Until Time Stands Still (20 page)

“I wonder what’s in these boxes.” Johnny said, shoving a stack of them out of the way. “They are kind of heavy.”

“We don’t have time to look.” Mykel said, heaving another pile off to the side.

“The lock is rusted. It shouldn’t be hard to break.” Johnny said, kneeling down.

“Are we sure this is the best way in?” Mykel asked, cutting the lock smoothly. He tossed the broken lock off to the side.

“That’s what Will said. This tunnel connects to the elevator shaft. If we can get in there, we can gain any floor we want.”

“We don’t even know which floor she’s on.” He said, motioning for Johnny to help him lift the heavy manhole cover.

“Let’s just get in, first.” He said.

“I just hope Will had disabled the cameras.” Mykel said, before he dropped carefully into the tunnel.

*********

“What do you mean the power went out?” Alexander Palmer shouted

“The cameras and security alarms are down. No one knows how or why.” Major Ruiz said.

“Fucking fix my security Vince!” The General roared. He slammed the phone down.

“That’s not going to happen General.” A voice in the shadows said.

“Who are you?” Alexander grabbed for the weapon in his desk drawer.

“I’ve removed the firing pin and bullets. It’s useless to you now.”

“Who are you?” Alexander stood. “I can have you put in the brig for this insubordination!”

“It doesn’t matter what my name is.” The voice said icily.

General Palmer sneered. “Don’t you know who I am? I can do whatever I want.”

“You are a man with a gun pointed at his head. Right now the only authority you have is whatever I give to you.”

“What do you want?” The General asked, his voice steady.

“I want you to stop trying to steal Isabelle’s babies.”

“I can’t do that.” Alexander said.

“I thought you just said you can do whatever you want.” The man hissed.

“This goes higher up the food chain than me.” The General said. “I have my orders the same as everyone else.”

“I won’t allow you to take her children.” The man said.

“Twins?” Alexander asked.

“I will go to each man under you and keep killing until you agree.”

“You wouldn’t.”

The man pulled the trigger, shooting the General in the outer thigh. He screamed and grabbed his leg, cursing and spitting in rage.

“Now you know I will.”

“What do you want with her?” The General said, ground out through his teeth. He was losing a lot of blood.

“She’s special. You don’t even understand how special. No one does.”

“How is she so special?” He asked.

“God, you really are an idiot aren’t you?” The voice snorted. “You just want her babies, but you have no clue what potential they have, to save us all. The purities in her blood, her genetic code, mixed with someone from our time with all our antibodies and inoculations against so many diseases, born with their own nanites technology, would be immune to everything. A child of such a union would not just be healthy, they would be unable to get sick. They would have perfected bodies, able to heal any injury or any disease or attack any cell mutation of cancer before it spread. A person born with that kind of healing ability would be unstoppable. They would be super human. Immortal. Think of the possibilities. Isabelle’s children could outlive all of us. They could be the perfect soldier, and be able to jump through time like their father. Think of what we could accomplish.”

“You’re insane Dr. Fitzer.” The General said, his voice shaking with the effort to stay calm.

“So, you recognize my voice after all.” The man chuckled.

“You won’t get away with this.” The General said.

“You get one chance. Don’t make me be mean, Alexander. I don’t want to have to kill every other soldier on the base. This is your last chance to save lives.”

“I moved her to Sublevel three.” The man said, slumping in his chair in defeat.

“Thank you, General. You’ve been most helpful.” Dr. Fitzer said.

The shot rang out through the house, but there was no one to hear it.

*********************

“Report.” Graham whispered.

            “You’re clear, Top. Cameras and alarms are dark.” Will responded.

            “We’re in too.” Mykel said. “Repelling down the elevator shaft now.”

            “Bryant?” Graham whispered. “Report.”

            “Ready, set, boom, Boss man.” He said with a chuckle. “This is going to be epic.”

            Graham rolled his eyes. “Only if we need it, remember that Bry.”

            “Yes, Sir.” He said, the disappointment evident in his voice.

            “Hey Bryant, I promise to let you blow things up on my property if you get us out of this alive.” Mykel said.

            “Promise?” He asked.

            “Yeah, you know, when the car dies or we need to make a hole for something.”

            “Wicked fun!” Bryant said, excitedly. “Do you really think Isabelle will let me blow stuff up?”

            “Just not in the house.” Mykel chuckled. “I’m pretty sure she’d have my ass for that.”

            “True.” Johnny piped up. “She’ll kill you if you blow something up in her bathtub. Women like their bubble baths.”

            “Okay boys, let’s get back to business.” Graham chuckled. “I’m headed into the lab now. Will, where are the samples exactly?”

            “The far east wall of refrigeration units. You have to cook the samples.”

            “What does that mean?” He asked.

            “Super heat them, toss them in an oven or microwave for a minute or two.”

            The lab was closed for the night. All the techs had gone home long ago. It was a lot smaller than Graham expected. Two walls were crowded with large machines. He had no clue what they did, but they looked expensive. One whole wall was a giant refrigerator. He walked over and opened the first door that held vials. He was searching for their names, or security numbers. It wasn’t until the fourth door, that he found them. Each one had a red sticker on it. He frowned. All the others had blue or purple stickers on them. Red usually meant bad right? He carefully took the tray out and set it on a worktable. The opposite wall held filing cabinets. He broke open the one that had the red tag on it and pulled out all the files. Like the General’s office, there were dozens of pages on each of them. Test results, DNA profiles and a bunch of other things he didn’t understand.

            He keyed his mike. “Johnny, if we took these vials through the portal, would the samples still be good?”

            “If they were stored properly. Maybe.” The reply came back a few seconds later.

            “What do I need to do that?” He asked, looking around.

            “There should be SafePods. They are used for transport, probably stored in a drawer or cupboard near the samples. They typically each hold two vials.” Johnny said.

            “Got it. I think we should keep this stuff. You never know if we will need it later.”

            “Whatever you want. I wouldn’t mind looking at those files, myself.” Johnny said.

            “I’ll get this stuff to Will and check on the women. Holler if you need me.” He said. He found the pods and began to gather the samples. He slipped the pods into his bag along with the files and snuck out of the lab. He suppressed the intense urge to light the whole room on fire and smirked to himself. Bryant had obviously rubbed off on him.

*********************

“What’s the matter, Isabelle?” One of the doctors asked, dumbfounded by her sobs. She was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner, crying into a book.

            “I’m irritated. I miss the sunlight, and I want out of here. I want to go take a walk, and I want to see Mykel. I know he’s not sick. Why do you people keep lying to me?” She cried, standing up, the book still in her hand.

            “Now, now. Don’t get all hysterical.” The doctor said soothingly.

            “Buddy, you haven’t seen hysterical yet.” She snapped. Suddenly she wasn’t just sad, she was pissed.  The patronizing tone in his voice irritated her beyond belief.

            “Miss Carter, please calm down.” He said firmly.

            “I will not calm down! You are keeping me locked up like an animal, and there is no reason for it. I have every reason to be upset, and I’m not letting you or anyone else touch me until I see Mykel!” She hissed.

            “Do I have to sedate you?” The man asked sternly. “I’d really rather not. It’s not good for the babies, but I will if I have to.” He pulled a syringe out of his pocket.

            “You can try.” She growled. “But if you take one step closer I swear to God, I’ll jam that needle into your eye. I’ve had enough of this shit and I won’t stand for it anymore.”

            “No need to get violent, Miss Carter.” He said soothingly.

            “Yes. There is a need. You people are trying to steal my babies away from me. I’m not fucking stupid.” She yelled.

            “I see you’ve become extremely paranoid, Isabelle.”

            “It’s not paranoid, it’s the truth and you know it.” She hissed. “Get out of my room. NOW!” She screamed.

She began to throw books at him, screaming in rage as she flung volume after volume at his head. He ducked and tried to block them with his arm, but one of them beamed him in the head right in the temple. He went down. Before he could react she grabbed the syringe he had dropped and plunged it into the side of his neck. She stole the key card he had clipped to his jacket and ran for the door. It came unlocked for her, and the guard that was watching the monitor stood and tried to come for her. Enraged, she ran at him, screaming. He hesitated striking her just long enough for her to knock him out first. He hit the ground hard. Thinking fast, she stole his belt of weapons and slung them over her shoulder, since it wouldn’t fit around her belly. She held the gun in one hand and headed out the door with the doctors keycard, hoping it opened all the doors. “Okay babies, let’s go find your daddy.” She said softly.