Deep Down Under

Chapter 3

CERN Facility Security Gate, Geneva, 3:25 pm
Vincent stared at the three approaching grey Hummer SUVs. Money blowers. His hand swerved to his right, knocking down his coffee cup. Goddamn! His trousers were stained with the beverage he spilled.

The passenger of the second Hummer rolled down his windows, in his hand he held something that looked like a dark green spherical object. He struggled to figure out what it was. He needed to change his glasses; his number had increased so his glasses were of no use. It sort of looked like an apple. The passenger tossed the object into the security cabin Vincent was sitting in.

As the object approached, Vincent realized his mistake.

It wasn't an apple, it was a grenade.

The security cabin erupted into flames. Metal scrap was spread over a large area. The blast wave boomed throughout the whole premises. There was no sign of the body. It had completely obliterated the unfortunate security personnel. The Hummers drove over the mangled remains of gate and what was left of the security cabin.

All three of the SUVs screeched to a halt in front of the CERN facility. Three masked men exited from each Hummer armed with assault rifles and some with AK-47s.

All of the men began firing indiscriminately at the thin crowd in front of them. Some shot at the cars others at people. Pools of blood developed on the road as it spewed out of the victims' wounds.

Windshields were shattering almost every second and loud chants of "Allahu Akbar!" They chanted it together, almost in unison, as if they were dedicated to Islamic terrorist groups and their principles.

In the Hummer, away from the shooting Lorssen gave orders through a walkie-talkie "Two of you enter the building and find the professor."

* * *

Silvestre's walkie-talkie crackled "We're being ambushed! I repeat we're being ambushed!" Behind him glass panes shattered and one of his lieutenants dropped dead. His skull shattered and his body looked as if it had been decapitated.

"Everybody get down! Now!" ordered Silvestre. He had never had a firsthand experience of a terrorist attack. All he could do was follow standard protocol. Sadowsky, with his quick thinking and presence of mind wrapped one of his hands around Lucia and brought her down the floor and shielded her head.

The bloodcurdling scream of the receptionist rang in Sadowsky's ears but was overshadowed by the loud, rapid gunshots of the AK-47s and the attackers shouting "Allahu Akbar!"

People were dropping like flies.

The gunshots stopped. Sadowsky slowly brought himself up. The place was dead silent. The receptionist, with whom he had been arguing only minutes ago now lay lifeless, covered in blood. Around five to six people were lying dead on the floor. Bloody hell, literally.

Lucia immediately got to her feet and grabbed Sadowsky by the hand. "Let's get out! Now!"

Before the terrorists could enter the lobby after shooting, Lucia and Sadowsky ran towards a door which led to the facility's underground parking lot. "Where are we going?!" demanded Sadowsky, with barely any breath left in him.

Lucia flashed her car keys. "Our way out of here." They continued to descend down the stairs until they reached the first level of the parking lot. There were very few cars in the lot and she spotted her orange Mazda within seconds.

But it wasn't fast enough, just as they reached Lucia's car one of the gunmen fired shots into the ceiling, shattering one of the CFLs. Goddamn.

Sadowsky and Lucia entered the car without any further delay. Luckily for them, the engine started right away, in contrast to the Hollywood clichés where the car would never start until the killer reached them. Welcome to Europe.

The car had not even moved an inch when the gunman fired once again at them. This time the adjacent sedan took the hit and set off the alarm. The Mazda was now gaining speed as they distanced themselves from the gunman with Lucia at the wheel. Sadowsky peered into the side view mirror. He saw the gunman aim at him steadily.

The mirror shattered and the whole part came off crushing itself under the wheels of the moving car. Jesus Christ.

Another gunman arrived beside the other one in assistance. They fired once again, this time the Mazda evaded the bullets by taking a sharp towards the underground exit but it damaged one of the tail lights. Sunlight kissed their faces as they emerged out of the parking lot.

Back inside, the second gunman yanked a long-range walkie-talkie out of his belt, "Sadowsky is in an orange Mazda with a female accomplice headed for the east gate."

* * *

Maslov, the head of the terrorists who were carrying out the attack jumped into one of the Hummers and summoned one of his men.

"These idiots can't do anything!" he criticized aloud and revved up the engine to get the wheels rolling. He directed himself towards the east gate, from where they had escaped, to intercept them and catch hold of that rat once and for all.

He was approximately sixty meters away from the gate when an orange Mazda screeched in out of nowhere and rammed through the east gate. Its engine hood flew into the air smashed into the fast approaching SUV's windshield, cracking the edge.

"Shit!"

In spite of taking that hit, Maslov's Hummer was gradually gaining on the Mazda. They were now on the highway with only a scattering of cars on the road.

The Mazda veered to the left all of a sudden and Lucia slammed onto the brakes. Decelerating it only to a few meters per second.

The Hummer, which was just inches away, was now way behind. Maslov had to appreciate their quick thinking but he had to take them down no matter what if he wanted the prize money.

We ain't getting off your tail so fast, sunshine.

Maslov put the SUV on reverse gear and went back fast then shifted the gears back and took a one-eighty degree turn. They were back on track once again.

The other gunman inside the Hummer stuck the AK-47 out the window and aimed it at the Mazda. He looked to his boss for confirmation. Maslov nodded and said, "Take the tyres."

The gunman then pointed the AK-47 a few degrees down and pulled the trigger.

The tyre burst and its remains now lay on the road. The metal rim which was now bare, scraped against the ground and sparks flew out in every direction. Lucia had no control over her car which was now veering off to the left and right violently, just as how small kids play with hotwheels cars.

To their momentarily relief, it finally came to a halt on the right lane. The Hummer stopped as well and the action was followed the exiting of two men, one of them with a gun. A big damn one.

Sadowsky knew that he was going down and that he was going to face a more brutal treatment for his previous escapade. He opened the door of the Mazda and was about to get out when a warm hand gripped him with a cold fear.

"What are you doing?!" Lucia shouted, in an attempt to hold him back although she knew her miniscule effort would end in vain.

She looked at him, teary eyed.

"It's me they want, not you," Sadowsky answered.

He didn't need to tell the gunmen to leave Lucia alone; they knew what they had come for. One of them pulled out a wet handkerchief and clamped it over Sadowsky's mouth.

He didn't have to wait long before his world smeared into darkness.