Well, almost. It was seven-oh-five…but no one else was—hey.
“Hello?” she called, setting her almost-empty Sweetwaters to-go cup on the table. Either an early riser was here in the chem lab, or someone—not her, thank goodness, because Milani would have a cow—had left a light on in the other room.
“Back here,” called a voice, and Quinn heard a soft clink and some other noises that might have been definable if she didn’t have a little bit of a headache from a couple too many Sam Adamses and an overdose of Netflix.
She picked up her coffee cup again, drained it, and tossed it into the recycle bin, then wandered back to see who in the hell had beaten her into the lab on a Sunday morning. Probably Ahlahna Brown, the overachiever. Why the hell hadn’t Milani asked her to come in on Sunday at the crack of dawn to finish the grant?
But Quinn knew why—because she, not Ahlahna, was the best writer in the lab, and she had already done four grants this year. They were tedious, but she knew what she was doing, and she was damn good at them.
When Quinn poked around into the back room of the lab, she stopped short. There was an unfamiliar man at one of the stations, muttering to himself as he worked.
Well, well…how you doin’?
Blond, broad-shouldered, rangy of build, and—whoa. Those green eyes had to be contacts, right?
“Hi,” she said, making the word more of a question than a mere greeting. “Um…can I help you?”
“Good morning,” said the man who exuded some major raw sexuality. He returned to his work, which included a heat plate with a flask and several bottles scattered around. “Can you grab me that acetone there?”
“Um…sure…?” Quinn did as requested, for by now she’d seen his University of Michigan ID badge clipped to the white lab coat he wore. The pic looked like him, but she couldn’t read his name because of the way the badge hung, nestled behind his arm. “Are you a friend of Doc Milani’s?” She set the acetone next to him and tried to figure out what he was doing.
There was a prescription bottle of…she squinted at the small letters…ciprofloxacn? And a bottle of methyl ethyl ketone.
“Got to methylate the c3 position on the second phenyl group,” he muttered…and she wasn’t certain whether he was talking to her or himself.
“Um…” she said again, feeling very uncertain. The guy had a badge, he clearly belonged here and knew what he was doing, but…
Suddenly he looked up. Those green eyes fastened on her, and Quinn felt a little weak in the knees. And it wasn’t because she was hung over and tired. Dang. He was hot. “Sorry,” he said. “I’ll be done here in a minute. Didn’t think anyone would be here so early on a Sunday.”
He had a little bit of an accent she couldn’t place—but half the students, faculty, and staff at U of M did. If she had to guess, she’d put him as British or something like that, but he looked Scandinavian or maybe Slavic.
“Don’t let me keep you,” he said, returning to his work. “I’m sure you’re here so early because you have things to do.”
“Right. I…what was your name again?” Quinn said, wondering if she should call Milani. But on a Sunday? At seven? She shuddered. If the guy was a friend of the doc’s, he would not be pleased.
He mumbled something—presumably his name—but she couldn’t understand him, and thought it would be rude to press. After all, it wasn’t as if he was doing anything dangerous—like making an explosive or anything.
In fact, he was working with an antibiotic. Almost as if he were trying to morph it into something else, like a different strain of an antibiotic or something like that. She frowned. That did make sense—methylate the c3 on the—what had he said? The third phenyl? No, second. That would effectively alter an antibiotic into something else…possibly useful.
Quinn backed from the room and pulled out her phone. Should she call Milani or not? She hesitated, then stuck it back in her pocket. Then pulled it back out.
She had it in her hands, ready to press Send, when the guy appeared. He strode from the back room like a man on a mission, and crossed the lab before Quinn could speak. He was holding a small bottle filled with dark red liquid.
“Thanks. Have a great day,” he said, tucking the bottle into his lab coat. Then he walked out the door without a hitch in his step.
She blinked, then slipped the phone back in her pocket, staring after him.
Quinn locked the door (though what good that would do, since he’d obviously gotten in somehow anyway) and went into the back room.
What the—?
He’d left everything out and unwashed. A big mess.
Damn. Wasn’t that just like a guy?
* * *
Marina stared at the locked door where she’d left Eli, then tried it a second time. When it didn’t open, she spun around and began to rush, willy-nilly, back to where she’d found Cora Allegan.
Eli.
Now she had to figure out how to save him and Allegan.
Hedron must have awakened and surprised Eli from behind—while he was watching his amazing beetles.
One thing at a time, she reminded herself. Allegan first.
Then what? How was she going to drag the ill woman back…and where to? If there was another exit from the temple, maybe she could find her way to the main compound…but how would that help?
Maybe Roman had lied and they hadn’t released Cora Allegan into the jungle, but had just shoved her into the copper temple with the beetles, knowing she’d die—at the hands of Gaia.
Marina’s mind whirled with possibilities and worries.
One thing at a time.
Allegan hadn’t moved from where she left her, and Marina knelt next to her once more to determine whether the woman was still breathing and had a pulse. She had to figure out a way to prepare the antibiotic without contaminating it. The woman’s condition hadn’t changed—her pulse was very weak, and her breathing shallow but steady.
Marina stood, shining her tiny light around. The pelting insects no longer bothered her; it was like being in a hailstorm. The light fell on Cora Allegan’s shoes, and Marina stepped closer to examine them.
Mud. Green streaks. A stalk of grass clung to the treads, glued there by the mud.
There was no mud in the temple. The floor was made from copper. Cora Allegan had to have come from the outside.
Marina bolted to her feet, shining the light onto the walls and ceiling. The insects didn’t like this, but she ignored them when she saw the wedge of gray in a corner.
It was an opening. Hardly large enough for an arm to fit through…how had Cora Allegan come through there?
Marina’s fingers were becoming sore from pinching the light for so long. She let it go out and tucked it into her pocket. The insects calmed. She curled her fingers on what seemed to be the edge of the opening, and pulled.
It moved…slid wider, then, when she released it, the heavy—wall? door?—eased back nearly closed. But she’d seen enough: there was light beyond. Pale, faint, but definite light.
Marina pulled at the wall again, her feet solid against the floor in their boots, and it eased open once more. She slid herself around the edge of it and pushed…pushed…and then it was wide enough for her to slip through.
A delicate gray light filtered down from above, making a small circle in the center of the floor. And on the far wall, there was a tall, slender rectangle of darker gray.
Suddenly, a flash of light filled the space, and Marina jolted in shock…but it was followed by the familiar rumble of thunder, and she realized it was going to storm. That was why the light was dark and gray.
But that told her: there was a way out. She was there.
And…there seemed to be no beetles here in this small antechamber.
Marina yanked off the helmet and drew in a gulp of cool, fresh, damp air. Conscious of the ill woman left on the floor behind her, she hurried toward what was clearly an opening to the outside world. A heavy stone door, plated with oxidized copper, s
tood slightly ajar…and beyond it was the jungle: dim, wet, still but for the thrashing by pounding, whipping rain. It was quite a storm.
Another flash of light caught her by surprise, illuminating the shuddering trees, bushes, and grass that rose beyond the opening. Only a moment later, the thunder rumbled, loud and threatening. It echoed eerily in this ancient, tomblike chamber where a woman lay dying.
Marina made a quick decision. She replaced her helmet and went back to the sliding wall. It had rolled back into place, leaving Cora Allegan on the other side of a too-small opening. Her best option would be to try and move the woman out of the beetle-ridden chamber to where she could attempt to treat her without fear of contaminating either of them further—or the medicine.
Once again, Marina muscled it open, positioning herself between the edge of the moving wall and the side of the cave and using the full weight of her body to push it. But as soon as she slipped back inside, it slid back into place. Damn.How was she going to get Allegan out of here?
At the same time, the knowledge that Eli was in the hands of the Skaladeskas—who had no reason to keep him alive now that Marina was gone, and every reason to silence a man who knew too many of their secrets—filled her with anxiety and fear.
If only she hadn’t left him…if only she hadn’t gone out of sight…
But Marina knew better than to allow herself to become paralyzed with regrets and anxiety. She ruthlessly put the thoughts away and bent once more to check her patient.
“Cora? Can you hear me? I’m here to—”
Marina’s words strangled off as two booted feet came into view. Startled, she looked up at the hazmat-suited figure looming over her.
THIRTY-FIVE
Marina stared up at the suited figure. The white clothing seemed to draw what little illumination there was, making the fabric appear to glow in the dark. But she couldn’t see the face behind the black plastic plate of the helmet.
“Marina?”
“Eli!” She surged to her feet, and he caught her by the arm to help steady her. “What happened?”
“Who’s this?” he asked at the same time.
“This is Cora Allegan,” she replied. “She’s still alive. I want to give her the antibiotic—I don’t know if it’s too late or not—”
“That’s a way out?” he said, just as a flash of lightning surged beyond the small opening, sending a shaft of illumination into the chamber beyond. Some of the beetles swirled into a frenzy once again, but Marina ignored them.
“Yes, a way out—once the storm ends.” She was still buzzing with relief that he was alive, free, and wearing a suit. She could get the details as to how later. “The opening isn’t wide enough to get her through—help me,” she said. The thunder answered, loud and overhead. The noise made the chamber shudder, as if Gaia herself was in agreement.
Or not.
Marina shoved away the unpleasant thought.
Together, she and Eli found it an easy task to move Cora Allegan through the opening. He lifted the woman and carried her, while Marina held the sliding wall ajar. Just as they made their way through, it began to rain. Water streamed down through the opening in the ceiling, but because of the rainforest’s canopy of trees, the brunt of the pounding rain was interrupted.
Nevertheless, this left only a small area where Cora could lie without getting wet or splashed. Once they settled her off to the side away from the growing damp, Marina removed her helmet. After a brief hesitation, Eli did the same. She looked up at him, about to explain her plan, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to him for a hard, fast kiss.
“More to come,” he said, looking down at her in the dim light, “but that’ll do for now. I thought you were—well, I didn’t know where you were, and—what the hell happened?”
“I should ask you the same question,” she said, taking off her gloves carefully. Then she began unfastening her suit. “I came back to tell you what I found, but you and Hedron were gone.” She fumbled one of the small vials of red liquid from her cargo pocket. “I want to give this to her. Don’t know if it’s too late, but I have to try. Can you hold the light?” She stepped on it gently so he could see it.
“Yep. And I have the gel they put on me too. You can dig it out of my pocket.” He picked up the squeeze light—which she’d been holding with contaminated gloves, so couldn’t touch with her bare hands—and held it in place as Marina gave her attention to the syringe and antibiotic.
“What happened?” she asked as she slid the cannula into Cora Allegan’s arm and slowly pushed the plunger.
“You disappeared, and you didn’t come back…I didn’t know what happened. I was getting very worried, and I didn’t know what else to do, so I started—er—waking up Hedron. I might have gotten a little…well, insistent—but I was pretty worried. Finally he came around, and I had the gun on him. I used it as an incentive for him to give me the door code, then I bonked him on the head again. Left him in the room we were in—you couldn’t have seen him, because he was right under the window. I grabbed a suit and then I came after you.”
“I thought he’d come awake and they’d taken you off somewhere,” she said, sitting back on her haunches. Cora Allegan hadn’t moved or made any indication of awareness as she gave her the injection. “I hope that works. Where’s that gel?”
“Left side pocket,” said Eli, unfastening his suit and holding it away so she could slip her ungloved hand down inside without touching the outside.
She tried not to think about the intimacy of the situation, though several “or are you just happy to see me?” jokes taunted her. He might have been feeling the same way, for when she stepped away with the tube in hand, she saw his mouth was quirked in a half-smile.
“Such a tease,” was all he said, shaking his head.
Lightning flashed, and the thunder boomed so loudly they both looked toward the dark gray opening.
“I don’t think we’re going anywhere soon,” he said. His words were light, but his face was sober.
“Whatever we do, we have to take her with us.”
“And somehow find our way out of here—to the airstrip where we landed.” He released a long breath and stared out at the storm. “That’s going to be interesting.”
Marina stood and went to the entrance. It was getting a little lighter outside. The shadows had more definition, and even through the steady downpour—which would have been much stronger if there hadn’t been so many tall, thick trees—she saw the shapes of their trunks and surrounding bushes. A flash of lightning blinded her and illuminated the inside of the chamber, sending the beetles into their frenzy.
But this time, she was standing near the entrance and saw some of the insects buzz through the opening. All of a sudden there were small pops of light outside, like fireflies glowing then being immediately squelched.
“Sanchez,” she said. “Look at this!”
He came to the opening, and a moment later the lightning flashed again. More beetles whipped into a frenzy, careening out of the doorway and into the electrically charged air.
“Holy Mother of God,” he whispered, watching the copper coleops combust: flaring with light then exploding into nothing with a soft sizzle. “They’re frying. Right in mid-flight. I can’t believe this…” He stared in wonder, apparently not all that broken up about the sudden deaths of numerous of his little darlings. “All the electricity in the air from the storm…it’s just…incredible…” They stared out in wonder at the storm and the havoc it wreaked on the beetles.
Marina heard a strange sound behind her and turned. With a shout, she lunged toward Cora Allegan, who was shuddering and writhing on the ground. The woman wasn’t conscious, and this was just what Marina had feared.
“CPR,” she muttered, ready to dive forward—but Eli caught her.
“She’s contaminated,” he said, pulling Marina back. He slapped gloves into her hands. “Put these on.”
Thankful for his quick thinking, she yanked on the c
overings, but he’d already begun the chest compressions with his gloved hands. Marina watched anxiously, knowing it was extremely unlikely they could save Cora Allegan without a defibrillator. And giving mouth-to-mouth was not only risky for contamination, it was secondary to keeping the chest compressions steady and without pause.
Nevertheless, she considered trying it with her headgear on…but when she picked up her helmet, Eli looked at her. “No. Don’t risk it,” he said between compressions. “You know this is a long shot anyway.”
She muttered, but realized he was right. After all, if something happened to her, Eli would have little to no chance of escaping the Skaladeskas—unless he knew how to fly a plane or could talk himself out of Roman’s custody. Neither of which she thought was likely.
“My turn,” she said after a few minutes. But their patient had subsided into stillness, and she knew their chances were even lower now. Even so, she and Eli switched places just as lightning flashed from the outside once more. A few of the beetles popped and sizzled near the top of the chamber. This time, Marina felt a little jolt of electricity herself, in this small space.
Both of them looked up, then stared at each other.
“Is there any way”—compress—“we could use that?” she huffed in time with her compressions. “Channel that”—compress—“energy?”
“Like a defibrillator.” He bolted to his feet, looking around as if trying to figure out how to build one… “Maybe with a metal rod, we could…I don’t know, attract the lightning somehow…and channel it into her heart?” He shook his head, as if knowing how ridiculous it sounded.
But… “What about a bunch of dead…beetles?” Marina said, still compressing. Cora Allegan had given no sign of response thus far. Marina paused and put her ear to the woman’s chest, careful not to touch her skin directly.
“My turn,” said Eli.
Her arms were tired, so Marina moved back and let him take over, looking around for something to use that might help. But she had no better idea than Eli how to use the beetles to create a defibrillator.
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