Predator (13 page)

General Maberry stood with his fists on the conference table, eyeing the four officers seated before him. “Dr. Sunderland is balking. He says it’s way too early to test the lycanthrope DNA on humans. I’m still trying to convince him to get on board now.”

“And if you can’t?” Hewitt asked.

“Then we’ll do it without him.” General Maberry paused, not expecting his men to question him, but curious if any would. When no one said anything, he continued. “This is too important to our national security. We need to control the situation in the Middle East.” He cleared his throat. “This won’t be the first time we’ve gone ahead on our own. I’m hoping it doesn’t come down to that, but if it does we’re ready to move forward—without Dr. Sunderland.”

The Pentagon

Five stories above the ground in a room located in the E ring of the Pentagon, two Army officers sat across from one another behind closed doors.

“What’s the progress on the lab?” Hewitt said. Built like a brick wall with a head that seemed to sit directly on his shoulders, he was the larger of the two. His hair was cut high and tight, and his nose was slightly sunburned.

“Everything’s almost in place,” Webb said. “Construction’s finished and we’re loading in the equipment later today. We left the outside of the warehouse intact to avoid suspicion.”

“Has Parker figured out how to use the DNA info from the report I intercepted?”

“Not a hundred percent—it’s only been a little over three weeks—but he’s real close. Once he gets working in the lab, he’ll know for sure.”

“Good,” Hewitt said. “If we play it right, we’ll soon have everything we need to go ahead with our plan.”

Webb leaned forward. “You sure General Maberry’s in the dark about it?”

Hewitt nodded. “If he was onto us we’d be locked up in Leavenworth by now.”

The Delcore Institute, Rivershire, Virginia

The lab door slammed against the frame, and Bree turned to see two men crossing the room with purpose. Both wore camouflage pants, solid olive-colored t-shirts, and tan boots. The man on the left was the taller of the two, his shoulders thrust back and arms at his sides. His face betrayed nothing, not even a hint of emotion. The man on the right looked like he had sucked a lemon. In unison, the men marched right past Bree and into her dad’s office and shut the door behind them.

Through the large window, Bree watched the men flank her dad, who sat behind his desk. She rushed to the office door and pushed inside. At the sound of the door, the men turned to face her, jaws clenched, eyes boring into her.

“I have this,” her dad said as he jumped out of his chair. He strode past the men and clamped his hand on Bree’s shoulder. “Why don’t you take a break while I finish up here?” He led her out the door and back into the lab. “I won’t be long. We’ll get some ice cream.”

“But—”

“Do what I say, Bree. It’s nothing to worry about. Just some business I have to take care of.” Without giving her a chance to respond, he rejoined the men and closed the office door behind him.

Bree wasn’t falling for it. Something was wrong. Really wrong. The only thing he’d been working on was mice pumped up with lycanthrope DNA, so why all the anger and secrecy? She considered barging back in there and asking but didn’t dare. Instead, she crept beside her dad’s office window and pressed her ear to the wall. Heart pounding. Hands shaking.

It was difficult to discern what they said. All she could hear were voices: the deep voice of one man contrasted with her dad’s brash tone. Whatever it was, it was serious. She dared to peek into the room through the window. The men stood side by side with their backs to her, blocking her view of her dad, so Bree dropped down below the window, scooted to her right a few feet, and inched back up for another look. No one had moved, but now she could see her dad talking rapidly, hands and arms in motion.

The soldier with the deep voice interrupted him, and her dad crossed his arms and screwed up his face. The soldier smacked the desk with an open palm, and Bree jumped. Her hip smashed into the wall. She backed away, but the office door opened, and the man with the deep voice stepped out with his hands on his hips.

“What are you doing?” the man asked with an angry stare.

“Nothing. Just tying my shoe. That’s all.” Bree scrambled to stand.

“Who the hell do you think you are listening in on other people’s conversations?” Before she could answer, he turned toward her dad and said, “Keep her in line or you’ll be sorry.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Bree blurted. “I swear.”

Her dad thrust himself between Bree and the man with the deep voice. “It doesn’t matter what she heard. She won’t say anything. And you will not threaten my daughter.”

“Then control her. We’ll be in touch, doctor.” The man motioned to his partner with a two finger wave, and they strode out of the lab.

Bree stepped into her dad’s waiting arms, and he held her tight. “What was that about?” she said into his chest.

Sighing, her dad rested his chin on the top of Bree’s head. “I’m supposed to send in reports every week detailing my work.”

“They seemed so angry.”

“That’s my fault. I got so caught up in everything I forgot to report in for the past few weeks.”

“Jeez, they could have just called.”

“Guess they got tired of waiting. Sorry they scared you like that.”

“I’m fine,” she said, although she knew he was lying. Even if General Maberry had sent those men to get the missing reports, they wouldn’t be so nasty about it. He was definitely hiding something. But what?

Arleta, the Benandanti sister from Ireland, leaned her elbows on the steering wheel and scanned the front of the Delcore Institute through her binoculars. Muscles stiff from remaining in one position for so long, she arched her back in an attempt to ease the ache.

Two soldiers emerged from the building and headed straight for their car. They were obviously annoyed. The one on the left halted the other and pointed directly at her. Had the sunlight glinted off her binoculars? Damn.

Arleta tossed the binoculars onto the passenger seat, cranked the engine, and peeled out of the parking lot, swerving around the shorter of the two. He shot her a look and then took off running, straight for his car.

She had to shake them—if they found out who she was, she and so many others would never be safe again.

A quick left and a right took her past a strip mall and a post office. She took a speed bump without slowing, bottomed out, and then whizzed past a school and a fire station. Who were these guys? Why were they annoyed when they had left Dr. Sunderland’s lab? And why were they after her now?

The road curved around a bend and narrowed. Traffic eased as she passed the highway on-ramp, where most of the cars went. The men hit the gas and swerved around her.

But they had laid a trap.

The moment they began to pass, they smashed into her car.

Cold fear hit Arleta like a knockout punch. She wrestled to keep the car from going off the road. A second hit spun her around and propelled her car into the vehicle behind her. Both cars plunged off the embankment. Arleta screamed. With a death grip on the steering wheel, she braced for impact. The car hit a rock and went over on two wheels. She screamed again. Her heart felt like it was exploding in her chest. Powerless, she watched the ground rush toward her as the car careened down the hill and crashed into a ditch, barely missing a cluster of trees. The force shook Arleta down to the bones, and she gasped for air.

Hands shaking, she quickly assessed her injuries. Other than a few bruised muscles and a banged elbow, she was fine. She scrambled up the incline, but the soldiers were long gone. She worked hard to control her anger. They could have easily killed her. And right now that was exactly what she wanted to do to them—squeeze the life out of the men with her bare hands. Watch them die slowly and revel in the feeling as their last tortured breaths escaped their lips. She stuffed her feelings back down as she had trained her entire life to do. The danger had passed and it was time to refocus.

From the distance, she watched the other driver squeeze through the window of her car. From the smashed roof, it looked like the car had rolled before landing on its side. The other driver began to climb down the side of the car and lost her footing, fished unsuccessfully for something to break her fall, and landed hard. Once on the ground, the woman looked around, as if dazed.

Arleta ran back down the hill. Before she reached the bottom she yelled, “Are you all right? I’ll call for help.”

“I’m fine.”

Arleta was surprised to see one of the Benandanti she had met at Isabella’s.

“What just happened?”

“I think we’ve been played,” Arleta said. “Isabella had me watching the Sunderlands, and I assume she had you keeping an eye on the soldiers. Somehow they made us.”

“They must be after Sunderland’s research and the lycanthrope DNA.”

Arleta placed her hands on her hips. “This threat is very real. We must eliminate it.”

Sunderland Home, East Milmore, Virginia

Bree parked in front of Liam’s apartment building, so glad she hadn’t missed him. He was out front loading luggage into his dad’s rental car.

Liam turned to her as she got out of her car and smiled. When she reached his side he gave her a kiss on the cheek, not fast, not slow, but just right.

“Sorry I’m late. There was a lot of traffic and it took forever.”

He nodded. “So what couldn’t you tell me over the phone?”

“I can’t keep what’s going on in the lab a secret anymore. My dad’s lying to me, and it has something to do with the research. I have to find out why. Two mean army guys showed up at the lab and—”

“Hello, Bree. I didn’t expect to see you here,” Conor said as he trotted down the steps outside the apartment building. He wedged his computer bag between two suitcases and slammed the trunk shut. “Let’s go, Liam. I don’t want to miss our flight. Next one out to North Carolina’s not until tomorrow.”

“Sure thing. Just a minute.” As his dad got into the car, Liam tracked him. Then Liam turned back to Bree. “I’ll help you. Any way I can. Promise me you won’t do anything until I get back. It’s just a few days.”

She shoved her hands into her pocket. “Call me the minute you get home. I have so much to tell you.”

“I’d call you from there if I could, but my da’s pretty sure there isn’t any cell service up in the mountains where the builder found the human remains. I wish there was a way to determine if they were ancient or not without having to go there, that way I wouldn’t have to leave if they weren’t.”

“That’s okay.”

Liam reached into Bree’s pocket and took her hand in his. “If we get a few hours before we head back, my da said we’re stopping at Blowing Rock. It’s this giant cliff that hangs over the Johns River Gorge. It’s like three thousand feet to the bottom, and you can see all the mountains from up there. If my cell works, I’ll give you a call.”

“It’s fine. Really.”

Liam’s dad cranked the engine and leaned out the car window. “Come on.”

“You better get moving.”

“Alright. I’ll see you soon.” Liam gave her a quick hug and slid into the car, and Bree watched them drive off.

She had an awful twisted feeling that something bad would happen to Liam and he’d never come back, but she shook it off. She couldn’t think like that. He wasn’t Troy, and he wasn’t headed off to war. She just had to wait a few days for him to return, that was all.

Days that would seem like forever.

She fished out her cell. “Hey Dad, it’s me.”

“Hi, Bree. Can you hold on a minute?”

“Sure.” In the background she could hear his fingers tapping the computer keyboard. The noise stopped twice, and she figured he paused to check his notes in the black book he kept next to the computer when he worked. He typed more and then sighed. A few seconds later, she heard the faint hum of the printer spitting out page after page. She shifted from foot to foot.

“Everything okay, Dr. Sunderland?” A voice said from a distance on the other end of the phone.

The voice sounded familiar, but Bree couldn’t put a name or a face to it.

“Yeah,” her dad said. “Just fine.”

“Alright then,” the voice said. “I guess I’ll be on my way. Looks like you’ve been real busy. I came by on my rounds before, but you didn’t notice and I didn’t want to bother you none. You must be working on somethin’ real important.”

“I am, Charlie. And thanks for checking. I appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Bree smiled. She liked Charlie, the day security guard. He always made it a point to stop in and say hi.

“Sorry about that, Bree,” her dad said. “Can you hang on another sec? The safe’s open and I was just about to put away my papers when you called.”

“I guess,” she said. Wait—that was weird. He never put his work away until the end of the day—if he didn’t bring it home to work on—so why was the safe open?

“What were you saying, Bree?”

“I’m going to be late getting to the lab. The doctor’s running behind for my physical.” She cringed as the words left her mouth. She hated lying to him.

“That’s fine. I have plenty of work I could finish up without you.”

Like what? What aren’t you telling me, Dad?

“I gotta go,” she said. “They’re calling me. I’ll see you later.” She ended the call without waiting for a response. Her dad wasn’t giving her the answers she wanted, so she’d have to get them on her own.

Hilwater, Virginia

Hewitt glanced in the rearview mirror to ensure no one was tailing him. He’d had an odd feeling about it all day, but he saw no one. He made a hard right onto the gravel road leading to an old warehouse converted into a state-of-the-art laboratory and training facility. The car bounced over the marble-like rocks, and Hewitt slowed to maintain control.

At the end of the twisted road, Hewitt pulled behind the warehouse and cut the engine. He checked the mirrors again before climbing out and taking the steps to the door. The buzzer was rusted, and the door hung off one hinge; it squealed loudly when he moved it.