The Hacker

by Leslie Georgeson

  Hughes stalked toward me, blood gushing from a wound in his neck, and more blood dripping down his leg from where I’d just stabbed him.

  No. He wasn’t touching me. My hands tightened around the screwdriver.

  Hughes’ giant hand reached toward me...

  I lunged to my feet, raising the screwdriver. This time, I plunged it right into his chest. My eyes went wide. I gasped, rearing back in horror.

  Oh my God! I’d stabbed him in the chest!

  I don’t know if Hughes was just weak from blood loss and from fighting with Noah, or if he just never expected me to do that…but for some reason, he didn’t—or couldn’t—stop me.

  Hughes grunted in surprise.

  Then his face contorted with rage, then pain. Then confusion. He stumbled away from me, his expression filling with disbelief.

  “You stabbed me,” he murmured. “You fucking stabbed me.”

  Oh shit. Run, Shannon! Now!

  Hughes stumbled back another step, then dropped to his knees, his gaze still confused.

  I leapt to my feet. Did I run past Hughes and try to find Noah in the maze? Or did I race for the exit?

  Hughes lunged to his feet and strode toward me.

  Then Noah appeared behind Hughes, moving slowly but determinedly, blood oozing from numerous wounds on his torso. The expression on his face was hard, a cold, fierce glint in his eyes.

  “Go, Shannon!” Noah ordered. “Get out of here! Run!”

  Hughes spun to face Noah, then they attacked each other with a roar. They collided with a muted thwack that had to hurt. Noah stumbled back under the blow, but he didn’t go down.

  “Noah!” Fear clenched at my gut.

  “Run!” he yelled as Hughes thrust a knife out at him. Noah darted aside at the last second, narrowly avoiding the blade. He tackled Hughes again and they rolled across the ground, hitting, punching, stabbing with knives. My stomach roiled.

  Indecision clawed at me. How could I leave Noah behind? I closed my eyes and flinched at the loud thump of smacking flesh as they continued to fight. When I opened my eyes, Hughes looked weaker than before, blood dripping from the screwdriver still embedded in his chest, and oozing from his thigh and neck wounds.

  Come on, Noah! Come on.

  Hughes swung out, his fist connecting with Noah’s jaw. Noah’s head swung to the side from the force of the blow, blood spurting through the air.

  I gasped. I couldn’t watch if he killed Noah.

  I let out a sob and spun away, my heart in my throat, and ran toward the exit.

  Noah’s tough. He’ll get back up. He’s a dreg.

  “Get back here!” Hughes shouted. “You’re mine!”

  I glanced back, spying him rising to his feet and coming after me. Noah lay on the ground, unmoving. My heart squeezed. Get up, Noah! Please, get up!

  Oh God, Hughes wasn’t dying. Why wasn’t he dying?

  He’s a modern-day Frankenstein. He might be impossible to kill.

  That thought made a fresh wave of fear wash over me. Oh God!

  Faster, Shannon! He’s gaining on you!

  What about Noah? I glanced back again, relief sweeping through me as I spied Noah slowly rising. Then he stumbled after Hughes.

  Hughes had shifted into the foggy swirl, making it difficult to see him. But he was still coming.

  My lungs heaved, my heart raced, my legs pumped as fast as they could go. It was hard to gain momentum with my hands bound in front of me. But run, I did.

  Faster, Shannon, faster!

  I pushed myself to keep running, to keep going, turning this way, swerving that, as I made my way closer to the exit.

  Almost there…

  Hughes’ hot breath tickled my neck. And then he was visible again, a large, menacing presence right behind me. His giant hand reached toward my upper arm.

  No!

  The exit appeared in front of me. Only ten feet away...

  Noah slammed into Hughes, and they tumbled and rolled behind me, their grunts and groans floating after me as I kept running.

  Keep going, Shannon! Don’t look back.

  I barreled forward, bursting through the exit, and sprinted out into the yard.

  Gasping and wheezing, I halted, trying to catch my breath.

  “There she is!” A group of soldiers rushed toward me.

  I hesitated, glancing back at the maze where I’d left Noah behind. Should I run back into the maze and try to save him?

  No. The soldiers will follow you. You will lead them to Noah.

  That was true. I needed to get the soldiers away so that Noah might have a chance to escape.

  What if Hughes kills him?

  The soldiers surrounded me. The one in the lead grabbed my bound hands. “Your mother is waiting for you up at the house. Come.” I didn’t know what my mother’s involvement was, but I didn’t believe she would hurt me.

  Noah, please be safe. Please.

  I didn’t resist as the soldiers led me across the lawn and up into the main house. What about Noah back there in the maze? Was he okay? Should I have gone back to help him instead of fleeing?

  Though I was nowhere near ready to deal with my mother right now, I didn’t have a choice. I had so many questions for her. Would she answer honestly? Or would she give me lies? It still hurt knowing my father wasn’t who I thought he was. And now I’d just discovered my mother had been deceiving me, too.

  My legs started shaking as we reached the house. And everything that had just happened crashed down on me. I had stabbed a man in the chest. In his heart. Sure, it had been self-defense. But oh God, I’d never hurt anyone before. Hughes hadn’t died. Was the man immortal? Would Noah be able to kill him?

  The rest of my body started shaking, and then my legs gave out on me completely. The soldier yanked me up, but again I collapsed.

  Then my mother was bending before me, cupping my face in her hands.

  “Shannon,” she breathed. “Oh, thank God, you’re alive.”

  “Mom?” I fell into her arms. She awkwardly patted my back, glancing up as Ellington paused beside us. “Find that dreg!” she ordered. “Kill him! And make sure Hughes is dead. We can’t worry about him doing something like this again!”

  Ellington marched away, barking orders to the soldiers. “Kill any dregs on sight! Take no prisoners! Find Hughes!”

  I reared back, pushing her away. If I’d had any hope that my mother wasn’t involved, it was shattered in that moment. “You’re part of this? You? My own mother? Who are you?”

  Her eyes flashed with annoyance. “You’ve been traumatized. Let’s get you upstairs. I’ll draw you a bath.”

  I snorted. Right. My mother had never drawn me a bath my entire life. When I was younger, the servants had done it for me. When I’d returned from college and moved into the guesthouse, I had done it myself. My mother certainly never had.

  She rose and tried to pull me to my feet. I resisted, staying where I was.

  “I want answers, Mom. Tell me what the hell you’re involved in. I’ve seen all those files on the recruits,” I announced, watching her eyes go hard. “I’ve read about all those boys who were tortured and treated like lab rats. Tell me, Mother, how were you involved? I’m guessing you were one of the scientists on the payroll.”

  My mother flinched, but the look in her eyes said I’d guessed right. My mother was a geneticist. But ever since we moved to Georgia and my father joined the senate, she had been the typical senator’s wife, not working out of the home, just flouncing around to her various events and charities, trying to make herself look like the kind, generous woman she definitely was not. Had she been secretly working for The Company all these years? Had she been the one to inject those drugs and animal DNA into Noah and the others?

  My stomach roiled. I had doubted Noah, not completely trusting him, not wanting to believe the things he’d said about my father. But Noah had never lied to me. I could see that plainly now. He’d been bluntly honest about my father from t
he start. He’d even apologized for spoiling my image of my father. He’d shown me those files on the recruits in an attempt to get me to see the truth, even though he knew I could use the information to destroy him.

  But the liars had been my own parents. The villains were my own parents. Not Noah. My own parents were the ones I should have doubted.

  Ellington returned. He sent me a fierce glare. “You stupid girl! You kept nosing around and wouldn’t take the threats to stop your investigation seriously, so I sent those soldiers to take care of Michael Kent and try to get you to let it go. But you still wouldn’t give up, so I sent Vasquez to deal with you.” He shook his head in disgust.

  Ellington had sent Vasquez after me? And I’d thought maybe Noah had called him. Oh Noah. I’m so sorry I ever doubted you.

  My mother sighed. “I tried to get you to come home that night, Shannon. But you wouldn’t listen. Ellington didn’t know your importance at the time, or I’m certain he never would have sent those criminals after you.” She sent Ellington a glare, then glanced back at me. “I never wanted it to come to this. I wanted your cooperation. Why do you think your father and I convinced you to come back home to live in the guest house after college? We wanted to keep you close, and if you had just come home that night like I wanted, we could have worked everything out. But you’re so damn stubborn, always sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. And that’s not a good thing.”

  I rose to my feet. “What does all of that mean, exactly?”

  “It means we can’t trust you to keep quiet about this.”

  “Of course, I’m not going to keep quiet about it!” I shouted. “What you did was illegal! Sick! I can’t believe my own parents were involved in this!”

  Ellington lifted his phone and spoke to someone. “Get in here. We need to deal with Shannon.”

  I stepped away from him, moving backward. I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t even trust my own mother.

  Ellington glanced at my mother again. “How do you want to handle this?”

  For the briefest moment, sadness flickered in my mother’s eyes. But it was gone so quickly, I wasn’t sure if it was real, or if I’d just imagined it.

  “She’s my daughter.” My mother looked into my eyes. “She has my superior breeding. She can continue on where I left off, since I’m no longer a reproductive female. Shannon’s perfect for the breeding program. It’s what I planned all along.”

  What? Oh, hell no!

  I flinched, rearing back, panic washing over me.

  What was she saying? She had been part of the program? Oh my God.

  Three soldiers entered the room.

  “No!” I shouted. “I will not be a part of this! I refuse!”

  My mother’s expression hardened. She waved the soldiers closer. “Hold her. She needs to be sedated.”

  I made a mad dash for the door, but the soldiers caught me easily, holding me while I fought and kicked and squirmed, trying to break free.

  My mother approached with a syringe that I had no doubt contained some type of sedative.

  “No, Mom! No! How could you do this? I’m your daughter! Don’t you love me at all?” My voice quavered on that last sentence.

  “Of course, I love you,” she cooed in a fake soothing voice that made me cringe. “You were created out of my love for science. You were my most perfect creation. But when my body stopped ovulating a few months ago, I knew it was time to bring you in, since I can no longer be an egg donor.”

  What? My head spun. She’d been an egg donor? Oh dear God. Did I have siblings out there? Soldiers in the program?

  “Please tell me I’m not related to Noah,” I choked out.

  My mother tsked. “No relation whatsoever. I’ve only been an egg donor for the past twelve years.”

  Thank God for that. “Do I have brothers out there?” I croaked, swallowing hard.

  “None that survived.” My mother’s words were cold. Emotionless. “But now you can contribute to the program and help create more super soldiers.”

  Ellington grunted. “It appears your mother has a better use for you than what I’d planned. You should be grateful for that.”

  Were they serious?

  “Fuck that!” I screamed. “Fuck you!”

  My mother paled. “Such language. A lady never swears.”

  “Well, this lady does! Fuck you all!”

  One of the soldiers shoved the sleeve of my coat up, exposing my forearm. My mother jabbed the needle into my arm, pressing the plunger.

  “I hate you!” I screamed, wanting to wound her as much as she’d hurt me. “You’re not my mother! You’re a monster!” Except, she was my mother. And now I was about to join the very program that Noah and his friends had escaped from. As a breeder.

  My vision blurred as the drug took hold. My struggles slowly seized. My eyelids grew heavy.

  “I hate youuu,” I slurred.

  Then everything went black.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Noah

  Using every last bit of my strength, I launched myself at Hughes just as he reached for Shannon’s arm.

  We both tumbled to the ground, allowing Shannon to race out of the maze.

  Go, Shannon!

  She would be safe now.

  Raising my knife, I aimed for Hughes’ neck. He lifted his arm at the last second, trying to stop me, but he was already pale and weak from the prior neck wound and from the screwdriver piercing his heart. His arm merely fell back as I thrust the blade home.

  “I won, you bastard. I’m better than you.”

  Hughes gurgled. “Wrong. We both lost. The bitch has Shannon now.” He gasped in a breath. “I tried to stop this from happening. I wanted Shannon to be my own personal breeder. But now the bitch won.” Blood oozed from his neck in a rapid stream. Then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he lay still.

  I collapsed on top of him, gasping for air. What did that mean? Was he talking about Shannon’s mother? What had he tried to stop? Had I sent Shannon out into danger? Shannon’s mother wouldn’t hurt her, would she?

  The dizziness returned in a rush, my head spinning around and around. I had lost a lot of blood. And now I was about to pass out.

  I closed my eyes and let the weariness pull me under.

  “Noah!”

  I blinked, sensing Logan’s presence somewhere close by. It soothed me, and the tension eased out of me. Was I dreaming? Was I dying? Or was my dreg partner truly here? If so, then he’d arrived sooner than he was supposed to. He shouldn’t be here for another five or six hours. He must have driven straight through.

  Logan dropped beside me, his face lined with concern. He gently rolled me off Hughes.

  “Don’t move,” he ordered gently. “You’re hurt bad. And you’re extremely pale. You’re probably going to need a transfusion.”

  “Shannon,” I gasped out. “She ran out into the yard. Did you see her? Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her. You’re my top priority right now.”

  Ryan appeared on my left, dropping Nate’s medical bag. “Here you go. Luke’s keeping an eye on the entrance to the maze. I’ll monitor any activity from this end. Let me know if you need any help.” He stepped back, standing guard from several feet away.

  “Nishi will help me,” Logan responded, right before a pretty face with tear-filled brown eyes leaned over me. I blinked as Nishi grabbed my hand and squeezed. A tear trickled down her cheek.

  “You had to go and get yourself in trouble again,” she scolded softly. “Logan sensed something was wrong, so he broke the speed limit and raced all the way here. He knew he had to get to you.” She hitched in a breath, fresh tears welling in her eyes. “Don’t you die on us, Noah! Don’t you dare! We almost lost you last time. Logan can’t go through that again. And neither can I!”

  My heart twisted. I weakly squeezed her hand back. “I’m not going to die. I’ve survived worse. Just give me dreg blood, and I’ll be good as new.”
r />   Nishi wiped at another tear, nodding at me. “Logan’s getting everything ready for the transfusion now.”

  “Here, put pressure on the abdominal wound,” Logan advised Nishi. “I need to get some coagulant out of the bag. Then I’ll hook up the collection bag.”

  I moaned softly as Nishi did as instructed, a wave of pain washing over me.

  My eyelids drifted closed again. Their voices floated around me, but I could no longer make out their words. I sensed their movements as they tended to my wounds and Logan began the blood transfusion.

  The dreg bond had brought my partner to me. I could always count on Logan.

  But what about Shannon? Would her mother just let her go? Not likely. But still, I wanted to believe she wouldn’t harm her own daughter.

  The bitch has Shannon now. I tried to stop this from happening. What did Hughes mean by that? Worry clenched at my gut. What had I done?

  All these thoughts made me even dizzier. I couldn’t focus anymore. My head spun faster, a wild swirl. A soft moan worked its way past my lips.

  “Relax,” Nishi urged gently. “Logan’s almost done. Then we’ll get you out of here.”

  Ryan’s voice floated over to us, but I couldn’t make out his words. Soon, everything faded away. I could no longer sense them. No longer feel them.

  Then the darkness closed in around me, sucking me under...

  After that, I faded in and out of consciousness, only vaguely aware of what was going on around me. Logan and Nishi were still there. And I sensed Ryan and Luke.

  I remember shouts. Gunfire. And being carried out of the maze. I remember pain. Intense. Almost unbearable. I remember a feeling of urgency.

  I remember Logan settling me in the backseat of his truck and saying they were taking me to a nearby hospital in case I had internal bleeding. I remember him saying they were using my fake ID.

  After that, I couldn’t remember anything.

  And then I woke to the beeps and hums of hospital machines around me, and a friendly female voice.

  I blinked several times, my gaze locking on the nurse who leaned over me. Since she was on my blind side, I turned my head to get a better look at her.