Chapter 31

Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.

Chapter 16– Aimed Experiments.

Edited: 10/04/2023

------------------------------------

Now having passed the first measure of security, I hunker down on top of the white truck full of prisoners and wait for the truck to come to a stop at its destination. But, of course, there is no way that checkpoint back there was the only security measure they had here, so I am keeping my eyes peeled for anything and everything that looks the tiniest bit suspicious in case a turret might suddenly pop out of a wall and start blasting at me.

Thankfully there are no such things as the truck moves, and I remain hidden until the truck finally comes to a stop at a location that is reminiscent of a loading bay with oversized doors and even garage doors. While I have no doubt they receive materials and resources here, they also receive people as well. I watch from atop the truck as the double doors in the wall suddenly open, and two AIM soldiers walk down the ramp towards the truck, stopping a distance away and holding their weapons patiently.

As if on cue, the two men in the front of the truck hop out and walk around to the back of the truck, and start opening up the rear. No doubt this is as far as the truck and these thugs will go, and these prisoners will be passed off to the two AIM soldiers, and they will forever disappear behind those double doors. Unfortunately, I did not have the forethought to have any trackers made, so I can't track these two thugs after they leave, and they will be in the wind, but that is just something I have to accept, as this AIM facility is way more important.

But now the question is, how the hell am I going to sneak in there unseen, right now I am only hidden because I am flat against the roof of the truck, but if I were to get up, then the two soldiers would spot me since they are just stood there as silent guards. I cannot move from this position as I will be seen by them, not to mention the guards behind us at the last barrier that may spot me as well. So I can do nothing but watch for the moment as the thugs force each person out of the back of the truck.

I observe as the final prisoner is pulled down and out of the truck, and then one of the thugs grabs the first prisoner in line and starts to drag him over to the AIM soldiers. And since all the prisoners are cuffed and chained together, the others are pulled along after them, too tired and weak to resist, plus the other thug is forcing the one at the back forward. So it is like one sick fucking conga line, all of them being forced along by their chained wrists and ankles.

And then, the front thug stops and allows one of the AIM soldiers to take over, grabbing hold of the front prisoner and dragging him along, the other one taking up the other thug's position at the back of the line. The thugs, having done their jobs, quickly rush back into the truck, not wanting to be there any longer. They hurriedly start their engine and start U-turning, anxious to leave as soon as possible.

Clearly, this is a regular thing as the Soldiers don't react and simply keep the line moving towards the double doors, and I know if I don't act soon, then all options for stealth will be out the door, and I will be forced to go guns blazing. As each prisoner walks through that doorway, I find myself getting a bit more panicked, but I know that if I act too soon, then I will blow my cover and ruin anything, so I have to wait.

I have to wait for this truck to do its multiple-point turn so that the driver is no longer looking at the mirrors and I can act. Still, with each second, another person enters the facility, and I begin to lose my window of opportunity. Finally, the truck has finished and now pointing towards the exit so that it is also blocking the barriers view of me, so I quickly seize the moment and jump down to bolt towards the double doors just as the last soldier walks through it, and presses a button which makes the doors slowly close.

Sensing that I will not make it in time, the doors being automatic and too fast, I reach down and draw out a Batarang before flinging it forward, where it is caught directly between the closing doors, preventing it from closing and leaving a slight gap. However, I can already see the Batarang begin to bend, so I leap forth and slide forth through the opening and snag the Batarang as I do so, allowing the door to close. With a quick scan, I immediately used my strength to jump up towards the ceiling and stick on it, having confirmed no one was watching and staying on the floor would be pretty conspicuous.

Man, am I glad I took the time to actually try practising with these things. Well, more like playing around with them, but same difference. Thankfully because I did so, I learned that my aim, in general, is quite excellent because of my superpowers plus all my experience shooting my webs. Due to that experience, I was pretty good at timing as well. So I threw my Batarang, fully intent on it getting stuck between the two doors before they closed. Still, I merely thought it would get trapped between the doors just before they closed, leaving the door open so I could push it and enter, like putting tape on the inside of the door so it doesn't close properly.

For some lucky reason, the Batarang spun so that it perfectly fits in between the doors leaving enough space for me to slide into, which I had to do before the Batarang snapped. Of course, I never intended for that, but since it happened, I am wondering if I can get very skilled at this in the future. I can't keep pining after web shooters, after all, and it would be nice to have a new tool to focus on.

I quickly shake those thoughts off in favour of scanning my new surroundings, something I should have done the very moment I entered. Still, it seems like these Parker genes are a bit difficult to shake off, including the negatives like luck, a big mouth, and a tendency to get distracted. Roving my eyes around the facility, I get a very clear picture of this place and precisely what is happening here, and it is not pretty.

It is a massive room with a very high ceiling, so high in fact that they were able to add a metal walkway halfway up along with some extra rooms, and it is this walkway that I slid onto before jumping high onto the ceiling which is high up enough that no one will stop me. The double doors are actually opened up to this pathway, and I can see the two AIM goons leading the prisoners down the metal stairs.

Ignoring that, for now, I pay close attention to this upper floor since the people on this floor or the most likely to spot me, which will make things difficult for me and make it harder to rescue all the possible victims here. But, on the other hand, observing the rooms and practically all of this facility is not very hard because everything is pretty open plan, and there are a lot of windows, even in what seems to be the administrative rooms and the break rooms.

But as I watch the AIM personnel in those rooms sit close to the window, occasionally stopping what they are doing, whether that be paperwork or having some coffee and a scone, and they look down to the bottom floor, I realise why. These evil fucking scientists don't want to take their eyes off their work and their sick experiments. This place is so open plan and visible so that they can regularly look down at the labs and check on the gruesome events happening. However, there is a silver lining because, at the very least, it means that they won't be watching me, and that gives me the opportunity to free the poor souls down there.

I clench my hands tightly as I look down and watch as the two AIM assholes start forcing the prisoners into a big cage in the middle of the floor, and they start to take them out of their chains and take the bags off their hands, granting them back their mobility and sight, yet their freedom is still restricted. The prisoners look around wildly in fear, and their reactions vary as they catch sight of the companions they have that are already sitting in the cage.

There were people already in the cage, and they had been there a while, by the looks of it. So they sit there leaning against the bars of the cell, dejectedly looking at the newcomers before ignoring them, their eyes full of terror but their faces too tired to express it, and there is no hope in them whatsoever. And as the new prisoners start to look around their new surroundings, they get an idea of why.

All around the floor are multiple glass rooms, rooms full of AIM scientists doing experiments and tests, and due to the see-through nature of the rooms, the experiments are in clear view of the prisoners, who are surrounded on all sides by these disgusting rooms. In each of these rooms, there are multiple horrific experiments going on, people being cut open, injected with mystery solutions and all sorts of weird things. There is even a room with a dead, tied-up captive who looks to have been shot to death and a bunch of experimental-looking weapons lying on a nearby table.

I can only be thankful that the scientists seem to be in between experiments right now. Otherwise, I would have had to leap down and immediately go into action. But even so, it is no wonder why the prisoners are so dejected and lifeless right now, having been subjected to these sights on all sides and hearing it all the time. For some reason, the prisoners still look well-fed after being here for quite a while. The scientists must be forcing them to eat somehow because I know I would not have an appetite in their situation and knowing that I would eventually be in one of those rooms.

The new prisoners start to shout and scream, but the AIM goons just walk away. And so, with no other target in sight, the new prisoners begin to cry and get angry at the old captives, who hardly do anything even as they are gripped by the new ones. The sheer amount of AIM personnel around and prisoners locked up is making me rethink my original plan; there are just too many of them for me to take on alone without things getting messy.

Working my way across the ceiling, I hunker down in the corner of the room and dive into my utility belt for my burner phone, wanting to call some backup. But when I look at the screen, I have no signal, none at all, and so I start to quickly and quietly crawl around the ceiling looking for a signal, even dropping down in some secluded spots before I confirm that there is no signal here, the base being too far underground. Shit, I can't do this alone without some prisoners dying or me getting seriously injured trying to protect them, I would rather call in the police, and they hopefully get some super help for me.