Mark’s guards patted him down, took his two-way radio, satellite phone, and gun, then left the room and took up positions in the hallway on either side of the door. Mark made sure the door didn’t shut completely behind them, allowing him a narrow view of the corridor. That was all he needed to see which direction Ivanov took Susana.
Satisfied he knew where to go when he got out of here, he let the door shut fully.
All right. So he’d been a fool. The leader of Jamieson’s team of soldiers had told him to bring guards, but Mark had been so certain he’d be able to talk Ivanov into turning over the chip he’d refused to let them accompany him. And he’d never suspected the doctor would want to keep Susana.
He paced around the small exam room.
He was willing to make a deal with Ivanov. The scientist could download a copy of the data from the chip onto his computer. Then Mark would take the chip back to Jamieson.
Yet, as Mark’s legs ate up the tiny distance between door, wall, and exam table, an unfamiliar weight pressed on his lungs, nearly suffocating him.
All his dreams of revenge were within reach. All he had to do was give Jamieson the microchip and he’d receive the name of his father’s murderer.
Only…he wasn’t certain he wanted Jamieson to have the chip.
Because now he understood what was at stake. This wasn’t simply a case of using drugs to enhance performance, making more successful soldiers.
Ivanov created monsters.
Memories of the men and women he’d seen in Dr. Ivanov’s exhibit hall wouldn’t leave him alone. Worse, he kept imagining Susana as one of those subjects. He pictured her locked in an observation room, her sanity gone as a man beat her to death.
Mark knew that Jamieson had some sort of experimental program going on as part of Kerberos. Could he really turn the microchip over to Jamieson if it meant Americans would suffer similar fates to Ivanov’s subjects?
What if Jamieson demanded Mark turn over not just the chip, but Susana as well, before he gave up the name Mark needed?
The suffocating feeling intensified, until he was forced to stop pacing and sit down. If he didn’t call Jamieson’s soldiers for help getting out of here, he wouldn’t be able to save Susana or the chip. But if he did call the men, how could he both protect Susana and prevent Jamieson from getting the chip?
Could he live with himself if he turned his back on learning the name of his father’s true murderer? Mark quickly sorted through various scenarios, but he couldn’t see any way to reconcile the different paths before him.
He should be furious that a woman he barely knew had such power over him. But thinking of Susana only made him feel warm. And anxious to see her again, despite Ivanov’s hints that her father had tinkered with her genetic code.
Given time, he knew they would become close. But they wouldn’t get that time unless he made the right choice.
Mark stared across the room, not seeing any of the furniture, or even the color of the walls. He concentrated on examining the consequences of what he was about to do. Slow as a man ordering his own execution, he removed his shoes and put together the emergency sat phone he always carried.
Then he took a deep breath, and dialed.
Chapter 27
“Before we take the x-ray, we need to get a blood sample,” Dr. Ivanov told Susana. He pushed her gently into a chair.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” He’d just made her drink something so horrible-tasting, she still felt her stomach doing unhappy loop-de-loops.
“Given your unique genetic makeup, we have to make certain our anesthesia and blood supplies are compatible with your body.” Dr. Ivanov tied a piece of rubber tubing around her arm, then inserted the needle into her vein.
The vial slowly filled with her blood. Blood that was the same normal color as everyone else’s. Only it wasn’t normal.
Dr. Ivanov pulled the needle out of her arm and placed her fingers on a small gauze pad on top of the puncture. “It’s a pity your mother stole you away before he could continue his experiments.”
The doctor patted her on the head. “Don’t worry. We’ll run tests on you as soon as the chip has been extracted. Your father’s work will be continued.”
That was the last thing she wanted. But if Dr. Ivanov intended to run further experiments on her, then he needed her alive after surgery. As long as she was alive, she could find a way out of here.
He passed her blood off to an assistant, then led her into the x-ray chamber. Before she knew it, she’d completed the x-ray and was lying on an examination table, covered only by her thin gown while a sedative dripped through an IV into her body.
She was so cold. Clearly another ice age was starting inside her.
Oh, God. Her father had experimented on her.
That’s why her mother had gotten worried, frightened looks when Susana told stories of her successes. That’s why her mother had hesitated to hug her. Why she’d been sent away to school and never been encouraged to get close to her mother.
Because her mother considered Susana a freak.
She took a deep breath and pushed away the hurt. That was the past. She had to concentrate on surviving this operation, then escaping.
And then she’d find Kai and just hold him until her trembling stopped.
Thursday, Afternoon
Moscow, Russia
From twenty-three stories above the ground, Kai stared out the window of the small conference room at the grey Moscow landscape, thinking over the bizarre conversation he’d just had with Mark Tonelli. If the man could be trusted…
Kai put his thumbnail underneath the top of his flip phone, but before he could open it, the device beeped to indicate an incoming call.
“Paterson,” he answered.
“You out?” Ryker demanded.
“Yeah,” Kai said. “Thanks. Jim’s on his way back to the plane.” Ryker had indeed pulled off another miracle. Not only were Kai and Jim free, but Kai had a team of Russian security agents at his disposal. A helicopter was due to arrive any minute to take them to the large country estate that served as Ivanov’s compound.
“What’d you do? Threaten a nuclear strike?” He had no doubt Ryker could pull even that off if necessary.
His boss snorted softly. “Nothing so dramatic. First I played the ‘kidnapped American woman turns into international incident card.’ That grabbed their attention, but not enough to ensure full cooperation.”
Kai saw the helicopter appear over the horizon and mentally willed it to move faster. Susana’s time was running out.
“As soon as I mentioned Ivanov’s name,” Ryker continued, “and promised them access to all his research files, they couldn’t help me fast enough. The FSB has been after the data for years, but the military refused to share.”
Kai smiled and shook his head, even though his boss couldn’t see him. Inter-agency rivalry at its best. Gotta love it. And trust Ryker to not only know about it, but find a way to use it to their advantage.
Ryker went silent and Kai jerked his attention away from the approaching helicopter. “What’s wrong?”
“The men I assigned to watch Ivanov’s lab haven’t reported in. You have to consider them compromised. Probably captured,” Ryker said.
God. Just like Rafe’s team when they went after Kaufmann’s lab. “By lab security? Or the military?”
“Probably the military, since they’re Ivanov’s sponsor. Assume they’re watching and protecting the lab. How close are you?”
Kai checked with the FSB agent sitting at the table behind him. “Forty minutes, tops.”
“Right. I’m working on getting another team on the ground. Don’t trust your new comrades.”
“Who me?” Trusting too much was not one of Kai’s weaknesses. “By the way, I just got a call from our trouble-making friend.” He didn’t want to use Tonelli’s name in case the men in the room knew Tonelli from his previous assignments in Russia.
Ryker’s breath hissed ou
t. “What did he want?”
“To cooperate. He’s inside the lab, with Susana.” And Kai hadn’t been able to stop a threat from shooting out of his mouth. He’d promised vicious retribution if Susana was hurt in any way.
“He confirmed that Dr. Ivanov has a lab running similar experiments to what Dr. Nevsky had—genetic enhancement, some mind control—with similar deterioration of the subjects. Our friend claims Ivanov intends to add Susana as a research subject as soon as he’s extracted the chip.” Kai wanted to scream in denial at the image of Susana as a snarling, snapping beast like Rafe.
“He’ll get Susana and the chip away from Dr. Ivanov, but he wants our help escaping. He says there are soldiers outside the compound. Some of them are Russian military, others are American, sent by his boss.” That kind of influence outside of the United States was impressive.
“Christ. Ivanov’s compound is a busy place. What do you think of Tonelli’s offer?” Ryker sounded as skeptical as Kai had originally been.
“I think he’s serious. There was something in his voice when he talked about Susana.” Something that had sent Kai’s instincts into a jealous frenzy. “I think he’s infatuated with her.”
The long silence that followed might have indicated Ryker couldn’t picture Tonelli caring enough about a woman that he’d jeopardize a mission, or because Ryker was running possibilities. Finally, he asked, “Did Tonelli say anything about the situation inside?”
“Yeah. Two guards, minimum, are with the good doctor and Susana. Two more are guarding the door of the waiting room where our friend is cooling his heels, keeping him prisoner until after the operation. Susana is already being prepped for surgery.” Kai hated that he was going to be too late to stand by Susana’s side.
Hated to think of her alone and terrified. And shit, he had to face it. He was scared for her as well. Some stranger was going to touch a knife to her skin and Kai had no way to ensure that Ivanov treated Susana carefully.
He clenched his fists to keep himself from snarling in frustration and forced himself to bury the fear that Susana could be dead before he arrived.
What was taking the damn helicopter so long?
Thursday, Afternoon
Dr. Ivanov’s Compound, Russia
Mark pulled open the door. “I want to see Dr. Ivanov. Now,” he told the guards in Russian. “I want to make a deal.”
“That is not possible.”
The hell it wasn’t. Mark stepped into the corridor, forcing the guards to either move with him or get run over.
At least, that was the plan.
They didn’t budge. Which left Mark no choice but full body contact in order to force his way out of the room. He rammed his shoulder into the man on his right, knocking the man enough off balance that he took a small step back.
The other guard grabbed Mark’s arm. “You must go back inside. The doctor will see you when he is finished.”
“No.”
Mark twisted free, spun to his left and lashed out with the heel of his hand. He connected with the man’s temple hard enough to drop him.
The man on Mark’s right swung a fist. Mark dodged, then moved into the man. He tangled his leg in between the other man’s, pulled the man’s back flush against his chest, then used the bend of his elbow like a nutcracker against the man’s throat until he lost consciousness.
Mark dragged the men inside the waiting room. His work at the CIA had been more about relationships and information manipulation than physical danger. But after three years on the streets of Moscow as a kid, he’d made a vow to never lose his fighting edge. So he’d kept those skills honed, even if these days he rarely needed them outside of the dojo.
This fight had barely raised his heart rate.
Mark fastened the guards’ flexicuffs around their wrists, then stripped them of their weapons and communication devices. He pocketed one of the handguns and piled the rest of the equipment on the floor behind the exam table.
Pulling out his handkerchief, he dusted off his hands and left the room. There were at least two security cameras in the hall, so reinforcements would soon be on the way. He glanced in the direction Dr. Ivanov had taken Susana, but ran toward the outside door instead.
Yes, he’d promised Paterson he’d retrieve Susana and the chip. He still intended to. But this facility was extensive. Searching it by himself would take too long. Better to enlist the help of the military team outside. With luck, Paterson would arrive by the time they found Susana and he’d get both Mark and Susana out of here.
After that, well, he’d fight Paterson over the chip. Mark didn’t quite know how he was going to best the man, but unlike Paterson, Mark had desperation on his side. The chip was his only bargaining tool. He wanted it all. Susana safe. The name of his father’s murderer. And if Jamieson was truly running a program similar to Ivanov’s, then he’d shut that program down.
Mark’s control of the chip was the only way he could guarantee he wasn’t going to be killed by Jamieson’s assassins before he had a chance to bargain with his boss.
And if Jamieson refused to give up the name, then Mark’s next stop was going to be the SSU. He bet Ryker would deal for the chip.
One thing was clear, though. He wanted Susana safe and with him when this was over.
As he pressed open the exterior door and checked for danger, he wondered if he’d been wrong about reinforcements arriving for the two downed guards. He didn’t see any additional security guards. Were the dots in the corners not security cameras after all but flaws in the décor? Or dummy cameras?
He strolled outside, acting for all the world as if there was nothing unusual about him leaving the building unescorted. But his scalp tingled, so he knew someone was watching him.
He continued down the driveway, taking large steps so that he covered a lot of ground without appearing to run away.
Three steps from the entrance, a bullet nicked his arm. He lunged for the gate. Yanked.
Locked.
The gate rose six feet in the air and ended in sharp metal spikes. At the bottom, it cleared the ground by mere inches. No way to go over or under.
The metal surface facing him was smooth and reflective as glass. No handholds to help a man escape.
He dropped and rolled as a second bullet ricocheted off the gate.
A shout of warning in Russian came from the other side of the fence. “Clear the gate, sir!”
Finally, his military backup.
A moment later the gate blew open. Mark dashed through the smoke left by the explosive charge. With the soldiers providing covering fire, he made it to the safety of the woods.
Susana stared at the ceiling, puzzled as to why the long fluorescent lights were fading in and out. Actually, her entire surroundings seemed to pulse.
Where was she? And where was Kai?
The sudden ache to have his arms around her cut through the fuzziness in her brain. Tears focused her blurry vision.
The ceiling above her was standard acoustical tile, the walls a hopeless dull gray. She was lying on some sort of table…
Her heart lurched, then nosedived into the churning vat of acid that was her stomach. That’s right, she was at Dr. Ivanov’s lab. But…
She closed her eyes and searched her mental files. Remembered blood filling a vial.
Blood…her father… genetic tampering.
Dammit!
Her eyes flew open. No needle or tubing in her arm. Good.
Susana tried to sit up, but rose only a scant few inches before leather straps at her ankles and wrists forced her back down onto the table. She pulled and twisted, but the straps didn’t give.
Her stomach did a quick sideways roll and tried to hide somewhere under her right breast.
Wasn’t one of her father’s goals to create increased physical strength? What was the point of being genetically altered if she couldn’t break free of these straps?
Putting every ounce of strength into her left arm, she jerked against the strap.
The strap didn’t so much as stretch a millimeter.
Susana closed her eyes and tried to be brave. Tried not to humiliate herself by gibbering in terror. But she couldn’t think of one legitimate reason for her to be restrained. And too many scenarios that ended in death.
Thursday, Afternoon
Approaching Dr. Ivanov’s Compound, Russia
Kai closed his cell phone. This day just kept getting worse.
The helicopter that had picked him up in Moscow had landed ten miles away from Ivanov’s compound. Kai now sat in an ubiquitous black town car about half a mile from the entrance.
He turned to the FSB agent sitting next to him. “Change of plans,” Kai said. “It’s not safe to approach the lab from the front drive. We’ll have to walk in.”
The man nodded and pulled out his two-way radio to relay the information to the cars following them.
Kai let his head fall back against the seat. Tonelli had just called again. He’d fled the compound, leaving Susana alone with Dr. Ivanov. Kai beat his fists against his thighs. He wanted to kill Tonelli for leaving her. The man’s excuse had been that the compound was too big for him to find Susana on his own. Tonelli claimed he was about to reenter the building with a military team and find her.
Right. Like a firefight between Ivanov’s security team and Tonelli’s group was going to keep Susana safe. What if Ivanov panicked and killed Susana when the fighting started?
Or what if the fight moved into the depths of the compound and Susana was killed by a stray bullet or grenade?
He rubbed his temples, but it did nothing to relieve his fear.
Kai hadn’t told Tonelli he had the FSB with him. He didn’t trust the military to stay focused on finding Susana if they knew their rivals were on the way.
He’d asked Tonelli to hold off storming the compound until he arrived, but the man had ignored him. Once again, Kai had heard something possessive in Tonelli’s tone when he talked about Susana.
If it helped save her, good. But once she was safe, the bastard better leave her alone. She was Kai’s.
Betrayal (SSU Trilogy Book 2) (The Surgical Strike Unit) Page 27