“You have…” He wheezed a breath. “You have Scott’s data? The originals?”
Originals? Hell, I didn’t know. I had whatever was in that archive. Well, it wasn’t on me, but Zero had it all. Original data from before the lab was destroyed? I nodded and shrugged at the same time. “Yeah. I have the data from the library in a safe place.”
He coughed. Or maybe it was supposed to be a laugh. “There’s no safe place. They—she has eyes everywhere.”
She again. “Who?”
“Your mother.” He exhaled long and hard. “She’ll never stop, Cassie. Never.”
Tami. I narrowed my eyes. Just as we’d suspected. “Stop what? With the research?”
He shook his head.
Was that a no to my question, then? I licked my lips, impatience and anxiety brewing into a mini panic. How long have we been in here? I needed to know what was going on, dammit. He’d said something was stolen, perhaps an item the cartel wanted to claim by means of finder’s keepers.
“What’s stolen, Hendrick? Who stole what? What’s in the data I collected?”
He labored for air and I regretted my rush of questions. Smoothing his hair back from the newer bloody spots on his brow, I bit my lip. Please, tell me! It tore me apart, pressing him so bluntly, but if he couldn’t guide me, I didn’t know what I’d do.
“I…I was going to Xoch…” He wheezed a couple more breaths. “Xochimilco. To meet with Elena.”
I nodded, even though he’d closed his one partially opened eye again.
He lay there in my arms, struggling to breathe.
I repeated after him to let him know I’d heard. “Elena in Xoch…Xochimino—mico.” Hell, I’d remember it even if I struggled to repeat it correctly.
In an even raspier voice, he continued. “Elena’s father was…” He gasped in air. “He was a researcher. With us. Rosa knew him from a joint program at the University in the capitol.”
“Mexico City?”
“Yes. We traveled there back in the beginning, but since Project Xol became the terror it is, I’ve avoided traveling there directly.”
“That’s why you were on 95? From Acapulco?”
He nodded. “Elena had a specific sample, frozen from the original studies.” He opened his eye a bit and clutched my hands.
Jesus, how bad was he? What was wrong with him? How could I help? Could I even help? He was barely alive to take a breath, let alone lecture me. Tears fell harder now, my frustration waning at the dread of losing this man.
“She has a sample of genetic material.”
“Okay.”
“Rosa wanted her to…destroy it.”
“Why?”
“So Tami couldn’t get it.”
I stroked the wrinkles from his shirt as he paused to breathe again. “I’m following.”
“They…stole…it.”
“What? The genetic stuff?”
He bobbed his head slightly. “The vials.”
“Who?” The cartel? “Xol people?”
He shook his head. “Others.”
Others? Freaking others? My heart raced. Were there more mad scientists competing for this shit now?
“From the street.”
Huh. Like an ordinary city crime? Maybe the theft wasn’t related to this top-secret science nightmare. “Not the cartel?”
He shook his head again. “No. When they took me on the road, I didn’t have anything except the code to the material.”
“Where’s that?” Great. Another data source to retrieve. It seemed that was my role in all this.
“Here.” With a trembling hand, he brought his finger to his temple. “Rosa and I…we worked on what we called the beta strain before Scott came to the lab. We hadn’t been looking for a cure yet, but simply studying the axolotls.” He sighed and spoke more in a stronger tone. “But Scott was curious, and we included him in the genome mapping. That’s how the project began. He decoded part, and Rosa and I worked on other parts. Split the work to go faster. He kept his code in his data, and Rosa and I kept ours.”
“Is Scott’s code in the data I collected in Texas?”
He nodded. “Once she realized Tami had new places, Rosa was so scared of it being taken. We’ve been…been watching our backs the best we could. I’d begged her not to ask you for help. Especially not now.”
“Why?” What was so bad about the timing? It all sucked, if you asked me.
He shook his head. “Rosa and I…we were informed over the years. Colleagues talk. But only when Tami showed interest in the beta strain, it was too risky to dismiss. She…knew she could count on you.”
I snorted a harsh laugh. Rosa knew she could count on me? Yeah, right. She’d never hinted at that all my life! There wasn’t any point to dwelling on that drama anymore, though. The people-pleaser side of me had morphed into something else since I’d been involved in this.
Stick to what needs to be done. And do it. Like the badass Luke thinks I am. “So I need to find this Elena. And her vials of beta strain material?”
“You and…” His lips curved up, splitting the cuts anew as he seemed to smile. “And a man?”
Luke? Yeah, he was my man. And the sooner I could figure out a way to dissuade the cartel boss from this allusion of Hendrick having a drug, the faster I could get him back.
“I heard…the boss speaking. This man of yours…can keep you safe?”
We’d have each other’s backs. I thought of the alpha fighter who’d protected me since we met. Just as many times, I’d taken care of him, too. We were a unit. Partners. Two halves to a whole. And the longer I panicked that he could be hurt without me to assist him, the more impatient I grew.
“We’ll do our best. What have you told them here, Hendrick?”
He frowned. “The truth, as much as I could. I…”
I swallowed hard at his hesitance to explain. I saw why. Every bruise and cut, each ragged breath he struggled for. I gently rubbed at his chest. “It’s okay. But he thinks you actually have a drug. Or access to one.”
Hendrick nodded. “Because I’d told him about Elena. And losing the vials. I tried…to remain vague…”
Which meant this Elena woman had to have even more enemies targeting her now too.
“What…” I slanted my brows, releasing one hand from holding Hendrick to wipe at my face. “What is this drug? What else can Tami have planned—for whatever this beta strain can do?”
He was quiet for too long of a moment. “She’ll never stop, Cassie. Rosa saw it from the beginning. Tami…wants it all.”
“What all?” What could be more of a high than nearly manipulating and controlling mortality?
“Power. She’d wanted Scott for his power—took his work from him. And now…she’ll never stop.”
“Stop what?”
He winced. “Never stop from getting what she wants, and she’ll use you just the same.”
Me? I reared back, thrown by his words. Me? Tami hadn’t wanted me since the beginning and there was nothing I’d give her now after such a bold abandonment.
“We’ll see about that.” False surety sounded loud in my tone, but in my heart, I was steadfast in my determination to end this once and for all. “I—we’ll go for Elena and get these vials.”
“Even if the vials are gone, do not let them get Scott’s data.”
Zero was already on that, and he was as untouchable as a hacker could be. One point for us. Yay.
“Please, stay safe, Cassie.” He threaded his fingers between mine and held tight.
Was this goodbye? No. I shook my head even though he had his eyes locked shut again.
“No, Hendrick.”
The sob in my voice was all he must have needed to read my thoughts. “Go. Don’t let her win. Promise me.”
“I won’t leave you like this.”
“I can’t… I don’t have long, Cassidy. I’ve done all I could. And now it’s up to you to finish her.”
“Just stay—”
“I
’ve loved you like the daughter I could never have, Cassie.” His arm shook with effort as he dragged my hand to his lips. His chapped skin chafed me, but he raised my fingers high enough to kiss them. “All these years, I’ve watched from a distance. You’ve grown into a strong woman and I have faith you won’t let Rosa down. Please promise you’ll…fight.”
More possibilities of failing. I gritted my teeth, trying to breathe through the congestion of crying so hard. I refused to fail. “I promise,” I whispered between my tears.
“It’ll be easier to escape at night,” he said, almost begging. “Before they can ask you for information. These men here…” He coughed. “They’re dangerous, but not as much as the Project. As long as they don’t seek out Elena, the cartel is a minor problem.”
Minor? How can he be so indifferent about these criminals who’ve beaten him so severely?
“You only need to get out, before they harm you or your man. Be safe, and get to Elena. Help her get those vials back before Tami can locate them. Her…agents are worse enemies than these jungle men.”
At the sound of the doorknob twisting on the door, I gently pressed two fingertips to Hendrick’s mouth.
Was my time up? I’d hardly had a chance to speak long with Hendrick. It was too soon. I wasn’t ready—to say goodbye to this kind old man, to face the threat of danger, to witness Luke or Tramer injured for the sake of getting answers.
No. I wasn’t prepared at all. My stomach twisted and I crouched over Hendrick, balling myself up to be as small of a target as possible at the same time as protecting this elderly man however I physically could.
“Cassie…”
I shushed Hendrick and gripped his hand.
Holding my breath, I watched as the door swung open.
Chapter Three
Luke
Too bad I don’t have a hat.
Many of the guys lingering in the compound had some kind of a covering on their heads. Tan or brown caps, mostly. The man I’d silenced in the hut hadn’t worn one. Would have made it easier to hide my face.
So far…so good, though. I’d walked out of the hut a half-hour ago and tried to fit into the pattern of the men out here. Most were at or leaving a shoddy structure with a tented opening. Scents of meat and grilled foods came from within and I guessed it to be a mess area of sorts.
My stomach growled as I slowly trekked between a couple of buildings. I needed food, but not until I found the others. There was no time to waste on taking care of myself.
Staying away from the guards and men, I surveyed the collection of buildings. Holding part of my breath, I stepped on thin ice here. If anyone looked too closely, if anyone were to go into that hut and see that I was gone…
No. No worrying. Just focus, dammit.
I’d strode past Cassidy’s building twice now, but I couldn’t risk frequenting it any more. Two solemn-faced guards stood at the door. Feet shoulder’s width apart, hands held behind them as they stood rigidly upright with alert eyes—nope. I wasn’t going to let them notice my interest in her place.
Which left me wondering. Anxiously searching this mosquito-ridden, humid forest grounds.
After three trips around the whole area, I’d observed who was coming and going from where and what they were doing. To my luck, no one spoke to me, so I assumed the man who I was pretending to be was low enough on the totem pole of worth to matter. A few men nodded at me and tossed general greetings—all Spanish I could handle.
No one had come to the building I’d escaped, so that was a break. So far. So I still had my “cover.”
Cassidy’s building was too guarded to approach, and I plotted impossible strategies to get past that door, all ploys that would never work. Desperation teased at me, but I focused.
Tramer. I had a hunch he might be in the building behind the one I was taken from. No one entered that hut, and two guards had been posted at the door until they walked off just moments ago. Darkness had since fallen and it would have to be my only ally. If I couldn’t get to Cassidy, I’d try to find our former Special Forces friend first. And our belongings. I’d bet the money and guns were long gone. The phones, our connection to Zero, were all that truly mattered.
Good thing we’d left all of Scott’s zip drives and Hendrick’s journal at the safe house in Oklahoma.
Posing as a man on a mission, I went to what I hoped was Tramer’s door. No one currently guarded it, and I feared it meant there was no need to watch over something that couldn’t be a threat.
He’s not dead. He couldn’t be. Those random bursts of gunfire had ceased, but…
No. Don’t think. Just move.
I opened the door and stepped in. A heavier darkness welcomed me, a blacker void that lacked the lanterns and spotlights outside.
Closing the door, I kept my other hand on the handgun I’d stolen. I cleared my throat—what I intended as a safe alert that I was entering. No reply. But…I could hear someone breathing? Humming? There was something making noise in here. Inhaling through my mouth, I ignored the overwhelming stench. Piss, rotting…something. With tension coiled in my every cell, I reached for a flashlight on my duty belt.
I flicked it on and cast the light around the room.
A dead body lay on the far side of the room, a cot beneath what was once a black-haired woman. Flies hovered in a net above and around her.
That could be Cassidy soon…
Clenching my fingers tighter on the gun and flashlight, I refused to accept that possibility. I wouldn’t let her meet her fate here. I couldn’t, dammit. She meant too much to me to lose this soon. To lose ever.
Swinging the flashlight through the room, I noticed another roughly-patched and stained cot. Empty. A few camping packs lined the wall. No furniture. Nothing. Bringing the ray of light over, I walled up against the chance of disappointment. If I didn’t find him here…
“Tramer,” I said on a heavy sigh.
He was here, his black skin even bolder in the sharp light blinding through the dark. Tramer was very much alive, hunched over in the opposite corner. His head hung low as he sat there lopsidedly. He didn’t move except to inhale a long, deep breath. It was a reaction, and I’d take it.
“Thank God.” I rushed over to him, careful not to wreck his sight with the flashlight as he raised his face to me. Blood and bruises littered his brow, a gash from his lip shone red wetness as well.
“Luke?”
“Yeah.”
“About time,” he ground out with a feeble single laugh.
“Fuck, man…” I reached him and tried to figure out what was worst. He was breathing, and sane enough to be sarcastic. With him slanting into the corner as he was, I couldn’t gauge how injured he was. First, I reached for his arms to untie him because they were bound and tied behind him again. Why he was shirtless, though, I couldn’t tell.
“Did you find her?” he asked, trying to shift upright so I could get to his hands.
“I did, but it’s too guarded.” I pushed him further from the wall. Shit. I just barely held in a gasp at the carnage. Blood…everywhere. They’d whipped him. “Fuck, man.”
“Uh-huh. But you found her?”
This beast of a soldier had a hell of a firm attention span, like getting whipped was nothing. I clenched my teeth as searing hot fury rose. They’d goddamn whipped him. Like savages, they’d whip—
“Don’t think, Luke. Don’t. You can’t, not now.” He heaved out a deep breath. “We have to get out of here first.”
“Goddammit…” I wasn’t a pussy. I’d seen violence and witnessed the results of torture. But I’d never encountered a sick carnage like this up close.
Don’t think. Don’t let it in. I blinked hard and slipped a knife under the rope. “Yeah. I found her building. I was thinking to wait until the guards switch later. It’d be suicide to try to get past the door right now.”
I wasn’t stupid enough to even try. Cassidy needed me alive to help her.
He nodded and shuddered as h
is arms were released. With a nearly silent groan, he brought his arms forward. Blood oozed from his cuts and he sucked in a breath. “Lucked out in here though.”
Luck? Was he delusional? How was getting tormented and whipped a good fortune?
He clung to me and stood, jerking his chin toward where the other body lay.
“What?” He was lucky he hadn’t been killed yet, like that woman was? True, but still. I grimaced as he faltered to stand straight.
“Take it easy.”
He deadpanned at me borrowing his words. His fingers clutched at my arm but he pushed me forward. With his other hand propped against the wall for support, he blinked rapidly. “Can you get something to wrap this up?”
Wrap this up? Like it was one injury? He’d need a helluva lot of gauze to slow the bleeding all over his torso and back. Like a mummy’s worth. I watched him closely as he stood. A sharp hiss rent the room as he put weight on his right leg. I reached back to steady him and he jerked his head toward the other wall.
“You find the bag anywhere?”
I shook my head and eased away from him. “No. I scoped out the place and found her building. Then yours. I’m trying to stay out of the way.”
“You kill him?”
I looked back at him, shining the flashlight toward him. He gestured at me—my clothes.
Oh. He meant the guard who’d come with the mace. “No. Barely breathing, but he was out cold. I just wanted to get out of there.”
He nodded. “I’ll hang tight in here while you go get her.”
Tall order. I grabbed some blankets that were heaped on the ground, nowhere near the dead body.
“She was already there when they brought me in here,” he said, likely noticing that I’d done a double-take at the body.
“What did they ask you?” I didn’t doubt Tramer kept his lips shut. His wounds were evidence of some kind of disappointment.
“Nothing about Cassidy or anything to do with a drug or Hendrick.” He took the blankets I brought over. “Just wanted to treat Uncle Sam’s soldiers to a little something extra.”
Reclaim: Project Xol Page 2
