Chapter Four:
"Yes, sir."
Grant let go of the "talk" button and returned the walkie-talkie to his belt. He reached down under his cot, removed a small pistol hidden there, and stuffed that behind his belt as well.
"Sir."
Grant looked towards the doorway of his room to find Terry standing there. Though she may have been young, she was supposed to be one of the best research assistants DHARMA could get their hands on. And if she was good enough to be trusted by the guys in charge, then she was good enough to be trusted by Grant.
"Did you get the others?" he asked. The four other research assistants who stayed in the Hydra over night had all been in the showers when the alarm went off.
Terry nodded affirmatively. "They're getting dressed right now."
A few seconds later, Mark and Cory, the two nighttime security guards, arrived at the room with the research assistants close behind.
"Okay, here's the plan. The Hostiles have to pass through the Aquarium on their way out of the sub bay, so I want you two," he pointed to Mark and Cory, "to head 'em off there. Take out the surveillance monitors so they can't use 'em against us, and steal a couple of guns from the armory if you still have time."
"And if we don't?" Mark asked.
Grant frowned and answered, solemnly, "Hold 'em off as long as you can."
The two nodded and headed off down the hallway.
"Wait." The guards stopped in their tracks and turned to face their superior. "If you make it out of there okay, we'll meet you in the medical building."
"Why the medical building?" Terry asked.
"Because if the Hostiles have the sub bay, that means they have Arnold's walkie, and that means that they heard where we are. I told the doctors that we were here and that they should head over to the psychology building."
"So won't the Hostiles know their location too?"
"Exactly." Grant liked the way this young woman thought. He took the pistol off his belt and handed it to her. "That's why I want you to head out now and stop the doctors before they get there. If you run, you should be able to intersect them in time. Then the three of you can meet us at the medical building as well. That's where we'll make our stand."
Terry took the gun hesitantly. "Why do I need this?"
"Why wouldn't you?"
Terry frowned, but put the gun in her pocket anyway.
The real reason Grant wanted to go to the medical building was because of the tasers and tranquilizer guns stored there. Mark and Cory, being security guards, each had their rifles with them, and Grant kept the pistol with him at all times, but those would be the only firearms they had. Dr. Milton had insisted that all guns not currently in use by a security guard be stored in the armory. That decision would come back to bite him if the Hostiles had already taken the Aquarium, which contained both the armory and the surveillance room.
"Does everybody know what they're doing?" Everyone nodded. "Then let's move."
With that said, the team split up and head off in three different directions: Mike and Cory out the front entrance towards the Aquarium, Terry out the back and into the jungle on her way to the doctors, and the rest, including Grant, out the front and into the medical building on the other side of the bear cages.
The bears themselves took little notice of the humans rushing in every direction; most of them were either sleeping or eating DHARMA fish biscuits.
As soon as the four research assistants and Grant were inside the medical building, the latter closed and locked the front door. He left the medics, one guy and three girls, in the observation deck and locked the storage entrance at the rear of the building. Neither door would hold long if the Hostiles were determined, but Grant knew they would need every layer of defense they could get.
As the head of security returned to the observation deck, his walkie came to life.
"Sir, are you there?" It was Cory and there were gunshots in the background.
"I'm here. Proceed."
"Mark's down, probably dead. We're in the Aquarium but we're too late; they already have control of the armory and the surveillance room."
Grant stomped his foot in anger. "Alright, get out of there as soon as you can and try to make it into the jungle."
He let go of the "talk" button but heard only static on the other end.
"Cory, can you hear me?"
Nothing.
"Damn." Another good man lost. Grant returned the walkie to his belt and entered the observation deck. "Come on, we gotta move again."
"What? Why?" asked the male.
"Because the Hostiles already had control of the surveillance room, which means they saw us come in here."
"So where are we heading now?" asked one of the girls.
Grant took five seconds to come up with a plan. "We're not going anywhere. I want the four of you to head out the back door- there are no cameras there. Run through the jungle to the lecture hall; that'll be one of the last places the Hostile'll search."
The male looked nervous. "What about you?"
"Someone's gotta stay here to tell Terry and the docs where we went. I volunteer."
"But what if the Hostiles get here first?"
Grant turned around and headed back down the stairs towards the main operating room.
"Don't worry, they will. And I'll be ready for 'em."