Getting around on the base was suspiciously easy. Alicia kept track of them and told them of a few shortcuts that she knew of. At that hour, everywhere was pretty much deserted. They had been warned that they needed to be back at the tunnel by four in the morning at the latest. Most of the personnel were starting to get up then. It left a very tight window, but if anyone could pull it off, they could.
Fifteen minutes later they were at the hospital's back entrance. Alicia had warned them that waving a clearance badge would not work at the hospital. From this point it was all covert ops. From a safe distance they could see a security camera at the delivery entrance. Zack made a hand signal, and they started climbing the building next to it. The hospital was only about three stories high. Most of the complex was underground.
The building next to it wasn't nearly as secured. It looked like an administration office but it was the same height as its neighbor. They were easily able to scale it in a few minutes. Zack set up a grappling hook, aimed, and fired it into the side of the hospital, just below where the roof began. He tested the rope, and started to do a hand over hand to get to the other side, swinging himself up onto the roof easily. Once he touched down, the other two followed. As soon as they got across, they undid the rope, not wanting to leave any evidence of a break-in.
They kept in the shadows as closely as possible. Their clothes were dark enough to blend into the night. Lights weren't needed at all. Before they could reach the roof entrance, they heard a feminine giggle. Zack made a hold gesture, and slid around absolutely noiselessly. A couple, both wearing lab coats, were standing up there sneaking a smoke.
"Isn't Charlie going to mind us being up here?" she was saying.
"Nah," the guy replied. "At this hour, nobody cares."
"Oohh, isn't that breaking security protocol?" she drawled with a laugh, and then took another drag. "You're so dangerous," she continued deadpan. They both laughed again.
"Charlie's been here for like four or five years," the guy continued. "He knows this kind of cloak and dagger stuff gets to us poor foolish weak civilians. Besides, it's not like we turned off the security system and invited a bunch of friends over to stare at the freak show. We just needed to go up on the roof for a minute and grab a smoke. What's going to happen?"
Zack had to make himself not grin. He knew what was going to happen. Civilians, he thought disdainfully. They were the bane of any military operation. They didn't understand why you didn't expose yourself for any reason, no matter how safe you felt. He made a hand gesture that he knew Max could see. Take down the female. Do it fast and quiet. He didn't have to wait and see if she would move into position.
He held up three fingers, then two, then one. The second his finger went down, they both moved as fast as they could. It was over in a heartbeat. Neither of the civilians had a chance once the X-5's struck them. They were out cold without a sound. Zack pulled out a pistol with a silencer, but Max grabbed his wrist before he could aim and fire. She made a hand gesture. Zero Body Count. They glared at each other for a second. Jhondie approached them, her expression obviously agreeing with Max. She wasn't here to kill a bunch of people.
Zack put the gun away, not wanting to waste the time arguing with them. Jhondie grabbed some zip ties and had the two unconscious people tied up and gagged in a second. Zack might think she had gone soft, but they were going to be punished far worse when they were found then what simply killing them would do. There wasn't time to explain that to him now though. They found their security swipe cards before leaving them.
Jhondie went to the security door and started to work on disabling the cameras. This was hard. Time was very short. There's no bypass, she thought to herself. Jhondie thought for a minute, then access the remote controls for the cameras. She turned them away from where they were supposed to be guarding. It was only a slight angle change, but enough so that they would be able to slide down the other side of the halls without being seen. She hoped it would be enough.
They entered the hospital in formation. "We're in," Zack whispered into his headset. There was a burst of static from the other end. The building was blocking the signal. Alicia was supposed to help them navigate through the ductwork they were going to use to get to the underground section. Now what? Zack made the decision. They were going down no matter what.