part0059

“Yeah, like a decade ago. Besides, you were in the Marines. I bet you had one of your COs holding your hand every step of the way, teaching you how to swim or how to shout like R. Lee Ermey.”

“Wait, do they not know how to swim in the Army?” Anderson smirked a challenge. “Do they not teach that there?”

“Well, no, but they usually expect us to know how to swim before we sign up.” The operative shrugged expansively. “You know, basic skills like reading, writing, addition, subtraction, that sort of thing.”

“Well, they only do the basics with you grunts anyway.” The ex-colonel strapped the new body armor to his chest. “They need us to be able to multiply and divide in the Marines. Crazy, right?”

“Nuts. Okay, it looks like everything’s ready to go. Anja, do you have an opening for us yet?”

“Well, there’s only one way in and out of the facility,” she replied and sounded a lot less upbeat than she had earlier in the day. “They have seismic sensors on the fences all around, so digging won’t be an option. I think I can get you and Anderson in through the front door, though. Most of the researchers working there have homes in the city, which means that at closing hours, the gate will be hectic, and security won’t actually man it. I can hold the gate when it’s closing to get you inside, but the two of you need to be able to sneak in close enough to access it while I do it.”

“We can do that.” Savage nodded briskly. “We don’t have any water to swim in, but I think I can walk my friend Anderson here through the intricacies of watching and waiting.”

“Hey, I love the fact that you ladies have all these inside jokes to make about your history in the military,” the hacker snarked. “But can you focus a little? We’re right in the middle of an operation here.”

“Are you all right there, Anja? You sound a little stressed. I don’t mean to diminish the work you do on your end, because you’re all kinds of awesome, but isn’t this only run of the mill for us by this point?”

“Yeah, I guess.” She sighed heavily. “Sorry. Things are a little stressful on this end.”

“Do you want to talk about it? Anderson just started putting his wetsuit on and it’ll take him at least a half hour to realize he doesn’t need it and another half hour to take it off again.”

His companion flipped him off and he grinned.

“It’s just…yeah, people around here are fucked up, that’s all,” Anja replied. “Nothing I need to bother you with. What do you say we get this show on the road?”

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Savage accepted her change of focus without question, actually a little relieved that she hadn’t taken his invitation to unburden herself. Maybe the moments before a critical mission weren’t the best times for help-a-friend. “When can we start?”

He made another slow scan of their surroundings. They’d taken the car off the beaten track and onto a dirt road about a half-mile away from the facility. Under any other circumstances, he would have considered it a literal walk in the park. Unfortunately, they currently stood under the harsh sun that beat down to the tune of over a hundred degrees. That would definitely add extra spice to their little stroll.

“Well, people should start leaving in about an hour, so I guess the two of you should start walking,” Anja said. “There aren’t any cameras that cover outside the facility and not too many people wander around there except for the two guards out front. But if you do need it, there should be enough brush cover around the site to keep out of sight of any of the people inside the fence. Once you get within fifty meters, though, it might be difficult since they have cleared most of the growth.”

“Fair enough.” The operative strapped a pack over his shoulder. “Are you ready to do some walking, Marine?”

“You bet, Grunt,” Anderson replied briskly. “I hope things cool off before we need to crawl on our bellies to get to the gate, though.”

Savage smirked. That hope was unlikely to bring anything but disappointment. He’d been in deserts similar to this one before, and if there was one thing you could count on, it was the fact that the ground that had absorbed heat from the sun all day would remain shockingly hot for at least a couple of hours afterward. Still, he wouldn’t be the one to complain about the heat.

Then again, maybe he would. This wasn’t a competition over who was the toughest and who could endure the difficulties the best. He checked his pack again. A shotgun was tucked inside, and he carried his pistol in the underarm holster. Other than that, he’d kept it empty in case they needed to haul anything out of the place. Anderson’s preparations were similar, except he had stowed a sub-machine gun in his bag and a Beretta under his arm.

They would be ready if they needed to shoot their way out of the location, Savage mused as they began their slow march toward the facility. The structure sprawled in the distance. They were far enough away from the road that their presence should go unnoticed, but they still remained as low as possible through the unbearable heat and moved as quickly as they could without risking detection.

The area was very similar to some of the places Savage had spent a lot of time in—and Anderson too, from the former colonel’s file. Or the parts that weren’t redacted, at least. They both looked like they could handle the long haul and had the presence of mind to bring water for their little hike as well. Hydration was something very rarely remembered in combat situations, but dehydration was the kind of thing that could get a man killed. Failing that, it could knock him out of commission for a couple of days for recovery. That simple truth was heavily stressed to the men and women who fought in desert environments.

Although Savage remembered it being something of a factor in jungle situations too. Sometimes, even the professionals forgot how much you ended up sweating in the hot, humid environments.

He shook his head and adjusted their course marginally to the left. The sun was starting to set, and the heat grew a little less intense. It still felt like they were trekking through the devil’s ass crack, though.

He indicated for Anderson to cut toward the road when they moved within the right range. It was annoyingly complicated that the gate provided the only point of ingress, but they would manage it one way or another.

The two guards were still in position but lingered in as much shadow as they could manage, even as the temperatures began to drop. They hadn’t moved from their location when the duo reached the last of the brush and were forced to come to a halt.

He glanced at Anderson, who shrugged gently and shook his head when Savage moved to draw his pistol from the holster. He didn’t understand why his partner would hesitate. They could cover the distance rapidly, and if his shooting skill at the warehouse lately had been any indication, he could kill both guards and hide the bodies before any of the tired researchers headed out.

The other man shook his head again, held his hand in a fist, and pointed at the gate. He intended to wait, then. The operative ground his teeth but didn’t argue. After all, he worked for Anderson. The joking moments were a way to keep his boss’ attention away from a potentially mission-ending panic attack, but that didn’t change their fundamental relationship of employee and employer.

Resigned to the irritation of immobility, he remained crouched behind some dried tumbleweed bushes and grimaced when the sweat trickled down his back. It was too hot for most bugs, but he identified a couple of smaller lizards scuttling from shade to shade. The creatures froze when they saw the two men and darted away a second later.

It was too hot even for the cold-blooded creatures. What did that say about the dumbass humans who decided to build their lives out there?

Anderson keyed his comm unit and brought Savage’s attention back to the present. His thoughts had drifted a little since they now waited longer than expected out in the sun. He would definitely acquire a sunburn out there and could only hope it translated into a tan.

A gesture from his companion directed his attention to the gate they needed to access. It pulled open slowly and both armed guards stepped inside. The barrier closed again but opened a few minutes later to allow a silver SUV through. A white sedan followed with an electric car close behind.

“Okay, boys,” Anja said. “I hope you enjoyed your time sunbathing, but we now need to see how quickly you can sprint fifty yards, okay? Count it down with me so we have the timing right. Five…four…three…two… one… Go!”

A small hatchback spilled out of the gap and sped away as the two men sprinted toward the gate Anja’s efforts now held ready for their entry. It was still a close thing, Savage realized. She wasn’t actually preventing the movement, merely slowing it down as they continued to close.

The former Ranger was in better shape than his Marine comrade. It wasn’t all that surprising, considering that Anderson had been out of active duty for a while now. He reached the gates first and assumed Anja would be scrubbing the feeds of the cameras he could see turned in his direction. Once he’d slid through the diminishing space, he immediately cut left, his pistol in his hands, and scanned the area around him to ensure that they were clear of any eyes the hacker couldn’t hack.

His boss pushed through barely in time, although he had to squeeze in sideways as the gates snapped shut.

“Getting slow there, squiddy?” Savage whispered.

He didn’t need any military experience to understand what the gesture Anderson tossed his way meant. The fact that the man was too winded to actually come up with a verbal rebuttal, though, was all he needed to know, and he grinned a cheeky response.

“Okay, the gate is the only way past the fence,” Anja said. “But once inside, there are numerous points of entry into the building itself. Follow my lead and I'll find you a place to slip inside unnoticed.”

They sauntered away from the road that now had a steady flow of cars heading out of the facility. Although they weren't dressed too differently than the security personnel by design, a close inspection was something they preferred to avoid for the time being.

“Okay, I have a service entrance on the side of the building for you to use,” the hacker said decisively. “People working there have already left for the day, and I don't think security will do any sweeps yet, although they should do so in the next couple of hours. I won't have any access to the feeds until you are back in the building.”

He nodded, knowing she could see him now from the lens his boss wore. They circled the building warily, with Savage taking point and Anderson keeping an eye on their rear, and reached the door Anja had indicated. It was locked with a physical lock that required a key. He scowled and tried the handle.

“It's locked,” he said to her. “And I don't have any equipment to unlock it with. We need another entrance.”

“Okay, there's a door leading into the building with an electronic lock I can help you with. About twenty paces from your current location.”

“Why do I feel like this is a good-news-bad-news situation?” Savage asked as they hurried away from the door.

“Your instincts are on point, as usual, Jer. You'll enter through a security hub and should probably expect resistance.”

“Roger that.” Savage flicked the safety off on his pistol and watched as his companion attached a suppressor to his. A few seconds were all that was needed before the two men approached the door she'd indicated. As she'd said, the lock was electronic and tied to a fingerprint reader to its left. After a second or two, the red light over the sensor turned green. He nodded and gestured for Anderson to follow his lead. From experience, the pistol in his hand made a lot less noise than the Beretta, even with a suppressor attached.

His companion nodded understanding as the operative pulled the door open.

Two men stood nearby. Their sub-machine guns hung loosely from their shoulder straps, and they sipped warm cups of coffee. Both immediately looked surprised to see someone use the door. Their instincts were good, though, and they needed less than a second to process the fact that the two newcomers weren't supposed to be there. As one, they reached for their weapons.

Unfortunately for them, a second was all the time Savage needed. While they had yet to draw the weapons, flick the safeties off, and raise them to fire, the operative was bound by no such necessities. He was already poised for the attack and simply squeezed the trigger.

No loud crack or pop resulted, but the whoomph delivered a soft kick against his hand. One of the needles rocketed from the weapon at supersonic speed.

He pulled it again, to be safe, and nodded when the first man dropped. The second had raised his weapon and was almost ready to fire by the time the operative turned his attention to him and pulled the trigger again to apply another double tap. The guard stumbled and squeezed the trigger on his weapon reflexively. When no gunshots resulted, it seemed obvious that the safety was still on.

Both men were down, and blood rapidly stained the floor. He pushed closer to them and shoved aside one of the men's hands as he tried weakly to grab him. As the former Ranger lifted the man's shirt away, he smirked.

“What do you know? The boys in the lab made something very interesting with this gun.” Savage glanced at Anderson. “It punched through their body armor and caused all kinds of internal damage from the looks of it.”

“I’m so glad you're pleased.” His partner scowled.

“It doesn't take a terrible person to enjoy using a new piece of tech.” He shrugged and touched the elongated barrel gently. “Then again, I am a terrible person. The worst, really.”

“Oh, come on, do you really think I'll believe that?” Anderson asked with a chuckle.

“Hey, you were the one who said you wanted a savage on your side,” he answered and grinned. “Come on, we don't have much time. I'd say the moment someone finds these bodies is when the jig is up. We need to work fast.”

They took a moment to drag the corpses away from their place on the floor. There wasn’t time to clean the blood, but hopefully, it would buy them time to explore the opportunities that had been denied them on their first trip there.

“Okay, the weapons and armor testing will be in the east and north wing,” Anja said. “The east wing is closest so you should start there.”

“Shouldn't we split up?” Savage asked. “We could cover more ground.”

“Well, that would make sense if you wore a fucking transmitter lens,” Anja reminded him. “I can access via the comms piggy-back like I always do, but this particular baby has special software to run the searches in real time. We need that.”

“Right. Why the hell don't I have one then?”

“I only had time to make the one,” the hacker protested. “Come on. You can't expect me to do everything for you. Get a Goddamn move on, would you?”

“Roger that.” Anderson pushed forward and took point quickly, leaving his partner to follow. The two had slid into an easy flow like they’d worked together on this type of operation before. They hadn't, of course, but the many overlapping skills between them enabled them to function better as a team. It didn’t take long at all to adjust to one another, so responses and actions became more natural the more time they spent as a unit.

They made one hell of a good team, Savage thought with a smile. Even if the man was a Marine.

Alert for any sign of discovery, they made their way through a series of hallways and deeper into the facility. Hopefully, what they found would provide them with a clear view of what the researchers were working on there. Full suits of body armor—power armor, by the looks of it—seemed large enough to probably assume the battlefield duties of a tank. Whole cavalry divisions, Savage mused, could transform from using huge, lumbering vehicles into men traversing the battlefield using suits like these. That was the future of modern warfare.

Some appeared to be too big, though. He knew a thing or two about the physics involved in using gear like those. The bigger you made a suit, the more power needed to be used to power it and the heavier it would be. It could ultimately turn it into a frustrating cycle of diminishing returns.

Some of the prototypes definitely looked too large to be real.

“Okay, after a thought, I wonder if you didn't have the right idea, Savage,” Anja said. “I detect considerable Pegasus hardware, but most of it is too big to carry around in a bag. I'll direct Anderson to pick up what he can. While he does that, you head out to find the hard drives of data storage they have in the building. I don't need to see them to know what to look for. They're all physically locked away from my access, so you'll have to pull them yourself.”

Savage nodded and included Anderson in the agreement.

“Five minutes, then we bug out,” the colonel said firmly.

“Roger that. Okay, Anja, tell me where to go.”

She guided him away and deeper into the east wing of the building. He passed a couple of weapons ranges installed to test massive assault rifles—presumably to be used by the suits he'd seen. He broke into a jog as he neared the server room. It was interesting how quickly the facility had simply emptied at the end of the workday. It made him think the people didn't like their jobs that much. Or maybe they were merely understaffed and needed to bolt at day’s end to preserve their sanity.

He located his target and scowled when he realized he had a considerable problem.

“Anja,” he said tentatively. “There are a lot of hard drives in here.”

“Identify those that have a flashing red light,” she said quickly, clearly having isolated the comms between her and Savage and her and Anderson to keep them from overlapping. “They won't be attached to any of the computers, so unplug them from the power supplies and stash them in your bag. We'll have to find another way to get through them.”

The operative nodded and checked his watch before he set to work. He had three minutes before he needed to return to his teammate. The man would probably have to leave sooner, even before he did, but that simply meant he could show up and save the ex-colonel's bacon if someone tried to prevent his escape. He grinned as he accepted what seemed to be inevitable.

The burdens of being good at your job, he thought with a smirk.

He had retrieved fifteen hard drives before his watch beeped to signal that his time was up. He’d barely stashed the last one in his bag when klaxons blared across the facility.

“I think we've officially worn our welcome out around here,” Savage said. “I don't think we'll be able to leave the same way we came in, though.”

“You would be right,” Anja replied. “The origin of the alarm indicates that someone has discovered your dead friends.”

“Fun times. Anderson, do you copy?”

“I heard. I'm already on my way to you. Anja says she has a way out we can use.”

“Look at me, saving your bacon again,” the hacker said and sounded like she sported a broad grin. “If you ever come to the Zoo, you'll have to buy me a drink.”

“Well, if I buy you one for each time you've saved my life, I think I'll end up buying you drinks all night.”

“Don't inflate her ego,” Anderson warned a few seconds before the man sprinted around the corner. Thankfully, it didn't seem like there was anyone immediately behind him. He assumed that intruders were to be shot on sight anyway, so no pursuit at this point was likely a good thing.

He still kept his weapon raised and aimed at the corner to ensure that nobody followed until the ex-colonel, winded again, patted him on the shoulder.

“Where are we headed?” Savage asked brusquely.

“One hundred yards down the hallway, you'll find an emergency exit,” the hacker directed. “They don't have any way to open them on the outside, though, so once you're out, you won't be able to get back in, understood?”

“Understood!” It emerged louder than he’d intended. “Let's move.”

Then again, with the alarms that now blared across the whole building, he had a hard time hearing himself think. Shouting was the only option at that point.

They jogged purposefully through the still deserted corridors. Although it was tempting to proceed in a sprint, they didn't want to careen into another security squad that might have circled from the opposite direction and so restrained themselves. Thankfully, they encountered no efforts to slow their progress.

That changed when they reached the emergency exit door, though. Loud shouts and heavy boots pounded the floors as they reached it.

“Bogeys on our six,” Savage snapped and spun to meet them.

It was interesting to bring a new weapon onto the field of battle. He waited with real anticipation until the men spilled into view in pursuit of the two intruders. They saw the operative raise a weapon and the call to take cover went up, but a good third of the men were slow to respond. Two fell without a sound, sporting wounds from needles that had penetrated their body armor with ease.

He even tagged a third in the leg before the remaining guards flung themselves into the nearby labs for cover.

“Anytime you like, Colonel,” he shouted. For the first time since he'd met the man, Anderson didn't object to being called by the title he used to hold and pushed the door open quickly. Savage kept his gaze on the men behind as his partner gripped his shoulder and guided him back through the door. Gunfire erupted from the outside, both suppressed and unsuppressed, and the other man immediately returned fire. The operative slammed the door shut and spun to assess the situation.

Five men to their left struggled to find any cover at all in the open ground between the facility building and fences. Half a dozen huddled on the right, with bodies and blood visible on both sides. For all his time away from the field, the ex-Marine was still a crack shot, even with a suppressor on his Beretta.

Savage raised his weapon, but when bullets whined over his head, he launched himself from his position atop a small flight of stairs and onto the dusty ground below. He landed on his shoulder and winced when a flare of pain surged through his collarbone, but he continued to roll until he was fully prone. Ignoring his injury, he aimed at the men who attacked from the right and pulled the trigger as quickly as he could. It was such a nice change to not have to worry about ammo and mags, he decided. He still had over two-thirds of the strip of needles in his weapon and could realistically shoot all day.

Not literally, of course, but it made a comforting thought.

Anderson stayed on his feet and took advantage of the men who backed away when they realized they now faced weapons that would turn their vests of ceramic armor into swiss cheese. He sprinted towards the fence and heaved his bag to the other side before he clambered quickly to the top. His partner found his feet and paused to watch the man use his body armor to negotiate over the barbed wire on the top. The suit protected him from any significant damage while he remained where he was, sprawled on top of the wire as he fired at the security teams that now seemed a little bolder.

Instinct and training clicked together. Too much time had been spent running this little drill on the training ground—and even on the battlefield—for him to forget how it was done. The maneuver was purely reflex by now and required no thought at all before he spurred himself into action.

He vaulted high and shinnied up the remaining stretch of the fifteen-foot-tall fence. Anderson's arm hung down, waiting for him, and he gripped the man’s hand tightly. He was hauled up the rest of the way by the colonel's strength. One of the barbs caught on his right arm and gouged a wound when he couldn't stop himself from being dragged down the other side.

“Fuck!” Savage shouted in the second before he landed hard. The impact knocked the air out of him, and he struggled to regain his feet. He slapped the pistol from his right hand into his left to continue desultory fire at their would-be pursuers as the duo pushed into the desert. They had no idea if they actually headed in the direction where they'd left their car, of course. The priority was to escape the facility with their stolen loot intact. That achieved successfully, they would circle to locate their vehicle.

Besides, night was already falling, and it would be a lot more pleasant to walk through the desert without the heat of a thousand suns beating down on them.

The two ran on even as the lights from the research facility behind faded. They continued while the shouting tapered off, remained low, and stayed in motion as they zagged and zigged through the thick underbrush. Their steady pace and seemingly erratic maneuvers made sure that following them in this darkness would be impossible.

Finally, after what felt like hours but could only have been about fifteen minutes, they dragged to a halt. Savage actually felt lightheaded and he scowled at the blood that still trickled from his arm.

“Are you...all right there, grunt?” Anderson asked. He could see the bleeding, even if it looked black in the dim moon and starlight.

The operative felt winded himself but he ignored the discomfort and quickly applied pressure to the wound. It hadn't been the best escape he'd ever been a part of but not the worst either.

“Yeah... I think I'll be okay. I need to have this stitched when we get back to the hotel, though.”

“We should use the back entrance,” Anderson replied as both men dropped to catch their breath. “I have to imagine that a man walking around with a blood-covered arm through a hotel lobby would draw the attention of some of the patrons and employees. It might even warrant a call to the police.”

“You have a point there.” His voice slurred a little as he pressed a clean rag to the wound. The pressure triggered a stab of pain and he hissed through his teeth but maintained his effort to staunch the blood. “Did we get what we came for? If we only got away with some really expensive paperweights, I'll be pissed right the fuck off.”

“Well, I can't speak for the hard drives you took, Savage, not until I can see what's on them, at least.” Anja had sensibly held her silence while the two men made their escape. “But Anderson collected items that should do the trick rather nicely. I only hope nothing broke when you pitched the bag over the fence.”

“Break some specimens or get shot,” Anderson retorted. “You let me know which you'd prefer.”

“You really don't know me that well, do you, Colonel?” Anja asked.

Savage smirked. “Shut up, both of you. Okay, we need to find our car before the people in the facility start scouring the area.”

“They don't have jurisdiction over any land outside the facility itself,” she said. “They won't pursue you themselves.”

“And you know this how?”

“Because they've already called the state police,” she replied brightly.

“Fantastic.” He muttered an expletive and pushed to his feet. “So we should probably get to our car before the police find it.”

“That would be a good idea, yes.”

“We need to get all this to Houston,” Anderson said as they set off at a brisk walk.

“What's in Houston?” Savage asked and peered at his arm to confirm that the bleeding had stopped.

“Our closest research facility. They'll know what to do with whatever it was we stole. And there are connections there we can plug the hard drives into so that Anja can take a peek.”