Nina checked. The long room was in shadow, the only light coming through a window beside another door at the far end. Boxed-up equipment lurked on workbenches, but there was no movement. ‘Think so.’
‘Okay, go. I’ll be right behind you.’
Kagan went through the door, Tova following. Nina hesitated as she heard the clatter of running footsteps. Slavin and his men were through the last security door. ‘Eddie, come on!’
He backed up. ‘I’m coming, don’t bloody worry!’ The soldiers approached the intersection. Eddie fired two shots, shattering more wall tiles, and the footsteps hurriedly halted. He ducked through the door and hit the button to close it.
Tova helped the limping Kagan through the dimly lit laboratory. Nina quickly caught up. Through the window, she saw the elevator. ‘Jesus, we’ll be completely exposed.’
‘It is the only way out,’ Kagan reminded her grimly. ‘Chase! How many bullets do you have?’
Eddie had been counting his shots. ‘About ten.’
The Russian grimaced again. ‘It will have to do.’ They reached the other exit, and he raised his keycard once more. ‘We only need to hold them off until the doors open—’
A shrill, piercing alarm filled the room, lights snapping on. But these were not the glaring overheads illuminating the rest of the facility; they were instead a sickly yellow. ‘What’s that?’ said Eddie.
Kagan’s expression was one of utter, trapped horror. He shoved the card into the lock, but the only response was a warning rasp and a flashing red light. ‘Govno,’ he gasped, stumbling back. ‘The alarm — they have started the sterilisation procedure!’
‘What?’ Nina cried. She checked the ceiling. The lab was overlooked by two of the sinister black domes — which split as she watched, their casings opening up like hardened flowers to expose a cluster of metal nozzles pointing outwards. ‘Oh my God! Stop it, use your override!’
‘I cannot!’ Kagan replied. ‘Once it is activated, there is no way to stop it.’
‘There’s got to be a way!’ She grabbed his card and jammed it back into the lock, but the buzzer sounded again.
Outside the window, some of the Russian soldiers appeared, peering warily through the glass — followed by Slavin. The sweating officer now wore a nasty, triumphant smile. ‘How long do we have?’ Eddie asked.
Kagan regarded the nearest set of nozzles. ‘The gas must build up pressure before it is lit — about thirty seconds.’
Eddie whipped up his AK and fired a burst at the window — aiming directly at Slavin. The Russian jerked back in fear as bullets smacked against the glass, but quickly recovered his composure, his smirk widening as he saw that the window was cracked, but not broken. ‘Shit!’
‘Shoot it again!’ Tova cried.
‘It won’t make any difference,’ he said, looking around. ‘But… that might!’
Amongst the boxes and equipment on one of the benches was a squat red cylinder topped by a pressure valve. Eddie couldn’t read the Cyrillic text on its label, but the symbol of a flame in a warning triangle beside it was immediately understandable. He swung the heavy container on to a small trolley, then pushed it to the window. ‘Everyone get behind that bench.’
‘What are you doing?’ Nina asked.
‘Remember that fire extinguisher? Same thing — only the bang’ll be a bit bigger.’
‘If you blow it up, it will kill us!’ protested Kagan.
‘It might kill us — but that’ll definitely kill us,’ Eddie replied, pointing at the nearest dome. ‘Come on, get down!’
Nina hunched behind the bench, clutching the steel canister. A new sound became audible over the alarm: a rumble coming from the nozzles, slowly but steadily rising in pitch. ‘Oh God,’ she whispered as the others joined her. ‘It’s starting!’
‘You ready?’ Eddie called out as he crouched beside Nina, taking aim around the side of the workbench at the gas cylinder. Slavin’s eyes widened as he realised what the Englishman was going to do. ‘Cover your ears!’
They did so — as Slavin made a hasty retreat, barging soldiers out of his way.
Eddie pulled the trigger—
The Kalashnikov barked once — and the container exploded.
A room-shaking blast shredded the far end of the workbench and hurled blazing equipment across the laboratory. Broken ceiling tiles dropped around the crouching fugitives like hailstones. ‘Jesus Christ!’ Nina screamed as a sharp-edged piece hit her.
Eddie didn’t even bother checking the results of his handiwork, simply grabbing her and jumping up to run for the window. Either it was broken — or they were all dead. ‘Go, go!’
Even with his leg wound, Kagan found a burst of speed as he and Tova followed the couple. The lab was littered with burning debris — but amongst it was shattered glass. The weakened window had been blown apart.
Still holding the AK, Eddie hurdled through the opening with Nina. Those soldiers who had not reacted quickly enough to follow Slavin lay on the floor, faces cut, uniforms ripped and smouldering. Slavin himself was sprawled on the far side of the lobby area. The thought of shooting him flashed through the Englishman’s mind, but survival outweighed it — they were not safe yet. ‘Get to the lift!’
He pushed Nina ahead of him as Tova scrambled through the broken window. She started to run for the elevator, but Kagan yanked her with him to one side— High-pressure acetylene gas gushed from the nozzles, electric igniters sparking — and the laboratory was engulfed in jets of white-hot flame.
The swelling fire surged through the remains of the window. Tova screamed, Kagan pressing her against the closed metal door and shielding her with his body. One of the soldiers managed to scrabble clear of the blaze, but the luckless man beside him was instantly incinerated. Eddie and Nina dived away from the inferno, landing by the elevator.
But the danger was not over. The nozzle clusters began to rotate, searing jets blasting like deadly lighthouse beams over every square inch of the laboratory — and out into the lobby. More soldiers fled, another man being hit by the fire and instantly bursting into flames. The back of the door glowed red as burning gas washed over it, Kagan’s hair scorching as heat rose behind him—
The jets stuttered, then cut out. Every part of the lab had been sterilised by fire almost half as hot as the surface of the sun, even stainless steel warped and ceramic tiles cracked by the pitiless heat. What pieces of equipment had not been smashed by the explosion were melted or burned to charcoal.
Smoke poured from the lab. ‘Is it just me, or is it warm in here?’ said Eddie, coughing as he stood. He tried to open the elevator doors, but they were locked. ‘Kagan, get the lift open!’
Kagan hobbled to him. Tova followed, trying not to look at the burning remains of the dead soldiers. The Russian put his card into the reader and entered his override code; after a moment, the doors rumbled apart.
Eddie ducked through, keeping the AK raised to cover the soldiers, but they all seemed shell-shocked, more concerned with escaping the flames than hunting down their targets. Slavin raised his head; on seeing the Englishman, he made a frantic dash for a side passage. Eddie tracked him, but before he could shoot, Kagan had closed the doors.
The car began its ascent. ‘What do we do when we get to the top?’ Nina asked.
Kagan leaned against a wall to take the weight off his injured leg. ‘I will tell the base commander what has really happened. I know him — I am sure he will believe me over Slavin.’
‘Won’t Slavin already be talking to him, though?’ Eddie asked. He pulled out the AK’s magazine to check his remaining ammunition; including the one in the chamber, he was down to his last three rounds. ‘It’s no good you being mates with the guy if he’s already told his security forces to shoot us!’