1 Frost Bite pt.1: The Cabin

"It's a six man job,I'm sure of it." Lee spoke with precision as he watched the rain slowly fall on the passenger side window.

   Beside him in the driver's seat was Jim Rivers,nuclear physicist among other things. Lee didn't care about his many achievements in scientific research;all he cared about was the payday.

    Jim fixed his necktie as he looked down at the file in his hands,"Six men,huh...it's gonna cut your fee in half. It's also gonna be hard to find a team that..specialize in what you need."

   Lee chuckled as he pulled a cigarette out of his jacket,"Don't worry yourself with the members,i got the perfect idea of who i want;all i need is to gather them."

    A crackle of lightning made Jim jump,Lee smiled"Please tell me,you ain't one of those guys that bails at the first signs of trouble?" Jim shook his head with reprieve,"I'm not,i was just thinking.."

   Lee rolled his eyes as he lit his cigarette,"Yep..you guys usually do." Than Jim's voice became course with caution,"You're about to break into a secure facility and not just any kind either. Tom Morgan just doesn't play with test tubes,he's a genetic researcher in dark matter."

   Jim's words made Lee exhale a long breath of smoke as he nodded,"Yeah,yeah...i get it,he's not Bill Nye." Jim stopped short with a stern look on his face,"No you don't get it..he's a head research for a private division of the military."

   Lee eyebrow rose a bit,"What are you trying to say?" Jim exhaled,"I hired you for this job because you're the best thief out there,you've never been caught. But,these guys they won't take prisoners or call the authorities..they'll shoot to kill."

   Lee chuckled as he opened the passenger door and spoke with humor,"I think we can handle it..."

         Two nights later....

        Lee walked slowly through the forest looking down at the map,that Jim gave him. His head com attached to his ear was filled with chatter from his team.

  Getting yards from the perimeter,Lee nestled beside a tree as he drew his team to attention. "Alright,pipe down six minutes to go time..we all set." Suddenly a voice responded,graveled and soar which Lee knew was Howard Tally.

"Yo Eagle 1,i thought you said we were breaking into a lab...this is a f#(king cabin." Lee shook his head as he responded with a chuckle,"Yeah,geek 101..nothing is what it seems."

    The cabin was outlined with a chain link fence with barbwire at the top,Lee's guess was it wasn't only electric but also vibrant sensors. Luckily Lee was prepared as he got on his com,"Dan my man,please tell me you got a plan for the gate?"

    Dan's hyper voice blared out,"Come on man,i've hacked into banks with more security than this. But answering your question..yes,i've bypassed the mainframe of the security box and in 3,2..."

    Suddenly Lee heard a buzzer sound as the gate clicked open,"Lee smiled as he spoke."I owe you Dan,alright wait to see if anyone comes to gate." The porch light to the cabin flickered as a ghostly silence fell from the forrest floor.

   "I don't see anyone." Howard barked as Dan piped in"Yeah,I'm jamming all communications but they haven't even push an alarm." Lee felt cautious as he stood up and began walking to the cabin as he heard Howard approaching from the east.

   Side by side the two men looked up at the perimeter fence as Dan came wobbling up with his satchel over his shoulder and laptop in hand. "What you think Lee?"

  Howards voice rang as he stroke his braided goatee,his left hand centered on his strapped .45."It's odd,no ones coming at us right now..we'll move slow." Lee lead the way wielding an 8mm as Howard followed now with his ak-47 drawn and Dan crept behind.

   The piercing glow of the moon cast a overview of what looked to be a massive cabin. One Lee could never afford the luxuries of living in as a kid,reaching the first step he saw it.

   Putting his hand up in a fist everyone stopped,"detonator on the door..looks like c4,Howard you're up." moving aside Howard brushed past Lee and dropped to one knee as he began scavenging tools out of his bag.

   Cooling the wad of explosive Howard began to grab a set of tweezers as he clipped a yellow wire. Suddenly he jerked it off the door handle and began tossing it in the air,"Easy as pie..here ya go kid."

   He threw the c-4 at Dan,who suddenly jumped away in a yell,"Are you crazy!!" Lee  silenced him,"Shush,we don't know who's in the cabin." All three men began putting on gasmasks as Howard stood on the left side of the door and Lee on the right.

   Dan stood at the bottom of the steps as he watched,Lee kicked the door in as Howard threw a flash grenade followed by a smoke bomb. Suddenly both men entered through the cloud of smoke weapons drawn.

   After awhile Dan heard Lee's voice,"Okay kid you can come in now." Dan held his mask on as black smoke poured through the doorway as he entered the threshold;he was startled at what he saw.

      Hollow,the whole cabin was just one giant room;no hallways,no upstairs almost like a barn. "I be honest Lee,looks like what ever operation was going on here..well they split." Lee observed the giant room as Howard continued to talk.

  No lights or nails,squeaky clean a little to clean for a cabin and then he noticed it with every step he took. Stopping in place,he turned to Howard and Dan"You noticed something odd about this room?"

   Dan took his mask off as he replied gallantly,"Odd..you say,besides the emptiness of it..noo." Lee exhaled heavy as he began jumping up and down as the others watched flashlights drawn on him.

  Lee pointed to the floor with a glimmering smile,"How many cabins have a metal floor?" Howard began walking around as he looked at a single line barrier between it.

   Running his hands down the line,he looked at Lee,"Good thing i came prepared." Lee and Dan stood in a corner as they watch sparks flying as Howard tore through the seal with a wielding torch.

   The metal sizzle from the flames as the floor opened up just as Howard jumped beside Lee. Looking into the whole they've made,they saw a ladder leading down to a metal barrier.

     As they crawled down the men began hearing a loud whistle as Lee looked up at Dan who was above him."Dan...what's that?" looking on his tablet he shook his head,"it's an alarm but nothing we set off."

    Finally on ground level,Lee saw what looked to be a hallway as red lights flashed above. Then suddenly Howard ran ahead as Lee helped Dan down with his equipment. "Can your toys shut that alarm off,it's giving me a headache."

     Dan smiled as he began typing away as Lee watched the red lights vanish and the hallway went silent. But not for long as Howards yell alerted both men in haste as they rushed down the corridor.

    Veering the corner,Lee found Howard standing in front of a pile of corpses stacked up like leaves. The bodies had strips of flesh clinging on as some had there jaws unhinged hanging from one side. Howard looked at both men as he pointed,"I think i know why no one stopped us from coming in."

   Dan backed away slowly with a look on his face as he dropped his laptop,the screen shattered as buttons flew everywhere."We were supposed to get in get out..no one said anything about this bullsh*t. Lee I'm not a soldier..i can't."

    Howard went running at him like a tank,grabbing Dan by the collar,"Man up you little.." Suddenly they heard a noise down the hall as glass began breaking. Howard dropped Dan as he reached for his machine gun,as Dan sat on the floor he saw Lee on his phone.

   "Who you calling?" Lee looked over at Dan as he smiled,"this is a six man team. You,me and Howard was all we needed to get in. But i did prepare three others to tag along just in case things got hairy..I'm calling in the Calvary."

                 To be continued.....