The Doppelganger Protocol by Patrick Astre

Author:Patrick Astre
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Published: 2015-04-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 41

Daniels slowly turned the doorknob. He felt the smooth mechanism open in complete silence. Hand still on the knob, he mouthed 1-2-3 to Rivera and flung the door open. Daniels stepped into the room in a combat crouch, weapon held ready in a tight double-hand stance. Rivera covered him, the business end of his 9MM wedged against the open door jamb.

Nothing—an empty room with yet another door at the end.

"Hell's going on, Amigo?" asked Rivera as he followed Daniels into the room, letting the door close behind them.

"Don't make sense does it? Guard an empty building, yet where the hell did Davenport go? Let's keep going till we go over every inch of this place. Something's going to turn up sooner or later."

"Okay with me boss," replied Rivera. "I'm on government time."

Daniels crossed the room and tried to open the door but the knob didn't budge. He paused, something didn't feel right.

"Maybe that's where the action is, that's why this door is locked," Rivera said. "Let's pop the lock and see what's in there."

"Not yet, wait," replied Daniels.

He looked around again. Something was off. His instincts screamed, every sense warning him. Daniels had learned a long time ago to trust them completely. Suddenly he saw it, barely visible in the darkness within the heating vent.

Daniels whirled, pushing Rivera in front of him. "Get out, now, right now," he yelled.

They crossed the room in a few steps. Rivera reached the door first and turned the knob. It wouldn't budge.

"Shit," Rivera said. "How the hell did it get locked? It was open before, it couldn't just lock itself, doesn't even have a latch."

"It's electronic. Somebody's operating this on remote."

"What the hell's got you spooked anyway?" asked Rivera.

Daniels pointed to the heating duct. "Look there, right behind the grille, do you see it?"

"Yeah," replied Rivera. "Looks like nozzles. What the hell would nozzles be... you don't think?"

Daniels nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly what I think. Get out that little burglary kit Davenport gave us, let's get this door opened fast."

Just as Rivera took off the backpack and opened the kit, Daniels heard the hissing begin. The noise remained soft, muted. In a normal environment it would have been barely perceptible, but in the unnatural silence, the noise filled the room.

They worked fast, as urgently as if devils dogged their footsteps, and maybe they did. The electronic devices had no effect on that lock. There were no keyholes, bolts or any means of penetrating the smooth surface of the doorknob. Rivera took a compact drill out of the kit, hooked up a small titanium bit and tried boring into the lock. At first the gold coloring came off then the drill hit a smooth hard surface and stopped. Rivera kept leaning on the drill, when he seemed to go in slow motion. The tool fell out of his hand, the whining noise of the electric motor stopped, leaving only the hissing, soft and menacing.

Rivera leaned against the door, sliding down to the floor. His eyes rolled in his head and closed.

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