Silent Assassin(63)

Morgan took his combat knife from his boot and twisted out from the closet. Novokoff’s man, surprised, tensed up and began to raise his gun to shoot, but before he managed to get a bullet out, Morgan threw his knife, which buried itself deep into the man’s chest. He rolled out of the way before Novokoff could take aim, then kicked his left leg sharply. Novokoff buckled and fell.

“Run!” said Morgan to the scientist. “Get out of here.”

Novokoff was reaching for his gun. Morgan rushed and tackled him. They grappled on the ground, then rolled, so that Novokoff was on top. Morgan put his feet on Novokoff’s chest and pushed him away. Novokoff tumbled backwards and landed near Morgan’s Walther. He picked it up, and Morgan retreated back into the supply closet.

“Shepard, open cage 6G!” said Morgan.

“What?” asked Shepard.

“Now!”

There was a harsh buzz, and the Plexiglas door swung open. The chimp went straight for Novokoff, lightning quick. Novokoff fired once, twice, hitting home and sending blood flying, but the animal did not stop. It knocked into him, causing him to fall back, then swiped savagely at his face. Blood spattered on the wall. With the ape on top of him, Novokoff was able to fire one more shot into its torso. A throb pulsed through the body of the vicious creature, and it fell limp and rolled off Novokoff, now croaking a guttural sound and drenched with blood. Novokoff roared in pain, bringing his hands to his face. He was firing wildly, blinded by the blood on his face, and Morgan couldn’t get out in the open and grab his gun. Novokoff managed to get up, take the steel case, and run out through the door Morgan had used to get in.

“He’s moving toward you, Bishop!” said Morgan. He grabbed his Uzi on the ground and ran after Novokoff. He was out the door of the lab when an explosion and a shockwave made him lose his footing. “What the hell just happened?”

“Grenade!” said Bishop. “Shepard, get the door! Close him in!”

“I can’t!” said Shepard. “The door systems aren’t responding. Nothing is.”

“Get him!” said Bloch. “You can’t let him escape!”

Morgan ran back where he’d come from, and caught sight of the rest of the team running ahead of him on the long hallway, with the scientist trying to keep up. Morgan caught up to him first.

“Come with me,” he said.

“Who are you people?” the scientist asked.

“We’re the good guys!” said Morgan. “And we’re going to get you out of here alive. Run! After them!”

Morgan watched as each of the members of the tac team, minus Rogue, got through to the stairwell. Morgan and the scientist were about a dozen yards from the door when it began to descend from the ceiling. It happened too fast for Morgan to think. He pushed the scientist, who tumbled through the door to the stairwell. By the time Morgan recovered his momentum, the door was below his knees. It reached the ground with a deep final clang. It was solid metal.

“What the hell just happened?” said Morgan.

“Self-destruct sequence!” said Shepard.

“What do you mean, self-destruct sequence?” Suddenly the hallway he was standing in seemed very cramped and confining.

“Looks like Novokoff’s grenade tripped it, and the security door closed automatically.”

“Well, cancel it!” Morgan cried, exasperated. “Get that door open and get me out of here!”

There was a pause. Then, Shepard said, “I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

“The self-destruct sequence is on a fully local system. It’s meant to work autonomously, so that there’s no way to stop it once it’s started. It was designed that way. That’s probably why I couldn’t access the doors before. Now I can’t get it open.”

Morgan stood and stared at the door for half a moment. Then he asked, “How do I brute-force it then?”

“There’s no way,” said Shepard. “There’s no access to the blast door controls anywhere. I can’t get you out from here.”

“Diesel,” came Bishop’s voice over the comm, “get back down there and get Cobra out!”

Morgan examined the outline of the door, somewhere where he might be able to get some leverage, but the door was sunken in a ridge along the walls and floor. There weren’t any controls that he could see.

“How much time do I have?” he asked Shepard.

“Seven minutes.”

“I’m here!” said Diesel. “What do I do?

“You blast it!” said Morgan. “Like you did the others.” There was a pause. “I could try,” he said. “It’s a pretty goddamn thick door.”