Starfire Page 15

  Jackie eyed the door. “Come on,” she said. “Tell me a few things.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, but she put up a hand. “Not about what’s behind this door. You don’t have to tell me that. I want to know what this door can do. If I tried to open it, what would happen?”

  “At this point, it wouldn’t recognize you. You would fail to open it.”

  “Right. But what if I tried to force it? What if the people on the inside wanted to stop me?”

  “Then you would be stopped.”

  “Physically?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me how.”

  “I fail to see—”

  She put up her hand again. “Indulge me.”

  He pointed to the floor first. “Do you see the surface you’re standing on? The last floor panel between the door and the rest of the corridor?”

  She looked down, frowning. She tapped at it experimentally with her foot. The sound—yes, it was different. As she’d come down to this point along the corridor, she’d been so busy looking at the door itself she hadn’t consciously considered the floor under her feet.

  “It’s metal,” she said. “The rest—back there ten feet—that’s composite.”

  He nodded.

  “A metal floor…What? Does it open up and drop you into a pit of alligators?”

  “Hardly.”

  “Well then…do you mean it electrocutes you? Touching the door itself…that could complete a circuit. But it would only work if the subject’s shoes weren’t a heavy insulator. I’m wearing rubber soles. It seems like an iffy trap.”

  Major Clark bent his knees and squatted. He touched the floor with a single finger.

  “Do you see these holes?”

  She did. They were small holes. They were all over the place. About the size a nail might make if hammered through it.

  She straightening up again, looking worried. “Spikes? Are you telling me that the floor fires spikes up into your foot and you’re electrocuted? That’s insane!”

  “I’ve told you nothing, Dr. Linscott. I’ve only pointed out a few curious details at your request.”

  Jackie nodded. She got it. He wasn’t supposed to be discussing security with a non-committed “employee”.

  She wondered then what would really happen if she refused to join up and tried to walk out right now. Maybe she knew too much already. What she was clear on was that they had a firm grip on her—probably legally as well as physically.

  Every instinct told her to run, to escape this place—to do or say anything that might allow her to go back home tonight and jog along the beach behind her house again.

  But part of her could not help but remember that she had no job at home to go back to. And these people, crazy or not, had offered her more money per month than she usually made in a year.

  “I’ve got one last question for you, Major Clark,” she said.

  “What is it?”

  “What choice did Detective Perez make when you gave him this little speech?”

  He smiled. “He reached this point far earlier than you did. He’s joined the program, and he now stands watching you from the far side of that door. He’s committed.”

  She nodded, eyeing the man and noting for the first time that no one had ever opened one of those many doors along the corridor behind her. The others were either all empty, or they were watching, waiting for her to make her decision.

  “All right,” she said. “I’m in. Open the door.”

  Major Clark smiled. “You’re certain?”

  “I said so. Open it before someone leans on the flame-thrower button by mistake and burns us to a crisp.”

  Clark chuckled. “What made you decide to do it in the end?”

  She looked at him. He was all psychiatrist. He wanted to study her, she could feel it. She empathized with the hundreds of lab rats that had perished after being relentlessly poked and prodded by this man’s hands in college.

  “Honestly, you have my curiosity burning,” she admitted. “How could I come so far and not know why you wanted me this badly? The possibilities, the implications—that’s why I’m signing up. Everyone wants to be part of something big.”

  “Well, in that case, I think I can assure you that your hopes will be met, and probably exceeded.”

  “Good. But you never answered one of my questions, Clark. What made you decide to let me out of my room? Why today?”

  “Because I judged that you were ready, Dr. Linscott.”

  It galled her, but she realized that he had judged correctly. Was this all part of some kind of manipulative Stockholm Syndrome effect? She hated the idea that she’d been maneuvered into something she didn’t want to do.

  But she also wanted to know what this was all about. She’d come so far, and at this point she realized she had to know the truth.

  Major Clark worked the door’s security system. Mechanisms shunted and clicked. Her heart thudded in her chest.

  When the door finally swung open with a smooth whirring sound, Jackie couldn’t believe what she saw inside the vast chamber beyond.

  Chapter 23

  The Bering Sea

  Day

  Working together for days, Burkov and Director Norin had managed to drive the sub toward Russia. They hadn’t dared to surface north of Siberia. There were a few ports up there, but there were too many icebergs this time of year. Navigating as carefully as they could using what instruments they had working, they were able to take the boat through the Bering Strait and down into the Gulf of Anadyr. There, they dared to surface.

  Cringing and feeling the back of his neck tingle, Burkov studied the metal roof of the sub overhead. They could hit anything on the way up—but they had to surface. The sub journey had taken too long, and the boat had been in bad shape to begin with. The carbon scrubbers weren’t working up to par, and even with just two people aboard, the air was becoming stale and soon would turn toxic. In addition, their batteries were running low.

  They surfaced at last with a sickening lurch, but no crash of metal against ice. Burkov smiled in relief. Donning parkas, they rushed the ladder. They climbed up to the hatch and cranked it open. A freezing spray lashed their uplifted faces. The fresh air that followed was glorious.

  They climbed up into the conning tower, enjoying the icy air and the gray skies. A light sprinkling of hailstones hit their heads, and it made them happy.

  “Lev?” Director Norin said from behind him. “Thanks for all your help getting here. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “The next step is to get the communications gear working. We must call for a rescue.”

  “Unfortunately, I can do that part by myself.”

  Lev’s smile faded. He turned slowly away from the open sea to face her. She had a gun aimed at his belly.

  They stood there together inside the conning tower for a quiet moment. Norin smiled, and Lev smiled back.

  “How’d you get the gun?”

  “I stashed it at the beginning. I thought you would cooperate more fully if you believed you were in control of the situation.”

  “Well played,” Lev said, nodding to her. “You almost did it right.”

  Her face faltered slightly. She took a firm grip on her gun.

  “This is where we must part ways, faithful Lev,” she said. “The authorities will want a story. I’ll make sure you play the part of a hero in mine.”

  Lev shook his head slowly. “No, that is not how things will go. You have made a fatal error.”

  “Turn around,” she said, beginning to lift her pistol toward his face.

  “Stop. Do not lift the gun any higher, or I’ll be forced to move immediately.”

  She froze, staring. “What do you mean? Are you mad?”

  “You’re two feet from me. I will probably take a bullet in the belly, but I can still throw you off this ship before you get a second shot at me. It would most likely result in a bad ending for both of us. Probably, I will die, yes. But as y
ou clearly intend to kill me, that means nothing. I must take my chance. You have forced my hand.”

  He thought she might be shaking slightly, but she was still in control of her face. She twisted her lips into thin lines. “Turn around.”

  “No. Here’s how this is going to happen,” he said calmly. “You will listen to me Kira, if you want to live for at least another minute. You will allow me to take that gun. If you would rather die than go to prison—well, all right. I can understand that. Shoot me now, in the belly. It will be your last act, but it will be a brave one.”

  Now her hand was trembling. Events were not proceeding the way she’d planned. He was certain of that.

  “It will be your choice,” he said. “I’m pulling my hand out of my pocket, and I’m going to reach out slowly for the gun. Make your decision, Kira.”

  With exaggerated care, Lev reached out with his hand until it closed over the barrel of her pistol. He felt her tense—but she didn’t do it.

  He gently removed the gun from her hand, released the magazine, and threw both into the sea. She watched him, aghast.

  “Help me get the communications system operating,” he said.

  “I’m not going to help you do anything.”

  Lev shook his head again. “Untrue. Stop wasting our time. You want to live. You’ve made that very clear. I’m tired of this boat, despite your gracious company.”

  Grumbling, she followed him to the lockers, and they broke out tools. The antennae was damaged, but it hadn’t snapped off entirely. They spent long cold hours laboring on it, but before darkness fell over the cold sea, they were able to get a signal relayed to Moscow. An answer to their pleas for help came back swiftly through the encoding system.

  Your position has been pinpointed. Maintain your position. Do not submerge, or depth charges will be dropped.

  Lev looked at Kira and snorted as he read the message. “Not the warm greeting we were hoping for, eh?”

  “There is little warmth in the Kremlin these days,” she said. There was a distinct hint of bitterness in her voice.

  Chapter 24

  Lab 126, Alaska’s North Slope

  Day

  By the next “morning,” which was marked by slightly lighter gray skies outside, Dr. Tanaka and Edwin had sorted things out with the surviving scientists. They no longer doubted one another’s intentions. Better yet, local law enforcement had made a belated appearance. They’d managed to restore power, and federal forces were closing in.

  The helicopters buzzed overhead, but Yuki barely had the presence of mind to recognize the sound. Her vision was blurred, and she’d begun to run a fever.

  The others took care of her, with Edwin directing the effort. They plied her with what antibiotics and fresh bandages they had—but they knew it wouldn’t be enough.

  “We’ll have to get her out of here,” Edwin said insistently.

  The others shook their heads in concern. “The Homeland Security people will never allow it,” the bespectacled older man said. He was Dr. Hollander, an oceanographer. “They’ve become absolutely paranoid of late—and I must admit I now understand why.”

  Edwin seemed agitated. Yuki watched him blearily. She knew he would do his best to get her through this. She was so thirsty. She signaled this to the others, who gave her icy water through a straw.

  She couldn’t quite understand how all her strength had gone out of her once she’d realized she was no longer in danger. The adrenaline that had kept her going for so long, so many miles and injuries, abandoned her all at once. Now, she was exhausted and sick.

  “We could take her back to Barrow,” Edwin said. “She might still need surgery and there’s only emergency power here. I need better equipment.”

  “They’re sending more medical people out here.”

  Edwin fretted and grumbled. He checked her wounds, peering at them every few minutes. She put a hand out to touch his. He leaned close.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m feeling a little better already. That Demerol shot you gave me must be kicking in.”

  He eyed her with suspicious worry. She forced a smile and opened her eyes more widely. The world swam and spun a little, but she ignored this.

  Edwin appeared to be relieved. “You hang on, Yuki. We’ll get you out of this.”

  After another grim hour of waiting, aircraft began arriving in a swarm. It was odd, hearing them roar overhead. Where had they come from? There couldn’t have been an Air Force Base this far north, could there?

  The aircraft were helicopters for the most part. They glided in over the frosty ocean and landed on the flat snow banks nearby.

  Armed men came rushing along the raised walkways between the buildings. They disarmed Edwin and took the Molotov cocktails the others still hoarded. They declared the lab secure and took up defensive positions around the base.

  An unsmiling captain came in to speak with them. Yuki had to force herself to sit upright.

  “Captain?” Edwin asked. “I’m the sole survivor from the lab’s security force. Can you tell me if we have medical aid coming?”

  “Yes. They’ll be here shortly. I’ve given the all-clear. You have to understand, we had to lock down the lab first.”

  “Of course. Any idea who attacked us? Or why?”

  “That’s not my job. I’m assuming some very confused terrorists did this—I mean, very few people even know this lab exists. Attacking it isn’t much of a statement.”

  Edwin frowned at him, not liking the answer.

  “Excuse me, Captain,” Yuki managed to get out of her dry throat. It seemed that no matter how much she drank, her throat remained parched. “Where did you come from?”

  “Ladd Army Airfield, ma’am,” he said. “We’re the closest facility, and we were ordered to respond once the matter was deemed to be a threat to national security.”

  “Who, exactly, made that determination?”

  He looked at her for a moment. “I’m not sure—you’re Dr. Tanaka?”

  “Yes,” she said, surprised he knew her name.

  “Glad to see you made it. I just follow orders, doctor. I don’t question them much.”

  She nodded and lay back down on a makeshift bed they’d constructed on the floor out of folded parkas. She didn’t like to think that the previous owners of those coats were dead—but they probably were.

  They moved her shortly after that to the lab’s commissary. It wasn’t much, but the medical equipment was adequate. She had time to reflect on the unfairness of life in general. She’d been safely playing with her underwater robots a few days earlier. Now, her life was in turmoil and constant danger at the top of the world.

  A rush of support people came in after the army had set up camp. There were doctors, nurses and engineers. They repaired the fences, removed the bodies, aided the injured and repaired equipment. Meanwhile, the combat troops set up circles of plastic containers on the neighboring ridges.

  The next day, after a transfusion and a number of superior drugs, Yuki was able to walk again. She commented on the fortifications to Edwin. “Are those machine guns up there?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Fifty caliber, one of the nice new M-2s. You can change out those barrels in a jiffy. They aren’t screwing around.”

  “What are those big plastic containers?” she asked.

  “They haul them up there with the helicopters, then fill them with rocks and dirt. They form instant walls, tiny firebases. With a few men and a heavy gun in each, we’re well-protected. A group of assassins hitting us now would be committing suicide. I only wish the army had been here a few days ago.”

  Yuki touched her sore shoulder and winced in pain. “I don’t get it. Why would anyone come all the way up here to attack us? What’s so important about this place?”

  “Good questions,” Edwin said. “I’m still trying to figure out the answers. My job is to defend the people who work here.”

  She nodded, admiring his clear mindedness and dedication. “I ha
ve to admit, you’re pretty good at your job, too,” she said.

  He smiled, and they walked back toward the main building. “The kick-start briefing begins in fifteen minutes,” he said. “I’m surprised I’m invited at all.”

  “I’m not,” she said. “After all, you’re one of the most senior people left. I think they trust you after you stopped this from being a total disaster.”

  With Edwin's help, they walked into the auditorium that doubled as a movie theater and a cafeteria. Right now, it was configured with rows of chairs facing the front. Several military people were milling around, but before the briefing began, the new lab director ushered them out.

  Edwin was asked to stay. Yuki could tell he was proud of that fact.

  “Hello everyone,” said the speaker. He was a white-haired man with sallow skin and a sharp gaze. He reminded Yuki of the more militant college professors she’d had back in college. The kind that enjoyed flunking students for any minor infraction.

  “I’m Dr. Evans,” he said, putting his hands behind his back and standing straight. “I’d like to give my thanks to those of you who have just arrived, and doubly so to those of you who survived the events of the last few days. I know this has been a trying time, and—”

  “Why haven’t we shut the lab down?” demanded a woman in the front row. She had a shock of short thin hair and a pair of bulging eyes. Yuki recognized her as one of the few survivors.

  Dr. Evans cleared his throat and addressed the woman. “Because we can’t spare the time. Because doing so would give the enemy exactly what they wanted. The attack on this lab was designed to shut it down. We’re not going to allow that to happen at this crucial moment.”

  There was a murmuring amongst the crowd. The mood was ugly. Yuki knew crowds like this. Scientists could be either very organized and civil, or they could be impossible to deal with. They weren’t as easy to cow as many people thought they were. Overall, they tended to be a self-important, feisty bunch when you got right down to it. They were the kind of people who knew the rules, and who regularly demanded that they be followed.