Rescue Me (44 page)

“He's a member of the team, Weber. Deal with
it.”

Dan didn't want to deal with it. He didn't
have a choice when TREX shoved Jason Peck down his throat as some
whiz kid Einstein with a knack at cutting through the bullshit and
deciphering a real threat from a conspiracy theory. So far, he'd
fallen for more theories than he'd solved.

At least with the rest of this motley crew,
Dan had veto rights. Not for the first time, he questioned whether
or not he made the right decision giving up his SAC role to take
the lead position on this team. Charlie Cole begged and pleaded
with him to join the team, even giving up his role as the special
agent team lead to Dan.

The scientists walked into the lab and Dan
settled into his chair, Cole on one side and Gessler on the other.
He kicked at Gessler to wake him up, who snorted as he jumped awake
and glanced around.

“Late night?”

“Twins,” Gessler said with a grin. “They kept
me up late.”

Dan rolled his eyes and gave the lead
scientist his attention as Dr. Killion stepped forward. “Good
afternoon, gentlemen. We thought we'd share our tremendous
breakthrough with you. TREX has spent a great deal of time making
sure we had the protection we needed to see this project
through.”

“Get on with it already,” Gessler muttered.
“Some of us have better things to do than watch yet another failed
attempt at creating their little robots.”

“Nanobots,” Dan corrected.

“Whatever.”

“No, not whatever. If they actually succeed
in creating LEON, the entire world will be in some seriously deep,
deep shit. Nanobot technology has its place.”

“In a science fiction movie,” Cole added.

Dan nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Not in a
lab with only two-inch glass separating us from the world's
deadliest weapon.”

“I don't like this,” Aims commented, an
intense look in his eyes.

“That makes two of us,” Cummings added.

Cole shifted in his chair, clearly agitated.
No one seemed anxious to see LEON succeed. Why was this
demonstration any different? The scientists had tried at least half
a dozen times, each one ending in failure and them back at the
drawing board.

But this one
felt
different. Dan
couldn't explain it but knew better than to ignore his gut.

“You don't think he really did it this time,
do you?” Dan asked Cole.

“I think ever since he lost his son to the
cancer he contracted from that diseased bone transplant in his leg,
Killion hasn't stopped searching for a way to bring him back.”

“This isn't going to bring him back.”

“Try telling him that.”

Dr. Killion walked over to a table in the
center of the room and pulled off the cover, revealing a fresh pig
carcass. “Since the dawn of our time mankind has been searching for
a way to prolong life. It's been masked as many things. The
fountain of youth. The Holy Grail. Even more realistic and tangible
masks such as plastic surgery. All for the chance to turn back the
hands of time or freeze them altogether.” He turned to the window
to face the team. “Now, while I would love to promise you
everlasting youth, that's not why we created LEON.”

“Oh, my God.” Gessler groaned into the air.
“Come on, doc. Just do it already.”

Something else was off. Dr. Killion usually
couldn't wait to start in on one of his many failed LEON attempts.
Why stall on this one? Dan's unease edged higher.

Dr. Killion held up a syringe full of pale
yellow liquid. “Inside this syringe is the answer to disease. Birth
defects. Even insanity. The number of nanobots in a single drop of
liquid is enough to repair an entire strand of broken DNA. These
little guys are hungry for imperfection. They will find the
irregularities in a person's DNA and repair them. No more
irreparable birth defects that shorten a child's already short
life. No more cancer.”

He fell silent as he turned and injected the
pig with half the contents of the syringe. Stepping back, he stood
next to his assistant as all eyes rested on the carcass. Nothing
happened.

“Told you,” Gessler grumbled and grew
restless. Aims and Cummings both sat back, clearly relieved. Dan
shot a quick look to Cole to gauge his reaction. When he gave a
single nod and let out a breath, Dan finally released the one he'd
been holding.

“I-I don't understand.” Dr. Killion looked at
the syringe and then back to the pig. “I gave it twice the dose
necessary.”

“I told you that you needed a live
subject.”

What the fuck was he doing in there?

Dan jumped to his feet as his friend and
fellow TREX agent, Ron Donovan, walked into the lab. Fuck, no. He
wasn't this stupid, was he?

Donovan grabbed the syringe from Dr. Killion
and brought it up, needle-side toward him.

“No!” Dan screamed at the same time as the
scientists. He bolted out of the room and barged into the lab, but
he was too late. Donovan had already injected his leg with the
nanobots.

He flashed a cocky grin as he squared his
shoulders. “I'm going to be patient zero for a new race of super
agents. I already feel it working.”

“Sweet Jesus! Dr. Killion!” His assistant
pointed at the pig. The flesh below the skin had started to melt.
It was a gruesome scene as the nanobots devoured it from the
inside.

And then Donovan screamed.

THE END

Allie K. Adams is the bestselling author of
several award-winning stories. An active member of the search and
rescue, as well as previously served as a reserve deputy, Allie has
firsthand experience in most of the dangers she writes about. Known
for her highly erotic, deeply intense suspense romances, she can be
found most days in front of her computer, saving the world one
sizzling story at a time. She grew up in Seattle and now currently
lives in southwest Montana with her husband, two kids, and two
fluff ball dogs.

She loves to hear from readers and encourages
them to reach out to her through her website at 
www.alliekadams.com
.

Also by Allie K. Adams

THE TREX ADVENTURES — Romantic Suspense

First Response (TREX Brief)

Rescue Me

No Way Out (TREX Brief)

At Any Cost
(coming soon)

THE CAMPUS PLAYERS
—
Sassy New
Adult

Grooming the Player
(coming soon)

Playing the Player
(coming soon)

Gaming the Player
(coming soon)

MURPH & GRACE — Thriller

I Will Find You
(coming soon)

Writing as Eve Adams

Riding Series 1:
Riding Double

Riding Series 2:
Riding Lessons
[Tasty
Treats, Volume 1]

Riding Series 3:
Riding Cowboys

Covert Lovers 1:
Under the Covers

Covert Lovers 2:
Between the Covers

Gideon’s Ring 1:
Trio

Gideon’s Ring 2:
Temptation

Songs Remember When
1:
Suspicious Minds

Brides of Bachelor Bay
3
: Patience is Their Virtue

Brides of Bachelor Bay
5:
The Banished Bride

Available online at all major retailers