Plan to Read This Weekend!

12/11/2025

Jonas pressed his earbud, turning it off. “Think we’ll find more of the crew alive?” he asked softly.

“I almost wish we don’t,” Declan replied after his earbud was off. He patted Jonas’s shoulder and turned his earbud back on. Jonas followed suit as they moved through the rooms.

“Did you recognize that man?” Jonas asked.

Declan shook his head. “I didn’t get a good enough look at his face to be sure.” He sighed heavily. “We’ve met a lot of people over the years. It’s possible we’ve encountered him in a more rational state.”

“Something about him is setting off warning bells.” Jonas tapped his head with a finger.

“This whole place is setting off warning bells,” Declan groused. “Let’s get the SEALs and the hard drives back to the submarine and sink this place.”

Their version of quickly securing the first level of the TACG facility took about an hour. The simple task of searching the rooms on this level was complicated by the fact many of the rooms were more like mini apartments with several rooms contained within one larger section.

Kai and Sophia returned to the compartment he and Forge had dumped the man into earlier. Sophia pressed her ear to the door.

“Hear anything?” Kai asked in a low voice.

Shaking her head, Sophia sighed. “No. These damn hazmat suits block more than pathogens.”

Kai snorted. “I thought it was just me, that possibly the depth was affecting my ears somehow.”

“Fortunately, we normally don’t have to worry about using something like this,” Ori said through Kai’s earbud. “Are you ready for the rest of us?”

“We are.” Sophia started back to the air lock. “Forge, Declan, status?”

“We’re almost ready to head back. Meet you there,” Declan responded.

When Kai and Sophia arrived, Forge and Declan were already at the airlock. Ori and Blair were handing the cases containing their equipment down. Blair hopped down after the final case, Ori, Porter, and Lucas followed.

“How did the computer lab look?” Blair asked, following as Forge took the lead.

Forge shrugged. “Nothing seemed obviously damaged, but we really didn’t do much more than make sure the area was cleared of any threats.” When Blair glanced sideways at him Forge added, “Like the man Declan ran into.”

“More like he ran into me,” Declan grumbled.