watch your lines of fire; we do not want friendly casualties. We would prefer to take anyone who does not resist prisoner, but do not endanger yourself or your buddies. 2^nd Squad will tune their radios to channel 2. 3d Squad will tune their radios to channel 3. 4^th Squad fire-teams will tune their radios to the squad they are assigned to. This promises to be a very fluid situation, so be prepared to adapt and overcome, is everyone with me?”

   A chorus of “Hooah” answered his question.

   “Alright, let’s roll.” Everyone filed out of the room and into the open space in front of the main entrance where they formed into groups. They started checking their gear and putting ear protection on. Debra was digging through her pouches and finally held her hand out to me.

   “Take these,” she said. They were a pair of foam ear plugs and I squished them down by rolling them between my index finger and thumb before inserting them. Gunfire inside of a building could be damaging, inside a concrete building? I knew it could be painful from experience. Finally, she looked up at me and said, “You don’t have body armor and you made me a promise, right?”

   “I did, but you be careful too, there are some critical parts unarmored, alright?”

   She smiled and said, “So you like my ass the way it is?”

   “I like your ass, where, it is. Now, stop fooling around and get your head in the game.” She gave me a peck on the cheek and jogged away to join her squad.

   Beside me, a voice said, “Don’t worry, Daniel, I’ve seen Jerry like this, the joking around.” It was Gillian. “I guarantee, she has her head in the game.”

   “Thanks, Gilly.”

   She patted my arm and said, “The Major says he’s taking you and the two INSEC guys with him, do me a favor and cover his six, okay?”

   “You can count on it.”

   “I feel better now knowing that, good hunting, Daniel.” She kissed my cheek and then walked back into the Ready Room.

   I heard the horn of one of the electric carts beeping and saw Packer waving to me. I limped over and slid in beside him on the front seat. “That good-looking lady ask you to keep an eye on me?”

   “Yeah, I mean, yes, Sir.”

   He laughed as we pulled away, “That’s one of the things I like about you, Dan, you’re honest to a fault.”

    All three of the assault squads were jogging into the interior of the facility and I waved to Debra as we drove past her. She didn’t look all that pleased with us passing by. I watched ahead of us and finally asked, “Sir, where are we going?”

   “Phase Five, I want to drop these two guys off and touch bases with Williams. We should be back with our people by the time they reach the jump off point.”

   “Oh, okay.” Hell, I didn’t know what was going on, I was new to this kind of stuff, so I kept my mouth shut. I did pull the bolt of my bullpup back and released it to chamber a round and switched the weapon to safe. Packer glanced at me and grinned. Behind me, I heard the bolts of Wilson and his partner do the same.

   We entered Phase Four and Packer seemed to accelerate a little, just before holes started appearing in the plexiglass windshield. Packer said in a calm voice, “I didn’t expect that, this soon. Get ready to bail out.”

   I turned sideways in the seat and faced the opening, then I heard a grunt from the back seat and looking over my shoulder I saw Wilson’s buddy, who was sitting behind Packer, grab at his upper left arm. Packer swerved sharply to the right into a side corridor and slammed on the brake while hitting a large metal trash bin with the left front of the cart. Unbraced for the unexpected turn and impact, I was thrown against, and then out, the shattering plexiglass of the front windshield. I scrambled to my feet and saw Packer at the corner of the row of rooms he had, sort of, driven behind, with Wilson’s friend standing beside him while he kept glancing at the now bloody hand he was holding his arm with.

   This didn’t seem to be going very well.

   “Smith!” I looked at Wilson who was motioning me to join him where he stood at the next corner, looking down what I knew was a service corridor between residential rooms. “You’re with me.” I moved quickly up behind him and stopped.

   “What are we doing?” I asked. As a member of the Auxiliary, I had quite a bit of training in the woods, but none indoors. I decided right then that our training schedule needed to be modified.

   Wilson peeked around the corner and then quickly back, “We’re going to work our way past this alley, then down to the next street and move forward to the end. When we get there, we’ll turn to our left and see if we can catch these yahoos with an unexpected flank attack, you with me?”

   “Lead and I follow.” I said.

   “Okay, I’m going cross this alley first, then I’ll cover while you cross,” he glanced at my leg. “You good to go? If not, say so.”

   I nodded, and then he looked around the corner again before jumping out and running for the opposite corner. As he left, I stepped forward with my bullpup at my shoulder and pointed down the alley just in time to see a man with a rifle pointed our way open fire. I squeezed off three rounds and watched him stumble back before he sat down hard. He tried to raise his rifle again and I put another round into his chest, causing him to slump to his side. I looked over to see if Wilson was ready for me to cross and I saw him sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall behind him. His rifle was lying next to his leg and I could see a growing puddle of blood under him. I took a quick look down the alley and saw two men step from behind cover, one with a rifle pointed at us down the alley and another slinging his rifle and preparing to drag the man I had shot away. I knelt down and moved just enough to see past the corner of the building, then fired two quick rounds at the man with the raised and aimed weapon. He staggered and fell against the wall beside him before sliding limply to the floor. The second man was trying to swing his rifle forward when I fired at him, the bullet must have hit him in the throat because he grabbed his neck with both hands before falling to his back. He started kicking his feet violently as he twisted back and forth and I fired another round at him. That one skipped off the concrete floor before impacting the side of his head. He went still. I crossed the alley and knelt next to Wilson. He was fumbling with a small pouch on his vest and I realized it held a tourniquet. I knocked his hands away, removed the tourniquet, unrolled it, and then wrapped it around his upper leg. I fed the end through itself, locked it down, and started turning the windlass. Danni had said it had to be tight enough to hurt, so that’s what I did.

   Wilson grunted through his clenched teeth and said, “That’s good, that’s good, now go.”

   “What?”

   “Go! The plan is still the same. Packer and Smitty need you to finish the flanker, go! I’m good here, go!”

   I heard a flurry of gunshots behind me and realized Packer and the other guy were returning fire. I stood and ran, sort of, to the next corner and quickly looked down the street, before ducking back. This was some scary shit, but it was nowhere near as scary as Becker had been. I forced myself around the corner and started moving down the street as a door to my right opened and a woman leaned out to look in the opposite direction, away from me. “Hey!” I said. “Get back, close your door and don’t come out until you hear an all clear.”

   “What’s happening?” She looked scared and confused.

   “A god damned battle! People are shooting each other, now close your door!”

   She stepped backwards and disappeared from view, so I started moving forward again and as I passed her door, I heard the roar of a gunshot and a pockmark opened up in the wall beside my face. I turned and pointed the carbine one handed and released a torrent of bullets at her as she aimed her pistol at me again. Several rounds struck her chest and abdomen as a look of surprise and disbelief spread over her face, then she dropped to her knees, her ass settled onto her feet, and she simply folded forward until her face hit the floor. I gagged on vomit, but realized I was in the process of switching out magazines. I inserted the partially empty mag in the appropriate pouch and then stood and moved farther down the street. I was feeling almost surrealistic, kind of out of phase and suddenly he was there beside me, talking to me.

   “Want me to take over? You’re looking a little faded.”

   I shook my head, “Not now, I’m busy.”

   “You’re busy getting us killed. Let me have it, I can do this better than you, shit, I’m the one that changed the magazine while you were busy trying not to puke, give it to me.”

   “We’re not in school, I don’t need you to fight my fights anymore, go away!”

   “Have it your way, but just know, you are going to need me, very soon. Maybe I won’t be there when you do. Good luck.”

   And he was gone.

   I moved quickly down the rest of the street and peeked around the corner to my left. There were two men dressed in civilian clothes, much like my own, but around both of their left upper arms were tied, red strips of cloth. Had the other men I shot had those same strips of red? I closed my eyes and tried to visualize them. Yeah, they did. I peeked around the corner again and looked them over. One of them was kneeling and doing the same as me, peeking around the corner. The second was standing, but leaning over the other while also peeking around the corner. I reached out with my left thumb and depressed the button/switch of the laser. With the angle his head was, a bullet would traverse both hemispheres of his brain. I squeezed the trigger.

   He collapsed on top of the kneeling man and bore him to the floor where he was pinned by his dead compatriot’s body. I left the cover of the corner and jogged forward as the still living man tried to work out from beneath his friend’s body, but when he saw me coming, he raised both of his hands in surrender. When I reached him, I placed the laser dot on the center of his nose and stared at him.

   “I surrender, hey, hey man, I surrender, you know, Geneva Convention and all that shit, you know?”

   “Do it! If you can’t I will! Do it! Do it now!”

   “Shut up,’ I said.

   “Yeah, sure man, whatever you say.”

   “You don’t have what it takes. You really don’t do you? Debra deserves a lot better than you. Without me, you’re nothing, she wants a warrior, not a guy that screws pipe for a living. I’m what she wants, not you.”

   “I …said…shut… the fuck… up!”

   “I did, I did, I’m not saying shit man, really, look at me, hands up and everything!”

   I reversed the bullpup and slammed the butt down on the man’s eyebrow, he waved his hands sluggishly in front of his face and I butt stroked him again. He went limp as I raised the carbine again, but I held my hand and slowly lowered the weapon. “Major Packer!” I shouted.

   “Smith?” A return shout.

   “Yes, Sir! I think it’s all clear now!” I heard running steps and spun while I brought the bullpup back to my shoulder, but it was three INSEC guys that ran into view.

   “Whoa! Whoa! We’re with you guys! We heard the gunfire and came to help!”

   I lowered the carbine and pointed down the alley, “Mark Wilson is down that the way. He has a severe leg wound that I put a tourniquet on, but he needs medical attention fast.” Then I stepped out from the corner and saw the Major about halfway from where we left the cart. “All clear, Major, some of the INSEC guys came to give us a hand.” I stepped farther out and started to walk towards him, but my leg flat quit on me and dumped me on the floor. “For shit’s sake,” I bitched.

   Packer ran up and knelt down beside me, “Are you hit?”

   “No,” I said disgustedly. “But I think I trashed my leg again.”

   “Is it bad?”

   “I’m afraid so, Sir.”

   “Alright, hang loose and we’ll bring the cart up to give you a lift.”

   “Thank you, Sir.” I glanced around and asked, “That guy, Smitty, I know he was hit, but I don’t know how bad.”

   “Flesh wound. With treatment, he’ll hurt a bit, but he’ll be okay. Wilson?”

   “Wounded thigh with arterial bleeding, I got a tourniquet on it, but he’s probably going to need blood and surgery; it doesn’t look good. I suggest you grab him and get him to the clinic before worrying about me.”

   He reached out and shook my hand, “You’re a good soldier, Daniel, you can watch my six anytime, anywhere.”

   “Thank you, Sir, Thank you very much.”

   “I’ll get someone to pick you up, one way or another, anything you need before I leave?”

   “If you could get my cane to me somehow, I could sure use it.”

   “I will,” then he pointed at my face and said, “Rub some dirt on that and a bandaid wouldn’t hurt. Once you get your cane, get your ass back into the fight.” He took off going the direction he came from.

   What? I raised my hand up to my cheek and when I touched it, it started stinging like a bitch. My fingertips came back red and when I looked down, there was blood dripping on the left side of my FLC, or Flick, as Debra called it. Great, just great, I could hear Debra already.

   I sat there for a few minutes and saw Danni and Daniel’s squad move through the opening from Phase Three and then Debra’s squad peeled off and started down the ramp to Level Two. I dodged a bullet there. Then Packer’s cart backed into view before turning and driving off into Phase Three, probably headed for the clinic. It looked like I might have to find something to replace my cane. I looked around and finally noticed the rifles of the man I had killed earlier and the guy I had clubbed, shit, I never warned anyone about him. I managed get up on my left leg and hopped to him. I removed the laces from the dead guys boots and hogtied the other guy. Then, I picked up the first AR variant and looked it over. It had a really short barrel and I thought of keeping it for Debra, but she said she didn’t want an SBR and with the stock fully extended, it still wasn’t long enough to use as a cane. I picked up the second, okay, this one might work. I got back up on one leg and adjusted the stock until I could lean on it like I did my cane. It wasn’t great and the muzzle break wanted to slip on the concrete, but it was all I had. I started limping my way towards where the Marlows had their condo.

   I hadn’t gone more than fifty feet when there was a sudden burst of gunfire ahead, I tried to speed up and immediately planted my face in the concrete. Damn it! I got back up and almost went down again. Okay, slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Well, faster than trying to get up off the floor again. I steadily moved in the direction I needed to go. The continuous gunfire kept getting louder and finally, I started seeing EXSEC people maneuvering forward from one position to the next. Occasionally, a bullet would sing past me and I would involuntarily duck. Shit if it was going to hit me, it was going to hit me. Not much sense ducking after the bullet has gone by.

   The gunfire began to taper off as I pushed forward and finally died out completely, but I could still hear shouted commands echoing off the concrete walls.  Eventually, I caught up with everyone and watched as two men with a battering ram started working on the door. I found a bench to sit on, but even that hurt, I tried to just stretch out, but no joy there either. I saw Packer giving directions and finally he noticed me on the bench. He moved a little way and picked up my cane from where it was leaning against a wall, handed it to Danni and pointed to me. She started walking towards me.

   “Daniel?”

   “Hey. Glad to see you’re okay.”

   In a condescending tone, she said, “What the hell happened to you?” As she handed me my cane and took the carbine I offered her.

   “It wasn’t my fault, I swear.”

   She reached forward and removed the contents of my IFAK, “Debra is going to take one look at you and pitch a fucking fit. You couldn’t stay out of trouble if you were locked in the, in the, aw hell, you just can’t stay out of trouble.” She started dabbing at my cheek with an alcohol wipe and it stung like bitch and I involuntarily pulled back, “Oh come on! I’m was the first one through the door when Becker had you and this is a hangnail compared to that.” I heard laughter and saw Dan walking up to join us.

   “Laugh all you want,” I said to him. “Your time is coming.”

   He went to one knee and said as he was looking at her, “Maybe, maybe not, but I’m betting she’ll let me sweeten her up a bit.”

   She glanced up at him gave him a shy smile before turning back to tending my face as I thought, holy shit, she’s got it bad. “Why now, Danni? I mean why wait this long?”

   “Stupidity.”

   “Oh yeah? I’m betting there’s a damn good story waiting to be told over some cold brews.”

   Someone shouted Dan’s name and he stood and started walking their way, “Hey, hey, Dan!” He slowed and looked back at me, “Tell the Major to call Facilities and have them bring us a cutting torch rig. You’ll never get through that door with the battering ram you’re using.” He gave me a thumbs up and continued on his way.

   “You don’t think so?” Danni asked.

   “No, I’ve seen the specs on that door; it was designed to stand up to exactly what you guys are doing to it.”

   “What if we shot it full of holes around the lock?” She held a gauze pad to my cheek, “Hold this.” I reached up and held the gauze as she applied tape to hold it in place.

   “I doubt even your M1a would penetrate it.”

   “Serious?” She asked.

   “Yeah, that’s one of the best armored doors made.”

   “What about .50 cal?”

   “You got one?”

   “No.”

   “Kind of a moot point then, isn’t it?”

   “Debra’s right,” she said.

   “How so?”

   “She said there was a secret asshole hanging out in there,” she said as she poked my chest.

   “Ow.”

   “Serves you right,” she said as she walked away.

   “You keep treating me like this and I won’t be the best man at your wedding.”

   “Yes, you will,” she said.

   “What makes you think so?” I shouted.

   She stopped and said, “Because Debbie already promised me you would.”

   “Oh.” End of conversation.

   Twenty minutes later, one of the shop welders showed up with a cutting rig. I limped over and asked him if he had a measuring tape and a piece of soapstone. He got them for me and I laid out where he should cut the hole and how big. It took a while, but when he removed the outer sheathing, I walked back up and showed him how much of the throw bolt to cut out so the rest could be withdrawn from the door frame. He did that and I again looked it over. “Got a pair of Channel Locks?” I asked.

   “A pair of what?” He replied.

   “Pump Pliers, do you have a pair?”

   He went to his cart and then returned with a fairly large set. I took them, locked them at the appropriate size, and then reached in and grasped the first bar with the pliers; it turned easily and I slid the bar out. Then I did the same with the second bar. When it was out, I had the welder move his rig out of the way and asked, “Everyone ready?”

  Everyone stepped back and took whatever cover was available “Ready,” Packer said.

  I pulled the door open, stepped back and…nothing. I leaned out and glanced inside, there was no one there, “Well” I said. “That was a little anti-climactic.”

   Packer waved his hand and said, “Let’s go.”  Several men rushed through and Packer followed them with his own weapon at his shoulder at low ready.

   From inside, I heard shouts of “clear” several times and then shouts of “Get on the floor, now!”

   It sounded like I could go in and not be in the way, so I did. Our guys had the Doctors Marlow on their living room floor and were searching them, as both of them protested the outrageous behavior of Packer and his brutish thugs. I started to walk downstairs, but someone already had and members of 3d Squad were coming up after clearing the floor below. Danni passed me as she came back up and said, “Be ready for some major ass chewing.”

   “Thanks, Danni, thanks a bunch.”

   A moment later, Debra started up the stairs and when she saw me, she stopped and held her hands out from her sides in frustration, “Really? I mean, really?”

   She quickly mounted the stairs and strode directly towards me, but Packer suddenly said, “Tarn! Front and center.” She immediately changed direction and went to attention as Packer stepped close to her and spoke quietly for a moment, and then stepped back. Debra snapped him a salute, performed an about face and stared directly at me before walking up and standing next to me.

   “Babe,” I started.

   “Later,” she said.

   “But, Babe,” I started again.

   She looked up at me and said, “Really? You don’t even have body armor!” Then she took a deep breath, exhaled and said, “If I didn’t love you so much…”

   “Sorry, go do what you need to do and I’ll try and stay out of everyone’s way.”

   “I can’t, the Major said to stay glued to you and keep you out of trouble until they find where the damn safe room is.”

   “Oh.” I said. “Well then, stick close to me because I’m probably the only person in here that has a chance of finding it.” So, she did. Every time I turned around, she was underfoot, but I gave her some pointers on what to look for and she started stepping away as she searched for hidden panels or fake walls inside the Marlow’s closets, anywhere we could think of, but we found nothing.

   Finally, I just couldn’t stand anymore and sat down in an overstuffed chair in the same room as the Marlows. That chair was undoubtedly the most comfortable chair I had sat in for weeks. “Oh my god,” I moaned.

   “What? What’s wrong?” Debra instantly went to hover mode.

   “This chair is the most comfortable chair I have sat in since Becker got hold of me.”

   “Really?” She asked.

   “Oh, hell yeah. I think I’m going to just sit here for a while. If you need to do something, go ahead, because this is where you’ll find me when you’re done.”

   “You’re sure?” She asked.

   I leaned back and shuttered my eyes, “Absolutely.” I heard her walk away and looked through my almost closed eyelids as I watched Mrs. Marlow. I could tell she was extremely anxious, and was constantly flicking her eyes around following the movements of the people searching the condo. I watched her for quite a while and I noticed she seemed the most agitated when someone entered the elevator. She would grip her husband’s hands until his fingers started turning red.

   Sitting up from my reclined position, I levered myself up and then walked to the elevator and pushed the call button, when it arrived, I stepped inside and pushed the 2nd floor button as I watched Mary Marlow’s face. Just before the doors completely closed, I stuck my hand out and let it block the doors from closing. They opened back up and then started to close as again, I blocked them from shutting. Debra stepped into view, and I could see her shifting her focus from me to Marlow and back again, finally she walked to the elevator doors and held them open.

   “Daniel,” she said. “What are you doing?”

   “Screwing with Mary Marlow.”

   “Okay, but why?”

   “Because there’s something about this elevator that really makes her nervous.” I took my eyes off of Marlow and looked directly at Debra, “I wonder if she would like to go for a ride? She must be getting bored sitting on that couch.”

   “Should I extend an invitation?”

   “It seems a neighborly thing to do.”

   Debra walked over, took Mary’s hand from her husband, and then pulled her to a standing position. He started to rise and she shoved him back down. Danni and Daniel appeared and took control of Mr. Marlow as Debra led his wife to the elevator and escorted her in. “Babe, you might want to stay here.”

   “Why?”

   “I’m going to invite a friend to visit,” I said.

   “What? No, not without me; I’m coming.” She pushed herself in and pressed Marlow against the wall of the elevator.

   “Suit yourself,” he said. “But you were warned.” I hadn’t intended for Debra to be exposed to him, so I struggled to push him out, but it was too late, just like in school, he took over.

   “Pin her arms behind her back,” he said. Debra did, but I could see the whites of her eyes all the way around. “Turn her around, so she is facing me.” Once again, Debra did as she was told. He pulled the knife she had given me and tested the edge, “Nice, Danny always had a way with a sharpening stone.” He stared at Marlow and said, “Where’s the control to take the elevator to the safe room?”

   Marlow struggled, but Debra held her firmly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

   “Wrong answer,” he said. He slid the blade down the front of her blouse and the buttons popped off, one after the other. Debra had her eyes squeezed tightly shut. “Let’s try again, where is the control to the safe room?”

   “I don’t know what you mean!” Tears were starting to leak from Marlow’s eyes.

   He unzipped my Flick and pulled out the tail of my shirt, then jerked up the shirt and exposed my chest and stomach, “This is what Becker did to him! This is what Becker is doing to two innocent women! Tell me how to control the elevator!”

   She shook her head, and said, “His father is worse than him, he’ll kill me!”

   “If you tell me, he might find you and kill you, if you don’t tell me, I will kill you, right here, right now.”

   Marlow hung her head forward and then said softly, “The key, for turning on the elevator, turn it all the way to the right, push both floor buttons at the same time while keeping the key turned. When the elevator stops, the hidden rear doors will open, then let go of the key.”

   He replaced the knife in its sheath and looked at Debra, “He’s a good man, me? Not so much, but I will do anything for him. Because he loves you, I’ll do anything for you. Do you understand?”

   She nodded and he gave me back, “I’m sorry,” I said. “I…”

   “Later,” she said. “After we get Nadia and Stacy back.”

   “I couldn’t see another way, a way we could…”

   “Later, Daniel, not now.”

   The elevator dropped to the 2nd floor, then back to the first. As the doors opened, Debra pushed Marlow out and deposited her next to her husband, and then went in search of Packer. When she had walked from view, I allowed the doors to close and turned the key. Pressing the two buttons for the floors, they lit up and the elevator began to ascend. I knew what she wanted to do, she would load the elevator with herself and another half a dozen people and all someone would have to do is open fire with an automatic weapon as the doors opened. It was better for a single person to go first and find out what, or who, was waiting when the doors opened.

   The elevator stopped and the door opened, nothing, no one, just an empty hallway cut through the natural stone of the mountain. Electrical conduit, a water line, and comm lines were suspended from the ceiling. No fire sprinklers, I wondered why. Ten feet in, the tunnel dog-legged to the right, so I walked in and discovered the other high security door I had seen in the purchase orders. It wasn’t closed and locked though, it was standing open, and light from within illuminated the entrance.

   A voice emanated from above the door, “I thought that was you in the elevator, but the angle is not optimal. You can imagine my disappointment you are still alive.”

   “Yes, I can,” I answered. “Try to imagine the joy I feel right this moment. Try to imagine the joy I will feel when I watch the light fade from your eyes. Can you feel it?”

   “Shut up! I am in control! I determine who lives and who dies!” I heard a female yelp of pain, “Did you hear her? Either you release me, or she dies, a simple decision, yes?”

   “What’s one more, Becker? If I let you go, there’s no telling how many times you’ll do this again. No, you are not walking out of here.” I brought the bullpup up to low ready and turned on the laser, “I’m going to cut your head off, shit in your dead mouth, and ship it to your papa on Vatertag. Will he grieve? Rejoice? Or just drop you in the waste basket and go on to the next item of, business, as usual? I’m going with happy, so let’s spread the joy around, yes?”

   It was so easy, he literally had no control, maybe Packer was right, my previous resistance did snap something inside of him. From within the room, I heard him start screaming again in German, and then a sound that caused me to inwardly cringe, the sound of a hose impacting flesh. She started to scream as I rushed into the room.

   The entrance was past another dogleg, and as I stepped into the actual room, it was like everything went into slow motion. Stacy was nude and strapped to a chair, she was slumped to one side, but appeared unmarked. Nadia was strapped to a second chair, nude, but Becker was repeatedly striking her with a hose in his left hand. She was squirming about, unsuccessfully trying to avoid the blows as she screamed, but Becker wasn’t looking at her as he struck, he was looking down the sights of the handgun he wielded in his right hand. I saw the flash blossom from the muzzle of the pistol as I squeezed my own trigger, I felt a sudden stinging and burning sensation from my side below my left arm. My bullet struck the back of his right hand, traveled the length of his forearm and exited out the back his elbow. Dropping his weapon, he screamed in pain and clutched his mangled arm to his chest. Lowering the muzzle of the bullpup and using the laser, I put a second round through his right knee, collapsing him to the floor. He kept screaming. I swung the carbine out of the way and bent down over the top of him and used a technique that he, the other me, would often use in the schoolyard. I jammed my two middle fingers into Becker’s nostrils and hooked my thumb under the side of his jaw. He couldn’t scream, and he couldn’t breathe. Lifting him up, I carried him to the concrete wall and slammed the back of his head into it. He sagged for a moment and then tried to claw at my eyes with his left hand. I grabbed his wrist with my left hand and snapped it downwards, causing his elbow to fold over my own. He struggled and then lashed out with his left boot and delivered a solid, stomping blow to my right thigh, the pain was so intense, I had fireflies in my vision. I roared, pulled him away from the wall and slammed his head back into it, then again, and again, and again, then I just held him there as I stared at his eyes, I wanted to see the life in them fade, but it was already gone.

   “There you go, finally.”

   I turned and looked at him over my shoulder.

   “Yeah, I’m thinking you don’t need me anymore, you did that, all on your own.”

   I frowned, “What?”

   “I’ve got better things to do, so, see you around, Dan, I’m out of here. Have a good one.”

   “Where are you…” But he was gone.

   “Hey, Daniel, hey man, you can let go, let go.” It was Dan Smith. “Really, Brother, you can drop him now.”

   I looked back at Becker, the back of his head was flattened against the wall, and there was a crown of blood spattered like a halo around it, “Uh, yeah, yeah.” As I withdrew my fingers from his nostrils, it made a gag worthy sucking, popping sound. I hurriedly wiped the blood and mucus from my fingers on the leg of my pants. When I turned around and faced the room, it was full of people rushing about. Menendez was lying on the floor as one of the medics was checking her out, I saw her move slightly, that was good. Nadia was still in the chair, but no longer restrained, another medic was working on her injuries as someone else was wrapping her in what appeared to be a sheet. Near the doorway I saw Debra and Danni, Danni was holding Debra’s arm as if she was holding her back. Luckily, Debra had my cane in one of her hands. I motioned to the cane and she pulled away from Danni and hurried to me.

   “How bad is it? I saw when he kicked you.”

   “Not good, I almost blacked out, and I’m still feeling a little worse for wear.”

   “Are you dizzy? You’re really pale and washed out looking.” She tipped my face and looked at me, “Your eyes are dilated, did he hit you? In the head, maybe?”

   My left leg buckled and I barely caught myself from falling, “Dan! Help me get him to a chair! Somethings wrong! Danni! A little help, please?” She grabbed and lifted my left arm and shoved her shoulder into my armpit to try and hold me up, excruciating pain wrapped around my chest, I groaned loudly and tried to pull away, but started to go down on her instead. I pushed up with both legs to take my weight from her and both legs collapsed. Pain radiated over the length of my right leg as waves of pain seemed to starburst from my side and I went to my knees.

   Danni said loudly, “Rick! Are you done with Menendez, yet? We’ve got a situation here!”

   He was inserting a needle in Stacy’s arm, preparing it for an IV, but he glanced at me and then back to the needle, “I’m almost done here, but check his left side, I can see blood dripping on the floor from here.”

   At the same time, Danni said, “Debra, your shoulder is bloody!” Danni dropped to her knees in front of me and started releasing my FLC in preparation to removing it, “Let’s get this off so we can see what’s going on better.”

   I felt the vest come off and another wave of pain swept through me, “You better move, Danni, I think I’m going to throw up.”

   “This a brand-new combat shirt; you better not puke on it!” She shifted a bit and said, “Debbie, pull his shirt off and, wait, is that an entrance wound?”

   “Oh, yeah,” I said. “I got shot.”

   Debra ducked down and pulled the shirt farther up, “Oh, my, god! The son-of-a-bitch shot him with a hollow point! Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!”

   Rick, the medic, bumped into Debra and pushed her aside, “Tarn, MOVE, do it now!”

   Then I heard Packer’s voice, “Monroe! Smith! Escort Tarn out of this room, hell no, escort her back to the barracks and if you have to, put her in the guardhouse until she calms down!”

   “No! Please, Major, he needs me, please…”

   “You’re right, he needs, you, not a screaming banshee! Are you good to go?”

   The whole room grew quiet and finally I heard her say, “Yes, Sir, I’m good to go.”

   “Alright then, but Smith and Monroe have their eyes on you, understand?”

   She answered, “Yes, Sir,” as she knelt down and took my hand. “I’m here, Honey, I’m right here.”

   I nodded, “I know, Babe, but I’m getting really tired, I’m going to close my eyes for a minute.”

   “Rick?” There was a hint of panic in her voice.

   “At the moment it’s probably best, this has got to hurt.”

   I wasn’t really asleep, maybe somewhere in between asleep and awake.

   “In here guys, but we need another stretcher.”

   Mumbling back and forth and finally, “No, take him, I can walk out of here, hell, I want to walk out of here. I want that son-of-a-bitch Marlow to see me walk out of here! That asshole helped that guy tie me to the chair!”

   “Good for you,” It was Danni speaking,” You’re Nadia, right?”

   “Nadia Tooles.”

   “We can use an attitude like that in the Auxiliary; you interested?”

   “I wasn’t before, I thought it was just a bunch of people playing weekend soldier, but now? Yeah, I’m interested.”

   “When you get released for work, come see me at the EXSEC Bunker, okay?”

   “You can count on it.”

   I vaguely heard people moving away, and then I was placed on a stretcher as someone said to make sure I was well secured because they might have to elevate one end to fit in the elevator. I sort of remember watching the overhead lights streaming by, but only barely.