章 31: Where's Gromit?
Looking at the bloody, beaten, and whimpering form of Doctor Lorelei Tsing, all I feel is a broiling rage. During my time here stuck in these cages like some type of crazed animal, I have witnessed these moun- no… these monsters… treat my people like they were completely beneath them in every way. They treated us like we deserved to be drained of our blood and used to keep them alive. Now don't get me wrong, if I had to, I would do whatever it takes to keep my people alive, especially those closest to me, Lexa and John in particular. If I were in their shoes and needed another's blood to survive, I would at least try other routes first before going straight to capture and drain.
Sighing to myself, I shake my head at the doctor's bloodied form. "I hope you're ready to talk now, Doctor. I would hate it if I were to have to kill you without learning anything useful." I say calmly, my words causing her to sob even more.
I look towards my two allies, Echo and Samuel. They did quite the number on the doctor in front of me. Considering the unnatural angle of her bloodied nose and bruised face, I am pretty sure that it was broken. Her nose wasn't the only thing that my two allies broke though, most, if not all of her fingers were broken as well; each one bent in a sickening way. I am pretty sure her right ankle is broken too.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know." Dr. Tsing whispers hoarsely, her voice is so quiet I nearly miss what she is saying altogether. Due to the tenderizing session, her vocal cords need time to recuperate and heal.
Nodding my head to Echo and Samuel in thanks, I turn my attention back to the doctor. Throughout the beating she received, she was very adamant about keeping her secrets, but there's one thing I've learned over the years as The Shield gon Hedas… everyone has a limit, it's just about reaching it.
"Good, that's what I like to hear. Now tell me, how many combat capable individuals are there?" I ask her threateningly, getting closer to her so she feels more threatened.
My closeness was unsettling for her, she was afraid that I'd either start beating her myself or get my two allies to do it. Hoping I'd give her some space if she told me the truth, she answered. "We have two hundred and three active military personnel and one hundred eighty one non combatants." She said quietly, glancing at the two dead soldiers in the corner. "Two hundred and one military personnel…" She corrected herself.
The numbers that she gave, gave me pause. Was I prepared to kill so many innocents? While the military personnel were fair game, the non combatants were a more complicated matter entirely. It's been proven that their soldiers were the ones responsible for capturing my people, but everyone in mount weather benefited from the action. Even if they didn't like it, they still used our blood to heal themselves, then they threw us away.
They could pretend to be disgusted and be morally against using our blood to heal themselves and the ones they loved, but they still do it. They push us to the back of their minds and try to forget about us, giving them the illusion of innocence in their minds. Even the room that we are currently in isn't even located on the map of mount weather.
While Echo and Samuel were beating Doctor Tsing, I explored the room a little bit and discovered a map depicting the layout of Mount Weather, along with each level and the purpose of each level. It was quite useful, but if you lived here your entire life then it would be completely useless, which leads me to believe that it was there for the personnel inside the mountain before Praimfaya.
Along with the map, I found spare medical equipment stored in cabinets. I handed out the medical equipment to those who needed them and I took the scalpels for myself. While the rifle I carried was useful, it wasn't exactly ideal when it came to stealth. I would use the scalpels during the next phase in my escape plan. According to the map, their leader's office is on the seventh floor, which is several levels below the room we are currently in. However, wanting to hide their actions, the mountain men built this room near one of the more isolated areas of the bunker, as well as quite close to an elevator.
After I gathered everything that I deemed useful from the helpful doctor, I would stealthily make my way to the elevator and use it to descend to the seventh floor and if everything works out in my favor, take their president hostage. Once I have the president under my control, my people will start the next phase of the plan.
The next phase consists of taking control of the level that we are currently on. Echo and Samuel will lead my people in a stealth based attack, where we will kill every single mountain man on the level and secure the elevators and staircases. There are currently one hundred ninety of my men and women within the harvest chamber. With those numbers and the firepower that we will take from mountain men corpses, we should be able to hold choke points easily and defend the floor with ease.
Nearly every room in the bunker supposedly has at least two gas masks and radiation suits in case of emergency, there are about fifteen rooms on this floor meaning there are thirty gas masks minimum for my warriors to use at the previously mentioned choke points in case the mountain men decide to use their sleeping gas again.
Smirking at the plan that formed in my head, I got back to the conversation at hand. "Thank you for cooperating. Now tell me, is there a room that controls everything within the bunker? The electricity, the air, cameras, secrets, or anything like that?" I asked her, thinking about how if that room existed, securing that room alone should be a top priority.
"Ye-." She was about to answer but then she cut herself off, seemingly much more uncooperative all of the sudden.
My smirk widened at her answer and more of my teeth showed, to the doctor though, I looked more like a snarling predator that was about to devour its prey. Now that I knew there was in fact a room that was similar to the one I described, the destruction of Mount Weather suddenly got extremely easier.
It would only make sense that a room like that would have a system of communication in place, a system where I could project my voice to every corner of the bunker. That is it, that's the next step after their president is under my control. While my men would take control of the medical floor of the bunker, I would take the president and secure the control room.
My little army will not leave this room until I have secured the president, in case they were to be caught in the act and then the bunker would go on lockdown or something, resulting in me not being able to reach the president. The earpieces that were worn by the doctor and the two guards seemed to be on an isolated channel between just the three. I assume that is because this operation is on the higher end of the security spectrum compared to public chatter. I will be wearing the doctor's earpiece while Echo and Samuel wear the others. Luckily, there were, 'oh so coincidentally,' three of them. Once I secured the president, I would report back and then they would start securing the current floor.
"What floor is the room on, Doctor?" I ask her darkly, reminding her exactly what position she was in.
She sobbed loudly at my question, fearful of being tortured again. She quickly realized that she had no choice other than to be truthful to me. "The Seventh floor…" She whimpered out, knowing that the president was also on that floor. I chuckled at her answer, an out of place sound in the dark atmosphere, Dr. Tsing seemed to curl into herself at the sound.
'Well, this just got easier again.' I thought to myself, unable to believe how much luck seemed to be on my side. With the president and the control being on the floor, that made the margin for error much larger. However, that also led to the question about how much security was present on that floor. Yes the president and control room were on the floor meaning there would be at least some security, but there shouldn't be much because it is on the deepest floor of the bunker, and their threat can only come through floor one, which means that all the security would theoretically be on the upper floors.
Regardless, how much security there was or lack thereof, I realized that I needed to be on X games mode… I don't even know what that was, I vaguely remembered reading it in a book when I was still imprisoned on The Ark, it just stuck with me because it sounded cool I suppose.
The doctor's pathetic crying sounds brought me back out of my mind once more, I quickly realized that I needed to hurry up. Too much time has passed since we started our escape, someone could walk in on us at any given moment. There was only one more piece of information I needed from her before I would be on my way, and then I would kill her.
-*-*-*
Looking at the generous Doctor Tsing's ID in my blood coated hand, I clutch my fingers around it tightly and swipe it on the elevator's control panel. Once I swiped the card, I put her security number in the keypad in front of me and the seventh floor button on the control panel lit up.
"Thank you, Doctor." I mumble aloud, referring to how the doctor told him how to access the president's floor.
The president's name is Dante Wallace, and his son is named Cage Wallace, Cage is apparently head of security for the bunker and is the one in charge of the Cerberus project. Cage is the man who is responsible for every reaper and is indirectly responsible for every single death that those Reapers have caused. Hopefully I would be the one to kill him, knowing that he was basically the man behind the big scary legend that was Mount Weather.
Pressing the button, the elevator's door closed and I felt a weird sensation travel up my legs to my stomach. "I guess that means we're moving." I say lightly, grabbing the railing inside the elevator.
This next part was going to be stressful as all hell. Currently, I was dressed in one of the dead guards uniforms. Luckily, I'd managed to keep my hair on the shorter end these last couple years. I always warned against having long hair as a warrior, but sadly my words fell on deaf ears, you would rarely find a warrior with hair similar to my own in length. I could only hope that I didn't look as dirty as I felt and it wasn't abnormal for a guard to have stubble. Honestly in the best case scenario, I would be able to use the guards disguise to wave off that first glance, getting close enough to kill whoever spots me before alerting me of too much suspicion.
Soon after I finished doing a quick once over on myself to make sure my uniform wasn't put on incorrectly, the elevator stopped on the seventh floor. I focused and straightened up, fixing the rifle's position on my back.
I left the handgun back with Echo for protection and so I possessed the rifle. Other than the rifle on my back, the only other weapons that I had were the scalpels I found back in the harvest chamber. One of the scalpels was currently hidden in my sleeve, away from view of any enemies, the rest were secured in my pocket.
Getting ready, the elevator's door slides open surprisingly more quietly than I previously thought it would. Immediately, I notice that there is a guard half hidden from view just outside, on the left side of the elevator. The only reason I know the guard stationed outside of the elevator is there, is because the fact that his feet were currently visible. Knowing that there was one threat identified, I look around and see that the elevator opens up into a small room. A room would be generous really, it was more of a large outcropping that was hidden from view along the main corridor that it was attached to, similar to a pocket in the shape of a square. Checking the right side of the room, I see that there is no guard other than the one located on the left side.
Facing opposite of the elevator was a corridor wall. I can't see if there are any other guards along the corridor without stepping into it and so I take a quick gamble. Grasping the scalpel that is hidden in my sleeve tightly, I rush out of the elevator and attack the guard. With my speed and the fact that I am hidden by the elevator's door frame, the young man that is standing guard is caught completely by surprise. I press my weight against his with one hand covering his mouth to muffle his screams, while my other hand stabs him repeatedly in the torso.
It wasn't the most quiet way to kill the guard, but it did the trick just fine as the corridor was completely silent, meaning no one was alerted to the death of one of their own. Laying the guard down gently, I don't want to make any more unnecessary noises if necessary. The less attention that was brought to me the better. Although… looking down, I notice that after my recent kill; my disguises front was completely covered in blood.
Suppressing a groan of annoyance, I take the guard's handgun and put it in a holster at my side. I unsling the rifle on my back and place the stock against my shoulder in the low ready position. Peaking out into the corridor, I don't see anyone else standing guard. It seems that my hypothesis was correct, and that most of the security is located near the upper floors near the only vulnerable location.
Facing me on the corridor's opposite wall is a sign that shows "Command Center" and " The Oval Office." Shaking my head once again at how easy this seems to be, I head down the corridor in the direction of The Oval Office. 'Hopefully he is currently in his office and not in the command center or I am going to be pissed.' I think to myself.
I make my way to the outside of what appears to be his office and quickly place myself on the side of the door. Deciding that I need more information before just charging in, I move my hand to the door and ever so quietly and carefully open it and peek inside.
I see an old man in a greying suit deep in discussion with a young woman in clean looking clothing. Thankfully, they are so into the conversation or they might have noticed the door opening. Taking a deep breath and gripping the rifle in my hands tightly, I get back from the door and kick it open before I barge into the room.
My loud entry caught the room's two occupants by surprise. They both twirled around from their discussion to face me, only to instantly come face to face with the rifle in my hands. "Get your hands up and step back towards the wall!" I ordered loudly, not wasting any time and taking advantage of their shocked mind state.
They quickly did as they were told, the man who could only be the president listened to my order reluctantly while the young woman did it without hesitation and with a panicked look on her face. "Who are you? You are not one of my people." The old man questioned gravely, eyes widening at the blood that covered my guards uniform, knowing that it must be from one of his people.
Something changed in the young woman at the president's words. Searching her eyes for what was different, I see that there wasn't much panic as before and there seemed to be some hope. Confused by her attitude, I switch my attention back to the old man.
"You're Dante Wallace, correct?" I disregard the man's question completely and ask him one of my own.
"Yes." The now confirmed Dante Wallace grounds out, managing not to give into his anger by seeing the blood of one of his people. I admire this man, even while facing the barrel of a gun and being at the mercy of an unknown; he is level headed.
"Perfect! I exclaim, moving my attention back to the girl. "Now, what's your name blondie?" I ask the blonde young woman who was talking to the president when I arrived.
When I heard the name that came out of the woman's mouth I simply couldn't believe my luck. I started laughing loudly, nearly dropping my weapon. The only thing that stopped Wallace from charging me while this was happening was his surprise at my sudden laughing, and the fact that I managed to train my weapon onto him when he moved his foot.
"Clarke Griffin." The woman said hopefully, hoping that I might have come to save her and her people.
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