The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(116)

A second later, Carter grunted as Yates took advantage of him being distracted, and there was a heavy crash as the man hit the floor.

“He’s down!” Yates shouted.

Guilt ate at Torran, knowing he’d inadvertently caused Carter’s death, but he was frantic to get to Lindsey. Torran crawled across the floor in the direction of the counter. Carter lay dead nearby, his head split open. Other members of the squad lay in heaps, blood pooling on the floor. Torran reached the end of the counter and pulled himself around just as he was seized from behind. A still-hot weapon was pushed into his back.

“Room is secure,” Yates announced. “I’ve got the prisoner.”

Torran ignored the weapon pressing into him and jerked himself free of Yates’ grip. All he cared about was the scene in front of him. Dr. Curran sat on the floor, holding Lindsey’s hand. Blood covered her white Sci-Tech suit and Lindsey’s face was far too pale. It took Torran a second to realize she wasn’t breathing.

“She just passed,” Dr. Curran said in a flat tone. “The bullets hit her vital organs and an artery.”

“No,” Torran gasped. Though he felt as though all his strength had been sapped out of him at Dr. Curran’s words, he crawled to Lindsey’s still form. “Linds, Linds...” He didn’t even realize he was crying until his tears fell onto her lips.

“Get him up,” Solomon ordered.

“No!” Torran gasped. “No! Someone needs to help her!”

Yates jerked him off Lindsey and dragged him toward the containment chamber.

Torran couldn’t tear his gaze from Lindsey’s still form. Dr. Curran set Lindsey’s hand down over her stilled heart and shakily stood.

Yates shoved him into the containment cell, and shut the door. The blond woman’s stern face was without remorse. “I guess you’re the only lab rat now,” Yates sneered.

“I’m going to kill you,” Torran hissed.

“No. No you’re not.” Yates grinned and turned her back on him.

In a fury, Solomon confronted the scientist. “I hope you had nothing to do with this.” The Cultist pressed her hand against her wounded shoulder, trembling from the pain.

“Do you think I’d risk the samples? You’re responsible for your people. You should have known your hacker was a spy,” Dr. Curran retorted. “Why would a hacker turn on tech?”

“How do I know you weren’t working with him? It was convenient how he opened fire when you were in cover!”

“Maybe he was taking advantage of a clear shot of Ramirez. This is your mess, Solomon. Not mine.”

Slapping her hand on the counter, Solomon leaned toward Curran. “Don’t push me.”

“I can push you all I want because you need me.” Dr. Curran smirked, her eyes gleaming. “And you know it.”

Solomon hissed through her teeth with frustration, anger, and, Torran hoped, a lot of pain. “Did we get the virus?”

Dr. Curran waved her hand at the broken equipment. “We’re lucky ISPV is not airborne, or we’d all be infected and our dead would be Scrags! So far, the samples have all been the regular virus. I have six more to check, but the equipment...” Curran shoved the broken microscope off the table. “Find me another one and I’ll tell you if the remaining samples are the modified virus or not!”

“I just lost six people and the woman who could lead us to Martinez!”

“That’s not my problem!”

Solomon’s face flushed with anger. “Yates, dump the bodies, then prepare to return to the offsite lab to recover another microscope.”

“Yes, sir,” Yates said.

“Solomon, let me out,” Torran shouted, banging on the glass wall. He wanted to hold Lindsey one last time.

Evins, one of the bigger soldiers still clad in armor, moved to claim Lindsey’s body. Pressing his palms flat against the glass, Torran watched with a breaking heart as Lindsey was unceremoniously dragged across the floor to be piled with the other dead.

He’d been convinced they’d die together, and that thought had terrified him.

Now Torran knew what was worse.

To survive when Lindsey was dead.





Chapter 33


Ten Minutes Earlier–



Ever since Lindsey had enlisted in the Constabulary, she’d wondered what it would feel like to know she was about to die. During the failed final push against the Scrags outside the Bastion, she didn’t have a chance to ponder her fate when she’d been rendered unconscious by a grenade. Now that she actually knew the countdown on her life was underway, she was surprised to not feel terror, but rebellion. If she was going to die in a few minutes, she wasn’t going to give her executioners the satisfaction of seeing her afraid.

Catching Torran’s eye, she gave him an encouraging smile. At least they’d be together in the end. It was very difficult for the man she loved to alter his scowl into anything resembling a smile, but he tried. She loved him all the more for it.

“I’m glad we took that walk that day,” Torran said to her.

“Me too,” Lindsey replied, meaning it with all her heart. At least the final season of her life had been filled with love and companionship.

Yates poked the barrel of her weapon into Lindsey’s back. “Both of you shut up.”