The Interrogation
1305 Words
The Nevada facility rose from the desert floor like a concrete tomb.
Vance studied it through his scope. Three stories, flat roof, no windows. A single guard tower at the northeast corner. A fence topped with razor wire. The heat shimmered off the sand.
"Echo, give me the layout," he said.
"I'm pulling schematics now." Her fingers flew across the keyboard. "Okay. One above-ground level, two below. The main entrance is on the south side. There's a secondary entrance on the east, probably for maintenance."
"Security?"
"Cameras at every corner. Motion sensors along the fence. Guard rotation is every two hours. They're running light—maybe ten personnel total."
"Then we hit them fast."
Hawk checked his rifle. "What's the objective?"
"Find the Director. Find the mole. Stop Fracture Line."
"That's a lot of objectives."
"Then we prioritize. Director first. Then the mole."
They moved at dusk. The sun sank below the horizon, painting the sky orange and red. Vance led the way, Flint on his left, Hawk on his right. Echo stayed back with the drone.
The fence was electrified, but Flint had a tool to bypass it. He worked quickly, cutting a section of wire. They slipped through.
The facility's back door was steel, reinforced. Vance pressed a device to the lock. It clicked open.
They moved inside.
The corridor was dark, silent. Vance's night vision goggles painted the world green. He moved forward, Sig raised.
A guard appeared at the end of the corridor. Vance fired. The guard dropped.
They moved on. Another guard. Another.
The facility was emptying. The Director had pulled most of his people.
"They know we're coming," Flint whispered.
"Good. Let them come."
They reached a door marked "Command Center." Vance kicked it open.
The room was large, filled with monitors and computer terminals. A man stood at the far end. Tall, gray-haired, cold eyes.
The Director.
"Mr. Cole. You're earlier than I expected."
Vance raised his Sig. "Where's the mole?"
The Director smiled. "What mole?"
"Don't play games. You told me there was a mole in my team. I want to know who."
The Director walked toward him. "Why would I tell you that? It's my only leverage."
"Then I'll take it from you."
Vance lunged. The Director moved fast, blocking the attack. They grappled, Vance's hands finding the Director's throat.
"You can't kill me," the Director gasped. "I'm the only one who knows the truth."
"Then start talking."
The Director's eyes went to the monitors. "Look at the screens, Mr. Cole. See what I've been working on."
Vance looked. The screens showed news feeds, financial data, military movements. And at the center, a countdown.
Fifty-four hours.
"Fracture Line," Vance said.
"Already in motion. Even if you kill me, it will happen. The only way to stop it is through the chip."
"The chip has been copied. The data is everywhere."
"Not the full data. The chip you have is a fragment. A decoy. The real data is in a different location."
Vance's grip tightened. "Where?"
"Somewhere you'll never find. Not without me."
Vance released him. The Director stumbled back, gasping.
"Tell me where the data is," Vance said. "And I'll let you live."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
The Director smiled. "I'll take it to my grave."
Vance raised his Sig. "Then you'll go there now."
Hawk grabbed his arm. "Wait. He's baiting us. He wants us to kill him."
"Then what do we do?"
"We take him with us. Use him. Interrogate him."
Vance lowered the gun. "Fine. You're coming with us."
The Director laughed. "I'm not going anywhere."
He pressed a button on his wrist. The room filled with gas.
Vance grabbed his mask, but it was too late. The gas was already in his lungs.
He fell to his knees. The world went dark.
---
Vance woke in a cell.
Concrete walls. Steel door. A single light bulb.
His head pounded. His lungs burned. He looked around.
Hawk was in the cell next to him. Flint was across the hall. Echo was nowhere to be seen.
"Echo!" Vance shouted.
No response.
"Echo, where are you?"
A voice from down the corridor. "I'm here."
Echo walked into view. She was wearing a guard's uniform.
"Echo? What are you doing?"
She looked at him. Her face was pale, cold.
"I'm sorry, Vance. I didn't have a choice."
Vance's heart stopped. "You're the mole."
"I'm the mole. The Director has my sister. He's been using her to control me."
"Then why are you telling me this now?"
"Because I'm going to save her. And you're going to help me."
Vance stared at her. Echo. His teammate. His friend.
"You betrayed us."
"I had no choice."
"There's always a choice."
Echo shook her head. "Not when your family is on the line. You of all people should understand that."
Vance was silent. He did understand. He would do anything to save his parents.
"Please, Vance. Help me. I can get you out of here. We can stop the Director together."
"How do I know this isn't a trap?"
Echo's eyes were full of tears. "You don't. But you have to trust me."
Vance looked at her. His teammate. His friend.
"Get me out," he said. "And we'll find your sister."
Echo unlocked the cell. Then the others.
"Follow me," she said.
---
They moved through the facility, Echo leading the way.
"The Director is in sublevel two," she said. "He's preparing to activate Fracture Line."
"How do we stop him?"
"We need to get to his personal server. That's where the kill switch is located."
"And your sister?"
"She's in a holding cell on sublevel one. I need to free her first."
Vance nodded. "Then that's what we do."
They reached sublevel one. Echo led them to a cell door.
"Mira?" she called.
A voice from inside. "Echo? Is that you?"
"It's me. I'm getting you out."
Echo unlocked the door. A young girl stepped out. She was thin, pale, but alive.
"Let's go," Echo said.
They ran. Up the stairs, through the corridor, back to the main entrance.
The Director was waiting.
"Going somewhere?" he asked.
Vance raised his Sig. "Get out of our way."
"I don't think so."
The Director pressed a button. The facility shook. Alarms blared.
"You've activated the self-destruct," Echo said. "You're going to kill us all."
"Only if you don't stop me." The Director smiled. "The kill switch is on my server. If you can get to it, you can stop the countdown."
Vance looked at the countdown. Two minutes.
"Go," he said. "I'll hold him off."
Flint and Hawk ran toward the server room. Echo stayed with her sister.
Vance faced the Director.
"This ends now," Vance said.
"I agree." The Director pulled out a pistol.
They fired at the same time. The Director's bullet grazed Vance's arm. Vance's bullet hit the Director's shoulder.
The Director stumbled, but kept firing. Vance dove behind a column.
"Just give up," the Director shouted. "You can't win."
"I can't lose."
Vance fired again. The Director went down.
He ran to the server room. Hawk and Flint were at the console.
"Did you find it?" Vance asked.
"We found it," Flint said. "But we need your biometrics to unlock it."
Vance pressed his hand to the scanner. The screen blinked.
*Kill switch disabled.*
The countdown stopped.
Vance let out a breath. "We did it."
"Not yet," Echo said. "The Director is still alive. And he has friends. People who will continue his work."
"Then we find them. All of them."
They walked out of the facility. The sun was rising over the desert.
Vance looked at his team. Hawk, Flint, Echo, Mira.
His family.
"The war isn't over," he said. "But we're winning."
Hawk nodded. "One step at a time."
"Then let's take the next step."
- Writer
