Parallelogram : Day Two : Chapter 44

Five Days, Thirteen Hours, Fifty-Nine Minutes

It took much longer than Parker liked, but, in the end, he realized they didn't have any other choice. Those soldiers – Nina had told him everything she had seen outside the antechamber – were advancing, and Larnord's secret passage was their only hope. However, what Larnord hadn't told them was that he had basically walled it off with an extra bookcase, mounted over the archway, and an endless series of old volumes.

"Have you read all of these?" Finkle asked.

"I've read all of them more than once," the Mallathorn replied. "Your civilization is obsessed with not only documenting its own collective history but also the perception of these events from a particularly political point-of-view."

"Yeah," the old man muttered. "Welcome to Earth."

Finally, the three of them – Parker, Finkle, and Nina – put all of their weight into the push. Parker heard the last bolt snap angrily, and then he felt the bookcase give, slowly sliding away from the wall under their force, whining every inch of the way. Eventually, it cleared, and they stopped. Panting to catch his breath, he turned and looked at the door. It was traditional – one solid metal piece with what remained of a smashed doorknob, crushed under the weight of the case, dangling on one side. He walked over, yanked at the debris, and watched as the metal pieces dropped to the floor. Exposing the latch, he reached inside with a single finger and pulled it back. He heard the door crack, and he opened it.

"What the ...?"

His best guess was that the small room – it couldn't be more than eight feet by eight feet – was an elevator. There was a small control panel, but the lights were dark.

"Larry," he tried, "where does this elevator go?"

"Down," the Mallathorn replied.

"Thanks, Einstein," the chrononaut quipped. "Anything else you want to tell me about what we're going to be looking at once we go down and these doors open? I'm really don't care much for surprises, and, as you know, this whole BackStep has been one ugly surprise after another."

The alien nodded. "I believe I once heard it called 'the Catacombs.'"

"Catacombs?"

"Yes, Frank."

Parker bobbed his head. He didn't like the sound of it. The Pentagon had sub-levels, and one of them contained the alien. What else lurked beneath such a revelation? He refused to guess.

"Thanks, Larry."

Nina stepped in first, moving up to the panel and examining it. Finkle followed, his gun now removed from his waistline and resting comfortably in his grip. The Mallathorn entered next, and Parker followed.

"I'm not sure if this thing has any power, Frank," Nina announced, kneeling down to get a closer look. She tapped several buttons, but nothing happened. "My guess is that it's always been powered on some kind of auxiliary system. The power possibly shuts down automatically from disuse. If you want to have it re-initialized, then you have to do so from the facilities main power room. Usually it's accomplished with the simple flip of a switch ... but that isn't an option for us right now." She shrugged. "I've seen similar configurations at so many of these secret government installations. You'd think Uncle Sam would've come up with a better way, but the technology just gets passed down from generation to generation. It's ... well I guess the best word would be 'quaint.'"

"It's also bad news," Parker told her. "Since you've seen it before, that makes you our expert."

"Oh, no," she replied, waving her hands. "I'm no expert."

"You know more than any of us, sweetheart," Finkle interjected, "so I'm siding with Frank."

"How do you get us moving?" the chrononaut added.

He watched as her helmeted head moved to and from, clearly signaling that she was looking at the panel. "With these gloves on," she began, "there's no way I can pry away the panel."

"Why would you want to do that?"

Turning back, she smiled. "Because, Ebdon, this suit is basically a walking power supply. My theory – and, trust me, it's the only one I have – is that, if we can expose the circuitry, I might be able to wake it up with a zap from the suit's power pack."

"Will that pose any danger to you?"

She frowned. "I wouldn't think so. Whereas Frank was using the independent air supply piped into it, I've turned it onto a recycling system. Basically, I'm using the suit's filter to breath the same air that you're breathing. The toxins from temporal radiation are automatically filtered out. I should be fine – and, yes, I'm stressing 'should.' We don't know for certain because we've never been in this situation before. But I wouldn't last long on an independent air supply anyway. Maybe ... maybe a few hours." Finally, she shook her head. "No, I don't think a power surge from the suit would pose any problem. If it does, then we'll just have to make lemonade."

"Lemonade?" Finkle asked.

"Life gives you lemons, Ebdon."

"Oh, yeah."

Parker moved closer to the panel. He edged himself around her, and ...

A blast filled their ears. The rush of air pounded their eardrums. Then, metal cried out as it tore away from its massive hinges, and they knew that the airlock had been fully breached. The soldiers were now in the Mallathorn's chamber – they were inside the room – and it wouldn't take them long to find them now.

"Hurry, Frank," Finkle ordered, stepping to the elevator's opening and pulling up his pistol. He aimed into the room, waiting for anyone to appear.

Quickly, Parker dropped to his knees. He found the edge of the control panel and traced it around with his fingertips. He felt a catch along the bottom, and he dug into it. Against his skin he felt the head of a screw.

Finkle heard the footsteps of men shuffling in the room. He craned his neck, but he still couldn't see anyone.

"Nina," Parker said suddenly, "are there any tools in that suit?"

"Tools?" she replied. "No. Not really. Why?"

"Never mind."

The chrononaut pulled his own pistol his waist. Palming the weapon, he released the clip, and the slide banged on the floor. Grabbing it, he found a small lip on one side where the magazine latched into the gun, and he knew there was just enough metal to use as a screwdriver. He forced the clip up to the screw, found the groove, and he turned.

Squinting, Finkle watched as he heard the creaks of heavy objects being moved. Clearly, the men were throwing around the furniture at the entrance to the room. They were searching for them. When they came up empty, they'd undoubtedly head further into the massive chamber, and it wouldn't take them long to spot one of the far bookcases pried away from the wall. The old man tightened his grip on the weapon, careful to keep his finger away from the trigger.

The screw gave, and Parker saw the panel separate slightly from the wall. He dropped the clip and shoved his fingers under the metal plate, yanking it hard, sending a small shower of brilliant sparks into his face. He opened his eyes and saw the mass of green, blue, and red wires.

"Your turn, Nina."

On the ground, he found the fallen magazine. Instinctively, he rammed it back into the pistol, rolled clear of the area, and took the position opposite Ebdon in the archway.

"Have you seen anyone?" Parker asked.

"Not yet," Finkle told him, "but I can hear them."

Nina raised her right arm. The suit had its own control panel fashioned into the cuff of the sleeve there, and she found the port for an external communications link. The female adapter was wide enough and tall enough for her to get a grip on it, and she tore it away, unsheathing a few of the power cords to the arm panel. Quickly, she wrenched one clear and pulled on it hard, trying to break it clear from its connection.

"Larry," Parker whispered.

"Yes, Frank?"

"Get down," he warned it. "Stay in that corner, and don't move unless I tell you to."

"Of course, Frank."

Then, Parker saw one of the soldiers. The man stepped around a corner, and he noticed the loose bookcase.

"Down here! Down here!"

Suddenly, the drumming of boots on the hard floor erupted, and the chrononaut knew they were about to be surrounded.

"Nina!" he yelped. "If you're going to light this Christmas tree, you'd better get it juiced now!"

The power cord finally snapped, popping out of its conductor and dangling loose.

Parker saw the lead soldier drop into a crouch, raising his rifle and preparing to fire. "Stop right there!" the man ordered.

Trusting that the military still outfitted their elite with body armor, Parker aimed for the man's chest. He fired, the gun bucking in his hand. The soldier jerked, lost his balance, and fell backward on the floor.

Two more armed guards marched into view.

Ebdon Finkle said a quick prayer, and then opened fire.

"Now, Nina, now!"

Desperately, she jammed the loose wire into the panel, and the lights came alive. Pulling down the panel, she fumbled, pressing every button she could.

Underneath their feet, Parker and Finkle felt the elevator tremble with life, and they dropped backward away from the archway, allowing the door panels to shift and close.

They were on their way, and Parker silently hoped that their destination would prove safer than the Mallathorn's chamber.

END of Chapter 44