Cold Sanctuary (John Decker Series Book 2) (22 page)

60

Dominic froze for a second, numb with fear.

The only other person who was supposed to know about this place was Hunt. So who were these new arrivals? A more urgent question was, why did one of them have a pistol?

“Can I help you?” Dominic did his best to sound nonchalant, but he didn’t succeed. The quiver in his voice came through despite his best efforts to conceal his fear.

“Who are you?” The man with the gun looked surprised. “What are you doing down here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Dominic replied. He wondered where Hunt was. He could sure use the ex-marine right about now. “You don’t have the authority to be here.”

“Sit down.” The man pointed toward the chair with his gun.

Dominic did as he was told.

The intruder stepped into the room, making sure to keep a few steps behind his two companions, who looked as nervous as Dominic felt. The gun never wavered in its coverage of the three hostages.

Dominic plucked up the courage to speak again. “You haven’t told me who you are and why you are here.”

“You don’t need to know my name.”

“This is John Decker, and I’m Mina Parkinson.” The girl spoke up. “The man with the gun calls himself Silas. He’s looking for his friends. They came here and went missing. He seems to think we can help him somehow.”

“That’s enough.” Silas shot a glance at the girl.

“What, are you going to shoot me?”

“Just keep your mouth shut, or I might.” He edged into the room. His eyes fell upon the monitor. “What the hell is that thing?”

“That is why I’m here,” Dominic answered. “I’m studying it.”

“Sure is ugly. I’ve never seen anything like that.” Silas peered closer. “What is it?”

“I think that might be one of your friends.” Dominic took some pleasure in the shocked look on his captor’s face. “I believe it was a man named Boyd?”

“Boyd?” Silas shook his head. “Holy shit. What did you do to him?” He pointed the gun at Dominic, his finger tensing on the trigger.

“Me, nothing,” stammered Dominic, suddenly realizing the danger he was in. “He was like that when I arrived.”

“So if that is Boyd, where the hell is Jerry?”

“The other man? I don’t know,” Dominic said. “I do know that they were both exposed to some sort of pathogen. Actually, it wasn’t really a pathogen per se, but rather a genetically engineered substance that contained DNA altering capabilities.”

“Jesus. It does exist.” Silas said. “Goddam. Jerry was right.” He tore his eyes away from the monitor. “How did they get infected?”

“Accident, I believe. They dropped a tray of vials trying to steal them.”

“A tray of vials?” Silas voice rose in pitch. “Are there more vials down here?”

“No.” Dominic lied. He hoped Silas didn’t detect the slight tremble in his voice, or the vein throbbing below his left eye, like it always did when he was under stress. “There was just one.”

“I don’t believe you.” Silas shifted position. “Where are these vials?”

“I told you, there was only one.”

“Don’t lie to me!” Silas screeched. He reached out and took a hold of Mina, pulling her close. She let out a startled yelp as he raised the gun and placed it against her skull. “Tell me about the vials, or I put a bullet straight through this pretty young thing’s head.”

“Don’t tell him anything.” Mina struggled against her captor, a look of terror on her face.

Decker took a step forward. “Leave her alone. If you want to kill someone, shoot me.”

“Sorry. The girl makes far better leverage,” Silas said. “Now stop right there before something happens that we both regret.”

Decker lifted his arms. “Fine. I’m done. Just don’t hurt her.”

“That depends on our friendly egghead over there, and whether or not he tells me what I want to know – no lies this time.” Silas turned his attention to Dominic. “I’m waiting.”

“Down the hall, in a cold storage locker behind one of the labs.” Dominic was aware he shouldn’t give away the location of the vials, but he also knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he was responsible for the girl’s death.

“Good boy. See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Silas let Mina go.

She hurried away and joined Decker, huddling close to him.

“Now why don’t we all take a walk along the corridor and see what we can find.” Silas pointed the gun toward the door. “You first, mister scientist man, then the cop. The girl goes last. If either of you try anything I shoot her first.”

Dominic stood up and crossed the room toward the door.

He didn’t look back, not wanting to see the gun again, and entered the corridor, with the others close behind.

He turned left and led the group down two doors, then entered the laboratory on his right, all too aware that if the vials reached the surface and were unleashed on an unsuspecting population, it would cause havoc. There would be pandemonium. Those who were exposed would succumb just like the man in quarantine, and those that were lucky enough to be further from ground zero would end up fighting for their lives against an unstoppable and remorseless enemy. On the other hand, he could not stand there and watch an innocent girl get gunned down in cold blood.

“They are in that walk-in freezer.” Dominic pointed to a large metal door set into the far wall of the room. “At the back, in a glass cabinet.”

“Move.” Silas nudged the group forward. When they reached the metal door he ordered them to stop, then spoke to Decker. “Open it up.”

“I don’t think so,” Decker said in a low voice.

“Do I have to remind you what will happen if you don’t do as I say?” Silas raised the gun, his eyes never straying from Decker.

“Alright. Just put the gun down.” Decker stepped up to the door, gripped the handle and depressed the latch. He swung the door open.

A sudden blast of chilled air gushed from the freezer.

“Inside, now.” Silas motioned toward the freezer. “All of you.”

Together they stepped into the freezer. As soon as they moved past the door Mina froze.

A startled scream escaped her.

She backed up, barely avoiding Decker.

“How did that thing get down here?” She stared at the creature on the gurney with a look of horror upon her face.

“Jesus.” Silas stopped short. “Is that Jerry?”

“No.” Dominic pushed past them and walked over to the gurney. “It’s one of the original test subjects. It had been frozen down here for years, decades. It’s perfectly safe, I assure you.”

“Test subject?” Mina stared at the body. “It looks just like the monster that chased me.”

“Chased you?” There was a blank look on Dominic’s face, and then, suddenly, it was as if he understood. “Oh my God. No wonder Hunt wouldn’t tell me what happened to the second thief. It’s because he’s on the loose.”

“You mean that thing that chased me used to be a man?”

“Yes. Just like the one I have in quarantine.” Dominic scratched his head. “Oh, this is bad. I didn’t know we had a containment breach. I assumed Hunt had killed the other guy.”

Silas interrupted. “Wait. Are you trying to say that Jerry is out there somewhere, and that he has turned into one of those…?” He struggled for words. “One of those monsters?”

“Yes.” Dominic nodded. “That is precisely what I’m saying.”

“And Boyd is in your quarantine area, the same way?”

“Yes.”

“Shit. Goddamit.” He stood in silence for a while, and then took a long, deep breath.  Composing himself, he spoke again. “You know what. It doesn’t matter. It’s just two less people to split the money with. Lucky me, I get to keep it all for myself.”

“I’m sorry about your friends.” Mina took a step toward him.

“What?” He looked puzzled for a second, as if he found it hard to believe anyone would feel sympathy for him. “It’s fine.” He lingered by the door. “Now go over to the cabinet and find me those trays.”

Dominic shook his head. “You do know that if you take those vials, let them fall into the wrong hands, a lot of people will die. You will be condemning innocent people to the same kind of suffering your friends are now enduring.”

“Do I look like I care?” If Silas felt any compassion, it was now gone. “Just get me what I came for.”

“Alright.” Mina made her way to the cabinet. She opened it and paused, looking at the two trays of vials. “What are you going to carry them out in? You can’t take them like this; these trays aren’t safe to carry.”

“I don’t know.” Silas looked around, his eyes alighting on the red cooler Jerry and Boyd had brought down weeks before. It was still there, placed against the wall. “That will work fine. Put the vials in it and hurry up. I don’t want to spend any more time in here with that thing on the gurney than I have to.”

“I’ll get it.” Decker walked to the cooler and carried it over to Mina.

She looked at him, and then spoke under her breath. “You know he will kill us the minute he gets what he wants, don’t you?”

Decker placed a hand on her shoulder. “I think he will kill us if he doesn’t.”

“I’m scared.” Mina looked up into his face.

“I know.” Decker wished he could tell her everything would be alright, but he wasn’t sure that it would.

It was at that moment that the lights went out.

The lab was plunged into darkness.

61

Decker kept his hand on Mina’s shoulder as the lights went out. He leaned close to her and whispered. “Don’t move, whatever you do.”

“What is going on?” She kept her voice hushed. “Did you have something to do with this?”

“No,” Decker replied. He peered into the blackness, hoping to see something, anything, but he was completely blinded. The only upside was that Silas would be blind too.

“What did you do?” Silas asked, his voice rising through the darkness, a quiver of panic punctuating his words.  “Get the lights on again, right now.”

There was a long, expectant pause.

Silas spoke again. “Hey, scientist man. Turn the goddamn lights on or I’m gonna make you wish you weren’t born.”

“I can’t.” Dominic sounded scared. “I didn’t do this.”

“Damn it,” Silas cursed. “You had better not be lying to me.”

“I’m not.” Dominic spoke again. “I swear.”

“Shit. What do we do now?” Silas said. “Did we trip a fuse somehow?”

“Unlikely,” Dominic answered. “The base systems are automated. Besides, if there is a fuse box, I have no idea where it is.”

“This just keeps getting better,” Silas said. “We’ll never find our way out in the pitch black.”

“Even if we could, it won’t do any good,” Dominic said. “The elevator runs on electricity. If the power is out there is no way back to the surface.”

“Great,” Silas moaned. “So we’re stuck down here until we starve to death.”

“It’s worse than that. The air down here is pumped in from above. If we don’t get the power back on we’ll suffocate long before we starve.”

“Shit.”

“There must be a backup system,” Dominic said. “Although that should have kicked in by-“

“Quiet,” Silas interrupted. “I think I hear something.”

“I don’t hear anything,” Dominic said.

“Listen.” Silas spoke in a hoarse whisper. “There, hear that?”

“What?”

“It sounds like footsteps coming in our direction,” Silas replied, an edge of fear in his voice.  “There is someone down here with us.”

Decker strained his ears, but he could hear nothing. He wondered if Silas was going crazy, or if the sudden blackout was affecting him.

It turned out to be neither.

“Drop the gun and raise your arms.” A voice boomed through the room.

“Make me.”

A shot rang out, the muzzle flash lighting up the scene for a brief moment. Decker turned toward the shot, realizing it came from where he’d last seen Silas prior to everything going dark.

Another shot pierced the darkness.

The idiot was firing randomly in the direction of the voice. He was going to get them all killed.

“I said, drop your gun.” There was a bright flare. Another sharp crack filled the air. This time the muzzle flash was nowhere near Silas. Whoever had turned the lights off was now firing back.

Silas let out a cry of pain.

Two more small explosions made Decker’s ears ring. Great, they were caught in the middle of a gunfight with two combatants who could not see each other.

“Get on the floor,” Decker whispered to Mina. “Keep your head down.” He waited until he was sure she had done as he asked and then followed his own advice.

“Who is firing?” Mina’s voice was full of fear.

“I don’t know,” Decker replied. “Whoever they are, I hope they are friendlier than Silas.”

The room was illuminated as the newcomer fired again, the sound of the gunshot echoing in the confined space.

Decker just happened to be looking toward Silas.

He saw the man lit up for a brief instant, saw his shoulder erupt in a spray of blood, and then they were doused in darkness again.

The silence that followed the exchange of bullets seemed somehow worse than the gun battle itself.

Decker lay flat on the floor, his training telling him to make as small a target of himself as possible. Next to him, he knew, Mina was also sprawled out. He could hear her breath coming in sharp intakes. Once in a while a frightened sob escaped her. That was good, it meant that she was alive, and hopefully bullet free. He had no idea what had happened to Dominic, and he wasn’t willing to reveal his position to find out. If he had any sense, the scientist would have taken cover the minute the shooting started.

Minutes passed.

Decker wondered if the two combatants had somehow killed each other in the melee. He remembered his phone, tucked into his right trouser pocket. He could use that to provide enough light to find out, but then he would be lit up like a Christmas tree. For all he knew the gunman was waiting for one of them to reveal their location.

The phone was not an option.

They waited.

After another minute went by Decker felt a hand reach for his. He gripped it and squeezed, reassuring Mina.

At that moment, the lights flickered back on.