Mac Blocker hadn’t anticipated Summers would interfere with his plan. Hell, he didn’t even think that Summers knew his plan or knew he was out of his cell. Mac knew the place was well monitored, he was they guy who oversaw and did some of the monitoring! He just hadn’t figured Summers would be monitoring the complex when he had such an urgent deadline. He figured Summers would be too busy in that secure suite Rothman had him and his team in. Well, that was the price for not covering all contingencies. He wouldn’t make that kind of mistake again.
In a low, almost subsonic voice, he spoke to George. Their voices were now capable of much lower registers.
I think Summers would let us go; we’re not a high priority without the stuff in the ice chest. What has he got to lose? Rothman’s teams will just round us up later and ship us off for experiments. I want you and Billy to take out the cameras when we bust into the control room. I’ll take care of the rest.
George and Billy nodded ever so slightly. There was a janitor’s cart in the hall and Mac saw something useful on it.
With the augmented speed of their new bodies, the three animorphs got into the control room with their packs, rifles, ammo, the ice chest and the item Mac grabbed as he made for the door.
As the cameras spun around to Billy and George, the two took all four out with shot gun blasts. While doing that, Mac went to the consol of the security control room. All he needed was access.
*******
Darren Amleth, per Summers’ orders locked the three inside the room. “Got them! Damn! We’ve lost video and sound.”
“Shut down power to that room, now!” Summers said. “We’ll need a detail to get them out of there, that room doesn’t have a remote security pacifier gas device as some of the labs do. Tell them to use tranquilizers, we don’t want to kill them, just stop them.”
“OK, I’ll do that, power to monitor room alpha three cut.” Darren’s fingers flew over the keyboard, but it still took him a good minute and a half to locate what he needed and then he had to shut it off. “Looks like the power will be down in alpha three in about thirty seconds, security will be there in ten minutes.” Amleth said in triumph.
“Good,” Summers said, “but I think that was just too easy. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it, security will have to handle it from here. Tell them to be careful, I don’t trust Mac not to have something up his sleeve.”
“Right away!” Darren said, but Summers wasn’t as confident as the younger man was.
*******
As soon as Mack got to the console he swiped a copy of Rothman’s card he’d kept hidden in his gun locker for just such an emergency. That would buy some time, you just didn’t shut down a computer an hi level exec is using. He typed in Rothaman’s code and got nothing! Damn, must have changed the code. He figured as much. Fortunately, skeletons have lots of bones, if you build your skeleton right and Mac Blocker had built his skeleton well, he just hoped Summer’s computer geek hadn’t dug up the entire body.
Mac typed in 393d1019smile, it was one of six codes he’d built into the system just last week and hid away. He’d prepared for a siege, just in the event that Norcott double crossed him, and it would hopefully pay off now.
The skeleton key he’d used before was one he’d hidden away in the system when he first took over as security chief. He didn’t think he’d need to use the other five after this. He was going to shut everything down; he’d activate the viruses in the mainframes of all the computers on all he levels. It was another sleeper put into the system and was designed to destroy everything, but it wasn’t his sleeper. It was a failsafe measure that corporate had installed, but it needed an ultraviolet level and gamma level card and it had to be done in Rothman’s office or the empty office that the CEO used when he was visiting the lab. Both of those were, of course, inaccessible at the moment. Corporate couldn’t know that Mac had the resources of industrial spies at Transgene. They had provided him with a copy of a gamma card for Michael Knox, the CEO; he just hoped security at corporate headquarters hadn’t updated the codes.
Mac had access to power allocation programs, immediately. He made the computer believe this room had the power cut to it and without visual and audio verification it would seem that the control room was dead; Billy and George had taken care of that.
He then logged into security. There was an order to send a detail of five to this room. That was fine; he’d have a little surprise waiting for them.
Here, George, take this spray bottle and empty it out over there in that potted plant, rinse it out good, we don’t want to take the chance that the ammonia will kill off the virus. I don’t think it will, but you can’t be too certain. Run some clean water through the spray mechanism too and fill it most of the way with water from the cooler over there. When you’re done, bleed an ounce or so into it and swirl it around. I’m guessing the security they’re sending after us aren’t ready for a biohazard, though they should be. They’ve got us ‘trapped’ in here and they’ll probably try to shoot us or tranquilize us. If they try to tranquilize us, we’ll overpower them.
Billy, I want you to use that on their faces. You’re the most agile of us and can probably leap over them if necessary. If it gets into the eyes, mouth or nose, they’re gonna be bears just like George here thirty or so minutes after getting dosed. We’ll want to tranquilize them so they don’t struggle, if they have tranquilizer guns. They’ll send four in and keep one outside. I don’t expect they’ll have night vision gear because they aren’t expecting me to shut the power down. We now see better in the dark than they do. They’re going to be here in about seven minutes so get ready.
Mac then tricked the computer into thinking that the control panel in alpha three was the panel in Rothman’s office, the office he wasn’t using because he’d retreated to a safer location.
Mac swiped first the ultraviolet card, entered the 393d1019smile skeleton key code and then swiped the gamma card and entered the 287q6458grimm skeleton key code. Mac now had access to the failsafe virus. It would wipe out everything Summers was working on and would do the same to every computer in the complex. Then he’d shut down the power. Without filtered fresh air being pumped into some of those offices and labs, they’d have to abandon those rooms.
Mac activated the virus, it would take effect in a minute or so, but the actual destruction wouldn’t be noticed for a few minutes. In addition, all power would be shut down, they’d have to use the stairwells to get out, but with six bears, Mac and Billy and whatever weaponry the security detail brought and with the utter chaos in the complex, Mac was sure he and the other animorphs would escape.
*******
The first sign something was wrong in the secure suite of labs Dr. Summers and his team were working in was a brief flicker of lights that lasted perhaps half a second, if you had blinked, you would have missed it. The computer, as yet, showed now signs of malfunction.
Dr. Summers was conferring with Dr. Ujukuk, a minute or so after the flicker, when Darren burst out from across the room with, “Damn it! Someone’s released a virus!”
It took Dr. Summers just a moment to realize that Darren was talking about a computer virus and not the animorph virus.
Just after that, the room went dark and only the emergency lights glowed their angry red.
*******
A few minutes after the power went down, the security team, working in the dark with only the flashlights on their helmets, reached the door of control room alpha three.
Their new chief, Fred Marshall had worked for Blocker for three years. He was good friends with Blocker and Harding, Billy was more of the kind of guy you said ‘Hi’ to in the break room and talked casually with about football. Mac and George were close friends and when he was told that the animorph badger-man was Blocker and the bear was George, he was shocked. He couldn’t believe it.
Marshall’s team included Ian Scott, Robert Ivers, Dan Harris and Franklin Keith, all younger than Marshall. They were all wearing SWAT team type armor and though they had tranquilizer dart guns, they each had a pistol at their side with a clip of live ammo and a spare on their persons.
Ian spoke up first in a whisper, “So Fred, what’s the plan?”
Marshall ran a couple of fingers over his moustache and smoothed it out as he thought.
“The door’s been ripped open, there’s no sign of Mac, George or Billy out here in the hall, but, there’s nowhere to go either. I suppose they could have beat feet and got out of here, but I don’t think they’d have had time. We heard the door being ripped open and got here just as the lights were going. I doubt they could have gone far.” Marshal said.
“I’m going to hang back as we had planned. I want Scott and Harris to approach the door. Ivers and Keith will stay by the door, ready to dart anything that moves. If the room is clear, we search the adjacent rooms in the same manner. I don’t like this.” Fred paused and looked at his men, they were just so inexperienced. “OK, let’s do it.” Fred said grimly.
Harris and Scott approached the door, all was quiet. They entered, pointing their dart guns on either side of the door frame. There was nothing there. Looking around they saw the large console desk. If they were here, they had to be behind and under it. It wasn’t until Harris and Scott moved toward the console and Keith was half way in the door that Marshall thought to look up.
Fred managed to shout, “Above you!” just as Billy dropped down on top of him, through the sound board from the overhead pipes. “Of course, pipes ran through this part of the complex, but were covered by the drop ceilings! How could I be so stupid?” Marshall thought as Billy raised a clawed fist.
Billy punched Fred and was lucky enough to hold back enough to knock him out and not kill him. As Mac had instructed, he then sprayed Fred’s face with two or there squirts of the mixture of water and George’s blood. His mouth was open and bleeding, the virus was sure to take hold of Fred and in a half an hour or so, he’d be a bear like George. As Billy did this, a dart from Ivers’ gun hit the wall next to him.
As Marshall shouted George and Mac dropped down. Behind Scott and Harris, respectively, through the soundboard, as Billy just had. Scott and Harris didn’t have much time to react, George grabbed the dart gun out of Scott’s hand and Mac punched Harris in the gut. George then darted Scott in the thigh and Mac, taking the gun from the doubled over Harris, kicked the legs out from under him and darted his ass.
Keith was stunned into paralysis for a good five seconds by the sudden attack; this gave George enough time cross the six feet between them. George snatched the dart gun and pushed Keith the floor with a shove. Keith flipped over and began to crawl toward the console when George put his heavy clawed foot on his butt and darted him in the ass.
Ivers was reaching for his pistol when Billy knocked his hand away from it, forced him to the floor and sat on his back. He drew the pistol from Ivers’ holster and cocked it. Ivers stopped struggling, he got the message. Billy said, “Turn your head as far around as you can towards me and put the gun to Ivers’ head.” Ivers complied and Billy squirted him a couple of times in the face, getting the mixture into his eyes and mouth.
George and Mac easily disarmed the remaining men as they were becoming groggy. Billy came in and dosed each of the men with a couple of sprays.
“Drag the other one in here,” Mac said, “we’ll take their clothes off and give them the antidote to the tranquilizers in about twenty minutes.”
George went out in the hall and Mac heard, “Mac, you better get out here.”
When Mac saw Fred lying on the floor he was shocked. Fred was a close friend and now Fred wouldn’t be going home either, he’d be a bear like George.
“Drag him in and strip him, George. Those clothes are going to be too restricting as they change and will come off anyway when the orgy begins.” Mac said.
After about ten minutes Fred woke up tied to a chair, his men were still snoring away. Mac briefly explained what had happened and apologized for what was going to be happening to him. Fred began to cry. Ten minutes later, when Mac noticed that all the men were sporting erections and grunting in their sleep and even Fred was stiff, he took the syringe with the antidote each of the men carried in case they were tranquilized accidentally. As the men became conscious they began to scratch. Scott seemed particularly embarrassed and covered his genitals with one hand and scratched with the other. One look at George, Mac and Billy with their pistols told them they had better not move. Mac untied Marshall and motioned that he should join the other five on the floor. As the change progressed, inhibitions melted away as the animal need to mate grew. Soon, Marshall being the elder and more bulky male, found himself forcing his tongue down Harris’ throat. The others took their cue from their leader and the orgy began.
George, unable to resist the scent of all those men changing into bear-men became stiff. He handed his gun to Mac and walked over to Scott who was being buggered by Ivers. George sat in front of Scott with his erection jutting up just below the man’s face. The five men were becoming furry and some had begun to spit out their human teeth. Scott had all but lost his entire human set and George growled softly, “Go on, buddy, suck on papa’s cock.” He smiled at the young man and Ian smiled back, toothless, but beginning to grow fangs. He began to suck George’s cock.
The men’s moans and grunts became steadily more ursine and the scent of male seed made the air thick with its odor. All the while, Mac and Billy watched over the changing men, they would now be allies out of necessity, if not out of choice. An hour later, the group was sated and snoring and George alone rose to speak with Mac.
“OK, Mac, they’re just like us now. You better sell them on the fact that the government isn’t going to allow them to be free unless a significant portion of the US becomes animorphs.” George said.
“Why did you join in on the orgy?” Mac said. “I didn’t know you were gay.”
“I’m not, Mac. To start with, I was as straight as you. Now, all things considered, I’ve decided that these are my people and I love them. Each one that changes, and it doesn’t matter into what, is like me. Hell, we could all end up government experiments tomorrow; I thought it was important to give my love to them now, while I had the chance. Partly it’s the pheromones and partly, I think, I’ve become more broadminded when I think about love. What difference does the body make anyway? What’s the difference which hole I put my cock in to give love to another? Love is between two souls and it took changing into a bear for me to learn that. It took changing my body to realize the body is unimportant when love is involved. So, Mac, I guess I’m more bi-sexual, because a bear-woman would get my attention and a badger woman would just as quickly, I’m sure. There’s a tech-support guy that’s been following me around since he started working here.”
“Oh, wait, Norman, right?” Mac said.
“Yeah, I think that’s his name. Anyway, he’s been puppy doggin’ me forever and I was always polite, but never got to know him. I figured he was gay and interested in me, though I’m damned if I can figure out why anyone would want a hairy, fat worn out old fucker like me. I just wasn’t interested in him, but there he’d be, sneaking peeks at me. One time I came into the bathroom and I could have sworn it was him I heard in one of the stalls. I swear he was jacking off as I stood by the urinals taking a piss. He’s a nice guy, real timid like, but nice.” George said.
“Well, you thought he was a nice guy, I just thought he was spying on us so I was kinda mean to him.” Mac said.
“Well, there’s no reason for that unless he was spying, and I doubt that. Like I said, he’s a nice guy and I saw no harm in him puppy doggin’ me as long as he didn’t go where he shouldn’t. Anyway, if he was here now and he didn’t mind being changed, I’d give him everything he’s probably been wet dreaming about.” George said.
“You would?” Mac said.
“Hell yeah, I’d be his papa. Life is just too short not to be good to each other, Mac, and if you have something and don’t mind sharing, like I don’t mind sharing now, then its better if you do, as long as you both agree.” George said and patted Mac on the shoulder.
As George finished, Marshall woke. It was time for Mac to begin his pitch. He knew if he sold Marshall, the others would probably be sold too. If not, perhaps they would at a later time when it had a chance to sink in.
Meanwhile, somewhere in a cubby hole in the dark, a computer tech injects bear serum into his arm with the same syringe that he saw used to change George Harding into a bear. The tech moans as he begins to stroke himself and he whispers in the deserted room, “I will find you George, I promise, my love.”