Creepers

51

Balenger descended first. He had to move slowly, probing the air with his pistol to test for razor wire. They crept downward, constantly turning. The revolving flash of headlamps was dizzying. The stairwell amplified the noise from the storm. Approaching the fifth level, Balenger heard water streaming, then realized that the sound didn't come from the rain outside but from something in the stairwell. His headlamp reflected off a torrent rushing along a hidden corridor.

A flash of lightning revealed a huge hole in the roof, the water on the upper levels cha

We can't get out this way, Balenger realized. For all he knew, Ro

"We'll try another staircase," Amanda murmured.

"Maybe," Vi

"What do you mean?" Balenger asked in confusion.

"The professor left a note with a colleague. When the professor doesn't call him by nine this morning, the colleague's supposed to open the note and tell the police where to send help."

They were so close to the outside wall that the pounding of the rain cloaked their muted voices.

"No," Balenger said. "Bob didn't leave a note."

"But…"

"When Bob got fired, he stopped trusting people in his department. He assumed the colleague would open the note and show it to the dean to get brownie points. Bob was afraid we'd all get arrested."

Vi

"Ro

"Then what are we going to do?"

Static crackled from the walkie-talkies.

"He's trying to get me to talk." Balenger spoke softly. "He's hoping he'll hear my voice and have something to shoot at."

"That could work the other way around," Amanda murmured. "If you hear him talking, you can shoot at his voice."

Balenger debated. "Tell me more about this bastard. Was he lying when…"

"He never touched me." Amanda shuddered. "He always treated me with terrifying politeness. I had the sense that something was building in him, that he struggled against it. The last time I saw him, when he brought me the nightgown, he stopped being polite. He yelled. He threw things. He called me a bitch and a whore. It was like he hated me because he felt aroused."

From the walkie-talkie, more static taunted Balenger.

He shut off Vi

Static.

"Is your last name really Harrigan?" Balenger didn't dare remain in one spot too long. He shifted into the dining room. Again, he whispered into the walkie-talkie. "Ro

No answer.

"What's your last-"

"Carlisle," the voice said.

Amanda and Vi

"That's not true," Balenger whispered. "Carlisle didn't have children."

"He's my father."

Continuing to move, Balenger eased into the exercise room, where weights propped open the elevator's door.

"No," Balenger said. "He's not your father."

"He acted like one."

"That's not the same thing."

"Sometimes, it's all there is."

"What about you?" Balenger asked. "Did you act like a good son?"

Balenger shut off his headlamp before shifting into the candlelit medical room. Amanda and Vi

"You're moving cautiously," the voice said, "but the candles react to the air you displace. Through the holes, I see them flicker."

Abruptly, Balenger realized that Ro

Balenger aimed toward the fresh hole, about to shoot, only to decide Ro

"Did you disarm the explosives up there?" the voice said from the walkie-talkie. "I assume a former Ranger has the ability to do that."

Balenger forced himself to stay quiet.

"You wonder how I know your background?" the voice asked. "It's not just because I heard you talking to the others. The first time you came to my office and questioned me, I knew you were trouble. When you showed up the next time, I had a stack of information about you. A shame about that Gulf War syndrome. At least you had someone to take care of you. Your wife made clear how devoted she was."

The reference to Diane struck Balenger like a punch in the stomach. His emotion bent him forward. At once, rage took the place of pain and loss. He aimed toward where he thought the voice was below him. With all his heart, he wanted to shoot. No! he warned himself. Not till you're sure. Don't let him goad you into making mistakes.

Desperation crept over him. Our lights, he thought. We shut them off so Ro

Reluctantly, he understood what needed to be done. What he didn't want to do.

Drawing Amanda and Vi

"No."

"Hold it with both hands. Like this." Balenger curled Vi

"When I shoot?"

"Go back to the medical room. Count to fifty. Then turn on your walkie-talkie. Increase its volume. Set it on the floor and back away. My voice will distract him. When he shoots, shoot back. You won't hit him, but we don't care about that. Just make sure he doesn't hit you."

"But what about-"

"I'm going to try to get the other night-vision goggles."

Vi

"Amanda, lock the hatch behind me." Balenger spoke with desperate softness. "Don't open it unless you hear two taps, then three, then one. Can you remember that? Two, three, one?"

"I'll remember."

"Vi

"Don't have a choice."

"If I can get those night-vision goggles, we'll have a lot of choices." Balenger hoped he sounded convincing.

Far from the holes in the medical room's floor, they could safely switch on their headlamps. Balenger moved quietly through the kitchen, the library, and the surveillance room, finally coming to the bedroom. He stared at the locked trapdoor. In theory, the door to Danata's suite remained barricaded, so Ro