From The Ashes (The Ministry of Curiosities #6)(54)

Lincoln let him go. Then he punched him. Lincoln caught the unconscious man before he hit the floor.

"Now how do we get him out without anyone seeing?" Seth asked on a sigh.

The door opened, knocking Seth in the back and pushing him forward. Dr. Fawkner stood there, gun in hand. It shook. "Stand all together over there," he ordered, pointing the gun at the far wall. He noticed Dr. Bell on the floor. "What did you do to him?" he cried in a squeaky voice.

"He wouldn't do as he was told," Lincoln said. "And if you don't do as you're told, the same thing will happen. Put the gun down."

Dr. Fawkner shook his head. "N, no," he stuttered. "I'm just following orders."

Orders! My God, he was the spy.

"Miss, go stand with him. You too," he said to Seth.

"Whose orders?" Lincoln asked as we joined him.

"I don't know. All I know is I have to make sure no one gets near Dr. Bell and his research. I didn't suspect you two at first, but then after I heard about last night…" He pursed his lips and expelled a breath. "Hopefully I can make up for my mistake now."

"You don't look like you want to use that thing," I said, wishing I felt as calm as I sounded.

Dr. Fawkner wiped the side of his face on his shoulder. It left a wet, sweaty streak on his jacket. "I will if I have to."

"Why?"

"Money. You know, that stuff that helps you put a roof over your dying mother's head and that young research assistants don't get much of."

"You're in danger too," Lincoln said. "Just as much as Dr. Bell. The man who gave you that money doesn't want any loose ends. He has killed everyone he ever employed on this project, and others, and you'll both be next."

"Why, if I haven't met him?"

"There'll be something that I could use to identify him. It won't be anything you suspect right now, but it could be enough for us if we put it together with other pieces of the puzzle."

"Only if I talk."

Lincoln merely stared at him. Fawkner sucked in his lower lip to stop it wobbling.

At that moment, Bell stirred. He got to his hands and knees, groaning.

"Dr. Bell?" I knelt beside him. "Are you all right?"

"Stand up!" Fawkner shouted. He held the gun in both hands, yet it shook uncontrollably. His gaze darted between the four of us, and he licked his sweaty upper lip.

Lincoln crouched beside me and assisted me to stand. God knows why. I was perfectly capable of rising on my own. Even so, I was grateful for his steadying presence.

Even more grateful when I realized why he'd helped me. I registered the click of his knife blade locking into place the moment before it hurtled across the room. It must have been strapped to his leg or in his boot, somewhere the police hadn't checked.

The blade dug into Fawkner's shoulder. He cried out and fell back at the same time that Lincoln jerked me behind him. Almost as an afterthought, Fawkner pulled the trigger, but by then, the gun pointed harmlessly at the ceiling. A hail of plaster dust rained over Seth as he ripped the gun from Fawkner's grip.

Fawkner rolled around on the ground, clutching his shoulder and crying.

"That was bloody dangerous," Dr. Bell said, getting to his feet. "He could have shot one of us before the knife got him. Or what if you'd missed?"

Seth grunted. "He never misses."

"He was agitated and unused to firearms," Lincoln said. "I judged him to be an inaccurate marksman."

"He's also never wrong," Seth added as he checked Fawkner for hidden weapons. "Almost," he added with a glance at me.

Someone pounded on the door. "Dr. Bell! Dr. Fawkner, are you all right?"

Bell rubbed his jaw and gave Lincoln a dazed look. "You hit me."

"And I'll hit you again if you don't come with me. Or I could leave you here to die." He nodded at Fawkner. "He won't be the only one trying to stop you escaping."

Bell nodded and answered the door. "We're all right, but…we have to go away for awhile," he said to the wide-eyed man standing there. "Penwick, you're in charge until further notice."

"But Dr.—"

"Just do as I say!"

Penwick nodded meekly and scuttled away. Bell rejoined me, looking rather forlorn.

"It'll all be over soon," I said.

Bell packed some things from his drawer into a medical bag then nodded at Lincoln. "Let's go. What'll you do with him?" He looked to Fawkner, whimpering on the floor.

"Take him with us," Lincoln said. "If we leave him, he'll be dead by nightfall."

"Why do you care? He tried to kill you."

Lincoln's hooded gaze flicked to me. "I don't care. But I care about the opinion of someone who does."

I took hold of Dr. Bell's offered arm, more to steady myself than from propriety. I felt quite unbalanced by Lincoln's pronouncement. His intense gaze didn't help either.

Lincoln removed my knife from Fawkner's shoulder, much to the injured man's horror, and tucked it up his sleeve. Fawkner almost fainted, but Seth pulled him to his feet and shook him. He put his coat around Fawkner, hiding the blood, and they followed us into the corridor.