Part 16 (1/2)
She didn't have time for sorries or mourning. She'd worry about that if they survived.
”All of you, grab weapons and finish off any of these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds who are still moving.”
More than half her team had been wiped out. The only favor Anubis did was block the hallways at her back. At least they'd only have to worry about what was in front.
Moving forward was always easier.
Fuyuko took the lead, taking the a.s.sault rifle she'd used from the first soldier she'd killed. The body had collapsed, pinning the rifle's strap beneath. Fuyuko used her knife to cut it free and searched the soldier for more rounds. She liked this rifle. It was heavier than the ones used by the guards in front of Jason's holding room. And it punched through armor like it was cloth.
”You should hang back,” Jason said.
”I won't send any more of my people to die in my place. I'll face the danger ahead first.”
Jason shook his head.
”Don't be foolish. You're too important to risk. I'll go first.”
She shoved her forearm against his throat, forcing him back, pinning him to the wall.
”I don't need you walking into my life after seven years and treating me like a fragile doll. I haven't needed you to survive to this point, and I don't need you to survive longer.”
Jason held up his hands in surrender.
He fell into coughing fits as she released him.
When he'd caught his breath, he said, ”I wasn't trying to insult you. It's just you're right, none of your team wants me at their backs. It'd be easier for you, and them, if I go first. Maybe I can earn a little trust before this is over.”
Her grip tightened on the rifle. She'd spent too many nights thinking life would be better if Jason were still alive. Now that he was here, she realized things were simpler when he was dead.
”Fine,” she said. ”Take point. But my rifle and I are right behind you.”
His grin said, I wouldn't have it any other way. Thankfully, he kept his mouth shut.
At a bend in the hall, Jason crouched down and peered around the corner.
”All clear,” he said.
It was the second corner they'd turned unopposed.
”Could you have overestimated the number of men Anubis had stationed here?” Jason asked.
”Anything is possible,” Fuyuko said. ”The members of the Pantheon are no different than when they ran Suture-they act like they're on the same side, but they keep their secrets. There's no intelligence reports I would trust completely.”
Jason's mouth set in a grim line.
”So either he's out of troops, he's sick of the casualties or...”
”Or his troops are busy with something ahead of us. I sent a team to secure the vans several hours ago.”
Jason nodded his approval.
”I just hope they were smart enough to not rely entirely on their powers.”
”Sparx is a smart kid-he'll have known about the Prometheus Ring.”
Jason rounded the corner, staying close to the wall. The others followed his lead, dispersing to either side of the hall, guns at the ready.
”Through those doors.” Fuyuko motioned with her chin. ”That's the garage area.”
”I don't hear anything,” Jason said. ”I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not.”
”You wouldn't. The building above us is a Pantheon sh.e.l.l company. It employs hundreds who have no idea it's an Anunnaki business. A camouflaged door with sound dampening technology hides the entrance to this facility. The idea is to keep the sound of this place from reaching out there.”
Jason approached the door and pressed his ear against its surface.
He shrugged.
”Either nothing's going on or it's the best tech I've ever seen-I can't hear a thing.”
He looked to either side of the door.
”How the h.e.l.l do we open it?”
Fuyuko ran her hands down either side of the door. She turned, looking for any doors they might have missed. It was conceivable doors in the hall used the same techniques that hid the entry outside. Not a single seam along the wall presented itself.
”Camera,” she said after a moment, pointing out the blackened dome hanging from the ceiling behind them.
”So there's a separate room where they control the door?” Jason asked.
”I guess.”
”I didn't see anything on the way here. So either it's hidden...”
”Or it's on the other side of the rubble back by the interrogation room.”
”I was going to say it could be somewhere outside of here,” Jason said, ”but yeah, it could be back that way too. Do we have any explosives?”
”Just some grenades we took off the soldiers. But there's no way to shape the charge-it would just be a wide spread explosion. We might trap ourselves worse than we are right now.”
Fuyuko walked from one side of the hall to the next, taking in the walls, the floors, and the ceiling. She experimentally smacked the stock of her rifle against the wall-no give. She clicked on the safety, ejected the ammunition cartridge, and, holding the barrel end, smacked the stock against the ceiling, producing a satisfying dent and crack.
”Stand back,” she said, locking the clip back in place and releasing the safety.
She fired a number of rounds into the ceiling, cutting the shape of a rough hole.
”Give me a boost.”
Jason crouched down, cupping his hands together. She stepped up, and he pushed her toward the scarred ceiling. She pulled one of her knives and carved at a few places where the drywall still clung on and punched her way through.
”Does anyone have a flashlight?” she asked.