Robert Doherty - Section 8

Which was fortunate for him. Every muscle in his body began to convulse as the agent spread, the ZX binding to the acetylcholinesterase enzymes at the end of each synaptic membrane. This made the AChE inactive, which then made it impossible for the nerve endings to stop firing, thus the uncontrolled muscle activity. Which quickly led to paralysis and death as the lungs stopped working.

All of this happened within thirty seconds.

The gas floated into the main complex, sucked in by the air-conditioning units in all the buildings and spewed out into the rooms inside. The results were the same. Most of those on the island were contaminated while they slept, and went from sleep to unconsciousness to death in half a minute without any awareness. The few others who were awake had those few moments of awareness that something was wrong. Then they too died.

Nine hundred sixty civilians and 250 military personnel were dead within five minutes.

The generators, amply fueled, continued to run, and the lights on the island continued to glow in the darkness.

Vaughn looked up and could see the first stars. He tried to count the days back to the failed raid. He had to assume his brother-in-law's body was back in the States by now. Most likely even in the ground. A military funeral. And he hadn't been there for his sister or to pay his respects. He looked up at the shaft still blowing hot air out. The one who was responsible was in there.

"You all right?" Tai asked.

Vaughn was startled. He'd forgotten all about his partner.

"I wish we hadn't lost our NVGs on the jump. They'd be real helpful in there."

Tai's dark eyes regarded him for several moments.

"What were you really thinking about?"

"A military funeral."

"I don't think we'll get one with this outfit."

That brought a slight smile to Vaughn's lips.

"Not for us. I plan on us getting out of this in one piece."

"That's a good plan," Tai said.

"Let's hope everyone else is on the same sheet of music."

"What do you mean?" Tai grabbed her ruck and slid the shoulder straps on.

"Nothing."

"Ladies first," Vaughn said.

"Don't go bullshit on me now," Tai snapped. In reply, Vaughn grabbed the edge of the tunnel and pulled himself up and in. It was about five feet wide, which meant they couldn't stand upright but wouldn't have to crawl. It was made of corrugated metal and sloped upward at about a twenty-degree angle. Vaughn pulled his red lens flashlight off his combat vest and clicked it on. The light penetrated ahead as far as he could see, about twenty meters. And the tunnel showed no end at that distance. He felt Tai's presence behind him. She put her free hand on his shoulder and he began to move forward, crouching slightly.

He held the MP-5 in one hand and the flashlight in the other. Had he known he'd be without night vision goggles, he would have made sure to bolt a light to the side of the gun. He was glad that he had the red lens flashlight, or else they would literally be in the dark.

Vaughn tried to keep a pace count as they went up the tunnel but knew it had to be off because of the awkward way he was walking. He estimated they had gone over one hundred meters when the pipe changed angles and went level. The blow of warm air continued unabated as they moved onto the level part and faced their first decision. The large pipe split into two smaller ones, each about four feet in diameter.

"This keeps up, we're gonna be on our bellies," Tai whispered as Vaughn shined the light up each passage. Both went level and straight as far as he could see.

"Any preference?" he asked.

Instead of answering, Tai stuck her head in the left tube and cocked her head, listening as she sniffed. Then did the right tube.

"The air is warmer in this one," she said, pointing to the right.

"And?"

Tai smiled and shrugged.

"I don't know what it means. I was just mentioning it."

"That's a lot of help," Vaughn muttered.

"All right. This way."

He led the way into the warmer tube. The only sound was their boots scraping along the metal and their breathing as they went farther into the mountain. After another fifty meters Vaughn paused. Tai bumped up against him and then also became still.

There was the slightest of sounds. Rhythmic.

"Air pump," Tai finally said.

Vaughn thought about the information he'd researched on underground bunkers. Where were the intake for the air handlers usually located? Above. That was good, he thought. It was always best to approach an objective with the higher terrain advantage, even if, as in this case, the terrain was inside a mountain. He continued forward, Tai close behind.

The sound of the air pump grew louder and the blow of air seemed stronger, though Vaughn figured that was just his imagination working overtime. He froze when he saw a metal grate at the far reach of the red light, immediately switching the light off.

He and Tai waited in the darkness, and gradually they began to see a faint light on the other side of the grate. Vaughn got down on his belly and crawled forward, careful not to make any sound. Tai was right behind him, her face scant inches from his boots.

The light grew stronger as he got closer to the grate. He arrived at it and peered through. All he could see was a gray plastic tube that curved down. Warm air blew on his face, pumped up into the tube. The light was dimly coming through the plastic. The sound of the air pump was loud now, right ahead of and below them.

Vaughn scooted as far to one side as he could, and Tai crawled up next to him. Their bodies were pressed together as they considered their situation. Vaughn looked at the grate. The metal strips were only about a quarter inch thick, spaced every three inches or so. He was sure it was designed more to keep animals from coming in than to prevent human entry. He reached out and tugged on it, and the entire thing gave about half an inch. He looked over at Tai and raised his eyebrows in question.

She nodded and grabbed her side of the grate. Together they pushed inward until the metal gave and then popped loose. Twisting, they slid it over their heads and farther down the tunnel.

"Hey," Tai hissed, pointing to the left. Engraved in the metal were Japanese characters and a series of numbers.

"So this was built during the war by the Japanese."

"Looks like," Vaughn agreed. He pointed forward.

"Take a look. I'll hold you."

Tai scooted forward as Vaughn moved back, wrapping his arms around her thighs. She moved farther into the plastic tube, and he had to exert more effort to keep her from tumbling forward. Finally he felt her pull back and helped her, bringing her back into the steel tube.

"There's a damn big fan at the bottom of that thing, about eight feet down from the curve," Tai reported.

"We do not want to go into that."

Vaughn slid his knife out of its sheath. She nodded. He moved to the edge and put the tip of the knife against the plastic. Bearing down on it, he broke through the thin material and then began to cut. On the other side, Tai did the same. They met in the middle on the bottom, having severed the lower half of the plastic tube. Securing his knife back in the sheath, Vaughn grabbed the plastic and pushed it open. A dirty tile floor was about twelve feet below their position in a narrow space between the large machine holding the fan and the rock wall. The space was about two feet wide.

Vaughn moved forward but Tai grabbed his arm.

"How do we get back in here?"

"If we need to leave this way," he said, "we crab up between the wall and the machine."

Tai nodded, and Vaughn edged out, swinging his feet down. His toes scrambled for purchase, one foot on the wall, one on the machine. He flexed his legs, pressing outward, then began his descent. Within seconds he was on the floor. He quickly scooted to the edge of the machine and looked, half expecting to see some sort of custodian or engineer. But the ten-by-twenty-meter cavern was empty. At the far end was a steel door.