Free Ark-13: An Odyssey by B.B. Gallagher Page B

Loop, abandoning their post in the pursuit of the action at Eclipse.
    “Am I clear Elijah?”
    “All clear, boss!” Elijah confirmed in his earpiece.
    Quickly, Jake crossed the corridor and unscrewed the air conditioning vent. With one glance over his shoulder, he stepped into the duct and closed the vent behind him.
    Upon entry, Jake could hear the subtle humming through the duct from the turbines, churning on the Resource deck overhead. He approached a ladder that climbed an overhead channel. Upon reaching the top of the ladder he shifted onto his stomach and slithered his way around the bend. He came to the first vent grate and peered down through it. There was the glass pane of the front door to the Archives, so he continued, now aware of his position above the ceiling.
    He crawled through the narrow passage against the current of recycled air conditioning. He reached a second vent, which showed that he was halfway to the Vault.
    And then he heard it.
    A door opened below him and footsteps paced through the Archives.
    “Someone is here!” he whispered into his comm.
    Jake’s heart pounded through his chest.
    He held his breath as footsteps approached underneath him.

Chapter 19
Day 21
    Coop tumbled over Jim as the two continued their fight on the floor of the night club. Coop seized the opportunity while fighting with Jim to extract through a sleight of hand Jim’s keycard from his pocket. He tucked the keycard in his back pocket and continued to grapple with him. Just then, two enforcers burst through the door with electrostaffs. They activated them, causing sparks to sizzle at their ends.
    The crowd parted for the enforcers.
    “Arrest this man!” Jim yelled still wrapped in a headlock, bleeding from the nose.
    The enforcers stepped forward and pressed the electrical end into Coop’s back. He shook uncontrollably as the shock seized through his body. His body convulsed on the ground as the electricity surged from his head to his toe. The crowd watched in horror as Jim Booker gathered his feet and wiped his bloody nose. Combing his hair back out of his eyes, he beamed down at Coop in disgust.
    “This behavior is unacceptable here on the Ark. Take this man to the Pen!” Jim ordered, enraged and wild with fury.
    Finally, Coop’s body sputtered to a stop, like a car whose engine was cut. Jim’s eyes darted about the crowd as he met expressions of disgust. The looks of contempt around him engendered the feeling of being ostracized.
    “What?! He attacked me!” No one said anything in response, but no one had to. There was an unspoken dissent among the crowd as Coop moaned in agony on the floor. Lucy broke through the crowd as the scene settled and knelt next to Coop, checking his pulse.
    “You are not taking him to the Pen right now! This man needs medical treatment. What did you do to him?!” Lucy barked at Jim, only further damaging his public image. Her hands rummaged over him, checking his vitals and swiping Jim’s stolen keycard from him.
    “Somebody help me get him to Sick Bay…” A few men stepped forward and together they lifted him and began carrying him toward Sick Bay. Jim was left to the judgmental eyes of the crowd as Coop’s limp body was carried out of the night club.
    In the corner far removed from the action, Zoe watched the scene before her unfold. She then tapped her comm unit and updated the team.
    “Keycard is on its way, prepare for interception.”
    ⊶ < > ⊷
    Out in the Loop, Lucy escorted the body of Coop down the corridor and towards the Sick Bay. Twenty feet ahead was Danny walking her way. Lucy in one quick motion brandished the keycard and held it by her side.
    Danny bumped into her shoulder slightly as they passed and then issued his apologies.
    “Oh, it’s okay!” Lucy assured him for appearances.
    Danny walked at a brisk pace the other way – keycard in hand.
    ⊶ < > ⊷
    Jake laid above the Archives in the air conditioning duct frozen and alert. He peeked through