Page 40 of G8
“I was going to say that somehow the higher ups find out if we say too much. Now I know why. I never suspected the badges were bugged. Guess it’s a good thing I left mine at my parents’ house,” Ingrid said.
Biggs pointed to the drawing on the elevator door. “What’s on the last two levels? Four and five?”
“Level Four, where I worked, has the labs. That’s where the babies were kept. In the nursery, if you want to call it that.” LABS was written on that box.
“Why do you say that?” Korris wondered.
“Because it was actually a very small room with three little isolation cases containing infant warmers.”
“And Level Five?”
“That level has the highest security clearance. All the specimens are stored there, including the biologically dangerous ones.” When she finished putting BIO SPECIMENS on that box, she capped the marker and handed it back to the fire chief.
Biggs straightened. “Biologically dangerous? You mean like viruses and such?”
Ingrid shrugged. “I can’t tell you for certain. That area and what’s done there is very hush hush. But word is that it’s where most of the experimentation is done.” She drew three straight horizontal lines over the single vertical one between the bottom two sections. “There is layer after layer of locked doors and decontamination rooms between these two floors. I strongly suggest we get the experts to go in to inspect that area.”
Letting out a loud sigh, Biggs turned to the others. “All right, ladies and gentlemen. Where do we start?”
“I suggest we take each level as we go down,” Adams replied. “I got eight men suited up and waiting outside. As we clear a floor, they can go in and do clean-up.”
P8 straightened. “Then let’s get moving and do this, and get it over with. This place is giving me the creeps.”
G8 and F8 exchanged glances but didn’t say a word as they all followed Ingrid past the elevators to the stairwell door.
20CONFISC8
G8 stuck closeto Ingrid in case. In case of what, he couldn’t be specific. But after what had happened, or almost happened back at that restaurant gas station, he wasn’t taking any chances. They were in what he thought of as enemy territory now, despite the fact that they may be the only living beings inside this giant monstrosity of a complex now.
It was pitch black inside the narrow stairwell, without any outside light filtering in. But instead of being creepy, the nearness of the walls, being able to reach out and touch them and use them for support, was comforting. It meant nothing could reach out from the vast darkness.
A check behind him showed P8 walking down the stairs next to F8. Behind them were the fire chief and Sheriff Korris, with Sheriff Biggs guarding their rear. From what he could see behind their faceplates, no one looked happy to be here.
“Sheriff Biggs, in case something happens down here to one of us, how many men do we have topside to bale our asses out of trouble?” P8 spoke up, voicing what G8 would have asked if the man hadn’t beaten him to the punch.
“We have twelve firefighters, six of my deputies, and access to a hell of a lot more support if we need it,” Korris responded instead. “Don’t you worry,” the man added, almost as an afterthought.
G8 wanted to tell him that not worrying was easier said than done. P8 answered with a snort of derision. F8 and Ingrid kept mum.
It was only four short flights of steps to the level marked B1. Ingrid paused in front of the door.
“What’s wrong?” G8 asked her.
She pointed to the security check box on the wall. “I don’t have my key card to swipe in it.”
“Remember, there’s no power down here,” Biggs pointed out. “The door should open.”
Grabbing the handle, G8 jerked on it. There was a click, and it swung outward. “You’d think that with no power the doors would remain locked.”
“Maybe that’s something the architects didn’t plan for,” F8 commented.
P8 snorted again. “Those people planned and anticipated everything down to the last minute detail. There has to be a good reason why this door wasn’t sealed.”
“Let’s leave this discussion for another time and go inside,” Sheriff Biggs suggested, and they all ventured inside.
G8 expected to see corridors and hallways lined with doors. Instead, the place was one giant room separated by tall shelves and rows of boxes and crates, all stacked neatly and labeled. In here, their surroundings were highlighted only as far as their helmet lights could reach. It amped the creepiness factor to an almost unbearable extent.
“F8, do you smell or hear anything we need to be aware of?” he inquired.
