The Keeper. Part 1. An Invitation - страница 19

‘So, here we are then. Welcome to T8,’ said the general, as the minivan which had been waiting for them on the tarmac came to a stop inside a hangar. Two soldiers ran up and snapped to attention as he got out.

‘Sir, everything in order, Sir,’ said one of them.

The general nodded.

Stuffed full of racks and containers, the hangar had all manner of vehicles parked along its edges, including, to Arthur’s surprise, several light tanks. A door clanged shut at the far end, and a small group hurried over.

‘Ah, Maria Nikolaevna. A pleasure to see you again,’ smiled the general to the lady dressed in a grey flight suit and cap. ‘Arthur, Maria is going to be your guide and assistant during your stay here. So, if you need anything at all, she’ll be the person to ask.’

‘Hello, Arthur, I am very glad to meet you,’ she said, shaking his hand.

‘And here beside her we have Dr Rubenstein, our head of development here at the facility. You will be working with him on all things concerning the box from this point onwards.’

The elderly, slightly blading man, who was wearing a white technician’s coat with its top pockets crammed full of coloured pens, held out a hand for him to shake. ‘Nice to meet you, young man. Tomorrow will be an exciting day, I’m sure.’

Smiling shyly, Arthur shot a glance at the girl standing behind them. Wearing jeans and a hooded sweater, she had long brown hair and was, he guessed, about his own age.

‘And finally,’ said the general, ‘I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Sky.’

For an awkward moment the two of them stared at each other, neither one quite sure what to do next.

‘Hey!’ said the girl, the first to react, stretching out a hand.

‘Hi!’ he replied, shaking it.

‘I thought that while you’re here with us that it might be good for you to have someone your own age to talk to. My daughter lives with me at the facility, and I’m sure she gets tired of hanging around with old dogs like me all day.’

‘Oh, you’re not such a bad old dog, Papa.’

‘Yes, well, we wouldn’t want that becoming general knowledge now, would we?’ He winked. ‘So then, now that we’ve all been introduced, I will leave you both in Maria’s very capable hands and give you a chance to rest up before tomorrow. Dr Rubenstein, if you would be so kind as to accompany me, I have a few things which I need to go through with you.’

‘Certainly, General,’ replied the doctor.

‘Follow me, please,’ said Maria, and led Arthur and his father out of the hangar, through a security checkpoint, and into a brightly-lit warren of stairs and ultra-clean corridors. Technicians in white coats like the doctor had been wearing hurried to and fro, barely paying any attention to them.

‘Green is for Propulsion Systems,’ she said, noticing that they were staring at a coloured sign-board at the end of one of the corridors. ‘Red is for Astrophysics, blue is for Biomechanics, and so on. It’s confusing for everyone at first, so don’t worry too much if it feels a bit intimidating.’

‘Yes, it’s quite the labyrinth you have here,’ commented his father.

‘Oh, you have no idea. And this is only what you can see above ground.’

‘Is that right? I wonder what goes on down there then.’

‘I honestly couldn’t tell you,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘That information’s way above my pay grade.’

Taking them up several flights of stairs, she led them down a side corridor and stopped in front of a glass door. Pressing a key card against a sensor, it swished open to reveal a plain but cosy looking entrance hall.