“Rook,” Dane said. “You stay here and guard the exit. Bryce and Fairchild, you come with me.”
The air inside the facility was sweltering compared to the frigid temperatures outside. Fairchild’s bodysuit automatically switched from hot to cold to maintain her body temperature. She moved swiftly but cautiously down the corridor, keeping pace with Dane in front of her while Bryce brought up the rear. The bodies of dead plant personnel and security guards lay strewn around the floor in pools of congealed blood.
About a hundred yards in, Dane halted and raised one hand.
“Bryce, get up here and take a look at this.”
A brick of plastic explosive was wedged between a pair of ducts. A small black device was wired to one side.
“Remote controlled,” Bryce said after a quick inspection. “Want me to defuse it?”
Dane shook his head once. “No time, and no point. You can bet the Chain’s got a couple dozen more of these stashed throughout the facility. Probably planning to blow the whole place to kingdom come at the first sign of trouble.”
“But where are they?” Fairchild whispered. She hadn’t seen a single terrorist since entering the facility.
“Don’t know,” said Dane, “but keep your eyes peeled. Anything moves, take it down.”
“Unless it’s the package,” Bryce said wryly.
“I have a feeling the Chain’s not letting Governor Quale wander around freely,” Dane answered. “Rook, what’s the situation outside?”
Fairchild could hear her teammate’s voice over the vox.
“No activity, sir, but I’m freezing my ass off out here. You guys find the package yet?”
“No joy on the package,” Dane replied. Then he motioned to Fairchild and Bryce. “Come on, let’s hurry up and find the governor so we can get the hell out of here.”
***
They found him two levels down in the main turbine room, a huge cylindrical chamber with a massive metal fan spun by heated air rising up from the guts of the planet below. There was a walkway running around the outside of the chamber, and Quale was bound to a chair on the other side. A blindfold had been tied around his eyes, but Fairchild recognized the rest of his features from holoscans she’d seen during the briefing.
“I don’t like this,” Bryce said under his breath. “Feels like bait.”
Dane nodded thoughtfully.
“We’ve got no choice but to take it,” he said. “Bryce, you guard the left and I’ll keep an eye on the right. Fairchild, you go retrieve the package.”
“Yes, sir.”
She rushed around to the far side of the circular walkway, her footfalls so quiet that the blindfolded man didn’t even hear her approach. He whimpered when Fairchild yanked the cloth away from his eyes. She lifted a finger to the front of her facemask, signaling for him to be quiet.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’m with the Mercs Guild.”
“Oh, thank God,” the man breathed.
“Look at me.”
Her augmetics performed a quick retinal scan, confirming that the man was indeed Governor Quale. Fairchild cut the bonds holding him to the chair and helped him stand up. He was unsteady, and his clothes were soaked with sweat, but Fairchild didn’t see any major injuries. Probably just a combination of fear, dehydration, and being tied to a chair for so many hours.
“Can you walk?” she asked.
Quale nodded.
“Good. Let’s get you out of here.”
They moved back around the walkway to where her teammates were waiting. Dane sent another com to Rook.
“Rook, we have the package and we’re proceeding with exfil. What’s the situation topside?”
