***** Vol.5 Chap.31 Maze through the ventilation system *****
May-Ling took the map out and began moving through the myriads of ducts. The map was very confusing and particularly difficult to read since May-Ling had no training in engineering matters.
She tried to figure out were she was and where she had to go. She concentrated on a number of intermediate points. She would count the number of openings and turns to keep herself from getting loss. When she was not sure about where she was, she would go into one of the side ducts and peered out from the ventilation grill.
According to the map, she had to crawl through a long series of ducts to get to a junction where she would slide down to the lower level. Then she had to crawl through another series of ducts to reach the lab at the far end of the compound.
She figured that the builders designed the compound in this way so that if there was an accident, the entire section of the lab could be isolated very quickly. In short she had a long way to go. With sheer determination, she moved on, rather crawled on.
She finally found the junction that led to the lower level. She was expecting a vertical drop and was pleasantly surprised that it was only a 45 degrees slope. She slid down the slope. It kind of reminded her of her childhood play when she would slide down the slides. She had always enjoyed the slides. But right now, there was no time to enjoy the slide.
In fact as she turned back to look at the slide, she dreaded the thought of having to climb back up the slick slope of the ducts. She shook her head and decided to cross that bridge when the time comes and not to worry about it now.
She was now on the main level and she needed to crawl from the residence area to the other side of the compound where the lab was located. She crawled through a junction and heard voices. She could not resist the temptation, so she cuddled up towards the ventilation grill and looked. She shuddered as she saw a whole bunch of guards sitting there playing cards and drinking. She just assumed to get away as far as possible.
She kept on going and heard conversations emanating from another room. As quiet as she can be, she crawled towards the ventilation grill and saw two older men talking. One was dressed in a long white lab coat whom she assumed to be one of the scientists. The other was dressed in a well-tailored and multicolor garment.
“The boss wanted the time table to move up.” The well-dressed one said.
“We are working as fast as we can.” The one in a lab coat replied.
“The boss wanted a complete stockpile in six months.”
“As soon as we have a stable bug, producing the bug inventory would not take too long. The hardest part is coming up with a stable bug.”
“How long would you need to come up with the stockpile once you got a good one?”
“About three months.”
“Good, then you have about three months to get there.”
“I will try my best.”
“You better, my head and yours depend on it.”
“I think I got a good bug already.”
“Good, glad to hear it. …”
May-Ling heard enough. What she had heard was sufficient to confirm what Elijah had said. Up to now, she still harbored some small doubt deep within her. But after hearing the status report directly from the scientist here, she had no doubt about the importance of her mission.
She was suddenly infused with a sense of purpose and a sense of urgency also. She began to crawl with earnest towards her destination. She must succeed; she had to succeed. Her colleagues depended on her; her friends depended on her. She felt again that this was why she was called. She must accomplish her mission. It wasn’t easy, but she finally arrived at the lab.
“Frank, this is May-Ling. I am at the lab.”
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“May-Ling, good. I will switch off the surveillance camera.”
“Thanks.”
Frank tapped on the terminal and switched off the surveillance camera to the lab.
“The lab is all yours.”
“Thank you.”
“Do hurry. They knew I am in the control room.”
“OK.”
“They are coming for me, though they had not discovered you yet.”
May-Ling looked around the lab. It was a fully stocked lab with all kinds of modern equipment. He had never seen such a well-equipped lab since medical school.
But she kept reminding herself that this was not the time to admire the lab. She had a mission to do and she had to finish her part. She started searching for the freezer where the sample vials would be kept. She searched the lab all over, but could not find any freezer. All she could see was lab benches for carrying out experiments.
There were a number of desks along one wall. She went over the whole lab several times, but found nothing resembling a freezer. She was beginning to get frantic and anxious. So she stopped in the middle of the room and sat down. She switched off the flashlight, closed her eyes and breathed deeply in and out several times to calm her nerves and her soul. After a minute or so of breathing exercises, she felt better.
She got up and started searching again in a systematic way starting from the door. Just on a hunch, she began knocking softly on the wall. She thought the knock on the bookcase seemed to return a slightly different sound. There must be something behind that bookcase.
She walked around the bookcase, but it appeared to be solidly built into the wall. She tried moving it, but to no avail. If this was a trap door, there must be a lever mechanism somewhere. Her first reaction was that one of the books on the shelf would be a trigger mechanism. But which one?
There was no time to guess, she took a few books out and started moving every book in the shelf. Nothing. She tried moving the books again to the opposite direction of the shelf. Again nothing happened.
She started to explore the area around the bookshelf. There was nothing out of the ordinary. She was about to give up when she noticed a strange switch that was different from a typical light switch. Having no better ideas on what to do next, she flipped the switch. Instantly, a red light went on and she could hear siren buzzing through the hall way.
“Uh oh.” She muttered to herself.
“Frank, I think I activated some alarm in the lab.”
“Let me check.”
Frank tapped on the terminal.
“You sure did. I have reset the alarm already.”
“Thanks.”
“Have you found the vial yet?”
“No, I have a little trouble finding the freezer.”
“Let me check on the computer.”
Frank called up the utility schematic and studied it.
“May-Ling, the freezer should be to the left of the door.”
“There is a bookcase to the left of the door. The freezer must be behind the bookcase. I need to find a way to get behind the bookcase or move it aside.”
“Okay, I will study the schematics some more and let you know if I come up with anything.”
“In the meantime, I will look around here for the door switch.”
May-Ling was sure that there must be a trigger mechanism somewhere near the bookcase. Instead of waiting for Frank to call back, she just started moving anything she could put her hands on.
She tried opening the desk drawers, but they were all closed and locked. One of the drawers was not locked. She rummaged around the drawer and found nothing useful. It was mostly scrap paper in the drawer. She tried moving everything on top of the desk, but nothing happened.
“May-Ling, are you there?”
“Yes, Frank.”
“I think you better get out of the room quickly. I see a regiment of guards coming your way.”
“Can you slow them down somehow?”
“I have already closed the security door along the way. But that would not hold them for too long.”
“Five minutes?”
“Perhaps. I suggest that you get back to the ventilation system and get yourself back to the shed.”
“What about you?”
“I will watch as long as I can and I will join you at the bottom of the air shaft.”
“Okay. Thanks for the warning.”
May-Ling thought that they had come so close. It would be a shame to abandon their efforts now. She decided to go back to the bookcase and passed her hand along the edge of the bookcase and the adjoining wall. Nothing. She was leaning over the wall with one hand and started to drum on the wall.
Then she noticed that there was a slight indentation on the wall. It was well hidden and it was hard to see with the flashlight. But she could feel the difference with her hand. Carefully, she traced the indentation with her fingers. It was small and circular. In desperation, she pounded on the indentation and immediately the bookcase began to move.
She was ecstatic. The bookcase opened revealing a full size walk-in freezer. But she also noticed that there were three combination locks over the door. She rushed back to the desk knowing that the combinations must be written somewhere on the desk.
She knew her time was limited. She worked frantically trying to locate the combination numbers. Finding that the drawers are locked, she looked around for something to force open the drawers. She took a screwdriver from a nearby toolbox and forced the drawers open. A thorough search revealed nothing.
She opened every drawer and flipped through the contents.
Nothing.
She looked underneath the drawers.
Nothing.
In desperation, she went back to the freezer door to examine the locks. She was about to go get a tool to force the lock open knowing full well that that was futile. As she turned her head, she noticed that there were numbers written at the back of the bookcase. Those were the very combinations that she was looking for!
“May-Ling?”
“Frank?”
“The guards have broken through the last set of steel security doors. They will be at the lab in less than a minute. Get out of there!”
“I got the freezer opened. I am searching for the vial now. You get out, Frank.”
“No, you get out now, May-Ling.”
“Sorry, Frank, the guards are at the door already.”