What Remains_Mutation

by Kris Norris

  He covered half the distance between them, crossing his arms on his chest. “Can we just forgo the pleasantries and get down to what’s really important? I don’t care if you’re some super soldier or an international spy. What I want to know is who the hell that man was you were traveling with, and what he was the key to?”

  The guy she suspected to be Kace’s brother sighed, shaking his head as he joined Kace, patting the man on the shoulder. “You’ll have to forgive my brother Kace. His brilliance sometimes overshadows his tact. I’m Rhys. This is Emersyn and Hunter.”

  “You were in here the other day.”

  Rhys’ lips twitched. “Impressive. I was certain you were going to fall flat on your face.”

  “I would have, given enough time.” She motioned to Kace. “Cogan said you had a serum. Are you a doctor?”

  “Biochemist. Now can we get back to the questions?”

  Harper fisted her hands, pushing off the chair before making her way over to the table. A sheet still covered Lelin’s body, and she pulled it back to gaze down at the man who’d made her life a living hell. Who’d made the world one. His skin was an eerie shade of gray, the bloody mark on his neck tinged a deep black. She stared at the long laceration between his eyes, noting how the edges still looked sharp. Of all the possible scenarios, she’d never imagined she’d end up killing the bastard. Not after all she’d endured.

  She looked away, allowing the sheet to fall from her grasp. It made an odd whispering sound as it pooled over the body, the noise openly mocking her. She’d failed.

  A hand touched hers and she glanced up, pinned by the deep brown of Cogan’s eyes. The man seemed more than concerned, his brow crinkled into a deep vee. The visible display humbled her, and she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile as she raised her chin, facing the waiting crowd. Regardless of the outcome, they deserved to know the truth. However dismal it was.

  Barrett moved ahead, pointing at the corpse. “I can see the look on your face, but I’m pretty damn sure that national security isn’t much of a concern anymore. If you know something that might save us—”

  “Save us?” She laughed at the thought, though it was anything but funny. “I just sentenced everyone to death. Or maybe I just sealed it, but either way, I killed whatever chance at survival we had left when I put a knife in that bastard’s head.” She kicked at the floor, her shoulders drooping as she faced the reality of that one action. The price of not getting up quick enough after taking the knife to her shoulder. The cost of being weak. “One fucking job. Keep him alive long enough to make him reverse this. Somehow force him to undo what he did. And I blew it.”

  Barrett frowned. “You’re not really making sense. Who was that guy?”

  She swallowed past the lump in her throat, wishing she could lie if only to save what little pride she had left. “His name was Dr. Lelin Granger. And he was this world’s last hope.”

  Chapter Five

  Sully stared at Harper, his protective instincts hitting high alert. There was no mistaking the broken quality to her voice, or the way her shoulders hunched in shame. It didn’t seem to matter that they’d been the cause of her actions—the reason she’d had to kill the man—only that she’d seemingly failed. He moved forward when Kace hissed out a breath.

  The man darted over to the gurney, yanking back the cover as he stared at the dead man’s face. Disbelief shaped his features when he finally turned to Harper, his lips slightly parted. “His last name’s Granger? As in the Lelin Granger who rewrote everything we know about parasitic infection? The man’s been underground for years. Shit, I thought he’d died long ago. He’s a fucking legend!”

  Harper scowled at Kace. “The man was insane. That’s the only thing I know for certain.”

  Kace shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. “You do realize that Granger may have been the only man on the face of the planet that could have turned this thing around, right? And you let him get bitten?”

  Sully moved, slipping between Kace and Harper when the other man took a calculated step forward. Cogan and Jake followed suit, stopping when they flanked her. Emersyn reacted in kind, but Rhys held her back, watching but not interfering.

  Kace growled, turning to storm across the room before facing them again. “What the fuck, Sully? Do you have any idea how important that man was?”

  Sully held his ground. “What I know is that you’re blaming someone whose actions were the direct result of us fucking up, not to mention the fact the asshole wasn’t even human when Harper killed him…to save Cogan’s life. Again.”

  Kace glanced at the man in question, hissing out a breath as he appeared to release some of his anger. He kicked at the floor, stuffing his hands in his pocket with enough force one of the seams ripped. “I apologize for the outburst. I’m just…frustrated.”

  Harper huffed, pushing her way through Cogan and Jake, signaling Sully to stand down. “No one knows the price of that hit more than me.”

  Sully grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at him. “You took a knife to the shoulder to save someone you didn’t even know rather than kill Lelin outright. I think that tells us all we need to know.”

  She shook her head, shame once again hunching her shoulders. “It was my fault. I’d been guarding the bastard for years. Spent the last three months traipsing his ass across the damn countryside searching for somewhere to hide him. It’s not like he hadn’t tried to kill me before. I should have been three moves ahead of him. But when he grabbed Cogan… I just reacted. And after everything the bastard had done, I couldn’t let him claim another innocent life.”

  Sully gave her a shake when she went to look away. “I don’t understand. Why the hell would he try to kill you if you were the only reason he was still alive? And what had he done?”

  She sighed, leaning against Jake when the man moved in behind her. She looked lost. Defeated.

  Her gaze rose to his before snagging Kace’s. “I know that once upon a time, Lelin Granger must have been a brilliant scientist. But trust me when I tell you, he wasn’t the man you think he was. Not anymore.” She took what looked like a fortifying breath. “He was a monster.”

  Rhys moved beside his brother. “Monster? How?”

  “Who the hell do you think created this damn infection? Lelin wasn’t interested in stopping it. He was trying to enhance it.”

  Sully stared at Harper, ears ringing, breath lodged in his chest as he tried to process what she’d said. After all the speculation, the guessing, she’d confirmed his worst fears. A man had caused the infection. It’d been deliberate. Gray dots swam at the edges of his vision as acid churned in his gut. He shifted his gaze to Cogan and Jake, but they seemed as stunned as him, simply darting their focus from Harper to the dead man and back.

  Kace recovered first. “Lelin Granger engineered this? Are you certain?”

  Sadness flickered in her eyes as she nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  Kace pursed his lips, staring at the floor as he slowly walked over to the counter. Emersyn joined him, moving into his arms when he opened them, her head resting against his chest. Sully bit back a curse. This was seriously fucked up. He stepped closer to Harper when Barrett swore, striding across the room.

  He fisted his hands at his side, glancing at Cogan and Jake before settling his gaze on Harper. “Who the hell are you, lady?”

  She studied the man, slowly scanning the room as if deciding what to say when she finally focused on Lelin’s corpse over her shoulder. “Does it matter? Nothing will bring the bastard back. Not even his bloody little parasites.”

  Cogan cupped her elbow, drawing her gaze. “It might help us understand if you start at the beginning.” He gave her a smile. “Rhys seems to think you’re an assassin.”

  Harper glanced at the man in question then back to each of them. “What do you three think?”

  Cogan’s smile widened. “You’ve definitely got double O written all over you, sweetheart.”

  She laugh
ed, an easy, lilting tone that sent curls of heat flashing across Sully’s skin. Fuck, nothing but the sound of her voice and he got tunnel vision, his thoughts focused on making her laugh again.

  Harper gave Cogan’s hand a squeeze as some of the tension seemed to ease. “Close, but not quite.” She sighed, releasing a weary breath. “Sorry to disappoint you, Rhys, but I’m not an assassin. I was MI6. I started as a linguistic specialist, though it didn’t take long for my superiors to realize I excelled in other, more physical areas. I made the transition into a covert operative fairly quickly and spent several years running missions throughout Europe.”

  Barrett groaned. “Great. You guys go looking for Gunner and bring back Jason Bourne.”

  She scoffed. “Don’t be an ass. My specialty was actually keeping targets alive, not killing them.” She glanced at the sheet again. “Though you’d never know it from this mission.”

  Sully snugged in behind her, drawing her back against his chest. “You kept the bastard alive, by yourself, for three months outside. I’d say you did a pretty damn good job. And we don’t even know the circumstances you faced before you left whatever facility you had him in. There must have been a damn good reason you left.”

  Barrett nodded. “Why don’t you tell us how an MI6 agent ended up in Colorado?”

  “Let’s just say my unique qualifications gained the interest of a certain American agency. They decided they needed a specialist and got me reassigned to them…temporarily, of course.”

  Darcy slapped his hand on his leg. “I was right. You’re CIA.”

  “Not by choice. But when they make a request, it’s not really an option to turn them down. They consider it…impolite.”

  “So how does the good doctor fit into all this?”

  “Several years ago, Lelin Granger made a breakthrough in parasitic infection.” She nodded at Kace. “Right about the time he went underground. He found a way to combine organisms, creating a parasite that had all of the strengths of its constituents but none of the weaknesses. Initially, the man was using his research for beneficial means…a way of integrating damaged neural cells and allowing the host to regain control over bodily functions. When he started making significant leaps forward, concerned parties decided he needed to be watched, for his own safety. I was one of a select few agents assigned to him.”

  Darcy snorted. “You mean they decided his research needed to monitored. I imagine he was worth quite a bit to these ‘concerned parties’.”

  Harper pursed her lips. “I wasn’t privy to all the details. I just made sure no one tried to kill him.”

  “What went wrong?”

  “Lelin Granger went wrong. After a few years of laboratory testing, he convinced the agency that he needed to do live trials. They gave him access to a bio-testing farm. He was supposed to be analyzing the effects of the parasites against different neural conditions in other animals. See if he could make them viable again. But it was a lie. The parasites had been engineered for human DNA. They had no effect on the animals. Lelin managed to manufacture results and hide the truth. By the time the CIA realized the extent of what he’d done, he’d weaponized the strain and found a way to infiltrate the food chain, and a billion people were infected worldwide. Governments fell. Hell, the world had all but ended. Those still alive tried to pressure him into creating an antidote. But nothing he made stopped the infection. Eventually, the facility fell as well. I managed to get him out, and we’d been running ever since.”

  Darcy groaned, glancing over at Abby. “Holy shit. You mentioned something like this when we first met…about this thing not crossing the species barrier. He infected animals because he knew they wouldn’t get sick.”

  Abby nodded, leaning into Colby as her face paled. “The parasite could have been dormant for months, even years, and no one would have known. All he had to do was wait until the carriers were sent to slaughter. And if he picked specimens that were similar in age and fitness… He guaranteed a worldwide dispersion, courtesy of our own fast food chains.” She looked at Harper. “Did Lelin tell you how he did it? Give you any insight into his method? Maybe Kace—”

  “Could what? Replicate it? After the infection took hold, the man went completely mad. Most of the time he was catatonic. And the rare times he seemed to snap out of it, he mumbled nonsense I didn’t understand. I’m sorry. But my expertise doesn’t lie in pathogens or parasites.”

  “Maybe not, but your training means you probably remember more than you think.” Kace eased Emersyn out of his arms as he walked over to Harper. “You said at the beginning that Granger was trying to enhance it. How?”

  “I don’t know. All he ever did was rant about a new war. A second coming. But I don’t see how that’s possible. There’s no way Lelin created a new strain and released it. He’s been under lock and key for the past three years. Whatever’s going on with these anomalies, I don’t see how it could have been his doing.”

  “A second coming…” Kace tapped a finger on his lips as he stared off for a moment before looking at her. “Maybe we’re overthinking this. Lelin didn’t have to create a new strain from scratch. This could just be a mutation. Something he could have included as part of the original genetic makeup. A way for the parasites to alter…gain greater control of their host.”

  Harper stared at Kace, mouth gaped open as she glanced back at Sully, understanding shaping her features. “Oh my god. All those tests he ran. The serum he made… It wasn’t for the original outbreak. He was preparing for the future. A way of ending this once he felt he’d accomplished what he’d intended. Shit. Why didn’t I see it before?”

  A grin split Kace’s face. “That’s it…why his formula didn’t stop the initial infection. It wasn’t engineered to. He made it to combat this new strain. But he didn’t count on your facility going under. Or on you hauling his ass out of there. This is…you…” Kace shuffled on his feet, finally grabbing Harper before seemingly coming to his senses. He pointed at Sully. “Kiss the girl. She’s brilliant.”

  Harper gasped as Sully spun her around, palming the back of her neck as he slid his mouth over hers. She hesitated for only a moment before a raspy hum rumbled through her chest and she molded her lips to his, opening when he slipped his tongue inside. Tangy sweetness filled his senses as her tongue battled with his, the sheer taste of her making his legs tremble. A throat cleared in the distance, finally dragging him back. He eased Harper away, his gaze clashing with Rhys.

  “Are we interrupting something?”

  Sully smiled at the stunned expression on Harper’s face and returned Rhys’ smug grin. “Kace did tell me to kiss her. Wouldn’t want to disappoint the man.”

  “Right.” Rhys chuckled, turning to Kace. “I don’t suppose you want to let the rest of us in on why you seem so happy. The last time I checked, the creator of this thing was still dead.”

  Kace waved his hand in the air as if Rhys’ question didn’t concern him. “We don’t need Lelin Granger. All we need is some of that serum he made. I should be able to do the rest if our theory is correct.”

  Harper stiffened in Sully’s arms, her face paling as she turned in his embrace. “I hate to be a buzzkill, Kace, but did you just say you needed some of Lelin’s serum?”

  Kace glanced at her over his shoulder. “Not a lot. A vial or two should be sufficient.”

  She coughed. “And the part where I just told you the facility got overrun three months ago? Did you just block that bit out?”

  Kace turned, uncertainty creasing his forehead. “Did the samples get destroyed?”

  She stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. “No… I don’t know. I wasn’t exactly worried about them at the time. They were kept inside a separate room…one with a bunch of high tech security. It’s doubtful anything got in that area after we left.”

  “Then there’s a good chance they’re still intact.”

  “Intact isn’t the problem. I didn’t bug out of there because I ran out of supplies or because the geo
thermal power grid collapsed. I was trying not to get eaten. It’s access that’s the issue.”

  “I can’t replicate Lelin’s findings without samples…not quickly anyway. It took me over a year to create the first vaccine. We don’t have that kind of time against this mutation.”

  Harper glanced at Sully again, her confusion more than evident. “And the horde of undead between the front door and that room? Do you have a plan for that? ‘Cause it wasn’t pleasant battling my way out the first time. I can’t imagine it’d be any better going back in.”

  Kace sighed, glancing at his brother and the other man, Hunter, before pushing to his feet. “I realize the circumstances are far from perfect but…this could be it. A real vaccine that’ll save every person still breathing. I’ve been working on trying to develop something from Rhys’ blood, but… If this is a mutation of the original strain, anything I develop will only guard against that original infection. That’s still important, in case not all of them change, and I’m not going to stop. It’s just not enough.”

  Rhys drew himself up, nodding to Emersyn and Hunter. “We’ll go.”

  Sully watched as Harper’s eyes bulged wide before she shook her head.

  She gave him a desperate glance before facing Rhys. “And how are you going to find your way there? Do you really think a covert CIA facility is on your local map? Unless you’ve been there, you’ll never find it.” She held up her hand, indicating she wasn’t done. “And before you ask, no…it’s not like I can simply give you directions. Even if you found the facility, the building’s a maze inside. I’d have to take you there. Personally.”

  Rhys’ expression firmed. “And that’s a problem.”

  He wasn’t asking. Harper’s body tensed and Sully could tell by the way her muscles flexed, she felt threatened.

  He tugged her against him again. “Rhys. Don’t.”

  The man growled. “We’re talking about a possible cure, Sully. A permanent one.”