Quantum

64

Near the center of the building, adjacent to the main vertical riser for electrical and communications wiring, Arkady Malik sat in front of a wall of small black-and-white video monitors, each displaying a feed from a closed-circuit camera mounted somewhere in or around the building. Malik watched nervously as several of the monitors relayed images of the battles taking place not far from where he sat.

Leskov punched in his access code and opened the door to the building’s security center. He and Orlov jogged down the short hallway, past a flush steel door and frame, and turned into the room where Malik sat.

‘Malik,’ Leskov shouted, ‘how’s the perimeter holding?’

‘Our men have fallen back from the main entry points on the first floor and from the roof access points.’ Malik played the keypad in front of him like a piano, cycling manually through all the available cameras, both inside and outside the building. ‘We’ve lost about a third of the first and fifth floors but still control all of floors two, three, and four.’

Several of the monitors showed some of Leskov’s men exchanging gunfire with men dressed in black ninja suits.

‘Fuck, it’s Alpha,’ Leskov cursed. ‘Victor, my men will make them pay for every square meter of the building, but it’s only a matter of time. We are outmanned and out-gunned.’

‘What is the status of the tunnel?’ Orlov asked.

Malik brought up different camera views on a bank of four monitors. The first displayed a large steel vault door mounted flush to a concrete wall. The second showed the back side of the door from a distance inside a concrete tunnel wide enough for three people to walk abreast. On the third and fourth, Orlov saw the far end of the tunnel, where it reached the Metro’s Chelobitevo Line tunnel running beneath Prospekt Mira.

The workmen renovating Orlov’s building had discovered the abandoned tunnel while replacing outdated utility feeders. Though not shown on any of their drawings, the tunnel had been used for material storage during the construction of the Metro line, then abandoned once the work was completed. Orlov had the tunnel extended beneath the building, where it terminated at the flush steel door.

‘Tunnel is clear on both ends,’ Malik responded.

‘Show me Avvakum’s lab,’ Orlov demanded impatiently.

Malik typed in another number. The static on the one large monitor was replaced by an image of an empty lab space. Using the thumb-dial controls for pan-tilt-zoom operation, Malik swung the camera around and adjusted it to zoom in on the doorway that led to the lab’s office suite. The body of Avvakum’s guard lay prone on the floor near the center of the lab.

Leskov slammed his fist into the desktop with such force that Malik jumped back, startled.

‘The incompetent fool! I told him Kilkenny was a dangerous man and that he shouldn’t take his eyes off him. Now Kilkenny is armed.’

‘Are Kilkenny and Avvakum still in the lab?’ Orlov asked.

‘Da, Victor Ivanovich,’ Malik replied. ‘I haven’t seen anyone in the corridors.’

‘Dmitri, take Malik and kill them both.’

‘Gladly.’

‘I’ll wait for you here. When you get back, we’ll use the tunnel.’

‘Malik, what’s left in the armory?’

‘A few pistols and a couple of Krinkovs.’

‘Get them,’ Leskov ordered. He then handed Orlov his pistol and a spare clip of ammunition. ‘Take this. Keep an eye on these monitors. If Alpha breaches our defenses before I get back, go.’

‘Good luck, Dmitri.’

‘To us both, Victor Ivanovich.’

Malik handed Leskov one of the Krinkov AKS-74U submachine guns from the rack and two spare clips. Leskov quickly checked over the weapon and flipped off the safety.

‘Let’s go.’