Ron Donaldo: Rise Of The Apex Don

Chapter 32

"Sub-Level 4 is deep underground," Ron explained to the team. "We cannot use the elevators because the power is out. We have to go through the flooded storm drains that connect to the lowest parking garage. The Director's men will be watching the stairs. We move in total silence."

Ron led the way. He walked to a heavy iron manhole cover in the alley. Two Legion soldiers lifted the heavy iron disc. 

Ron climbed down the metal ladder into the dark city sewers. The smell was terrible. The water was freezing cold. It came up to their knees. 

They waded through the dirty water in the pitch black. Ron used his memory. He knew the blueprints of the city perfectly. He counted his steps. One hundred steps north. Fifty steps east. 

"Here," Ron whispered. 

He pointed to a large, rusted metal grate on the concrete wall of the sewer. Behind the grate was the lowest level of the Sterling Tech parking garage. 

Ron pulled a small, silent laser cutter from Zero's backpack. He turned it on. A bright blue beam of hot light cut through the thick iron bars like butter. Ron caught the heavy iron grate before it could fall and splash into the water. He set it down gently. 

They climbed through the hole. 

They were now inside Sterling Tech. 

The underground parking garage was huge and completely dark. Because of the heavy rain and the broken city pumps, the garage was flooded with a foot of dark, freezing water. 

Ron raised his hand, signaling the team to stop. 

He heard something. 

Splash. Splash. 

Heavy boots were walking through the water. 

Ron peeked out from behind a large concrete pillar. Through the darkness, he saw three of The Director’s elite mercenaries. They wore night-vision goggles. They held suppressed automatic rifles. They were patrolling the entrance to the Sub-Level stairs. 

Ron looked at his men. He used silent hand signals. He pointed at the left guard. He pointed at the right guard. He pointed to himself for the center guard. 

The Iron Legion soldiers nodded. They pulled long, black combat knives from their belts. 

They moved into the water. They did not walk normally. They used a special military technique, rolling their feet from heel to toe, barely making a ripple in the deep water. They moved like silent crocodiles hunting in a dark river. 

Ron crept up directly behind the center mercenary. The man was holding his gun tight, looking straight ahead through his green goggles. He did not hear Ron coming. 

In one lightning-fast motion, Ron wrapped his left arm tightly around the mercenary's neck, blocking his windpipe so he could not scream. With his right hand, Ron grabbed the man's gun, pulling it away. Ron dragged the man down into the cold water. The man struggled, but Ron’s grip was like an iron vice. In three seconds, the mercenary passed out from lack of oxygen. 

At the exact same time, the two Iron Legion soldiers grabbed the other guards from behind. They pulled them under the water, silencing them quickly and efficiently. 

There were no gunshots. There were no screams. Just the soft sound of moving water. 

"Clear," a soldier whispered. 

Ron stood up, completely soaking wet. He pointed toward a heavy metal door at the back of the garage. It had a sign that read: STAIRWELL - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

"Let's go," Ron said. 

They opened the door and began to walk down the concrete stairs. The air grew colder as they went deeper underground. Sub-Level 1. Sub-Level 2. Sub-Level 3. 

They finally reached the bottom. Sub-Level 4. 

The hallway here was different. It was not dark. The walls were pure, clean white metal. The ceiling was lined with glowing red emergency lights. The lab was running on an independent, private quantum battery. 

At the end of the long white hallway was a massive vault door. It looked like the door to a nuclear bunker. It was made of thick, shiny titanium. 

There was a small digital screen and a glass scanner pad next to the door. 

Ron walked up to the door. He placed his hand on the cold titanium. This was it. The Ghost of the Lab had returned. Five years ago, he was dragged out of this room in handcuffs. Now, he was back to reclaim his life. 

"Zero," Ron said, stepping back. "Your turn."

Zero hurried forward. His heavy backpack clinked. He pulled his large mechanical goggles down over his eyes. The lenses zoomed in with a soft whirring sound. 

Zero examined the scanner pad. 

"It is a DNA and retinal blood-lock," Zero whispered. His voice was squeaky and nervous. "It is looking for Marcus Thorne's exact genetic code. If I pick it wrong, it will trigger an alarm and fill this hallway with deadly gas."

"Can you beat it?" Ron asked. 

Zero smiled a wide, crazy smile. "I can beat anything that uses wires, Apex."

Zero unzipped his backpack. He pulled out a small glass vial filled with a strange, clear gel. He pulled out a small computer tablet with dozens of wires hanging out of it. And finally, he pulled out a tiny, highly powerful laser pen. 

Zero plugged the wires from his tablet directly into the side of the scanner pad. He started typing incredibly fast. 

"I am pulling the encrypted data from the scanner's memory," Zero explained rapidly. "The scanner remembers what Marcus Thorne's DNA looks like. I am downloading the picture of his DNA into my tablet."

The tablet screen flashed with complex numbers and codes. 

"Got it," Zero said. "Now, we trick the machine."

Zero carefully opened the glass vial of clear gel. "This is a synthetic protein polymer. It acts like blank, fake blood." 

He poured a drop of the gel directly onto the glass scanner pad. 

Then, he took the tiny laser pen. He connected the pen to his tablet. 

"The tablet will use the laser to perfectly draw Marcus Thorne's genetic fingerprint into the fake gel," Zero said, his eyes wide with excitement behind his goggles. "It is like painting a fake face onto a ghost."

The laser clicked on. A tiny beam of red light began to dance across the clear gel on the glass pad. It moved faster than the human eye could see. It was literally burning a fake DNA signature into the gel. 

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from the stairwell behind them. 

Clank. Clank. 

Someone had opened the door at the top of the stairs. Heavy boots were coming down. 

"We have company," an Iron Legion soldier whispered, raising his silenced pistol. 

"Zero, how much time?" Ron asked sharply. 

"One minute!" Zero squeaked. "The laser has to finish drawing the code! If I stop it, the door locks down forever!"

"Keep working," Ron ordered. He pulled a heavy combat knife from his boot. He looked at his soldiers. "Hold the hallway. Do not let them see the hacker."

Ron and his five men stepped into the shadows of the red emergency lights, waiting near the bottom of the stairs. 

Three of The Director's elite mercenaries walked down the final steps. They saw the red lights. They raised their weapons. 

Ron did not wait for them to shoot. 

He threw his combat knife. It spun through the air and hit the first mercenary perfectly in the shoulder, knocking his gun away.