The Decay

Chapter 41 - Underground

41

"The last component should be arriving shortly," said John. The man in the dark silver suit sat in his leather chair resting his elbows on the flawless mahogany table in front of him. They were in his office, a medium-sized room on the second-last floor of the facility. An artificial fire place filled the wall to the left of the desk whilst the one to the right was lined with shelves full of books; the most important collection of remaining knowledge. The room was dark except for a single electric lamp hanging from the ceiling which bathed the room in a crimson light. A colour suitable for a man in his position.

"What of that rubber thing? Those interfering ignorants made away with one of the components." The man in the dark silver suit radiated annoyance. "My men have recovered a similar component to the rubber cement. A minor setback." replied John. "How long will it take for the nuclear device to be assembled?" asked the man in the dark silver suit. "Two, maybe three weeks at the most," a moments pause and then,"When can I expect my payment?" The man in the dark silver suit shot him a glare. "Whenever I confirm its functionality."

"Speaking of the device," continued the man, "What happened with the company you hired? The last thing I remember is the death of their leader." John sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. From what I understood, most of the remaining mercenaries scattered their separate ways, although some alliances and conflicts arose. The second in command came here with us and he told he didn't want anything to do with Epsilon anymore, so I hired him as my personal bodyguard." The man in the dark silver suit chuckled, "Just be careful no one bribes him to kill his employer." John ignored the remark.

The phone rang. The base had a wired connection of telephones eliminating the need for messengers; a great advantage in terms of time-saving. "Who's this?" asked the man. "Security officer, sir. Just wanted to notify you that the high value package has arrived."

The man in the dark silver suit stood up and left the room, leaving John behind. Walking through the dimly lit left corridor, he passed by several closed doors to reach the silver colored lift at the end. Floor A3. The corridor in front of him was different from the dark one at the depths of the compound. The golden yellow colored walls sprang to life as a series of overhead lights came to life. Further down, the corridor was also much busier; several people were walking or running up and down the corridor, chatting with each other or simply nodding at whoever they met. The majority wore armor and had a pistol or some other form for weapon on them. Floor A3 was indeed home to the security office and main control room, and was the location of the secondary armory, locked behind a thick steel safe. Any entrance to the underground compound was strictly controlled by the security office whilst the main control room's primary function was that of ensuring a suitable air supply, temperature, electrical current, water purification, reading radiation levels, and the functioning of alarms, lifts and lock-down doors.

Walking with purpose, the man in the dark silver suit entered the fourth door on the right and, bypassing security checks, stood before all the components for the nuclear device.

He turned his head, looking at the team of scientists standing in a row, waiting for him to speak. "You know what to do, assemble the device and place it in the power-unit. We are so very close to success now. Just imagine the power." Turning to leave, one of the scientists walked past a glass chamber with a humanoid-shape inside. The greenish water was bubbling steadily as a small overhead monitor read 'Genetic mutation: 84%'.