by Julie Rowe
“Mouse,” River drawled his name for her. “You’ve been spending time with the wrong men.”
“And you’re the right one?”
“Yep.”
“Now you’re just being ridiculous. What we did…earlier, was blow off steam.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “I’m keeping things light so I don’t scare you off, but I’m serious.”
“I’m a geek, and I’m the only woman around.”
“That’s an insult to both of us.”
She sighed. “You’re right, I’m sorry, I just…I lost my fiancé a year ago, and I’m still finding it hard to move on, I guess. Part of me is scared to move on.”
Well, shit. “I’m sorry. Was it…bad?”
“Is any death easy?” She hesitated, glanced at him, then continued. “He was a soldier. He was training soldiers in the Afghan Army. There was an accident, friendly fire, I was told.”
“I heard about an incident like that.” The soldier who died hadn’t been anyone he knew directly, but a couple of guys on that same training mission had said the victim of the friendly fire had a habit of jumping with both feet into a situation, when he should have done more planning.
Her fears about safety and assessing risks accurately made a lot more sense.
“Damn, that’s a shitty way to die,” River said to her as gently as he could.
“He used to say that my worrying about him was unnecessary stress. He knew what he was doing, and he trusted the people he served with. I should have trusted him more—” That last word was cut off abruptly as she audibly sucked in a breath.
Shit, she was trying not to cry.
“A deployment can be harder for the people who love us back home than it is for the soldier themselves. We’re usually kept pretty busy, but our family members have plenty of time to worry and imagine all the things that can go wrong.” All he could see in her eyes were tears threatening to fall.
“Yeah.” It was barely a whisper. “And when it does all go wrong, we have to no way to cope and no one to blame.”
“It’s nice to have a faceless enemy to hang all the shit on. No one has to think too hard about that. Don’t have to rationalize death when we can blame it on an extremist. It gets harder when the cause is avoidable or accidental.” He glanced at her again, but she was studying her gloved hands. “The sad truth is, most of the time death makes no sense. We’re all going to get there. All we can do is our best until our time is up.”
Something suspiciously close to a sob came out of her. “Is this your version of suck it up, princess?”
“I don’t know. Is it helping?” Because if it wasn’t, he was the biggest asshole ever.
She snorted a laugh, which sounded weird with her respirator on, then she shook her head and muttered, “Men.” She looked away, but her left hand touched his shoulder, squeezed once, and then it fell away.
A spot in the center of his chest that had been wound so tight it made breathing difficult let go, allowing his chest rise and fall with air for the first time in what felt like hours. He hadn’t hurt her, maybe even had helped her.
He wanted to do it again. Wanted her to reach out and touch him because he was just as hurt as she. Not for the same reasons, but the result left him in a similar place.
A couple of minutes later, River pulled up and parked outside a nondescript brick building.
“Is this it?” Ava asked.
“It should be.”
There were no people in sight.
They got out of the van, Ava grabbing her specimen collection kit at the same time as he snagged his rifle.
“Let’s hope no one sees us,” she said.
River led the way to the entrance. “I believe in the CYA combat strategy.”
“CYA?”
“Cover your ass.”
She groaned. “That’s not a combat strategy, that’s a life strategy.” Then she called Dr. Rodrigues, telling her that they were checking out the microbiology lab at the university as a precaution. She listened to for a moment, then said, “Interesting. We’ll let you know if we find anything.” She listened again. “No ma’am, Sergeant River is armed.”
She ended the call.
“They got more information on Ethan Harris about five minutes ago. He’s listed as taking two first-year microbiology classes. One last semester and one this semester.”
“So everyone knows?”
“Yep. I suspect Homeland Security is going to be joining us shortly.”
“Well, let’s see what we can see before they get here.”
He led the way inside, looking for anything that might be out of place. The bastards had blown up a college kid and coffee shop, a mall, the main gate at a military base, a dorm, and city hall. He wouldn’t be surprised to find anywhere they might have worked or hidden stuff to also have IEDs.
There was a room map of the building near the stairs. A number of labs were listed, as well as lecture rooms and a few instructor offices.
“Any clue on that phone about which lab to start with?” Ava asked him.
He shook his head. “The building should be empty. Why don’t we nose around and see if anyone is still here?”
“The straightforward approach is nice, for a change.” She gestured for him to lead the way.
“When have we not been straightforward?”
“How about the first time I heard your voice telling me how to keep a terrorist with a high fever calm?”
“There was nothing overly sneaky about that.”
“Okay, how about you stealing that phone and notebook from Geer?”
“He stole it in the first place.”
“Or us not telling Homeland about this little trip.”
He frowned at her. “Whose side are you on?”
“Just keeping it honest.”
They reached the second floor, which was where all the labs were housed. They began opening doors, or trying to. Everything was locked.
River muttered about paranoia in academia as he picked the lock of the first door they tried.
The lab inside was dark, and the only things alive were the bacterial cultures Ava found in incubators. They were labeled with the names of bacteria.
Ava went through them all.
“These are all commonly found bacteria from the human body. No pathogens here.”
“Next lab.”
River picked three more locks before they found a lab containing pathogens that made Ava’s mouth tighten in disapproval.
“They should have better signage regarding the danger of these organisms,” she said as she looked around the room.
“What are they?”
“Clostridia bacteria. Some of them are very pathogenic. They cause things like gas, gangrene, tetanus, and botulism.”
“Why are you surprised to find them?”
“They’re anaerobes. They don’t survive in the presence of oxygen, but they do form spores, and that’s what makes them dangerous.”
“Spores? Like Anthrax?”
“Close. These need to be handled with more care and more protective equipment than I’m seeing in here.”
“Could one of these bacteria cause the disease that’s killing people?”
“No. Meningitis is quite different.”
“Then we need to carry on.”
She nodded, and they moved on to the next lab.
River crouched in front of the doorknob, his lock picks out when she tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at the bottom of the door. Light.
None of the other labs had lights left on.
They looked at each other, then he rose from his crouch and waved at her to follow him.
They stopped some distance down the hall.
“Maybe we should call for…” She took a second to find the correct word. “Backup.”
“Like who? Homeland?” he asked her as he stroked his rifle. “They’re on their way. Do you want to wait for them?”
“Not really.”
/> “Then why consider calling them?”
She gestured at him, then herself. “There’s just the two of us.”
River smiled. She had no idea how deadly he could be. “Two is all we need.”
“But—” she sputtered. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“What do they teach you in Special Forces school?”
“I already told you that.”
“You told me about your medical and language training.”
“We’re military first. I know how to kill in more ways than most people can count.”
She stared at him, her eyes wide, and didn’t seem to breathe for a couple of moments. “What if…” She paused, and he let her gather her thoughts. Her face was pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes.
He’d frightened her.
Idiot.
“Roger Squires’s apartment had grenades in it.” Her voice grew more confident as she spoke. “What if this lab has its own booby trap?”
Her question indicated he hadn’t completely fucked up. These terrorists had shown no hesitation in using explosives so far, and it might make her feel better if he took a little extra time.
“I know we have to find the source of the pathogen, but we need to be safe about it.”
There was that word again. Safe. Nothing about this situation was safe, but, maybe he could compromise. River reached into the tool kit attached to his waist, took out a dentist’s mirror, and showed it to her.
“Let’s have a look, shall we?”
Damn, if her eyes didn’t light up at the sight of the tiny tool. There was no reason for his cock to sit up and take notice, but it did. Stupid thing.
Fuck, he had it bad.
He kept his rifle out of the way with his left hand as he got down on the floor in front of the lit-up lab and eased the mirrored end under the door. There were about two inches of space to work with, more than enough.
What the mirror allowed him to see had him freezing in place.
The doorknob had a wire attached to it.
He followed the wire and found its end tied to the pin of a grenade that lay against the wall next to the door. The moment anyone opened that door, they would pull the pin out and blow themselves to hell.
“Fuck.”
How the hell had anyone managed to set up that booby trap and still leave the room?
Were there other hazards?
He let the mirror show him more of the room.
“Fuck, as in what a fucking mess, or fuck, as in an IED?” Ava asked.
How could she ask that question like it was an intellectual query and not the fucking disaster their situation was? Again.
“IED,” he replied shortly, then just to be sure she understood him completely, he added, “When I catch the fucking fuckers, they’re going to be fucked.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
That was probably the smart thing to do.
He turned the mirror to see more of the left side of the room and found a body. “Someone’s in there, lying on the floor. Want to bet they’re dead?”
“Not really. I believe you. What else can you see?”
He angled the mirror so he could scan the wall farthest away from them. A large grocery-store style refrigerator took up most of the space. It looked mostly empty. “There are petri dishes and other lab equipment on the floor. Looks like they cleared out a bunch of stuff, and neatness didn’t count.”
“Can you get us inside safely?”
“Not with the equipment I have on me.”
It was going to take time to get the right equipment, and even then, this wasn’t a military mission with his team in a foreign country. He was going to have to follow law-enforcement procedures, bring in someone from the bomb squad.
It could take hours.
Hours they didn’t have.
Chapter Seventeen
8:12 a.m.
Ava’s hands shook, she was so angry.
She was tired of arriving too late.
Tired of finding victims.
Tired of explosive devices stopping her from doing her job.
She pulled out her cell phone and called Dr. Rodrigues. She was so angry it took two tries to enter the correct numbers.
“It’s me,” she said, knowing she sounded like she wanted to kill someone. “I need a list of everyone who used the lab in room number 217 in the biology building at the college.”
“You found something?” her boss asked, sounding exhausted.
“Another dead body and another grenade. If we open this door, we blow ourselves up. However, given the use of the grenade, there may be important evidence in there.”
“Let’s try to avoid another explosion, shall we? I’ll make some calls and get back to you.”
Something in Dr. Rodrigues’s voice caught Ava’s attention, and she tapped the speakerphone tab so River could hear. “What happened?”
“The college was cooperating completely with us until about fifteen minutes ago. Now I’ve got lawyers trying to put limits on our powers of investigation in court, and the college won’t give us any more information until the judge makes a ruling.”
“Can they do that in a state of emergency?”
“They’re arguing the state of emergency is unwarranted.”
“Unwarranted?” Shock turned her voice shrill. Ava couldn’t believe it. “How many people have to die before it’s warranted?” She wanted to hit something.
“You got lists of Roger Squires’s classes and those of his roommates’ classes, too, right?” River asked, joining in on the conversation.
“Yes, that came in before this latest brouhaha.”
“Compare those lists with anyone in a position of authority at the college. Maybe someone’s kid got mixed up in this, and Mom and Dad are trying to do damage control. This place needs to be off limits to everyone until we can get in there and figure out what happened,” River said.
“Homeland sent agents. They should be there any time. They’ll assist you in securing the room.”
“Understood.” He looked unhappy, but resigned. “And if this lead doesn’t pan out?”
“Sergeant River, I’d like you to take a look at the bombing sites at the mall and at the army base. Dr. Lloyd, I’d like some samples from both sites as well. Is there evidence of the same types of explosives being used? Could the grenades you keep finding come from the base?”
The stairwell door at the opposite end of the hall opened, and three homeland agents came through it. Toland, and another two they’d already met.
“What did you find?” Toland asked, once they were close enough to talk without shouting.
“One lab has lights on. I gave the room a visual check before opening the door and discovered it was booby-trapped with a grenade.” River held out the dental mirror.
Toland took the tool and laid it down flat on the floor in front of the door. He took his time, using the mirror to check as much of the room as River did. He got to his feet and held the mirror out to River. “The wires and grenade seem like a rudimentary mechanical trap to me. I can’t say I’ve seen anything close enough like it to suspect a specific terrorist group.”
“It sort of reminded me of the kind of trap used to catch rabbits or small game,” River said, nodding.
“How did they get out?” Ava asked. The question had been bugging her since River described the tripwire tied to the doorknob.
“We need some better optical equipment and a bomb tech,” River suggested. “I think the only trap is the trip wire, but I’m not willing to risk anyone’s life on it.”
“The FBI has the kind of equipment we need.” Toland pulled out his cell phone. “Their bomb experts might be the best people to call in.”
“Do you think this is it?” Ava asked River quietly. “Have we found the source?”
“Maybe the place the bug was manufactured, but there’s got to be more people involved in this. Someone called Roger Squires at the coffee shop. T
he explosions at the mall and the gate at Fort Bliss were caused by suicide bombers, who almost always have a handler. Someone to choose the target, provide the explosives, and keep the bombers focused on their targets.”
“An iceberg,” Ava whispered. “What we’ve seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg. Most of it is below the waterline, out of sight.”
“Yeah.”
“Whatever is in that lab might help reveal who else is involved.”
“Maybe.” He sounded uncertain. “What I don’t like is how easy it was to get here. Too easy. No hocus pocus, just a straight line from A to B. It was a straight line to the dorm and another straight line to this lab. Evidence left where it could be found with names and locations. I think we’re being led around by the nose.”
“What do you suggest we do? Ignore the lab?”
“No. If we can disarm the trap and get in there safely, I’m sure there will be plenty of intel in there. I’m just thinking that whoever is behind all this left lots of low-hanging fruit to distract and delay us.”
“Okay. So, we need two teams? One to investigate here and another to push forward, past the low-hanging fruit?”
River nodded. “Time to check in with Dr. Rodrigues and fill her in on what we’ve found and what we think needs to happen.” He glanced down the hall at Toland and the other two agents.
Ava backed up several steps and called Dr. Rodrigues. “River is…suspicious.”
“This is a complicated situation,” the other woman said slowly. “One that’s rapidly getting worse. The death toll is now at sixty-three, with another two hundred and fifteen showing symptoms. We need to know who created this strain and how they did it to have any hope of understanding this bug quickly.”
Ava understood her boss’s priorities, but if River was right, they needed to figure out what the real endgame was.
She glanced at the knot of men quietly discussing how best to get inside the lab. Three of them in their dark suits, wearing respirators. River wore his respirator and scrubs with his body armor on overtop and his rifle cradled in his arms, but that wasn’t what set him apart.
He was of average height, but in every other way, he was exceptional. Observant, intelligent, motivated, and yes, decisive. Even wearing safety gear covering more than half of his face, he was easily the most attractive man she’d met in a very long time.