Morgan could hear sirens in the city. From what Alex had told them it would soon be chaos out there. It certainly sounded like they had made a good start on it.
“Bad news,” Alex’s voice came on in his ear. “I’m afraid all four of you have Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.”
“Is it serious?” Morgan asked.
“You’re pre-symptomatic right now, but symptoms may include internal bleeding, shock, and organ failure,” Alex said cheerfully.
“What’s the treatment?” Conley chimed in.
“We put an order in to have you moved to the infirmary where you will be quarantined,” Alex said. “They should come for you any minute. This will get you out of the cellblock. We’ll have more options when you are in the administrative hub. If nothing else, that’s where the exit is.”
The sirens were getting louder. There was also much more movement among the guards, who were now coming and going from the yard.
“Are things heating up in the Izmir prison?” Morgan asked.
“Quite a bit actually. Because of a remarkable series of computer crashes and errors, the guards are almost all locked up in various sealed sections, and the prisoners are in control of about half the prison.”
The guards outside started shouting at the prisoners that they were going back to their cells early. Everyone filed into the cellblock and two guards Morgan didn’t know were waiting for them outside their cell.
The guards were wearing surgical masks and shouting at them. “Apparently we’re going to the infirmary,” Conley said.
They picked up Erdem at his cell and the four prisoners were marched toward the hub. By now there was real tension in the air, and guards were rushing around.
They crossed the barred doors that led to the administrative area. After taking a few turns, they reached the infirmary where they were rushed into a long room with six beds. Morgan assumed it was a quarantine ward.
The guards left and they were locked in.
“That’s progress I guess,” Conley said.
“It’s a bigger room, nicer beds,” Morgan agreed.
And then the lights went out, and then came back on.
Morgan tapped on his ear comm and said, “We’re in quarantine. And the lights just flickered.”
“Yeah, that’s Shep testing the system. Turns out they’re also about to have difficulty with their computers,” Alex said.
“I think we have an exit strategy. At least a start on one. We’ve put in an order to move all available medical personnel to Izmir prison. Let’s get you in scrubs and lab coats. Cougar, I’ll talk you through getting to the store room.”
The door beeped and unlocked itself. Ten long minutes later, Conley reappeared carrying a pile of clothing.
He handed Morgan, Erdem, and Tunca scrubs. He’d even procured identification tags that clipped onto the front pockets. None of the pictures matched, of course, but from a distance they would be convincing.
Conley and Erdem put on their own scrubs and then threw lab coats over them.
“Why do you two get to be doctors?” Morgan demanded.
“Because we speak Turkish,” Conley said. “We won’t give ourselves away the second we open our mouths.”
“And, as a point of fact, I am actually a doctor,” Erdem added.
Alex chimed in over the comm. “Still working on the medical transfer orders, but I can get you to the armory while we sort that out,” Alex said.
“Now you’re talking,” Morgan said.
Alex told them to wait. They heard some sort of alarm down the hall and then Alex said, “Go.”
The hallway was clear. They left the quarantine area and turned into the general medical section.
The scrubs were a good disguise. Medical personnel would have more access throughout the prison. However, in the infirmary area itself, where everyone presumably knew each other, they wouldn’t fool anyone for long.
They moved slowly and as quietly as they could, reaching the outer offices less than a minute later. A nurse called out to them. They rushed past her and she screamed after them.
“We’ve been made,” Morgan said. “Run.”
The four men rushed toward the medical wing door, which was very solid and very strong. By now, there was a fair amount of commotion behind them.
“Alex, the door…” Morgan said.
“Shep is on it,” she said.
Over his shoulder, Morgan saw two actual doctors and two large orderlies approaching them. Conley yelled something in Turkish and the real medical personnel were now screaming at them and racing forward.
“Got it,” Alex said.
There was a click inside the door and Morgan tried it. It opened, and he quickly ushered the others outside. The four Turks were almost on them when Morgan slipped out himself and slammed the door shut behind him.
He heard it lock. Then there was pounding on the other side.
“Can they get out?” Morgan asked.
“They’ll be in there until Shepard lets them out,” Alex said. “He’s also cut off the phone system in that wing. Of course, there’s nothing we can do about personal cell phones.”
That was unfortunate, but it was just a matter of time until word got out that something was going on in the prison.
If the medical staff was alerted, their medical transfer idea was going to get tricky.
“Get us to the armory. We may have to fight our way out,” Morgan said.
* * * *
Shepard was stricken. “Someone just tried to sound the general alarm,” he said. “One of the doctors must have gotten through to someone. I’ve shut down the alarm system as well as power to the two-way radio hub.”
Alex looked at Shepard, hoping for an answer, some sign that he had a technical solution for a situation that appeared to be quickly getting out of control.
Weapons seemed like a pretty good idea about now.
“You’re clear to administration. The armory is—”
“We know where it is, just let us know if anyone is going to get in our way,” Morgan said.
“We’ll get you out of there, don’t worry,” Alex said.
“It’s not all up to you. We had a good plan, it just got compromised. At a certain point, when it all goes to hell you have to embrace the chaos. You’ll know when that is.”
“I’ve got another attempt to sound the alarm,” Shepard said.
This was getting bad.
If anyone sounded the general alarm, their options would get pretty limited, fast.
“I’m also getting a lot of movement in the central hub. There are just too many people in there, too many guards,” Shepard said.
That was bad—her father and the others had to be free to move as they all came up with a way out. And movement would be nearly impossible if the administration section was filled with guards.
“Cobra, Cougar stay put. Too much activity around you,” Shepard said.
Alex studied the security camera feeds on one of Shepard’s screens. Too many men walking around with too much urgency.
“Can you give me a guard-down alert, put it at the end of cellblock B,” Alex said.
“Sure,” Shepard replied, tapping at his keyboard. The alert would get other guards running but not make them break out the heavy weapons and riot gear. Alex saw movement but there were still too many people around.
“Give me another one, cell block A,” she said.
The process played out again, with more guards running to that scene.
“Keep things open for now, but if they head back to the hub, lock them in the cellblock,” Alex said.
Once that happened there would be no going back. With prison personnel locked out of the hub, there would be no hiding what was going on.
Alex only hoped her father and the others got out before that happened.