Pandora's Succession (33 page)

When she got nearer to the five Hexagon helicopters, she saw the two furthest away from the blast tunnel had sustained the most gunfire damage. Whether they could still fly or not remained a mystery to her. To her dismay and relief, she saw Fox escorted at gunpoint by Tanaka. He looked roughed up, and had the cuts and bruises to his face to prove it. He also limped on one leg. But if a small man like Tanaka did that to a man like Fox, she could only assume there was more to Tanaka than she thought.

She saw the recruits, visibly shaken, being led back to the rest of the group by two ninjas. Seeing the group and how vulnerable they were when Marx preyed on them made her breathe hard and clench her right fist. But then again, she knew she had to share some of the blame. When she looked back at Fox, the only thought that came to her was that he held them off for as long as he could and was lucky to still be alive. Now the baton was passed on to her to finish what he started.

Three more ninjas hastily returned. They ran up to Tabitha Marx and bowed before her. “The Arms of Ares has been dealt with. The landslide did away with many of them. My men and I finished off the survivors.”

Tanaka ordered two of the ninjas to guard Fox closely before Marx turned to Tanaka. “Has he been searched?”

“I took the liberty. He’s clean,” Tanaka replied.

Marx then handed her AK-74 to the ninja next to her. “Somehow I get the feeling you’re partially responsible for this. Maybe I should be thanking you.”

“I’m flattered,” Fox replied. “But I was hoping you’d be among the buried.”

Marx laughed as she made a point in showing Fox her Px4 Storm Type F Sub-compact Beretta, holstered at her waist. “From the way you look, you’re better off taking care of yourself. Come along, there’s still much work to be done.” She then turned to the two ninjas that watched over him. “Tie up his hands. I don’t want any more trouble from him.”

The ninjas did as they were told and tied Fox’s left hand to his disabled right arm in front of him. Marx led the rest of the group into the blast tunnel.

Frantically, Hashimoto ran up alongside her as they entered the blast tunnel. “I must protest Fox’s presence with us. He’s caused us too much trouble already, and he nearly got us all killed back there. We should kill him now and be done with him.”

“Pandora’s safe behind several feet of steel and rock. The best way to punish Fox is to make him watch the destruction of the human race. Show him how he’s failed. He’ll be so broken he’ll beg to be killed.”

When she came to the combination keypad beside the door, she punched in the seven-digit access code. There was a beeping sound and the heavy steel door dragged against the ground as it opened.

Fox was behind Marx, Hashimoto, and Tanaka as they walked through a darkened corridor until they reached a wider, well-lit entrance area with a marble staircase that led down into the foyer. There were four majestic white stone pillars, two on either side with a ceiling that was at least twenty feet high. From that room, there were hallways leading off in three separate directions. Had he been blindfolded before being brought to the bunker he might have mistaken it for a palace. It made sense—it was all part of the setup to convince The Promise’s members that they would always live in the best conditions. With the exception of the recruits who were led down a separate hallway, Fox, along with the others, made haste straight ahead into a room that was less picturesque.

In actuality, they were on the inside of a cave with lamp fixtures and equipment, with short staircases that connected three adjacent floors. The only things that were missing were the stalagmites, the stalactites, and the bats hanging from the ceiling.

One of the male workers in a white lab coat ran downstairs to greet Hashimoto and Marx. “We’re relieved that you’re safe. The ninja reinforcements you dispatched earlier were sent out the moment the Arms of Ares arrived, just as you instructed, Dr. Marx.”

“Is everything else on schedule?” Marx asked.

“We’re moving forward. Pandora’s Box is up and running. Additional amounts of the food supplement are waiting to be added at your request, Doctor,” replied the white-coat.

Marx nodded. “Do it now. We need to move up our timetable.”

To no surprise to Fox, the ninjas made him follow Marx and Hashimoto upstairs, where they walked to the end of the deck, to a glass partition. Through it, Fox recognized Pandora’s Box. It matched the schematics Parris had shown him on the laptop earlier. It had a cylindrical glass tube that was about two feet in diameter that ran through the ceiling, through the rock and out above ground. It was attached to a broad, round base console that was four times its diameter.

Marx glanced at Fox. “I introduce you to Pandora’s Box. It’s different from the legend, in appearance that is, but can yield so much devastation when opened.”

“So this is it? I got to hand it to you, using Valerik’s knowledge of this abandoned bunker’s whereabouts and Hexagon’s resources to make the necessary adjustments, you’ve managed to brainwash some helpless young people into worshipping the ground you walk on.”

Hashimoto stepped closer to Fox. “It had to be done.”

“I’ll bet,” said Fox. “Although you see yourself as their savior, I see you as nothing more than another terrorist organization, albeit of a different breed.”

Hashimoto gasped as he looked at Fox. “Your government has started more wars and created more problems worldwide than any other nation. Yet, you have the audacity to call us terrorists?”

“Come on, Hashimoto. You’re just a drone, or should I say, a
puppet
.” Fox then turned to Marx. “Isn’t that right? When you sum it all up, you’re more than a terrorist, you’re just plain sick.”

Those eyes of hers grew cold again. But Fox wouldn’t be intimidated by her this time. He stared right back into them.

“Dr. Marx, we’re ready to proceed,” said one of the scientists. She looked over her shoulder at the man, then back at Fox and walked up to him. When she smacked him, the stinging remained on one cheek for a few seconds before she back-handed him across the other cheek.
Her slim figure doesn’t make her much of a combat fighter, but fuck, she hits hard.

“I’ll be right there,” she answered. No sooner had she said so, than the room fell into complete darkness.

“Secure Fox!” yelled a panicked Hashimoto.

Fox was grabbed and forced face-down into the floor. Fox grunted through gritted teeth at the searing pain in his shoulder, ribs, and ankle.

“What’s happening?” yelled Marx, who was a bit calmer than Hashimoto.

“The primary electric generator’s gone out! The secondary one should pick up any second now,” came a reply. Darkness remained for a few more seconds before the lights came back on.

“How long before the full systems are back online?” Marx asked.

“In a few minutes,” said one of the white-coats.

“Make it less,” yelled Marx.

Marx looked at the ninjas. They had pinned Fox to the ground. “Take him to the side and don’t take your eyes off of him.”

The ninjas pulled Fox up and led him away. He had finally gotten to Marx. When he was at the top of the staircase he glanced back. She still had not stopped staring at him. He then limped down the stairs as the ninjas held onto him, wondering how he could stall them until the reinforcements arrived.

Chapter 35

Parris remained in the back of the ninja group. She’d have to break away soon before someone questioned the bullet hole in the chest of her outfit. The blood stains were not as visible when she checked, but she’d have to act fast. So far, no one had mentioned her name. Fox must have convinced them that he was alone. She glanced around briefly, as she passed the first set of pillars, on her way down into the entrance hall.

Something wasn’t right. Where’s Tanaka? This was just great, maybe he noticed me and was about to sneak up on me.
Just keep cool
, she reminded herself.

She got down on one knee and tightened the laces of her boots. Surreptitiously she watched the crowd split into two. The recruits were led down one hallway while the others walked straight ahead. Fox was among them. She looked around to spot Tanaka. There was still no sign of him.
If Tanaka was watching me from someplace, why would he try to jump me on his own? Why not call back the ninjas?

Parris got back up and rushed to the Op-Center doorway where she saw Fox conversing with Marx in front of a window on the upper platform. To her right she saw the top of a staircase that led down into the isolation chamber that housed Pandora’s Box. But no one would go in there ordinarily dressed. They’d need HAZMAT clothing.

She looked to the opposite side and saw the entrance to another room, possibly a changing room. As she walked towards it, no one seemed to give her presence a second thought. So much the better. Matters went smoothly until suddenly the Op-Center plunged into darkness, followed by Hashimoto yelling to secure Fox. She had no clue as to what happened but it was the opportunity she needed, and she used it to run to the room. When she felt a change in the floor’s surface from stone to ceramic, she knew she was in the room.

The lights turned back on and she spotted two men in silver reflecting HAZMAT suits, about to head towards her. She quickly ducked behind a counter before they turned around to walk her way. She heard their footsteps get louder, and she walked in a crouch around the opposite side of the counter as they passed her. She then ran from where they came and arrived at a closet where there were over a dozen HAZMAT suits. She closed the door behind her, removed her mask, and quickly dressed over what she wore. She took out the poison from the pants pocket and put it in an outer pocket of her suit, along with the bayonet and scabbard.

Parris made it to the Op-Center just as she saw the other two men in HAZMAT suits at the top of the staircase that lead to the isolation chamber. She walked fast and caught up with them as she heard Hashimoto’s voice boom out over the loud speaker.

“Everyone is to report to the main control room immediately. Our moment to shine is now.”

The entire group would be here soon. And still no sign of Tanaka.

Naturally, Pandora’s chamber was separated by an airlock which doubled as a decontamination chamber. The scientist closest to the door pressed a button beside it. There was a loud hiss as the air seal was broken, and the door slid to the side. They all walked in, and after Parris stepped inside, it automatically closed behind her. The same scientist pressed another button when they arrived at the second door. The door opened for them and also closed behind Parris as all three of them entered.

Parris saw Pandora’s Box for the first time, exactly as she had seen it in the diagrams she viewed with Fox on the laptop. She looked at the base of the structure and saw exactly where she would pour in the serum. She stole a glance to her upper left, to the window, and saw a few of the white-coats. The other two men went to Pandora’s Box where one of them took out a vial similar to the ones both she and Fox had. Only she knew this one had the nutritional supplement. Neither one of them had looked at her directly—she did what she could to avoid looking at them. But she had to draw them both away from Pandora’s Box long enough to insert the serum. That’s when she reached down and felt the handle of her bayonet.

She walked behind the man with the vial and slowly drew the M-11 so that the metal didn’t even hum as it slid against its scabbard. Pinching the spot above his waist slightly to the left of the middle of the man’s suit, she quickly sliced it and replaced the bayonet into its scabbard. She took out the serum and tapped the man on the shoulder frantically. He turned around while Parris grabbed the other man’s shoulder and pointed to the tear in his colleague’s suit. In the brief moment of hysteria that erupted between the two of them, the man with the torn suit put his vial down on top of the machine while he tried to feel for the tear. While his colleague helped him locate it, Parris poured the serum into the open slot.

The scientist with the tear in his suit immediately ran to the exit when a white-coat from upstairs inquired through the intercom as to what had happened. Parris had nearly emptied the serum when suddenly Pandora’s Box fell silent.

Parris backed away and looked at it in disbelief.
A second power failure? No, it can’t be. Not now.
She heard the hissing from the airlock and looked over to see five ninjas rush in and surround her. The other HAZMAT scientists backed away towards the wall, puzzled. Parris realized there was no power failure and that Pandora’s Box was turned off from inside the Op-Center. When she looked up, Dr. Marx, Hashimoto and the white-coats looked down at her.

One of the ninjas came up behind Parris and made her face the window where the others watched. Parris saw the surprised look on Hashimoto’s face but there was no change in Marx’s expression. If there was one thing she could say about Marx it was that she was a woman who had learned to mask her emotions.

Parris heard what sounded like a command come from one of the ninjas who shoved her forward towards the airlock. It was all over. Not only had Fox failed, but so had she. There was no decontamination process since no hazardous material had leaked. The ninjas made her remove her HAZMAT gear, leaving her in the ninja garments. Soon she stood beside Fox with two ninja guards behind her. Hashimoto and Marx watched as they stood by the rail on the floor above.