Whispers in the Dark (KGI #4)(97)

The lab went into chaos. Screams, yells, equipment falling and being turned over as they all scrambled like rats to flee the room.

Shea strained at her bonds but there was no budging the bands. Panic set in and she started hyperventilating as the tube seemed to close in on her. Oh God, she couldn’t breathe. What was happening? Was it an earthquake?

Her mouth opened in a silent scream and then she yelled hoarsely as another electric current bolted through her body. She closed her eyes and retreated back into the void where insanity was the preferable alternative. To a place where there was no pain and no fear while everything around her went to hell.

JOE slammed back against the wall just as Donovan flattened himself against the other. Bullets zinged from the opposing hallway and into the wall a short distance away.

“Motherf*ckers,” Donovan swore. “On my count, you go high and I’ll go low. One, two…three!”

Joe turned the corner as Donovan went to the floor, guns up. Joe took out the two armed guys on the left while Donovan downed the remaining one on the right.

“Let’s go,” Donovan barked.

An explosion rocked the building and Joe reached back for the wall to steady himself. “Sounds like Garrett’s already having his fun.”

“It’s going to get interesting now. Keep your eyes peeled. Shoot first and don’t get your ass shot.”

“You have such a knack for stating the obvious,” Joe muttered as he broke into a run down the hall.

They passed the downed men, and Donovan stopped long enough to snag a security badge from one of them.

“Oh, come on,” Joe said. “You’re telling me the king nerd can’t get anywhere without a security clearance card?”

“Eat me,” Donovan growled. “This’ll take less time. Provided it works. If it doesn’t, we’ll just blow our way in.”

Joe grinned. “I like the way you think when you don’t have your head stuck in a computer.”

“I’m so kicking your ass when this is over.”

They ran down the corridor until they came to an open door. Donovan held up one hand then kicked in the door and went in, gun up as he swept the room.

“Clear here,” Donovan said.

They continued their path down the hall, finding evidence of hasty exits. There were overturned equipment, papers scattered everywhere, even a running faucet.

When they came out of the current room, a shot sounded and Donovan went down. Joe turned, laying down a heavy spray of bullets as he hit the ground to cover his brother.

Joe nailed one in the chest and he fell heavily. The other, Joe got in the leg and he disappeared around the corner before Joe could get off another shot. He turned his attention to his brother.

“Van, goddamn it, talk to me. Are you hit?”

“Get the f**k off me. I can’t breathe,” Donovan growled. “Fucker just winged me. I’m all right. Let’s clear the rest of the hall.”

Joe carefully pushed himself off his brother but kept careful watch as Donovan picked himself up from the floor. When Joe glanced down, he saw blood smeared on the white tiles.

“You’re bleeding, goddamn it. Where did you take the hit?”

Donovan put a hand to the tear in his sleeve. “It’s just a graze. Few inches over he’d have hit the Kevlar and then we wouldn’t be having this stupid conversation about blood.”

They moved more slowly down the hall, each facing a different direction. Donovan walked forward and Joe backed his way after his brother. At each open doorway, they stopped to clear the room but left frustrated each time.

“This is bullshit,” Donovan said into his receiver. “We’re coming up empty. What about the rest of you?”

“Steele and company are engaged. Phillips is helping round up everyone running from the building. They haven’t been able to clear their section. We’re making our way back as fast as we can,” Sam said.

“Us too,” Nathan relayed.

Joe could hear the frustration in his twin’s voice and the ache. He was afraid for Shea. Afraid he wouldn’t find her but also afraid of what he’d find if they came across her.

“We have to find her,” Joe said in a low voice to Donovan.

Donovan nodded and continued their path through the maze of rooms.

They burst into a room and quickly scanned the interior. Joe frowned, and for a moment it felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. He lurched forward, ignoring Donovan’s order to be cautious.

He turned in a circle, staring, remembering what he’d seen during his brief connection to Shea. “This is it, Van. This is where they had her!”

Donovan hopped over a chair on its side and turned the corner of the L-shaped room. Joe came up beside him and froze as he stared at the cylindrical cage. And it was a cage. There were no bars but it was no less a prison.

“Dear God,” Donovan whispered.

Joe bolted forward, his hand running along the top of the enclosure where Shea lay, her eyes glassy and fixed on the ceiling. Electrodes were attached to her head, though one had fallen off and lay by her ear. The monitor that he’d seen was to her left.

“Son of a bitch! We have to get her out of here, Van.”

Joe dropped his rifle and clawed frantically at the lid, trying to figure out how it opened. “Damn it, Van, how do I get her out?”