“Officer Moderkiek,” Albane said, “This emergency exit door was the point of a major contamination breech. We are here to evaluate the level of biosecurity for this facility. I see absolutely no controls in place at this boundary for biosecurity. This door can be opened by anyone.”
“With all due respect, Madame Inspector, this door is an emergency exit. It is supposed to be free to open without any interference. If this door were locked, then during a fire anyone trapped inside corridor would die! Fire escapes are not biosecurity boundaries. Biosecurity is established via access checkpoints on each floor of the building, according to the classification of the work being conducted on the floor. The convention we use here is that Building Level Four, in other words the fourth floor, has BioSafety Level Four controls. The third floor has BioSafety Level Three controls. That way it is not confusing. You can only imagine the mess we’d have if the third floor had Level Four controls and the fourth floor had Level Three controls,” Moderkiek explained, chuckling as did.
“Yes, well, that is one way of doing it, I suppose. We can talk about that later with our supervisors. Now, take us to the biosecurity access point on Level Four. We want to see the controls you have in place there.”
C. Remy—RS: Coordinator: “Bio, this is the Coordinator. Take station at the emergency exit door.”
A. Archer—RS: Bio: “This is Bio, roger that. Moving into position.”
C. Remy—RS: Coordinator: “Electrician, standby to cut power.”
Local Embed—RS: Electrician: “Standing by.”
A. Archer—RS: Bio: “Coordinator, this is Bio. How is the video feed from my glasses?”
C. Remy—RS: Coordinator: “Receiving your feed on two-second time delay. It looks good.”
A. Archer—RS: Bio: “I’m in position now.”
C. Remy—RS: Coordinator: “Electrician, cut the power.”
Local Embed—RS: Electrician: “The power is off. Standing by to restore power on your mark.”
C. Remy—RS: Coordinator: “Bio, you are a go for entry.”
A. Archer—RS: Bio: “Roger, I’m going in.”
AJ pressed the flat bottom of the star-shaped knob against the metal surface of the emergency exit door and turned it ninety degrees clockwise, just like Kalen had instructed him to do. From the street, the emergency exit door had no handle, so AJ needed to make one. Kalen had called the device a vacuum clamp; it worked like a suction cup, except it was orders of magnitude stronger and could adhere to virtually any solid surface. Turn it ninety degrees clockwise to engage, ninety degrees counterclockwise to disengage. Presto, instant doorknob.
AJ took a deep breath and pulled. The emergency exit door swung open with ease, the latch mechanism still frozen in the retracted position by Kalen’s epoxy. AJ removed the vacuum clamp, slipped it back into his pocket, and stepped across the threshold. Corridor E was pitch dark, save the shrinking triangle of daylight that disappeared quickly as the door swung shut behind him. He had only eight minutes of darkness to complete the mission and no time to waste second-guessing. He needed to move. He extended his arms and walked at forty-five degree angle to his right, until his hand bumped into the wall. He turned his hand to the thumb down position so that his right palm laid flat against the wall. With a surface to guide him and aid his balance, AJ shuffled down the corridor.
C. Remy—RS: Coordinator: “Bio, report?”
The sound of C. Remy’s voice suddenly in his ear startled AJ, almost causing him to trip.
A. Archer—RS: Bio: “I’m inside, moving down Corridor E, but it’s pitch black.”
C. Remy—RS: Coordinator: “Why aren’t you using your light?”
A. Archer—RS: Bio: “Because… because I forgot I had a light.”
AJ reached into the left pocket of his navy blue maintenance worker coveralls and retrieved the LED minilight. The beam from the flashlight illuminated a fifteen-foot cone in front of him. He jogged to the end of the corridor and then pressed his ear up against the door. He heard nothing. With the building power off and the elevators inoperable, traversing the stairs would be his biggest risk of counterdetection.
He turned off his light, opened the door, and crept into the bottom of the stairwell. Overhead, he heard another door swing open, followed by the sound of footsteps, then the door slammed shut with a reverberating echo. On a metal landing somewhere above him, two men began arguing heatedly in Czech; their individual flashlight beams zigzagged wildly over the concrete walls as they gestured.
He hesitated.
He had two choices: Slink up the stairs to the second floor now using their argument as a distraction, or wait for them to leave. With option one he risked an ill-fated mid-stair encounter; with option two he risked being pinned down too long to complete his mission.
His heart pounded.
He wanted someone to tell him what to do, but this time, he was on his own.
A bead of sweat rolled down Albane’s forehead. It was hot, uncomfortable, and rank inside the yellow biosafety suit, but she was smiling. Smiling in the dark. Scenario Bravo Fourteen Delta was going swimmingly. As soon as the power had gone out Officer Moderkiek had begun to panic. He had instructed his two charges to stay put at the security checkpoint at Corridor C, while he went back through the double doors to talk with another guard about checking on the emergency diesel generator. But staying put was the last thing she and Kalen intended to do. Nicolora had unexpectedly changed the Op Plan to include accessing the Level Four laboratory. No further explanation had been given. The instructions were simple, search for and retrieve any samples related to Vyrogen’s secret formula. Entering the Chiarek Norse facility had gone smoothly. Exiting with the samples in hand and without blowing their cover was another matter altogether. Their success going forward hinged solely on Kalen’s talents.
Albane nudged Kalen.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go. Before Moderkiek comes back.”
In all the years Moderkiek had worked in the building, he could recall losing power only once, and that time the emergency diesel generator on the roof had kicked on automatically. He was angry. The timing of this power outage could not have been worse for the Chiarek Norse security detail. First, the infected American escaped, and now this. With government inspectors present no less! He wanted to scream, and so he did, at the Corridor B security guard. Arguing with his colleague didn’t solve anything, but it did make him feel better. It was imperative that someone check the diesel generator, but he did not want that someone to be him. He had assigned himself the responsibility of escorting the beautiful inspector woman, a responsibility he had no intention of delegating. Unfortunately, the Corridor B security guard was steadfast in defending his obligation to remain at his post at the BioSecurity Level Four boundary door. As much as Moderkiek wanted to overrule the junior guard, he could not. As the senior guard on duty, if he could not find another guard to check on the diesel generator, he would have to do it himself.
From the corner of his eye, Moderkeik caught a glimpse of a flashlight moving in the stairwell below. He abruptly stopped yelling at the Level Four guard and peered down into the darkness. Someone had just entered the stairwell on the ground floor. Good. Whoever it was, Moderkeik would order him to check the diesel generator, so he could quickly return to his official escort duties.