by R. D. Brady
“Okay.” On the screen in front of Rolly, pages flashed by. Fifteen seconds later, the screen went blank. “Screen’s blank,” Rolly said.
“You’re done. Grab the drive and head out,” Danny said.
“Roger.” Rolly ejected the flash drive and pocketed it, feeling very much like James Bond.
“How’s Lou doing?” Rolly asked.
“She’s almost done.”
“Okay, am I clear?”
“Yeah.” Rolly hurried down the hall, pausing to look into some of the windows as he passed. Cages and cages of animals stared back at him, but none were leopards.
“Someone’s coming, Rolly. Door on the left,” Danny said.
Rolly stepped into the room. It was an old lab. He inspected a few cages and then reared back. All the animals were dead. There were a few bald cats, some he thought were dogs, mice, snakes. He shuddered. What the hell is wrong with these people?
A movement behind him caused him to turn. A small shape huddled by an open cage along the back wall. It let out a little whimper and moved a little closer to Rolly. Rolly squinted and realized it was a small dog.
“Hey there, little guy,” Rolly said. The dog shuffled forward. A tumor covered half of its face. Rolly covered his mouth. “Jesus.”
The dog, a dachshund, looked up at him with her one good eye. Rolly let the dog sniff his hand, then ran his hand over the dog’s face. It leaned into him.
“Rolly we need to go,” Lou yelled into his ear.
Rolly’s throat felt tight as he pulled back his hand. “Sorry little guy, I have to go.”
The dog gave a whimper.
Rolly stood. Danny’s voice came over the headset, sounding panicked. “Rolly, you need to go, now.”
“Okay, okay. I’m coming.”
Klaxons rang out through the room.
CHAPTER 80
Lou sprinted down the hallway as the alarm blared. A night janitor taking a stroll had caught her, but at least she’d had a chance to check all the rooms first. She’d seen some wretched cows, bunnies, and chimps. Unfortunately, she hadn’t seen any leopards.
These scientists are the real animals, she thought as she rounded the corner. She expected to see Rolly waiting for her impatiently, but the hallway was empty. Damn it, Rolly. Come on.
Just then Rolly rounded the corner at the other end of the hall. “About time,” Lou said.
“No time for chit-chat. Let’s go.” Rolly ran right past her and through the door.
Lou took off after him, and together, they raced for the exit. A guard stepped out from a doorway ahead of them, but they didn’t slow down. Rolly ducked around him; Lou barreled right over him, and he let out a yell and slammed into the wall. Lou and Rolly kept running, straight out the door and across the property. They heard shouts from behind them as they leapt over the fence, and as soon as their feet hit the ground, they continued their mad sprint.
At their rendezvous point, Danny had the engine running and the doors open. Lou put on a burst of speed and dove into the back seat. Rolly tumbled in behind her.
“Go, go, go!” Lou yelled.
Danny slammed on the gas and tore out of the dirt lot. Behind them, four security guards had just reached the fence, but they were too late. Danny turned onto the highway and headed north.
Rolly’s shirt moved and then whimpered.
Lou sat back, her eyes growing wide. “Um, Rolly, your shirt seems upset.”
Cleo leaned over from the back and sniffed Rolly’s shirt. The hair on her neck stood up. “It’s okay, girl,” Rolly said.
Another whimper emanated from Rolly’s shirt.
“Now, don’t get mad,” Rolly said.
“What did you do?” Lou demanded.
Rolly pulled a small black and brown dachshund from under his shirt. One of its legs was missing, and when the dog turned toward Lou, she let out a gasp. “Oh my God.”
“I couldn’t leave her there. They left her in a room to die. Henry’s got to know somebody who can help her.”
“I can’t believe you did that,” Lou said. “That dog could have all sorts of diseases.”
“There were no bio warnings on the door, and I saw them on some others.”
“Rolly, that was really reckless.”
Rolly glared. “Really? Because we’re not racing around looking for Cleo’s siblings, breaking all sorts of laws?”
Lou glared back at him before finally shaking her head. “Fine. But if I get leprosy, you are in so much trouble.”
“Fine.”
“Hey, one of you guys want to drive so I can go through the files?” Danny asked.
“Don’t look at me,” Rolly said. “I need to take care of Princess.”
Lou rolled her eyes. Princess. Great. “Pull over. I’ll drive.”
“You don’t have a license,” Danny said.
“Neither do you. And FYI, that would be the most minor crime I will have committed tonight. Pull over.”
Lou and Danny switched seats. Lou drove in silence. Rolly kept the dog against his chest, and Cleo licked it for a little while before resting her head on Rolly’s shoulder.
After fifteen minutes, Danny spoke. “We need to turn around.”
“Did you find more leopards?” Rolly asked.
“Maybe. There are notes here about a special project. It’s called Project Panthera.”
Panthera, the Latin name for leopard, Lou thought. “Where?”
“At another facility. It’s called the nursery.”
CHAPTER 81
Lou pulled over to the side of the road about two miles from the nursery. The “nursery” was actually another lab, only a few miles from the original one. But according to the files Danny had found, this was where all the most exotic research happened. The building was three stories high and set on large plot of fenced-in land. Security manned the front gate.
“Okay, so what’s the plan here? Another Jerry Springer scenario?” Rolly asked.
Lou gave a nervous laugh. “Somehow I don’t think that’s going to work here. We could just jump the fence, sprint over to the building, and take a peek.”
“Yes, that worked so well for us before,” Danny grumbled.
“Okay, so one janitor happened to spot me,” Lou said.
“And Rolly took a friend,” Danny said.
Rolly smiled. “Yes, but Princess was so unhappy in that place. She’s much happier with us. Aren’t you, baby?” He leaned down to the little dog, who licked him on the cheek.
Lou rolled her eyes. “You realize that dog has been in a mad scientist’s lab. You have no idea how many diseases she has. She could be a walking Typhoid Mary.”
“Nah, Cleo gave her the seal of approval. She’s good,” Rolly said.
“Right, well, back to the immediate problem—what’s going on in the nursery,” Lou said.
“Guys, I think maybe we should call home,” Danny said. “We’ve got enough information. We need to hand it off to Henry and Laney. Get them to come in here and grab everybody.”
Lou did feel a little guilty. She’d seen all the missed calls from Jen, Laney, Henry, Jake, even Yoni. She had listened to the last few messages and knew they were on their way here—and that they were not happy.
But they hadn’t accomplished anything yet. So far, all they’d done was worry everybody for nothing. They needed something tangible to give them. She shook her head. “We don’t know for sure that those leopards are inside the building. We just need one quick peek, and then we’ll call in the cavalry and get them out. I mean, if we call right now, all we can say is we think they’re inside.” She met Danny’s gaze, and he didn’t look away.
“It’s dangerous,” he said.
Lou nudged Rolly. “Not for the Super Twins.”
Rolly frowned. “I thought we were going with the Dynamic Duo?”
“Whatever. The point is, we’re not going to be interacting with anyone. We’ll hop the fence, scale the building, and take a peek through the skylights.
No one will even know we’re there,” Lou said.
“Why am I not reassured?” Danny muttered.
Rolly clapped him on the shoulder. “Because you have no faith. In ten minutes we’ll be in, out, and headed back.”
Lou turned to Cleo. “Cleo, you need to stay with Danny.”
Rolly coughed and nudged his chin toward the little dachshund staring up at him with worship in her eye.
Lou rolled her eyes. “And Princess.”
Danny looked at Lou. “If there’s any problem, any at all, I’m calling in help immediately.”
Lou stood up and dusted off her pants. “No problem. But you don’t have to worry. They’ll never even know we were here.”
CHAPTER 82
Maura reviewed the blueprints for the GenDynamics facility. She was confident they could get in and out without too much trouble. There was security, but they wouldn’t be expecting an armed assault. It will be enough.
Derek strode into the room. “We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Nick called. An alarm was tripped in the basement of GenDynamics.”
Nick had been placed at GenDynamics, as part of the janitorial staff, as soon as they learned of their connection to the beasts. He had been assigned to the basement level tonight when two of his colleagues conveniently became “ill.”
“What happened? Did he set if off?” Maura asked.
“No. There were two intruders in the basement level.”
Maura frowned. “Intruders? Were they caught?”
“They moved too fast to be caught. Nick sent me a copy of the security tapes.”
He brought the footage up on Maura’s laptop and stepped back for her to see. On screen, two individuals stepped into a hallway in ski masks. They went in opposite directions. Derek fast-forwarded, then slowed back down when the alarm was tripped. The intruders could be seen sprinting for the exit, moving faster than any human could run.
“Fallen,” Maura whispered.
“Yes. But I don’t understand why they were there. If they created the beasts, why sneak in?”
“Maybe they don’t like the deal they have with the scientist. Whatever the reason, we need to move quickly.”
“The team is ready to go.”
“Make sure they know the Fallen may be there. And that they are fair game.”
CHAPTER 83
Lou crouched behind a tree and waited for the security guards to walk past. As soon as they looped around the building, she looked over at Rolly, who nodded. Without a sound, they sprinted for the fence and jumped over. Landing in a crouch, they barely paused before racing for the building and taking cover. All was quiet.
“So far, so good,” Rolly said. “Although there is a certain sense of déjà vu at work here.”
Lou nudged her chin toward the fire escape. “Let’s go.” She had just started to move toward the ladder when Rolly yanked her back, his hand over her mouth. “Sh.”
Lou went still. Then she heard the footsteps too. A door no more than twenty feet away from them swung open, and Lou held her breath. Please don’t look this way. A man exited and headed straight for the parking lot, not glancing behind him.
Heart pounding, Lou watched him until he disappeared from view. Maybe I’m really not cut out for this spy stuff. “Okay. Let’s go before someone else shows up.”
They sprinted for the fire escape and leapt up to it. Lou cringed when it squeaked under her weight. But they raced up to the roof, so that even if someone came to investigate the sound there’d be nothing to see. Lou rolled onto the roof and crouched low.
The roof was flat with a dozen large skylights strewn across it. They kept low as they made their way over to the nearest one and peered down.
Inside, the building was completely open. A series of catwalks rimmed the space, and several more crossed from one side to the other. A couple of offices were situated at the back of the building, along with shelves of supplies. A lab was set up near the front. Directly below them were at least two dozen cages. And inside each one was a leopard.
Most were black, but Lou could see at least one white and one yellow. The cats were beautiful, even in the dim light, but the cages were too small for them. They had no room to stretch.
“Bastards,” Rolly growled.
Lou nodded, but she couldn’t speak. All she could think of was Cleo being stuffed into one of those cages. “Come on. Let’s get out of here and let everybody know.”
“Guys,” Danny said through their earpieces. “There are some trucks approaching.”
Rolly and Lou quietly crept to the edge of the building. Four sets of headlights rolled through the front gate.
“Probably a late-night delivery,” Lou said.
A streak of light raced from the lead truck toward the gate.
The guardhouse exploded in a flash of fire and wood. Three large military trucks sped through the opening.
Lou felt her mouth fall open. “What the hell is going on?”
As the trucks approached the building, men leaned out of the windows, weapons in hand. Two security guards ran out the front door of the building and were quickly mowed down.
The trucks turned the corner of the building and Lou and Rolly ran along the edge of the roof, keeping track of them.
“They have to be going for the cats. What do we do?” Rolly asked.
“I don’t know.” Lou tapped her mike. “Danny? Danny, are you there?”
“Yeah. Are you two okay?”
“Yeah. I need you to call Laney. See where they are. Tell them what’s happening.”
“I will. What are you to going to do?” Danny asked.
Rolly looked at her and shook his head.
“You’re not going in there, right?” Danny asked.
“Not unless we have to.”
“Lou—”
“Call Laney.” Lou disconnected the transmission.
Below them, the trucks pulled to a stop by the loading dock. Men and women with weapons took up positions around the trucks while other disappeared inside. Lou and Rolly ran to one of the skylights and looked down.
The intruders were headed straight for the crates. Two men leveled their weapons.
“No,” Lou cried.
Rolly grabbed her arm. “No. They’re tranqs. Look.”
Darts, not bullets, flew at the animals, and one by one the animals collapsed.
Lou and Rolly could only watch helplessly as the men began moving the crates to the trucks. They were prepared. They had ten crates up and loaded in about ten minutes.
Two of the gunmen were apparently responsible for guarding the nursery’s employees. They rounded up everyone—five men and three women—and held them at gunpoint. Lou did not like how the men kept looking at the hostages. By her count there were eleven gunmen.
A man in a white coat let out a yell as he was dragged in front of the others.
“Where did he come from?” Rolly asked.
One of the gunmen turned and shot him point blank. Lou gasped.
“Goddamn it,” Rolly growled.
“Rolly,” Lou said. “We have to do something. We have to stop this.”
“Lou, they have guns. We have none. It’s suicide.”
“No. We heal. Those people trapped down there don’t. We need to help them.”
“But Laney and Jen—”
“Are not here. We are. And those people have run out of time.” Lou touched her earpiece. "Danny, Rolly and I are going in."
"But-" Lou turned off her earpiece and looked at Rolly.
Another gunshot rang out from below.
Rolly shook his head, took Lou’s hand, and ran for the fire escape. “Do not get me killed.”
CHAPTER 84
Laney sat next to Jen as they barreled down the highway toward GenDynamics. By the time their plane had landed, Jordan Witt, Jen’s brother, had already landed himself and had taken a team east. Laney and Jen had grabbed the first car they saw, leaving Jake to organize the
rest of the troops, who would be a few minutes behind.
They’d just received word about the break-in at Gen Dynamics a few minutes ago.
“I can’t believe Lou pulled this,” Jen said. “What was she thinking?”
Laney shook her head. “I can’t believe it either, but I think they think they’re helping.”
“Right, helping,” Jen growled.
Laney’s phone rang and she answered it immediately, knowing it was Jake. “We’re almost at the facility. Have you—”
“Laney.” Danny’s voice was filled with panic.
“Danny, where are you? What’s going on?” Laney switched to speakerphone.
“The main lab didn’t have the cats, but we learned there was another site. Lou and Rolly were just going to peek and make sure the cats were there. They were about to leave when these trucks showed up with all these guys with guns.”
“Are you okay?” Laney asked, her heart rate spiking.
Danny took a stuttering breath. “I am, but Lou and Rolly are inside. I don’t know what happened. Those trucks just came out of nowhere.”
“Tell us where you are,” Jen said.
“I’ve just now texted you the address.”
Jen pulled it up and entered it into the car’s GPS. “We need to turn around.”
Laney slowed only enough to initiate a U-turn. Jen held on to the panic bar, her eyes wide, as two tires left the road.
“Send the address to Jake and Jordan too,” Laney said.
“On it.”
“How long?” Laney asked.
“We’re ten minutes away,” Jen said.
“That’s going to be too long,” Danny said, his voice shaky. “We have to go help them.”
“We?” Laney asked.
“Me and Cleo.”
“No! Danny, you stay in the car. You hear me?” Laney said, tears springing to her eyes.
“I’m sorry, guys. We just wanted to help.”
“Danny!” Jen yelled. But the call had been disconnected.
“Call him back,” Laney said, her hands gripping the steering wheel.
