PART THREE : " Quiescence "
Shuffling debris echoed as Ames White walked through the devastation of Washington State's branch of the Project Manticore complex. Parts of the massive complex still stood, but most was just so much rubble. Dark thoughts ran through the mind of the entity now controlling Ames, the essence that existed of White himself remaining buried. He was aware of the thing controlling his body, had known it immediately. He didn't think of It as the "Shadow Man" any more, sensing that It wasn't a man at all but a force of sheer malevolence. Ames now had an idea of what the entity had planned. While some of it coincided with his own imperatives, and those of the Conclave, the rest most definitely did not. The entity had lied when It implied that It was on the side of the Conclave; It had It's own agenda.
The entity seemed to work independently of his own consciousness. Occasionally he could feel It access his own memories, but not his conscious thought. He didn't know if It was capable of doing so. Yet. But still, better to pay attention and plan later when the opportunity arose. For now he would try to learn more about It when It let pieces of information slip.
Striding through one of the wrecked buildings, he could feel It searching for one specific office. Lydecker's office. Finding it, he walked through the crumpled doorway and began a meticulous search. Ames could tell It was looking for a safe, something to do with 452. Suddenly it became clear: It believed that Lydecker kept samples of various genetic materials as a backup in case of a disaster in the genetics lab. Ames didn't believe It would find anything though. His own men had scoured every complex, every office, every square foot on the property, searching for anything useful, and had found very little left functioning or valuable to the cause. Good thing 452 did such a number on this place, Ames thought to himself in the echoes of his awareness.
Though Lydecker had been absent from Manticore for a time before its destruction, Renfro kept his office just as he left it, constantly looking for clues and information. It noticed a broken coffee mug on the floor under some office ceiling rubble. Picking it up by the handle, Ames could feel, through It, emanations of Lydecker's thoughts. No, he corrected himself, echoes of Lydecker's thoughts at the time.
Although Ames could only sense wisps of impressions via the entity's help, apparently It could grasp more information. Tossing the cup back to the floor, It walked directly into the office lavatory. This too had been searched, but It held his hand up against the unbroken mirror. With an audible click, the sink cupboard swung backwards to reveal stairs leading downward. Ames had to momentarily admire the craftsmanship required; the floor and wall area were seamless and the movement of the sink cabinet was nearly silent. Lydecker must have had it constructed long before Renfro arrived at the complex, long enough to have the blueprints altered so that neither interior or exterior examination would have shown a discrepancy from the diagram prints of the building. Ames sensed from It that there was a proximity chip identifier inside the mirror, much like Manticore's keycard, that must allow entrance. It was probably self-sufficiently powered, with a computer system separate from the now-destroyed Manticore mainframe. Somehow It had been able to emulate the proper identification. This caught the seldom-surprised Ames off guard. He hadn't thought of Lydecker as anything more than just another military issued commandant running Project Manticore. It was apparent that there was a level of imagination and brilliance feeding Lydecker's legendary obsession.
This line of thinking ceased as he headed down the stairs. They quickly leveled off into a small, oddly shaped room that lit up as soon as he, correction, 'they,' stepped onto the floor. Sensor pads. Pretty high tech for such a small room, he thought. As the entity looked around Ames saw a number of small, suitcase-sized cold-storage safes, a small network mainframe, and a refrigerator. Finding the refrigerator empty and untouched, the entity concentrated on the computer. When he touched it, the screen lit up and displayed the Manticore emblem. A series of codes and passwords seemed to enter themselves, and a main index screen came up. If what Ames was seeing was accurate, most of the pertinent information from Manticore was copied here, for Lydecker's perusal. Chalk up another one for the Colonel. Obviously the man really had been more resourceful than White had believed. Ames reminded himself once more about the hazards of underestimating his opponents.
The information was being brought up faster than Ames could comprehend it. The entity must have manipulated it to display faster than normal. Something about alternate dimensions or existence, references to heaven and hell, gods and devils. Ames didn't really believe in the physical manifestation of good or evil, taught by the Conclave at an early age that ideology was a weakness, that goals and actions were the important guidelines.
Ames noticed the information had frozen on one page. 452's file was displayed, including the information from Renfro's notebook computer. That implied that either Lydecker had this information before Manticore was destroyed, or someone had been here since his team ended the search assignment. Ames stored this realization away for safe keeping. It also included a tag reference number, corresponding to the small cold-storage safes. Using Whites safe-cracking skills, the entity opened the appropriate chamber in no time. The first thing he noticed was that each vial inside was marked with the barcode number of a transgenic. The second was that two of the vials were missing; 452's and 453's.
The thing that controlled him was suddenly infuriated. White sensed a horrendous anger that seemed to threaten to consume them both. Finally, when It gained control, It began sorting through White's memories to see what might have happened. White knew immediately that Lydecker must have taken the vials before his people ran his vehicle into the Puget Sound. White couldn't stop the minion from pouring through his thoughts as he noted mentally that the vials had not been found in the truck. Nor had Lydecker's body.
They left the hidden room and pulled out Ames cell phone, dialing several digits.
In response to the answering "Yes?", White reported "The materials were taken previously."
"He won't be pleased. Proceed with your alternative."
White disconnected the call and dialed a number that he knew explicitly; that of his direct subordinates. He heard his own voice state "This is White. Meet me at the southwest corner of the Space Needle complex in two hours. Bring surveillance equipment."
The agent on the other end of the cell phone paused, then replied; "Yes, sir. Two hours."
Hanging up, Ames found himself fading out once again. When he regained consciousness, he found himself sitting in Lydecker's chair. He felt groggy but stood instantly as he spotted the man he had met at the Pike Place Market sitting in a chair across the room from him.
"What the hell did you do to me?" Ames demanded, standing up.
The man looked at White, amused. "I'll answer that, if only for my own entertainment. I controlled you. I didn't know what traps Mr. Lydecker might have left before his encounter with your agents. Unfortunately, I didn't foresee that he might have taken the relevant materials before his exile from Manticore."
Ames narrowed his eyes. "I asked you once, now you need to answer me. Who or what are you?" The man leaned back, his laughter reverberating against the walls. "I have been known by many names, my dear boy. You, however, can call me Legion."