POV: Marcus Rodriguez (Tank)
Building D was designed like a fortress. Three stories of reinforced concrete, narrow windows, and a single main entrance that was currently blocked by what looked like a blast door. The kind of defensive architecture that suggested whoever was inside really didn't want visitors.
"Pixel, what are you seeing on the building schematics?" I asked as we approached through the cover of damaged vehicles and debris.
"Main entrance is sealed. Emergency exits have been welded shut. Ventilation system has been fitted with defensive measures – probably gas dispensers or explosive charges."
"What about structural weak points?"
"Jake would have to answer that, but based on the construction, this building was designed to withstand a direct assault."
"How direct?"
"Tank rounds, artillery strikes, sustained small arms fire. Pretty much anything short of a precision airstrike."
"And we have?"
"Modified non-lethal weapons, EMP devices, and Jake's improvised explosives."
"So we're slightly outgunned."
"Significantly outgunned."
I looked back at the tactical team that Dr. Morrison had brought. Twelve soldiers in full combat gear, but they were equipped for dealing with conventional threats, not enhanced soldiers with unknown capabilities.
"Dr. Morrison, what's the threat assessment for the personnel inside Building D?"
"Unknown number of enhanced soldiers, possibly under direct neural control. Dr. Vance himself, who's brilliant but not physically enhanced. And whatever defensive systems he's had time to install."
"Any intelligence on those defensive systems?"
"None. We're going in blind."
"My favorite kind of mission," Jake said cheerfully. "Maximum improvisation opportunities."
"Jake, what's your assessment of the building's vulnerabilities?"
He studied the structure through binoculars, paying particular attention to the foundation and support systems. "The building itself is solid, but the power and data connections are vulnerable. If I can access the utility systems, I can probably cause selective system failures."
"Meaning?"
"I can turn off their lights, disable their computers, and disrupt their communications without bringing down the building."
"That's useful. What do you need?"
"Access to the underground utility tunnels. They'll be defended, but probably not as heavily as the main building."
"Pixel, can you map the tunnel system?"
"Already on it." She pulled up a three-dimensional display showing the facility's underground infrastructure. "Multiple access points, but they all converge on a central utility hub directly beneath Building D."
"How well defended?"
"Unknown, but probably at least as well as the building itself."
"So we have two heavily defended targets instead of one."
"Actually, we have three targets," Sarah said, pointing to a cluster of buildings near the perimeter. "The enhanced soldiers who are wandering around looking for answers. Someone needs to coordinate their medical care and figure out which ones can be trusted."
"Trusted?"
"Some of them may have been mind-controlled for months. Others might have joined voluntarily. And some might be playing along until they can figure out what's happening."
"How do we tell the difference?"
"Medical examination, psychological evaluation, and a lot of careful observation."
I looked at the tactical situation. Three separate objectives, limited personnel, and unknown opposition. It was the kind of scenario that military planners used to teach cadets about the importance of overwhelming force.
Unfortunately, we were the ones being overwhelmed.
"New plan," I said. "We split into three teams. Jake and two tactical specialists take the utility tunnels. Sarah and Dr. Morrison handle the enhanced soldiers. Pixel and I go after Building D."
"That leaves each team seriously undermanned," Dr. Morrison pointed out.
"It also gives us the element of surprise. They're expecting a coordinated assault on the main building. They're not expecting three simultaneous operations."
"What if one of the teams gets into trouble?"
"Then the other teams adapt and improvise."
"That's not much of a contingency plan."
"It's the only plan that has a chance of working. If we try to concentrate our forces, they'll pick us off one at a time. If we spread out, at least one team might succeed."
"And if all three teams fail?"
"Then Dr. Morrison's backup plan becomes relevant."
"What backup plan?"
"The one where the Air Force levels this entire facility with precision strikes."
Dr. Morrison looked uncomfortable. "That's not actually a backup plan."
"It should be."
"Marcus, we can't just bomb a facility full of enhanced soldiers. Most of them are victims."
"And if Dr. Vance activates whatever self-destruct system he's probably installed, they'll all be victims anyway."
"Point taken."
Jake looked up from his equipment preparation. "Tank, I'm ready to go subterranean. What's the communication protocol?"
"Standard tactical frequencies, but assume they're being monitored. Use code words for status updates."
"What code words?"
"Pixel, you're 'Library.' Sarah, you're 'Medic.' Jake, you're 'Demo.' I'm 'Command.'"
"What about emergency extraction?"
"Code word is 'Graduation.' If anyone calls Graduation, everyone drops what they're doing and heads for the helicopter."
"And if the helicopter is compromised?"
"We improvise."
"Story of our lives," Sarah said.
The utility tunnels were accessed through a maintenance building about two hundred meters from Building D. Jake and his two tactical specialists disappeared into the underground system while the rest of us watched Building D for any sign of reaction.
"Movement," Pixel said, checking her scanner. "Ground floor, multiple contacts."
"Enhanced soldiers?"
"Probably. They're moving in coordinated patterns, not random wandering."
"So they know we're here."
"They've known we were here since we arrived. The question is what they're planning to do about it."
"Dr. Morrison, what's the status on the other enhanced soldiers?"
"Sarah's making contact now. Most of them seem genuinely confused about their situation. A few are demanding answers, and one group is trying to organize some kind of resistance."
"Resistance to what?"
"Unknown. They're not being very communicative."
"That's not encouraging."
"No, it's not."
My radio crackled. "Command, this is Demo. I'm in the utility hub. You're not going to like what I'm seeing down here."
"What is it?"
"Explosive charges. Lots of them. Enough to level not just Building D, but everything within a quarter-mile radius."
"Can you disarm them?"
"That's the problem. They're not standard explosives. They're some kind of enhanced demolition system with neural interface controls."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning Dr. Vance can detonate them remotely using his neural interface. And based on the wiring, they're connected to biometric sensors."
"What kind of biometric sensors?"
"The kind that trigger if his vital signs stop."
I looked at Pixel, who was monitoring communications traffic from Building D. "Pixel, are you picking up any transmissions?"
"Multiple encrypted channels. High-level traffic, but I can't decrypt it without more processing power."
"What about Dr. Vance's location?"
"Building D, third floor. He's not moving."
"Because he's waiting for us to come to him."
"Or because he's already prepared to eliminate everyone if we don't."
My radio crackled again. "Command, this is Medic. We have a problem with the enhanced soldiers."
"What kind of problem?"
"Three of them just collapsed. Neural interface overload, from what I can determine. And the others are starting to show signs of system instability."
"System instability?"
"Memory fragmentation, motor coordination problems, and what looks like personality dissociation. The neural control systems may have caused permanent damage."
"How long do they have?"
"Unknown. But if this continues, we could be looking at complete neural system failure within the next few hours."
"For all of them?"
"For anyone who was under mind control for more than a few weeks."
I processed this information while watching Building D for any sign of activity. Dr. Vance had created a scenario where any attempt to stop him would result in casualties, and any delay would result in more casualties.
"Demo, can you bypass the biometric triggers?"
"Not without access to the primary control system. And that's in Building D."
"Of course it is."
"Command, there's something else. The explosive charges aren't just connected to Building D. They're connected to the entire facility's power grid."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning if they detonate, they'll take out the regional power infrastructure. Everything within fifty miles goes dark for months."
"He's not just threatening to kill the enhanced soldiers. He's threatening to cripple the entire region."
"That would be my assessment."
I looked at Pixel, who was still monitoring electronic traffic. "Any changes in the transmission patterns?"
"Actually, yes. The encryption has become more sophisticated in the last few minutes. Either they're implementing stronger security protocols, or..."
"Or?"
"Or someone else has joined the conversation."
"Someone else?"
"Based on the signal characteristics, I'd say we're looking at satellite communication with multiple international nodes."
"He's talking to his backers."
"He's talking to someone. And based on the traffic volume, it's a very detailed conversation."
My radio crackled. "Command, this is Library. I've got movement on the perimeter. Multiple vehicles approaching from the east."
"What kind of vehicles?"
"Military. Heavy armor, probably battalion strength."
"Whose military?"
"Unknown, but they're not broadcasting U.S. identification codes."
"Dr. Morrison, are you monitoring this?"
"I'm monitoring it. And I'm not liking what I'm hearing."
"What's our situation?"
"We have unknown foreign military forces approaching, a facility full of enhanced soldiers who may be dying from neural system failure, and a mad scientist with enough explosives to level half the countryside."
"Plus whatever defensive systems are in Building D."
"Plus that."
"So we're definitely outgunned."
"We're completely outgunned."
I looked around at our tactical situation. The approaching vehicles would reach us in less than ten minutes. The enhanced soldiers were becoming increasingly unstable. Dr. Vance was probably preparing to detonate his explosives rather than let his technology be captured.
And we were still no closer to getting inside Building D.
"New plan," I said. "We're going direct."
"Direct?"
"Frontal assault on Building D. No subtlety, no clever tactics, just overwhelming speed and aggression."
"Tank, that's suicide."
"Maybe. But it's the only approach they won't be expecting."
"Because it's tactically insane."
"Exactly."