“Holy fuck!”

It was the only time Yuri had ever heard his ice queen boss swear, which he found strangely satisfying. “You going to tell me what the hell is going on now?”

—

Wherever the facility was, it looked like it was deep underground. The corridor’s walls, floor, and ceiling were all concrete, with ribs of more concrete reinforcing it every ten meters. Utilitarian ducts ran along the ceiling, carrying thick bundles of cable. Air grilles gusted dry, stale air down constantly.

Akkar and Dimon had been dressed in quilted black-and-green jumpsuits and calf-high boots, their wrists cuffed in high-security steel restraints. They were marched along past identical metal doors. Six Arizona S & E guards wearing full body armor with helmets and carrying snub-nosed carbines were escorting them.

The group stopped outside a blank door no different from any of the others. It slid open, and the guards nudged them in.

The room awaiting them was about twenty meters long and seven wide. There was a broad window in one wall, revealing a small control room with three consoles, all occupied by technicians. A thick conveyor belt ran down the center of the room, leading directly to a portal door set against the wall at the far end. It was dark, with small purple scintillations erupting across the surface, indicating it was active but not open. Four yellow plastic cylinders, one and a half meters high, sat on the conveyor belt.

In the control room, the lead technician peered through the glass. “Stand by,” he said, his voice booming out of the speakers. “Get the flotation jackets on them.”

“The what?” Akkar said in alarm.

Two carbines swung around to point directly at his chest. One of the escorts picked up a pair of orange flotation jackets that were lying on the end of the conveyor belt.

“Opening the portal,” the technician announced.

“I can’t swim,” Akkar said.

“You go through with or without the jacket,” a guard said. “Your choice, but you are going through. We’ve done this a hundred times already.”

The scintillations in the portal door faded away. The darkness became a misty gray, revealing nothing. Air from the room started to flow through it. The ceiling grilles hissed loudly as more air was pumped in to compensate.

One of the guards walked over to the portal door and peered through.

“Careful, Phil,” another said. “Not so close. Ain’t no way back.”

“Lowering the exit,” the technician said.

“What is this?” Akkar demanded, his voice rising as his cuffs were unlocked. “Where are you sending us?”

“Shut up, and put the fucking life jacket on, tough guy.”

“Watch the belt,” the technician said. “I’m starting it up. The survival pods will go through first.”

The metal door opened. Poi Li stepped into the room, five armed security personnel fanning out around her, pistols held ready. “This operation is canceled,” she snapped. “Close the portal. Do it.”