Chapter 46
The star had been below the horizon for some time when Amnon brought his transport to a stop in front of the termination center. He then reached behind him and presented a case to Katherine.
“Put these on,” he said.
Katherine popped the case open to find a drab government uniform. An unflattering coverall, she mused as she pulled the garment from the case. As she began to slide her feet into the leg holes, Amnon began to brief her on what she could expect.
“Here’s something I haven’t needed to tell you until now about this place. The Termination Center was a personal project of Saw Yatha during the time that he held my position. Before this was built, we handled ultimate punishments in the same building where you and I first met. It was clean and efficient – all of the values of Merlain – but Saw wanted to have a special place fitted with viewing devices and preparation rooms to really play up the pageantry of execution. As far as the rumors went, and I’ll give Saw credit for his foresight in this one area, he saw a day when Lillian or some other high-ranking official from one of the other realms would need to be made an example. And that person’s, ha ha, that person’s execution would need to be a work of art. Saw Yatha is a piece of work himself, but I don’t know that I’d use the word ‘art’ to describe him.
“I say all of that to say this: I’ve never made a lot of use of this facility, nor have I studied it like I have the official prison. To me, this has been a vile experiment flung on the outskirts of the city. I don’t see it every day, so I don’t think about it. But if I do think about who was behind its design and who it was designed for, I might keep my focus on traps, oddities, and the like.
“Now, you are not from here, so keep your mouth closed and your eyes open. Speak to me and to me only. Understood?”
Katherine nodded. To not have to be responsible for remembering anything was a great relief. All she had to do was be an extra set of caring, feminine hands to escort Lillian into freedom. Katherine fastened the last place on the coverall.
“Ready?”
Katherine nodded and gave Amnon a quick grin.
Amnon and Katherine entered the Termination Center and walked straight up to the front desk. The same attendants Amnon had bumped into the day before.
“Hello again,” Amnon put on as much charm as he could. “This is…” he turned to Katherine, paused, and turned back to the officials and lowered his voice, “Actually, I’ve forgotten her name. She’s new with us, and I’m to give her a tour and orientation of the facility.”
“You, sir?” the attendant asked. His face was dubious.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, sir, no problem. I’m just not used to people of your rank handing suck low-ranking duties. And certainly not at this hour.”
Amnon nodded and leaned closer, “Me either, but she’s connected to people whose names you don’t want me to say, so it has fallen to me to handle the duties. As for the hour, it’s so this doesn’t raise too much attention.”
A look of realization illuminated the attendant’s face. “Of course, sir. I understand.” The attendant looked at Katherine and bowed his head briefly. “Welcome to the – “ he began.
“Don’t bow,” Amnon whispered. “Don’t make a scene. She’s just a regular new recruit.”
The attendant nodded. “Right.” He fished below the desktop, found what he was looking for, and handed Amnon and Katherine two white fobs.
“You’ll need these,” the attendant said. “Please keep this on your person at all times. That way, if you get lost, which I’m confident won’t happen, we can find you. If you wander into restricted spaces, these will keep you out. And should some unforeseen emergency occur -”
“That won’t happen.”
“Yes, sir. Should some unforeseen emergency happen, press this here,” the attendant pointed to a gray button on the fob’s back, “and alarms will go off.”
Amnon took the fobs from the attendant. “Do we really need these?”
“Just a formality of every visitor, sir. Believe me, the employees carry ones very similar to these daily.”
Amnon handed one to Katherine. She watched where Amnon placed his and did the same.
“If you have questions along the way, I’m sure you know how to reach us here at the desk.”
“Thank you,” Amnon smiled. “You’ve been most helpful.”
And with that, Katherine heard a shout, a buzzing sound, as a thick door automatically opened. Amnon led her through the opening, and the door closed behind her with a nerve-jarring clank.
“Here we go,” Amnon smiled at her. Katherine did her best to smile back. Just stick with him, she repeated to herself. Stick with him, and you’ll get out of this in one piece. But though her thought reminded her of the right thing to do, the sights of the cold, sterile, efficient hallways did not help her heart believe her thoughts. This place looked exactly like a prison. She was in prison. If this whole thing fell apart, she was already in prison. Worse than that, she was in the part of the prison where they kill criminals. Katherine steadied her breathing.
The pair of them strolled down one hallway and turned down another. Periodically, Amnon would stop and tell her some trivia about the facility in case someone was listening in through the fobs. So far, it sounded very official.
“For this next part of your tour, we need to go down a few levels,” Amnon said as he opened the door to a set of stairs.
“Does this place not have elevators?” Katherine asked.
“Elevators?”
Se searched her mind for other terms. “Lifts? Um, boxes that move you up and down from one level to the next.”
“Ah,” Amnon said. “Yes. However, experience has taught me that it is better to avoid getting stuck in one of those situations if possible. Especially should a disaster happen and you need to flee quickly.” He said this by emphasizing “disaster” and “flee.” Katherine understood that he suspected that the elevators could trap them easier than the stairs should the rescue plan collapse. Still, the even closer quarters of the stairwell and understanding that she was getting further and further below ground did nothing to help her nerves. It was like she was lowering herself into her grave. Katherine began to hear the ominous pounding of her pulse in her ears. Stick close, she told herself. Stick close. She was proud of herself that, so far, she had suppressed her fear enough to keep moving and not be a drag on Amnon’s plan.
After what seemed like a descent into the center of the realm, Amnon opened another door, and they stepped out into another hallway that looked like all of the other hallways. “There is something special on this level I want to show you,” he said and stepped up his pace. Katherine followed suit.
Then, she thought she heard a noise above her head. Katherine reached out her hand to grab Amnon’s elbow. They stopped. She pointed up. For a long time, there was no sound, but then there was the distinct sound of something sliding past them in the ceiling above them. Katherine searched Amnon’s eyes to be reassured that this was nothing. His eyes did not give her that assurance.
Amnon placed his finger to his lips. He took Katherine by the hand and pulled her on. The pace was as close to running as walking could go. Katherine’s heartbeat was now in her throat. What was that up there? Were they coming for them?
In front of a particular door, Amnon stopped and checked the door. It slid open easily, and they stepped in. Amnon exhaled. “Okay,” he said. “If I’ve done my calculations correctly, we are one level above.” He was careful not to say above what. Katherine nodded. “I don’t have access to the level below, but there is something here that I think will be helpful for you to know.” With that, he turned off the room lights and turned on a light from his pocket. Amon whispered in Katherine’s ear, “A little creation from Drex. This light won’t be picked up by the devices in the room. Only us. So that’s fun.”
Amnon swung the beam in search of something and then stopped at a box in the far corner. After a bit of maneuvering, Amnon removed the box’s cover, which revealed a lever, which, when pulled, created an opening in the floor. Amnon turned to Katherine, smiled, and danced his eyebrows.
“I’ll go first, and then you.”
“Go?”
But before she could get an answer, Amnon was through the hole and a second later, he heard him land. Katherine looked into the opening. She could see the beam shine into her eyes. Beyond that, she could see nothing.
“Katherine,” she heard Amnon say. Shutting off all thoughts of fear and danger, she sat on the edge of the opening, pushed off, and felt herself fall for much longer than she wanted. Her feet hit the hard floor with a clap and the inertia forced her to the floor.
“Are you alright?” Amnon said.
Katherine mumbled that she thought so.
“Something’s not right,” Amnon said. “This isn’t her cell.”
