The Einstein Pursuit

59

Rapture smiled when he received the order from Payne. Then he did what he did best: he unleashed a series of explosions that utterly decimated the power station. In a flash of fire and a shower of sparks, the entire facility went dark. Before anyone else could react, Payne and his assault team burst through the doorway of the laboratory’s main floor.

‘Fire!’ they screamed as loud as they could.

They had learned from experience that this distress call transcended language barriers. It was one of those words that elicited an immediate response, regardless of the situation or the location. Within seconds, the warning was being translated and relayed throughout the room. Startled scientists pushed toward the exits in a calm and orderly fashion. Even in near darkness, the evacuation of the building had started better than Payne and Jones could have hoped. It wasn’t until the battery-powered backup lights switched on that all hell broke loose.

That was when the real panic started.

As the flickering lights began to illuminate the room, the invading men could no longer remain hidden. Payne and Jones had broken for the guard station the instant the room had gone dark, but they had only made it halfway to the door when the glow of the backup lights gave away their advance. One of the scientists screamed at the sight of two armed soldiers streaking across the room. Then another. And another.

Before long, everyone was screaming.

Cole charged out of the guard station with his weapon raised. He spotted Payne in the midst of the chaos and opened fire. He didn’t care about collateral damage. All he cared about was killing the intruders. Payne launched himself sideways into a pack of scientists. They crashed to the floor like bowling pins as broken glass rained down on top of them.

Other guards joined in, and before long, automatic weapons were shredding the laboratory. Jones and his squad returned fire while shrieking scientists crawled their way toward the safety of the stairwell. Payne twisted around and yanked one of the women he had saved behind the solid base of a specimen table.

‘See him,’ he said as he pointed to Hulk, ‘he’s here to get you out.’

Now sobbing, the young woman summoned the courage to rise to her knees and scurry toward the door.

From his position on the floor, Payne could see other scientists cowering behind anything and everything to protect themselves from the chaos around them. ‘Go now!’ he yelled. To reinforce his demand, he rose to his feet and returned fire.

His first volley caught one of Cole’s men in the stomach, and he crumpled to his knees. A second later, a headshot from Rhino splattered the wall with grey matter. When Jones silenced another guard with a shot to the neck, the rest of the men cowered inside the guard station, ducking for cover behind the concrete walls and an overturned steel table.

Spaghetti and meatballs covered the floor.

Together Payne, Jones, Hulk and Rhino were able to lay down a suppressive wave of gunfire, allowing the remaining scientists to crawl their way to the exit.

Hulk stepped farther into the room, determined to help Payne and Jones, but the duo cut him off before he could make good on his intentions.

‘We’ll handle this,’ Payne insisted between bursts of gunfire.

‘Get the scientists out of the building and to the rally point,’ Jones directed.

‘But sir—’

‘Now! That’s an order,’ Payne barked.

‘Yes, sir,’ Hulk replied as he backpedaled toward the exit.

Payne watched as Hulk and Rhino disappeared into the stairwell. From here on out, it was just him and Jones against whoever was left cowering behind the conference table.

They ducked low to reload.

‘What are you thinking?’ Payne asked.

Jones raised his assault rifle. ‘I’m thinking maybe we should have brought a little more firepower. Is it too late to call Kaiser?’

Payne smiled. The M4 in his hands was compact and efficient. It could easily shoot through the steel table, but it didn’t have the punch to drive a bullet through a concrete block. If they wanted Cole and his men, they would have to flush them out.

As he considered their options, two of Cole’s men rose from their positions and began firing wildly in Payne and Jones’s general direction. In the spaces between shooting, Payne could hear the squeak of rubber soles against linoleum tile. He knew that Cole was trying to escape. The men weren’t really trying to hit Payne and Jones; that would merely be an added benefit. Their actual intent was to cover Cole’s retreat.

‘Jon!’ Jones yelled above the din.

Payne turned to see his friend pointing toward the second stairwell at the far end of the floor. He watched as Cole and two of his henchmen disappeared through the exit.

‘Rabbit?’ Jones asked.

Payne flexed his trigger finger. ‘Rabbit.’

Jones slung his M4 over his shoulder. He crouched like a sprinter in the starting blocks and took a deep breath before bursting from his stance. His head held low, he darted between tables and equipment stands, ducking and weaving his way across the room.

Like greyhounds chasing the racetrack hare, the gunmen’s aim followed Jones as he ran. As they turned away from him, Payne sprang from his crouch and unloaded a full magazine into the unsuspecting pair. They fell, unable to catch their breath as the air escaped their bullet-ridden lungs. Confident that his friend was no longer in danger, Payne stepped over each man and ended his life with a single round.

‘Clear?’ Jones asked.

‘Clear,’ Payne replied.

Jones rose to his full height as Payne raced by him in pursuit of Cole. Jones followed him into the second stairwell, where they had a decision to make. The exit was above them, but bloody palm smears on the wall indicated that someone had made their way down.

‘You go up,’ Payne said. ‘I’m going to check out the basement.’

‘See you outside,’ Jones replied as he raced up to the next level. He kicked the door open and ducked behind the wall as shots ricocheted around him.

The goon waiting for his arrival had just missed his best opportunity.

Jones stepped through the door and aimed his rifle where he expected his opposition to be, but there was no one visible in the gloom. All he could see were the animal cages he had passed on the way in. Row after row of mice, rats, cats and more. All of them riled up from the panic and noise and fear. They, more than men, could sense danger.

Suddenly Jones saw a shadow dart across the room.

Two more joined the hunt, moving more quickly than humanly possible.

Another shot rang out, this time missing Jones by mere inches. He returned fire with a spray of bullets from his M4 and used the commotion to adjust his position, creeping around toppled transport cages that were now strewn about the room, trying to locate his target. He steadied himself and listened, hoping that his quarry would give himself away.

What he heard instead sent a chill down his spine.

The man’s scream was shrill. A horrified shriek like the wailing of a banshee. It was followed by two rapid gunshots, then a sickening, gurgling plea for help.

Jones stepped forward cautiously, unsure of what he would find. As he came upon the gunman, he realized that shooting him would have been an act of kindness.

But he wasn’t in the mood to be kind.

A dead chimpanzee lay at the man’s side. He had killed it with the pistol that dangled from his limp hand. The other two chimps were busy dismantling the man’s face. His eyes and ears had been removed, and his throat had been torn open. Jones could see from the man’s wounds that he was close to death, as the carotid artery had stopped spurting blood into the pool that had gathered around his head. Now it was just a trickle.

‘Got what you deserved,’ Jones muttered as he retreated toward the exit, not the least bit concerned about the angry chimps. He had set them free earlier, and they had cleared his way. He knew they wouldn’t attack him from behind.

‘Headed for the surface,’ Jones announced.

‘Copy that,’ Rhino answered. ‘You have eyes on Panther?’

‘Negative, Rhino. Panther, do you read?’

But Payne did not respond.