“God, that’s Cecilia,” said Skip. He glanced at Corrie. “Cecilia Toth, the engineer.”
“She sounds hurt,” said Corrie.
The two figures came back out, closed the door, and then disappeared around a bend in the hall. All went quiet.
“She’ll have information,” said Skip. “Information we need.”
They passed through the doors, moving quietly, then opened the door to the room and ducked in. Cecilia was shackled to the bedframe, her leg bandaged. Watts motioned for silence as she rose, struggling against the shackles.
“Where’s Nora?” Skip asked her in an urgent voice. “What is this place?”
“They took Nora away,” Toth said. “Along with Tappan. Shortly after we left the motor pool.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Right, past those double doors you just came in.”
“What happened to you?” Corrie asked.
“The bastards killed Emilio. I got hit with a stray round.”
“We’re going to get you out,” said Corrie. “Can you walk?”
“I don’t think so. They haven’t given me any painkillers. Moving hurts like hell.”
“Where’s this motor pool?”
“Left, down the corridor beyond the doors. There’s a helicopter bay next to it. Just keep going straight.”
“Where is everyone?”
“I don’t know.”
“We’re going to come back for you,” Corrie said again. “Just stay cool.”
As they moved back to the lobby and then turned left beyond the doors, Corrie quickly sensed they were entering a more populated section of the facility. At several moments they had to duck into storerooms or abandoned labs to avoid soldiers. Another time, an electric vehicle—an armored, open-topped jeep—could be seen passing down the hallway.
“Let’s commandeer one of those,” said Skip. “Shoot the fuckers right out of the saddle and take it.”
“You may not have noticed,” said Corrie, “but they’ve got bulletproof glass and panels. You’re not going to shoot out anyone driving one of those.”
“Then we steal one from this motor pool.”
They followed faint rubber tire tracks now visible on the cement floor, confident these would lead to the motor pool. As they crept farther down the endless hallway, Corrie heard voices and activity. Ahead, they could see the corridor open into a large space, a ramp leading up one side to a tall set of steel doors. As Corrie watched, they opened, folding fanlike back on themselves with a quiet rumble.
They ducked through the last door of the corridor, into what appeared to be a mothballed medical lab, but not before Corrie got a better glimpse of the cavernous room that lay ahead. There were a variety of parked vehicles, patrolled by guards who looked a lot more alert than the sad sack in the server room. There was also, as Toth had mentioned, a helicopter, sitting silent and dark on a steel pad. The ramp on the far side, she guessed, must lead up to the portal they’d seen hidden in the side of a small hill. Clearly it was a way out.
“I see only two guards,” said Watts. “We can take those bastards.”
“There could be more on the far side,” Corrie said. “That’s a big space.”
“Shit,” Watts muttered.
Skip hesitated. “You’re a much better shot than me,” he told Watts. “Maybe we should exchange weapons. This one’s got a full sixteen rounds.”
Watts frowned. “This Peacemaker was my granddad’s.” He took the revolver out and hefted it. “It kicks like a mule and it’s hard to aim.”
“Look, I can’t shoot worth shit anyway. If it makes a big noise, that’s all that matters. You’ve got five times the number of rounds in that Glock—and you’re probably going to need them all.”
Watts handed Skip the Peacemaker and accepted the Glock, which he tucked in his belt. “I wish to hell we could somehow shift the odds in our favor.”
Corrie looked around. The medical lab they were in had obviously not been used in some time. Shelves of bottles and containers lined the walls. An old black soapstone table ran down the far wall, flanked by fume hoods. It was like the rest of the base: clean and orderly but fallen into disuse.
In the dim light, she crept over and began examining the bottles, squinting at the labels.
“What are you looking for?” Watts asked.
“This.” She plucked a large bottle off a shelf. “What you find in every lab in the country. Ethanol.”