Page 5 of House Divided
“Where are we supposed to go?” demanded Madeline, still reeling from multiple shocks. “They just destroyed the landing field!”
Marc smiled grimly. “Every good agent has a bolt hole. You will all need to follow me. I must insist that none of you attempt any further communication with anyone else. It appears that Madeline has been betrayed. Until we know more, trust no one outside of this group. At this particular moment, we are all we have.”
Marc moved down the hallway, turned, and opened a utility door to reveal a concrete stairwell. “Allons-y,” he gestured down the stairs. The others followed.
Within twenty minutes, the group had reached the underground tunnels that connected the different aboveground structures of the Pleasure House. Marc moved quickly and surely, pausing only once to retrieve some first aid supplies from an emergency kit on the wall.
Once they were down the first set of stairs, Enoch reached out to support Aria beneath her other shoulder.
“I can help,” he said to Jack. Jack looked at him, nodded, and took a break.
Further down the underground tunnel, Marc turned a valve on a series of pipes that ran along the wall. A section of the wall slid open silently.
“I’ve never seen this.” Madeline’s mouth was open in surprise. Marc simply grinned and ushered them into the hidden passageway. Once the wall had slid back into place, he activated the light system. They were now in a parallel, hidden tunnel. A maglev rail line ran down the middle. Marc turned to a keypad, pressing a series of buttons in rapid succession. Within moments, an open-air maglev car came down the rail and stopped next to them. They piled in with relief, glad to be off of their feet. Marc took the driver’s seat, and soon, the rail car was silently speeding down the passageway.
“At some point, we are going to need to talk about this hidden network of yours,” said Madeline, beginning to recover her composure.
“A conversation for another day,par chance?” returned Marc lightly.
“Point taken.”
As the maglev car whipped through the tunnel, Madeline knew that at some point she was going to have to take stock of the rapid series of events that had upended all of her plans.Stay focused, Madeline,she thought to herself.Survival first.She was also very aware of the sheer presence of the man beside her. Enoch Immanuel simply projected authority and power. Even just sitting next to him was having a disturbing effect on Madeline. Even worse, the effect was not entirely unpleasant.
She felt like giving herself a smack.Survival first.
Marc put his hand to the comms device in his ear. “The PDF have found the tunnel system,” he said, his voice calm and steady. “They are moving faster through our defensive systems than I would have thought possible.”
“You have a problem with traitors, it seems,” observed Enoch.
“Something you know and want to tell us?” challenged Madeline.
“No,” replied Enoch, shaking his head, “I just know how quickly defenses fall apart when there is treason.”
Marc brought the maglev car to a halt. “Let’s go,” he urged. “Through these doors is an emergency hangar.” The rest of the group followed as he quickly entered a code on a keypad, and the doors swung open.
Within the hangar was a row of large egg-shaped pods, each one big enough to accommodate one or two people. Madeline had never seen craft like these before.
“It’s a scattershot system.” Enoch’s tone expressed his surprise. “I haven’t seen these since the war.”
“Best way to avoid being shot down during evacuation,” said Marc. “Maximum two people each. Let’s go.” He ran to a console and typed in a series of commands. With a pneumatic hiss, three pod doors slid open.
“Aria comes with me,” insisted Enoch.
“The hell she does,” countered Jack quietly.
“No time for this,” warned Marc.
“I’m going with Jack,” said Aria, hobbling into the nearest open pod and pulling Jack with her. The door hissed shut, and the now-activated pod moved along a launch track.
Enoch stood, stunned.
“We need to move, Miss Marx,” said Marc, his voice rising. He stepped into the second pod and held a hand out toward Madeline. She could hear the sound of running boots in the distance.
“What about him?” she shouted, gesturing toward Enoch. The man still stood as if rooted to the ground.
“Let’s go!” shouted Marc in response. “Now!”
“Dammit!” cried Madeline in frustration. She hauled off and slapped Enoch full in the face, which finally broke him out of his reverie. He looked for a moment as if he would strike her back, then he regained his control, quickly looking around to assess the situation.
