The angry, deafening shrieking of raptured metal replaced the thunder of the explosion, and blinding clouds of white vapor spewed up from below, billowing and rolling like heavy fog. It doused the flames and coated all of the walkways with a patina of frost. Mildred inhaled just a bit of the supercooled air, and for a moment she gagged herself blind, the soft, wet tissues of her throat afire with agony. She slammed the cage lever as far as it would go in the up position, and with an electrical whine the elevator shot upward. It rose, rattling and shaking, past level after level.
Once, she hazarded a look over the gate and saw nothing but an expanse of white clouds, as though she were rocketing high in the air, far above the earth. Then, over the hum and the rattle, she heard the warbling and wailing of alarm Klaxons. Quickly she drew her revolver. She had no idea where she was going to end up, but she was at least on her way.
The lift clanked to a jolting halt. Pushing aside the gate, Mildred stepped into a small alcove fronting a tunnel from which a group of men emerged. They wore white coveralls and were frantically donning breathing masks. They stumbled to unsteady, fearful stops when they saw Mildred and her blaster. She almost shouted “Freeze!” but thought better of it and commanded, “Don’t move!”
The man in the lead wore a badge identifying him as MIKE. He sputtered and stammered behind the mask. “Pl-please, we’ve got to get down to the station!”
Snatching the badge from his coverall pocket, Mildred said, “First things first, Mike. Show me the nearest computer tie-in.”
Mike pushed his way through his companions, moving toward the rear of the tunnel. Mildred said, “The rest of you can go about your business.”
They made a concerted rush for the lift cage, and Mike stopped in front of a wall panel. “Here.”
“Complex display,” Mildred announced.
The wall panel flashed with light, and a diagram of the complex appeared. “Where are we?” Mildred asked.
Mike pointed to a throbbing green dot.
“Locate Doug.”
Another dot began to throb. Counting the levels, Mildred saw she was far below Ryan’s location. “Where’s the nearest lift, Mike?”
“Out the doors, a hundred feet to your right. To get to Doug’s level, all you have to do is say into the tie-in, ‘Doug.'”
“Handy. You may go now.”
Mike bustled away, and Mildred went through the doors at the end of the tunnel. She called Ryan on the transceiver and told him, “On my way.”
“Good,” he responded. “J.B. and the rest should be here soon.”
“Are you sure?”
“No. Watch your back.”
“Watch yours.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
When Ryan heard the first alarms, he picked up the Walther MPL and the SIG-Sauer P-226 and walked painfully toward the private lift between the bookcases. Pushing the red button with the barrel of the Walther, the door panels rolled open and he stepped inside. A push of the button on the inside wall closed the doors and started the elevator moving smoothly upward.
When it sighed to a gentle stop, he poked the button, the door panels opened and he stepped out into a scene of utter, screaming panic and pandemonium. He stood for a moment, grinning, relishing the energy of dazed, almost stupefied terror crackling throughout the control room.
He did a quick scan of the huge, dome-roofed room, his senses on full alert, his warrior instincts tingling from the waves of tension coursing and cresting through the place.
Men ran to and fro, back and forth, going from computer terminal to readout station to dial-and-button-studded consoles. All of them were screaming and shrieking to be heard over the rising and falling banshee notes of the Klaxon. Ryan picked up snatches of shouts and yells.
“Coolant core breach! We’ve lost two generators”
“Why aren’t the backups on line”
“Goddammit, my board shows a total circulation failure!”
“Main pumps and conduits are gone! Reserve processors and the temperature and humidity controls are locked”
“Where’s the Commander? The temperature will rise to critical levels in five hours”
Ryan stepped into the control room, walking around the running, panic-stricken men, heading toward the gateway chamber. He almost reached it with no one noticing him. A man bending over a flickering monitor screen glanced up and snarled. He shouted something, but no one heard him. One of his hands fumbled at his waist and came up gripping a long-nosed automatic made of blued steel.
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