Schism (36 page)

Luke was still confused by the prints. “How’d you get his fingerprints?”

“Off a glass he drank from once,” Sean lied. “A Fixer pulled them off for me.”

Luke’s eyes grew wide. “Seriously? Sounds like something out of the movies.”

Sean sneered at the comparison. The secret files he kept in his apartment were truly secret. Only those who had travelled all over the East Coast and farther to gather the files were aware of their existence. And those few people weren’t the same as those who knew about the dozen hidden cameras capturing video every night at
Papillon
. And still those individuals knew nothing about the virus at Green Haven. Only he knew everything.

He shooed Luke out of his chair. “Tell me the minute you hear anything. Now get outta here.”

***

“God, this place is enormous,” Ben said as he and Jim scurried from one building to the next.

Starting on the opposite side of the prison from where they had entered, they’d already scoured through the entire E through H cellblocks and found nothing but empty prison cells. The entire prison complex itself was a large series of buildings, outer walkways that connected the buildings, and expansive courtyards where inmates once exercised and took in fresh air. There was no way of knowing exactly where the virus was being kept.

Once back inside a building that appeared to contain the old dining hall, Jim laid out a copy of the schematic of the compound, courtesy of Susan and Maria after hours of combing through hundreds of public records at the county courthouse and administration buildings. He pointed to the buildings labeled as cellblocks A through D. “Let’s go here next,” he said to Ben.

So far, every building and cellblock they’d wandered through had been cold and dark, with stale air and an eerie sensation of abandonment. When they arrived at cellblock A, however, they no longer needed their flashlights. The vast space was illuminated.

They walked slower now, convinced that they were getting close. They turned the bend from cellblock A to B and heard a faint echo of voices that grew louder with every step. Simultaneously, they flipped off the safety switches on their rifles.

“Who are you?”

Startled, both Ben and Jim whirled around on their heels. Their ears had been so focused on the voices coming from ahead that they had not heard the footsteps approaching from behind.

The boy was probably in his early teens, and with his small body encased in a hazmat suit. His head, however, was exposed. Eyes wide, he appeared equally as startled.

“Who are
you
?” Ben countered in a voice more threatening than intended.

“Sean sent us to check on things,” Jim quickly added. “He wanted to make sure everything was moving forward as planned.” He recited lines from the script prepared for this type of situation.

The boy frowned. “Does this have anything to do with the noises outside?”

Ben feigned confusion. “Noises?”

“Yeah. The guards here just got a call on their radio that they heard some loud noises outside the perimeter. Most of them just left to check out what’s going on.”

Ben looked at Jim and casually shrugged. “We didn’t hear anything, but we just got here. How many guards are usually inside?”

“Seven, but only two are left. They’re in the waiting room in case the noises have anything to do with us.”

“Sounds good.” Ben had no idea what or where the “waiting room” was, but now the biggest concern were the two guards around the corner.

“So are you supposed to be replacing some of the other guards?” the boy asked, his face looking almost hopeful.

“Uh, we’re not sure yet,” Jim answered slowly.

“Well no one is allowed through the front gate except me, the two other Fixers, and the seven guards. And Sean and Luke, of course. Not even the guards at the front gate are allowed through.”

“Because of the virus?” Jim offered, continuing to play along.

“That and the vaccine.”

Ben and Jim looked at each other.
Vaccine?

“Right, yes,” Ben hastily answered. “That’s actually why we’re here. Sean wants an update on the progress.”

The boy hesitated for a moment but didn’t ask any more questions. “Then I guess you should follow me. You’ll both need a suit.” He led the way through Cellblock C. Some of the cells had personal belongings in them and rumpled sheets on the beds. When they approached cellblock D, they came to a door with a cipher lock. He discreetly entered the combination and opened the door. “This is the waiting room.”

Ben and Jim stood back and gripped their weapons tighter. When they peered inside, however, the room was empty.

“Huh, I guess the guards are further in,” said the boy with bewilderment. “You’ll have to wait here. I’ll go get your suits.” He then moved to yet another door on the opposite side of the room and entered the combination on the cipher lock. When he disappeared behind the second door, Ben and Jim turned to each other.

“Sean’s developing a vaccine.” Jim said first.

“I guess so,” replied Ben as he dropped his rucksack to the ground. “But it doesn’t change anything. If he creates a vaccine, that’ll just give him even more control over what he can do with the virus.”

Jim didn’t disagree, and they both checked their weapons to ensure they were properly loaded.

The boy soon returned with two hazmat suits in his arms. They were big and bulky and nearly weighed him down. “Here,” he said breathlessly as he handed them over. He showed them how to put the suits on properly before stepping back to the door. “Leave your bags and weapons here. They’ll be safe.”

“No thanks, we’ll carry them,” Jim said casually.

But the boy hesitated. “Uh…you can’t…”

“We’re carrying them,” Ben insisted sharply, and the boy’s face grew scared. Defeated, he silently turned to the door and entered the combination.

They walked through three additional empty rooms with more locked doors. There was still no sign of the two guards or anyone else.

“Here we check our suits one more time,” the boy said timidly.

The instructions regarding the suit were taken seriously, and after double-checking every seal, zipper, and flap, they finally entered the room that they’d come to destroy. The dim light, the super-cold medical freezer, and distinctive laboratory equipment were a figurative “X marks the spot.” And yet the boy headed straight through this room to yet another locked door on the opposite end.

“Wait, where are you going?” Jim called to him through his helmet.

“To the Pit. You said you needed to see our progress on the vaccine, right?”

“Uh, right. How much farther is it?”

“Just two more rooms.”

They entered an impressive-looking vacuum room before reaching the Pit.

When the door opened, there was a distinctive sucking noise originating from the entire sealed perimeter. Though all the previous doors were airtight, this one seemed exceptionally adhesive. There were five people inside: the two guards and the other two Fixers, all in hazmat suits. The fifth was a young girl lying on the floor in obvious distress. Wearing nothing but a thin hospital gown, her bare legs and arms were likely freezing cold. Standing beside her was a shorter person in a suit holding what appeared to be a syringe.

Ben hesitated to enter the room without knowing the identity of everyone, particularly the guards, but stopping now would only look suspicious. The thick door closed behind them with another whooshing sound.

“Who are
they
?” one of the four protected people demanded. Despite the masking effect of the hazmat suit, his demeanor reflected that of an Infantry guard and not a Fixer.

“Sean sent them to check on our progress.”

“Why did you let them in here with guns? You know they aren’t allowed beyond the waiting room.”

“They insisted on bringing them,” the boy answered, sounding even more fearful than when Ben had snapped at him.

“So you just decided to let them in?” the guard roared back. He then pointed a gloved finger at the two intruders. “Get out of here and take your guns with you!”

After exchanging one last pivotal look, Ben and Jim knew they had been patient long enough. Raising their weapons in unison, they lunged forward into the room, Ben aiming at the outspoken guard while Jim fanned the others. Everyone except the girl stood frozen in place.

“All right, here’s what’s about to happen,” Ben’s voice boomed through his suit. With his aim still on the guard, he turned to the Fixer holding the syringe. “You…you’re going to put down the needle and then all of you will follow my friend here to the…waiting room.”

The guard took a hostile step forward, but Ben quickly subdued him with a threatening forward thrust of his rifle. “There won’t be any more discussion!” he snapped, forcing the guard to retreat backward.

Jim then took a step forward and nodded toward the unfortunate girl. “Has she been infected yet?”

Through the confines of his helmet, the Fixer holding the syringe shook his head. “No,” he said, and in reference to what he was holding, he explained, “This isn’t the virus. It’s the vaccine.”

“Well, she’s not getting that either,” Ben ordered. “Now move! Everyone!”

With a wave of the gun, he motioned to the door as the Fixers plodded awkwardly in their suits toward it. The guards, however, still refused to move.

“Who the hell are you?” the aggressive one demanded.

“It’s not important who we are,” he answered with restraint. “Now move!”

The other guard finally backed away toward the door, but the first one remained defiant. He looked down at Ben’s rifle and scoffed.

“You sure you can pull the trigger…wearing thick gloves and all?”

Ben looked down at his weapon. “You know, you’re right.”

And with a rapid motion, he flipped the gun around with the barrel pointed over his shoulder and slammed the stock into the guard’s head. The flexible plastic of the helmet did little to cushion the blow, and the guard flew backward and fell to the ground. Dazed but not unconscious, the guard didn’t get up as everyone else looked on.

Jim poked the other guard in the shoulder with his gun. “Get him out of here. Drag him if you have to.”

Angry but obedient, the guard approached his fallen comrade and helped him to his feet. The downed guard’s head bobbed about inside the suit. The whack to his head seemed to have induced some sort of memory recall, for when his eyes fixed upon Ben one more time, he mumbled, “I know you…you’re Ben Kelly…”

“That’s right. Be sure to give Sean my regards.”

With Jim following close behind, the Fixers and guards left the room. The girl, meanwhile, had remained motionless on the floor during the entire episode.

Ben walked over to her now and picked up the syringe. He lowered his weapon and extended his free hand. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get out of here.”

Despite her frail appearance, the girl stood up with ease. “Thank you,” she uttered softly.

With her dark hair and blue eyes, she had a strong resemblance to Karen, and he smiled warmly at her. They left the room.

“Take her with the rest of them,” Ben instructed his cousin when they reached the room where the virus was kept.

Jim directed everyone else to the waiting room as Ben pulled aside the boy who originally led them in. “What’s the combination to all these doors? Is it the same?”

Eyes wide, the boy nodded. “It’s three then five, then one and two together.”

“And they’re all the same?”

The boy nodded again, and Ben gestured for Jim to keep moving with the others. Once alone with just the boy, he shut the door behind them and tested the combination to make sure it worked. The door opened, and Ben motioned for him to leave.

“I heard the guard say your name. I know who you are. You’re here to destroy the virus,” the boy said.

Ben gazed back. “I am,” he said.

“But why do you want to destroy everything when we’re so close to creating a vaccine?”

Taking a step forward, he gently placed his gloved hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Listen…Sean Taylor is using you and everyone else in here for his own twisted plan. He doesn’t care about any of you, only what you can do for him. Having the virus
and
the vaccine just makes him stronger, but if the virus no longer exists, then there’s no need for a vaccine and everyone will be safer.” Then, with a gesture toward the door, he said, “You should run. Run far away from here and use that smart brain of yours for something better than this.”

Absorbing this earnest advice, the boy stared back at Ben a few seconds longer. Then he disappeared through the door.

Finally alone inside the room containing the deadliest substance ever known to man, Ben moved with cautious speed. After a rapid scan of the space and everything inside, he placed his rifle on the floor and quickly retrieved several items from his rucksack: half a gallon of gasoline, two bottles of nail polish remover, a bundle of balsa wood, strips of wool fabric, a rubber band, a hammer, and a cigarette lighter.