Chapter 3

Chapter 3

            The path I’d spotted up to the roof was easy enough, as was removing the outside cover of the ventilation system. Where the sneaking became difficult was inside the vent system itself. I hadn’t expected it to be so cramped and I actually had to push my backpack in front of me, despite it being low profile. When I came to the first drop-off I was worried they’d removed the ladder rungs that the notes had mentioned when I couldn’t see them right away, but quick pass of my flashlight revealed them, hidden by shadow.

            After that it was simple as washing my hair: Lather, rinse, repeat. After thirty minutes of cycling through crawling, climbing down ladders, and more crawling, the air in the vent became stuffy and uncomfortably warm. Whatever was in The Vault used a lot of power and generated just as much heat and I was getting close. Another ten minutes and I was confronted by bright fluorescent lighting streaming through vents in the ceiling below me.

I continued inching forward until a noise below caught my attention; footsteps. I froze still, waiting for the sound to pass, afraid any noise I made would be heard by the patrolling guard. After I felt safe the guards footfalls had disappeared I went to work on the simple task of the ventilation grill separating me from the hallway below. It was extremely difficult, however, to maneuver my pack and search through it in the uncomfortably warm darkness for a screwdriver. That task out of the way it took no time at all to loosen the screws at the corners of the grill. Pulling it gently up as I removed the last of fasteners, I listened intently for any sound of a nearby patrol. Hearing nothing I dropped my pack down through the opening, and shortly thereafter, myself.

The shocked look of the guard as he stepped through a doorway across the hallway from where I’d dropped down matched my own shock if not dwarfed it. I had to act quickly to keep this from becoming any more difficult a situation than it already had. Even as he collected his nerves and made moved his hand towards his side-arm I was halfway through a lunge from the kneeling position I’d landed in. My fist collided with his Adam’s apple before he could remove the weapon from it’s holster.

Now, a new look of shock and confusion, spread across his face as he fell backward, laying still after landing on his back, helmeted head smacking against the marble flooring. Immediately, still on guard, I scanned around me for any other threats, seeing none I set myself to the task of dealing with the man I’d just rendered unconscious or dead. After a quick check for a pulse, finding one, although weak, I checked the other side of the doorway and found a large bathroom/shower area which was unoccupied for the moment.

Hurriedly, I grabbed both of the guard’s arms and drug him back through the door he’d exited a few moments ago. Again, scanning for threats and finding none, I continued further into the area I now saw to be a locker room. Most likely where the guards got ready for their shifts and to go back to wherever they lived. This presented a problem to me, as it meant the man I’d just put down for a nap was expected to relieve one of the other guards on duty, and they’d be looking for him soon enough. Or at least his uniform, I thought, the plan already circulating through my mind, although risky, was more necessary than anything else at the moment.

I checked his uniform, a black helmet with a visor over a black mask, a black combat vest over battle fatigues with the logo “EDC” emblazoned upon them, and heavy black boots for a name or any other identification. The only thing I found was a security badge with the number 137 on it. Figuring it to be an identification number, only adding to the anonymity of the masked guard I scanned the lockers around me, finding that they too had numbers engraved on them. Shortly I found the locker marked 137 and went to work on removing the guard’s uniform and equipment.

After a few moments of wrestling with the man’s uncooperative form I had the uniform and equipment off of him and on to me. I lifted 137, with nothing else to identify him by, up and eased him into his rather spacious locker before closing the door and locking it. Once I was through with that I checked over the equipment he’d so kindly bequeathed to me: A .45 semi-automatic pistol, the side-arm he’d attempted to use on me, with two clips stored in pockets on other combat vest, a fixed-bladed combat knife in a sheath the vest provided, and among other odds and ends a rifle of some sort, again with two extra clips in the vest’s pockets. Making a mental note to check on the identity of the rifle I collected myself, took a quick glance in the mirror to be sure that nothing was out of place then, after slipping my pack on and securing it, I made my way toward the door to the hallway.

Stepping out, I could already here the steps’ of another guard echoing off of the walls. Putting my faith in my disguise I walked calmly down the hallway toward the sound, on guard however should it fail. As the echo of each footfall became louder and louder questions began to race through my mind.

What if this other guard tries talking to me as if I am his colleague?

How could I really expect this plan to work?!

I should just turn around now, find a floor plan, and avoid anyone else.

The last thought was the most tempting, but as the other guard rounded the corner, I realized it was too late to do anything but continue forward. The fact that the other guard didn’t immediately call me out as a fake gave me some confidence, however. As he passed me, still a nervous mess below the nonchalant façade I’d adorned, he simply nodded once toward me, I returned the acknowledgement about ready to scream from the stress.

And then it was over, he’d passed me by, and no alarm of an intruder was being sounded. I held back a sigh of relief until I moved out of earshot of the man, relieved the disguise had held up, however not intending to try it out again. For the first time since dropping down from the vent I had a chance to fully take in my surroundings, and one of the first things I realized I’d missed seeing were security cameras. This disguise would obviously do me a lot more good than I’d originally anticipated.

On the wall further up the hallway I found a map of the area. Taking mental note of the directions to The Vault itself I set carefully off toward it. Thankfully enough, the route was fairly clear of potential threats, such as guards. What few there were simply nodded in acknowledgment, which I again returned, and continued on their patrol route. As I got nearer and nearer to my goal I gained more and more confidence in my success.

The door to The Vault was massive in comparison to everything else I’d seen since my arrival in the area. By it there was a card reader and, in another first since I’d dropped from the vent, I reminded myself of another use of the uniform I’d taken from the guard:  The security badges worn by the guards acted as access keys to The Vault. Pulling the card out from under the vest I slid the end of it into the card reader and was rewarded with three quick chirps from the reader, a green light, and the Vault’s door slowly opening. Again, fluorescent lighting nearly blinded me, what I saw after my eyes adjusted, however, nearly stopped my heart in awe.