Brett Battles - Exit 9

Not allowing any time to talk herself out of it, she dropped into a crouch and crept along the mezzanine until she was three feet short of the stairs. She peeked over the top rail. Standing together in the lower room were two men, both wearing black, with rifles slung over their shoulders.

Without warning her head began to swim. She reached out and grabbed the rail to keep from falling down.

“Did you hear that?” one of the men said. “Up by the stairs, I think.”

They’d heard her.

“We need to check,” the other one said.

“I’ll go.”

No! Oh, God, no! They knew she was here. Now they wouldn’t stop until…

… until I’m dead, too.

She had to buy time, but the only way to do that was to let them know for sure she was there. Without looking, she pointed her gun into the room toward where she thought the others were, and pulled the trigger.

Ash raised his gun, and looked back at Michael and Billy.

“Stay here,” he said.

Billy wasn’t armed, so he didn’t put up any protest, but Michael looked like he was about to.

“Stay. Here,” Ash repeated.

Not waiting to see if Michael complied, he ran to the end of the hallway and scanned the front room beyond. He could see the two men they had left behind, pressed against the wall opposite the front door.

Ash quickly waved his hand to get their attention. One of the men looked over and pointed at the mezzanine above him. Ash nodded, then held up his hand, telling them to stay put.

He turned and ran back down the hallway.

When he reached Michael and Billy, he said, “Is there another way to the second floor?”

“One of them is still here?” Michael asked.

“Is there another way or not?”

Michael nodded. “I’ll show you.”

Moving fast, Michael took him into a room that was set up as an office, then out a door on the other side. This led into a narrow corridor that fed into the kitchen. At the back of the room, next to the pantry, was a closed door. Michael wrenched it open. Beyond was a staircase.

Ash pushed past Michael and raced up. Behind him he heard the other man’s feet pounding the treads.

Instead of arguing with him, Ash looked back and said, “Stay just inside the stairwell in case they try to use it.”

Michael nodded. “Okay.”

Ash took off down the hallway. Having never been on this floor before, he let his instincts guide him. Ahead, the hallway bent to the left. He stopped just short of the turn and listened.

Silence.

Planning to move as quickly as he could to the far end, he stepped around the corner. He was instantly halted by the gun thrust in his face.

Janice headed for the back stairs, hoping the intruders weren’t guarding them, but as she neared the end of the corridor, she heard footsteps running in her direction down the intersecting hallway.

She leaned against the wall and raised her gun.

At first, the only thing Ash could see was the barrel of the pistol. Forcing himself to look beyond it, he made eye contact with the person who wanted to kill him.

“Janice?” he said, surprised.

Her eyes narrowed, confused, but she didn’t lower the weapon.

“Janice. It’s Ash. We’ve been looking for you.”

More confusion, the barrel wavering slightly.

“Please. We’re not here to hurt you. Whoever did this is gone. We just flew out from the Ranch.”

“The Ranch?”

He could see she was having a hard time understanding. She took a harder look at him.

“Ash?”

Whatever energy had been holding her up vanished. If Ash hadn’t jumped forward when he did, she would have smacked her head on the floor.

I.D. MINUS 12 DAYS

Browne and Solomon accompanied Ash, Pax, Billy, Michael, and Janice on the plane back to the Ranch. The other men stayed at the Bluff, securing it until the cleanup team arrived the next afternoon.

Janice had yet to regain consciousness since falling in the hallway. After a quick examination at the house, Billy determined that in addition to the flu, she was now also suffering from hypothermia, which would explain why she hadn’t been killed with the others. Somehow she had been able to hide outside.

Matt was waiting for them when they landed back at the Ranch. He had Ash and Pax ride with him, while everyone else piled into the other waiting vehicles.

“It was indescribable,” Pax said as Matt pulled away from the airstrip. “A goddamn massacre. I don’t think anyone even had a chance.”

“We ran the names of everyone you identified,” Matt said. “The missing person is a man named Jeremy Murphy.”

Pax shook his head. “I don’t think I know him.”

“He was one of the control room technicians.”

“So was he involved?”

“He’d have been perfectly placed.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, then Pax said, “If that’s the case, I wonder if he did this of his own free will, or was he coerced?”

“It doesn’t matter one way or the other,” Matt said. “They’re all still dead.”

Silence once more.

After a little while, Ash said, “Olivia must be pretty damn important to them.”

Matt frowned. “Maybe a few years ago, but I wouldn’t have thought now. Whatever skills she had, they would have surely replaced them by this point.”

“Could be a personal connection. Someone in the Project who just found out she was alive?”

“That would make more sense.”

“Or,” Ash said, having another thought, “what if she was just a byproduct? And the real goal was to disrupt your organization.”

“Then they would have struck here.”

“Has Murphy ever been here?”

“Yeah, but like most of the people we bring in, he doesn’t know where here is.”

“You should probably still get ready, because chances are they’ll figure it out.”

“That’s already being taken care of.” Matt glanced at him. “I’m afraid I need your answer now.”

Ash’s mind had been so absorbed with the events of the evening, it took him a few seconds to realize that Matt was talking about Bluebird. “You should have Pax lead the team. He did a pretty damn good job at the Bluff.”

“Pax will be going, but he won’t be leading. He’ll be there to help and advise, but mainly to be my eyes and report back. I can’t have you burdened with dealing with me, too. Once you go, you’re the authority. I won’t contradict any of your orders. I’ll have too much down here to deal with.”

“You’re assuming we won’t be successful, aren’t you?” Ash asked.

Matt said nothing for several seconds, then nodded. “Yes.”

The rest of the ride was in silence. When Matt pulled up in front of the Lodge and killed the engine, no one made a move to get out.

“You’re asking me to leave my kids,” Ash finally said. “To quite possibly sacrifice my life for something you think is not going to work anyway. Why in the hell should I do that?”

Matt looked at him. “Because if you do succeed, you’re ensuring that the world your children know will still be here.”

It was as if Matt had been echoing his own thoughts.

“Well?” Matt asked.

Ash sat down on the edge of his daughter’s bed, and gave her a shake. “Josie, I need to talk to you.”

She groaned softly and turned on her side, her back to him.

“Josie, come on. Wake up.”

He put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back around. She twisted against the mattress, then her eyelids parted.

“Dad?”

“Hi, sweetie. We need to talk.”

“What time is it?”

“Nearly four.”

She looked at the window, then back at him. “In the morning?”