Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)(69)

I was pleased to be considered a threat even while cuffed. Still, his command left me feeling uneasy. I didn’t have a clue what their protocol was other than what I’d seen them do to Kale. It made me thankful that he’d left town without knowing about this. I never wanted to see him at the mercy of the FPA again.

The group of agents ushered me into a lobby that was in much better shape than most of the bedraggled, rubble-filled building. Maintaining the abandoned appearance of the old, haunted hospital allowed the FPA to operate unnoticed. They made use of the top floor and the basement, leaving all floors in between exactly as they’d been for many years: haunted and in total disrepair.

They led me to a large, caged elevator at the back of the lobby. None too gentle, they shoved me inside, all crowding in around me with Briggs entering last. He hit a button that I knew was taking us to the basement. Not good.

The basement was the worst part of the whole building, and I hadn’t even seen all of it. It housed the lock up and the labs, not to mention the evil that lived in the land, getting inside the mind of anyone with any connection to the dark. Already I could feel it. Like a wordless whisper, it welcomed me back.

Being confined in the elevator with them all surrounded me with their human scent. Though my bloodlust had been appeased, part of me was certain I could kill them all without any power. The evil lurking in the building pressed close, encouraging me. Should I try? No, better to be patient.

Briggs was watching me like he knew my thoughts. “Let’s just all play nice, O’Brien, and nobody has to get hurt.”

“Well now, where’s the fun in that?” I bared my fangs and winked at the agent closest to me. He stiffened, maintaining his tough-guy stance, though he wouldn’t meet my eyes.

When the elevator stopped and the door opened, we were in a part of the basement I’d never seen before. Last time I’d been here, I’d come in on the opposite end of the maze of halls.

I was nudged, jostled, and guided out of the elevator into a lab. It must have been the same one Jez had told me about. The main area we stood in was large and white. It was filled with cabinets and drawers with labels marking what was inside.

A hallway led to separate exam rooms. Every door was closed. An alarm went off in my brain. What the f*ck was Briggs up to?

Being cuffed didn’t affect my senses. I was able to feel the energy of another vampire behind one of those doors and something else that felt human but more. I was wary, but I wasn’t afraid. I’d been curious about what went on down here, and I was about to find out.

“What are we doing, Briggs?” I asked. “Am I receiving the grand tour?”

His eyes narrowed, and he shot me a warning glare. “Something like that.”

Ok, I got it. He needed to go through the motions as he would with any vampire in custody. I didn’t want to blow his cover, but I was not too keen on being a lab rat. In fact, I was very much against it.

“Room number three,” he barked. Briggs wasn’t much of a calm talker with his agents.

They herded me down the hall to room three, and I let them, until they pushed the door open and I saw inside.

It looked like a medical room from hell. A gurney-like bed took up the far wall. The restraints attached to it appeared to be made of some kind of heavy metal, more like chains than straps. Beside it sat a medical tray filled with tools: needles, scalpels, and other assorted devices I didn’t know by name.

“I don’t f*cking think so.” I stood rooted in the doorway, refusing to take another step. “What the f*ck do you think you’re doing, Briggs?”

Agent Briggs shouldered the guy next to me aside and took his place. “Just following protocol.” Then he pulled out a Taser and held it inches from my neck. “Let’s just get this over with, shall we?”

I searched him for some kind of sign that we were still on the same page, but I didn’t find it. He was going to have to tase me then, because I was not going to be a willing lab rat.

“Fuck your protocol.” I regarded him with defiance, daring him to take this as far as he could.

So he did. The Taser hit my skin and sent wave after wave of electricity surging through me. It wasn’t my first time being tased by a man who needed a weapon to replace his balls. Being beyond human life and death made it easier to take, but it still hurt like a bitch. It still dropped me to my knees and left me feeling dazed.

A door on the other side of the room opened and in walked a man wearing a lab coat. I recognized him. He’d been helping two other agents interrogate one of Arys’s victims last time I’d been in here, when I’d come to find Kale.

“You,” I said through clenched teeth. “You just happen to be on my FPA hit list.”

The doctor paused, gave me a dismissive once over and reached for a syringe from the tray. He tore it from its packaging and shared a look with Briggs.

Several hands grabbed and pulled at me as the agents struggled to get me onto the gurney. I resisted by throwing my weight into those closest, knocking them down before turning to the others. One received a head-butt in the face that had his nose gushing. Another caught my elbow in the eye.

Guns were drawn, equipped with a handy crossbow feature just for vampires. What a bunch of damn babies. They had been improving their weaponry, but it would only get them so far.

“Are you gonna shoot me, Briggs?” I demanded, advancing on him.