The Doomsday Key
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"Is there another way out of here?" he asked Andrea.
"No...but..." She searched up and down the hall. John Creed kept a hold on her elbow to keep her moving.
"But what?" Monk pressed.
"The lab building was constructed to be modular. To make it easier to change room configurations," she said in a rush, then pointed up. "There's a large maintenance level between floors. With catwalks for work crews."
Monk glanced at the ceiling. That might work. "Where's the closest access point?"
She shook her head, still struggling with shock. "I don't know..."
Monk stopped and grabbed her shoulder with his prosthetic hand. "Andrea, take a breath, steady your-"
Machine-gun fire blasted. A figure rounded the far end of the hallway, his gun blazing. Rounds tore into the floor and walls. Monk shouldered into Andrea and fired blindly down the hall, wasting precious ammunition. The gunman ducked momentarily away. Monk shoved the woman through the closest door. Creed bowled through after them.
The door led to a small anteroom. A second set of double doors stood directly in front of them.
"Go!" Monk yelled.
They piled through into the next room. Lights flickered on automatically and revealed a large space divided by rows of stainless-steel cages. The smell of animal urine and musky bodies struck Monk immediately. He remembered Andrea's description of the basement level's layout. This must be the lab's vivarium, where its research animals were housed. A dog barked from one of the back rows. Closer at hand, smaller bodies stirred-and some not-so-small bodies.
Along the bottom row of larger cages, potbellied pigs snorted and nosed the air. Some squealed and spun in circles. They were young, each about the size of a football, bringing new meaning to the term pigskin.
Monk pushed the others down the row. They had no way to barricade the door, and the gunman would be on them any moment.
"Is there another exit from here?" Monk asked Andrea.
She nodded and pointed across the room.
"Hurry."
Monk heard clanking behind him. He turned to see Creed flipping open the lower cages as he chased after them. In his wake, small black-and-pink bodies tumbled out of their cages. They scurried and danced, squealed and screamed. More and more pigs joined the fray.
"What are you-?" Monk began.
"Obstacles," Creed said, yanking more cages open.
Monk nodded, understanding. Nothing like littering their trail with scores of squealing footballs. It should slow the gunman down.
They had almost reached the far end of the vivarium when Monk heard the double doors bang open behind them. A short spatter of gunfire followed, but it quickly ended with a startled bark, followed by the clattering fall of a body to the floor.
Chalk one up for the pigskins.
Monk pushed Andrea to the end of the hall and through another set of double doors. Moments later they were back in a basement hallway.
"Those access points into the maintenance spaces," Monk pressed. "Is there one nearby?"
"The only one I know about for sure is back at Dr. Malloy's lab."
Monk studied the crisscrossing hallways and maze of rooms. He was lost. "Can you get us back there?"
"Yes. It's this way."
Andrea headed off, less shocked, more determined. Monk kept to her side. Creed followed. Monk noted him clutching his upper thigh. His pant leg was damp.
Creed met his gaze and waved him on. "Took a ricochet. Just grazed. Keep going."
They had no choice. After another turn, Monk suddenly recognized the hallway. They'd come full circle back to Dr. Malloy's lab. Confirming this, Monk spotted his briefcase resting in the hall outside the open door.
They headed toward it at a full run.
Down the opposite end of the hall, another gunman appeared with a swirl of his black rain slicker. The open lab door still lay another ten yards away.
Monk kept his arm level and fired at the assailant. "Keep going!" he yelled as Andrea and Creed slowed. "Make for the lab!"
While it might be crazy to run toward a man wielding a machine gun, the room offered the only hope of escape.
Monk fired another two rounds. He was almost out, but the shots kept the assailant off balance. Unfortunately, the brief firefight had not gone unnoticed. Behind them, a new barrage erupted. Another gunman. The attackers were trying to trap them in a crossfire.
But by now, they'd reached the lab.
Andrea and Creed dashed inside. Monk bent down as the whine of a round ripped past the crown of his head. He snatched his abandoned briefcase and rolled sideways into the laboratory.
As soon as he was through, Creed slammed the door behind him.
"Locks automatically," Andrea said, hugging her arms around her chest. She kept well clear of the chair where Dr. Malloy's body was still tied.
Monk gained his feet, holding his pistol in one hand and his Tanner Krolle briefcase in the other. "That maintenance access?"
Andrea turned and pointed toward the ceiling above a lab table. A square panel was marked by an electrical hazard symbol.
Monk turned to Creed. "Get her up there. Keep moving."
"What about you?"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be right behind you. Now move it!"
As Creed lifted Andrea onto the table, Monk dropped to one knee. He needed to buy the others as much time as possible to get away. Monk knew it was vital to get the woman to safety. Dr. Malloy must have told her something, something worth killing her over. Whatever that was, Monk wanted to know.