Chapter 97: Operation Child's Play - Part 2
Steve
Second night infiltration, 11:52 PM. We descended past the outer sectors I'd mapped yesterday, deeper into Soviet engineering.
Level four. Level five. Portal-Marking Chalk glowing brighter with each descent, dimensional pressure building.
"How deep does this go?" Robin whispered.
"As deep as it needs to." My Phase 3 senses tracked guard movements three corridors ahead. "The gate chamber is close. I can feel it through my corruption."
The vault door appeared at the end of level six. Massive, reinforced, biometric locks, guard rotation every fifteen minutes. Through the observation window—small, reinforced glass—I saw it.
The gate machine. Soviet engineering nightmare of pipes, power cables, and dimensional science. At its center, a vertical crack in reality pulsed red, trying to tear itself wider.
"Jesus Christ," Robin breathed. "They actually built it."
"And we're going to destroy it."
Robin
We spent forty minutes observing. Guard rotations, access protocols, power flow patterns. Steve's Fight Master processed everything, building tactical overlay in real time.
"Armory is two corridors east," he noted. "Heavily guarded. We avoid it."
"Power grid?"
"Junction points here, here, and here." He marked positions on his sketch. "Sabotage all three simultaneously, we create cascade failure. Gate machine loses power during activation, dimensional feedback destroys it."
I photographed everything—wall-mounted schematics, equipment labels, guard schedules. Evidence and intelligence for the assault.
"Ventilation system runs through this section," Steve continued. "That's Erica's entry point. She scouts from above, confirms our mapping."
"And escape routes?"
"Three primary, two emergency. All documented." His tactical certainty was absolute. "We have what we need. Time to extract."
Steve
The research lab was accident. Wrong turn during retreat, found ourselves in Soviet science facility.
Documents everywhere. Cyrillic text, technical diagrams, test results. Robin grabbed what she could carry, stuffing papers into her bag.
One folder caught my eye. Handwritten notes, more personal than official reports. I grabbed it.
"Go," I urged. "Guard rotation in ninety seconds."
We made the elevator with thirty seconds to spare.
Safe in my car, Robin translated the stolen documents by flashlight.
"Most of it's technical—power requirements, dimensional physics, test results." She paused on the handwritten notes. "Wait. This one's different. Personal log from someone named... Alexei."
"What's it say?"
"'Key operator experiences neural link to Upside Down. Direct connection to other side. Consciousness bridges dimensions.'" Her voice dropped. "'Connection severs only through death or gate closure. Cannot be interrupted safely.'"
My blood ran cold. "The key operator dies?"
"Or stays connected until the gate closes. Either way..." She met my eyes. "This is suicide mission, Steve. Whoever turns that key doesn't come back."
Hopper
Steve and Robin arrived at the bunker at 3:15 AM with complete base schematics and terrible news.
"Key operator becomes bridge between dimensions," Steve explained, laying out Alexei's notes. "Neural link forms, consciousness connects to Upside Down. Only severs through death or gate closure."
"So whoever operates the key—"
"Dies or stays connected indefinitely." Steve's face was grim. "Original timeline, you did it. Survived through... unclear means. But the cost was severe."
"Then I'll do it again." I stood. "I'm the adult. The cop. The one who should take that risk."
"No." Steve's voice held finality. "There has to be another way. We have six days to find it."
"Steve—"
"I said no. I'm not watching you die for this. I'm not accepting that math." His corruption scars pulsed. "We find another solution. That's the mission."
But I saw it in his eyes. He already had a solution. One he wasn't sharing yet.
And it terrified me.
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