Mercury Striking

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Choose. It was an important distinction. “I’m glad you did.”

  A half-smile played around her mouth. “So am I.” She cleared her throat. “Make me a promise.”

  “Another one?” he asked, warning tickling the base of his neck.

  “Yeah. My chances of longevity aren’t good—either from enemies or from this blue heart we haven’t figured out. When I, ah, go . . . don’t regret us. Okay?” She kept her gaze out the window and not on him.

  The words hit his chest harder than a hammer attack he’d lived through once. The woman didn’t want to be a mistake in his life. Every once in a while, she showed a sweetness that flayed him through and through. “I won’t regret us, and I’m not letting you die.” He hadn’t connected with a woman the way he had with Lynne, well, ever. It didn’t make sense, and they sure as shit didn’t make sense, but he wasn’t letting anybody kill her. “You can trust me.”

  “I do,” she sighed. “I wish I didn’t, but I do.”

  “So you and your uncle made it out of D.C.”

  Lynne set her head back on the torn headrest. “Yes. At first I was trying to find my friend Nora, because I thought she might help me get to you. But when there was no sign of her, Uncle Bruce and I headed west.”

  “Who’s Nora?”

  “Nora McDougall. She’s a microbiologist and my best friend. When Scorpius got bad, I brought her in to help with the research.”

  Jax frowned, memories surfacing. “McDougall? Any relation to Deke McDougall?” He had been the president’s first choice for military defense against Scorpius and had briefly given a frightened nation hope with his Brigade.

  “Yes. Deke is her husband.” Lynne snorted. “I forced their marriage when I was in a hospital bed. To protect my friend.”

  Jax remembered seeing McDougall on television while there still was television. The guy was a huge former soldier with a Scottish accent. “Any idea where McDougall is now?” If Lake was speaking for the president, it didn’t look good for Lynne’s old friends.

  “No.” Lynne sighed. “But Deke is one of the toughest guys I’ve ever met, and he would do anything to protect Nora. She’s alive. I just know it.”

  “Okay.” Jax doubted it, but why take away any ounce of hope? He pulled over in a deserted parking lot and waited for Raze to draw up alongside, both rolling down windows. “We can probably get on the freeway. What do you think?”

  Raze frowned. “It’s risky. Even if we find an on-ramp that’s not blocked by abandoned cars, once we’re on the 405, we could get stuck. A lot of people tried to make it out of the city and abandoned their cars when they ran out of gas.”

  “Then finding an off-ramp with maneuverability might be a problem.” Jax glanced around the empty neighborhood, his instincts humming. “But sticking to back roads opens us up to Rippers and small gangs. We need to get to Myriad and back home before darkness falls.” He calculated the risk and reward. “We’re going for the 405. Follow me.” He waited for Raze’s nod before rolling up his window. “It’s our best chance,” he said to Lynne.

  “Your instincts are good,” she said.

  Shit, he hoped so.

  He drove the truck back onto the road and skirted several abandoned cars before reaching the nearest on-ramp. Cars and trucks littered the side, but if he drove slowly, he could maneuver between several. Just as he reached the top, his gut boiled. A line of silver compacts barred the entrance.

  “Damn it,” he muttered.

  Gunshots echoed, and metal tinged.

  Adrenaline blew through his veins. “Get down.” He grabbed Lynne’s head and threw her onto the floor.

  She yelped and held her gun, breath panting out.

  Jax gunned the truck straight at the cars, shoving himself down in the seat. Gunfire sprayed the truck. The back window shattered, and glass cut the back of his neck. He clamped a hand on Lynne’s shoulder, shoving her down farther and trying to keep her somewhat stable. “Hold on, baby,” he muttered, pressing his foot to the floor.

  He plowed into the intersection of two cars, sending them both spiraling away. The impact threw him back into the seat. Even with his hold, Lynne’s head smacked into the glove box. Releasing her, he slammed both hands on the wheel to keep the truck from fishtailing. More bullets pinged into the back of the truck.

  If they hit the tires, he was screwed.

  He barreled through the cars and swerved far to the right so downed cars covered his ass.

  Holding his breath, he punched the gas and kept an eye on the rearview mirror as Raze followed in his wake, smashing into the sides of vehicles like a ball in a pinball machine. But he kept going, even as bullets impacted the side of his truck.

  “You okay?” Jax asked Lynne, swerving around a crumpled Buick.

  She gulped, shoving herself up into the seat. “I think so.” Her voice was thick with what sounded like tears.

  He reached over and gingerly fingered the back of her head. “You’re gonna have a bump.”

  She winced and jerked away. “My vision is clear. Stop poking at my head.” She leaned forward and turned to use her sleeve to wipe away glass from the demolished windows. Cool air rushed inside, but at least the front window was intact. “Who was that?”

  “All I saw was gunfire and a black van.” He glanced back to make sure Raze was keeping up.

  “Will they follow us?” she gasped.

  “Doubtful.” One van wouldn’t try to take on two trucks without the element of surprise. Raze was still shooting out his window, so the attackers would know they were armed. “My guess is it was either Rippers with guns or bastards trying to get our fuel and cars.” And women, probably. But on this mission, there was just one woman.

  His.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  It is difficult to fight that which we cannot see. The next plague is invisible . . . but coming.

  —Dr. Franklin Xavier Harmony

  The coordinates for the secret Myriad Labs led to the corporate office and research labs for a cereal company called Chester’s. The company was located on the outskirts of Century City, close enough to share in the glitz but far enough away from the Fox Plaza Building to have more space and reasonable rent.

  It made for a great confidential lab, and Lynne considered how many more were out there. She’d been spot on with the coordinates, and for the briefest of moments, she wondered how advanced her brain would become. Was it still changing?

  They parked the trucks in the underground garage because Jax figured it’d be better to be hidden than be able to make a fast getaway.

  Lynne hadn’t offered an opinion. The guy knew what he was doing.

  She read the kiosk of the building’s layout against the corner wall and then glanced at the dead elevators with what felt like unnatural longing. The vest was heavy, and it was hard to maneuver with the knives in her boots. “The offices take up the fifteenth floor, and the research labs are on floors three and four,” she said, following Jax into the stairwell. “We’ll need to go through all three of the floors, and I’d like to start with the fourth.”

  Byron followed on her heels, while Raze took the rear.

  “I don’t get why there’d be a research place here,” Byron whispered.

  Lynne glanced at the already peeling wallpaper. “It’s not the CDC. They were researching how to make cereal crunchier or tastier without sugar. We didn’t have them researching anything dangerous until there was no choice.” Even so, the labs had been state of the art. She glanced at packing invoices scattered across the reception desk. “It looks like the manufacturing plant for the cereal is north of L.A. County.”

  Jax started up the stairs, sweeping a thick flashlight back and forth, a big gun in his other hand. “At an industrial distribution center?” he asked.

  “I don’t know where it is—just that it’s north. There may still be food at the manufacturing center, since it’s an unusual place. We can find the physical address in the offices, probably.”


  Jax reached the first-floor landing and turned to point the light on the stairs for the other three. “If there’s food out there, we need to get to it.” He waited until everyone reached the landing. “Lynne and I’ll take the fourth floor, and you two head up to the fifteenth floor to see what you can find. First look for anything on Scorpius or manufacturing plants, and then go through every desk for supplies.” He loped into a jog, and Lynne followed to the fourth floor.

  Jax nudged open the door and swept between an elevator bank. He gestured for her to follow him, and she tried to match her steps to his. How did he move so silently? The guy barely seemed to touch the dusty tile floor with each step. The elevators led to a double-glass door with CHESTER CEREALS branded across the middle. He shoved open the door and stepped inside, his head up and his body still.

  Lynne instinctively stopped behind him.

  He waited a couple beats and then clicked off his flashlight. Wide windows fronted the entire north wall, and plenty of sunlight illuminated the area. “I don’t hear anybody.”

  A wide reception desk took center stage along with a quaint waiting room. She followed Jax behind the desk and waited until he’d drawn out all the drawers. A couple of cup-of-soups instantly went into his backpack, along with a bottle of aspirin and some cough drops. A picture of a pretty blond with two kids, twins around four years old, sat by the phone. Lynne swallowed. Hopefully the woman and her kids had survived.

  Probably not.

  “Let’s move,” Jax said, coming around the desk and turning the knob of the door. “No go.” He sighed. “When the electricity went out, the lock didn’t disengage.” He cocked his gun. “Cover your ears.”

  Lynne slapped her hands over her ears just as he fired. A second later, he planted a boot near the doorknob. The door flew open.

  Jax ducked inside, gun sweeping. He slowly straightened and gestured her forward. Sunlight cascaded in from windows on the far walls. She moved inside to see four marked doorways, and she pointed to the one on the far left. “Let’s start in the Vitamin Research department.” She turned toward the door.

  “Lynne? I want your gun in your hand and the safety off,” Jax said evenly.

  Her chest felt heavy, yet she drew the gun.

  “Safety off,” he repeated.

  She faltered. “You sure? I may shoot you.”

  He grinned, intense and somehow sexy. “I saw you cover Wyatt the other day. Woman, you’re a champion in battle. I trust you.”

  The heaviness gave way to warmth. She nodded, although her breath still came too fast. “Okay.” Centering herself, she clicked off the safety. “Let’s go.”

  Lynne sucked down warm water from a bunch of bottles found in a Chester Cereal break room, sweat pouring down her back and her leg muscles wobbling. They’d searched the floors and had taken all the research she deemed important, carrying cartons and boxes down the stairs more times than she could count. She leaned against the doorway of the last lab on the third floor.

  “One more lab,” Jax said easily, not showing any wear from the day.

  She sighed. As she’d skimmed to determine what to take and what to leave, more than once he’d had to hurry her up as she’d started to really read, telling her she’d have all the time in the world once behind safe walls again. So far, from what she could tell, the researchers at Myriad had been on to something with the research into vitamin B, but had had to halt the experiments when the power grid failed. “Okay.”

  He moved into his easy lope and headed into the last lab of the day. “We have about three hours of light left, and I want to be on the road in one hour.”

  She followed him inside a room set with five large glass refrigerators, all dead. Vials of every color filled them, and she hesitated.

  “What?” he asked.

  “These are the specimens.” All of the other labs had held documents and excellent equipment that she’d helped to carry down the stairs, but the actual specimens were stored in this lab. She approached the nearest fridge and slowly opened the door. “Can I borrow your flashlight?”

  Jax stepped closer, bringing heat and his unique scent. Male, aggression, and the forest. The smell, both familiar and wild, slid through her skin. She cleared her throat.

  “I’ve got it,” he said, pointing the light inside the fridge.

  The first row of vials appeared black and coagulated. Lynne peered closer to read the label. LYNNE HARMONY. She drew back. “Huh.”

  Jax peered around her. “That’s your blood?”

  “Apparently.” She shivered. “The CDC sent samples to all the labs working on Scorpius, so it makes sense.” When the power went down and then the backup generators ran out of gas, the blood was ruined.

  Jax shone his light to the next shelf. “Kind of creepy seeing your blood like that. Right?”

  “Yes.” She counted out breaths as her legs forgot they were tired and itched to run. The next level held blue vials and green vials. She peered closer. “These might be okay. Not all specimens need refrigeration like blood.” She took a pair of gloves off the nearest counter. “Let’s take everything that doesn’t include blood.” What she wouldn’t give for a biohazard suit.

  Jax rubbed his head. “Any chance those could kill us?”

  “There’s always a chance, but nothing is airborne because this lab isn’t set up for it. So everything here would only be dangerous if we somehow got it into our bodies.” She gingerly tugged an empty box toward her with her foot.

  “Like Scorpius,” Jax said grimly. “That one wasn’t dangerous at all, now was it?”

  Lynne swallowed. “That’s a good point, but they were working on a cure here, not trying to create anything dangerous. We’re safe if we follow protocols.”

  “Humph,” he said, grabbing another box. Thunder bellowed outside, and he breathed out. “Excellent. Let’s hurry and go while it’s storming. That’ll mask the sound of the trucks.”

  She got to work.

  Nearly two hours later, they finally finished and met Raze and Byron in the parking area.

  Raze finished shutting the back of his truck. “We found more microscopes and other medical stuff. Brought it all. We can go through it back at the base.”

  Byron scratched his chin. “We also found a fully stocked break room with paper plates, coffee, and instant food. Not a lot, but some, as well as a bunch of wires I need.” He rubbed a bruise on his arm. “Did you find the cure for Scorpius?”

  Lynne shook her head. “I don’t know. There’s some interesting data, and we grabbed samples, so hopefully I’ll know more as soon as I can dig in and figure out what they’d found.” If they’d found anything. She also needed her data and Nora’s data from the CDC, which hopefully Bret had.

  “In the desks on the fourth floor, we found aspirin, bacterial wipes, condoms, and female, ah, products,” Jax said. He glanced out at the waning light. “We have to hurry if we’re going to get back before nightfall.”

  “The deluge will mask the sound of the trucks,” Raze said.

  “Roger that.” Jax jumped into the truck. “Move, Lynne.”

  She hurried around the truck to get inside and secure her seat belt out of habit.

  “Off,” Jax said, igniting the engine.

  She hesitated.

  “If we need to move fast, you can’t have the belt on. You would’ve been shot had you been wearing it earlier.” A vein stood out on his neck.

  She unclasped the belt. “You’re not accustomed to explaining your orders, are you?”

  “No.” He glanced over his shoulder and then pushed the gearshift into DRIVE. “We found a map in a deserted delivery truck near the entrance, and there’s an alternate way back home. We need to avoid the on-ramp where we had the problem and will get off the 405 two exits earlier. I need your gun out and ready to fire, just in case.”

  She unholstered her weapon as Jax drove into the rain. “The first time I shot anybody was when I shot Red.”

  “I know.”

/>   She winced as Jax gunned the truck out of the parking garage. “In a hurry?”

  “Yes. If we don’t get back by nightfall, we’re screwed.” His jaw clenched again.

  She tried to stretch her aching legs. “We have lights on the truck.”

  “We can’t use lights. It’s bad enough we’re using engines, but at least the storm will mask the sound. If we used lights, we’d be attacked immediately.” His gaze seemed to see everywhere at once, although his head barely moved.

  Fear roiled through her stomach. “How many, um, gangs do you think are out there?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Probably only a few with our numbers and organization. It’s the roving bands of Rippers and just plain assholes I’m more worried about. They kill first and just scavenge.”

  She swallowed over a lump in her throat. “Yeah. My uncle and I ran into a few of those, but we managed to get by them without being hurt.” Why did some people try to establish rules and laws, and others tried to hurt people? It wasn’t just Rippers, either. “You’re a good driver.”

  “Part of my military training.” He flashed a smile, easily veering around a series of crumpled motorcycles. “If we had more time, we’d syphon gas. Next time, though.” He braced himself as they reached an on-ramp. “Hold on.” Just as he pressed his foot down, an older van ripped in front of them. “Shit.” Jax swerved to the left, hitting a dented Kia.

  Another van, this one black with a purple 20 emblazoned across the side, careened behind them to block the way they’d come.

  “Fuck,” Jax said. “It’s the guys from earlier—I didn’t see the other side of the van. They must’ve followed us this way and waited until we showed ourselves again. Hold on.” He put the truck in REVERSE just as gunshots echoed through the storm. “Brace yourself.” He hit the van full on, sending it spinning. Then he shifted into DRIVE and flipped to the side, punching the gas. The truck roared into motion.

  Lynne stopped breathing, one hand on the dash and the other gripping her gun. She turned wildly. “They’re coming.”