Christopher Brookmyre by Fun All, v1.0 Games Read Free Book Online

texture, all of it white on green. Shelves, crates, pallet-trolleys and a wide, windowless double door. They stepped forward slowly, Nuno finding his way first to a light switch. He flicked it, turning on strip lighting suspended from a surprisingly high ceiling above. Lex advanced to the card lock and looked to Bett. Bett signalled to hold, pressing his other hand to his collar-mike.
    'Status,' he said quietly.
    There was no response. Too much rock. They'd be able to hear Som and Armand again once the pair were down inside the complex.
    'Status,' Bett repeated several times, at intervals of thirty seconds.
    'Status is we are all troglodytes now,' said Armand's voice at last.
    'Acknowledged. We are holding position in the freight bay. Preparing to deploy. Any hostiles?'
    'Only Somboon. Ah . . . okay, I've got a layout schematic from behind the reception desk. Freight bay is on the second level, which puts Security HQ
    upstairs from where you are now, downstairs from us. Back-up generator and power control is in the lowest level. You still want us to . . . ?'
    'Proceed with assigned tasks. Remember to smile if you pass us on the stairs. Oh, and Armand, mess?'
    'No, everything is very clinical-looking. Som's delighted, I can safely say.'
    'No, I meant mess as in canteen, as in dining area,' Bett clarified with barely contained disquiet.
    'Oh, pardon. Oui. Upper level.'
    'Thank you,' Bett said, with all the appreciation one might expect in addressing a stone that has finally yielded 0.01 millilitres of blood. Bett gave the signal and Lex opened the double door, more strip light immediately spilling into the freight bay from the wide corridor outside. There were doorways along either wall, as well as tributary corridors and a T-junction visible at the far end. Bett pulled a fire-exit schematic from the wall and they all briefly examined it before moving out. Lex dallied a little, allowing Nuno and Rebekah to head off first, the pair of them charged with locating the staff dining area. She was hoping she could drop behind Bett also, in order to check on something unnoticed, but she had no such luck. Bett ushered her onwards in front of him, making it impossible now to drop back without it being conspicuous. He would be accompanying her in locking down the Security HQ, so she knew her window would be tight, meaning she had to be ready to act when - if -
    an opportunity presented itself.
    The four of them walked briskly on soft feet, proceeding down the corridor to the end, where they turned right towards where the fire plan had indicated the main staircase to lie. Nuno went a few paces ahead of the rest, stopping short of the final stairs to extend a mirror into the corridor on a telescopic handle. He checked the view in both directions, then gave the signal to advance. They split into their pre-assigned pairings at the top, approaching each bend silently and with guns at the ready.
    Lex and Bett found themselves at one end of another long corridor, more doors and passages leading off along the puce-painted walls. The decor was cleanly and uniformly slapped on to bolted gypsum panels, making it impossible to distinguish where the facade was covering mere partitions or live rock on the reverse. A grid of white tiles above indicated a suspended ceiling, housing vents, pipes and cables. It wasn't much different to a corridor in any modern hospital or school, she thought, but there was something about the way it swallowed sound, far more than any lack of a view, that emphasised the inescapable isolation of the place. Som, she was sure, wouldn't be disappointed, and like her would be regretting that they couldn't freely explore every last bend of this labyrinthine oubliette.
    The thought reminded her of what else her itinerary didn't officially have a space for. They took another corner, observing cover protocol, though she could tell Bett was going through the motions for the sake of good practice. This next passageway took them past