An extra long chapter. Enjoy.
Frank touched his earpiece. "Stella, what's the situation with the main entrance ?" he asked.
"It's under heavy guard now," reported Stella's voice. "It looks like they've sent for reinforcements too. More KORPS people have turned up in vans. You're not going to get in that way," she said.
They all looked at one another. "We've got to do something "! said Aneisha.
Tom was dragged through underground corridors until arriving at some cells. His protective suit, gas mask and equipment were all stripped from him. The door to a cell was opened and he was thrust inside. Shaking with fear, he looked around him and immediately saw Dan sitting with his face in his hands in the cell next to his.
"Dan ! Are you alright ?" asked Tom.
"Tom ? What are you doing here ?" asked Dan. His voice sounded husky to Tom and he seemed to be gazing in Tom's general direction, but not into his face. His eyes looked red and sore.
"Dan, what's happened to you ?" asked Tom warily.
Dan sighed. "They tested one of their gases by spraying it in my face and it's hurt my eyes. I can't see all that well at the moment," said Dan quietly, looking down at his hands. Tom was aghast. "Where's Zoe ? Did you get her out ?" asked Dan hopefully.
"I think so. The others managed to get out I think. I'm sorry we didn't manage to get you," said Tom. He sat down on the bed in his cell and reached through to Dan, taking his hand. "They'll come back for us, I'm sure of it," he said. He was trying to convince himself as much as Dan. In truth he was terrified, but seeing Dan helpless like this made him want to at least keep up the appearance of coping.
There was a clacking of shoes coming down the corridor towards them. Tom swallowed nervously and wondered what was going to happen next. The Crime Minister stamped into the room, followed by the Professor and several KORPS agents. "So, your friends didn't bother coming for you," she snarled at Dan. Dan didn't rise to the bait. Tom desperately wanted to, but he also kept quiet. There was no point in giving this woman more ammunition to attack them with. "We will get V95 back. Meanwhile, we have to decide what to do with these boys !" she spat. "What about this one ?" she demanded, pointing to Dan.
"Well, he is really not strong enough at the moment," said the Professor hesitantly.
"It doesn't matter if you kill him Professor," said the Crime Minister. "V95 is gone. For now at least," she added coldly. Tom wanted to punch her face. She talked about Dan as if he were just an object to be used.
"Well, that is excellent of course, but we need a healthy test subject in order to accurately assess the results on real enemy agents," explained the Professor. "Otherwise it might not be as strong as we thought."
The Crime Minister considered this. "Very well. Take this one," she said, pointing at Tom.
"No !" said Dan standing up, but she was already turning on her heels and leaving the room.
Two KORPS agents opened the door to Tom's cell, grabbed him and dragged him out. When they had gone, the Professor turned to Dan and sighed. "I am sorry. If there was something I could do, I would," he said quietly, before also turning and leaving. Dan sank back on to his bed and put his head back in his hands.
Outside on the moors, Frank was thinking quickly. "We need another route in, and quickly. Now that we have Zoe, they're not going to waste much time on Dan and Tom," he said. "Ideas anyone ?" he asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.
Rose's voice came over their headsets. "If you find another tunnel near the surface, you could break through from above and get in that way," she suggested. "I've looked at the maps. There are a couple of possible points where you could get in," she added.
"That's a possibility," said Edward. "What do we do, just pour acid all over it or something ?"
"Yes, if the rock's thin enough, you could just pour it on and it would break through," said Rose.
"Can you tell if it's thin enough from the maps ?" asked Frank, sounding doubtful.
"No, not really. I can only make a suggestion," said Rose.
"What about Tom's Ground Radar thingy ?" asked Aneisha. "He used it to work out how thick the rocks were," she said.
Frank grabbed Tom's radar. "Genius Aneisha !" he exclaimed. "Rose, give us a couple of spots and I'll use the radar to work out if the rock is thin enough," he asked. Rose gave him two sets of coordinates and Frank dashed off to the first. The rock was too thick. Disappointed he set off for the second. This time he struck lucky. "Team ! I've got an entry point. Rose can you work out how we get around the underground tunnels from here please ?" asked Frank. "Everyone else. Bring the acid over here quickly !" he ordered.
Everyone grabbed drums of acid and other equipment and set off as quickly as possible for Frank's position. The MI9 agents who had been working on breaking in were obviously tired from working all night, but they seemed to have gained some energy from the adrenalin rush of trying to save their lost agents. Frank made everyone stand back while the technical team started pouring acid where Frank had indicated. Edward and the others started to gear up again to go back into the KORPS base.
Zoe talked to Rose about what she knew of the base and how to get to the cells from their original entry point. Rose used this information to work out on her tunnel map where the cells might be. "Zoe, we can't let you go back in," said Frank. "If we lose you again, we're back to square one. This mission is to recover Tom and Dan," he added. He looked searchingly at Zoe.
"Alright Frank. I understand," she said. "I want them back too," she tailed off. Frank pulled her into a tight hug.
"We're going to get them back Zoe. You've got to believe. I'm sorry you can't help, but it's for everyone's benefit this time, OK ?" he said quietly. She nodded miserably.
Edward's team and Aneisha were standing in readiness, a short distance from where the acid was being deployed. Even from here they could smell the fumes rising off the acid attacking the rocks below. "You OK Aneisha ?" Carrie asked her.
Aneisha looked up in surprise. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said. She looked into the older girl's eyes and saw her concern. "Yeah, I like him," she admitted quietly. Carrie smiled.
"I know. We'll get them both," she promised. "We're good aren't we ?"
"Oh yeah. We're good," said Aneisha, pushing a taser into her coverall pocket with determination. One of the technicians waved them over.
"Nearly through I reckon," he said. "Have you got gloves ? There could be acid on the rocks," he warned. Frank quickly handed out gloves. Suddenly the technical team had to jump back as the ground gave way beneath them. Edward shone a large flashlight down to see how deep the hole was. While he was looking Carrie dropped past him. She'd had a quick look and jumped.
"It's fine !" she called back up.
"Carrie !" complained Edward. With grins, Oscar and then Ilya also jumped down the hole. Aneisha took a deep breath and followed them. Edward looked at Frank and rolled his eyes, before doing the same.
"Rose said this way," said Ilya, gesturing down the tunnel. They all ran in that direction.
Oscar didn't feel quite so frightened this time around even though the tunnel was just as dark and even smaller than the last one. He guessed the determination to get the two boys back was keeping his mind off things. Eventually they reached a junction and turned left. After another lengthy jog they saw lights ahead. It was another dimly lit tunnel like the previous one they had encountered. "OK, said Edward. Here's what we do. Aneisha and I are going to keep this escape route open. Oscar, Carrie and Ilya, I want you to go to the cells and get the two boys and get them back here. If you run into trouble, whistle loudly OK ?" he ordered. The three agents nodded. "OK, go !" he whispered. After checking the coast was clear the three agents sprinted off down the corridor and out of sight. Edward looked at Aneisha and she nodded tensely.
Oscar, Carrie and Ilya managed to get some distance before encountering any KORPS agents. Luckily their first encounter was with a single agent and Carrie and Oscar swiftly knocked him out, tied him up and shoved him into a dark side tunnel. Rose's directions to the cells proved to be accurate and they soon arrived in the outer room where they had to put two guards out of action.
Oscar was surprised to see Dan sitting quietly on his bed, unmoving as he unlocked the cell door. "Dan ? Are you OK ?" he asked curiously.
"Oscar !" exclaimed Dan, his face brightening. "It's you !"
"Yes, of course," said Oscar, puzzled. "Are you OK ?" he asked again.
"I'm alright," said Dan, hesitantly.
"Where's Tom ?" asked Oscar.
"They took him to the laboratory to experiment on him with the gases," said Dan. "You've got to get him out of there !" he exclaimed.
"OK. Can you take us there ?" asked Oscar.
"Erm, I think so," said Dan, doubtfully.
"What's the matter. Have you forgotten the way ?" asked Ilya.
Dan glanced over towards him in surprise. "No, it's just that I can't see all that well at the moment," explained Dan. "They sprayed some gas in my face and it hurt my eyes," he explained, clearly frustrated.
Oscar, Carrie and Ilya looked at one another in anger. "OK, we will help you," promised Ilya, going into the cell and taking Dan's arm. He led him to the tunnel entrance. "This is the entrance," he explained. "Straight ahead here ?" he asked.
"Yes. We go to the first crossing," said Dan, struggling to remember, "Then we turn to the right !" he remembered. They all set off at a slow jog, with Oscar in front of Ilya and Dan and Carrie behind. Ilya noticed that Dan was getting out of breath quickly as they jogged. He guessed that Dan's eyes hadn't been the only thing damaged by the KORPS experiments. When they reached the crossing, the coast was clear and they turned to the right. It didn't take them long to get to the laboratory. As the four of them burst into the room, the Professor and his assistant looked round in shock, but did nothing to raise the alarm.
"Professor Lubyanka !" said Ilya in surprise, leaving Dan by the side of the room. "What are you doing here ?" he asked in Russian.
"Young man, I don't remember your name, I could ask you the same thing," said the Professor in equal surprise. "Our research was closed down. These people offered to provide funding for further research but it has become a great burden to me. They have no care for the damage these weapons can do," he complained. "And you ?" he asked.
"I work for MI9 now. Long story," said Ilya, glancing over at Oscar who smiled at him. "We need to free the boy, Tom. Where is he ?" he asked.
The Professor pointed to Tom's body on the examination couch. He was sleeping. "We used the anaesthetic gas, but not as much this time," he said. "You are going to need our help," he said.
"Why ?" asked Ilya.
"You cannot carry them both," said the Professor, pointing to Dan, who had collapsed on the floor, breathing in gasps of air. Oscar ran to Dan, and gently rolled him on to his side. "Ekaterina, do you wish to come with me ?" he asked his assistant. She nodded and ran to the corner of the room, bringing back a stretcher.
"They must make sure we appear to be forced to do this," said the woman. "I cannot stand another day with that witch woman !" she said.
"OK, could someone please translate ?" begged Carrie. "Some of us don't speak Russian you know !" she complained.
"They are Russians," said Ilya. "They're going to help us," he added. This was all Carrie needed to know.
They untied Tom and loaded him on to the stretcher, which the Professor and Ekaterina picked up. Oscar pulled his taser and pointed it at them. Ilya picked up Dan and slung his arm over his shoulder. "Come, we have to hurry !" he said.