As the wristbands thumped to the floor next to her, she counted, and double counted. Even Roman complied when she jabbed him with the gun.
There was one for each person. But Marina wasn’t satisfied. “Roll up your sleeves. Both arms. Everyone.”
She found three more bands that way; one each on Roman, Varden, and Nora. That just confirmed for her who had the power and who didn’t.
Kicking the bands into a small pile, she used her own to open a door and shove them inside with her foot, all the while keeping Roman under her scope. When the door swished closed, she gave her uncle a shove toward his group.
He stumbled, fell against the wall, and stood there, chest heaving, face nearly as grey as her father’s had been.
Marina started to back away, down the hall, one arm around Gabe, who was helping as much as he could, and the other holding the gun aimed at the group of people she left behind. Then she had an idea.
Stopping in front of a different door, she opened it and gestured for the group to move inside. “See how you like it,” she muttered loud enough for Varden to hear as he walked by.
As soon as they were all in the room and she shut the door, she turned to Gabe.
He looked dead on his feet, but his eyes glowed with admiration. “Very well done.”
“I didn’t even have to fire the damn thing, except to get through the security screen,” she said with a grin, which faded almost immediately. “I don’t know how long we’ll have until they get out of there, so let’s get you the hell out of here.”
Moving quickly down the hall, Gabe limping along and half-leaning on Marina, they made good time navigating through the hallways.
But suddenly, no more than ten minutes later, their luck came to a screeching halt.
A blast of an alarm blared through the halls, and suddenly, the lights went out.
Apparently, there was another way to get out of those rooms than a radio-controlled key.
In pitch dark, in fairly unfamiliar territory and a walking wounded on her arm, Marina was decidedly at a disadvantage.
She pulled out her tiny squeeze-light, grateful once again for the little gadget, and continued trundling Gabe along with her. But she knew it would only be a matter of time before they were found.
Hobble, hobble, hobble … pause, turn left … hobble some more. Marina was panting and gasping with Gabe’s weight, and it felt as though he was sagging more as they went further.
Finally, she veered into a room that was near the end of one of the halls. She wasn’t sure where it was; she’d lost her sense of direction during the last few minutes of mad rush. But perhaps a little food, and some doctoring would help Gabe.
Inside the room, she propelled him toward a sofa—a real sofa, not like the one in hers and Dad’s rooms. He protested weakly, but went.
She dug the water from her pocket and opened it, then shoved it at him and watched as he drank. “No food, no water,” he managed to gasp between swallows.
Marina pulled out the meat and cheese and offered that as well. While he ate, she scouted the room. This one didn’t have an attached bathroom, but she did find some cloths that appeared to be laundry of some sort. Using some of the second bottle of water, she tried to wash away some of the sweat and blood that mottled his face. But when she tried to check the leg he favored, and the wound on his head, he pushed her hand away with surprising strength.
“No time for that now. We have to get out of here. I’m feeling better now that I have food and drink.” He didn’t look better, but the determination in his face told Marina it was senseless to argue. “We have to stop them.”
“What are they doing? Something about Detroit?”
“Earthquakes, I think. Like the ones in Allentown. I don’t know the details, but we have to find a way to stop them.”
How could they stop them if they didn’t know the details? And if the entire complex was looking for them?
Then Marina knew the answer. Dad. By God, she’d force him to tell her what he knew. “I’ll be back. Gabe, you need to stay here and rest—”
“Absolutely not. I’m going with you. I’m feeling better now, and you’ve put yourself in enough danger. At least I know how to use that.” He forced a feeble grin as he gestured to the gun. “It’s a Smith & Wesson, in case you were wondering.”
Marina hesitated only a moment; but two heads were better than one. And if Gabe were found, alone and weak, he’d be back in the same position she’d just rescued him from. “All right. We’re going back in there to find my dad.”
“Victor? He’s here?”
“Oh yes, he’s here.” Marina took the time to tell him about Roman and Gabe, Nora, Varden, and Lev because she figured a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt their cause and might help him regain a little more strength. She gave him the details of her confinement, and told him about everything except for Ivan the Terrible’s secret library. She wanted to hold that to herself.
When she finished, Gabe spoke. “Marina … if you made it as far as my gun, you were almost out of here. You didn’t have to come back for me.”
-40-
July 14, 2007
Siberia
The halls were still dark when Gabe and Marina slipped out of the room. Not wanting to chance the full brightness of her light, Marina kept it cupped in her hand while Gabe managed the gun.
She was more than willing to give it up to him; and was also relieved that he seemed much steadier on his feet after the rest and nourishment.
It might have been the darkness, or the fact that Roman and Varden wouldn’t expect them to return to the place of their imprisonment, but Marina was able to lead them back to Victor’s room without incident.
“Only complete idiots would be coming back this way,” Gabe muttered into her ear, echoing her thoughts, as they stood before Victor’s door.
Marina held her breath for a moment before pushing the button on her wristband. There was always the chance that Victor might sound the alarm when they entered.
Or that he would no longer be there.
And that, she found to her shock, was indeed the case.
The suite of rooms was empty.
“Now what?” Gabe asked.
“I want to go back into the private Segment. Maybe Lev’s there; maybe we can find out from him what’s going on. He wasn’t with the others.”
“You’re going to force an old man?” Gabe looked at her in the dim light of her flash, his bruised face threatening in the shadows.
“Maybe he’s being forced, and he’ll be glad to help us.” Marina didn’t really believe it; but the way she saw it, there was no other choice.
“How are we going to get into the Segment, Marina?” Gabe whispered as they hurried back out into the hall.
“I still have the tongue tab from Dad. In my pocket. I’m hoping it will read the code even though it’s long dried.”
“And full of lint.” Gabe’s sarcasm was back, but he stayed with her on their walk down the hall. “Where the hell is everyone? You’d think they’d be scouring the place for us.”
Marina could hear the effort in his voice; knew he was in pain. But she also recognized that he was built to keep going, regardless of personal discomfort. And that saying anything wasn’t going to make a difference. “I’m betting they’re searching all of the exits—however many there are. They didn’t expect us to be back in here, in the middle of everything. We’re probably safer here than anywhere else.” Then she remembered. “I have your sat phone. Do you think—”
“My sat phone? Give me the damn thing!” Gabe’s voice shot through the darkness like a whip. “These things work everywhere!”
“I couldn’t get it to work when I went and got the gun.” She fished in her pocket as they hurried along. “Guess I have a lot to learn in the spook business, eh?”
“Well, you haven’t gotten either of us killed yet, and you’re a hot kisser…so I’m not complaining.”
And they were at the door of the Segment. Marina dug in her pocket and pulled out the tongue tab. “Cross your fingers.”
She had to shine the light on the slot in order to see to be able to feed the tab through it.
Then she held her breath.
And the door whirred, slowly opening.
Marina and Gabe hurried through the door, unsure how long it would remain open, then paused to look around.
Unlike the rest of the compound, this hall was still illuminated. The pleasing yellow glow of lights studded the ceiling along the corridor, still the same rounded, white walls Marina had noticed throughout. However, the floor was covered with a thick, padded carpet that looked like luxurious sheepskin.
It helped to muffle their footsteps as they hurried along.
“This look familiar?” It did to Marina. This was where Lev had brought her to show her the library.
Gabe grunted in reply as they paused at a T-intersection. “This way; they brought me this way. So let’s go that way.”
She agreed, and followed him.
They’d gone only a few yards down the hall when Marina recognized exactly where she was. They turned a corner and suddenly a tall, metal door loomed in front of them. And at that moment, they heard rapidly approaching voices.
“In here!” she hissed, and yanked Gabe after her.
The door opened when she pulled the hidden lever next to it; no DNA needed here, thank goodness, because she was already in the private section.
“Good grief. What the hell is this?” Gabe would have gaped if she hadn’t pushed him down onto the floor while she frantically jammed the button to close the door. She pulled on the heavy metal closure, trying to help it move faster. “Hide!” she whispered to Gabe as the door clicked shut. She had a bad feeling.
She was right. She’d recognized Lev’s voice; and she’d sensed he’d want to check the safety of his library, knowing that the prisoners had escaped.
Marina and Gabe scuttled along the floor, behind the cabinets and tables, into a far corner of the room as the door opened again.