Resurrection Hour - Hidden in Ice(Nanowrimo)

Chapter Twenty-six

Xavier barreled into his Security Office, slapping his palms on the desk as he checked out the monitors. "Talk to me."

"We have outbreaks on four floors—main, second, lab and service level."

Xavier slammed his fist on the table, letting out a growl. "How the heck did we get an outbreak on the main level? I thought they secured all the patients in the clinic?" Things had snowballed far too quickly. It didn't make sense, not unless someone was somehow orchestrating it all.

"I think I traced it to someone coming out of the service tunnel."

"What were they doing?"

"Just trying to get away is my guess."

"How many hostiles are on the lab level? I have to go back and get Hannah." He'd managed to help a few people who were wandering the hallways get to safety, but he knew there were labs full of workers and anything could have happened after he left.

"It's not looking good down there. Where is she?"

"I, uh, locked her in the janitor's closet."

Kevin raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as he moved the mouse around and pulled up the camera closest to the janitor's room and zoomed in. There was a light shining against the wall across from the room.

"Oh hell, don't tell me that door is open?" Xavier said, leaning forward.

"Looks like it," Kevin said, squinting at the screen.

"Check the footage. I need to know what happened," Xavier ordered.

His partner tapped a few keys and rewound the footage back to when he first put her in there, about 30 minutes ago. Flynn clumsily walked his way down the hall, pausing a moment, appearing to listen to something they couldn't hear as they didn't have audio. Kevin and Xavier watched as he started pounding against the door. The man attacked it, over and over. When the door broke down, Xavier's stomach dropped. He watched as Flynn disappeared into the room.

Turning away, Xavier punched the wall, berating himself for leaving her there. He should have known better. Anger filled him at the carelessness of the crew and his own inability to get things back under control.

"Hold on, don't get your knickers in a knot just yet. Look," Kevin said, rewinding the footage slightly. "Look." They watched Hannah burst out of the closet, appearing to be okay.

He sighed in relief, bringing his hand to his forehead. "She's okay. She's okay," he murmured. He'd never forgive himself if she hadn't made it out alive. Stepping into their locker room, he opened the weapons locker. They had a few small pistols and some bullets. They weren't supposed to use them unless directed by Director Adams, so he needed to get his permission pronto.

Xavier poked his head out the door. "Where is the Director?"

Kevin glanced over at the card monitor and then checked a few cameras. "It looks like he's in his office."

"Why isn't he in a secured area?"

"Hell if I know." Kevin shrugged as he leaned in closer to the monitor. "Looks like he's drinking."

"He's a whiskey man, but I've never seen him drink while on duty before." Xavier leaned over and watched his boss.

Director Adams slumped his shoulders and wrapped both hands around his glass, staring at it. He had the look of a defeated man with a half empty bottle of whiskey sitting on the table beside him. Xavier gripped the back of his neck, caught in a dilemma. Hannah was stuck on a floor with those things and so was the Director. But without the director's approval, he couldn't carry heavier weapons, like guns.