Flawed (30 page)

“Let’s go,” Ann called. “I want to be done with you.”

Still holding Rein’s hand, Ellyssa went.

A cacophony of metallic clanging echoed throughout the stairwell, sounding more like a whole platoon charging instead of just eight people walking down steps. At the bottom was only one door, a room completely separated from rest of the complex. Ann pushed numbers into a keypad, 6-1-7-4, then placed her thumb on a scanner. A red light read from right to left. The door clicked and popped open. Stepping off to the side, Ann waved them to enter.

Towing Rein with her, Ellyssa stepped over the threshold and into a small room containing a long table surrounded by eight chairs and a desk with a computer. Perched behind the desk was an older male, about fifty-five, with dark blond hair greying on the sides and, wearing a white lab coat. He looked up at the sound of the door, his eyes a teal blue, and his thin lips pulled into a warm smile.

The door already opened to Ann’s and Loreley’s thoughts, Ellyssa knew the doctor was adored and respected. He had been the leader of their community for the past thirty or so years, which led Ellyssa to believe he was older than his outward appearance. More along the lines of her father’s age? Her father had looked deceptively young too, a specimen of eugenics.

Ellyssa gated off their random thoughts as she zeroed in on the doctor. Warmth exuded from him, his curiosity overwhelming and genuine, but behind all the cheerfulness and rambling questions about the newcomers into his facility was something else, not quite identifiable, as if a door was closed to her probing.

A well-guarded secret? Possibly.

Ellyssa felt her inner soldier writhing beneath her skin, waiting to leap forth at a moment’s notice. The doctor seemed harmless enough, his forefront thoughts nonthreatening, but she didn’t like not being able to get a full read on him. His mind was a maze of winding corridors and hidden doors, much like his steel complex. Whenever Ellyssa thought she found the right passage, a dead end awaited her.

“I was wondering when you were going to get back,” Dr. Loki said, standing. He approached Rein with an extended hand. “Welcome to Sirus, our home. I’m Dr. Loki. It isn’t often we have…visitors here. Renegades like us. Part of the Resistance.”

Glancing at Ellyssa, Rein took the proffered hand. “Rein.” He shook once and let go.

“Nice to meet you, Rein.” After introducing himself to the others, shaking hands and repeating the same greeting he’d given Rein, Dr. Loki said. “Please, please, have a seat. I’m sure you are all curious and have many questions. As do I.”

With a lift of his chin and an unspoken exchange, he dismissed Ann and Loreley. The redhead gave a wary glance before she retreated. After the dark-haired female closed the door, and the lock clicked into place, Dr. Loki took a seat at the head of the table.

“I hope Ann and Loreley or any of the team weren’t too rude. You must understand—when I say we don’t often have visitors, we really don’t. You are the first Renegades to come into this facility since…” he paused for a second, thinking, “about ten years or so. Now, where shall we begin?” he said, rubbing his hands together. “So many things. So many things.”

“How about this?” Woody said, leaning forward. “Who are you?”

A small frown bunched the doctor’s brow. “Dr. Loki.”

“Yeah, I get that. But
who
are you?”

“And what is this place?” chimed in Dyllon.

“Why did you bring us here?” asked Trista.

“One question at a time. Only one.” Dr. Loki thought for a moment, his gaze landing on each individual. “I think it will be easier if I try and start from the beginning.”

Despite Ellyssa’s reservations about the male doctor, she found herself mesmerized as an amazing story unraveled.

Dr. Loki’s mind was like reading a book with blurry words as he gathered his thoughts. Some images came in sharp and crystal clear, others were fuzzy and would disappear, filed away behind the mental blockade. The secret remained hidden. For right now, Ellyssa gave up on trying to uncover the enigma, interested in hearing the story she’d seen in his head. He didn’t pose a threat for the time being. Besides, she knew she’d eventually find the right synapse to ride toward the truth. A leak would present itself.

Dr. Loki studied his audience, his eyes moving from one to the next, but Ellyssa noticed that his gaze lingered on her more than anyone else. He wondered about her, her platinum hair and azure eyes, the epitome of Aryan perfection. He had heard, or learned, about The Center; things blurred in the process. Ellyssa poked around in the vagueness but found nothing defined.

After a few seconds, Dr. Loki swept his hand in an arc. “What you are looking at is the completed clandestine operation that went under construction at the same time as Pantex, a bomb plant for the United States Army in nineteen forty-two, almost three months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Of course, Pantex was long ago disassembled, after D-Day. We thrive under the ruins.”

Rein leaned back in his seat. “So, it’s true?”

“What?”

“If you are really here, then there are others. Washington? California?”

“Ah, yes. The rumor mill. As far as I know, yes, they’ve survived. This complex is
Sirus
, codename, The Pit.” He grinned at the reference. “The one in California is
Hypogeus
, and the one in Washington is
Infernus
, which, considering what happened to DC, might be appropriate.”

“All Latin?” Ellyssa said.

Dr. Loki shrugged. “The founders thought the names appropriate.”

Woody’s forehead crinkled. “You don’t know if the others have survived or not?”

“No. I have no idea. I would say the one in California might have survived. I haven’t heard any different. Washington DC is iffy. The Capitol is a wasteland. But, as I’ve already said, as far as I know they all survived.”

Questioning the doctor’s honesty, Rein glanced at Ellyssa. She gave a quick nod. “How can that be?” Rein asked, facing the doctor.

The doctor inhaled deeply. “It was part of the rules that were agreed upon.”

“Rules?”

“It’s complicated,” Dr. Loki stated. “During the nuclear arms race, some top men in the government started construction of the three underground facilities. You understand, just in case. We were lucky, because the
just-incase
became reality.

“The development and construction of each of the facilities was hidden behind something else to throw off any suspicion. For instance, this facility went under construction during the erection of Pantex. Of course, it took a lot longer to complete than the nine months of construction the bomb plant underwent.

“When it became clear the Allies would not be victorious, we closed the doors and, for the most part, remained self-sufficient. We had our orders. Knew what to do. The risk of contact was too high.”

“But,” Ellyssa said, “you have technology. You have outside sources. Others know of your existence.”

Dr. Loki nodded. “Just like your camp of Renegades had. Let me finish. Back when we started construction, some news leaked out. Probably from the workers. After the War had concluded, people came looking for us, the Germans as well as survivors seeking salvation from the threat of extermination. They didn’t find us, though.”

“What happened to the survivors?” Trista asked.

The doctor shrugged. “I’m sure that, if they didn’t find cover, they were executed.”

Her jaw slack, Trista stared at their host. “You just-just let them die?” Disbelief colored her voice.

“Once the doors were closed, we didn’t open them again for ten years. Those were the orders.”

Trista’s mouth moved as she struggled with words. “You…could have saved them.”

“We don’t take in outsiders.”

“Ever?”

“No.”

Like a bright red blinking sign, Ellyssa saw the lie in the doctor’s mind. A small leak had sprung. All she needed to do was widen the hole. “That isn’t true, is it Dr. Loki. At one time,
you
were an outsider.”

The doctor’s eyes widened for a moment then narrowed. “I am not an outsider.”

“You were not born here,” she countered.

Dr. Loki’s thoughts reeled as he tried to process her ability to have such knowledge. Something about truth. Ellyssa found herself coasting along the stream that led to his secret, to her answers. A mental picture of a male started to form before it dissipated like smoke on a breeze. The words and images dwindled and distorted. A mental wall blocked her view.

Dr. Loki had stopped the stream himself. On purpose.

Did he know of her ability?

Stubbornly, his lips pressed together as he regarded Ellyssa. Dr. Loki wasn’t going to say anything, or think anything useful, for that matter. Ellyssa suspected his knowledge of The Center was on a more grand scale than just hearsay.

Narrowing her eyes, she poked around a bit more. As if he knew, their host’s mind filled with the periodic table.

Ellyssa tossed him some bait, trying to strengthen the feed to the doctor’s hidden thoughts. “Although very subtle, I can detect a slight German accent.”

Dr. Loki didn’t bite. “Yours isn’t light at all,” he replied calmly.

“Touché,” Ellyssa said.

They stared at each other until the doctor broke contact and turned his attention away from her and back toward Trista. The line Ellyssa had been riding completely snapped as he directed his thoughts toward her friend.

“We would’ve risked everything if we brought in the poor souls. In the beginning, it was all about survival. And this establishment
had
to survive.”

“Why?” Dyllon asked, breaking his long silence.

A proud smile broke across Dr. Loki’s face. “It would be easier to show you.”

The Pit was huge, a labyrinth of unending sterile corridors, turns and stairs. During their maze run, they passed by the sliding steel door that led to the tunnel where they’d been escorted through into a different section of the underground structure and up to another story.

Finally, the doctor paused at yet another steel door. “I think you will find this impressive.”

Like Ann, he punched in a code and scanned his thumb. The door popped, letting them gain access. The doctor stepped aside while his visitors entered an open room, much like the observation deck of Ellyssa’s father’s at The Center. The grey metal walls housed a line of tables pushed against a large picture window. Each table held two computers. A variety of people with different skin tones and hair colors manned the stations, watching through the glass and documenting their observations.

When they’d entered, some of the observers had glanced over their shoulder, flashing different shades of green, brown, and blue eyes, before disregarding them, their attention captivated by whatever was on the other side of the window.

“Come and look,” invited Dr. Loki.

Below them was a group of about fifty people, all lean and muscular, dressed in white tank tops and roomy pants. Before them stood three teachers Ellyssa immediately recognized as
sensei
. Loreley and Ann were two of the teachers. The master was of Eastern descent, his hair black as night. He barked orders in Japanese, and the students started a string of
katas
. From what Ellyssa could tell, the
katas
were a combination of several different disciplines like what she’d practiced at The Center, containing strikes, kicks and throws to invisible enemies. Ellyssa’s body ached to join them.

“What is this?” Rein questioned.

The corners of the doctor’s lips lifted slyly as he watched his people perform the dance of a conglomeration of the ancient arts. “This place started off with thirty people. Fifteen males and fifteen females. Each a genius in their own right. They didn’t care about nationalities. They cared about expertise.

“When the War broke out, even before the United States entered it, six scientists, two for each of the facilities, scoured the earth for the most intelligent, the best, doctors, scientists, mathematicians, tacticians, arms experts, strategists, even high-ranking military personnel.

“Today, our population stands at two hundred fifty.” The doctor’s chest puffed out and his chin lifted. “The people below are Alpha Group One, our best. We have an Alpha Group Two and Three, and our Beta Group consists of twenty-three children between the ages of five and sixteen.”

Ellyssa stared at the group of people. Their lean bodies moved with precision, the execution of the
kata
perfect, their stances flawless. They reminded Ellyssa of herself, her sister and her brothers. With growing alarm, she realized that, in a roundabout way, the Resistance, lurking beneath Pantex, had accomplished the exact same thing that her father had, just not on as grand a scale.

Soldiers meant to execute.

“You asked about us being in contact with the other facilities.” Dr. Loki said. “One day, when we are ready, we plan on taking back what is ours.”

“With two hundred fifty people?” Woody asked, dubiously.

“We have our contacts, too. The few are…let us say…important people in high places. The Resistance is like a surreptitious organization within an organization.” Dr. Loki’s gaze landed on Ellyssa, then shot away. “I’m sure you have a lot more questions. And I have several of my own. But I do have work to do.” He walked toward the door, where two men waited on the other side. “Oliver and Glenn,” he introduced, nodding in respective order. “Please show our guests to their quarters.”