but exiting that way now would be suicide.
He shouted to Danielle. “Come on!”
Through the smoke he saw Danielle and the child trying to help another prisoner stand.
“Leave him,” Hawker shouted.
“I can’t,” Danielle said.
“We don’t have room. If this guy wants out he has to run for it …”
Hawker’s voice trailed off as realized the man had only bloodstained rags where his feet should have been.
“I’m not leaving him,” Danielle said. But the man pushed her away and then fell back onto his stone ledge of a bunk.
“Go,” he said in Russian. “Take him with you.” He pointed to Yuri.
Hawker looked at Danielle. “We only have room for three.”
Angry, she grabbed Yuri and tore him away from Petrov. The child began to scream.
“Give me a weapon,” the man said.
Hawker handed him a fragmentation grenade, in case he didn’t want to be a prisoner any longer. And then he turned and led Danielle and the child toward the open elevator doors.
“We’re taking the elevator?” she asked.
“Right now they’re cutting off the exits, surrounding the perimeter to try to keep us from escaping,” he said. “We’re going to head deeper inside.”
They piled inside.
Danielle pointed to the guard’s key still in the slot. “I’m guessing if we turn that, we go up.”
“Gimme a second,” Hawker said. He dropped down and pried open the control panel.
“What are you doing?”
“Overriding their computer,” he said, pulling out an electronic interface that looked like a comb connected to a calculator.
He pulled the elevator’s own mess of wires from the unit interface and jammed the comb side of his contraption into the same spot. He typed in 102 on the keypad and hit LOCK . The doors closed and the elevator began its express ride.
As it rose up, Yuri continued to cry. Danielle attempted to comfort him, holding him with one armwhile gripping the assault rifle with the other. A modern woman.
Hawker checked his readout. They’d passed the twentieth floor and were accelerating. The device he’d plugged in had come direct from the manufacturer, via the NRI lab and Arnold Moore. Not only did it override the security protocols of the elevator’s main computer but with NRI’s reworking, it sent a signal to the tracking system, fooling it into thinking that the elevator was still in the subbasement of the brig.
While Kang’s security forces were surrounding the fort, scaling down the walls outside, and frantically pressing the elevator call button in the lobby, Hawker, Danielle, and the kid were passing right by them, headed for the roof.
He only hoped that Saravich and his helicopter would be there.
He pulled out three harnesses, each connected to thin steel wires with carabiners on the end. One for him, one for Danielle, and one that would go to Yuri.
“Put these on,” he said, stepping into his own.
Danielle slipped hers on, legs first and then arms. She helped Yuri into his. The crying had ceased, but his eyes remained red and swollen.
“How did you know I was here?” she asked.
“Moore sent me.”
“How did he know?”
“McCarter called in, after you were taken.”
“McCarter?” Her voice was suddenly filled with surprise and hope. “I thought he was …,” she stammered. “I thought I’d gotten him killed.”
Hawker smiled at her. He liked being the bearer ofgood news for once. “Apparently he’s tougher than you thought.”
For the first time since he’d known her, she seemed to be overcome with emotion. He looked up at the rapidly increasing number on the elevator readout. “Ninety. We’ll be at the top in fifteen seconds.”
“And then?” Danielle asked.
“There should be a helicopter waiting.”
“Why the harnesses?”
“There’s nowhere for it to land.”
The doors opened to a black night and an empty, wet roof.
“Where’s the helicopter?” Danielle asked.
Hawker stepped out. It wasn’t there.
The rain was still coming down at
He shouted to Danielle. “Come on!”
Through the smoke he saw Danielle and the child trying to help another prisoner stand.
“Leave him,” Hawker shouted.
“I can’t,” Danielle said.
“We don’t have room. If this guy wants out he has to run for it …”
Hawker’s voice trailed off as realized the man had only bloodstained rags where his feet should have been.
“I’m not leaving him,” Danielle said. But the man pushed her away and then fell back onto his stone ledge of a bunk.
“Go,” he said in Russian. “Take him with you.” He pointed to Yuri.
Hawker looked at Danielle. “We only have room for three.”
Angry, she grabbed Yuri and tore him away from Petrov. The child began to scream.
“Give me a weapon,” the man said.
Hawker handed him a fragmentation grenade, in case he didn’t want to be a prisoner any longer. And then he turned and led Danielle and the child toward the open elevator doors.
“We’re taking the elevator?” she asked.
“Right now they’re cutting off the exits, surrounding the perimeter to try to keep us from escaping,” he said. “We’re going to head deeper inside.”
They piled inside.
Danielle pointed to the guard’s key still in the slot. “I’m guessing if we turn that, we go up.”
“Gimme a second,” Hawker said. He dropped down and pried open the control panel.
“What are you doing?”
“Overriding their computer,” he said, pulling out an electronic interface that looked like a comb connected to a calculator.
He pulled the elevator’s own mess of wires from the unit interface and jammed the comb side of his contraption into the same spot. He typed in 102 on the keypad and hit LOCK . The doors closed and the elevator began its express ride.
As it rose up, Yuri continued to cry. Danielle attempted to comfort him, holding him with one armwhile gripping the assault rifle with the other. A modern woman.
Hawker checked his readout. They’d passed the twentieth floor and were accelerating. The device he’d plugged in had come direct from the manufacturer, via the NRI lab and Arnold Moore. Not only did it override the security protocols of the elevator’s main computer but with NRI’s reworking, it sent a signal to the tracking system, fooling it into thinking that the elevator was still in the subbasement of the brig.
While Kang’s security forces were surrounding the fort, scaling down the walls outside, and frantically pressing the elevator call button in the lobby, Hawker, Danielle, and the kid were passing right by them, headed for the roof.
He only hoped that Saravich and his helicopter would be there.
He pulled out three harnesses, each connected to thin steel wires with carabiners on the end. One for him, one for Danielle, and one that would go to Yuri.
“Put these on,” he said, stepping into his own.
Danielle slipped hers on, legs first and then arms. She helped Yuri into his. The crying had ceased, but his eyes remained red and swollen.
“How did you know I was here?” she asked.
“Moore sent me.”
“How did he know?”
“McCarter called in, after you were taken.”
“McCarter?” Her voice was suddenly filled with surprise and hope. “I thought he was …,” she stammered. “I thought I’d gotten him killed.”
Hawker smiled at her. He liked being the bearer ofgood news for once. “Apparently he’s tougher than you thought.”
For the first time since he’d known her, she seemed to be overcome with emotion. He looked up at the rapidly increasing number on the elevator readout. “Ninety. We’ll be at the top in fifteen seconds.”
“And then?” Danielle asked.
“There should be a helicopter waiting.”
“Why the harnesses?”
“There’s nowhere for it to land.”
The doors opened to a black night and an empty, wet roof.
“Where’s the helicopter?” Danielle asked.
Hawker stepped out. It wasn’t there.
The rain was still coming down at
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