Damnation Code (William Massa) - William Massa Page 0,36
with hushed, religious awe. Cameras streaming images from the store, the programmers kept tapping their keyboards while cops and emergency workers rushed back and forth on the giant screen. The scene reminded Talon of the aftermath of a battle. He rapidly scanned the streaming images for Serrone but saw no sign of the detective. Talon’s eyes shifted from the screen to the man who commanded this unholy gathering.
Zagan.
Their leader fronted his audience, a magnetic presence in his robot skull mask. Talon sighted the man with his Glock. He was about to squeeze the trigger when Zagan fixed his gaze on the balcony. Almost as if he could detect Talon in the dark…
As if to confirm this suspicion the jumbo screen went black and filled with a new, even more shocking image. Talon’s blood turned to ice as he took in the new feed. A familiar face stared up at him, blood staining broken teeth, hair matted crimson. It was his friend Erik, cultists hovering at the edges of the frame, knives out.
Zagan’s voice rang out. “Welcome, Sergeant Talon. So nice of you to join us.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TALON’S FINGERS TIGHTENED around the grip of his Glock. He’d walked into a trap! The cultist playing along, the relative ease in getting past the guards – it was all part of a well-orchestrated charade. His thirst for revenge had blinded him to the reality that should’ve been obvious. He’d underestimated the enemy¸ and now both he and Erik were about to pay a steep price for his carelessness.
How did Zagan know his name? How had he connected him to Erik?
He pushed these questions aside and allowed his body to jump into action. The gun came up as the first knife closed in on Erik.
Oh God, not again…
Talon’s helpless rage detonated. Driven by pure reflex, he sighted down on Zagan and emptied a full magazine into the man. The hail of bullets caught the Omicron CEO in the throat and forehead, whipping his head back in a cloud of blood. The cult leader went down hard.
Talon slammed a new magazine into his Glock and left the balcony with quick strides. He tore past an unconscious Richard, fighting back the temptation to finish off the fanatic. He’d need every bullet he had if he was going to fight his way out of the Omicron complex.
Talon burst through the exit and sprinted down the long passageway, eyes scanning his fishbowl surroundings. Armed security people approached from the other side of the atrium, guns ready.
He had to get out of here and contact Casca. Maybe Erik might still have a chance if help arrived on time. Bypassing the elevators, he headed for a nearby exit that led to the stairs. Moving, moving. He pushed through the door and found himself…
Back in the auditorium.
For a moment the world tilted and shifted and unhooked from reality. He’d covered about two hundred feet, so how could the door at the far end of the hallway lead him right back to where he started?
Erik’s terrified features filled the mammoth screen. Shifting his gaze away from the scene, it landed on Zagan who had risen to his feet again. The cult leader was still alive?!
Impossible.
For a second Talon’s training failed him and terror seized hold of his mind. There had to be a rational explanation for what he was experiencing. They must have drugged him somehow. Maybe slow-acting toxin, most likely airborne, had filtered into the balcony through the ventilation system.
Who was he kidding? The theory didn’t sound convincing. Casca’s voice drowned out his halfhearted attempt at rationalizing the impossible.
The supernatural and its agents of darkness are real.
A meltdown wasn’t going to help him get out of this predicament. He fought the fear and replaced it with anger directed at Michelle’s murderers who’d now gone after his friend too. Not knowing what else to do, Talon stormed out of the auditorium, rushing down the passage once again. Instead of heading for the staircase this time, he kept on going. He made a sharp left turn and… stared down a corridor stretching into infinity. Reality whiplashed.
Talon pivoted and was confronted with another endless hallway with no end in sight. The hallways extended endlessly before him, the entire building transformed into a surreal maze that would make M. C. Escher jealous.
Desperately trying to blink away the madness, Talon staggered toward the nearest elevator. In the distance, he spotted a phalanx of fast-approaching figures. Omicron’s security team.He leveled his Glock and froze…
Another impossible sight raked his