A Darker Shade of Dead (26 page)

“I won't let you down.”

The old friends shared a grin. Together the two had gone through a lot over the years and both knew they could depend on each other to be there when needed. The bond between brothers in arms was strong and even stronger between Special Forces brethren.

M
att ducked behind a tree and blended into the shadows, following Simon's lead. They were through the convenient hole in the perimeter fence the zombies had no doubt been using and now entered the farm property. Simon led the team of ghosts through the woods toward the outbuildings where they'd begin their silent assault.

The soldiers were going to sweep from the outside in toward the farmhouse. There were a couple of small outbuildings hidden under the tree canopy. The first structure turned out to be a regular barn that held a rusty tractor and other farming implements that had seen better days. The team cleared it and moved on.

The second hidden outbuilding turned out to be a zombie safe house of sorts. Simon and the rest of the team began firing darts from every entry point. The door, windows, and even cracks in the old wood became portals for firing the nearly silent darts at the half dozen creatures that were hunkered inside the dim interior, hiding from the dappled sunlight that shone through the leaves.

The team waited a few minutes to be sure all the zombies disintegrated before moving on to the next part of the plan. The main barn waited, as did another small shed and the farmhouse itself.

Simon went ahead with the majority of the team, as planned. Sam and Matt acted as rear guard while the team cleared the main barn and the outbuilding.

“The shed is the lab. Couple of gurneys and some lab equipment. Nobody here right now,” Simon reported over the tactical frequency they all used. “The shed's clear. Moving on to the farmhouse.”

After that, it was all rather anti-climactic. Simon and the team advanced through the house, finding it mostly empty. They encountered only minor resistance in the kitchen where two gunmen were posted, probably as security. The combatants put up a fight, so it was no surprise they both ended up dead, though Matt would have preferred to take them alive.

“Sir, you'd better get down here.” Simon's tone hit Matt in the gut. He knew Simon was in the basement.

“What is it?”

“Rodriguez. We've got him cornered, but he has a hostage. He wants to talk to the man in charge.”

“Who does he have?” Matt asked as he double-timed it down the stairs, leaving Sam and most of the rest of the team on guard above ground.

Matt skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. The area was open except for a few support beams and two people. One was Rodriguez. The other…

“Sandy.”

“Come no closer or the girl dies.”

What the hell was she doing here? Matt felt dismay fill him, and anger began to seep upward into his heart. That wouldn't do. He had to keep his head. He had to stay cool. Emotions could only get in the way in a situation like this.

Rodriguez looked panicked. His hair was in disarray and his clothes were rumpled like he'd been caught napping. He had Sandra around the waist with one beefy arm and held a loaded syringe to her neck with the other.

“The contagion?” That had to be what he had in the needle. “You want to turn her into a zombie? Kill her like all the others you've murdered with your so-called research?”

Thank God the man didn't seem to have a gun, knife, or other conventional weapon. Still, Matt would approach with caution until he was certain Rodriguez didn't have anything more dangerous to Sandra on him than the syringe.

“She should have died long ago,” Rodriguez spat. “The minute she refused to aid my research, she signed her own death warrant.”

The relief that coursed through Matt at Rodriguez's words was all out of proportion to the situation. Sandra had refused to help Rodriguez, as she had claimed. She had been telling him the truth about that at least. With all that had happened, he had doubted her claims of innocence. But here was the man himself, clearing her of any collusion. A heavy weight lifted off of Matt's heart. She'd been telling the truth when she said she'd rather die than help their enemies.

No matter what this looked like, he made a decision to trust her. He didn't know how Sandra had ended up here, in Rodriguez's hideout. He was sure that story would be a good one. It was time for him to take a leap of faith. He had to give her a chance. He only hoped it didn't blow up in his face.

Matt edged closer.

“Stay back or I'll kill her!” Rodriguez was wild eyed with fear and anger.

“You don't want to do that. She's your ticket out of here, right? Come on. Tell me what you want in exchange for the doctor.”

“I want a plane. A small plane with no transponder.”

Matt pretended to think. “Gee, planes are hard to come by, and it wouldn't have anywhere to land close by around here. How about a helicopter. I can have one of those here in ten minutes.”

“Okay.” Rodriguez seemed to consider the offer. “Helicopter to an airfield. Then I want a plane and pilot.”

“Where would you go? You have to know you wouldn't be able to land anywhere without us knowing.”

“I have my resources. I have allies you couldn't even begin to imagine.”

“Admiral Chester? Ensign Bartles. I know you killed my previous assistant, Tim. I also know he was working for you and your so-called allies, spying on me. Did you seriously think I was so dull I wouldn't notice a fox in my own henhouse? Give me some credit.”

“We knew you knew about Tim. That's why I took him out.” Rodriguez backed away a step, dragging Sandra with him. Her eyes widened, but she seemed calm. “Now get on the phone and order that chopper and the plane.”

“No.” Matt sighed. “I'm afraid I can't do that.”

“I'll kill her! I'm not messing around.”

“I know you aren't, and I know you are fully capable of killing.”

“You would stand by and watch? I thought you cared for her.” Rodriguez's eyebrows rose and shock took over his expression.

“That I do,” Matt admitted. It wasn't as hard to say that out loud as he thought it would be, in public. He didn't want to hide his feelings anymore. “I care for her a great deal. Which is why I want you to put down the needle and surrender.”

Rodriguez gave a nervous laugh. “You've got to be kidding.”

“I'm afraid not. Put it down, doctor, and I'll take it easy on you.”

“This guy is nuts.” Rodriguez seemed almost to be talking to himself. “It is you who should be dropping your weapon and calling for my transportation. There is a phone right over there.” He nodded toward a desk along the wall. “Pick it up and make the call.”

Matt glanced at the phone, then back at Rodriguez.

“Tell you what. Move the needle away from her neck and I'll pick up the phone.”

Rodriguez seemed to consider. “I guess it doesn't matter where I stick her. One scratch with this and she's dead anyway.”

That's what he thought.

Rodriguez moved the hand holding the needle away from Sandra's vulnerable neck and settled it down near her arm. The point stuck into her clothing a millimeter or two, no doubt very close to the surface of her skin. It didn't matter, of course, but Matt counted the potential for tangling in the fabric of her shirt as an extra pad on the split second timing he'd need if he was going to jump Rodriguez.

Of course, he still wasn't really sure if he would
have
to jump Rodriguez. He had time to play with this scenario, and he still needed to know if the man had any conventional weapons on his person.

Then Matt would solve the puzzle of just how in the hell Sandra had wound up here. To someone else, this could look really bad. It might look like she'd left the safety of their new headquarters, despite all orders to the contrary. Like she did it on purpose. Like she was in collusion with Rodriguez after all.

And Matt might have believed that. He had no doubt some of his men were thinking along those lines even now. But Matt trusted her. Foolish as that may sound in this situation, he trusted that she wouldn't betray him. She may have lied in the past by omission, but that was before. This was now. And now—after all they'd been through together—he trusted her.

Hell, he loved her. As far as he was concerned, you couldn't have love without trust. What he felt was a deep, all-consuming love that filled his heart near to bursting. He wanted a future with Sandra and he'd do anything he had to in order to get that future. Anything.

Including humoring a bastard that threatened to kill her when all Matt really wanted to do was rip Rodriguez's head off. With his bare hands. Slowly, and as painfully as possible. Matt wanted Rodriguez to suffer for all the horror and death he'd caused, and especially for the way he'd been terrorizing Sandra.

So Matt played along, stalling for time. While he kept Rodriguez distracted with talk, Matt was aware of the other members of his team positioning themselves around the basement. There was a window high above and behind where Rodriguez stood with Sandra. This old house was built into the side of a hill, and half of it stuck up above the soil line so much that they'd put in a window to let in light.

It would also let in Sam Archer and a righteous boatload of hell and damnation all over Rodriguez's pansy ass. Matt could hear the team's terse reports over his earpiece as they slid into position.

“Now you pick up the phone,” Rodriguez prodded him. Matt didn't move except to tense his muscles in preparation for action.

“If you say so.”

Matt kept his tone steady and his eyes on Rodriguez. He wanted to be ready for whatever the unpredictable scientist might do next. One thing was for sure, Rodriguez would never be ready for what was about to be unleashed on him.

When it went down, it did so at lightning speed.

Sam smashed into the room through the window and grabbed Rodriguez from behind, glass and wood splinters flying every which way. The little bits of glass tinkled as they crashed to the tile floor of the basement. Sam and Rodriguez ignored the glittering, sharp rain as they wrestled for the syringe. Matt saw the needle flash as he grabbed for Sandra and pulled her toward him, out of harm's way.

Rodriguez, to his credit, tried to put up a fight. Admittedly, it wasn't much of a struggle, and Sam subdued him with little trouble. It was only moments before it was all over.

“Do you have the syringe?” Sandra asked in an urgent voice.

Sam tossed it through the air and Matt caught it without managing to stab himself. He saw Sandra flinch in his peripheral vision. He noticed her cringing, too, and her worry was sort of endearing. He offered the filled syringe to her, and she took it gingerly into her hands.

“What's going on?”

“This is the latest version of the contagion. With this we may be able to come up with a better way to stop the creatures or improve my design for the serum. We've had to reverse-engineer from remains up till this point—and not very successfully. This is a big break, scientifically speaking. We need to get this to the lab for study.”

“Are you kidding me?” Matt was filled with frustrated anger.

Did she not realize she'd almost gotten herself killed? Was her research the only thing she cared about? Matt stalked off to cool down before he throttled her. He looked around the large basement area to take stock of the situation, and almost simultaneously Simon called the all clear.

 

Sandra heard the pride and satisfaction in Simon's voice as he announced they were in the clear. It went through her, radiating down her bones. They'd captured Emilio Rodriguez, the man who'd threatened her for the past few months. They'd also secured a sample of his latest contagion for study, which was quite a coup.

With Rodriguez in custody, she was finally safe. She could hardly believe it. He couldn't threaten her anymore. Her secrets had been revealed, Rodriguez had been captured, and somehow she was still standing after all that. Sandra let the idea sink in while the men took care of business. She really hadn't expected to survive this deadly game, yet here she was.

The men put zip-tie cuffs around Rodriguez's hands and marched him up the stairs. He was out of sight faster than she could have imagined. She watched Matt confer with the members of the combat team a few yards away.

His mood was angry. She could tell from the sharp movements of his hands and the set of his broad shoulders. No doubt he was suspicious of her again. Finding her in Rodriguez's lair didn't look good. Even she knew that.

Would he believe her when she told him how she'd gotten here? She wasn't sure. She hoped he would. She hoped he'd give her a chance. Give her the benefit of the doubt. But even she had to admit her track record for telling him the truth wasn't the best. She wouldn't blame him if he didn't believe her. Trust was something you earned, and she'd done precious little to earn his.

She watched Matt issue orders to secure the rest of the property and search the house and grounds. The men scurried into motion, and Matt turned, his gaze searching the area until it landed on her.

She could tell by the way his muscles tensed that he was working himself up a good head of steam as he stalked the length of the basement to stand in front of her. He faced her, just looking at her until she started to fidget under his scrutiny. Those blue eyes pinned her, making her feel like a bug under a microscope.

“Now would you like to explain how in hell you came to be here?”

She cringed, knowing he wouldn't like what she had to say. Especially not in his current mood.

“I was tricked into leaving the building,” she admitted. Boy, did she feel stupid admitting to how easy it had been to dupe her. “I got a call on my cell phone telling me that Mariana had been captured and was being held hostage by Rodriguez's men. I asked for proof they really had her and was instructed to look out the window on the northeast corner. The one by the secondary door on that side.”

“You didn't think this was important enough to tell somebody?”

Oh, yeah, he was really angry, and she couldn't blame him. She just had to muscle through her explanation and hope he would understand.