The Exodus Project’s security detail hadn’t bothered to process their captor. Hector had been escorted through the facility without so much as an explanation. He had managed to get inside, but not in the way he had hoped. Frustration bubbled up into his face. His fingernails dug into his palms. Resting his head against the elevator’s rear wall, he took a deep breath.
“I can clear everything up with one call–”
“There’s a comm device in the holding cell area,” snapped the sergeant.
“You have no idea what you’re doing! I’m here to help!”
The other two soldiers snickered until the sergeant cleared his throat. He glowered. “I’m sure your special ops buddies’ll have a great reason as to why they put a warrant out on you. Ask ‘em about it. But in the meantime, do me a favor and keep your trap shut.”
The elevator slowed. A subtle, male voice announced, “Second Floor – Security Barracks.” The door opened up to a long, rectangular room lined with bunk beds. The two soldiers flanking Hector latched onto his upper arms and dragged him into the barracks. To their left, down the length of the room, an unmarked exit led farther into the assembly center. On their right, a directional sign noted the doorway to the holding cells. Directly ahead, opposite the elevator, a third door was marked “Subassembly Access.”
The sergeant suddenly stopped and grumbled, “Where’re Park and Rayburn? Shoulda been here by now.”
He hit a button on his datapad and brought up his troop information screen. A three dimensional grid showed two green dots. Both showed up at the opposite end of the barracks. The sergeant’s head swung around. He frowned.
“Park! Rayburn! You in here?” he called out. Silence. No sign of them. He spoke into the datapad. “Status report—Park and Rayburn.”
The datapad’s female voice recording reported, “Private First Class, Brandon Park. Status: Deceased.”
The sergeant snarled. “I don’t have time for this–”
The sergeant took two purposeful strides down the lines of bunk beds. Then, without warning, he stopped as if hitting a brick wall. His hands fell to his sides. Three long seconds ticked off the clock. And then, he fell face first into the steel floor.
