Shadow Tyrants

TWENTY-FIVE

When they reached the shed, Eddie herded Lyla and Patty into the rear of the container, half of which was piled with trash bags filled with refuse from the facility. The other prisoners were already inside, with MacD at the wheel of the rumbling tractor and Linc lying on top of the container to provide cover fire.

“Everybody stay down,” Eddie said. “This may be a bumpy ride.” They all sat on the floor.

“You’re not locking the door, are you?” Lyla nervously asked.

“No,” he said, handing her his flashlight. “But you’ll be safer with the door closed if we encounter any of the guards.”

Having the flashlight seemed to soothe her. “Thanks for saving us.”

Eddie smiled and said, “Thank me when we’re on board the ship.” Then he closed the door.

He hated leaving the Chairman and Raven, but he had his orders. He’d used the last of their glue to seal the door behind them. Now they needed to get out of there quickly.

He ran to the front of the shed, stood next to the button for opening the large door, and looked at MacD. “You ready?”

MacD minimized his profile as much as he could in the glass-enclosed tractor cab. He nodded and drawled, “Let’s see what this baby can do.”

Eddie punched the button, and the door began to rise. Light streamed into the shed. He sprinted to the tractor and climbed up to the cab’s roof, then jumped across to the container.

Linc was lying at the back of the container. Eddie flattened himself at the front end and aimed his P90 submachine gun at the rising door.

As soon as it was all the way up, MacD gunned the engine. Eddie braced himself as the tractor lurched forward, jerking the trailer with it.

When the tractor was outside, several rifle rounds peppered the left window of the cab. MacD ducked to avoid the shots.

Eddie swiveled around and saw the returning guards running down the path from the beach. Both he and Linc poured fire onto the path, and the guards scattered into the jungle.

“You okay, MacD?” Eddie called out when the shooting stopped.

“Ah’m all right,” MacD replied. “But next time, one of you gets to drive.”

With the container only half full, the tractor could make good speed, at least faster than a man could sprint. They motored down the wide path toward the pier.

Eddie joined Linc at the back of the container.

“Unless they cloned Usain Bolt,” Linc said, “it looks like we’re in the clear.”

As he said that, the guards in the distance behind them reached the shed. But instead of making a futile attempt to run after the tractor-trailer, they went inside, disappearing into the shadows.

“They gave up pretty easily,” Eddie said.

“Are they getting reinforcements?”

“Maybe. But by the time they reach us, we’ll have the Oregon to provide cover.”

For a moment, there was no movement at the shed. Then three small vehicles raced out.

“Where did those come from?” Linc asked.

“They must have been on the other side of the second container,” Eddie said. Then he called on his mic.

“MacD, gun it,” he said. “We’ve got three ATVs coming our way.”

Juan and Raven leapfrogged back toward the opposite end of the corridor, each providing the other cover fire as they ran from door to door.

Juan called the Oregon in between submachine gun bursts. “Max, we’re going to need a quick evac.”

“Roger that,” Max replied. “The HOB?”

“That’s what I’m thinking. Can Gomez control it from where he is?”

A pause, then, “He says, no problem.”

“Good. Give us a couple of minutes to get topside.”

“It’ll be waiting for you.”

“The HOB?” Raven asked as she ran past to the shield provided by the next door.

“A new toy. Haven’t briefed you on it yet. Still experimental.”

“And we’re the guinea pigs?”

“Unless you want to stay here,” Juan said.

Raven ducked as more bullets ricocheted past them. “Not really. I’d rather be a lab rat than a fish in a barrel.”

They kept going until they arrived at the end of the corridor. Guards attacked as they came out of the elevator and were using the doors as shields themselves. While Raven provided cover fire to keep them back, Juan quickly knelt by the north stairwell door and emptied the anti-glue syringe into the sections of the door that Eddie had sealed shut. The glue deposited there bubbled as the solvent ate away at it.

Juan waited five seconds and then threw his shoulder against the door. It flew open, and he turned to lay down suppressing fire for Raven. She dove through the door, bullets flying over her head.

Juan shut it and coated the jamb with half of the glue supply in a second syringe. Raven had given hers to Eddie for the other doors.

“That should hold for a little while, at least,” Juan said. It wasn’t as strong as using the whole syringe, but it might be enough.

They ran up one flight and repeated the process using the rest of the glue on the second-level door.

When they had the guards locked in, they went up to the top level. Juan opened the door and saw an empty hallway. The guards and Yudin must have gone down to the bottom level hoping to stop them and find a way out.

Juan waved Raven to follow. They walked down the hallway, checking rooms as they went to make sure they were clear.

The fifth door Juan opened was to the deserted control room. He went inside hoping to find at least some hard evidence to take with them. He saw a switch labeled PIER. It was currently set to SUBMERGE. It would certainly be easier if the Oregon could pull alongside the pier to pick them up, so he flipped the switch to RAISE.

Then he noticed that the monitor above the switch showed a countdown timer ticking down.

“This doesn’t look good,” he said. “We’ve got less than two minutes.”

Raven frowned. “Until what?”

He tapped on the keyboard, but it asked for a password. He was locked out from making any changes.

“Lyla said the Bedtime protocol was meant to get rid of all evidence of what went on here,” Juan said. “I think the warden set this whole place to self-destruct.”