The vehicle roared through the wall as if it were paper, except that the rough and ragged edges of the steel dug deep gouges across the painted finish. Exterior flood-lights mounted on the outside of the war wag sprayed out and focused on the stairwell.
“Dark night,” J.B. said. “That man isn’t going to back down for anything.”
“Man who works that hard,” Ryan gritted, “must be hiding a lot. We can’t hold here.”
The Armorer nodded. “Ready when you are.”
“Now,” Ryan said, pulling back. He hoped the new light would be confusing to the men watching their position. Once it was known they’d dropped back, the pursuit would begin through the tangle of the stairwells. There’d be little chance of taking a stand. He flicked a last glance at the map Krysty had displayed on the monitor. From the looks of it, they were headed straight for a dead end.
Heavy .50-caliber fire from the tank hosed the stairwell, tracking across the floor and destroying the collections of skeleton honor guards that hadn’t already been wrecked by previous gunfire. The steel-plated walls didn’t hold, and puckers opened up in them as they gave birth to sudden death.
J.B. took the lead and Ryan followed.
Chapter Six
Watching the events unfold over the surveillance monitors and not being able to do anything about it was maddening. Krysty pushed up from the keyboard, fisting her pistol. There was nothing more she could do. Jak would lead them here.
Most of the power had returned to the hidden lab, bringing with it a stronger light that made everything easier to see. A few seconds later she found another door, which led to a bathroom and a provisions area stocked with self-heats and ring-pulls of water. The wire racks held enough to keep several people alive for days. Even then, she didn’t think the soldiers pursuing them would give up.
She’d seen the uniforms. They didn’t wear them like men who’d merely borrowed them from stores within the installation. They also handled the war wags easily, like a precise military unit.
After making sure the bathroom and provisions room were secure, she went forward, checking the other door. It was locked with a sliding combination mechanism. Standing only a couple feet away, she aimed her blaster at the lock and squeezed off a pair of rounds.
Sparks scattered in all directions, followed by pieces of stainless steel. Cordite stink was trapped between the narrow walls. The lock, though, was shattered.
She kicked a booted foot against the door and went through with the .38 pistol clutched in both hands. The room held more computer equipment that hummed and pulsed with electronic life. No clues were provided as to what they were there for.
But the centerpiece of the room was the familiar hexagonal shape of a mat-trans unit.
“Thank Gaia,” Krysty breathed. She walked closer, studying the interior of the gateway through the arma-glass. It was empty, but the glowing metal disks set into the floor signaled the unit’s readiness. The speckled arma-glass made it hard to see inside. Then she noticed the color a jade so dark it almost looked black, the tint only visible when she didn’t look directly at it.
The vanadium-steel doors were shut tight. She knew nothing short of a missile could penetrate them. Without hesitation she reached for the control pad beside the doors and punched in the access code.
Even though it had probably been a hundred years since they’d been opened, the doors recessed smoothly. Stale air rushed out over her, triggering a gag reflex.
Swallowing her gorge, Krysty moved away from the mat-trans unit and retraced her steps to the keyboard. She searched the screens anxiously for Ryan and the others, but couldn’t find them. She tapped the keyboard and brought up other menus, playing other scenes across the monitors.
She almost missed Doc.
The gangly man was still rummaging through the office where the hidden door was. His torch was down to almost an ember now, and he had the Le Mat shoved into the front of his belt as he shoved his way through the shelves and books lining the walls. The floor was littered with books, files and what remained of Colonel Henry Walker.
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