The Lanes were getting tired and were ready to turn back. They were unaware of the size of the basement, and they were afraid of losing their way. Plus, they hadn’t found a single iota of anything that was interesting. But only a few short feet ahead of them, Lois finally came upon an interesting door. This door was very different than all the rest they had opened this evening, for it was steel and all the others were wooden. Also, this door didn’t have a knob like all the rest. It had a small black box where the knob should have been. Lois lightly touched the black box, and within a fraction of a second, it was no longer black. A green light ran across the border of the box and numbers appeared within their own small boxes on an LCD screen. It resembled that of a telephone keypad, but it was without any buttons; it was touch-screen.
After their second attempt of entering numbers, Lois said with frustration, “It’s no good. There could be hundreds of combinations.”
“Try 0-8-1-9-9-8.” After listening to her sister and inputting those numbers, the door made a loud unlocking sound. They were afraid that someone would have heard them, but Lois gave the door a little push, and without any friction, the door cracked opened.
_______________________________________________________________________
“Hey Jim. Ready to pull a double shift?”
“It should be an easy night; after all, I heard Luthor is going to be away for a few days.”
“Yeah he is. Frederick told me he was somewhere in Small…” He stopped in mid-sentence hearing an alarm go off. He looked at the monitor and noticed two red dots. “Damn it Jim, you spoke too soon.”
“What is it, Carl?”
Reaching for his walkie-talkie he said to Jim, “The monitor is showing an alarm going off inside the mansion.”
“Inside? But…”
“Just a sec, Jim.” From the control house outside the mansion, Carl used his radio and contacted the other security agents inside and around property. “This is base to foot patrol. Repeat, base to foot patrol. I have a 3-36 in sector…what the hell. Sorry, there’s a 3-36 in sector 4B. Repeat, 3-3-6 in 4B. This sector is marked, shoot to kill. Again, that’s shoot to kill.” After releasing the side button of his radio, Carl turns to Jim.
“Carl, where the hell is 4B?” Jim said as he was at the other table looking at the map.
“Jim, you’re not going to find it on the map. 4B is part of the sub-complex.”
“The basement?”
Confused and cocking his gun he says to Jim and to himself, “How the hell did they breach the perimeter?”
Not helping matters much, Jim says, “It’s gonna take our guys forever to get through that maze down there. Luthor’s gonna have our heads for sure.”
Carl gave Jim a shotgun. And before he left to have a look around, he told Jim to shoot anything that came near the gates.
_______________________________________________________________________
After only a few yards in the new dark hallway, Lindsay was beginning to think that this looked more like a bomb shelter than it did a basement. But because of the mystery of the locked steel door, she pressed forward. The silence made it more nerve racking and fearful until it was broken by Lois, “So, how did you figure out the code to the door?”
“That was the month and year Lex’ leukemia was cured. He said he hasn’t told too many people about it.” Lois and Lindsay continued talking about Lex’ health and how he overcame his illness and other stories about their relationship. The two girls forgot about their surroundings and just went by as if taking a regular walk. As she took another step, Lois felt herself kick something on the ground as she continued to walk, for what little light that was down there on the ceiling didn’t offer much illumination on the floor below. Lois ran ahead and found what it was that she had kicked. She picked up the small object and told Lindsay that it was a wallet.
“Does it belong to Lex?”
“No, Lindsay. The I.D. says Albert Brooks.”
Lindsay knew the name and remembered hearing it before. “Albert Brooks? Let me see.”
“What, do you know the guy?”
“Lois, if you watched the news every now and then you would have heard about him yourself. He’s some millionaire that worked for Lex’ father. He’s been missing for a long time now.”
“So, what’s his wallet doing in…” Lois couldn’t finish the sentence. The two girls heard a loud sound and saw a bright flash from where the sound came. The instinct to duck caused them to see the same thing happen a second and third time. After the second time, the girls realized they were being shot at. With all of the bullets missing the intended targets, Lindsay yelled for Lois to run. And the two girls took off in the same direction they were heading.
“22 to base. I am in 4B and targets are moving north on the fourth level.”
“Copy that 22,” said Carl.
“North, what the hell is north of 4B?” asked Jim.
Speaking to both Jim and the rest of the security detail by radio, Carl informed them. “Base to foot patrol. S.T.K. targets heading towards Area 86…”
Jim said aloud but to himself, “The garage?”
“Repeat, that is S.T.K. targets at Area 86. Base to 22. Remain at 4B in case of double back. Copy.”
“22 to Base. Remaining at 4B.”
Lois and Lindsay kept on running. They had no idea where they were going or what lies ahead. All they knew was that they must keep running in order to stay alive. Ahead of them, they saw a horizontal light at what looked to be against the floor. Lindsay screamed to Lois to keep up as she opened the door to reveal more of the light. Lois reached the door only seconds later to find Lindsay standing with her hands up. “Hold it! Both of you better stay perfectly still.”
Lindsay began to ask, “Do you know who I am?”
“Shut up!” the man said to Lindsay. “35 to Base. I have targets in sight and cornered in Area 86. Waiting for orders. Over.”
“Base to 35. Your orders were S.T.K. Over.”
“35 to Base. Targets are two young women. Over”
“Base to 35. You can take it up with Luthor. He has strict orders for this level of security breach. S.T.K. Over and out.”
The security guard kept the gun pointed at Lindsay and said, “Sorry little ladies, nothing personal.”
“No, please! Don’t shoot,” begged Lois. Lois watched in disbelief as the security guard shot Lindsay. Crying, Lois looked away from Lindsay’s lifeless body and noticed the gun pointed at her. She then saw a familiar tall dark figure approach the security guard from behind.
“I’ll take that,” said the dark shadow.
Caught by surprise, the guard turned in shock. “Who the hell are you?”
Lois screamed out her savior’s name, “John!”
“I’m someone who’s not going to let you kill her,” said John as he grabbed the security guard by his throat and used his other hand to take the gun away.
“Wait, please. I’m just following orders,” begged the security guard before he fell unconscious from the choke hold.
“Sorry little dude, but like you said, nothing personal.” John then released the security guard and watched him hit the floor. “Lois was it? We better get out of here.”
“What about Lindsay? We can’t just leave her.”
“No time. Besides, my bike only holds two.” John picked up Lois and got them both to his motorcycle. He gave it a kick start and easily lifted Lois on the back seat. He told her to hang on tight, and they made their escape.
“16 to Base. 35 is down as well as one of the targets. I spot a motorcycle heading west towards the gates. Over.”
“Copy that 16. Over.” Carl released the button on his radio and turned to Jim, “Jim, they’re coming our way.” Jim had heard the motorcycle and noticed John and Lois coming his way. He pointed the shotgun and waited until they came in distance.
Approaching a turn, Lois noticed the security guard at the gates and screamed to John, “He has a gun.”
“I built this bike from scratch. It’s as strong as a tank,” John yelled back.
“Well let’s hope they hit it and not us.”
“Not a chance, lil miss. Hold on and brace yourself.” John and Lois were seconds away from Jim. The barrel of the shotgun seemed only a few feet away now. Lois closed her eyes as she prayed.
“Now Jim, now!” yelled Carl.
John reached down to the side of his bike and unlatched a fastener to a hidden compartment. He then took hold of a handle that was inside this compartment and pulled it out. The handle exposed the steel face of an epic sledge hammer. Jim was about to pull the trigger when his aim was blocked by this massive weapon. One swing caused the shotgun to split in two. Jim was flung on his back holding only the butt and stock of the shotgun as he watched an inverted John and Lois ride off free and clear. John and Lois left nothing behind but the sounds of gunfire echoing in the air and the dead body of a young Miss Lindsay Lane.
ns 15.158.61.23da2
