Chapter 26

Shalimar, Lexa and Brennan moved in low, dashing quickly from the tree line to the side of the building, where they flattened themselves against the wall.

Staying silent so as not to attract any attention, Shalimar jabbed Brennan with her elbow and pointed to a digital camera aimed at the door through which they had been planning to enter.

Brennan nodded. In one hand, he rolled his fingers, working up a small tesla coil. In the other, his fingers gave a silent countdown. When they reached zero, Brennan gave the camera a controlled zap and indicated for Lexa and Shalimar to move past him. They did so swiftly, and within 2 seconds, the three of them were in the building. Behind them, the camera paused for a moment more, then resumed it's scanning.

Using hand signals, they made their way down the hall and through the building, weaving their way through the corridors, heading toward the east wing.

On the south side of the building, Jesse cinched his backpack tighter on his shoulder. From his position, he saw the other three move uneventfully into the building. He silently sent them luck, and turned his attention back to the guards. When the one patrolling the perimeter passed him, he moved quickly to the shed, attached to the building, which housed the generator. As he did so, he phased, making himself less visible, should the guards turn around early. Never dropping the phase, he slid through the door and into the shed. He took two minutes to look around, find the best place, and plant two military issue charges of C-4. "Katie," he whispered into his ring. "Is the west entrance still clear?"

"Negative. The camera's been reactivated. Take the east one."

Jesse ran his thumb over the ring, closing the channel. He looked at his watch, waited 30 seconds for the guard to pass outside, and then phased out of the shed. He glanced both ways, before shuffling alongside the building. He got halfway to the other entrance when he paused, noticing a metal panel on the floor. He quickly knelt down and lifted the panel, peering inside. When he saw a ladder, he knew what he had found. Checking his surroundings one more time, he slipped into the exposed tunnel, firmly closing the hatch above him an instant before the guards turned around to face his location.

There was a single light on the left wall illuminating the otherwise dark tunnel. "Katie – I found what looks like the escape tunnel. I'm entering the building through it. Alert me when the others are ready."

"Got it. I'll let them know your position as soon as they contact me."

Again, Jesse deactivated the comring. He made his way cautiously down the tunnel, keeping a sharp eye in front of him and glancing back occasionally to make sure no one had followed. He had to be ready on a moments notice to protect himself, as there were no side tunnels or bulky objects to hide behind if he was discovered.

After five minutes, he had uneventfully made his way to the end of the corridor, where he encountered a large, lightweight reinforced door. Checking for security cameras and guards, he carefully opened the door. When he saw nothing, he quickly slipped through door and into the shadows of a staircase on the other side of the hallway. Noting the position of the staircase in relation to the rest of the building, he slipped another C-4 charge from his bag. He quickly planted it and the blasting cap in an inconspicuous location. Checking the hallway as he moved, Jesse stealthily moved to his next target.

Lexa felt a quick tug on her sleeve before she was dragged backwards in to an alcove. When her body came to a halt, she looked around, seeing Shalimar holding a finger to her lips. Brennan was on her other side. A few moments later, a pair of scientists rounded the nearby corner, passing the alcove they were ensconced in without incident.

Relieved, Lexa nodded her thanks to Shalimar. She might not have noticed the pair until it was too late. The three of them resumed their trek. They were almost to the east wing. It had been almost and hour. There had been many times when it was necessary for them to duck behind something and wait. At one point, they had been stuck in the stalls of the women's bathroom for 15 minutes as they waited for two women, who were gossiping, to leave.

Scouting around the next corner, Lexa indicated to Brennan and Shalimar that there were two guards positioned at a wide door. Once the guard closest to them had turned away, she and Brennan moved quickly. She fired a laser at the far guard before he had a chance to cry out. The man stumbled back, his head bouncing off the wall behind him. At the same time, Brennan reached his hand around the guard whose back had been turned, firmly covering the man's nose and mouth, stifling any noise the man might have made. He quickened the man's descent into unconsciousness by applying a small, non-fatal zap to his head. Once the two men were down, Shalimar, whose fighting style was a bit noisier, came over and patted down the pockets of the two men. Finding an electronic access card, she passed it through the panel on the right hand side of the door. After watching the heavy metal doors slid open, she slipped the card into her back pocket, and stepped through the door, Lexa and Brennan close behind.

Jesse found the four vertical steel beams that ran through the center of the building. If possible, his plan was to blow these four columns, which would remove the buildings structural support, effectively causing a collapse. Moving quickly, he placed C-4 units and blasting caps low on and in the shadows of the columns, so as to be less likely to be spotted by the patrolling sentries. He moved again, this time making for one of the exits so he could cover their escape when the time came. On his way, he passed a large room with a high ceiling. Consulting his memory on the plans of the building, he remembered that this area, located in the center of the building was supposed to be three stories. Apparently, one of the changes the Dominion had made was to knock out the floors, essentially carving a large space into the center of the building. The room was approximately 50 by 30 feet, with a ceiling that must have been 30 feet high. Jesse wondered why they had done such a thing. They had removed valuable working space to carve an empty room? Scanning the room, he soon figured out why. Every wing and corridor opened out into this room. Catwalks ran along the sides of the walls, acting as pathways, connecting them. A guard standing in the center of the room would be able to see people entering and exiting each corridor. Staying out of sight of the two guards who paced around the center of the room, Jesse moved to the west side of the room. He ducked under a tarp that had been draped over a stack of boxes on that side of the room, positioning himself so that he could see people exiting the east wings and corridors. He made the decision to stay where he was. This new configuration of the building would make him far more valuable here than outside, where he couldn't see what was going on. Jesse quickly ran his thumb over his comring once, twice, turning on and off quickly. The action would allow Katie to get a fix on his location, and prevent the guard from hearing any unexpected communication he might receive. Shifting to his knees, Jesse settled in to wait.

Shalimar, Brennan and Lexa were a little surprised. Instead of opening into a large, open room, like they had at Dominion headquarters, this room was filled with storage supplies.

"Damn it. Wrong room," Brennan whispered harshly.

"But why the guards?"

"I don't know. Maybe this is important stuff. Either way, we've got to go."

They quickly left the room, stepping over the still unconscious guards. Shalimar directed them to the left, toward another corridor of the east wing.

Jesse's knees were starting to ache. He had been in this position for more than 30 minutes. Still, there had been no sign of the others. He was almost to the point where he was going to retreat to the outside of the building, where he could get an update from Katie without alerting anyone to his presence.

His contemplation stopped abruptly when the guard's radio crackled. "1-7, this is SC. Ross and Davidson aren't responding at East Beta. Any anomalies from your location?"

Jesse watched as the guard swiveled his attention scanning the catwalks, focusing on the third floor. "Negative, SC. All's quiet. Will keep watch, though."

Jesse eyes stayed on the third floor a moment longer than the guard's did. His other senses registered the fact that the guard turned his head to ask his partner if he had seen anything unusual. What his eyes saw made his heart stop. Shalimar, Lexa and Brennan were moving haltingly along a long stretch of wall from one hallway to another on the east side of the building. The angle of the third floor catwalk to the ground below was such that they would never be able to see the guards below, who could easily see them through the one-way transparent walkways. If the guards were to look up…

His eyes swiveled back to the guard, hoping that wouldn't happen, but Jesse's worst fear came true. The second guard began to turn his head, angling it upward so he could search the third floor catwalks. In that split second, Jesse made a decision. Standing up, he put his hands on a couple of the carefully balanced boxes, and pushed.