Her wrists had been secured with nylon zip ties to a metal bar attached to a long, waist-high counter.
Elisa smelled chemicals, and when she looked around, she recognized lab benches, a centrifuge, and racks of test tubes. She was in a large room lit by banks of fluorescent lights and crowded with lab equipment. No one was around.
Where was she? More importantly, how could she get away?
Ironic. Earlier this morning she’d been feeling as though her life was over just because she’d broken up with her boyfriend. Now, her life really was at risk.
Of course, this all probably had something to do with Adrian. Dating the Captain of Tenebras was dangerous.
But it had been her free choice. And now she had to deal with the consequences.
She pulled herself up to a sitting position. She had some freedom of movement if she twisted her wrists sideways. Could she reach her cell phone? But it was gone. Of course they would take it. She blinked several times, trying to get rid of the dizziness and pain.
A voice sounded behind her. “Is this one of the subjects I’ve been promised?” Adrenaline shot through Elisa’s body, and she twisted to face the speaker.
“Yep, she’s all yours. Clean, as requested.” Mario stood in the doorway, leering at her. Elisa narrowed her eyes and glared.
He’d caught her off-guard in her apartment. She should have kept Adrian’s self-defense training in mind at all times. He’d warned her that she should always be ready for an attack. But in her emotional funk, she hadn’t kept her focus. Even if she never saw Adrian again, she wouldn’t forget what he had taught her.
If she ever got out of this lab alive, that was.
An older man stood beside Mario, deep creases in his forehead and brown stains on all his fingers. He eyed Elisa with a blank, unsmiling stare that chilled her all the way down to her toes.
She gritted her teeth. She’d be damned if she’d give in to Mario and his allies.
She pushed herself to a more stable position, tugging surreptitiously at the zip ties around her wrists. Unfortunately, there wasn’t an inch of give.
The man nodded irritably to Mario. “Go feed the subjects in the back room. You’ve been gone long enough.” He slammed the door almost on Mario’s back, and Elisa was alone in the lab with him.
She lifted her chin. “Who are you and what do you think you’re doing?” she demanded. “Let me go at once.” She was not going to show fear even though her heart was pounding so hard, she thought it would burst the buttons on her blouse.
The man snorted. “Let you go? I paid too much for you. But you should be grateful—your useless life will, at last, be of service to the greater good.”
He slowly approached, holding something behind his back.
Adrian
Adrian straightened up from where he’d been examining a stain on Elisa’s coffee table. Rory had reported something suspicious happening around her building, so he’d gone to check on it personally. When he’d knocked on her apartment door, there had been no answer. He’d been furious to see the guard he’d set on the building had been missing. Clearly Schwartz—or someone else—had made his move.
Despite all his safeguards, all his efforts.
Had they killed her or just taken her? And where? He looked around the room one more time, his mind working frantically. He forced himself to breathe deeply. Logic was what he needed now, cold and clear logic, not blind emotion. His chest expanded and his clenched shoulders relaxed.
If they’d wanted to kill her, they wouldn’t have bothered taking her. That meant they had some other plan. He’d thought he’d set things up so that Schwartz would learn that he and Elisa were no longer together. So what could have led them to arrange for her kidnapping?
His mind ticked over the various points of logic. It was all too likely a parting shot against him combined with something they needed. Why might they need Elisa? And for how long would they keep her alive?
His phone buzzed. “Yes, Rory?”
His lieutenant’s voice was strained and breathless. “I missed them. Goddammit, they’ve got Sierra.”
“All right. We’ll find them. I’ll pick you up.”
Rory had gone to the homeless encampment downtown. It must have been Mario and his lackeys who were collecting people. And based on Adrian’s research into Schwartz’s and Holman’s files and secret experiments, Mario could only have taken them to one place.
Schwartz Pharmaceuticals.
If Schwartz and Mario were collecting lab subjects for Holman, Elisa would be there as well. And according to what Adrian had discovered, their human subjects didn’t last long after being injected with the drugs.
They only had hours. Maybe minutes.
Rory
Only a few weeks ago, Adrian had approached Rory.
“I know where she is.”
Rory forced nonchalance onto his face. “What?” He had to pretend not to care, not to know what it was all about. But inside, he was panicking. This must be about Sierra. How could Adrian have learned about her? How could he have found where she was when Rory had failed for years?
But most of all: what would he do to her now that he knew?
Because it was true that Rory had had disloyal thoughts. And his leader was unforgiving. He had seen evidence of that many times before.
Adrian smiled a thin, cool smile.
Rory swallowed and backed away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’ve learned some interesting things these past few months,” said Adrian casually.
“What do you mean?” asked Rory. He rubbed his palms on his jeans, the skin on his fingers cold.
“I’m proposing a deal. One that will end with both of us achieving our desires.”
Rory’s heart was beating fast, but he tried to appear calm. “Spill it then,” he said flippantly.
“What would it be worth to you, for Sierra Mayes to be safe?”
“Who?” Rory’s eyes were flat and hard.
In an instant, Adrian had him flat against the wall, elbow at his throat pressing against his jugular. Rory choked and his fingers scrabbled ineffectually at Adrian’s iron grasp.
Adrian’s eyes blazed. “I don’t have time to play games,” he said coldly. “This will be your one and only opportunity. I’m being generous in return for your past loyalty. Exceedingly generous, since I know what you’ve been planning. Are you ready to listen?”
He released the pressure slightly, and Rory’s vision started to return. He coughed and rubbed his throat. “Yes, Captain,” he rasped.
Adrian gave him a long, cool look, holding him in place almost effortlessly. Rory coughed again and dropped his eyes. “Sorry,” he whispered.
“Very well. Here’s my offer. I promise you Sierra Mayes’s safety and my protection. In return, you give me absolute loyalty and obedience. I have a plan for you to follow. At the end of the year, if you follow it, I’ll release you from Tenebras with a nest egg, new identities, and the chance to start a new life.”
Rory swallowed, fingers still kneading his throat. “Why?” he squeaked. “You always told me attachments were weaknesses.”
Adrian released him. “Let’s just say… I’ve found what might be the greatest strength of all.”
Rory ran out of the alley and wedged himself into the front seat of the Lotus. Adrian put the car in gear and they swung away from the curb.
“I was too late,” Rory cried. “By the time I got to the homeless encampment, everyone was gone. Sierra was gone.” He blinked rapidly and brushed his hair out of his eyes.
“Did you find out who was running the operation?” Adrian accelerated around a panel truck and cut in front of it. Rory was thrown back into the bucket seat.
“Two that fit the description of Mario and Lonnie.”
Adrian tightened his lips. “As we suspected.”
“I swear, I’ve been doing everything you ordered. To the letter. I thought they were all fooled. I was sure they
believed I was betraying you.”
“Maybe they did,” Adrian mused. “It may just be a coincidence that they picked up Sierra today.” He glanced at Rory. “I found some documentation at the company that shows they’ve been conducting human experiments for a while. Using them to test new variants of Rapture.”
He nodded at his cell phone clamped in a dashboard holder. “There’s a secured section of the lab I’ve been meaning to access. But there isn’t a lot of time.” A glowing dot shimmered on a map display.
Rory’s fists clenched. “We’ve got to get her out.”
“We’re getting them all out,” Adrian said. He shot through a yellow light and accelerated around a line of traffic. “I’m taking Schwartz Pharmaceuticals down.”
“How can we get inside the building? I thought they had some really high tech security.”
Adrian smiled tightly. “They do. But as it happens, they have a rather technologically sophisticated enemy.”
The back loading dock at Schwartz Pharmaceuticals was hidden behind high walls. Adrian parked his car some distance away, and he and Rory wrapped their jackets around themselves and approached the building on foot. Adrian fiddled with a small device, fingers stiff in the icy wind. “I’m disabling the surveillance cameras on this end. We’ll only have a few minutes to get in before they reactivate.”
Adrian tried the knob on the back door. It clicked open, and they both paused, but no alarms sounded. They slipped inside.
This part of the lab wasn’t even held to the slipshod standards of cleanliness of the front offices. Grime and dirt streaked the floors, and rusty irregular patches smudged the formerly white walls. The air stank with an old animal smell that reminded Rory of the zoo. The reek only intensified as they moved up the corridor, guns at the ready.
“About sixty more seconds until the security system reboots,” Adrian murmured to Rory. He gestured toward the end of the corridor. “There’s our target.” Up ahead, an unmarked door with a heavy lock stood ajar.
Rory took point, his gun out, darting around the corner. Adrian followed, scanning to the rear and behind them. At Rory’s intake of breath, he ran forward.
The big, low room stretching before them was dimly lit. Lopsided rows of cages were stacked to the ceiling. The animal stench intensified.
But what lay before their eyes surprised even them.
Each of the cages contained a human being.
30
Elisa
THE MAN INCHED FORWARD, staring at Elisa as though she was a particularly delectable meal. She gritted her teeth and strained against the bindings.
“You’ll do just fine,” he said, looking her up and down. “No sign of liver damage, skin is clear, no apparent addictions. How much do you drink?”
She glared and lifted her chin. “At least eight glasses of water every day.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “A sense of humor, too. What a find.” He picked up a notebook, jotted down a few lines, and set it down.
He circled her, leering. “We’ll see, we’ll see,” he said, rubbing his hands together. He vanished around a bank of equipment and came back holding a syringe.
Sweat started out on Elisa’s forehead. “What’s that?” she demanded.
“You’ll soon find out.” The man set the syringe on the table, pulled out the notebook again, and made a few quick notes. “Hmmm, how much do you weigh?”
She tossed her head. “That’s one of the questions you never ask.”
He chuckled. “Estimated body weight, height, age,” he mumbled to himself, scribbling. “Heh heh, Alfred, so much for your Operation DeLorean. You wouldn’t have gotten anywhere if it weren’t for me. I am the genius here.”
Alfred—that was the name of the CEO of Schwartz Pharmaceuticals. He worked with a scientist called Eric Holman. So she’d been brought to the company where Adrian had his internship. And DeLorean? What was he talking about?
She tugged again at the zip ties. She was not going to be somebody’s lab experiment. Didn’t fear give you unusual strength? Maybe adrenaline would help her break the straps.
Holman took the cap off the syringe and squeezed out a few drops of liquid. He approached her, baring yellowed teeth. “Now, darling, be good. It’s time for your shot.”
At his words, she tensed. He came closer. Her self-defense training with Adrian came back to her, crystal clear. “Wait until they’re within range, then move suddenly and precisely.”
Holman swooped in to grab her arm, and she reared back, lifting both legs, bracing herself against the lab bench, and kicked hard, straight at the hand that held the syringe.
She was slightly off target, but she hit his hand, and the needle went flying, skittering off into a corner. His face turned red with rage. “You goddamned bitch,” he snarled, nursing his hand.
His tone of voice pierced her. Hadn’t she been called those very same words before? They’d told her to be good, do what she was told, don’t resist, be a good girl. Don’t be a bitch. Girls are supposed to be good.
And by good they meant passive.
Someone who sat there and took whatever punishment she was given, as though she deserved it.
But she didn’t deserve it. She never had.
“You stupid child,” Holman spat. “Did you really think anything you do matters? I’ve got plenty more where that came from.” He spun a table on wheels. It rattled over the floor, displaying a rack that contained several dozen hypodermics prepped and ready to go.
If she had to kick every single one of those needles out of his hand, she would.
He picked up another syringe and sidled toward her.
An alarm blared through the lab and he started. The intercom squawked, “Breach in zone 3A. Breach in zone 3A.”
“Damn. That’s the—” He snarled, “Don’t move, bitch. I’ll be back for you in less than five minutes.” He dropped the needle on the table and left.
Alone in the room, Elisa frantically tugged at her restraints. It was no good.
Casting a quick glance at the door, she tugged herself a few feet along the metal bar she was lashed to. On a shelf at the far end of the lab bench stood a number of small, neatly labeled dark brown glass bottles with ground-glass stoppers. A few white plastic bottles dotted the row.
Maybe there was some acid on the shelf that could dissolve the plastic that was holding her. She deciphered the chemical formulas in her head.
HCl: hydrochloric acid. Ouch.
H2SO4: sulfuric acid. Double ouch.
HF: hydrofluoric acid. She shuddered. That, especially, wouldn’t do any good. It could dissolve just about everything, including human flesh and bone, but not plastic. Not something she wanted to risk spilling over her wrists.
There. A polypropylene bottle at the end of the row. C3H6O. She read the chemical formula once, then twice, sudden hope leaping in her chest.
Acetone.
Otherwise known as nail polish remover. One of the few fluids that could dissolve plastic. And nylon zip ties.
Straining against the ties, she lifted a leg onto the bench, stretching as far as she could with her toes, aiming for the shelf. She reached toward the bottle.
It was just a little too far out of reach. She dropped her leg and leaned forward. Now her face was only a couple of inches away, but those inches might as well have been a mile for all the good it could do her. Her body just wouldn’t stretch far enough. It was a physical limit, impossible to overcome.
She sagged against the bench. It was hopeless. What was she thinking?
Her mother scolded, “Look at the mess you’ve gotten yourself into. It’s all your fault, you know. Why bother? Just sit still and let it happen to you.”
Elisa bent her head and her hair fell over her face. Maybe she could just hide behind it, pretend none of this was happening.
Just like she used to do.
She sat, panting, immobile, while hopelessness and fear drenched her. There never had been any hope. She was goi
ng to die here, a victim of some crazy experiment. It was nothing more than she deserved.
Wasn’t it?
The thick curtain of her hair darkened her vision and hid the room from view.
No. She didn’t deserve to die. She had too much to live for.
She had a future career in biochemistry.
She had someone who loved her.
Her breath caught in her throat. Someone who loved her. While they were both alive, there was still hope.
She wasn’t going to give up. She was never going to give up again.
The fluorescent lights glowed through the long auburn strands before her eyes, tracing golden lines of light from one end of her field of view to the other. It almost looked familiar.
The lines of her hair. The length of her hair.
Her hair.
She reared back as far as she could, arching her back, pulling against the ties, and then abruptly snapped her neck forward. Her long hair swung out and knocked the bottle off the shelf. It toppled over and landed with a small thunk on the laminate tabletop.
She lunged forward and captured it with her teeth. The polypropylene yielded slightly, and she tasted plastic. Twisting her head, she slowly, carefully unscrewed the top with her mouth.
The fumes hit her. She nearly gagged and dropped the bottle, but she held on until she was dizzy for lack of air and the muscles in her jaw ached. The bottle top loosened, then wobbled off.
She carefully angled her head so the bottle tipped sideways. Liquid splashed over the zip ties and across her hands, an icy cold spray over her wrists.
The acetone evaporated rapidly from her skin, chilling it further, and she tugged experimentally at the cable ties. Were they a little looser?
How many of the five minutes had gone by? It felt as if she had been there forever. How long until Holman returned?
She yanked her wrists apart with all her strength.
Yes! There was more give in the zip ties. She tried again. One piece of the plastic had softened and stretched. All that working out with weights as part of her self-defense training was paying off.
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