Chapter 16: Bio Lab

Everything is Different

Slowly moving across the helipad, Al hugged the mountain rock and the fake rock of the hangar doors. Eyes and ears on high alert, he stopped at the doorway the Afghanis had used while Tom hung back in case of trouble. The pseudo-rock wall impressed him. Hangar and personnel doors, even the doorknob, blended seamlessly with the natural rock around them. The material looked rough and weathered but was anything but rock.

With one hand on the knob, he looked back, Tom gave him a thumbs up. The door was surprisingly light and quickly swung out, causing him to push it closed. Light streamed out the crack between the door and frame. The brightness inside the room made him blink multiple times to adjust to the overhead lights. Spaced out across the rock ceiling, fluorescent lights lit the entire chamber. The walls were of the same hollowed-out rock that composed the mountain. Splashes of various colors were spread out across the light grey-painted walls. They indicated different facility stations, fuel, maintenance, and so on.

Leaning back, Al whispered, “Pretty normal-looking hangar, nothing out of the ordinary. Except for the part that it's clandestinely built into a mountain.”

Tom nodded and scanned around the helipad. No one was likely to approach them, but better safe than sorry.

As Al peered through the crack in the doorway, he gained a deeper appreciation for the builders. What he saw was just as impressive, if not more so, than many of the military hangars he had been inside.

In the center of the floor sat a spacious, high-end helicopter with four rotor blades pulled back and attached to the tail boom. The massive bird was supported by four wheels, two in front and two in the rear. The area was large enough to accommodate two of these costly helicopters, with extra space available. To his right, what looked like a freight elevator stood idle. Nearby were several yellow wagons used to offload supplies and equipment. On the back wall were apparatuses and vehicles used to maintain, move, and fuel the helicopter. Opposite him was an elevated, small, empty control room. To the left was a stairway leading down.

Al closed the door. His eyes, now accustomed to the bright light, saw only deep hues of darkness on the pad.

“It’s like daylight in there. I didn’t see anyone moving around.” He paused and reran everything he’d seen inside. “No, no one's in the hangar.” No one needed to be there since the aircraft was idle. “There’s a stairway about 75 feet to the left. Let’s break for that, get down a couple of stairs, and go from there.

Tom nodded, lifted his hand, and chopped toward the door.

Covered in sweat and dirt from the night climb, Al pulled off his man dress. It wasn't going to fool anyone. As soon as the door opened, he jogged across the hangar and went to the stairwell. Tom followed ten feet behind him. A sizable colored diagram was on the wall next to the stairs. They didn’t pause to look. Slowing his pace, he took the first six stairs at a rate that he could aim accurate fire if needed. The stairs ended on a landing that required a 180-degree turn, descending another set of six stairs to the next level.

“Stop on the landing,” Tom said from above. “Sneak a look down the next set of six stairs.”

“There’s a hallway at the bottom. It’s wide. I suspect there's another stairwell below us. I don’t see or hear anyone.”

Tom led. “Let’s take a look.”