“You did what?”
“Not a real deal—like a...”
“Ruse.”
“Exactly. I told Brian I wanted in.”
“And he bought it?” Colby asked.
Regan leaned against the wall, rubbing the back of his hand with her fingers, his hand so strong under her nimble one. Hands portrayed a lot about a person. Colby’s signified strength and safety to her. She didn’t want to lose the touch between them, either.
“I think so. Probably—at least enough to give me some access in the building. There’s one wing they didn’t want me to go down. Maybe that’s where they’re keeping weapons.”
“Until we know for sure, it doesn’t do me much good to know if there might be some weapons in a room we don’t know if I can get into.”
“Brian has a set of keys. I’ll figure out a way to get them from him. I think it holds some sort of master key to all these locks. Other doors have a punch code.”
“How long are they planning on keeping us here?”
Regan shrugged. “The timeline isn’t clear, but I insisted that we leave the country. I can’t imagine they’d be able to put something together that quickly. Surely not before...the other thing happens.”
The look on Colby’s face wasn’t something she expected—disappointment. He raked his fingers through his hair and paced around the cell. Had she done something wrong?
Finally, he stopped his restless wandering. “Tell me exactly what you told them.”
“I asked for money. A lot of money. He didn’t blink an eye.”
“How much?”
“Twenty-five million. Ten million up front.”
Colby let out a low whistle. Her skin prickled. “And they were fine with that amount?”
“Brian didn’t argue with me.”
“Which tells me you either low-balled them or they have no intention of paying it. The problem is if that amount of money is chump change then they could easily arrange for us to get out of here before our friends arrive. You know what they say about going to a secondary location.”
“What?”
“Don’t go,” Colby stated.
“Why?”
“Because that’s where you get killed.”
“But aren’t we already at the secondary location?”
Colby frowned. “If that was a joke, it’s not funny. If we go outside the US, we’ll be at the mercy of other foreign agents—whoever Brian’s lined up to buy this virus. These are not nice people. They don’t want or care to be reasoned with and they place no value on human life.”
“Colby, it’s not like I actually expected to leave. I had to get Brian to believe me, to gain his trust.”
“Trouble is you might have set a timeline in place that will hinder our actual rescue.”
SIXTEEN
Morning—day six. To say that Colby hadn’t slept well through the night was an understatement. It had been more like periods of adrenaline-dried, comatose slumber interspersed with terror-filled nightmares. He didn’t know how many times he’d woken up and reached across the distance between his and Regan’s cots just to make sure she was still there. Now he watched her stir, her eyes slowly opening. She reached out her hand and held his.
Footsteps echoed down the hall. It was Brian with Baldy, who didn’t have a weapon in his hands. Regardless of what Colby thought, Regan’s ruse had seemed to instill some confidence that she’d be a compliant hostage.
Brian approached the bars. “Ready for your new quarters?”
Regan couldn’t help but clap her hands together. “Olivia? Are you taking me to see her?”
“That’s the plan.” He turned his attention toward Colby. “Did Regan discuss our bargain with you?”
“I’m in complete agreement.”
“Really? You’ll become part of our security team? You’d be willing to kill for our mission?”
Colby didn’t dare look at Regan’s face. He could sense her pleading with him in her mind to not do anything to risk her not getting to see her daughter. If they were together, they would be better off when the compound was hit.
“I’d be willing to even provide some training to your team for the right amount of money. I’m former military—Special Operations Forces to be exact. I can make them even better than they are now.”
Colby studied Brian’s face the way a sniper studied a target through his scope, looking for any subtle notice that he was buying these fabrications. It wasn’t in his nature to lie—he abhorred it—but right now it was necessary to get them out of this mess they were in.
One corner of Brian’s mouth lifted slightly—a smirk. The reason behind the facial gesture could be good or bad. “You know, the two of you surprise me. Who knew you were such dark characters? I think I see us leading very posh lives as soon as we deliver what my buyers want.”
Brian slid the key into the door and unlocked it. Baldy tensed for a moment but when Colby didn’t immediately rush to get out, he seemed to relax.
“If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your daughter.”
Regan stepped through the door. Colby moved to walk in front of her. As they made their way down the corridor, his head scanned side-to-side, constructing a mental map of the building in his mind.
Colby held his breath as he and Regan went through the door. Before he could even take in their surroundings, the door was locked behind them. Immediately, Olivia bounded up from her bed and ran into her mother’s arms. Regan swept her up, planting kisses all over her face, setting her back down and pushing her to arm’s length, giving a studied look of her daughter’s appearance.
Then Regan placed one hand on each of her cheeks. “Olivia.” She hugged her again. “Are you all right? Have they been taking good care of you?”
Olivia nodded her head and wrapped her arms around Regan’s waist. “I missed you.”
Colby turned away. One, to give Regan and her daughter a little privacy, but two, to fight the upswell of emotion within him because the picture of Regan and Olivia holding one another was what he could have had—wanted to have if Brook hadn’t been taken away from him. That moment between mother and daughter encompassed everything missing from his life. Everything he’d dreamed of having.
He felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned to see Olivia standing there. As soon as he turned, she wrapped her thin arms around him and squeezed with all her might. “I’m glad you’re here.”
A pain pierced Colby’s chest. Not a feeling that signified hurt and loss but one that signified hope again for a future he could have. One that he’d once thought that he’d lost forever. He brought his arm protectively around her and hugged her gently. “I am, too.”
Olivia pulled back. Colby glanced at Regan just as she wiped tears from her cheeks and offered him a gentle smile. Colby couldn’t help but put himself in Regan’s mind-set. How long had it been since both of them were treated the way they should by a man? How long had it been since they’d felt safe and protected?
Lord, help me help them. I’ve crossed over into this dangerous place where, if anything happens to them, I’ll want to die, too. Give me the knowledge to figure out a plan to get us out of here safely. Let there be a life for us together.
He smiled to himself at the innocence and yearning of such a prayer. It was what he wanted. He wanted Regan...and Olivia...he wanted all of them together.
“Mr. Colby—”
Colby laughed. The emotion lifted the tension from his chest. “Olivia, just call me Colby.”
“Let me show you everything,” she said.
Olivia took his hand and again he was overwhelmed by what he imagined to be a father’s sense of duty to protect. He allowed her to lead him around the room, showing him the various things she had to entertain herself during her long p
eriods of isolation. The high lilt of her voice drifted into the background as Colby assessed their quarters.
The room was fairly large. It looked like their captors had done some rearranging to keep them housed together. There were two cots placed perpendicular to Olivia’s bed. Cheerful, pink, patterned pillows and blankets adorned the bed she’d been sleeping on. That was a conundrum for Colby. Why make Olivia more comfortable? Had the captors been planning on keeping them here indefinitely? Months? Years even? Had Regan’s seeming willingness to want to be part of their plan changed their minds?
Olivia pulled him into the bathroom—a standing shower, toilet, sink and mirror. The mirror could be broken. Colby glanced behind him. A few towels. Those could be ripped to provide protection for his hand and he could make a rudimentary weapon from the linens and broken mirror pieces. There was also a towel rod. Colby reached up and yanked on it. It was slightly loose. A few good tugs and he could have it free to serve as another weapon.
Back in Olivia’s room he noticed two windows set high near the ceiling. There was a small desk and chair where it appeared Olivia had entertained herself with some drawing and coloring. He grabbed the chair, placed in under the window and stepped up to see if it could form a way of escape.
There was no latch on the inside. The glass had wire mesh embedded in it, like you’d see in a prison. Plus, the windows were small. Not a viable option.
He scanned the ceiling. He couldn’t see any cameras. Did these men truly trust that Regan and Colby would play along? The locked door to the room signified otherwise. It also didn’t mean that there weren’t listening devices. In fact, that was a real probability. They would be easier to hide in an enclosed room such as this versus the open space Colby and Regan had been held in before.
Colby noticed a radio on Olivia’s desk. Interesting. He turned it on and scanned the channels. Finding a music station, he turned it up and motioned Regan toward him. She approached and he settled his hands on her waist, his heart stammering at their physical closeness. He brought one of his hands behind her neck and eased his lips next to her ear.
He whispered. “There could be bugs in here. When we talk about plans like this, the music is on. Whisper only.”
Regan nodded.
“Your job is to find a way to get those keys. Look for weapons.”
Regan pulled back and smiled.
Just as Colby turned the music off, there was a click at their door and Brian popped through.
“What do you think of your new accommodations?”
Colby tried to keep from fisting his hand. “They’re definitely improved. Thank you.”
“Great. Regan, you and I have some work to do. You’ll be coming with me.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “My mom’s coming back here, right?”
“Of course, dear. Just as long as she and Colby do exactly what they’ve promised to do.”
* * *
Regan walked on unsteady legs to the lab. She had violated the sales adage of underpromise and then overdeliver. She had definitely overpromised and now fresh fear revved up her anxiety to somehow pull off her, Colby, and Olivia’s great escape—or at least a way to stay alive until the military arrived, which should be noon tomorrow.
There was much to be apprehensive about. She still faced prosecution if she didn’t provide a list of names to Nicholas as far as buyers went.
Once inside the lab, Brian pulled a notebook where he’d been manipulating some of the early versions of her modified polio virus to see if he could get it to do the deadly things he aspired to do—or least earn him the money he wanted.
Regan used her finger to scan over the formulations. Good news, they certainly weren’t dangerous. The manipulations were some she’d tried and had previously failed. “I think you’re off to a good start. Maybe we should have a different focus.”
“What do you mean?”
Regan motioned to their surroundings. “This isn’t an ideal place for these experiments. How long before we’re discovered here? You’re only a few hours outside Denver.”
“It’s an old top-secret research lab constructed by the military during WWII and decommissioned only after the international treaty was signed in the 1970s. You don’t think they performed biological weapon experiments here?” Brian’s tone was edgy, almost as if she’d slapped him across the face.
Regan couldn’t help herself. “Brian, regardless of what they used to do here, this isn’t a level 4 containment unit. When we create the airborne polio, we’ll be the first to die. We’re not wearing anything that will protect us.”
Brian pounded his fist into the desk and several glass flasks toppled over. Regan started. He turned away from her and paced away, punching one fist into his other palm.
Great. Just what I need. A testy, volatile man who doesn’t understand the basics of microbiology. Now I’m sure the accident at my lab was his fault.
Having no sense of ethical boundaries or safe lab procedure was a deadly mix for everyone. Above all else, she had to keep him from conducting experiments on his own. How do I get him to settle down?
“Brian, I’m sorry. Come sit down. Let’s talk this through.”
He turned back to her and huffed all the way to the lab stool like a petulant toddler she’d just released from time-out.
“Do you know where we’re going yet? What country?” Regan asked.
“I’ve made arrangements. I know they’ll have...what we need.”
“Meaning containment.”
“Yes. Let’s just say they’re known for their work using virulent agents.”
Regan smiled, hoping it seemed warm and genuine and didn’t portray the horror that percolated in her gut. “Excellent. You didn’t mention what country that is.”
Brian smirked. “I’m still not sure about you, Regan. Whether or not I can trust you. Maybe it’s better if you didn’t know.”
“I’m surprised that you would say that. You know as well as I do that my regular life is over. This is the only path for Olivia and me to have a good life. If I go back, make any sort of public appearance again, I’ll be arrested. I doubt I’d have much chance of acquittal based on the likely charges against me and, even if they don’t put me in jail for the rest of my life, I’ll never be a doctor again.”
Regan reached out, covered Brian’s hands with her hers and tried to summon every desperate thought in her mind—which wasn’t hard considering her circumstances. These words had to convince Brian that her fate was aligned with his when she’d truly aligned herself with Colby.
“You’re my only hope, Brian. Please, trust me to do the things I said I would.”
Brian eased his hands out from under hers and reached into the pocket of his lab coat. He pulled out a small red notebook. “We’re going to the Middle East.” He opened his notebook. There was a list of names with money amounts next to each one.
Regan pressed her lips together. No wonder Brian hadn’t balked at her amount. It was about five percent of the amounts she was seeing on the page. Obscene amounts of money. Was there no limit in man to pay for evil?
Brian tapped the page with his finger. “This is the list of all the interested buyers, but the amount they’ll pay is contingent upon when we deliver the product. I’ve been working with a man who has ties to all these entities and is working to get the best price.”
The broker. So Nicholas was right.
Brian continued. “He says he’ll protect us and allow us to work at his compound. I can’t say I entirely trust him, but I think he’s the best choice at this moment. The sooner we deliver the bioweapon, the more money he’ll be able to get, but I’m not the only scientist he’s making deals with. Perhaps just the one with the most promising biological agent.”
“What do you mean?” Regan asked.
“Just what I
said—there’re other interested contractors. Whoever delivers first gets the most money.” Ryan flipped to another page in his book. “These are the other people I know who are trying to create a bioweapon for sale.”
Regan glanced at the list. That book was her Get Out of Jail Free card. It had everything Nicholas Abrams wanted—more than he wanted. Not only would he be able to identify the interested parties, but they could also work to shut down production.
Brian closed the notebook and tucked it back in his pocket. It jingled next to the set of keys Regan desperately wanted to acquire. “Let’s just say I don’t trust computers to keep the information safe. Computers can be hacked.”
But notebooks can be stolen.
He stood from the table. “I think you’re right, Regan. Preparation is the key. We do need to start gathering up the items we need from this facility.” Suddenly he reached for his pants pocket and pulled out a phone. After scanning the message, he began to walk away from her. “I’m needed elsewhere. You’ll find some boxes in one of the back closets.” He stopped and stared at her. “This is your first test, Regan. Don’t disappoint me. I better find you here when I return.” The door closed behind him.
Regan stood there for a few minutes. Would he immediately come back? Several doors slammed and she heard the noise of car engines starting, which drew her to the window.
Brian, Baldy and Ice Man had piled into an SUV and were driving off the property.
Was she alone? Really alone?
SEVENTEEN
The sound of the SUV’s engine roaring to life pulled Colby’s attention to the window. He grabbed the chair from the desk, climbed up and peered through the dusty glass. He counted the occupants. Three. Could it be all of the hostage-takers? Had they really left the inmates in charge of the asylum? He peered to his right at the guard tower. Still one man present, serving as a lookout. His body type didn’t remind him of anyone they’d met yet. The man paced back and forth with a long rifle across his chest.
“What are you doing, Colby?” Olivia asked.
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