Memory Zero (Spook Squad 1)

The second man moved in, fists swinging. Gabriel ducked several blows, then threw one of his own. The man went down like a ton of bricks. Gabriel frowned. He was fast, and he definitely had more speed and strength than mere humans, but this was almost too easy …

The stale air stirred again, warning him of another approach. He spun, catching a brief glimpse of two men before something smashed into his head and the lights went out.

SAM SAT ON THE TOILET seat and stared up at the ceiling. Time was growing short, and her hopes of escape even shorter. Finley was watching her closer than a shark did a potential meal, and he had two gorillas as assistants. Hell, they’d even come into the restroom with her, just to check that there were no vents or other likely escape routes present. They were back outside now, but if she sat here much longer, they’d be back in, wondering what was going on.

She bit her lip, her gaze sweeping the entire roof for what seemed like the hundredth time. Lots of ceiling tiles, and not one vent. Who could believe that? Christ, people were always escaping via the air ducts in movies. Just this once, couldn’t fact have followed fiction?

Sighing, she rose and turned around. But just as she was about to push the button, she noticed that one of the ceiling tiles above her head, near the wall, had a broken edge. They were fibro—or whatever fire-retardant material it was they were using these days—not proper tiles. And beyond the broken edge, metal gleamed.

Her heart began to race. She didn’t know much about buildings, and she’d never even thought about the fact that the building probably had a suspended ceiling to allow for all the cabling and ducts. But if the electrician and air-con guys could move around in the void between the suspended ceiling and the actual one, she certainly could.

First, though, she had to try to get up there. She flipped down the toilet seat lid and climbed from there onto the paper dispenser. Then, with one hand pressed against the wall for support and hoping like hell the dispenser would hold her weight long enough, she rose onto her tiptoes and tried to flip the tile back. But she was several inches too short.

She swore softly. After taking a deep breath to calm the anxiety clutching her stomach, she eased off a shoe and tried to move the tile that way. Her second attempt was successful, and the tile plopped to one side. The void beyond was dark, but it certainly looked like there was at least crawling space.

If she could get up there.

And if she could overcome her fear of enclosed spaces.

If she could achieve both of those things, all she’d have to worry about was not putting a foot—or more—through a tile and letting everyone know what she was up to.

Piece of cake, she thought wryly.

Taking another deep breath, she carefully hooked her leg over the stall wall and clambered up. Luckily, whoever had designed this building had installed strong partitions rather than the usual paper-thin ones. Maybe the designer figured a building housing the SIU and State Police needed decent toilet walls, just in case officers needed to throw a suspect or two around. Which wasn’t the joke it appeared to be, because she’d certainly seen Jack do it.

Once her butt was securely parked, she eased along the top of the stall until she neared the wall. Then, carefully, slowly, she rose and looked through the hole.

Darkness and dust. God, just the thought of clambering up there had sweat breaking out across her brow. She had no idea where this fear of small, dark spaces had come from. The State psych guys reckoned it was probably the result of a childhood trauma, but since she could remember nothing about her childhood, that wasn’t much help.

And standing here thinking about it wasn’t doing the fear any good, either. She needed to escape, and this was her only way out. End of story.

She gripped the steel bracing on either side of the tile and tested it for strength. It didn’t bend, but then, if it supported the guys who maintained the ducting and cabling, it was more than strong enough to support her. And this testing was merely another way of avoiding the inevitable.

She took another deep breath and pulled herself up into the darkness. Almost immediately, her stomach began to twist. She licked her lips but otherwise ignored

the fear as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Thankfully, it didn’t take long.

The void was a mess of ducts, cabling, wires, and all sorts of building rubbish. She studied the crisscrossed lines of metal supports, trying to compare them with what she knew of the building’s layout. The concrete mass that was the core area wasn’t that far away, since this building, like many of its era, tended to have all its facilities crowded around the main core. Which meant the elevators were in the center, with the stairs and restrooms on either side of the shafts. But making her way toward the elevators wasn’t a good option, as that was probably the first place they’d look once they realized she was missing again. Which left the stairs. But how could she get there, especially when most of the offices on this floor were locked down tighter than Fort Knox? She doubted the security pass she’d been given would allow her access into any of them. And given that the security measures here in the SIU section of the building were far tighter than those in the State Police section, the key-coder she had hidden in her boot would probably raise alarms rather than open doors.

Her gaze settled on a mass of pipes not that far away. Surely that was the men’s restroom. And, like the ladies’, it was close to the stair area. If there was no one in there, it might be her best bet.

She blew out a breath, drew her legs fully into the void and shifted the tile back into its position. With her one spot of light gone, the darkness seemed to close in, pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.

She swiped at a trickle of sweat running down her face, her hand trembling. It was ridiculous, this fear. There was nothing in the darkness that could harm her—nothing but the fear itself. And if she didn’t move, and move now, she’d blow her chance to escape. Finley’s goons would surely be wondering what the hell was taking her so long.

Besides, the enigma that was Assistant Director Stern would surely be on his way back from that meeting soon. And he’d have no doubt as to what she was doing in the restroom.

With that thought to stir her on, she shifted onto her hands and knees and began to shuffle forward, trying to make as little noise as possible. It felt like she was moving with the speed of a gnat.

Sweat dribbled down her face and leapt off the end of her nose, the droplets splattering against the grime-covered metal. Every motion stirred dust until the air was filled with a thick, choking cloud that was almost impossible to breathe. Or maybe it was simply the fear sitting like a lump in her throat.

She licked her lips and concentrated on the pipes, trying to think of reaching them and nothing else. Not the weight of the darkness. Not the choking dust. Not the looming, threatening walls of the core.

When she finally neared the pipes, relief surged, and the need to get out of this darkness was so fierce, it was all she could do not to rip off the nearest tile and plunge down into the restroom. Which would be absolutely stupid, as she had no idea how safe it was down there. She carefully eased up the nearest tile and looked down. She was above the washbasin area. There didn’t appear to be anyone in the men’s room, but just to be sure, she eased the tile up a little more and listened carefully. No sound. Good.

She took the tile off completely, then stuck her legs through the hole and dropped down. With her feet safely on the floor, the trembling began. She bent over and took several deep breaths. Lord, her heart was beating so fast anyone would think she’d just run a marathon. But at least it was over—or the worst part was, anyway. Compared to climbing through the void, getting out of the building itself would surely be a cinch.

She splashed her face with cold water, shook the dust and cobwebs free from her hair and walked across to the door. The corridor beyond was small and turned left about six paces away. Given the core layout was the same as State’s section, the corridor would pass the stairs before going on to the foyer section and elevators.