Chapter 5 - Blood in the Sub-Level
The chaotic flash of muzzle fire illuminated the subterranean hallway in strobing bursts of blinding white and blood-red.
Ranger’s jaws locked onto the reinforced tactical padding of the first operative’s forearm, the man screaming in agony as the Doberman’s weight drove him violently into the concrete floor.
The second operative swung his carbine around, desperately trying to acquire a target, but Vance was already moving.
Two suppressed rounds snapped through the air with mechanical precision, catching the second operative square in the chest armor, spinning him sideways into the utility lockers.
"Clear!" Vance shouted, swinging his weapon back toward the stairs.
The third operative, realizing the ambush had failed, dropped a smoke grenade onto the floor and retreated upward into the stairwell, sealing the heavy fire door behind him with a resounding CLANG.
Thick, acrid white smoke immediately began to billow across the corridor, burning the eyes and throat.
"Creger! Status!" Vance ordered, coughing as he waved his hand through the smoke.
From behind the steel utility cart, Creger sat heavily against the wall, his face pale, clutching a bleeding graze across his left shoulder.
"I'm... I'm hit," Creger groaned, wincing as he looked at the dark stain spreading across his uniform shirt. "Damn it... they came through the primary gates using override codes only command-level personnel possess..."
Nora knelt beside the wounded petty officer instantly, her civilian surgical nurse training kicking in with automated efficiency.
She ripped open her blue scrub top to reveal a sterile combat-gauze dressing she kept tucked inside her inner pocket—a habit leftover from her days in the Balkans—and slapped it directly over the wound, applying firm, calculated pressure.
"Hold that tight," she commanded. "Don't let up."
Ranger trotted back from the stairwell, his jaws stained dark, his tail wagging in a sharp, erratic rhythm as he checked on Nora, nudging her shoulder with his wet nose to ensure she wasn't injured.
"Good boy," she murmured, scratching him behind the ears before looking up at Vance through the settling smoke. "They have command override codes, Vance. That means someone inside the upper administration just sold us out."
Vance's face went as hard as granite.
"Admiral Holloway's office," Vance said quietly, pulling his satellite comms device from his belt. "He's the only one besides the base commander with tier-one override clearance for the perimeter gates."
"Is the admiral compromised?" Creger groaned from the floor, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Or dead," Vance corrected grimly. "Which means we can't trust the secure command bunker upstairs. We have to get out of the base entirely."
Nora looked down at Ranger, then back at the heavy service exit leading out toward the isolated perimeter woods behind the K9 block.
"There's an old drainage culvert fifty yards past the north fence," Nora said, her voice dropping into the tone of a seasoned squad leader issuing field instructions. "It leads out to the secondary highway bypass. If we can reach the vehicle pool, we can requisition an unmarked transport."
Vance stared at her for a long, measuring second, the last lingering shreds of doubt about her true identity completely evaporating from his mind.
"You've memorized the base perimeter layout," Vance stated flatly.
"I memorized every inch of this facility the day I transferred here fourteen months ago," Nora replied without blinking. "Just in case a day like today ever arrived."
Vance gave a sharp, decisive nod.
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"All right. Creger can't walk on his own. I'll carry him."
"I've got his left side," Nora said, hooking Creger's arm over her shoulder. "Ranger, heel."
