Quagmire's Gate Read online

  As good as she was on the scooter there was no chance of outrunning the Mercedes and she knew it. Her only chance was to try to get into areas that the car could not follow. Like that narrow alley just ahead between the two tall buildings. With her head down, she throttled back, squinted and aimed for the narrow gap.

  With any luck, it would be deserted. She risked a quick look over her shoulder and saw the headlight of the car getting ever closer. There was no doubt in her mind that the driver fully expected to follow her into the narrow gap. She throttled back even more but there was no more, this was as fast as the damn scooter could go.

  To her horror, deep in the narrow alley, throngs of people leisurely sat at small tables enjoying their Lattes. Because she screamed at them to move, one patron looked up and saw the horrified driver bearing down on them. Some thought she was another crazy tourist who had lost control of a rented scooter. Probably another American. As the terrified woman raced at them, almost casually they picked up their drinks and scattered to the winds leaving chairs and tables to a cruel fate.

  Despite a fast and brief prayer, the tables and chairs did not move. She thought she saw a path through the erratic array of tables and prepared to aim the racing scooter through it. However, the small front tire did not take well to the irregular cobblestones and started bouncing out of control. Just when she thought she was going to make it, the front wheel snapped to the right and Terri’s hands flew off the handles. As the front of the scooter buckled under the impact, she flew off and tumbled into the scattered furniture. Apparently screaming did nothing to rectify the situation.

  Reflexes never take the time to calculate or ask permission, they simply react. Terri found herself instinctively going into a defensive tuck and roll. “Thanks dad.” It worked beautifully for she found herself somehow standing up amid the scattered furniture. A quick check confirmed no injuries and most important, no blood. Just as she was about to get her feet into a locomotive type run she heard a voice from behind. Puzzled she turned around and there was the first man who had attempted the abduction. She was wondering why he was smiling. She looked down and saw the Taser in his hand. Then all hell broke loose in her body. Bolts of excruciating electricity zapped through every pain cell and that was all she remembered.

  Chapter 16

  During Terri’s abduction in Paris, Lynda was on her way to Roads End to convince the strange Professor Quagmire to come and analyze the mysterious hole in the lab floor. It was a long drive after a long sleepless night and the early morning did not make her feel any better. Upon reaching the mountains this stupid thing about driving on the wrong side of the road was not getting any easier. It was unfamiliar territory and she hated it. It was sunny but because of twists and turns, she often drove out of the shade and into glaring sun. Around some corners, the glaring sun burned into her eyes like a lighthouse.

  Not only was the glare bothering her concentration, so was her concern for Terri. She did not call last night. It was agreed that when away in foreign countries, they would constantly check up on each other. Because Terri uses the campus computers, she would be the one to initiate the call. Lynda was aware that Deep Lab 6 was quarantined but Whelan had promised Terri’s calls would be passed through to her.

  The only comfort she could draw on was that Terri was usually late calling anyway. That girl was all too flippant with her responsibilities. She took after her father just a bit too much for Lynda’s liking. It was always his responsibility to call if an assignment pulled him away from her, especially if he was not coming home. Still, he always forgot and sometimes days passed in silence. There were many lonely nights of anguish and anger not knowing where he was, or worse, if he was with somebody else.

  Now this, a daughter had picked up the same bad habits as the father. Insecurity reared its ugly head. How long will it be before she calls? Distress was a heavy weight that caused shoulders to slouch and squeeze a loving heart dry. Lynda promised that when she got back from this assignment, she would call Terri and chastise her for being as forgetful as her father.

  Coming around a corner, suddenly the glare of a bright sun blinded her and she had to slam on the brakes. A squealing of brakes and smoke from burning rubber veered her dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. After pulling over, it took a few minutes to catch her breath. Before starting again, she heaped a mental curse on Whelan for making her do this. Although she was accustomed to traveling long hours, she was not used to this type of hectic mountain driving.

  Although the maximum speed was fifty-five miles an hour, she soon discovered that she does not have the skill to negotiate corners at such a reckless speed. She blamed her inability on the damn steering wheel being on the wrong side of the car. She felt it was a plot by the rebellious Yanks torturing them for refusing to help in their War of Independence.

  Much to the chagrin of the traffic piling up behind her, they soon realized that the tourist in front of them had no localized driving skills. Some thought she must be a Canadian. Being from a permanently frozen country and all, they never could drive these mountains. On the rare occasion a few cars could pass, they all flashed the rude finger at her. It was then they realized that she could not possibly be a Canadian because she flashed it right back at them and with more passion.

  “Yea mate, you’re number one in my book too you great slimy lizard.”

  Two hours later and deeper into the mountains, she found herself alone on the road. Apparently, wherever this road led nobody else wanted to go. Because she had to concentrate on every sharp bend, fatigue was piling up. At the bottom of every steep hill was another suicidal sharp turn. When driving at home one could see straight ahead for miles. By looking at the clear blue sky in the distance, it was possible to tell what the weather will be like in an hour or so.

  As she gingerly maneuvered around another sharp turn, she was suddenly introduced to a torrent of rain. It was like suddenly driving under Niagara Falls. In a car she was not used to, a hand frantically fumbled for the windshield wipers. First, the radio came on and then the driver’s side window slid down. When the proper switch was finally located, she found herself almost hypnotized by the fast flapping wipers. Then, as suddenly as it had slammed into her, the rain stopped and she was again fighting a glare from the bright sun.

  Her rebellious feelings for the Yanks, the mountains, the cursed unstable weather and this ridiculous car with everything on the wrong side was adding up and playing havoc with why she was doing this in the first place. Professor Quagmire and Theoretical Quantum Mechanics? She did not even know what that meant. How bad could a small hole drilled through a few feet of concrete be? The biggest question of all was, why was she going after this scientist?

  She understood why she did not argue with Whelan about this assignment. Here was a chance to get away from a boring secret lab and actually tweak nerve ends, do something, anything even though it meant driving mountain roads. However, there remained that annoying question bouncing around in her head. Why could they not bring him to the lab?

  Starting from this morning, when she woke and discovered Terri had not called and all the rest of the day driving through these cursed mountains, everything felt bad. Her only solace was that she was finally on an adventure and at least for now, it felt good to get away and maybe see some of the country.

  After careening around another sharp corner, she saw in the distant valley of green, the large complex known as Roads End. Because she did not want to arrive at the security gate all stiff and unable to move, she pulled over for a rest. After hours of sitting with only frayed nerves for company, it felt good to pry hands from the steering wheel.

  Standing by the car and looking into the valley the warm sun felt good. After a long enjoyable stretch and a few revitalizing steps down the road and back to the car she started to feel better. The cigarette seemed to work a certain vice-filled magic on her strained body as well. Perhaps it all felt good because she was mixing the intoxicant with something unfamil
iar to her, clean mountain air. For whatever reason, she now felt energized.

  As she inhaled the wonder drug, she looked into the valley and looked at what she perceived to be an obvious government compound. Who else but some department of something or other with unlimited resources would spend millions putting in a road through rugged mountains leading to nowhere except here.

  As inaccessible as the compound was, as guarded as it was by impassible wilderness and steep terrain, she noticed the absurdity of a wire fence surrounding the compound. Who else but the Yanks would do something as overkill as this? She was willing to bet the fence was also electrified.

  Surprisingly it was not that big of a complex. The decrepit brick building in the middle looked as though it was built in the fifties. Sotto-turrets clung to each corner giving the droll appearance of an ancient castle. Off to the left of the central building appeared what she thought might be living quarters, cabins with connecting pathways, not unlike Deep Lab 6. All paths eventually led to the main building in the middle of the compound. From the looks of it, not many people worked here. She counted only ten cabins.

  To the other side of the main building she saw what she perceived to be a recreation area, a tarmac with two tennis courts and one basketball court. Judging from the tall weeds growing out of the cracks it was obvious that those living here are either rather aged or simply not into fine-tuning their bodies with benefit of exercise.

  Knowing that the Deep Lab 6 facility was ninety-percent underground, she was not surprised to see such a small complex on the surface. She assumed that the lab here at Roads End must be about the same, mostly underground. She chuckled as the meaning of the name finally came to her.

  She got back in the car and drove down to the main security gate. As she approached, she wondered what secret experiments might be going on there. Because the scientist she was sent to retrieve was a Quantum Physicist, she wondered if this was not some sort of secret lab looking for intelligence in the universe. That did not sound strange at all. After all, there was a flying saucer over at Deep Lab 6.

  Stopping at the security gate, a guard came out to meet her. He was a good-looking man with very boyish features. She thought he could not possibly be more than twenty years old. With great care, she handed him her brand new high-level Apple Jack security card.

  Although he was wearing a uniform, it was not from any branch of the military she recognized. She was surprised that he did not even look at the card, rather simply returning to the security building with it. He did not so much as say good afternoon. She assumed he went back to confirm her identity and security level. Because he came back almost immediately, she thought there was not much on the card to authorize. He beamed a very professional smile and politely handed it back to her. Then, from apparently no signal that she could phantom, the gate swung open.

  Accompanying his boyish features was also an adolescent voice directing her to the main building.

  “Thank you Doctor Gray. I hope the long drive was not too hard on you. Drive through and park in the designated stall just behind this gate. Stay on the main road and walk directly to the main building.”

  Not objecting to the long walk at all, she smiled and replied,

  “Thank you mate.”

  His puzzled look was not from her strange accent but rather because she called him a ‘mate’. He deduced that her accent must be English. He was naive enough to believe that perhaps they have a different system of rank over there. He was Army, not a sailor. Foolishly, he replied,

  “This is not the Navy Doctor. We do not have ‘mates’ here.”

  Her puzzled expression matched his.

  Chapter 17

  Although the compound was unknown to her, it was easy enough to park the car and walk to the main building. If lost, just look up at the imposing water tower looming a short distance away. She passed a small supply store probably stocked with all the necessities required for this small population. All she saw of the inhabitants were two men entering the store. Although she was sure they saw her, they ignored her.

  Just to the right of the main building was a smaller structure of red brick. Judging from the high chimney and great heating pipes sticking out of it, she presumed that it was the power plant, the generator and the furnace. She thought that surely this could not be the main generating plant. It looked barely able to provide enough power for the buildings above ground. She reasoned that the rest of the support system must be underground along with the rest of the facility.

  At the main building, she negotiated the three stone steps leading up to the great steel doors. Looking for a doorbell or intercom, she saw neither. Just to the right, where the doorbell should be, was instead a card swipe slot. Remembering what the guard did with her security pass, she too swiped it. It seemed to be a magic card for almost instantly the red light turned green. The heavy door gave way to a slight push.

  The reception area was cavernous and not surprisingly devoid of furnishings and warm pictures on cold barren walls. For some strange reason ancient memories of her school days fizzed to the surface. This looked exactly as cold and barren as the great hall of her elementary school. All the walls and floor were stone gray and lifeless. The term ‘cold bureaucracy’ did not escape her.

  The only sign of life inside the great hall was a small wooden desk off to the side. A lone figure sat there with head down and as Lynda assumed, had her eyes glued to a computer monitor. As she approached, she was sure the receptionist would eventually look up and wonder who was producing a great echoing clopping sound with each step. However, the woman remained oblivious to her announcing steps. She did not look up until the looming shadow blocked her light and was not about to go away.

  She was an older woman dressed in a nurse’s uniform. Lynda thought that to be odd because even at Deep Lab 6 the receptionist was military. The stoic woman finally looked up and flashed a surprisingly pleasant smile. It was contagious for as confused as Lynda was, she found herself returning the geniality. Lynda instinctively produced her security pass and with as much authority as she could muster said,

  “I believe this will vouch for me.”

  A skeleton hand reached up and gently took it from her hand. It was quickly swiped and casually handed back.

  This time it took a little longer for the information to come up. A furtive lean to the left afforded Lynda a partial view of the screen. Surprisingly her picture scrolled up and was followed by many written lines. However, without actually telling the receptionist to move over, she was not able to read any of it. Whatever was stated must have been acceptable for the receptionist looked up and in a pleasant tone said,

  “Just wait here Doctor Gray, somebody will come and direct you to Professor Quagmire.”

  Another woman from a room just behind the secretary emerged. She was also wearing a white nurse’s uniform. It was not her stern look that projected an imposing figure so much as the fact she was about five-foot five and that much around at the waist. If there was ever a person designed to roll down a hill, she would win the gold medal. Nevertheless, there was congeniality about her as well, at least outwardly. She seemed pleasant enough. In a voice generally belonging to a playful young woman she sang,

  “I understand you have a high level security pass to visit Professor Quagmire. My name is Maggie, his nurse. May I ask about the purpose of this visit?”

  There was no way Lynda was accepting the introduction. A nurse? ‘On my aunt Tweet’s big Jell-O ass, you are not a nurse’. For one thing, there were five separate security tags dangling on a chain around her neck. She was obviously cleared to go anywhere she liked. Lynda was sure there might even be one hanging there that opened a bathroom door. She silently chastised herself for thinking of that after such a long trip.

  With as much stress on military technique as possible, she said,

  “My name is Doctor Lynda Gray. I am on the Medical staff over at the Deep Lab 6 Research Facility.”

  At that, Maggie stretc
hed out her hand. Linda’s eye darted to the gesture and was taken aback by the civilian geniality. Instinct to comply compromised her inexperience dealing with secret protocols. She reached out and shook Maggie’s extended hand.

  Now it was Maggie’s turn to be astonished. Lynda noticed the awkward moment but attributed it to her own inexperience at this cloak and dagger game. She remembered how intimidating these government run laboratories are and how heavily regulated they are regarding security protocol. She suddenly understood that Maggie did not want to shake hands, she wanted to be handed written orders. Lynda was exercising civilian protocols that did not fit in this military operated complex. Maggie was accustomed to orders from superiors, not friendly handshakes.