The Ninth Dominion (The Jared Kimberlain Novels) Read Online Free Page B

spill out of here. Don’t wait by the phone.”
    They were in Vogelhut’s office in the small administrative wing of The Locks, notable from the outside by the presence of windows much of the rest of the structure lacked. Vogelhut hadn’t offered him a chair, and Kimberlain hadn’t taken one. The office smelled of strong, stale coffee. Vogelhut’s clothes were rumpled and his face drawn. If he was sleeping, it wasn’t doing him much good at all.
    “You stand to lose your job over this,” Kimberlain said suddenly.
    “I don’t need you to remind me of that.”
    “I can help.”
    Vogelhut opened his mouth but didn’t speak.
    “We want the same thing, Doctor: Leeds and the others back here where they belong.”
    “There’s an army out there already looking.”
    Kimberlain shook his head. “They don’t even know where to start.”
    “Everything is under control.”
    “Is it, Doctor?” Kimberlain stepped closer until his thighs squeezed against the front of Vogelhut’s desk. “Interesting group that walked out of here the other night. Care to call the roll? Why don’t we start with C. J. Dodd, who machine-gunned the occupants of three separate fast food restaurants? Or Jeffrey Culang, the auto mechanic who cruised freeways in his tow truck searching for stranded motorists who needed help. He made a museum of their body parts in his basement. I believe you testified as an expert witness at his trial.”
    Vogelhut said nothing.
    “You didn’t testify at the trial of Dr. Alvin Rapp, though. Lovely gentleman who drained and drank the blood of nine of his patients. Almost as nice as Mary Conaty, or Mary Mary Quite Contrary, who buried the remains of fifteen drifters in her backyard garden.”
    “That’s quite enough, Mr. Kimberlain.”
    “No, there are still eighty more to go, including Leeds.” Kimberlain’s stare made Vogelhut look away. “We do this one of two ways, Doctor. Either with your help or without it. I’m here on FBI authority. I don’t need to be talking to you, but I thought I’d extend the courtesy in the hope that the favor would be returned. I’m going to head toward MAX-SEC now, whether you accompany me or not.”
    The Ferryman was halfway to the door when Vogelhut stood up.
    “You’d fit right in with them, Mr. Kimberlain,” Vogelhut said, as their heels clip-clopped down the hallway toward the maximum security area.
    “Is that your professional opinion?”
    “I’ve been around them long enough to know the scent.”
    “Must like that scent, Doctor. Burnout in jobs like this usually comes on pretty fast. Replacement’s a built-in ritual. Strange that you’ve been here since the beginning. Not even a single vacation.”
    “I’ve got a job to do.”
    “Exactly why I’m here.”
    They exchanged no further words until they reached the monitoring station that marked the official entry point of MAX-SEC. Kimberlain had expected it to be crawling with investigators, but it was deserted. Bright fluorescent lighting burned on, used by no one. Over at the control board the television screens were black and dead.
    Vogelhut pushed some buttons and Kimberlain heard the distinctive clicks signaling that the doors leading into MAX-SEC were now open.
    “This is exactly the way my guards found it. Nothing has been disturbed.”
    Vogelhut’s words caught Kimberlain after he had crossed through the open doorways. His heels echoed on the tile as he walked the corridor deliberately, trying to sense, to feel. The residue of the madness that had lurked here remained thick in the air. The Ferryman felt he could almost smell it. The vast filtration systems could not cleanse the air of the mustiness. A dank scent of mold and spoiled food.
    “Let’s start with the notion that the escape occurred in the roughly six-minute interval of total blackout,” Kimberlain proposed. “What possible escape routes were available?”
    “The doors on all levels were sealed by cobalt, as I