Текст книги "True"
Автор книги: Laurann Dohner
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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 24 страниц)
Chapter One
South Dakota, the following year
Cornas Research facility
Jeanie had been given orders to call in sick to work but hadn’t done it. She jogged to another door, peered up at the small video monitor to see what was on the other side of the thick metal and used the stun gun on the electronic lock. The clicking sound it made was louder than she’d like as volts of electricity hit the reading device. The smell of frying wires was faint and almost instant. She turned off the stun gun and waited a few seconds to make sure the lights on the lock remained off. It didn’t power back up.
She glanced at her watch, seeing there was only five minutes left. Time was running out. She hurried down the hallway and fried another sensor reader. She was terrified about being caught but she didn’t give a damn what they did to her. She had to protect the men and women locked inside those rooms.
Her stun gun shorted out the readers to prevent Security from entering the cells. She’d already disabled the building’s main computer. Another employee might punch in codes to send gas throughout the cells but the command wouldn’t make it to the main computer. It was offline for good, thanks to a pot of hot coffee she’d poured inside the tower housing it. Sparks had shot out of it, there were some loud popping noises, and she’d feared it might catch fire. It had shut down and refused to power on again when she’d tried, just to make sure it wasn’t a temporary breakdown. The thing was toast.
An alarm blared from speakers located near the elevator. Red emergency lights flashed as the scream of it rose in pitch. Damn. She glanced at her watch. The attack had started two minutes early and she still had one more floor to go. She zapped another sensor reader, spun and darted back to the elevator to call it to her floor. Her hand shook as she swiped her employee badge to gain access and shoved the stun gun deep inside her lab coat pocket.
Two security guards were already inside the lift when it opened. They looked pissed off and worse—desperate. She stepped inside the confined space with them.
“We’re going down,” one of them stated. “What are you doing? You know protocol. You’re supposed to hit the emergency exits, head to the tunnels.”
She shook her head. “I have to destroy blood samples in a storage room first. Dr. Meckler was extremely clear about making sure it was my duty to do that if those alarms ever went off. What is going on?”
“We’re being breached,” the second one grunted. “I hate fucking cops. Get it done fast while we kill the experiments. The backup system failed so we have to shoot them one by one. Hit those hidden stairs afterward. Don’t get caught. You know it’s a death sentence.”
She nodded but inwardly cursed. The elevator dinged open on the bottom floor. One of the guards hit the button to keep them open, a feature they used often to move drugged test subjects on gurneys. He glanced at the other man.
“It will warn us if someone calls the damn thing to another floor. I plan to use the hidden stairwell and be gone before the cops find us.”
The second man glanced at the fake wall near the end of the hall. All the employees knew where the emergency exits were. The stairwells would lead to an old, unused sewer system that dumped out somewhere far from the building.
She turned. “Let me help. Give me a gun. The ones down here are the most dangerous and they’ve seen most employees’ faces. They could identify all of us.”
One of the guards hesitated.
“There are fifteen of them down here. The door keypads are all slow to open,” Jeanie lied. “Come on. How long will it take for the cops to override the elevator keycard locks? We can’t let these test subjects live. Do you want your face splashed across the evening news until all your family and friends know you worked here? We’ll be screwed seven ways to Sunday with every police enforcement agency hunting for us too. There’s no point in escaping if we’re going to get caught in the long run.”
The guard on her left passed over one of his handguns. “Take head shots.”
“I know the drill.” Her stomach still turned, remembering the lecture from the person who’d trained her on the most effective way to murder an innocent human being, as if they were moths or other creatures that were mere annoyances. “Use two shots to make sure they die.”
“We don’t have time for that shit or enough spare clips. Just don’t miss what you aim at.”
The guards moved in front of her. One of them pulled his keycard out and buzzed it through the sensor reader. The door beeped and the man reached for the door handle. He intended to kill all the test subjects. He lifted his gun to shoot the helpless woman chained against the far wall.
Bile rose in Jeanie’s throat as she raised her weapon. Not firing wasn’t an option. He was going to murder someone she considered a friend. He never even glanced back at her. She gripped the metal with both hands to steady her aim and pulled the trigger. She cried out in horror as blood and gore splattered the doorframe. Killing someone was ten times worse than anything she’d ever imagined. Distress almost paralyzed her but movement in the corner of her vision drew her attention. The second guard spun around, his gaze dropping to his fallen coworker.
He paled, his eyes opening wide as he jerked his chin up. Pure rage twisted his features as they stared at each other. He uttered a word she couldn’t understand in her emotionally overwhelmed state. He raised his arm. He was going to shoot her.
She aimed the gun but her hands shook worse than before and she missed his head when she fired but the bullet struck his shoulder. He fell back with a shout of pain and landed on his ass. The wall he slammed into kept him sitting upright though. The look on his face promised death as he lifted his bleeding arm to shoot at her again. She fired twice. One bullet tore into his throat and the other one appeared to hit his heart.
The deafening sounds ceased but Jeanie’s ears rang. The alarms were still going off. Blood spilled down the man’s chest, his eyes remained open, but he didn’t blink. His focus wasn’t on her anymore despite the eerie stare. She knew without needing to check for a pulse that he no longer had one.
She swayed on her feet, not sure if she was going to puke or faint. Both seemed options as the reality of what she’d done hit home. Numbness settled into her mind. Probably shock, she rationalized. She lowered her arms but managed to keep hold of the gun despite the urge to toss it away.
Pure agony shot through her midsection at the movement. She looked down. Her white coat had turned red just above her hip and it spread lower as she watched. It took a few seconds for it to sink in that she’d been shot. The guard had managed to hit her in the side before she’d killed him. She released the gun with one hand and flattened her palm over the wound. The pain grew worse but she needed to apply pressure.
Spots danced before her eyes and she leaned to the side. Her shoulder hit the wall, keeping her upright. She blinked a few times but it didn’t change the view of her blood dripping on the tile floor near her feet. The sirens blaring from the speakers reminded her that more guards could arrive at any time. The company employed dozens of them on the day shift.
The elevator doors behind her closed. She turned. It meant someone had called for it from another floor. It could be help but it would probably be more security guards coming to kill the test subjects. It would take the police time to hack into the security systems since she’d been unable to steal another employee’s badge to slip to her contact. The theft would have been immediately noticed and the codes changed, making it useless.
She forced herself to move despite the racking pain. She reached the first body. The dead guard kept the door to the room open. She reached down and grabbed him. He wasn’t a large man but his deadweight was difficult to drag. She managed to pull him far enough that he no longer blocked the doorway.
Her gaze focused on the woman chained to the wall. She appeared shocked as her dark gaze locked on Jeanie.
“It’s okay, 433.” Jeanie groaned, gripping her side.
“You killed them,” she whispered.
Jeanie nodded. “Help is coming. I have to lock your door again and disable the sensor to make sure our security people can’t kill you before the police are able to get down here. Don’t be afraid of the strangers when they come. They are going to set you free.”
She pulled the door closed and it beeped when the lock reengaged. Jeanie yanked her stun gun out of her pocket and zapped the sensor reader that could unlock it again. The smell of burning wires and the lights on it going out assured her it was fried. She had to step over the guard’s body to reach the next cell. The room spun as dizziness hit her. She turned her head, staring up at the elevator display, seeing that the lift was on the way back down.
She moved faster, feeling sick, as though she would pass out. She realized that she’d never succeed in taking out all the readers before the elevator opened again. It could be the police but she wasn’t willing to risk the lives of the men and women trapped inside those rooms if it wasn’t. She glanced down at all the blood staining her coat and pants. It would be a miracle if she didn’t collapse before she reached the next cell.
“Shit.” Desperation drove her to think of a solution. Her gaze drifted from the elevator display to the metal electrical boxes on the wall next to it. Both had locks on them to prevent anyone from tampering with the breakers inside but the covers weren’t bulletproof. At least she hoped not.
Her legs gave out and she slid to the floor next to the body of the second guard she’d killed. Another gun still rested inside one of the two shoulder holsters he sported. The guards always carried a few weapons. She released the one she’d used, not sure if it even had any bullets left. The stun gun slipped from her fingers into her pocket and she tugged at his gun. It slid from the holster and she forced her legs to move, getting to her knees.
Her vision blurred and lightheadedness struck. She swallowed hard and used both hands to lift the heavy weight of the handgun to take aim. The sound was loud as she kept firing but bullets tore through the metal and the lights flickered. She paused, holding her breath, until total darkness surrounded her. The emergency lights clicked on, dimly illuminating the hallway, but one glance at the nearest cell with an undamaged reader showed it was inactive.
“Thank god,” she breathed, realizing the doors would remain locked during a power failure. She hadn’t been sure if the safeguards on the doors were a part of the emergency backup system or not until then.
She crouched until she sat on her heels, keeping upright. She lowered the gun to her lap as she stared at the elevator that wasn’t affected by the localized power loss. It would open at any second and she’d face whoever was on the way down. The guards would kill her once they realized what she’d done. The cops would arrest her until they figured out who she was. She prayed for the latter.
The elevator doors opened and bright lights blinded her.
“Drop the gun,” a man yelled.
She couldn’t see their faces but didn’t have the strength to fight anyway. The gun slipped from her fingers. The lights came closer and pain exploded into the side of her face. The force sent her flying backward. She hit the floor hard and a moan tore from her lips.
Someone gripped her roughly by her arm and rolled her onto her stomach. Her cheek was pressed painfully against the floor as someone grabbed a fistful of her hair and her arms were jerked behind her back by someone else. The agony from the bullet wound made her scream. A boot planted hard on her ass, grinding her hips against the floor.
“Secure that bitch,” a stranger demanded.
Pain lanced through her. Whoever had her hair fisted in his hand was crushing her face against the unforgiving tile. The boot on her ass held her down so forcefully that she wondered if her hipbones would break from the pressure. The handcuffs being placed on her wrists were tightened to an excruciating point. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She would have screamed again but the pain became too intense. She had a hard time even breathing.
“Someone shot out the electrical box on this floor,” a man stated.
“The dumb bitch probably thought she’d kill the power to the elevator. Let’s get these doors open. I have a feeling we have live ones, guys. Let’s rescue them. We need to move fast. We don’t want this place to end up like what happened at that testing facility in Michigan last year. It could be wired to explode.”
Jeanie focused on one word. Rescue. They weren’t guards who worked at the facility. The men holding her down were cops. The fact that they hadn’t shot her already was secondary proof of their identity. She managed to suck in more air, breathing a sigh of relief. They won’t kill me.
Loud pops sounded. Some smoke filled the area but it wasn’t suffocating, more of a slight taste in her mouth and an acrid smell. She just lay there, hoping for respite. Her eyes closed—keeping them open seemed impossible. The boot on her ass shifted a little but it didn’t ease up on the weight holding her down.
“We’re here to save you,” a soothing male voice stated. “We work for people just like you who have been freed from these testing facilities. We’re going to take you out of here to your own kind.”
“Hello,” a deeper voice said. His tone was quieter but it carried. “I’m like you. See? We’ve come to rescue you. You are free now. These humans with us are good ones who work with our kind. We’ll take you to a safe place. We need to get you out of here. No one is ever going to chain you up again.”
She listened, hearing the same speech multiple times while they cleared cells of the test subjects down the hall. All fifteen of them on that floor had survived. She hoped the ones a floor above had been equally as lucky and that no one had managed to break through their cell doors. The cops were using some form of small explosive devices, something the facility guards didn’t have access to.
“Wait,” a soft, feminine voice protested. “Get off her. Tech Shiver?”
A gentle hand brushed hair away from Jeanie’s cheek. She forced her eyes open. It was difficult to even focus, the pain and coldness that racked her body growing worse. A pair of familiar dark eyes stared back at her and she tried to smile at 433. The other woman had dropped to her hands and knees next to Jeanie, so close to the floor that their faces were inches apart.
Jeanie opened her mouth to assure her everything was going to be fine, wanting 433 to know that she could trust her rescuers, but nothing came out. She couldn’t speak. Her throat was too dry and exhaustion had taken hold. 433 brushed her thumb along her cheekbone, growled, before jerking her head up. The sound deepened into a threatening one.
“She helped us. Get off her!”
“She’s not your concern.” The man spoke softly but his tone was firm. “Please back away from the prisoner.”
The thumb left Jeanie’s face and 433 rose to her feet, snarling. “Get off her! She killed them to save me. I smell her blood and she’s hurt. She needs a doctor.”
“Forget it. Let the bitch die,” the same man stated.
433 stepped closer and Jeanie couldn’t move her head enough to see what was going on but the weight on her ass was suddenly gone. A man grunted.
Another growl sounded, far deeper in pitch. “What is going on?” The angry voice belonged to the man who’d given the speech over and over to the men and women they’d been rescuing, claiming to be one of them.
“She saved my life. That guard on the floor came in to kill me but she shot him first. She said help was coming and she had to disable the locks on the doors to protect us. She was hurt but your males have hurt her more. She is always kind to our people. She stopped a guard from mounting me last month.” 433 sounded pissed and frantic. “Make them help her, please. She’s hurt. Smell her blood.”
“Do as she says,” the deep voice commanded. “Get help for the human female. We’ll sort this out later.
“She’s an employee here.” Someone yanked on her coat. “Here’s her card with her picture. She’s one of them,” a man declared. “Technician Jeanie Shiver.”
A deep snarl sounded and the rough grips securing her hands and hair were gone. Someone else grabbed her arms and she groaned when she was gently rolled onto her side. Pain made her cry out. She closed her eyes and felt blackness taking her. I’m dying.
“Look at me,” a deep voice snarled.
Jeanie forced her eyes open again. More flashlights had been added until the hallway was now well lit. 710 glared down at her. His dark gaze swirled with fury but she saw recognition there. He remembered her.
She studied him. He was tanner than he had ever been and his blond hair had grown longer. He wore all-black clothing and his vest had white NSO lettering, which stood for New Species Organization. She’d been given proof that 710 had survived the rescue assault she’d helped set up on the testing facility but had never thought she’d get to see him in person again.
“Shiver,” he rasped, his voice sounding harsh but gentle at the same time.
She blinked at him, holding his gaze, running her tongue over her dry lips. She tried to speak but nothing came out. His nose flared as he inhaled and a scary growl tore from his parted lips as he looked at someone behind her.
“Your men shot her?”
“She was that way when we found her. There were two dead security officers also shot.” The man who spoke sighed. “It looked as though they turned on each other.”
“Get help for her now,” 710 snarled. “She’s dying.”
“Okay. Medic, come to the subbasement, lowest floor. We have a critically injured.”
Another man snorted. “Let the bitch die. They obviously shot each other to avoid being caught for questioning. It will save us from having to kill her later.”
710 obviously disagreed. “Get those handcuffs off.”
Jeanie moaned as someone touched her and pain shot up her shoulder and down her injured side as the metal was removed from her wrists. It hurt to move but she wanted to touch 710 just once more. She knew she wasn’t going to survive, despite medical intervention. One glance at the pool of blood she lay in was enough to convince her of that grim fact.
She reached out and covered his hand with hers where it rested on the floor as he crouched over her. His face was only inches from hers. She curled her fingers around the back of his fist. He felt really warm, where she was so cold. She clung to him as tightly as possible.
He glanced down at the contact but didn’t jerk away from her touch. She was afraid he might. Blood soaked her hand, staining his as well. She half expected him to get pissed. She just longed to touch him. She was scared to die alone.
He lifted his gaze to hers. He turned his hand under her palm and tightly clasped her fingers. Gratitude filled her that he’d care enough to attempt to give her some comfort. She licked her lips again, desperate to get words out.
“I tried to save them all. Did they make it? Did they all survive?”
He blinked. “They made it. No Species died.”
Tears blinded her but she blinked them back, desperate to keep him in focus. She’d succeeded in saving all the men and women trapped inside the building. It had come at a high price but she had known the risks when she’d driven to work that morning. So many of them—all those lives were more important than hers. She closed her eyes and a sense of peace came, blocking out some of the pain.
“Shiver?” He growled her name. “Open your eyes.”
The demand was one she couldn’t resist as she peered at him again. He’d inched closer until his warm breath fanned her lips. Breathing took effort as she struggled to make her lungs keep functioning. Blood loss and her body going into shock were taking their toll. She hoped she smiled when she tried, wanting to convey to him that it was okay.
“Don’t die,” he rasped. “Hang on.” He glanced away. “Faster!” His tone deepened. “Get over here.”
“Move!” a man yelled and something heavy clattered to the floor behind her. The coat she wore was jerked hard, fabric tore and she couldn’t prevent the whimper when gloved hands explored her now-exposed side.
“You will be fine,” 710 said, drawing her attention. “Just stay with me.” He nearly crushed her smaller hand with his, as if he could force the issue by clinging to her tighter.
“Shit,” the medic cursed.
“Fix her,” 710 snarled.
“It’s bad,” the medic answered. “Jed, get your ass over here. Open the kit and start an IV.”
Her mouth opened. She didn’t have the energy to tell 710 any of the things she always wanted to say if they’d ever been alone without the risk of being overheard by Dean Polanitis or the people who’d worked for him. It was important that 710 understood how he’d changed her life and made her realize her purpose was to save his kind. He was the motivation that had given her the courage to conquer her fears. Not a day had passed since she’d laid eyes on him that he hadn’t filled her thoughts or haunted her dreams.
“Shiver,” he said a little louder, “stay with me.”
Blackness claimed her.
