The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(113)

The lights that had been on earlier were now off, and the only light source was the glow under the door emanating from the hallway. The gloom infesting the rest of the floor had already helped her vision adjust to the dim lighting. Dr. Curran was the first to activate her wristlet to cast more light in the room, and Torran and Lindsey followed suit. The starting menu popped up, but access was being denied due to the suppression program Carter and created.

In the dim illumination, the man she loved looked much more composed than she felt, but then again, he was very good at hiding his emotions.

Setting her hands on her hips, Lindsey waited while watching Dr. Curran closely. She definitely didn’t trust the scientist.

After a few minutes, Torran relaxed. “They left. Is there a camera in here?”

Dr. Curran shook her head. “They don’t have enough remote generators to activate security.”

Lindsey exhaled and sat on the edge of one of the beds. “So now what do we do?”

“Well, I’m not really counting on them to keep their end of the bargain,” Torran admitted. “So I’m trying to sort out how to escape.”

Looking around the room, Lindsey yearned for the comfort of her old flat. “If we escape, how do we get out of the building?”

“We’d have to steal the tiltrotor,” Torran answered.

“And there is how many of left of the squad?”

“Twelve.” Dr. Curran settled onto a chair, crossed her arms, and stared at Torran thoughtfully. “Tell me, MacDonald: how did the SWD know about the virus?”

Torran’s smirk was barely visible as he turned to look at the scientist. “They don’t. I lied to give us more time to come up with a way of getting out of here safely.”

Dr. Curran stared at Torran in surprise, then started to laugh. “I see.”

“How did you know about the virus samples in the offsite lab when no one else in the SWD did?” Lindsey asked.

“During my initial research for the Inferi Boon project, I discovered a manifest from the primary lab to the offsite lab misfiled in the historical database. It didn’t seem important at the time, but when everything went to hell with the Inferi Boon special ops team, I destroyed it to prevent the SWD from acquiring it.”

“But you wanted samples from Dwayne and Maria,” Lindsey said.

“Yes, but I would have hidden that fact from my superiors. I want to find a way to inoculate everyone without risk of Anomalies or Aberrations developing. The SWD would just use it to acquire more power,” Dr. Curran answered tersely.

“And you wouldn’t?” Lindsey gazed at the woman distrustfully.

“Believe what you like.”

“Fine, but back to the matter at hand. You said you had a plan,” Lindsey said sharply to Dr. Curran. “What is it?”

“Just trust me.” The scientist’s shadowy smile made Lindsey feel unsettled and not comforted.

“That doesn’t sound like much of a plan,” Lindsey replied sourly. “Especially because I don’t trust you.”

“Why don’t you tell us what you have planned so far as a show of good faith?” Torran curtly suggested.

“I’m still working on the details,” Dr. Curran answered, shrugging slightly.

Lindsey scoffed. “You can’t just leave us in the dark. And that wasn’t meant as a joke.”

Dr. Curran narrowed her eyes, looking a tad peeved in the pale illumination from her wristlet. “Yes, I can.”

Torran sat on the bed next to Lindsey and gave Dr. Curran his best glower. “You’re not being helpful.”

Lindsey wrapped her arm around his and leaned her head against his shoulder. The dreadful idea of never being able to hold him again was making a mess of her nerves. “Come on, Curran, out with it. We’re all in this together.”

“If you’re lucky, they’ll let you go. If you’re not lucky, I have a plan. That really should be enough for you to know,” Dr. Curran sniffed.

“That’s not acceptable,” Lindsey snapped.

Though she hoped Torran and she would both make it out alive, she had enough doubts to make her short tempered. It was hard to cling to her last shred of hope.

Dr. Curran shrugged, slid off her chair, and entered the sanitation station. The door shut, leaving the couple alone.

“I hate her,” Lindsey grumbled.

“So do I.” Torran slid an arm around Lindsey’s shoulders and kissed her temple. “I would do anything to be anywhere but here right now.”

“Same here, but at least we’re together,” Lindsey replied.

If he hadn’t rescued her, she’d still be in Franklin’s clutches. What would’ve followed was torture and a lonely death. She was certain of that fact, so it was hard to ignore the feeling of living on borrowed time. “Everything is better when we’re together. Even when it’s bad.

Torran’s lips spread into a charming smile and he stared at her adoringly. “Well said, and true.”

Melting under his admiration, she tilted her head upward for a kiss.

Torran adorned her lips with several short pecks, then a longer smoldering one. “We’ll be okay,” he said again.

Lindsey almost believed him. “I have faith you’ll do everything in your power to get us out of here.”