Chapter 11
Scott jerked as ice cold water hit his sweaty chest.
Opening his eyes, he blearily looked around. Bright light shining in his eyes caused them to tear up again, so at least he wasn't as dehydrated as he'd thought.
The world swayed when he jerked this time. Fuzzily, he realized it was the timbers overhead swaying, not the world.
"Where is the American fleet stationed?" the question was asked in broken English.
He felt nearly as weak as a kitten. Who knew how long it had been since he'd eaten anything of real substance. He thought the MLC might have given him rice a few times, but that was about it. He couldn't even remember what his last real meal had been.
Even weak as he was, he was still able to summon the rage, as he spat, "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you! Go to hell!" in his own broken Congese.
Still determined to attempt escape, Scott bucked even harder when the next bucket full of water hit him.
The swaying increased, and a small, feral smile spread on Scott's face.
* * *
K.A.R.R. dropped lightly to the ground inside the fence.
Sensing a guard approaching, K.A.R.R. sprinted into the deeper shadows of the nearest building. He crept up to the corner and waited.
Just as the guard stepped around the corner, K.A.R.R. stepped up behind him. Twisting the machine gun painfully out of the man's grip with his right hand, he reached up and snapped the man's neck with the left.
K.A.R.R. dragged the dead man into the shadows where he had previously laid in wait.
As he took up a new position to dispatch the second guard patrolling this side of the camp, K.A.R.R. pulled the machine gun into his body – in case it became prudent to have a firearm.
After killing the second guard with the same brutal efficiency as the first, K.A.R.R. trotted toward the brick building.
The door was a formidable steel construct, hung on thick hinges with a heavy duty dead bolt locking mechanism.
Touching his index finger to the key hole of the lock, K.A.R.R. sent his nanites on a mission.
A soft grinding of metal on metal announced the dead bolt sliding back into its housing in the door.
Alert for the slightest creak of protest from the hinges, K.A.R.R. eased the door open.
The door opened into a narrow corridor with brick walls running the length of both sides. The brick walls each had six doors in them, and half way down the corridor was what looked to be another corridor going to the right and left of this one. The doors were shorter than standard, and each had light leaking through the top and bottom. The corridor had no light on at the moment, but K.A.R.R. closed the door behind him to keep what light there was inside the building.
Starting with the door closest to him, K.A.R.R. used the same trick he had on the exterior door to unlock this one.
Looking up at K.A.R.R., the man croaked, "Took you guys long enough!"
"I'm not here to help you escape, but I won't hinder you. I'm here looking for Scott Knight," K.A.R.R. told the man, as he realized this wasn't Scott. The name stitched on the man's uniform shirt named him Murphy, and the chevrons on his sleeves proclaimed him Sergeant.
Struggling out of the cell, the man managed, "Never heard of him."
With a growl, K.A.R.R. turned to the next door. The man he had released followed him.
"Why are you following me? You are free." K.A.R.R. growled in irritation.
"I'm assuming you're going to open the rest of those doors looking for your friend," the man said, gesturing at the other doors. "There's strength in numbers, especially with the shape the lot of them are likely to be in."
Growling in irritation, K.A.R.R. handed the man the machine gun he had taken from the second guard. "Fine! Keep watch then." At least that would forestall awkward questions about how K.A.R.R. opened the doors.
Before opening the next door, K.A.R.R. pulled the other machine gun back out of himself.
Some of the cells turned out to be empty, so K.A.R.R. ended up freeing fifty-nine prisoners. None of them was Scott, and none knew who Scott was.
"He may be in one of the other buildings," one man said.
Another added, "Yeah, I think they had me hanging from a chain in one of those other buildings for a while."
Handing one of the other men the second machine gun, K.A.R.R. said a grudging, "Thanks." Then he added, "Head southeast for approximately ten miles and you will find a platoon of friendlies, but be on guard. The jungle is crawling with MLC."
Just before he turned to follow the rest of the rescued prisoners, Sergeant Murphy said, "Thank you! I hope you find your friend."
Returning to the two empty cells, K.A.R.R. ran a quick scan. Both cells had traces of blood, which he allowed his nanites to sample. The DNA from the blood in the first cell was a match to Scott's.
As he moved to exit the building, his auditory sensors picked up the sound of collapsing wood. There was also a cry of surprise and pain and a shout of triumph.
Drawn by the sound of the collapsing building, the remaining two guards met up with the escaped prisoners.
K.A.R.R. ignored the firefight taking place and broke into a run toward the collapsed building.