The New Haven Incident - Part Twenty-One

“Go! Go! Go!” Harding bellowed as the door to the university main hall opened. Team Three entered, making sure the space was clear. They took up positions, securing the large rotunda as the Cedarwood scientist ran in, ducking involuntarily as Team Two opened fire on their furious pursuers from the rear.

The ambush caught them by surprise as they had made their cautious way up University Avenue. The day had been silent following the first ambush at the safe house. The two teams and their charges moved together for the first leg. They were to separate at Gregory St. Team Two and Dr. Lundt were to continue up to the university, and Team Three and the remaining Cedarwood Corporation survivors would turn and make their way to the extraction zone. Then, suddenly, an explosion of activity; the crisp zips of wings working, and the group was surrounded.

Were it not for Harding’s quick action, they would not have been able to punch a hole through the swarm and make a break for it. The running had been hard; harder still because the scientists Sigma Teams Two and Three were escorting were hardly athletes. Carrying Hannah also proved to be a trial, slowing down her aunts. Cheryl held the child close, refusing to abandon her, despite Harding’s bellowing order to do so, and Dr. Lundt would not abandon her wife. Since it was Dr. Lundt Team Two needed, they in turn, could not abandon Hannah.

Lilith proved invaluable. She managed several times to lead a section of the swarm away, returning with nary a single infected following her. Her fatigue, however, was showing. She stumbled through the doors into the rotunda, collapsing to her knees as they slammed shut behind her.

Blissful silence enveloped the group, save for their ragged breathing and occasional moans. The heavy doors rattled a few times as the swarm attempted to batter them down. They gave up after a few attempts. Richards, standing in position at the door, peeked through the window. He grimaced.

“They’re still there,” he remarked. “Just not moving.” He peeked again. “Christ, that’s fucking creepy. They look like mannequins.”

“No sign of Teams One or Four, sir,” Joseph reported.

“They were supposed to be here,” Harding growled.

“Maybe they’re already inside the labs?” Joseph helpfully suggested.

Harding grunted. “That wasn’t the plan.” He shook himself, as if casting away his concern. “Weapons check.”

“I’m all out of ammo,” Captain Sakata noted wryly.

Harding nodded. “Armoury first. We could all use a refill.” He looked around the rotunda at the exhausted faces of the scientists. He lingered a moment on Lilith, who had closed her eyes. Her breathing had returned to normal, a feat even Harding, fit as he was, could not match so soon. He scowled. “Okay. Let’s move.”

The scientists groaned, but offered no other complaint. Lilith opened her eyes and rose gracefully to her feet. She nodded at the mercenaries who moved past her and took up position at the rear of the group, her large eyes sharp. Her father moved to her side, comforting her with a light touch on the back of her hand.

Harding and Team Two took point. The scientists and Team Three combined, with members of Team Three moving to the outside of the group. It made for slow going through the halls of the university, where there often wasn’t room for their formation.

“Dr. Lundt,” Harding said after a pause.

Remaining silent, Dr. Lundt moved forward to stand beside the captain.

“You know the campus. Where’s the nearest entrance to the facility?”

“Follow me,” Joy said crisply. She had no time or energy for niceties any longer. It had been an effort to maintain them before now, and she could not find it in herself to continue. People were irritating, as a general rule, which is why Joy liked working in a lab. Everyone had their part to play, knew their places, and there were no unnecessary interactions. Cheryl had been the exception that proved the rule. Harding in particular grated on her nerves. He was too much like her father for her tastes.

The university remained empty their entire journey from the rotunda to the laboratories. The buildings were connected by a series of tunnels, designed as part of the university when it was built in the late forties. They provided passage between classes without having to go outside in inclement weather. The number of students who spent the majority of the bitterly cold winters in shorts and sandals as a result had been comical.

Dr. Lundt paused before a door that looked like a supply closet. She opened it and walked in. Turning left, she moved a bottle of formaldehyde to reveal a keypad. Pulling her pass from her pocket, she pressed it to the pad. A small alcove opened and a tiny thumb scanner protruded. Dr. Lundt pressed her thumb to the scanner and, after a pause, the entire wall slipped open with a hiss.

Welcome back Dr. Joy Lundt, a feminine mechanical voice greeted.

Lights flickered on, revealing a short tunnel that opened out into one of the many reception areas of the secret Cedarwood Laboratories facility.

Harding reached out and pulled Dr. Lundt back. She opened her mouth to protest at being manhandled, but decided it was not worth the effort. She would be rid of him soon enough. Resorting to scowling viciously at his turned back, Joy waited for Team Two to enter the reception area and indicated whether or not it was clear.

When she received the affirmative nod from Grindel, she led the scientists through the tunnel, with Team Three and Lilith and her father trailing behind. The door hissed shut behind them.

Lilith turned back and frowned. There was a finality to that sound that she did not much like. Nevertheless, she followed the group into the reception.

The space was on the smaller side, but did not feel claustrophobic. The walls were white, with a strip of pale blue light that ran around the room at roughly waist height. Several tall ferns offered a little sign of life in an otherwise sterile environment. They offered a scent of something green and growing that would be undetectable in any other environment. The reception desk, now empty, was pristine. There was no indication that anything was amiss at all, save for the complete absence of personnel.

“This doesn’t get less creepy,” Carter muttered darkly.

“Okay,” Harding said, turning to the group and pulling out a small electronic tablet. “We are here, correct Dr. Lundt?”

Joy looked down at the displayed schematic briefly. “Looks like.”

“The armoury on this floor is here, near the security office.”

“Quite a hike.” Sataka sounded weary.

“You didn’t expect them to put it right beside the damned door, did you?” Harding didn’t bother to look up. “We go here, refill our stock, and then proceed as planned. Team Three, that means you’re to take the rest of the scientists back out and head to the extraction point. Dr. Lundt, we still need you, so you’re going to remain behind with myself and the rest of Team Two.”

Cheryl swallowed. She moved forward and took her wife’s hand.

“It’s alright, my love,” Joy murmured. “I’ll come back to you.”

“You better,” Cheryl answered.

“Auntie Joy?” Hannah said, her voice small in the dead air of the reception.

“Don’t worry, love,” Dr. Lundt said, smiling down at the girl in her wife’s arms. “I’ll be safe with Captain Harding. And I’ll see you again when we all get out of the city, okay?”

“Okay.” Hannah pulled her ugly stuffed toy closer to her chest, burying her face into the top of its head. Cheryl stroked her dark hair and kissed the top of her head.

“Let’s go,” Harding said.

They moved cautiously, but quickly down the corridors of the facility, past the offices and low-security laboratories that populated this floor. Other than the dim lighting and silence, there appeared nothing wrong and that was more unnerving than finding the expected carnage.

They arrived at the armoury without incident. Dr. Lundt opened the door and Team Two took up position, permitting Team Three in first. Quick about their business, Team Three didn’t spend longer than eight minutes in the room before they took up the guard for Team Two. Team Two refilled their stock in silence. Team Three’s Savage and Bosch exchanged a meaningful glance as Team Two passed them on their exit from the room. They had felt safe with Harding and his team. Now they would head out, one man down, into the centre of a biosecurity incident with their communications non-functional. Teams One and Four should have been here to greet them. They had, it seemed, vanished.

“We good?” Harding asked as the remains of the team filed out of the armoury.

“Good as we’re ever going to be, sir,” Richards answered. His teammates nodded in agreement.

Harding turned to Sakata. “This is where we part. Take good care of these people, Captain. Good luck.” He extended his arm.

“Good luck to you,” Sakata replied, clasping Harding’s forearm. “See you at extraction.”

Dr. Lundt turned to Cheryl. “Take good care of Hannah,” she murmured. “I love you.”

Cheryl nodded. She leant close and kissed her wife. “I’ll see you at extraction.”

Joy nodded. She smiled at her wife, then down at Hannah, who clung to Cheryl and her stuffed toy both. “Be good, okay kiddo?”

Hannah nodded.

“Dr. Lundt,” Harding said, his tone surprisingly gentle.

Team Three and the remaining scientists remained in place as they watched Team Two and Dr. Lundt disappear down one of the many corridors of the facility.

“Right,” Captain Sakata said. “Let’s get you folks out of here.” He turned and led the remaining group down the hall.

Lilith was the last to leave. She stared down the empty hall in the direction Team Two took, her eyes narrowed. She was brought out of her thoughts by her father’s enquiring touch.

I don’t like this, she signed. Something is wrong.

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