Chemical Burn (37 page)

Sirens

I had left around eleven a.m., gone to my loft, and taken the Chrysler to Yvgenny’s. I said hello to Yvgenny’s granddaughters, graciously accepted their thanks, and told them it was my pleasure. The repairs were, as Yvgenny had said, simply lovely. I could hardly tell where the shotgun blasts hit. Yvgenny had the vests, and I asked about Glocks. We went into the basement where he kept his inventory, and the old Russian let me pick out what I wanted. It was a fast drive back to the loft where I gathered what I needed out of the van and grabbed my black coat and boots. I also had to go into my ship’s cargo hold to get two extra pairs of goggles for the ladies. Tucking everything away, I returned to the house via the front door.

I handed out the vests to each of them when I walked into the living room. Mag trotted along with me. I tossed two Glock .40s with silencers onto the sofa as well, each in a shoulder holster, and followed those up with two extra clips apiece.

“Compliments of Yvgenny,” I said. “I thought you might feel more comfortable with those, and you never know when you might need one. Only handle those with gloves, please, and make sure you’re wearing them tonight.”

Wearing rubber gloves, Marsha had Whisper out and several boxes of 7.62 Match rounds lying in front of her. She examined each one and buffed the tips with ultra-fine sandpaper, taking off any burs and scratches exactly as her father had shown her. As she finished each one, she’d slip it into a waiting clip. There were two completed clips on her left and three waiting on the right.

“Here, you’ll need these as well,” I said. I reached into the backpack and pulled out the goggles for Rachel and Marsha. Xen still had the pair he’d used for our night visits to VeniCorp. “Xen, here’s the detonator. You remember what to do, right?”

“Yep,” he said with certainty. He slipped it into the black pants he would be wearing.

“One last thing.” I handed out earbuds identical to the ones I’d used when Natalia and I had spied on Pyotr. “Commlinks. Nobody talks unless they have to. Xen, you’re our eyes on the ground, Rachel, you’re eyes in the air. Call out when you see anyone but me, and tell me how many and which direction they’re going. I’ll take care of the rest. If you hear me say get out, that’s the drill. No matter what, you all understand me?”

“Yes,” they said in unison. Rachel gave me a comforting look. “I promise,” she added stoically.

“Okay, let’s go over it one more time. As soon as the sun goes down, I’m heading out. Turn the music up loud on the patio and party your asses off, okay? In the unlikely event that the neighbors peek over the fence, tell them I’m out getting beer or something.”

The moment the sun went down, I checked the building log to make sure the alarm was still off and that no one had gone in. Satisfied it was clear, Mag and I headed out the door. I could tell everyone was nervous as I walked out to the garage, but it didn’t worry me. In fact, I’d have been surprised if any of them wasn’t nervous.

I fired up Abby’s Bronco—I’d rigged it so the ignition didn’t need a key—pulled out and drove exactly the speed limit all the way to the plant. I used the same dirt road as before, killing the lights as soon as I left the highway. My goggles let me see what I needed. I parked the Bronco, lining up roughly where I thought the back door of the office building would be, and got out.

Putting on my black jacket, I cinched up the ankle straps and made sure I had all of my gear. A quick jog across the desert showed me that I was dead on. The back door of the office building lay directly in front of me as I came over the rise. Mag paced me, and we made an invisible approach through the desert night.

The compound had changed somewhat since my last visit. The double row of tanks in the southeast corner was still there, but they’d extended it another six columns towards the office building, taking up both the dirt field and parking lot that used to be there. The parking lot was now on the north side of the building and wrapped around the front. As I watched, I noted that they’d doubled the patrol around the perimeter from two pair to four. I had to assume that there were more armed men inside as well.

Drug dealers are so touchy about protecting their product
, I thought. There were still only two men in the guard building by the front gate, though. That was something, at least.

I spent an hour circling the entire facility at a fast jog to see if there had been any more changes. I spotted a new pumping station up against the row of storage tanks that had pipes running between itself, the tanks, and the main lab. Beyond those, towards the office building, someone had parked a white van, and two fork trucks. As I continued around, I noted a similar pumping station on the west side of the lab that connected pipes between the lab and the main facility. I could blow the whole thing right now if I wanted, but that wouldn’t give O’Neil what he needed. I would have to do it the hard way.

It was nine-fifteen when I got back to my original position. Mag and I jogged down the hill towards the building as a pair of guards passed by the back door of the office. I would have to work quickly. The next set of guards turned the far corner of the storage tanks as I slipped the pack off and pulled out a spool of what looked like sticky fishing line.

Grabbing the end stuck in the notch of the spool, I pulled out a few feet and dangled the end of the line near a link at the bottom of the fence. It drifted up against the link and stuck to it like a spider’s web, invisible in the darkness. Pulling more off the spool, I stood up and traced an arc with the line over the surface of the fence as high as I could reach and then down again about ten feet to my right. The line adhered to the chain linking of the fence as soon as it touched the steel. When I got to the ground on the other end of the arc, I pulled the line firmly, snapping it with about three inches extra that lay in the sand.

I looked to my left and saw the guards about halfway down the line of tanks. With time to spare, I opened the pack and pulled out a small gray case that snapped open, revealing what looked like large white grains of rice or small capsules. I carefully removed one and closed the case, slipping it back into the pack. Getting down on all fours, I peered at the bottom of the fence where the three inches of line were hanging off and stuck the capsule firmly on the end of the line.

I grabbed the pack and stepped away from the fence, silently moving across the desert towards the two guards coming at me. I stopped and crouched down about twenty feet from the fence as they walked by. Pulling out the gray coil of zipper, I waited for them to get near the corner of the building and stepped up to the fence. I uncoiled the zipper, laid it on the fence silently and pulled the fob up, opening a gap in the fence. I stepped through, and Mag darted past me across the open space between the storage tanks. I pulled the fob down, closing the fence behind me. I grabbed the end and pulled it off of the fence, the material of the splitter seeming to ooze through the chain linking.

I followed Mag into the shadows of the towers as the next set of guards came into view around the corner.

I pulled out my phone, typed in “NOW” and sent it to Rachel’s phone. Mag and I worked our way south between the storage towers and came out behind the pumping facility, well hidden in its shadow.

“I’m in,” Xen’s voice came in over the commlink.

“Get in position and start working on the computer. Copy everything you can. Keep an eye out for the limo. It should be here soon.” I couldn’t see Xen from my position, but I’d be able to see the arrival of the ladies. I stood up in the shadows, peered over the top of the pumping station, and focused in on the top of the tower. This was the risky part. A small light over the door illuminated the area. The rest of the platform that went around the top was dark. However, if one of the snipers happened to look for those few critical seconds, it could get hairy. From my position I could only see the top of the door. I saw the door open outward and then close.

“We’re through,” Rachel’s voice came in crystal clear.

I scanned the entire compound as quickly as I could, starting with the snipers on top of the lab. Nobody moved. In the darkness above, I could see Marsha step up to the railing, take her bearings, scope in the four men on the roof below her, and then step back up against the superstructure. Rachel needed to stand on the other side of the tower, watch Marsha’s back, and be the eyes in the sky if something went wrong on the ground.

“Marsha, call out when those two on the south perimeter turn the corner,” I said as I watched the two men coming towards me along the fence line. “When you call it out, drop your four.”

“I can’t see the very end,” she replied with a slightly worried tone. The two men had cleared the end of the restricted building and were at the halfway point towards the corner of the perimeter.

“Guestimate,” I offered. “Xen, is the yard clear?”

There was a pause. Finally, he said, “Yes. You’re clear.”

“Get ready, Mag,” I whispered as we moved around the pumping station and stepped into the clear. The men passed my position, slowly walking towards the corner. I waited about fifteen seconds.

“Go now,” Marsha said calmly. The rifle whispered.

I darted out, pumping my legs as fast as I could. I hadn’t taken ten steps when I saw a camouflage military cap come over the edge of the lab roof and fall to the ground on the other side of the high wall that enclosed the building.

“You lost a hat,” I said as I ran.

“Sorry. Nothing I could do. It’s around the corner from the entrance. There’s no one walking the inner perimeter, so we should be fine. Targets are down.”

“Nice shooting,” I said as I dashed between the two fork-trucks and crouched down. “Xen, all quiet?”

“Clear …” There was a ten second pause. “Wait … Car coming in.”

“Places, everyone. Here we go,” I said. “Walk me through it, Xen.”

“Car is approaching the gate … a limo … guards out … one in front of the limo, one at the back window … the one at the window is talking … nods his head … more talking … shrugs … nods … hands over walkie-talkie to someone in the limo … more talking … nods … both guards head to booth … gate up … limo through and heading your way …
quickly
. The guards are back in the booth, talking. One is talking into walkie-talkie, and the other is picking up the phone.”

“Shit, I think we’ve been made,” I said.

“How?” Xen asked, perplexed.

Seconds ticked by.

“Shit!” Xen yelled. “Four guys just came out of the main facility and got into a car by the gate!” I could hear Xen’s breathing get rapid. “They’re hauling ass straight for me!”

“Stay calm, everyone. I factored this in as a possibility. Marsha, you see a head on the perimeter or in the compound, put a bullet through it. Work from the outside in and try to drop them out of view from the others. Make sure DiMarco can’t see anything till he’s out of the limo.”

“Roger that,” she said.

“Rachel, spot for her and listen for anyone coming up after you.”

I watched the limo come down the pavement at me as I crouched behind the fork truck. Marsha’s rifled
whispered
again.

“The car is coming right for the building!” Xen blurted. “Holy shit!” he shouted as he saw one of the windows of the guard building erupt inward. The guard with the phone dropped straight down, and the other dropped practically on top of him behind the desks.

“Guards at front gate down,” Marsha said calmly. “Rachel, we’ve got company coming up … six flights down.”

“Xen, get the data and get out. Can you make the door?”

“I’m copying the data now, and no. They’ve got machine guns … they’d probably hose me before I got through it …” A few more seconds passed. “Copy complete.”

More whispers.

“Two guards in the northeast corner down,” Marsha said.

As the limo passed by, Mag and I crouched and stepped in behind, pacing it as it approached the gate. Both the steel gate and the garage door began opening.

Xen’s voice came in over the comm. “… Oh Jesus … the back door … I hear voices … Marsha, do all four in front have rifles?”

Another
whisper
. Someone hit an alarm somewhere, and a harsh siren blared through the entire facility.

“Yes … and I nicked one in the shoulder as they went in. He dropped the rifle, and it’s lying by the car.”

“I have an idea,” Xen said suddenly very calm.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Xen. Get out of there.” I looked inside the lab for the first time and saw four men in cammies standing on top of an inner building.

“Trust me.…” Xen said mimicking my own tone, which didn’t make me feel any better.

“Mag, go help Xen!” I hissed as I paced the limo into the inner compound.

Mag bolted.

“Xen, when they come upstairs, go out the back window and make a break for the Bronco. Mag is on the way.”

The limousine pulled into the restricted building and came to a stop. The garage door began rolling down. I looked around for what I could use as cover, but there wasn’t much.

Whisper. “Two down, south east perimeter,” Marsha said.

I winced as the sound of a machine gun going off in a small space blasted through my earpiece. Then all sound cut off for a few seconds.

O O O

Xen, his back to the wall, waited outside the elevators. The doors opened and a barrel slid into view. In a flash, Xen grabbed the barrel and spun into the elevator, using it as a shield and smashing into two men. The gun cooked off, the burst splashing bullets through the wall and ceiling. Sparks flew everywhere, and Xen felt several shards of metal nick his face. The man against the wall bled from the face as shards of metal tore through him. Xen’s ears were ringing, and he couldn’t hear a thing, but training kept him focused.

The third man in the elevator raised his own barrel, but the blade of the letter opener Xen had picked up off Shao’s desk disappeared quickly into the surprised guy’s left eye socket. An instant later Xen sent a hard knee up into the groin of the man holding the other end of the M-16 gripped tightly in Xen’s hand. The gun came free as the guy doubled over with a harsh grunt. The one with the letter opener stuck in his eye slid down the wall and collapsed in a heap, his M-16 clattering on the floor.