Moving Target

by Kimberly Van Meter

  With that little slip, Kat stilled. A chill chased her spine. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Camille covered her mouth as if she were shocked by her indiscretion but it was all an act. Kat knew Camille had dropped that information intentionally. “Let’s just say you should have done a better job impressing Miles.”

  “And what would that have accomplished? I think the role of whore was already taken,” she countered, and Camille’s lip curled in a snarl.

  “As if Miles would waste his time sniffing after someone like you. You’re weak and pathetic. Your only value is resting precariously on the success of this formula.”

  “I guess that’s probably true, but I wonder why Miles made a pass at me, then?” She pretended to ponder her own question, to what purpose she didn’t know other than it felt good to get under Camille’s skin, and then shrugged, saying, “But don’t worry, I told him I wasn’t interested. He’s not really my type. I prefer men closer to my own age. Does he pop a Viagra before inviting you into his bed? If so, be careful. If he has a heart condition or high blood pressure, a drug like that could spell trouble for his ticker.”

  “Miles would never be interested in someone like you. What do you have to offer that I don’t?” Camille sneered but there was a hint of insecurity behind her arrogance that Kat gleefully latched on to.

  “What do I have to offer? Brains. He likes smart girls apparently. They turn him on. So if you don’t turn his crank that way, it must mean, you’re not his intellectual equal. Makes you wonder how long he’s going to keep you around once he gets bored with what’s between your legs.”

  Camille stiffened with rage but suddenly caught a hold of herself. Her self-restraint was admirable. Kat had been hoping she’d lose her marbles and start throwing stuff. Any hitch in Kat’s ability to produce the formula was a win in her book.

  “I wonder...did you use that sharp tongue of yours on Jake? Somehow I doubt it. You probably played the part of the poor, pathetic woman, clinging to Jake like a lemur. He always did like playing the hero. How does it feel to know that you’re the reason he’s dead?”

  A quake started at the base of Kat’s spine and she clenched her fists to prevent herself from grabbing the first object within reaching distance to hurl at Camille’s smug face. “Get out of my lab. Or I’ll tell Miles that you’re impeding my progress. Somehow I don’t think he’ll appreciate that.”

  “Very well, then. I’ve bored of this conversation, anyway. Enjoy your remaining time...what little you have left of it.” Camille’s mouth widened in a cruel smile and she turned on her heel, leaving Kat’s lab.

  As soon as Camille was gone, Kat sagged. They were going to kill her as soon as she’d perfected the formula. If she weren’t such a coward she would kill herself before completing the formula so that no one could have this terrible drug but she couldn’t do that. Besides, her uncle Chuck was in this horrible building somewhere. And even if he didn’t know where or who he was—she knew and there was no way she’d leave him here alone with the piranhas.

  Was it almost a week ago that Jake was alive or was it two? Kat had lost track of time. Time didn’t exist in this underground box. She didn’t know if it was day or night. She didn’t know if it was raining or cold or hot or balmy. She didn’t even know where she was. All she knew was that she was a prisoner on death row and the clock was ticking. She wasn’t going to get out of here alive, that much was true and inescapable. And not for the first time since waking up in this awful place, Kat felt tears sliding down her cheek.

  Sometimes crying was the only thing you could do about a situation.

  * * *

  Jake dialed the code for Miles’s office. The phone picked up on the first ring. “Miles! Thank God, I need to talk to you. Something bad is going down.”

  Jake purposefully put the urgency in his voice, hoping Miles bought that he was unaware of Miles’s involvement. It worked.

  “Jake! We’ve been so worried! Where are you?”

  “A small hotel in the middle of nowhere. I’m trying to get to D.C. but someone’s on my tail. Someone intercepted the last job packet and gave me bad information.”

  “Bad, how?”

  “It was a setup. They tried to kill me.”

  “Forget D.C. Come straight to New Mexico to The Bunker. Do you know how to get here?”

  “Yeah, I think so. Why the change?” he asked, making it seem as if he was confused.

  “I think we have a mole in the department. I don’t trust the D.C. office right now. Come here so we can debrief you. Did you get a description of the person who tried to gun you down?”

  “No, not really,” he lied. “It happened so fast. I barely got out with my life.”

  “Come straight away. Do you need a pickup? I can have a plane pick you up within the hour.”

  “That would be great. I’m exhausted.”

  “Come on home, Agent Isaacs. We’ll get you rested up and right as rain in no time.”

  “Look forward to it, sir.”

  Miles gave Jake the coordinates where the private plane would touch down and then they signed off.

  “Do you think he bought it?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes. I don’t think he suspects a thing.”

  “Good. You’re going to need to get in and get out. The security failure will only be for five minutes. That’s not a lot of time.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ll be waiting with a car on the south side entrance, away from the video surveillance. I’ve already sent an email to Michelle Rainier. Hopefully, it works in our favor. If not, be prepared to disappear because this could get ugly for us all.”

  “If I don’t come out in five minutes, I want you to leave,” Jake told his brother. “I mean it. Don’t hang around. If I’m not out in five, that means something went wrong. You hear me?”

  “You know it’s pointless to ask me to leave you behind. Just do your best to get your ass out in a timely manner so I don’t have to go in after your sorry behind.”

  “I mean it, Nathan. I don’t want you caught up in this any more than you already are.”

  “And I mean it, too. You’re my brother. You don’t come out—I’m going in. End of story.”

  Jake swore under his breath but even as he wished his brother would stop being so stubborn, he swelled with pride that such a man had his back. “Fine. It’s your funeral,” he grumbled, and Nathan laughed.

  “If I don’t come back, it’s your funeral because Jaci will kill you,” Nathan countered with good humor, causing Jake to smile in spite of the crappy circumstances.

  “Yeah, believe it,” Jaci piped in as she came into the room, carrying a carafe of coffee and mugs for them. “I didn’t survive all that crap with Nathan just to lose him now.”

  “It’s going to be okay,” Nathan promised her, but Jake shifted his gaze away, not wanting to lie to his future sister-in-law. Jaci was a good person, the perfect woman for Nathan and she was pretty tough, but he could see the worry in her stare.

  They traded plans, going over every detail, every bit of minutiae important to the covert mission, and by the time Jake hit the couch for some shut-eye, he felt ready. Maybe it was suicidal, but he felt confident that he would prevail. Maybe he was delusional but he’d take it because it beat being scared spitless.

  They would leave at first light, which made it imperative that he catch some sleep, but just as he was about to close his eyes, he heard Jaci come into the living room where he was crashing. He wasn’t surprised when she kneeled down beside him in the darkness. “What’s up?” he asked, rising on his elbow. “You okay?”

  “No. I’m scared. I know how things can go bad in an instant. I don’t want to lose you or Nathan. Nathan says not to worry but unlike you two, I’m not military trained. I’m a graphic designer who happ
ened to fall in love with a man from a completely different world and if I hadn’t been dragged into what happened a few months ago, I’d have no idea how to handle what’s about to happen now. But even though I’m not that naive woman that I was, it’s still hard to handle knowing that I could lose you both.”

  “I wish I could give you assurances that everything will be okay but I won’t lie to you...things could go south. I can tell you that I’m going to try like hell to come out of this alive because I have no desire to die anytime soon and neither does Nathan.”

  She nodded but he could feel her worry as a tangible thing between them. “He wouldn’t think of letting you do this on your own. No matter what you say.”

  “I know.”

  “He really loves you. I know he made some mistakes but he’s trying to make amends.”

  “I know that, too.” He sighed. “Listen, things are complicated between me and my brother but this time around he’s been there for me and I appreciate his help. I really do, but my head is filled with all the crap that went down when he left me behind and it’s hard to let that go.”

  “I just want you to know that it means a lot to him that he’s there for you now because he couldn’t be when you were kids. I don’t know everything that happened—Nathan’s told me a few things and it breaks my heart—but you can’t live in the past forever, right? Especially when someone is trying to create a different future. So I want you to do your damnedest to come back in one piece so the love of my life doesn’t have to go charging in after you. You both have to come back. You hear me? Both of you. You’re my family now and I’m not about to let go without a fight.”

  Jake smiled at the fierceness in her tone. “Roger that.” He paused before saying, “I haven’t had a sister for a long time. I imagine that if Bunny had lived, she would’ve been like you—strong, protective and woe be to anyone who stood between her and her brothers. My brother is a lucky man.”

  “And so is your scientist,” Jaci countered warmly, giving his biceps a sisterly squeeze. “Sleep tight, Jakey.”

  Jaci padded silently from the room and Jake heard the bedroom door close softly. What would it be like to have the privilege of sleeping beside Kat each night? He craved her soft, delicate body curled against his. In a frighteningly short amount of time, he’d become addicted to Kat and everything that made her unique. He sent a silent prayer to any god that might be within earshot that Kat was safe. “I’m coming for you, babe,” he promised under his breath. “I won’t stop until you’re safe or I’m dead.”

  Jake closed his eyes and forced himself to rest. He needed to be sharp tomorrow. So much was riding on his success.

  Chapter 22

  In a deserted building owned by the Defense Intelligence Department, Miles held court among the filthy rich individuals and countries who wanted MCX-209 for their own purposes.

  “You said it would be ready by now,” Mr. Blue reminded Miles tersely, shifting his gaze around the room, hating that he wasn’t the only person with knowledge of the formula. “My buyer is running out of patience. Perhaps you oversold what you think you have.”

  There were grumbles of assent around the room and Miles held up his hand to quell the discontent. “Gentlemen, this is a highly sensitive process. We cannot rush something so groundbreaking or else we end up with something useless. My scientist is working around the clock, I assure you, to perfect the formula. We are close. The last round of test subjects showed promising results.”

  “Show us. We want to see it in action.”

  “Of course,” Miles said. “And I have arranged the perfect show for you tonight.”

  That changed their tune. Suddenly, their expressions of ire morphed into keen excitement. “And where will this demonstration take place?”

  “At an undisclosed location. Forgive me, but such precautions are necessary to safeguard some national secrets.”

  “You are willing to sell this drug beneath the nose of your country and yet you profess to want to protect government secrets?” Mr. Blue mocked. “You, Mr. Jogan, are a hypocrite.”

  A thin smile spread across Miles’s lips. He hated Mr. Blue. “Perhaps. But old habits die hard, I suppose. Nevertheless, you will be escorted by car to the location, blindfolded, of course.”

  “I don’t like this plan,” another said, growling.

  “That part is nonnegotiable. Either you go as directed or you don’t go at all.”

  “How about I put a bullet in your head and take your scientist for myself. I can set up a lab just as easily as you.”

  “That is ill-advised, Mr. Kapoor. And if you threaten me again, my agent will put a bullet between your eyes.” Miles flicked his stare to Camille who emerged from the shadows like a menacing spirit, gun trained on Mr. Kapoor, who startled when he realized how close he’d come to death. “Now, no more of this ugliness. We are standing on the precipice of a major breakthrough in neuroscience. Imagine the applications. The coordinates of the pickup have been relayed to your phone. Don’t be late, gentlemen. It’s going to be a fantastic show.”

  After the buyers had funneled out of the room and dispatched to their hotel rooms, Camille returned, a sour expression on her face. He frowned with irritation. He wasn’t accustomed to Camille raining on his parade and he certainly didn’t appreciate it now. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Did you come on to that scientist woman?” Camille demanded in a show of female jealousy that was very unattractive. Miles showed his displeasure with the deepening of his frown but Camille wasn’t deterred. “Well? That wasn’t part of the plan. Perhaps you’d forgotten?”

  “I’ve forgotten nothing. Where is this coming from?” he asked. “I have neither the time nor patience to field silly female insecurities.”

  “And I don’t appreciate being played,” Camille countered with deadly calm, all trace of female weakness gone. First and foremost Camille was a soldier and he didn’t doubt that she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if betrayed. A flare of arousal followed the threat of danger. Damn his lust for risk. “I do not share,” she reminded him.

  “I am not asking you to share. I was merely trying to find a way to persuade Dr. Odgers to work willingly.”

  “What does it matter if she works willingly?” Camille asked, her lip sneering. “As long as she gets the work done, that’s all that matters.”

  “A willing slave works harder than a captive one, my dear,” he told her patiently, though his mind was working quickly. He’d always held the upper hand with Camille, but now he saw suspicion in her eyes that didn’t bode well for either of them. If he couldn’t trust her implicitly, she was of no use to him. He made a quick decision to lose her as soon as the deal was done and the money wired to his accounts. She was easily replaced in his bed and as his partner. Besides, he didn’t like to share, either. He forced a warm smile and pulled her into his arms. “Darling, you’re such a hothead. Come, let us put that passion to good use. We have a few hours to kill before we’re needed again.”

  She softened against him and he knew she was once again his to command. Women, he sighed privately, were so high maintenance.

  * * *

  Kat stared at the formula, her vision swimming. What was she doing wrong? The answer felt so close but agonizingly far. The effect on victims—or test subjects as Camille called them—had ranged in destruction, with Anna being the least damaged, but that wasn’t saying much. If she lived to be a hundred—which she knew she wouldn’t—she would never forget Anna, the drug-addicted mom who’d just wanted to get better so she could go back to her kids.

  The lab door slid open and Miles walked in, looking his usual debonair and wicked self, and it took everything in her not to sneer and say something reckless. She was operating on too little sleep and not enough real food and her self-preservation meter was running pretty low. “What do you want?”
she asked sourly.

  “I have news. Tonight we are scheduling a special presentation with the drug. How are the latest test subjects?”

  She leaped from her stool. “I told you, it’s not ready! The test subjects are ruined! As in totally brain dead. The only improvement so far has been that this time their brains didn’t ooze from their ears! You’re a monster for making me do this to people!”

  “Settle down and quit the hysterics, please,” he said. “We are close. I can feel it. But I think what’s missing here is that added component of motivation. At first I thought you might be sufficiently motivated if your uncle were among the next test subjects but then I realized that would be a waste of a sample as his brain is already mush. Then, I realized, the most perfect candidate.”

  “And who would that be?” Kat was almost afraid to find out.

  A smile formed on his lips and it was the most frightening sight she’d seen in days—and that included the brain ooze. “I want it to be a surprise. But I’ll leave you with this... You’ll want to be sure the formula works.”

  “I’m already trying as hard as I can! You think I enjoy watching these poor people suffer? You’re a monster! I can’t work any harder than I already am.” Tears stung her eyes but she was too tired to hide them. “Please don’t make me do this anymore. I’d rather die than administer this awful drug to anyone else.”

  “If death is what you seek, I can help you out—when the job is complete. Until then, get to work.”

  Miles left Kat sobbing with hopelessness and bewilderment. Who could he have that would make her work harder? She was already working her tush off with marginal results. She needed a break, to rest her brain so she could recharge but Miles gave her no opportunity to rest.

  Focus, Kat. Stop crying. Someone else is going to die if you don’t figure out what is going wrong. It took a moment but slowly her sobs turned to painful hiccups and she was able to wash her face with cold water.

  Maybe she was going about it all wrong. She was trying to perfect the drug so that it reacted in the same way, each time with permanent results. What if she could make the results temporary? Just long enough to fool Miles but would slowly dissipate with time? The subtle change in direction sparked her frazzled brain, giving it the much-needed boost of power.