* Chapter 6 *
At the sound of voices Michael dropped to the ground beside a stack of broken cargo palettes. A pair of men crunched across the crust of ice coating the ground. Michael concentrated on making every breath soft and shallow. He flexed his muscles to make his body stiff to minimize shivering. He was 50 yards from the loose section of cyclone fencing he had used to break into the compound.
The patrol guards were discussing the mine collapse. It was amusing to be a third party listening to a story about himself. Apparently Jurgal had been talking and accuracy had not been his concern. Michael listened a few more minutes to a hollywood retelling of how he had rappelled into a flooded cavern to pull Amir from the jaws of death. They had been extremely fortunate in the collapse. The second mine team had been found injured but alive. Other miners had rushed to their rescue and all 5 members of this morning's exploration team had been rushed to the medical facility inside the compound.
The guard's voices faded and Michael cautiously raised his head for a look. The light of dusk was excellent cover. The low angle color spectrum made differentiating colors and shapes difficult. Michael had dressed in form fitting grey tones that enabled him to move quickly and silently. As long as he kept moving he wouldn't regret leaving his heavy overcoat at home.
He sprinted to a back door of a squat cinderblock building. Flecks of white paint pocked the weathered door. The lock on the door was old. The gears inside resisted shifting from their rusted beds. It was difficult to pick and took Michael longer than he liked. Slipping inside Michael hesitated. Training dictated that he lock the door before progressing, leaving little clue of his passing. He weighed the proper action against the appeal of having a quick exit route if he ran into trouble. This shouldn't take long he rationalized. He took a chance and moved forward leaving the door unlocked. The building was locked up but deserted. Michael quickly found the door to the infirmary room the miners had been brought to. He made quick work of the lock and stepped into the room.
Keeping to the dark wall furthest from the bank of shuttered windows, Michael wound his way to the desk supporting a computer workstation. Sliding underneath the desk he pulled a small flashlight from his back pocket. Twisting it on he clamped it between his teeth and set about following the network cables into the sub floor looking for a hub. Finding what he had been looking for, he pulled Larry's phone from his pack. The back had been pried off and Michael had modified it with network plugs. He hooked the phone into the line and tucked it back where it wouldn't be easily seen. Carefully replacing things as he had found them Michael worked his way back to the infirmary door. He paused listening before stepping into the hallway.
Footsteps, dammit. Michael re assessed the room. He slid behind the door to the bathroom and waited. Keys scraped against the door lock and two men drunkenly stumbled into the room.
* Shh,* the big one waved for silence. *Over in that cabinet, quick!*
Michael listened as they grappled to break into a cabinet. He rolled his eyes, drug addicts, perfect! He listened to them twitter excitedly about their brilliant plan to rip off the infirmary while the compound was focused on moving the toxin tomorrow. He glanced through the crack of the door jamb. They were sweeping medical supplies by the armful into a pillowcase.
Michael leaned back hoping he wouldn't need to wait long. His body was already beginning to stiffen from his earlier injuries. He thought back to Larry and wondered how long it would take for Larry to figure out he had access to the information he wanted. Michael smiled to himself enjoying the thought of Larry getting worked up thinking Michael had destroyed the phone and Larry's means of ordering him about. It was a nice bittersweet way to give Larry exactly what he was asking for, while making him mad. And he had done it while saving the village. He hoped that would stick in Larry's craw.
He blinked. He had the faint impression that he was neglecting something. He closed his eyes. He ran back the events of his encounter with Larry. Larry knew the toxin was shipping Wednesday. But hadn't asked for the toxin, he wanted the contact database. Understanding left Michael quivering with anger. Larry had been right all along. He was incapacitated.
He stepped from the screen of the door and bolted. It no longer mattered if the addicts saw him. He sprinted through the building. He took a second to check that the yard was clear before racing to the fence. Night had fallen. His broken rib punished him for every heavy breath. His heart couldn't pump fast enough. Malnutrition had eaten away his overall fitness. His legs went numb. They tingled with each pounding step. None of it mattered because Larry, or rather the military planned to incinerate the whole area, destroying the toxin wherever it lay within the compound. Michael estimated he had 8 hours to evacuate villagers.