The Phoenix Variant: The Fifth Column 3 by Nathan M Farrugia

Author:Nathan M Farrugia [Farrugia, Nathan M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760081690
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Published: 2014-08-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

The Grand Central terminal’s sub-basement was a control center from another era. The air was warm and musty and the ceiling lights were sparse, accompanied by a sagging American flag. The walls of the long, narrow sub-basement were gilded with banks of machinery and switchboards Sophia wasn’t entirely sure still operated. DC led her through the labyrinthine space until they reached what looked like a giant metal hamster’s ball.

‘The old rotary converter,’ DC said. ‘Used to supply power to the trains. Hitler even targeted it once.’

‘Where’s this OSS base of yours?’ Sophia said.

‘It’s not mine,’ he said, taking a sharp left.

She followed him through to a much narrower corridor, the ceiling crowded with a dozen pipes. Occasional lamps glowed like lone fireflies. It was warmer down here.

‘Why did they build this place?’ Sophia said.

‘Originally it was a clandestine operations center for the OSS,’ DC said. ‘After the war, things shifted a little.’

‘What kind of shift?’ Sophia said.

‘The OSS sent a special team of US soldiers to seek and capture a specific list of Nazi scientists. Chemists, biochemists with coveted achievements in particular fields. They extracted the scientists from basements, cellars, castles, byzantine caves, death row. Secreted them in the United States. In this base.’

‘What sort of achievements are we talking?’ Sophia said.

DC paused at a nondescript door and held his hand out. ‘Lockpicks.’

Didn’t he have his own?

She took a pair of full-length lockpicks from her jeans and handed them over. He crouched in front of the door and got to work. Sophia took the opportunity to remove her jacket and stow it in her ruck.

‘Their speciality was human experimentation,’ DC said. ‘Conducted under the guidance of the Ahnenerbe institutes across Germany.’

‘Sounds like Denton’s kind of people,’ Sophia said, slipping her ruck back over her shoulders.

‘Well, that is where he started,’ DC said.

‘I’m betting he’s already—’

DC shushed her and focused on picking the lock. She felt her cheeks burn.

‘If you can’t do it, just give it to me,’ she said.

‘Look, I’m good for something,’ DC said.

‘Yeah, being ambiguous,’ she said.

‘I won’t let anything bad happen to you, I promise,’ DC said.

The door opened and he stepped aside.

She stepped through, pausing with her hand out. He dropped the lockpicks in her grasp. His fingers lingered across her palm. She stepped through and down a flight of metal stairs blackened with grime. Dangling from exposed wires, light globes peppered her descent. At the bottom she powered on her torch and turned her body to let DC by. He held a finger to his lips as he brushed past. His scent offered slight comfort at this subterranean depth, ten stories below Grand Central terminal.

The corridor was more of a tunnel, unlit and damp. Sophia followed without a word until it opened into a larger space, connecting with three other tunnels. Before them, a blast door that was retracted.

‘Welcome to Neverland,’ DC said, stepping into the concrete foyer. The entire base was still lit, feeding off Grand Central terminal. Or at least the power was still intact.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.