Proving Ground

by Stanalei Fletcher

  Fatigue and hunger sloughed off Caitlin like water through a drain. She started to move, but Mac’s firm hand on her shoulder held her back.

  Eyeing the gun, he said, “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Going after Dunn.” What did he think she was doing? This was her job.

  “Like hell, you are.” He reached around her middle. “You’re hurt. You can’t go out there.”

  She yanked free of his hold and stepped aside. The thunderous look he threw her way had her taking another step away.

  The doctor came up behind her. “Someone’s got to stop those men.” He sided with Caitlin and her gun. “There are innocent people out there.”

  Caitlin raised an eyebrow at Mac and nodded at the doctor. “Doc’s got a point. You both just stay here. I’ll take care of Dunn.”

  Mac had already pulled out his cell. “The police can be here in a matter of minutes. Let them handle the situation.”

  “Dunn looks too desperate and unstable.” Caitlin pulled the door open wider. “If we wait, it could be too late. People might die.” She wasn’t having one more injury on her conscience.

  She looked around the corner of the door again.

  Dunn had moved farther into the emergency room. His face was flushed, eyes wide and wild. He pulled a vial from the metal case and held it over his head. “Don’t anybody come near me or I’ll smash this. We’ll all die.”

  The threat of the vial changed the game. Caitlin’s heart raced. An icy sweat broke across her brow. She ducked back into the room and looked at Mac. “He’s got a vial of something.” It was difficult to swallow around the knot in her throat. “I’m sure it’s from the bio-lab.”

  “From Unified Biotech’s laboratories?” the doctor asked.

  “Afraid so.” Mac nodded. “If this thing goes bad, I hope you have plenty of antiserum on hand.”

  “A few months ago, Unified briefed the hospital staff on the work they’re doing,” the doctor replied. “They gave the hospital some antiviral vaccinations as back-up.”

  “How much?” Mac interrupted.

  “We have enough for most of the hospital staff.” The doctor paled. “But we don’t have enough if there’s an outbreak on Rockton’s entire population.”

  “You don’t even know what kind of pathogens he’s carrying,” Caitlin said.

  “Doesn’t matter,” the doctor answered. “If it came from the lab, it’s deadly. We’re not prepared to contain an epidemic.”

  Resolve filled Caitlin. Dunn had to be stopped. Now. Before he killed them all.

  She glanced at the phone in Mac’s hand. “Advise the police that I’m going after him. And find Jack, too. He and Dunn are friends. He might be able to talk some sense into Dunn. In the meantime…” she checked the Glock. “…I’ll do what I can to stop him.”

  Caitlin slipped past Mac into the emergency area. She saw a nurse crouching in the corner near the wheelchair. Another nurse hid next to a high counter. There were feet and legs showing under a curtained examination room. Dunn was gone. She turned to look down one hallway, then another and started down the latter.

  “Cait. Don’t,” Mac called behind her. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do,” she murmured. She gestured around the rooms. “Get these people out of here. When the police show up, let them know where I am.”

  “The doctor can evacuate the hospital.” Mac had a stubborn look on his face.

  Caitlin didn’t like where this conversation was headed. Mac confirmed her suspicion with his next words. “Jack’s not answering his phone. But I may be able to help talk to Dunn. I’m coming with you.”

  At his words, a bit of warmth got past the wall she’d been building around her heart. If things went wrong, she didn’t want Mac in the line of fire, but the desire to have him beside her, lending his strength, was too great to ignore. Reluctantly, she nodded her head. “Okay.”

  Stepping cautiously into the hall, Caitlin scanned the area. The emergency staff stared at her as she reached the center of the room. With Dunn gone, they came toward her, all talking at once.

  “It’s okay.” Caitlin tried to calm them down. “We’re getting you out of here.”

  “I’ll help,” a nurse said. Then she glanced off to Caitlin’s left, her eyes wide. “Look!”

  Caitlin spun around and saw Smith enter the emergency room. He raised a pistol and scanned the room, sending everyone ducking for cover again.

  Caitlin aimed her Glock right at Smith’s chest. “Drop it.”

  Smith swung toward her and paused, his eyes wide. “You!” The muscles in his arms flexed and he leveled the pistol at her and squeezed the trigger.

  Caitlin twisted and ducked just as a single report echoed across the sterile walls. Behind her, the doorjamb splintered. She flinched, her finger reflexively squeezing off a shot of her own. From the wild shot, she knew, she’d missed hitting Smith. The scent of cordite followed as Mac knocked her to the floor, jarring her injuries. He dragged her back into the examination room.

  “Where’s Dunn?” Smith’s calm voice was incongruous against the whimpering cries throughout the emergency room.

  Someone shouted, “He went that way.”

  Smith fired two more shots at the door where Caitlin hid with Mac.

  Several seconds ticked by without any more gunfire. Caitlin gingerly raised herself up on an elbow. “Get off me, Mac. I think he’s gone.”

  “Why would he just leave? He knows you have a gun.”

  “I’m betting he wants Dunn and those vials more than he wants me. I have to stop both of them.”

  “I don’t like it. The odds just changed,” Mac said. “I’m not letting you go after them.”

  Caitlin wriggled out of his hold and stood. “The odds just doubled in our favor. Those two will be too concerned about each other to care about me.”

  “You shot at him. You don’t think he’ll notice you chasing him with a gun?”

  “It’s a chance I’ll take.”

  The doctor stepped beside them. “I know where you can head off Dunn.”

  Caitlin glanced at the doctor. “What do you mean?”

  “Lacey Dunn’s physician was called in this morning because she’s not going to make it through the day. I’m sure that’s the reason Dunn is here. To see her.”

  “Where’s her room?” asked Mac.

  The doctor pointed. “Down that hallway. East wing.”

  Mac was right about chasing after Smith and Dunn. They’d see her coming if she followed them through the hospital. “Is there another way to get to that wing without going through all those halls?” Caitlin asked.

  The doctor pointed to a set of doors. “Go through the delivery exit behind emergency to the dock. Once outside, stay along the back of the hospital until you reach the ramp to the east wing.” He slipped a plastic key card from his pocket. “Use this to get inside and then take the second hallway that leads to the patient’s room.”

  Caitlin glanced at Mac. “Isn’t Dad’s room in that wing?”

  Mac nodded, his lips tight.

  She looked away. Icy fingers danced down her spine. Under different circumstances, knowing her father was nearby might’ve brought some comfort. He’d been one of Northstar’s top agents. But in his present condition, he could definitely be at risk, or worse, a liability.

  Caitlin didn’t hesitate. “If you’re coming,” she said to Mac, “then let’s go. We don’t have any time to waste.” She didn’t wait to see if he followed her.

  ****

  “You shouldn’t be chasing after these guys.” Mac followed Caitlin as she limped through the emergency room. “You need to be in a hospital bed.”

  Caitlin whipped around so quickly he put his hands out and grabbed her to stop from running her over. “We don’t have time for this argument. I’m here. I’m doing this. End of story.”

  Mac wanted to shake her. Drag her as far away from this situation as he possibly could. He wanted to hold
her, cradle her body against his, and never let her go. His code of ethics didn’t matter anymore. His fingers tightened on her arms and he stared into her eyes.

  There was a plea in her eyes—a determination on her face to set right the mistakes she’d made. To rid herself of the burden she’d carried since Atlanta, and save the citizens of Rockton. Mac could no more deny her that chance than he could deny his own breath. But he damned well wasn’t going to let her do it alone. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Caitlin’s smile was brief, and the expression that followed was enough to send his heart crashing to his feet. How had he missed it? All the years growing up together, he’d never seen her need for approval—his approval.

  On the mountain, he’d asked why she left. Her answer was only part of the story. He finally saw what his leaving had done to her. She must have felt abandoned all over again. She’d struggled with her father’s absences growing up, but he and Grandma Mac had always been there to fill in the gap. Then Grandma died, and he left shortly after. She was left alone with a father who didn’t know how to connect with his daughter. No wonder she rebelled. As Sean had alluded to a couple of days ago—it was easier for her to run.

  Sean was also right that she needed to push back. That’s what she was doing right now. Who was he to stand in her way? He had to trust her. Trust the training she’d received from her father, from Northstar—and from him.

  Caitlin turned and pushed through the doors leading outside to the back of the hospital. The long cement landing ended short of the corner of the building. They hopped off the delivery dock to the ground. She clutched her ribs as they headed around the corner. Mac winced in sympathy for the pain she was enduring—wishing he could take it away.

  The east wing of the hospital sprawled out about a hundred yards beyond them, with a wheelchair ramp leading up to a door. They hurried along the wall, ducking under windowsills to avoid detection. At the ramp, they slowed. Scooting beside the glass door, Caitlin edged up and peered inside.

  “I don’t see anyone in the hall.” Raising the pistol, she checked the clip. Carefully, she swiped the doctor’s key card. There was a faint click and she twisted the handle.

  Opening the door just enough to squeeze through, Caitlin slipped inside, sweeping her gun left and right. Mac followed and eased the door shut with a gentle snap that sounded loud enough to wake anyone napping in his or her room.

  They crept quietly toward the patients’ wing hallway with their backs to the wall, staying low and scanning for activity. At the other end of the hospital, commotion still echoed from clearing the emergency room. Sirens screamed in the distance and were getting louder. Backup was on the way. With some luck—and careful evacuation—the patients and hospital staff would not become hostages. Or worse, casualties of some horrific biological weapon.

  Mac stayed close to Caitlin as they slipped into the first room they came to. This one was unoccupied, the beds stripped down to the mattress. They cleared the adjoining room, which was also empty. As they moved toward the next set of rooms, a scream erupted from down the hall. Caitlin and Mac ducked into a doorway just as Smith strode out of a room at the other end of the hall. They watched as he moved to the next. He was methodically searching room-to-room for Dunn.

  Just then, Sean Malone poked his head around his door to see what the commotion was about.

  “Dad!” Caitlin whispered loudly. “Get back inside.”

  He turned at the sound of her voice and raised his eyebrows in surprise, but there was no hesitation when he motioned to them to his room.

  Mac and Caitlin hurried along the hallway and ducked inside just as Smith came out and started toward the next room.

  Sean stared at the gun in Caitlin’s hand. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” he whispered. His eyes, so much like his daughter’s, flared. He looked from Caitlin to Mac. “Well? One of you say something.”

  “She’s your daughter,” Mac answered quietly.

  “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “You’re the one who said she needed to push back.”

  “But not put herself in the line of fire.”

  “Hey!” Caitlin interjected as loudly as she dared. “I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.” She glared at Mac then looked at her father. “Tell me which room is Lacey Dunn’s.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Caitlin stood in Sean’s hospital room, the Glock firmly in her grip, and watched a slow smile spread over her father’s face. She wondered if that rogue bullet inside his broken body had finally driven him mad. She was about to confront men who’d stolen pathogens with the potential to kill everyone around them for hundreds of miles. If ever there was a time for clarity, it was now. “This isn’t funny, Dad. Are you going to tell me where Lacey Dunn’s room is?”

  “That’s my girl,” Sean said in a gruff voice. “Get to the heart of the problem first.” He started coughing.

  His pallor alarmed her. She started toward him but he turned away as though he couldn’t stand for her to see him in this weakened condition. As if she cared that he wasn’t still the same robust man who’d raised her. He was her father. Why wouldn’t he allow her to be his daughter?

  He waved a hand. “If you’re going to save the world, then you’d better get going,” he choked out. “We can talk later. You’re the one with the gun, so take care of this situation.”

  His command was clear. Her duty defined. She was torn between an obligation to take out the bad guys and caring for her father. Right at this moment, she couldn’t do both. She had to choose. Ignoring the hurt swirling in her chest, she stepped out of the way so Mac could help Sean to the bed. At least her father allowed someone to help him.

  Even then, Sean pushed Mac away once he was on the bed. “Go with her.”

  Mac hesitated, glancing from Caitlin back to her father.

  Sean waved him on. “You both have a job to finish.”

  Stinging tears threatened her vision. She blinked them away. Her father was right. Too many lives were at stake for her to give in to her desire to stay. She stole a look out the door. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she asked again, “Which room is Lacey’s?”

  “Room twenty. Across the hall and two doors up.”

  Caitlin looked up at Mac as he came to stand next to her.

  “What’s the plan?” he asked.

  A grim smile tugged at her lips. “When have I ever had a plan?” If ever there was a good time for one, now would be it, but it seemed some of her old flaws weren’t going to dissolve in a single day.

  “Create a distraction,” Sean said as he lay back against the pillows. “Just don’t get us all killed.”

  “Dunn will probably be with his wife,” Mac said. “No matter what is going on out here, he won’t leave her. Maybe we should try to neutralize Smith first, since he has the gun.”

  “I’m listening.” Caitlin wished she were thinking more clearly. The fatigue from fighting the painful injuries was taking a toll. Mac’s earlier comment that she should be in a hospital bed was suddenly very appealing.

  “Let’s see if we can draw Smith out in the open.”

  “How?”

  Mac scanned Sean’s room and then walked to the sink. “With this.” He held up an empty blood sample tube left on the sink. “I’ll make him believe I have a vial from the case.” He popped the rubber stopper and squirted a little soap into the vial. Next, he filled it the rest of the way with water, making a thick, milky substance. He replaced the stopper and held it up.

  “What if he just shoots you?” Caitlin didn’t like how this was playing out. Mac was deliberately putting himself in the line of fire.

  His lips thinned. “I’m hoping he won’t risk this tube breaking if I fall. Beside, you won’t let him.” He set the vial on Sean’s bed and reached for her gun.

  Caitlin was so surprised he took her gun, she let him have it. “What are you doing? You hate guns.”

  “We can’t let Smith see tha
t you’re armed.” He slipped the Glock into his belt at the small of his back where it would be concealed from Smith. “Stay just behind me and you’ll be able to reach it quickly when it’s time.”

  Caitlin swallowed. She understood what Mac was thinking. Still, he was offering himself as a target so she could get close enough to shoot Smith. She looked over at Sean.

  Her father nodded. “It’s a good plan, given what you have to work with.”

  It was better than nothing. Every second they waited gave Smith a chance to locate Dunn and the real pathogens. If that happened, they’d all be dead.

  Mac gave her a quick smile and wink. “You can do this, Cait.”

  Caitlin stared at him—at the confidence shining in his eyes—and hoped she was worthy of that faith. “Let’s go.”

  He poked his head through a crack in the door. “The hallway’s clear. Smith’s gone into another room.”

  As if on cue, there was a commotion inside the room next to Lacey’s, then Smith came into the hall and headed for Lacey Dunn’s room.

  “Now,” Caitlin whispered. “Before he gets to Lacey’s room.”

  “Smith,” Mac called from the Sean’s doorway.

  Mac and Caitlin stepped into the hallway, hands raised. “We’ve got what you’re looking for.”

  Smith froze when he heard Mac’s voice. He turned to stare down the hallway where Caitlin was positioned slightly behind and to Mac’s left. When he saw them, his eyes narrowed, his expression hardened. “Move out where I can see you.” He motioned with his gun for them to step into the center of the hallway.

  The scene felt surreal to Caitlin. Sirens were closer now, probably in the parking lot. Behind Smith, at the end of the hall, hospital staff rushed patients to safety. Her father should be among those evacuating, instead of trapped in his room. All of that paled in comparison to the lethal circumstances facing the population of Rockton, perhaps the entire country, if those deadly pathogens were released.

  “You again!” Smith’s gaze jerked to Caitlin. “I shot you back there. You’re supposed to be dead.”