When the Night Comes Out Presents the Hive Part two. Seven o'clock arrived and
the men who were not still on guard duty all filed into the conference room.
When Kettenger arrived, he felt a moment of stage fright, seeing the
amount of people who had shown up. More than just the guards were here,
confirming that the transfer of Dalton King was a concern for more than just
guards and prison staff. He saw that some of the residents of Hive City
had shown up to hear this. There was none of the joking and chatter
that usually went with these kinds of meetings. His men were generally a good
humored sort who would toss insults around and joke all the time. Now each
of the guards sat stoic, and still everyone was deadly serious. Kettenger strode
into the room, trying his best to look completely calm and in charge.
He cleared his throat and it seemed, at least to him to echo around
the hall. Certainly, he mused to himself, that was some acoustic illusion.
The room wasn't that big. His mind was wandering, something that it
did when he was nervous, and he gave out a small cough and shook
his head a bid to clear it. He had to focus. He reached
the podium at the front of the room. Reg was right in the front
row, and he and Kettinger exchanged their customary nods to each other. Behind
Kettenger was a large white screen with the name Dalton King in large black letters
across it. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, Kettenger began after taking a
sip of water from a bottle that Jenny had placed beneath the top of the
podium. I didn't quite expect so many of you, but I certainly understand
why all of you are here. I guess you all know that Dalton King
arrives here tomorrow to begin the rest of his life, essentially buried and forgotten.
We have a special cell waiting for him on the lowest levels. He
will not be a part of our mining operations and will have very very limited
access to anything outside of that cell. For most of you, that's a
punishment that you cannot only understand but support. However, many of you also
have families here and are wondering what is going to happen to prevent any kind
of catastrophe tomorrow. That is what I'm here to go over. He picked
up a small remote and hit a button and the slide behind him on the
screen changed. Now the screen showed schematics of the hive, the shaft and
had colors highlighting various routes around the hive. Now this is the plan.
Dalton King will be heavily sedated with a steady IV before he even leaves his
current prison location. He will be strapped to a gurney. After being strapped
into a straight jacket complete with a mask just like that movie from the twentieth
century. His legs will be shackled, his hands bound, and he will
then be loaded into a heavily armored truck that will contain ten heavily armed guards.
There are six identical trucks that will leave the prison and head in different
directions. Each truck is accompanied by a convoy of twenty trucks, including armed
personnel carriers. These carriers have the latest in sonic technology that will seek out
and detonate any improvised explosive devices that might be planted along the route. The
task is to keep Dalton King sedated until he arrives in his cell. There
will be a doctor and a nurse with him to make sure he stays alive.
The government wants to be sure that their prize trophy gets where they say
he will be alive. Once he gets here, he will be met by
another contingent of fifty armed guards and will be offloaded from the truck. Still
strapped to his gurney and still sedated, Kettenger clicked through one slide after another.
He paused to look out over his audience. They were all in rapt
attention. The armed guards will strap a belt to him at that point that,
should he become aware and awake and cause trouble, that will send an
electrical charge through his body that should render him completely useless. Hopefully, however,
the sedation medication will still be in full effect and he will be unconscious.
He will then be brought down the shaft and go through the various stages
we all go through when we come down to this depth. Once he reaches
the bottom, a large contingent of our own guards, all of them armored
and carrying weapons, will meet the party from the surface. All of them
will then lead him completely surrounded, down the various levels to a cell.
It is at this point that the most critical part of the operation will happen.
We have to remove King from the gurney and unshackle him and get him
onto the bed inside his cell. As I've mentioned several times, he's supposed
to be sedated, so he won't be able to walk into the cell like
most prisoners. Our guards will have to carry him, set him on the
bed, and then back out of the cell. This should all be quick
and there should be no incident because of the medication. However, he will
either be shocked or shot if anything does happen. Surrounded by so many guards
and buried as far below the surface as he will be, there will be
very little Dalton King can do to try and escape. A hand shot up
from somewhere in the middle of the room. Yes, what if he has
no desire to escape, He just wants to kill people? Ketdenger cleared his
throat again. We all know what Dalton King is about. There's no denying
that there is risk with him being here. We're not allowed to keep him
sedated the entire time. However, this cell has extra security. The entire
floor, walls, even the ceiling, sink and toilet are ready to send
volts through him if he should get rowdy. There are anesthetic gas tubes that
will fill his cell with knockout gas if need be. He will be allowed
only one hour outside of his cell a day, and that will be to
a small yard located just behind his cell. He will be fed in his
cell. He will have no visitors. He is allowed to shower just one
day a week, and that has also been built adjacent to his cell.
His entire life after tomorrow will be hundreds of feet beneath the surface, inside
a space that is less than most city apartments. Kettinger scanned the crowd,
allowing that to sink in their faces showed the respect he was hoping for.
Tomorrow, we will transfer him to the cell, get him onto that bed,
and then get him unshackled. Our men have been training getting that done
in seconds rather than minutes. And then they will back out of the cell
and Dalton King will be locked down. He will then become, for all
intents and purposes, a nonentity. He will be alive, but buried.
Kettenger paused again to take another sip of water. I know that many of
you are nervous. I understand I am too. However, everything that we
can think of to make this uneventful has been thought of and enacted. We
all want our families protected, our loved ones protected, and to get back
to our normal daily activities as soon as possible. Kettenger let his eyes wander,
meeting the gazes of several of the audience. They still looked scared,
but not quite as scared as they looked when he first arrived in the room.
If you have questions, I'm available. Regg is also available, and
he's been briefed on everything that I just said. In fact, all of
our guards have been I had called this meeting originally more as a way to
reinforce what they already knew and answer any questions they might have had. But
now that so many of you from Hive City are here, we can help
answer any questions you might have. To thank you for your time. Kettinger
closed his notebook and the screen went dark. Kettinger shifted from one foot to
the next, his heart pounding and his palm sweating. What was taking so
long? Yes, it took time to get down the shaft, but it
was taking much too long. When he arrived in his designated spot, he
thought he was projecting the right amount of cool and expertise about the situation with
each passing moment that Kool was breaking. Just to accentuate that point, he
raised his arm and wiped it across his forehead, and then sighed at the
amount of sweat that came away. This has taken a lot longer than it
should. Reg muttered to Kettinger's right. Reg always had a knack for saying
out loud the things that Kettenger was thinking. You read my mind, Ketenger
replied out of the side of his mouth. The day had started normally,
if a bit tense. There was tension in the air. The normally relaxed
attitude that Kettenger had when driving his card into the prison had been replaced with
a strange formality and awkwardness. Despite being so far beneath the ground, it
felt like the eyes of the entire world were peering down on all of them.
Not only was King coming, but the world wanted to be sure he
got here and got locked up without incident. It was exactly the wrong kind
of atmosphere for something this potentially dangerous. All of his men had been at
their assigned posts. Most of the administrative staff was also at work. Despite
the fact that there wasn't much need for them to be at their desks any
earlier than normal. Everyone wanted to see what was going to happen. Even
the prisoners inside the hive were at their cell doors, pressing their ears up
against them and sending signals through the walls through their complicated Morse code to try
and get news to each other about what was happening. The guards lined the
walkway leading from the massive elevator that led up the shaft. They were all
dressed in their cleanest uniforms. Although Kettenger had been assured that the media would
not be allowed to tape the transfer, most of the staff down here thought
that video or photographs would end up being taken and shown around the world.
No one wanted to look shabby Right now, however, Kenninger saw that his
men were all sweating, all nervous, and all shifting from one foot to
the other. This is not good, he thought. The more we have
to wait, the more keyed up they get, and the more likely a
mistake could be made. Kettenger had been told that he would be getting regular
information via an earpiece from the surface. He had heard word hours ago that
the convoy and its cargo had arrived. Ketenger held off telling the men,
knowing that the shaft moved slowly to allow the bodies of those inside of it
to accept the change in atmosphere and atmospheric pressure down here. However, when
they gave the word and these men had responded, it shouldn't have been more
than a half hour before the elevator opened. There had been no further word
from the surface, since Kettinger was just about to give up at head back
to his office to use the phone, when the shaft suddenly emitted a loud
hum. All of the guards knew that noise. The elevator was moving and
it was getting close. Kettenger nodded, and all of his men armed themselves.
The moment seemed to stretch for hours. The sound became like a drill
slowly boring into Kettenger's brain. More sweat ran into rivulets down his face,
down his back, and even down his legs. His heart pounded like a
jackhammer in his chest. Kennenger looked down just for a moment to confirm that
his heart was still inside his chest. Yes, good, there it was.
The sound grew louder and louder. Dust blew out from the crack in
the elevator door as it grew closer to the bottom, light emitted from the
crack. Shortly thereafter, there was a loud sound like something landing, and
then the door slid open. Kennenger tensed further. His guards did as well.
The military guard emerged from the elevator one after another. Men dressed in
full armor and carrying some of the biggest guns Kennenger had ever seen, marched
out in steady order. They marched past the guards, not wavering in their
gaze, giving no sign that anything was wrong. They all waited as if
watching a parade. Then suddenly the medical staff and the man in charge of
the transfer emerged. Kettinger had spoken to the man four times since this whole
move had been decided upon. He was a weasel of a man named Dix.
He stepped forward, looking ill, his thinning hair plastered to his shiny
dome with sweat. His eyes darted left and right. Kettinger knew right away
what was happening. Dix freaked out. Keddinger thought, he's still freaking out.
The depth and the pressure is too much for him, and he's cracking
shit. We have to get him out of here fast. Kettinger stepped forward
and strode up to Dix. The man nearly jumped out of his suit when
Kettenger approached. Kettenger reached out his hand and Dick shook it weakly. The
man's hands were slippery. Welcome to the hive, Kettinger said, I'm Kettinger,
we've spoken on the phone. I trust that everything is in order.
Dix nodded, and then seemed to remember where he was and what his responsibilities
were. He stood up straighter and fixed his tie. Yes, everything went
well, Dick said. We had quite a crowd in the elevator. Ah,
Kenninger thought, Dix is a bit claustrophobic. I'm glad you made it.
Kettinger said, shall we complete this so everyone can get back to their
regular lives? Of course, Dick said, running his hand through what hair
he had. Dick stepped aside. Kettinger looked back over his shoulder and saw
two doctors dressed in white coats and three nurses. Between them, all was
a man strapped to a basic hospital gurney. Kettinger gasped, despite himself,
this was his first look at Dalton King in person. What amazed him at
first was that the man was so much shorter than he thought. It was
a bit tough to judge his actual height given that he was laying down,
but it looked more like a teenager strapped to the gurney than the terror of
the modern world. King's eyes were closed and there was a metallic mask strapped
to his face, covering his mouth and nose. Two holes over the nostrils
allowed for air. It looked anything but comfortable. Kettenger turned to the doctor.
He was a man about the same size as Kettenger, with brown hair.
He had seen photos that King usually wore wire framed glasses. He also
had a long nose that curved downward, and one of those faces that made
him look like he was constantly sucking on a lemon. Kettinger could see none
of that with the mask on. He wondered what his bedside manner was like.
The man looked like he thought all of this was nonsense and that it
was far far beneath him to be involved. Thank you for your help,
doctor Kettinger, said Lewiston. The man said, as if Kettinger had been
asking what his last name was, Doctor Lewiston. Thank you, Kettinger said,
you are most welcome, Lewiston said, he is fully sedated and should
be out for another several hours. It took quite a bit to get him
to go down. The man has a remarkable constitution. Kettinger nodded, then
turned back to Dix. Dix looked like he was about to have a full
freak out. The man kept staring up at the ceiling as if he was
feeling the full weight of the earth that was piled above them. Kettinger let
his eyes slide sideways and catch Regg's gaze. There was an almost psychic exchange
between them, and Red stepped forward. In an instant he had fastened the
electricity belt to Dalton King's waist. King looked as limp as a rag doll.
Then Red stepped back and looked at his men. All right, men,
let's get this prisoner to his cell, Regg announced, and the guards
immediately turned as one to face either right or left, depending on which side
of the walkway they were standing. Kettinger took a spot near the foot of
the gurney. The soldiers had already taken up spots ahead of the troop of
guards and were waiting. The nurses and orderlies began to push the gurney.
They walked at a steady pace, not rushing, but not jowdling either.
The gurney had a squeaky wheel that started to get on Kenninger's nerves. How
deep are we, Dix asked, Very deep? Kenninger said, his eyes
scanning left and right, confirming that his men were in step and moving the
right way. They were getting near the spiraling walkway that would take them past
the cells. That day, it had been decided that the hive would shut
down all mining operations until King was safely tucked away. That was to limit
the number of people who would be walking through the halls and reduce the risk
that King and his entourage might run into someone. The civilian mining operators were
encouraged to stay home with their families. The prisoners were all locked down in
their cells. Is there a risk of a cavan, Dix persisted, wiping
his forehead. No. Kenninger said, they used lasers to cut out this
section of the earth. They used other technology to offer support, but there
are already caves down here that have stood up to earthquakes and the movement of
the planet without a cavan. Kennenger let his gaze meet Dix. The man
was getting closer to panic. We are as safe as we can be,
Kennenger reassured, mister Dix, perhaps you'd like to go and wait for me
in my office. I can probably spare one of my men who can show
you the way. If you like, you can have a drink, maybe
lay down. You look exhausted by his attempt to be as tactful as possible.
It was obvious from his reaction that Kenninger had just insulted Dix. The
man flustered and stammered for a moment. Kenninger thought the man might burst a
vessel. I am perfectly capable of performing my duties, mister Kettinger. Dix
finally said, you need not worry about me. I've been instructed to see
Dalton King to sell and report back, and that is what I intend to
do. I didn't mean any insult, Kenninger said, keeping his voice even
and his face calm. I just wanted to extend the courtesy. Dix cleared
his throat and looked straight ahead. Kettinger quickly tried to change the subject and
maybe put the man at ease. We have an entire community just outside the
prison, walls. He said. We have houses, stores, a movie
theater. We even have a bowling alley and a miniature golf course. I
hear they plan on putting in a go kart track next year. We have
about one hundred families, give or take. Dick straightened his tie. That's
amazing. I can't believe that you have all of this here, a whole
city beneath the ground. Kettinger nodded and resumed his scanning from left to right.
He thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned
his head to the left, studying King's prone body. No, it was
just a trick of the light. We even grow our own food using hydroponic
technology, and some other things with names and words that are twice as long,
Kettinger said. We have corns, swebeans, and more. The nature
of the crops changes all the time, and the technology improves and allows us
to grow new things. I told them I'd love for them to figure out
a way to grow apples down here, and I'm told they're working on it.
Dick smiled and looked back at Kettinger. Whatever it was about the things
Kettinger was saying, it appeared to be reassuring Dick's the man had stuck sweating.
Do you get first run movies, Dix asked. Kennenger smiled, Thanks
to the digital delivery systems, we do. They had reached the end of
the guards and were now walking past the soldiers. Both the guards and soldiers
now began moving in columns on either side of the walkway. Kennenger watched them.
Both the guards and the soldiers had looks that could have melted ice.
They were all keyed up and ready for anything. Kennenger looked at Dalton King.
The man's eyes were closed, and a small monitor hooked up beneath the
gurney showed his heartbeat as steady but slow. The chains that held him down
looked thick and sturdy. They finally entered the walkway, where there were cells
along one side. Although all of the glass had been obscured so that no
one inside could look out, Kettinger could sense that there were men on the
other side of the doors. With their ears pressed up against them. He
could almost hear the tapping on the walls and pipes that would signal things to
other prisoners and other cells. Every prison had a way to communicate a secret
code and methods of getting word from one prisoner to the next. Even the
supermax prisons on the surface had developed signs, signals, and ways to communicate.
Despite the precautions in the hive to keep the prisoners isolated when they were
not working, Kettenger and the guards knew that true isolation could drive a man
insane. They had long ago broken the codes and could understand what they were
saying to each other easily. As soon as they crossed over the threshold into
the prisoner area, the tension ratcheted up another notch. Kettenger sensed that even
his guards were more tense. Kettenger looked behind and saw that the doctor was
looking down at the monitors that were relaying King's vital signs. The female nurse
to the doctor's left stared ahead of herself, impassively. The orderlies also looked
like they were actually quite bored with this whole scenario. From what Kennenger had
been told, the events leading up to this had been uneventful. It was
a long trip from the prison that had been holding King to the hive.
These soldiers and orderlies and doctors were all tired. Kettinger kept his face stoic
but inside he was frowning and worried. The doctor, the nurse, the
orderlies were not made for this kind of thing. They would be tired,
and when you were this tired, mistakes could be made. Why hadn't he
thought about that before? He could have insisted that those from the surface head
to the administration building and rest rather than make this journey. Kettinger had medical
staff of his own who could have been monitoring the vitals. How he had
a fully functioning hospital in the hive. Kettinger gave Reg a signal to indicate
that things needed to move just a little bit faster. Reg weaved a finger
at Kenninger, acknowledging that he had received the message. Reg then gave another
hand signal to his men. Let's see what we can do about getting the
sover with faster, shall we, Kettinger said. Dick nodded and looked relieved.
The doctor, however, looked surprised, but also gave his consent.
The orderlies began pushing the gurney much faster. Dick seemed to have calmed down,
which was good since Kettinger wanted to concentrate on what was going on around
him. They all began walking much faster at a decent clip, and were
suddenly descending the long spiral much faster. The cell doors along the left side
drifted past much faster. The eyes on the other side of those doors bore
through the metal and glass, and Kettinger felt like they were boring right into
the back of his neck. Kettinger had made it a point to greet and
speak to every single prisoner inside the hive. All of them arrived nervous or
outright terrified, which was fully understandable. Kettinger reassured them, told them that
they would be taken care of, and then gave them a kind of brief
orientation. While most of them were still terrified when they got to their cells.
There had been very few incidents of prisoners reacting badly once they were processed.
Kettinger tried to keep a good relationship with the people incarcerated here. They
had to live together, perhaps for the rest of their lives, and there
was no good way to get help. Kettinger felt that he had earned a
bit of respect among the inmates here. He was fair mated out punishment carefully
and was not considered a tyrant if he had to enact something like this lockdown.
He conveyed his reasons for it before doing it. And yet when the
man himself was here, when Dalton King was being pushed past your cell,
just a few feet beyond thick reinforced glass, it was hard not to be
tense. Kettinger had been in prisons before, and there was always attention,
like electricity in the air just before a thunderstorm broke in the air before a
riot fight or some kind of prison break attempt happened. You learn to sense
it, feel it, and react to it. Kenninger could tell that Redge
was feeling that right now as well. The minutes once again were stretching into
hours normally, Kenninger enjoyed walking the hallways and the hive. He got a
chance to chat with prisoners, see how things were developing, and how the
hive itself was changing and adapting to life in general. He felt pride and
the effectiveness of the prison. Now he just wanted this to be over.
So he still out cool, Kenninger asked the doctor. Yes, Lewiston replied,
he's out cold. Vital signs are good. Kettinger did not react to
that. He sighed, breathing deep, trying to calm himself. He looked
over at Di's and the man was starting to sweat. With each level they
went down further. It took only about ten minutes for them to make it
halfway down. It felt like hours. That feeling of being watched was worse.
Hey, King, get up, Ketdenger jumped. It had come from
one of the cells. It was followed by a flurry of pounding fists on
the cell door. The beat of that pounding was taken up by the other
prisoners on the level. Soon it sounded like a number of tribal drums,
all pounding at once, more shouting more pleased for King to awaken or taken
up. These were then matched by other shouts from other levels, from prisoners
telling the ones who started it to shut up. Kettenger did not hesitate.
He reached down to his belt and grabbed his communicator. Bring down level.
Five seconds later, there was the sound of a soft hissing that managed to
drown out the shouting. This was followed by more yelling and then the sound
of coughing. Moments later, all was quiet. That was efficient, Dick
said, wiping more sweat from his eyes. I wish we had that at
my prison near this far underground. You have to restore order fast, Kettinger
said, you can't call in the National Guard or anything. I can also
administer medication to them remotely if need be. This was just the fastest way,
Dick smiled. Kettenger was beginning to dislike this man. Finally, after
what seemed like a trek to match the Israelites wandering in the desert, they
reached the bottom level. They were now far, far, far below the
surface of the earth. Kettenger looked up and saw the hive stretching far above
him. The only thing deeper than this were the mines. They reached King's
cell. It was just like all of the others, but there was reinforcement
to the glass. The cell had extra nozzles to spray the gas, and
more monitors hidden throughout the walls and ceiling to monitor his every move. The
bed was made out of stone, attached to the wall, and covered with
a foam mattress. Everything else was bolted or welded down to prevent him from
removing anything and turning it into a weapon. The entire column stopped moving.
Kettinger could hear the breathing of all of the men and soldiers. Kettinger turned
and faced the gurney, looking down again at the body of Dalton King.
The man appeared to still be sleeping contentedly. Are we ready, Kettinger asked.
Reg gave a nod. Let's do it. Kettinger said, Reg and
four of his hand picked men stepped forward. One of the biggest kennenger was
having trouble remembering his name right now, Stephen Lord. He was so nervous,
stepped up and lift Dalton King off the gurney like he was a rag
doll. The other men took up positions around him, and then all of
them moved steadily and slowly into the cell. Doctor Lewiston trailed after, along
with his two nurses, making sure that the wires from the monitor and the
sedative feed did not get tangled. The group managed to fenangle their way into
the cell. The burly man holding King settled the man on the foam mattress,
then he stepped away. Doctor Lewiston then stepped forward and checked the various
vital signs on the terrorist, and then removed the tube feeding the sedative and
then all of the monitors. He stepped away from King and handed the tubes
and other equipment to one of his nurses. Lewiston stepped up and leaned against
the wall on the far side of the cell from King, his hands in
his pockets, fidgeting. Red stepped up next. He had keys and began
removing the shackles, the street jacket, and then the metal mask over the
man's face. Now Dalton King's face was visible to Kettinger for the first time.
He looked normal. There was nothing evil in the man's countenance. There
was nothing in the way the nose was shaped or the way the eyes looked
that indicated to Kettenger that this was a man who had killed or ordered killed
millions of people. His face was slack while sleeping, his cheeks white,
his eyes shut tight. He looked like a kid, someone you could live
next door to and say hello to every morning on your way to work and
not think twice about it. Kettinger supposed it was this that made him so
dangerous. You never thought about him, and he used that to his advantage
to sneak into places and plant explosives or get away from scenes where hundreds lay
dead without anyone noticing. If any witness had actually seen him, he would
have been hard to describe, since he looked like everyone else. All that
remained now was the electricity belt that would stay on for a while until everyone
was sure that Dalton King did not want to start trouble and fully understood the
situation he was in. Red stepped back and then out of the cell.
Holding all of the various instruments of imprisonment that had restrained Dalton King, he
handed them off to one of his men. There were three guards inside the
cell, plus doctor Lewiston and his two nurses. The large man, Don
Kenninger thought that man's name is Don Something, who had carried King into the
cell, leaned down to check something on King's body. The other two were
looking back at reg for the signal to get out of the cell. Kettenger
turned to face Dix. A smile was spreading across the man's face. All
of the tension and all of the worry and it had been a non event.
A couple of prisoners got a little rowdy but had been taken care of
fast. Ketninger was about to open his mouth to speak to Di's and tell
the man that all was well, when something out of the corner of his
right eye caught his attention. Kettinger turned his head but already felt like he
was moving in slow motion. To his surprise, it was Lewiston that was
moving. Kettinger was baffled by this and then thought maybe King was having a
heart attack or something, But no, Lewiston was removing his hand from his
coat pocket. It took Kettinger just a moment to realize that doctor Lewiston held
a syringe. In an instant, the needle was plunged into the large guard's
neck. What the fuck, dick said. The big man reacted fast,
swinging his arm around and catching doctor Lewiston in the chest, sending him flying
across the cell to collide with the wall he had previously been leaning against.
Then the big man held his hand up to his neck and removed the syringe.
He held it for a moment, looked up at Kettenger, and then
fell face first on the floor. That was when Dalton came sat up on
his bed. His eyes were open wide, the dark pupils also wide,
giving him an odd look like he had doll's eyes. He also had a
smirk on his face. Then he was up on his feet faster than the
eye could follow. The other two guards reacted and they reacted fast, bringing
up their guns, but Dalton King was faster. He held a small blade,
so tiny, just a minuscule flash in the dim light, and he
sliced across the throat of the first guard. Arterial blood arched across the cell,
spattering against the wall. The gurgled and spun on his heel. Clutching
at his throat, He immediately got in the way of the other guard,
hit the button, reg screamed into Kettinger's ear. Kettinger was baffled for a
moment, stunned, unable to move. Then he realized he had the electricity
belt remote in his hand. He hit the button and the sound of electricity
filled the air. King let out a scream and fell to his knees and
the cell. His lips were pulled back from his teeth, and his hair
stood on end. Despite this, he did not fall unconscious, and his
eyes remained frustratingly aware. The sound of electricity continued on and on. As
Kettenger held the button. King finally relaxed, slumping to the floor. Kettenger
released the button. King leaped to his feet, immediately reg ran into the
cell and took the man at the chest hoisting him into the air like he
was nothing, and tossing him into the corner of the cell. King collided
with the stone wall, the air rushing out of his lungs in a rush,
and then collapsed onto the bed. Red stepped forward and clubbed King across
the head with his gun, and King fell sideways at the head of the
bed. Doctor Lewiston was now on his feet. Blood ran from his nose,
and in his hand was a scalpel. He swung his arm and stabbed
the nurse nearest to him. The blades sank into her chest and blood flowed
down her white uniform with a soft sucking sound. Lewiston removed the blade and
swung at the other guard, slicing open the man's arm. All hell Dalton
King Lewiston screamed. Reg turned in one fluid motion, reaching out with the
hand that held the gun, and sent a single shot into doctor Lewiston's head.
The man's head vanished in a red spray, and bone of brains and
everything else splattered against the wall behind him. Dalton King racing it off the
bed and took Reg in the back right at kidney level. King's head was
bloody and it ran in rivers down his face, but his eyes still held
that wild look. Still looked far too alert for a man who was supposed
to be drugged, thrown around his cell and who had taken a blow to
the head. Reg and King tumbled to the ground. Redge's gun went clattering
across the cell floor. King rained down a flurry of blows to the back
of Regge's head. Kennenger finally moved and ran into the cell. King looked
up and smiled, dodging out of the way of Kenneker's attempt to grab him.
The man rolled across the floor and then grabbed the gun that reg had
been holding. In one motion, he raised it and fired twice into Dix.
Dix hadn't moved an instant since this had all started. Two fountains of
blood erupted from Dix's chest, and the man's eyes went wide. Then he
fell straight down. King whirled, aiming the gun at Kettinger. Ketnenger froze,
feeling that his life was over in a matter of seconds. He opened
his mouth to say something, but his mouth was dry and he couldn't find
the words. King smiled. Then two more guards descended from outside the cell.
One of them had a taser and blasted both of the darts into King's
chest. The other one had a baton own and clubbed the terrorist on the
back of the head. Then the taser went off, sending out large clicks
and feeling the air with the smell of ozone. King collapsed to the floor,
letting out strangled cries as the voltage clamped his jaws shut. He spasmed
over and over again on the floor, his back arching, and then he
curled into a fetal position, just to jackknife back into an arch backed position.
When the taser finally went off, smoke rose from King's shirt. Two
more guards came into the cell. The four guards now in the cell grabbed
King and got him onto the bed. They then strapped his straight jacket back
on and added shackles to his feet that clamped to metal rings set in the
wall behind the bed. Hans grabbed Kettinger by the arms, and for a
moment he tried to fight. Then he realized it was Reg and he let
the man haul him to his feet. I was brave, boss, Reg
said into his ear. He was also pretty stupid. You could have got
yourself killed. I know, Kettinger replied, I'm not too bright. Kettinger
pushed past Rege and walked over to the bed. To his surprise, King
was awake and smiling at Kettinger. Blood ran across the man's face soaked his
pillow from the blow to the back of the head. There's nowhere for you
to go, Kettinger said, you're hundreds of feet underground, and there are
hundreds of armed men in that hallway. What did you think he were going
to accomplish? King's smile got wider, blood running over his teeth and gums.
Got to put on a show, mate. What would the world say
if they knew I came into the cell like a lamb. I'd take as
many of you with me as what I do all part of the show.
King laughed. If this had been any other place but where they were,
and had they been under any circumstances than what they were, his laugh might
have been pleasant. Again, Like so much else of this man, his
laugh was normal. No one's ever going to hear about this. Kettinger said,
the show is over. King smile faded. A look of comprehension crossed
his face. You can't, he said, you have to down here.
I make the rules. King, Kettinger said, nothing gets out of here
without me saying what the real story is. Nothing happened here today except for
an orderly transfer of a prison. Kettenger smiled, and that he leaned forward
and punched King in the nose, sending a fountain of blood across the man's
face and shirt. King sputtered and spat blood. Then he began straining against
his restraints. You can't do that, he screamed. People have to know,
they have to know. Kettenger turned and left the cell. More guards
entered after him to remove the bodies. Kettenger did not look at his men
as he walked past. The investigation happened fast. The soldiers and remaining medical
personnel were shown out of the hive as fast as possible. Kettenger soon had
a report out to the press that everything had gone as planned. He told
the real story to the top brass at Gemini, and they agreed to go
along with the officially published story. Dix's funeral would be covered by Gemini,
as with the funeral of the guard killed in the hive. Of course,
it was all back to Lewiston. He was one of King's disciples. How
he had managed to get himself onto this medical team for the transfer was not
known and may have never been discovered. It might have just been blind luck.
Lewiston had been treating King before the transfer, giving him a medical examination
and medication for King's reported headaches, and maybe King had just converted him.
Then King had not been under heavy sedation. He had been out but pretending
most of the time exactly what the point was, of course, was really
not something that could be understood. King sewed terror everywhere he went, and
to prove that the most secure prison in the world was not as secure as
people thought might have been his goal. Getting the other prisoners riled up to
riot might have been another goal. The full scope of his situation might have
been unknown even to King. Four wounded, one nurse dead, dick stead,
a guard dead. It was not a good day, but it could
have been worse. Had King gotten out of that cell with his gun.
Who knew how many more he might have been able to take out. Kettenger
had funerals to plan, but one thing was for sure. King was to
remain locked down for the foreseeable future. He would remain chained to the wall
in his straight jacket until Kettenger determined that he was no longer a threat.
He would not be allowed out of his cell and allowed no contact with anyone.
Food would be passed through the food slot, but no guard was to
talk to him. One guard was to be stationed outside the cell door,
and there would be one guard to watch him electronically twenty four hours a day.
If he did anything that looked suspicious, the guards had authority to fill
the cell with gas. It was the first fatality since the person had opened.
Kettenger gave a eulogy to the grieving family and the guards. All of
the guards were dressed in their best. Kennenger got choked up halfway through.
They were all so close down here, beneath the surface. This was family.
The body was cremated, the ashes given to the family to do with
as they wanted. Burials were limited to a very small section outside of Hive
City, but only of ashes. There just wasn't room to bury coffins and
whole bodies. It took weeks, then months, but things eventually got back
to normal. King became something that was forgotten, lost in his cell.
Far below. You've been listening to when the night comes out the Hive Tune
in next time for The Hive Part three, written by Brian w Alaspa,
narrated and produced by Ali James by Vivek Abishek. Catch up on the first
four seasons of When the Night Comes Out. Now support us on Patreon for
more terrifying content.