24 Declassified 07 - Storm Force by David Jacobs

Author:David Jacobs [Jacobs, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780061378843
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2007-12-06T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

The newly arrived group half-walked, half-ran as they threaded the corridors into the vast underground space.

It was a totally artificial environment made of stone and steel, lit by electric lights. Modern-day catacombs, subdivided by rows of round, upright pillars that created vanishing point perspective lines as they filed across the expanse of cement floor toward the space's far-distant opposite end.

It smelled of exhaust fumes, oil, gas, rubber, and a flinty dankness that came of being below the surface of one of the most humid cities in the world. These scents persisted despite a powerful ventilation system.

Rank has its privileges, not only aboveground but beneath it. Those at the apex of the Mega Mart organization and the businesses it housed had been assigned parking spaces that were conveniently close to the elevator banks. Not for them the inconvenience of having to traverse the cavernous space of the lot to go to and from their vehicles; they had merely to step out of the elevators and proceed to the nearby reserved area that had been set aside for them.

Naturally Susan Keehan and her upper management cadre were allotted prime parking places in this privileged compound.

As the object of Susan's affections, Raoul Garros was routinely assigned one of these coveted spots and issued a permit and sticker allowing him unrestricted access to it.

His car, a late model maroon Mercedes with diplomatic plates, was there now, neatly positioned within the painted lines of its high-status parking space amid a cluster of similarly entitled VIP vehicles.

But Garros himself was gone, nowhere to be seen.

Sprawled on the floor near the Mercedes were two bodies. They lay in plain sight, where they had fallen. No attempt had been made to cover them up. They were CTU agents Topham and Beauclerk.

Topham's head lolled at an unnatural angle, the result of a broken neck. Beauclerk's death was messier. His throat had been cut with such force that the head was almost severed from the neck.

Susan Keehan gasped, biting the back of her hand to keep from screaming. She swayed, seemingly in danger of fainting. Gene Jasper grabbed her upper arms, steadying her. Alma Butterworth gave him a dirty look.

Jack, eyeing Beauclerk, said, "The angle of the cut and the pattern of the blood spray indicate he was attacked from behind."

Pete Malo said, "No mean feat, to sneak up on Topham. He was a good man. Beauclerk, too." His expression consisted of mingled parts of grief and rage. "It probably happened while we were wasting time on that jag-off session upstairs in the KHF offices," he said.

Mylon Sears said, "That's not necessarily the case; we don't know that for sure."

Pete said, "Give me a break and stop singing the company song."

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