Chapter Thirteen—Code Red Part I
Edward slipped a molded red mask over his eyes, dropping the visor to check for fit in the mirror. "I don't see how this keeps your identities a secret."
Isabella was quick to ease his worries. "Not necessarily from human eyes, but the surface is coated with something that distorts our images on video surveillance, even flash or phone cameras. The chips in the jackets also jam all outgoing signals other than the crew and Center security. As long as we triple check all surveillance before we clear the scene, our anonymity remains intact."
She slipped her mask into place, but Edward noticed the tiniest black dot in one corner. A camera?
"We're almost there." Edward gestured toward the long stretch of road that led to the entrance of The Center.
"Actually, we're not going in that way." She pulled out her phone, and after using her voice code, a large retaining wall they'd driven alongside for the last half mile slid back and to the right. She turned into a small bunker of some kind.
"I never knew this was here." Edward looked out all the windows to find cement walls around the car, the wall sliding into place behind them. The ground started to rumble beneath them. "Elevator?"
Isabella nodded. "After the incident in the 1970s and the near death of one of the residents, they realized it was necessary to provide safety for them to run to in case something happens again and for more security to come onto the grounds undetected if necessary. Only a handful of people know the extent of the tunnel system. Even the crew we're about to meet aren't allowed to see how they got under the facility. There are dozens of tunnels leading from The Center, but not all of them are real."
"The others are decoys." It made sense if one of them was discovered. They had to have an alternative route if they had to destroy one.
"It took almost fifteen years to build, since most of it was done in secrecy." She checked in with someone, a tiny earpiece in her ear. "Your mother has been moved to safety, along with a woman staying with them."
"Alice," Edward said, still unsure about having her in his family's home. She'd been the only victim to survive a confrontation with Alec Rossi. He tried calling his father, but couldn't get through. If they went radio silent, as usually was the case during a Code Red, then he wouldn't hear from him for at least an hour. "Is your father keeping tabs on what's happening with my family?"
"Yes, and of course, your father is off preparing for war in his home, along with your baby brother." Isabella rolled her eyes, relaying that the head of his father's security had already checked in with her father.
Edward nearly snorted at her description. "When you meet Emmett, you will never use baby brother again."
"I've seen a few photos. He's the size of half the Seattle Seahawks' line of defense." She shrugged. "I can still flip him on his back."
"That I would pay to see." Edward hadn't been able to send his brother onto his back in the last couple months during workouts, not unless he kicked Emmett's legs out from under him. "Do you have any more earpieces?"
She pointed at the glove department. "There's a set in the black box. They're not as sophisticated as mine, but they'll do."
The elevator rumbled to a stop, and Isabella put her car in gear to follow a series of flashing lights. The tunnel opened as they came to a fork with three options. The flashes continued down the middle path. "In emergency situations like this, they leave one to three tunnels open. Since they're expecting me, they're lighting the way to the rendezvous point."
"I know that The Center is bankrolled by several influential people—"
"Including your father."
At the fork, the tunnels doubled in size. "Yes, but I had no idea they had the means to create something like this. It's immense."
"It's a labyrinth." A number of confusing turns later, they could see lights ahead. "From now on use Phoenix to address me, my father is Eagle One, and you'll be Red-Tail. They've been notified I wouldn't be alone." She stopped the car and faced him, grabbing the back of his head to pull his mouth to hers. The kiss was brutal but necessary as their blood still simmered from the earlier attack. Primed and ready for another. She gasped as she pulled away. "If you get shot, I'll kick your ass."
Edward cocked a brow. "If you do, I'll spank yours."
"That's not a punishment, darling." She laughed and started forward again.
Several people dressed in the same masks turned as their car stopped a few feet in front of them. Every single one of them raised weapons of various types as Isabella and Edward eased out of the car with their hands up. "Phoenix and Red-Tail reporting for duty, Sir." Isabella addressed the man in a wheelchair at the helm of some kind of elaborate video surveillance and computer system.
Isabella's father wore a Phantom of the Opera mask, and Edward had to force himself to look away. Though, he was angry about the deception by his father and Isabella's, Charlie was the man who saved him as a child.
Charlie looked over his shoulder at them and simply nodded, instantly putting the rest of the crew at ease. He waved Isabella and Edward to come closer.
"As you can see, most of the cameras have been disabled." He gestured toward some monitors. "Those three on the bottom were the first to go."
"They entered from there," Isabella said, grabbing a keyboard and pulling up information. From what Edward could tell, most doors had to be accessed with either a swipe of a card or keypad code. "Any word from the other crews?"
"Negative," Charlie grunted. "Three minutes until Bird Brain checks in."
Isabella stiffened by her father's side. "You brought him along?"
Charlie's shoulders slumped. "He's one of the best."
"He's the reason you were shot." Isabella's hands curled into fists, one of them slipping over a knife on her vest. "If it wasn't for his wife and kid, I'd have gutted him the moment I heard."
"Something he's well aware of." Charlie looked at his daughter, then leaned around to meet Edward's eye. "Red-Tail."
"Sir." Edward had nothing to say, other than, "You're expected in my hometown by morning. The accommodations are already arranged."
"I see." Charlie shook his head. "I'm going to pay for this for a long time, aren't I?"
"Ten years at least," Isabella stated firmly, still working on the computer.
Ignoring the tension between them, Edward leaned over Isabella's shoulder as she sat down. "Can you determine their path by the doors they opened?"
"The cameras on the east wing went down here." She pointed at the time interval on the bright screen. "Then this set of doors opened approximately thirty seconds after, this one about forty-five."
"The first one is the recreation center and it would be about the time most residents would be in there." Edward pointed out the time and how close it was to his brother's room. "What about the other door?"
"It's a patient's door." Isabella shook her head. "That's Collin's room."
Edward's brow tightened, remembering one of his visits to the facility. "Collin. I knew what he was, a hired gun when we met here."
"He's strictly protection, but he's damn good at his job. Your father insisted we put someone inside to keep an eye on your brother." Isabella had mentioned that.
"He looked strung out." Edward wasn't sure he could trust someone if he was on something.
"All part of the cover, but more importantly, his room has access to a tunnel." Isabella got to her feet, checking her weapon again. "If Collin has Jasper, they're in the labyrinth and probably being chased. It won't be long before they reach this hub."
"That doesn't account for the rest of the crews." Charlie cursed a few times as more cameras went offline. "They're fucking with the system and keeping them occupied until they can get hold of Jasper." He looked at Isabella. "There are no cameras in the tunnel system. You're going in blind."
"We also can't evacuate the premises, because we could be sending all the residents right into their hands." Isabella closed her eyes and thought out loud. "Send this crew to the gardens on the west side of the estate, evacuate there. They can provide cover."
Charlie whistled for one of the men on the crew and stated orders, handing him a device that would lead them out of the tunnels and into the gardens. "There's a chance friendlies and enemies will be in the tunnels, report if you see or hear anyone. I'll be able to pinpoint your location. Do you and the others know what Collin and Jasper Cullen look like?"
"Yes Sir, but we were told that Collin would mark them if needed."
"We have to assume they didn't have time." Edward crossed his hands over his chest. "Security and your other crew will be wearing jackets, but Collin and Mr. Cullen will not be. Shoot if needed, but not a kill shot."
The masked crewmember looked to Charlie and Isabella, each of them nodding. "Yes, Sir."
Isabella ran over to a large cabinet. "Better yet, here." Isabella handed him six gas masks and a handful of blue pellets. "Put those on if you come across anyone, squeeze a few of these hard, and quickly toss them toward anyone you don't recognize. It takes less than five seconds to put them to sleep and thirty for the gas to completely dissipate."
"Something new, Phoenix?" Her father asked, sounding impressed.
"Better than tear gas." She asked the others in the crew to arm themselves also with the pellets. "Red-Tail and I will be in the labyrinth unless we get word that they're inside, we'll show up as green with our code names on the device. The remaining residents are your priority. Do not take orders from anyone else other than the three of us. This had to be an inside job. Go."
The crew ran forward, heading east to a tunnels' entrance as directed by the device. Edward hadn't noticed, but they were surrounded by entrances, more than seven, in fact. More decoys? He couldn't imagine it was easy to navigate in the system. If his brother were in there, how would they find him?
"Is this the center of the maze?" Edward asked, checking his weapons one last time.
Charlie had dimmed the lights in all the tunnels once they realized Jasper, Collin, and the kidnappers were in the system.
"There are four hubs. This happens to be one of them and the largest." Charlie typed away at a computer, keeping a groan of pain to himself. His daughter would send him home if she thought, for one moment, he was hurting. "We can rule out the way you came in at least."
"Are we leaving your father unprotected?" Edward asked, as Isabella looked at the maze's map on the computer screen.
"After you two leave, I'll be going to lockdown." Charlie pointed to the entrance in which they entered. A heavy steel door slid into place. "I'll be able to monitor communication through here, and once the residents are safe, we can send more in to find the others."
"Jake is late." Isabella noted the time on her watch. "Notify Team Three of it."
Charlie nodded, but noticed Edward's confusion about who Jake was. "Bird Brain as Bella lovingly calls him is her brother-in-law."
Isabella snorted. "He's been slacking off and you know it. He shouldn't be here."
Charlie sighed, and pressed his ear for a moment. "We'll discuss it later. Get going. Team Three said the entire way to the gardens was clear, so I'll close off that section. Call in each section that you clear."
Isabella nodded and had Edward follow her. "I only have one set of night vision glasses, so stay behind me."
Edward's jaw ticked, but he nodded. He knew he had to follow her orders if they wanted to come out of the situation alive. He thought they were going to go into the main building, guns blazing, which would've been stupid. Instead, they were walking around dark underground tunnels, with walls that seemed to close in on them. Worse yet, his brother was likely in the crazy maze, just as blind with men determined to take him on his heels.
"Why did you choose this tunnel?" Edward asked after a few quiet minutes of walking cautiously through several turns.
"It connects to the tunnel Collin likely used." A light thump ahead caused them to freeze, Isabella's hand rising to stop Edward from moving forward. A groan followed soon after.
Edward's heart raced, someone was in the corridor ahead of them.
Isabella pulled out a device, removing her night vision glasses. She typed a message to her father, then put them back on, but looked at Edward. She motioned she was going to check it out, and though Edward wanted to stop her, he only nodded. Holding up a gun—her other hand held something else, a knife—she checked around the corner and gasped. She stepped forward with her gaze and gun going over every inch of the area and saw Collin was alone.
"Report," she barked, as she knelt by Collin's side. "Red-Tail, come on out."
Edward joined her, wincing when he caught sight of Collin. The rather large man looked drained of color, sitting against the wall, his hand covering his right side. Blood oozed between his fingers.
"Twelve men came into the recreation room through the fucking windows. I told those fuckers, it was a possible security breach. The therapeutic scenery, my ass."
"They were supposed to install the new security windows last week, but it was postponed." Isabella clenched her jaw. "That's not coincidental."
"No shit," Collin hissed, as Isabella drew away his hands and poured contents from a bottle she pulled out of her vest. "Fuck, that shit hurts."
"Keep going." Isabella worked to get the bleeding under control, then checked if the bullet had exited. "You'll survive. What happened next?"
Edward didn't give a fuck about the how; he needed to know about his brother. "Where's my—"
Isabella swung around and pointed her gun at Edward. "Do. Not. Finish. That. Sentence."
Fuck, I almost gave myself away. "Fine. Finish your report."
"I was already sitting beside Jasper; I mean my charge, when they came in." Collin hissed as Isabella poured something else into his wound. "It was chaos inside that room. I tossed the pool table and used it for cover to get him out. We made it to my room before anyone could see us, but Phoenix, they knew I was his protection. They came straight to my room when they didn't find Jasper in the recreation room and knew where to find the tunnel."
"What else?" Isabella bandaged him up and reported to her father of Collin's location. "Hurry."
"Once I knew they could find us, we ran for it. Headed for the east entrance, but Jasper started to panic about enclosed spaces and fought me; the fucking device Laurent had given me was damaged."
"You saw Laurent?" Isabella's brow furrowed. "Where?"
"He was already in the tunnel, said he saw the cameras go down, and wanted to be sure we got away."
"Fuck! That asshole." She patted Collin's vest and thighs. "The device was probably leading them straight to you."
"And when it broke during the struggle with Jasper, that's why it took them a while to find us." Collin cursed several times as Isabella continued to patch him up. "That fucker; how the hell does he betray The Center like that? It's been his family's legacy."
"Was it here that you and Jasper were cornered?" Isabella asked, once she was done with Collin, rising to her feet.
"No, I came from there, heading toward what I hoped to be a hub." He pointed to one of two possible exits besides the one Edward and Isabella had come from. "I lost consciousness for about five minutes before I tried to find my way out."
"How long has it been since you last saw Jasper?" Isabella asked, looking at the device with the map of the labyrinth.
Collin looked at his watch, his brow slick with sweat, his breathing harsh. "Six minutes, shit. They're still in here, then."
"Not if Laurent gave them a device, too." Isabella looked in the direction of her father. "Eagle One has the nearest hub on lockdown. I'll have him lock down this corridor, so you'll be safe."
"I can come with you." Collin managed to stand, but stumbled into Edward. "Fuck, maybe not."
Edward steadied him and helped him back down. "You've done what you can. Can you tell us something? Do you know their intent?"
Collin's lips pursed. "Capture and torture, according to the bastard that pistol whipped me."
Edward nodded and looked to Isabella for guidance. "They wanted someone to deliver a message then, that's the only reason he's alive. Now what?"
"It's time to flush them out. Eagle One is likely opening and closing paths, so they're just as blind as we are." She looked at Collin. "Were they carrying gas masks?"
"Not that I could see." Collin shook his head. "I don't have mine either."
"You won't need one." Isabella called her father. "Are any of the crew or security teams down here?"
Charlie's voice came through Isabella's phone. "No, everyone has been accounted for; some dead, others are on the grounds to ensure the safety of the other residents. Laurent is still unaccounted for."
"Laurent was already in the tunnel, Eagle One. He's the inside connection."
A string of curses came through the connection. "What do you want me to do from here?"
"Keep all the exits and hubs locked down, and the corridor we're in once we leave." Isabella's lips twitched. "Can you still send something through the vents of the tunnel system?"
"You want me to gas these fuckers?"
Not with Jasper among them. "I want them to think we are since I need one alive and Jasper is in here somewhere."
Edward listened to her plan, and not for the first time, wondered, who the fuck had he fallen for?
AN: *rubs hands together* It's time to get rid of the pests. Thanks to Midnight Cougar for helping me with the chapter. It's been a busy month, but the past week was like hell week for me. If the weekend goes well, I should be able to get some writing done. I miss it *sobs*
