“Don’t insult me, boy. Who do you think signs your checks?”
Rex wanted to roll his eyes, but propriety kept his manners in order. Even when they were kids Waylon had thought money was the answer to everything. If someone didn’t agree, ply them with money. When the newspaper wanted to print the truth, bribe the copy editor with cash. It almost always worked.
“At ease, Stevens. You can take the Failure back to SL 8, now.” He turned back to Waylon. “Come, my friend. Let me show you around.”
Though Waylon fell into step by his side, he didn’t look ready to play nice. “I’m only here because your thugs brought me.”
“Correction, they are not thugs. You were detained by Hunters. The very creatures you and I dreamed of creating all those years ago. Your money provided the basis, and my visions provided the science.”
“That’s a load of bullshit, Rex. It was my money and my knowledge of genetics that built this place. Without me providing you with the best geneticists in the world, you wouldn’t have your precious Hunters. You were just the brawn. Oh, I know you’ve grown attached to the place, and I know that in your own twisted way you care for these beings, but make no mistake, this is my dream.”
Rex swallowed his retort. He couldn’t afford to have the funding dry up, and arguing with the old cantankerous fool might very well make it happen. It seemed time didn’t mellow the old man one iota, but that wouldn’t stop Rex from asking the hard questions. Waylon knew more about Sari than he was letting on, and it was time he shared with Rex.
“I had you brought here because I know Sari is close. I know she’s come looking for The Facility, and she has help. You knew they were coming, yet you failed to alert me.”
They stepped into the elevator, and Rex pressed the button for SL 7. It was time Waylon met the latest batch.
“Stop being so dramatic, Rex.” Waylon sighed as the elevator jerked downward, taking them deeper into the subterranean complex. “That always was your problem. A flair for exaggeration. Nothing is ever simple with you, is it? Of course I didn’t think it important to alert you. They have almost nothing to go on, just some farmer sightings and a few scats. Sari knows nothing, though she believes she’ll be delivering me the exclusive if she finds anything. She’s set to double cross Harrison at the drop of a hat.”
Now that was interesting. “Why?”
“Why anything to find you, of course. I’ve seen it written on her face, Rex. You’ll need to watch your back. She plans on ripping out your throat, right after she’s set her friends free.”
“Did she let on that she knew anything about the microchip?”
Waylon shrugged. “Not to me. I’m quite impressed that she got blondie back there to be her double. Mind you, Harrison phoned in to beg me to keep their field investigation under wraps. Said he didn’t want anyone knowing that they were away from their office.”
Rex studied his friend for a moment. The unreadable expression, the unflappable veneer, the almighty holier-than-thou mask. It had always been fun to ruffle Waylon’s feathers and throw his meticulous planning into chaos. A sneaking suspicion suggested he do that again now.
“And how much do they really know, Waylon? How close is Harrison to finding out the truth?”
Waylon laughed, the roaring sound almost deafening in the small elevator. “Absolutely nothing. I think even he is losing faith.”
Rex doubted that. The elevator jerked to a stop and the doors slid open, but neither man moved. “Did you know that his sister went missing two years ago? That she was a journalist doing some field research to verify local sightings of big black cats?”
Waylon’s eyes brightened, and he grinned. “That’s what’s driving Kai. I knew it was personal, thought it had to do with his folks.” Waylon’s laugh subsided, and the smile fell from his face. “You didn’t do what I think you did, did you?”
The look of disbelief on Waylon’s pale and wrinkly face was worth bottling. “I did.”
“This has got to stop, Rex. You’ll draw attention to the area, to us. It’s bad enough you kidnapped that woman back in the cells. I don’t want to know what you’re planning to do with her.”
“Well, I can’t let her go, can I?”
Waylon shook his head, the movement slow and ominous. “So you have Kai’s sister. Is she still alive?”
“You think I’d kill in cold blood?”
“I know you could. I know you would’ve put a bullet in each of the Failures’ heads if I let you.” Again, the disapproving shake of the head. “You’re starting to get sloppy and that’s dangerous.”
Rex slapped Waylon on the shoulder. “You worry too much, old man. I have the situation contained. Besides, it’s only Sari and a researcher. My Hunters can take care of them without too much fuss.”
Of course. Except, Rex didn’t want anyone else to take care of Sari. He planned on killing her himself. The only thing that would satisfy him and stop the god-awful visions plaguing him would be to see her dead and cold.
“Well, what is it that you want to show me, Rex? I’m all eyes and ears.”
Dressed again, Sari sat opposite Mara and Tom in the shelter of the cave. Outside it drizzled, a steady, soaking, light rain that washed the tension out of the air. Kai rested by her side, still recovering from the confrontation. She could hear his heart skip a beat every now and then and wished he’d trust her to take care of him. He’d given Tom a pair of his pants and Mara one of his shirts. Neither Kai nor Tom were comfortable in each others’ presence, but Sari needed them to shove aside their mucho shit and let her deal with the facts.
“Are you okay?” she asked Mara, who’d grown so pale Sari thought she might puke.
Mara nodded. “It’s just, you’re such a legend. You escaped, you survived. Why are you back?”
“That’s a little complicated,” she said with a smile. Explaining that she’d dreamed of killing Zimmerman ever since her escape might shatter their fragile trust. “I have questions and no answers. There’s only one man who can answer them.”
“Rex.”
She nodded to Tom. “Exactly.”
“He wanted me to lead you right to the front door,” Tom explained. “Leave you enough hints so you’d walk right into a trap.”
“I figured that out when I saw the fresh poop. You should be much better at ambushing prey.”
Mara blushed. It returned a healthy glow to her cheeks, making Sari feel better for having sprung them. “How did you hide yourself? We haven’t been able to track either of you.”
Kai cleared his throat, but she put her hand on his knee. “That’s my secret, for now. Mara, how do you know you’re pregnant?”
She frowned. “The old fashioned way. My period hasn’t come.”
“And do you know if it’s a human baby or a cub?” She felt low for prying but she needed to know.
Tom chuckled. “We can’t reproduce in cat form, or didn’t he tell you that?”
“He didn’t tell me anything.”
His laughter fell away. “Sorry. I guess you guys weren’t as privileged as us.”
“If only you knew,” she grumbled. “But I guess any measure of privilege you have will evaporate if he finds out about Mara.”
Tom’s eyes narrowed as the protectiveness within him took hold. Sari shook her head to dispel his concern.
“That’s why you’re going to help Mara escape.” His demand didn’t surprise her.
“And why would I help? It’s not as easy as you think.”
He shrugged. “You’ll help her, and in return, I’ll keep Zimmerman off your tail.”
He’d succeed for perhaps a day or two, but the disappearance of another of the cats—this time a Hunter—would send Zimmerman into a frenzy. He’d want answers, whether it be a body or evidence of another kind. He wouldn’t rest until Mara was found.
Sari rubbed her arms against the chill in the air. Kai’s big hand covered hers, urging her to move closer to his heat. His silence amused her, but she
didn’t question it. She needed space to think, to contemplate the possibilities of Mara’s escape. If they removed the microchip, she’d have a better chance of dodging Zimmerman’s trace. She’d need to hide her scent, which as Sari now knew, was possible to achieve.
But in the end, Mara was a Hunter, and Sari didn’t trust them. Being pregnant wasn’t enough to convince her that Mara could change the months of training with the snap of her fingers. How long had Mara been here? How long had she been out of the real world? The shock of everyday life in a city could scare Mara into returning, regardless of the consequences. As much as Sari hated to admit it, The Facility was a safe and secure place to live. No need to worry about finding an apartment, making rent, holding down a job. Here, everything was taken care of, and a nagging suspicion kept Sari wary.
“And what if I say no?”
Tom shrugged. “Then we end this here and now. I take you out, drag your body back to Rex, and Mara still leaves.”
“You make escape sound easy,” Kai said, his voice soft. His hand still covered Sari’s, and he squeezed both it and her arm when she looked at him. “But I know from Sari’s experience that it isn’t, and something tells me that if Rex Zimmerman ever caught wind of you being pregnant and a child was out there, he’d stop at nothing to find you both. You would forever be on the run.”
“Sari didn’t run. She stayed put.”
“True, Tom, but I didn’t know my every movement was being tracked, that I was being watched.”
Kai frowned at her. “Why do you think he never came after you?”
With a deep breath, she smiled. “Because I lived a predictable life. I worked in one place, lived a relatively stable life. The more I think about it, the more I suspect he’d decided to turn something bad into something good.
“My escape threatened the entire operation. He probably worried that I remembered the location of The Facility and would send in the cops. When I didn’t, he must have figured I had no idea or that I didn’t want to bring attention to myself, and rightly so. I had no official identification, no passport, no license. By law, I don’t exist in Australia and am no doubt a distant memory in New Zealand. But with me living in society, he could monitor my progress.”
Kai nodded. “He could see how well you fit into society, how well you blended.”
“You probably extended the experiment,” Tom added. “And gave him data to analyze. He would’ve done it sooner or later, ordered one of us to leave and go make a life amongst humans. You just gave him a jump start.”
“And Mara’s given him a head start on his breeding program,” Sari added, not too sure why she knew with certainty that Rex had always intended on breeding his most successful subjects. “But he’s a control freak and would want to oversee everything. Hell, I doubt he’d actually let any of you have sex. He’d harvest sperm and either artificially inseminate or fertilize eggs in a test tube and then implant embryos.”
Tom looked surprised.
“You don’t believe me, Tom?”
He frowned. “I knew he was strict and power hungry, but to manipulate so much of the process?” He shook his head. “I’m not that big a fool, Sari. You must be wrong.”
“He had us all fooled, Tom. You just have to understand and accept that Zimmerman uses that control to keep you bound to him. In taking away your choices and options, he strips you of your power and independence, makes you rely on him for everything.”
“You’re right, I don’t question my superiors. I was trained to follow orders and it hasn’t let me down yet.”
“Well,” Sari gave a shrug, “I question everything and everyone.”
Tom grinned. “Can’t end up like you then, can I?” A moment later, his face contorted into a grimace. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. Mara did the same. Kai looked at Sari with a quizzical expression, but she had no idea what was going on. The interference lasted only seconds, after which both Hunters grabbed their heads and then shook.
“Excuse me,” Tom said, his eyes still closed. “Rex has implanted earpieces in our skulls so he can communicate with us at any time. He was just ordering us both to return.”
“You have a speaker in your head that he can use at will?” Shock colored Kai’s voice. “Jesus Christ. Is there no end to this man’s controlling ways? What next? Video cams stitched into your optical nerves?”
The suggestion was downright sinister, but she wouldn’t put it past Zimmerman. It was the perfect way to spy on his charges because no matter how much he brainwashed them, he would never fully trust them.
Mara and Tom both nodded, their expressions reflecting the aguish gripping Sari’s heart. Seeing Tom’s reaction to the upgrades gave Sari a glimmer of hope that there was a crack in his devotion to Zimmerman she could exploit.
“We should be getting back,” Mara murmured. Fear still lingered in her haunted gaze. Sari wondered how the release of pregnancy hormones affected the jaguar half of her genetics. “Soon.”
“Of course,” Sari agreed. She shifted her gaze to Tom. “What will you tell Zimmerman?”
He took a deep breath. “Well, if your friend here hadn’t made a noise in the tree, I doubt we would’ve found you. I’ll tell him we found your camp but that you’ve somehow hidden your tracks. He’s desperate to find you so he’ll continue sending out patrols. I’ll convince him to send me again, tell him I can’t wait to hunt you down after the injuries you caused last time we met. If there’s one thing Rex understands, it’s vengeance.”
And don’t you forget it. “Tell him you’ve left a trail of clues that leads to The Facility and to have his men ready.”
Tom nodded. “Look, we have a medical on Friday. I want Mara out of there before they have a chance to discover the baby.”
Sari turned to Kai. “Do you still have the medical tools? Could you remove her microchip?”
He nodded, stood, and went to his pack. They all watched him withdraw the scanner and run it over Mara’s body, but her tracer wasn’t in her arm. Instead, it had been placed in her thigh, making Kai groan and Sari worry. Close to the femoral artery was dangerous territory. One wrong move and she’d bleed out. The margin for error just narrowed to a micron.
“It’ll be a very close call,” Kai explained. “Tom, could you swipe some anesthetic and some alcohol swabs?”
Tom shook his head. “Too risky. The med lab is locked up tighter than a drum. I could maybe get some morphine if I still had wounds.” He snapped to Sari. “Scratch me again, only do it worse. I’ll ask for pain meds by the packet and save it for Mara.”
“No!”
He turned to Mara and took her hands in his. The warmth in his eyes helped Sari to believe he meant every word he said. “Don’t worry. The pain won’t be so bad, but it means I won’t be able to patrol. I’ll tell Rex to send you because you know what ground we covered and the scents to track.”
Mara shook her head. “It won’t work; he’ll send someone with me.”
Sari agreed with a quiet sigh. In the company of another Hunter, Mara wouldn’t have the chance to meet Kai to remove the tracer. She’d need to find another way to escape, perhaps a way that might convince Zimmerman she’d been killed.
An idea formed in Sari’s mind, and though her stomach gurgled and twisted at the suggestion of letting herself get caught, it might be Mara’s only option. She swallowed, trying to settle the butterflies raging in her tummy. Could she do it? Could she give up her freedom to let herself be caught?
A memory of being locked inside an iron cage flitted before her and she shivered. The remembered feel of cold bars against her bare skin assaulted her. Her eyelids slammed shut, and she was hurled back in time to a place she’d rather forget. Locked in her cage, she’d had no control, no power over what They did to her. Everything had been an ordeal. The sedative darts, the rough handling. No one had treated her with kindness, and the only others who’d cared for her were probably mere shells of their former selves, assuming they were still alive. T
hat was if Zimmerman didn’t place her in isolation, away from anyone she could convince to rebel.
But an innocent child’s life was at stake. How could she not act?
“Okay.” She stood and removed her clothing. “This is what we’re going to do.”
“I can’t let you do this.”
Kai lay beside her, the night outside their tent filled with strange sounds of the wild. Some creature scratched the dirt not too far away, probably a possum. Cicadas chirped in unison nearby. A male koala grunted to attract a mate. Every sound so crystal clear in the night air, yet nothing took his mind off the plan Sari had formed.
“You have to,” she whispered. Her hand found his and their fingers laced. He wanted to hold her but knew body contact would cloud his judgment. “It’s the only way.”
He detected sadness in her voice and squeezed her hand. “Sari, if I let you get caught, what am I going to do? Against the shifters, I’m powerless.”
“Go with Mara. Take her to safety and then tell Waylon everything we’ve uncovered.”
He rolled onto his side and stared down at her shadowy figure. “Tell him everything? He won’t believe half of it.”
“He will when you take Mara to him. He will when she shifts for him.”
The reluctance in her voice undermined her words. Kai reached for the lantern torch and switched it on to the lowest setting. For a brief glimpse, he saw the heartbreaking fear in Sari’s eyes. She turned away from him, but he pulled her body back against his and curved around her small shape.
“I know you don’t want to do this.”
“I never said I wanted to get caught. Shit, Kai, do you think I want to be caged again?”
He stroked her bare shoulder, needing to touch her. He feared she’d shut him out if he didn’t hold on to her. She shook against him, and he held her tighter. God, but he wanted her to turn around. Her eyes would tell him everything he needed to know. No matter what she said or how hard she tried to convince him of the plan, she loathed this choice. He didn’t need to be a shifter to sense her worry.
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