Jake gave him a half smile and disappeared through the door
.
Alan watched him leave then picked up the disposable phone and dialed.
“Blue Sky Biotech – how may I direct your call?”
“Professor Linus Gelling please.”
Chapter 17
The late evening air ripped past Jake’s helmet as he guided his customized BMW R1200 R through the streets of New York on his way to Brooklyn. With instant throttle response, and superb braking and handling, the beast easily answered all demands as Jake broke every road rule on his way to the Brooklyn Naval Yard area. Before leaving his base, he had programmed the address into the dash mounted GPS system and slid a counterfeit license plate into the purpose-built holder. His normal plate was registered under a different name, to a different address but in case the police witnessed his blistering ride and gave chase, he might need to reach around and remove the fake then take a different route. There was no possibility a squad car could even come close to keeping up so the police radio system was the only thing that concerned him and he would not allow his mission to be foiled.
It was less than half a mile to the
Holland Tunnel where he flew past cars so fast that one driver thought she’d seen an apparition and another slightly paranoid individual presumed it was some kind of military experiment. Jake kept the machine pointed at Chinatown and was soon blasting through traffic around St. John’s Park on his way to Canal Street. Seconds after passing Church Street, a police siren blared to life behind him and after spotting the pursuers in his mirror, he automatically calculated a maneuver to elude the lone unit. Still a couple of hundred yards in front of them, he threw the bike into a sharp right at Lafayette then turned left going the wrong way into White Street. Dodging oncoming vehicles, he prepared for a sharp left into Centre Street then a quick right into Walker to reemerge onto Canal. Heading to Manhattan Bridge for the sprint across to Flushing Avenue and onto the Apple Warehouse District near the naval yard, he knew the men in the squad car couldn’t have seen his license plate and didn’t bother changing out the fake one. The severely outgunned squad car pulled over on Lafayette several hundred yards back and the driver said to his partner in resignation, “If he wants it that bad, he can have it.” His partner; still amazed at the speed of the bike through New York traffic, just nodded agreement.
Jake was soon near his d
estination so he pulled the Beemer over fifty yards before the address Equilibrium had sent. He dismounted, kicked out the stand, and pressed the remote alarm button on its key so that the only way it could be stolen was by lifting the five hundred pound beast onto the back of a truck. He checked and cocked his Heckler & Koch automatics then strode toward what resembled an old warehouse.
The
large structure was made of red brick and surrounded by a ten foot fence plastered with signs declaring the building unsafe and warning trespassers to keep out for their own safety. It looked, for all intents and purposes, like a stalled development project waiting for funding and demolition approval. To Jake’s trained eye, it was ideal for a secret base of operations. He immediately picked out several high definition security cameras well hidden amongst the damaged eaves, broken lamps and disused electrical connections. The former operative knew someone of Equilibrium’s caliber would have set the place up with secured underground wiring, communication lines and an emergency power generation system. He knew the building was much more than met the eye but not yet sure of the structure and layout, he needed to do some reconnaissance before marching in blindly, guns blazing.
He moved stealthily along the perimeter
, quickly gathering and assessing intel to prepare for his breach. Approaching the Southeast corner, he suddenly stopped and crouched. A man in black fatigues was sitting on his haunches peering inward through an opening in the fence. He was armed with an M4 machine gun and holding a small pair of binoculars to his eyes. Jake pulled his Special Forces dagger from its sheath and moved like a giant cat toward the enemy. Taking a leap of faith in the veracity of his associate’s situation, he violently pulled the man’s head backward while sliding the blade cleanly across his left carotid artery and around smoothly onto the right. With his head tilted back and Jake’s hand firmly over his mouth, the hapless watchman was unconscious and well on his way from this world within a few short seconds.
Jake pulled the body behind him with one arm as he entered through the
same hole the man was guarding and lay him down between the fence and an old dumpster then continued toward the brick structure. He kept low as his eyes darted about searching for any sign of detection but the intruders had no reason to expect his assault so their focus was purely inward, toward their prey. Seemingly, their only precaution against outside interference had been the single sentry who’d already met his fate, leaving the former Delta Force Specialist able to move unhindered to the outer wall of the building.
Arriving at the wall,
Jake found a steel door which had been drilled and breached. He flipped out a small, custom made, periscopic mirror from the side of his Heckler & Koch and moved the muzzle into the door frame to get a glimpse of the interior. Seeing no immediate threat through the mirror, he eased his head in until his left eye peered into the dimly lit warehouse for a more thorough assessment then used the mirror to check each side and entered the doorway. There were hushed voices and footsteps in the distance, deep within the facility so he hugged the perimeter and followed their sound. The warehouse presented a maze of hallways and Jake knew immediately that Equilibrium had set the structure up this way to confuse intruders. The walls and doorways were made to look historically authentic but Jake knew the old building’s original purpose could never have been served by such a setup. It was more like assaulting a ship than an open warehouse and close quarter assaults like this were where Jake’s skills and training came to the fore. Years of real life practice dictated his steps as he ducked to check blind corners and whisked through doorways toward his quarry. Jake didn’t yet know the odds against him but he was certain that the element of surprise was on his side and even more certain that his skills in this arena were among the highest in the world.
Rounding
one of many corners, another doorway came into view and Jake’s hair bristled as he heard a low voice speaking in a heavy Eastern European accent on the other side. He pushed his gun into its holster and unsheathed his dagger again, not wanting to make enough noise to warn any other intruders unless he had to. By the sound of the muffled conversation, there were only two men through the doorway but he wasn’t certain of their positions so he proceeded with his preferred strategy for such a scenario. His mirror useless in this situation, he moved to an angle where he could see almost half the view of the other side and knew that the men were both positioned to the right side of the door. He picked up a loose stone from the floor and tossed it down the hallway on the other side and immediately followed it through. The intruders’ reaction times were quick but they were not clever enough and they both turned simultaneously toward the sound of the stone hitting the ground instead of seeking the actual source. The split second their gazes turned to the stone’s point of impact, Jake’s knife flashed through the semi darkness and drove downward into the first man’s neck behind the collarbone, turning to an angle of forty five degrees to enter the trachea below his voice box then immediately retracted, ready to satisfy its appetite once more. A grotesque hiss issued forth from the man’s wound and mouth simultaneously and the second man started to turn as Jake’s arm moved upward and around behind the first guard then continued in a smooth arc directly to the second guard’s throat, where it sliced neatly through his left carotid then circled around to pierce directly into his larynx. It wasn’t the quickest or cleanest way to kill but given the situation, Jake needed to ensure neither man could call out before they died so it was the most effective technique to prevent that possibility.
Jake looked down at the men
on the floor, both desperately grasping at their own necks, their eyes bulging in horror as they beheld their nemesis in disbelief. They would expire soon but Jake couldn’t risk that they might squeeze off a warning shot before they passed so his hungry blade returned for more and quickly sliced through both men’s femoral arteries as he pulled their guns away from them. The ugly gurgling from the first intruder subsided quickly and Jake moved on down the hall, following other sounds.
He continued
toward his goal, soft soled military boots and stealthy movement concealing his advance, until the sound became clearer after rounding another corner. A doorway came into view and he approached cautiously, his dagger in one hand and a Heckler & Koch in the other. There were multiple voices through the doorway so Jake sheathed his dagger and pulled out the other H&K assault weapon. He readied himself for the expected scene, checked the doorway as far as he dared then burst through silently into a cavernous area with a single concrete structure in the centre of the room. There were four intruders dressed in black assault gear at a solid steel door. One man was facing outward as the other three worked on opening the door. One of the men focusing on the door had a portable welding torch and was cutting the thick steel around the door’s handle while the other two prepared an explosive charge. The one guarding the scene spotted Jake’s looming figure and started to raise his weapon when a single shot rang out from Jake’s gun, piercing the man’s throat. The other three were completely exposed with their weapons lying on the floor as they worked. Jake pulled the trigger to the end of its range on one weapon causing a rapid fire burst to spray across the three intruders then he dropped to his haunches, put one gun on the ground to use the other sniper style, and quickly picked off the exposed parts of their bodies above and below their bullet proof vests. The echo of Jake’s gunfire rang through the chamber as he quickly retrieved his other weapon, pointed both muzzles in front of him and searched the area for more assailants. There was silence and he could see no others so he changed the clip on one weapon and made his way to the steel door to check the bodies. Satisfied he was now alone; he put his ear to the door then suddenly jumped back and to the side, training both guns on the opening. There was an audible clunk then a strange whirring sound and the door loosened from its position. Jake strained to see through the widening crack as his fingers sat ready to squeeze their triggers. The door slowly opened to reveal a silhouette.
“Jake, it’s me – don’t shoot.”
Jake’s mind temporarily hesitated as it processed the scene. He knew what he’d heard but couldn’t believe it. He edged slowly toward the door, guns still trained on the opening until the light evened out and the source of his confusion became clear. His years of blind association with Equilibrium had covered the truth and now before him stood not a man but a beautiful raven haired woman with piercing emerald green eyes. Jake’s arms dropped to his side as he continued toward her, completely disarmed by the shock and her beauty. Her teary eyes gazed into his and her lips began to form a thank you when a single crack pierced the air and a round struck Jake’s back with a heavy thud. His body was propelled forward by the force of the bullet and he slumped forward into Equilibrium’s arms as she screamed, “No!”
She couldn’t hold
him and fell backward under Jake’s weight. She pulled her leg out from beneath him and reached for his arm, trying to drag him into the safety of the concrete structure but he was too heavy and she wept as she struggled in vain, calling out his name and yanking his arm with all her strength. The source of the single shot now loomed from the darkness and Equilibrium watched in fear as the bear of a man became clearer in the light of her bunker. He was huge; well over six feet tall with a barrel chest, thick bulky arms and a long ugly scar from one corner of his mouth to his ear. His eyes spoke of cold hearted and evil deeds as his mouth formed a menacing grin.
“Playtime.” he hissed
, his eyes locked on hers as he neared Jake’s motionless feet.
Equilibrium immediately knew his intent and whimpered as she pulled herself backward
in desperation but it was no use. A small handgun and the heavy steel door had been her only protection until Jake arrived and now none of them could help her. She had left her handgun deeper within the protected safe room and knew it could not be reached before he got to her but she had to try. Turning away from Jake’s body, she scrambled to gain her feet as the enormous man quickly stepped over Jake to claim his prize. Just as she got her feet beneath her, there was a loud thump and a groan from behind. She turned to see the big man’s face grimaced in pain and arching his body to hold his hand over his right kidney. To her amazement and relief, Jake was standing behind the giant throwing a bizarre formation of rapid-fire strikes into his head and neck. Doubled over now, the bear dropped his gun and instinctively swung a massive arm outward, connecting with Jake’s stomach. Air exploded from Jake’s mouth as the wind was knocked out of him but he was relentless. He reached for his dagger and thrust it toward the big man but a colossal balled fist struck down heavily, knocking the dagger from his grip. Jake lunged back a step to draw the Microtech automatic knife from his pocket and the blade sprang forth ready for action. He straightened his muscular frame to centre himself against the big man’s coming onslaught and watched as the right hand thrust toward him. In one lightning fast movement, Jake caught the fist in his left hand and with his right, traced the blade upward across the incoming wrist then circled it down through the crook of the elbow and turned back upward like a tree snake climbing a branch. Pulling the arm toward him with his left hand, Jake then guided the knife onward through its slithering, slicing journey until it slid under the armpit and withdrew in a circle then surged across the left carotid artery. Jake let go of the fist, took a half step backward and to the side as his arm looped downward, plunging the blade into the man’s bulky thigh then turning in a tight semicircle, leaving a four inch slab of meat hanging from the gaping wound. The giant roared in pain as blood surged forth from his wounds and Jake bent over to grab his Ruger from its ankle holster. He stood and pushed the small weapon upward into the man’s chest, thumping four rounds into his lungs and shoving him away with the other hand. Jake’s mammoth adversary slumped to his knees, blood gurgling from his mouth until the Ruger barked again, driving a single shot into the center of his forehead.