Chapter 18/19/20
Chapters Eighteen, Nineteen, & Twenty
Mon/July/2008 07:00 AM
Chapter 18 -
In The Tunnels
Nick ran down the hall and took a sharp left turn into the maintenance tunnel.
He’d been through there twice before. First when he’d started at the University and was exploring the building during his lunch breaks. The second time when he and Morgan were looking for a warmer hiding spot when the weather took a chilly turn back in February. The first time he’d gotten about as far as the entrance to the furnace room before turning around and heading back to the regular hallway. The time with Morgan they’d gotten a bit further, actually finding a little back office, with a nice thick patio chaise cushion nestled into a warmly lit cubby. They hadn’t really looked around much or considered how the place had gotten there -- it just looked like it didn’t get much use -- so they’d locked the door and gone to town.
That room was what Nick was looking for now. If he could just get there, get inside, lock the door, and hide, then maybe, just maybe he could wait this thing out – whatever it was.
Jesus he was out of shape.
His feet were struggling to keep up with his body.
Maybe he’d shaken the guys behind him, but he could still hear their footsteps. They were barking things back and forth to each other. He couldn’t tell what language they were speaking. He didn’t care. What the fuck was going on?
The lights whizzed over his head like a caravan of flying saucers. The air in the tunnels was thick and wet. He could feel it belching in and out of his lungs. He tasted rust in the back of his throat.
The voices behind him were growing distant.
He’d outrun them.
Hopefully.
Now to hide and wait. Hide and wait.
His arms started flopping at his sides.
Gotta keep going.
Gotta keep going.
Run.
Gotta stop.
The hallway.
The door.
He’d found it.
He slipped into the darkened side corridor, felt his way through the shadows, found the doorknob, twisted and pushed, stepped into the empty room, closed the door, slid the latch into place, unscrewed the bulb, and fell to the ground. He slumped against the door, slid to the ground, and listened to his gasping breaths. Waiting for the sounds of footsteps.
Then sleep.
Chapter 19 - A Demonstration
“What the fuck did you do Gupta?” Renoir muttered as he shook his head.
Gupta looked at the floor and said nothing.
“These people are obviously here because of your research. Now tell us what it is you’ve been working on. It can’t possibly be a vaccine for any disease. Terrorists don’t come after folks to get vaccines.”
Gupta looked up. “It might not be a vaccine, but it could be a cure.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Jeff asked. “Do I even want to know what you’ve been spending my money on?”
“The Foundation’s money-” David interjected.
“It’s my money, David.”
“Sometimes, the only way to abolish something is... to destroy it.” Gupta stammered. “Once a disease has been defeated, one of the most common questions is whether the samples should be destroyed too.”
Pepper looked at him blanky. “Is this a joke? I didn’t grant your lab this money to find a way to destroy this virus. The idea was to save people.”
“And it might-”
Jeff stepped forward. “And what did you come up with?!”
Nina put her hand on Jeff’s shoulder, pulling him back. “Jeff. Calm.”
Jeff shrugged her hand away.
“Don’t kid yourself Raj.” Renoir spat. “You don’t think what you’ve done is right, do you? I can see it in the way you’re acting. I hear it in your voice. You’ve stopped strutting around like a rooster, the way you usually act when you sense the Nobel is within reach.” Renoir’s face was growing red, even as his features fell in pain. He squeezed his hands around the bloody fabric on his leg. “Hell, you’ve been as secretive as a White House flunky.”
“And about as competent,” Jeff added.
Gupta was quiet.
“Listen, we’ve got to remember two things here. Three if you really want to get into it,” David hissed. “First, these guys are here for a reason. They didn’t come here to hole up in the building all day. They want to get in, get what they need, and get out. Second, the place is surrounded with police and fire, which means these guys have their backs to the wall. The longer they wait to make a run for it, the harder it’s gonna be for them.”
“And what’s the third thing,” Jeff asked.
“The third thing is you.”
“What about me?”
“You’re the ultimate monkey wrench. Once they find out who you are, who knows what their plan will be.”
“That might not be such a good thing!” Jeff whispered sharply.
“He’s right though,” Nina interjected.
Jeff’s mouth tightened. “Who gives a fuck who I am? We’re all in this together. Sooner or later we’ve got to convince these guys to leave us here and hit the road.”
“What do you think they’re waiting for?” Nina asked. “What do they need before they can go.”
“What we need?” Tim’s voice echoed behind them. “What we need is a demonstration.”
The group looked at him. He and Simon had crossed half a room’s length toward them.
“A demonstration of what?” Renoir asked.
“You know very well what. Dr. Gupta’s little invention here. My new tool.”
“Tool, or weapon?” Renoir replied, his eyes again locking on Raj.
“Whatever you prefer. Just so long as it works.”
“It works.” Gupta muttered.
“So I’ve been told, but I need to know for sure.”
“Then use it on one of your buddies here,” David said with a nod towards the gunmen by the door.
“Well now, that wouldn’t make much sense.” Tim said, tapping his fingers on the side of a workbench. “I was thinking of using it on the good doctor, but maybe I’ll just test it on you.”
David froze, and Jeff stood up. “For fuck’s sake, stop talking and just get the hell out of here with the stuff, whatever the hell it is.”
Tim looked at him coldly. “My, my. Calm yourself, sir. Maybe you’d like to be the guinea pig yourself?”
Chapter 20 - Test Subject
“So we know Pepper was meeting with Raj Gupta today-” Ransom was pacing back and forth in front of the building blue prints.
“And Gupta’s offices are in the wing that’s now locked down,” Phelps continued.
“Should we assume there’s a connection?”
Ransom looked up. “You thinking a kidnapping, ransom situation?”
“It seems like a possibility.”
“So, what do we do? Wait for them to contact us, or start calling every phone in the building?”
“Well, lets go about this logically. If he was meeting with Gupta, lets call the places Gupta would be.” Phelps turned to Morgan. “Do you know any of Gupta’s office and lab numbers?”
“That cheapskate?” Morgan snorted. “Are you kidding me?”
Phelps and Ransom waited for her to finish.
“I know them all,” she went on. “He’d always have me call his relatives on the school number and patch him in so he didn’t have to pay for long distance from home. When he’s traveling he always calls the toll free numbers and has us forward the calls to his labs so he doesn’t have to use up any grant money.”
“And what are the numbers?” Ransom asked, as he held up his cell phone.
“34545 and 31955.” Morgan rattled off.
Ransom started typing them into his handset.
“Hold it Ransom,” Phelps stepped in. “I’m still in charge here. I call.”
* * *
Jeff stared the man in the eyes. “You wanna test it on me? Go ahead.”
“Suit yourself,” Tim responded.
Tim nodded towards Pepper, and two of the men by the door came over, putting their hands on Jeff’s shoulders and pulling his towards the middle of the room.
“Dr. Gupta,” Tim continued. “We’ll need your help on this.”
Gupta caught his breath, then rose unsteadily to his feet.
“Where have you been placing the test subjects?”
Gupta pointed to the far end of the room, where a glass panel looked in on a dimly lit white room with a single stool inside.
“Put him in there,” Tim grumbled.
The two men followed Tim’s orders. Jeff’s body went ridged, but he didn’t fight.
“You’re making a mistake,” Jeff said through gritted teeth. “You don’t need to test anything. You just need to get the fuck out of here.”
“Plenty of time for both,” Tim responded.
“I don’t think so.”
“If the doctor’s results worked as well as we’ve heard, we’ll have plenty of time to spare.”
Tim walked over to a thick door at the end of the room, looked down at a panel of keys by the handle, then pushed a single green button. The door opened with a soft hiss of air, and the men started pushing Tim inside.
“Might as well loosen your tie and get comfortable,” Tim said as he walked away. “Dr. Gupta, close the door and get started.”
Gupta moved slowly, gathering his wits about him. He approached the portal slowly, reaching up with his hand-
“Gupta! You a fucking coward!” Renoir shouted at him.
“You’re kissing your career goodbye,” Nina added.
Gupta hesitated, then pressed his hand against the metal door, and started swinging it closed.
Then, the phone started ringing...
Nick ran down the hall and took a sharp left turn into the maintenance tunnel.
He’d been through there twice before. First when he’d started at the University and was exploring the building during his lunch breaks. The second time when he and Morgan were looking for a warmer hiding spot when the weather took a chilly turn back in February. The first time he’d gotten about as far as the entrance to the furnace room before turning around and heading back to the regular hallway. The time with Morgan they’d gotten a bit further, actually finding a little back office, with a nice thick patio chaise cushion nestled into a warmly lit cubby. They hadn’t really looked around much or considered how the place had gotten there -- it just looked like it didn’t get much use -- so they’d locked the door and gone to town.
That room was what Nick was looking for now. If he could just get there, get inside, lock the door, and hide, then maybe, just maybe he could wait this thing out – whatever it was.
Jesus he was out of shape.
His feet were struggling to keep up with his body.
Maybe he’d shaken the guys behind him, but he could still hear their footsteps. They were barking things back and forth to each other. He couldn’t tell what language they were speaking. He didn’t care. What the fuck was going on?
The lights whizzed over his head like a caravan of flying saucers. The air in the tunnels was thick and wet. He could feel it belching in and out of his lungs. He tasted rust in the back of his throat.
The voices behind him were growing distant.
He’d outrun them.
Hopefully.
Now to hide and wait. Hide and wait.
His arms started flopping at his sides.
Gotta keep going.
Gotta keep going.
Run.
Gotta stop.
The hallway.
The door.
He’d found it.
He slipped into the darkened side corridor, felt his way through the shadows, found the doorknob, twisted and pushed, stepped into the empty room, closed the door, slid the latch into place, unscrewed the bulb, and fell to the ground. He slumped against the door, slid to the ground, and listened to his gasping breaths. Waiting for the sounds of footsteps.
Then sleep.
Chapter 19 - A Demonstration
“What the fuck did you do Gupta?” Renoir muttered as he shook his head.
Gupta looked at the floor and said nothing.
“These people are obviously here because of your research. Now tell us what it is you’ve been working on. It can’t possibly be a vaccine for any disease. Terrorists don’t come after folks to get vaccines.”
Gupta looked up. “It might not be a vaccine, but it could be a cure.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Jeff asked. “Do I even want to know what you’ve been spending my money on?”
“The Foundation’s money-” David interjected.
“It’s my money, David.”
“Sometimes, the only way to abolish something is... to destroy it.” Gupta stammered. “Once a disease has been defeated, one of the most common questions is whether the samples should be destroyed too.”
Pepper looked at him blanky. “Is this a joke? I didn’t grant your lab this money to find a way to destroy this virus. The idea was to save people.”
“And it might-”
Jeff stepped forward. “And what did you come up with?!”
Nina put her hand on Jeff’s shoulder, pulling him back. “Jeff. Calm.”
Jeff shrugged her hand away.
“Don’t kid yourself Raj.” Renoir spat. “You don’t think what you’ve done is right, do you? I can see it in the way you’re acting. I hear it in your voice. You’ve stopped strutting around like a rooster, the way you usually act when you sense the Nobel is within reach.” Renoir’s face was growing red, even as his features fell in pain. He squeezed his hands around the bloody fabric on his leg. “Hell, you’ve been as secretive as a White House flunky.”
“And about as competent,” Jeff added.
Gupta was quiet.
“Listen, we’ve got to remember two things here. Three if you really want to get into it,” David hissed. “First, these guys are here for a reason. They didn’t come here to hole up in the building all day. They want to get in, get what they need, and get out. Second, the place is surrounded with police and fire, which means these guys have their backs to the wall. The longer they wait to make a run for it, the harder it’s gonna be for them.”
“And what’s the third thing,” Jeff asked.
“The third thing is you.”
“What about me?”
“You’re the ultimate monkey wrench. Once they find out who you are, who knows what their plan will be.”
“That might not be such a good thing!” Jeff whispered sharply.
“He’s right though,” Nina interjected.
Jeff’s mouth tightened. “Who gives a fuck who I am? We’re all in this together. Sooner or later we’ve got to convince these guys to leave us here and hit the road.”
“What do you think they’re waiting for?” Nina asked. “What do they need before they can go.”
“What we need?” Tim’s voice echoed behind them. “What we need is a demonstration.”
The group looked at him. He and Simon had crossed half a room’s length toward them.
“A demonstration of what?” Renoir asked.
“You know very well what. Dr. Gupta’s little invention here. My new tool.”
“Tool, or weapon?” Renoir replied, his eyes again locking on Raj.
“Whatever you prefer. Just so long as it works.”
“It works.” Gupta muttered.
“So I’ve been told, but I need to know for sure.”
“Then use it on one of your buddies here,” David said with a nod towards the gunmen by the door.
“Well now, that wouldn’t make much sense.” Tim said, tapping his fingers on the side of a workbench. “I was thinking of using it on the good doctor, but maybe I’ll just test it on you.”
David froze, and Jeff stood up. “For fuck’s sake, stop talking and just get the hell out of here with the stuff, whatever the hell it is.”
Tim looked at him coldly. “My, my. Calm yourself, sir. Maybe you’d like to be the guinea pig yourself?”
Chapter 20 - Test Subject
“So we know Pepper was meeting with Raj Gupta today-” Ransom was pacing back and forth in front of the building blue prints.
“And Gupta’s offices are in the wing that’s now locked down,” Phelps continued.
“Should we assume there’s a connection?”
Ransom looked up. “You thinking a kidnapping, ransom situation?”
“It seems like a possibility.”
“So, what do we do? Wait for them to contact us, or start calling every phone in the building?”
“Well, lets go about this logically. If he was meeting with Gupta, lets call the places Gupta would be.” Phelps turned to Morgan. “Do you know any of Gupta’s office and lab numbers?”
“That cheapskate?” Morgan snorted. “Are you kidding me?”
Phelps and Ransom waited for her to finish.
“I know them all,” she went on. “He’d always have me call his relatives on the school number and patch him in so he didn’t have to pay for long distance from home. When he’s traveling he always calls the toll free numbers and has us forward the calls to his labs so he doesn’t have to use up any grant money.”
“And what are the numbers?” Ransom asked, as he held up his cell phone.
“34545 and 31955.” Morgan rattled off.
Ransom started typing them into his handset.
“Hold it Ransom,” Phelps stepped in. “I’m still in charge here. I call.”
* * *
Jeff stared the man in the eyes. “You wanna test it on me? Go ahead.”
“Suit yourself,” Tim responded.
Tim nodded towards Pepper, and two of the men by the door came over, putting their hands on Jeff’s shoulders and pulling his towards the middle of the room.
“Dr. Gupta,” Tim continued. “We’ll need your help on this.”
Gupta caught his breath, then rose unsteadily to his feet.
“Where have you been placing the test subjects?”
Gupta pointed to the far end of the room, where a glass panel looked in on a dimly lit white room with a single stool inside.
“Put him in there,” Tim grumbled.
The two men followed Tim’s orders. Jeff’s body went ridged, but he didn’t fight.
“You’re making a mistake,” Jeff said through gritted teeth. “You don’t need to test anything. You just need to get the fuck out of here.”
“Plenty of time for both,” Tim responded.
“I don’t think so.”
“If the doctor’s results worked as well as we’ve heard, we’ll have plenty of time to spare.”
Tim walked over to a thick door at the end of the room, looked down at a panel of keys by the handle, then pushed a single green button. The door opened with a soft hiss of air, and the men started pushing Tim inside.
“Might as well loosen your tie and get comfortable,” Tim said as he walked away. “Dr. Gupta, close the door and get started.”
Gupta moved slowly, gathering his wits about him. He approached the portal slowly, reaching up with his hand-
“Gupta! You a fucking coward!” Renoir shouted at him.
“You’re kissing your career goodbye,” Nina added.
Gupta hesitated, then pressed his hand against the metal door, and started swinging it closed.
Then, the phone started ringing...