Chapter 4 - The room became a pressure cooker.Natalie pointed her pistol at Briggs.
Briggs pointed his at Ward.
Ward tried to sit up.
“Put the gun down,” Natalie ordered.
Briggs didn't move.
“She's lying.”
Ward laughed despite the blood on her forehead.
“Of course I am.”
“You were always good at that,” Briggs said.
Natalie looked between them.
“How long have you two known each other?”
Neither answered.
That silence told Natalie everything.
“You've worked together.”
Briggs lowered his weapon slightly.
“Once.”
“When?”
“Before Night Glass.”
Natalie's eyes narrowed.
Ward interrupted.
“He was assigned to protect the project.”
“What project?”
Ward looked at Natalie.
“The project that made you valuable.”
Natalie felt a memory surface again.
A laboratory.
White lights.
A doctor.
A needle.
Her own voice asking:
“What are you putting in me?”
Then darkness.
Natalie staggered backward.
Her injured leg gave way.
Briggs caught her before she hit the floor.
For one second, they stood face to face.
His expression had changed.
No smugness.
No arrogance.
Only exhaustion.
“You remember,” he whispered.
Natalie pushed him away.
“I remember a room.”
Ward's eyes widened.
“What room?”
“A lab.”
Ward went pale.
Briggs whispered:
“Then it's already happening.”
Natalie stared at him.
“What is?”
“Your memory is coming back.”
A sharp siren suddenly began outside.
Red lights flashed beneath the door.
Briggs swore.
Ward struggled to stand.
“We have maybe three minutes.”
“Before what?”
“The lockdown.”
Natalie grabbed her crutch.
“Where are we going?”
Briggs pointed toward the floor.
“Down.”
They moved through a maintenance corridor.
The three of them descended a metal staircase hidden behind a service wall.
Natalie limped behind them.
Every step sent pain through her leg.
But she ignored it.
At the bottom, Briggs entered a code.
A steel door opened.
Beyond it was a corridor that didn't appear on any military map Natalie had ever seen.
Bright white walls.
Security cameras.
No windows.
No insignia.
No identifying marks.
Ward whispered:
“Welcome to the Black Facility.”
Natalie stared.
“How many levels?”
“Seven.”
“How many people?”
“Unknown.”
“And the prisoners?”
Ward stopped.
“Don't call them prisoners.”
Natalie turned toward her.
“Then what are they?”
Ward's voice trembled.
“Assets.”
They continued.
Behind a glass wall, Natalie saw a man sitting alone.
He looked familiar.
She stopped.
“Wait.”
Briggs kept walking.
Natalie stepped toward the glass.
The man slowly lifted his head.
Natalie's breath caught.
It was Specialist Aaron Cole.
Her best friend.
The man who had died beside the convoy.
“That's impossible.”
Cole looked directly at her.
His eyes widened.
He stood.
Then pressed his palm against the glass.
Natalie moved closer.
Cole's mouth formed two words.
RUN, NATALIE.
The lights went red.
A voice came over the speaker.
“Unauthorized personnel detected.”
Briggs grabbed Natalie's arm.
“Move!”
Natalie resisted.
“Cole!”
The man behind the glass began pounding on the barrier.
The voice repeated:
“Lieutenant Carter has entered restricted sector.”
Every door in the corridor slammed shut.
Ward stared upward.
“Oh God.”
Natalie looked at her.
“What?”
Ward whispered:
“They know she's here.”
Briggs pulled his weapon.
“How many?”
The voice answered before Ward could.
“Seventeen.”
Briggs's face hardened.
Natalie raised her pistol.
Footsteps began approaching from both ends of the corridor.
Seventeen sets.
Heavy boots.
Briggs looked at Natalie.
“Whatever happens next, stay behind me.”
Natalie shook her head.
“No.”
Briggs frowned.
“I know how to fight.”
“You're injured.”
“I've fought injured before.”
He stared at her for a moment.
Then smiled.
“Maybe that's why they picked you.”
The first soldiers appeared.
Black uniforms.
No patches.
No names.
No ranks.
Just weapons.
Their commander stepped forward.
He looked at Natalie.
“Lieutenant Carter.”
Natalie raised her pistol.
“Yes?”
The man smiled.
“You finally came home.”
Then he removed his helmet.
May you like
Natalie recognized him.
And realized the nightmare had started long before Afghanistan.
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