Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome #1)(39)

Thunder had rolled, and now rain blasted down, masking their steps.

It was a hell of a storm, and the timing was perfect.

Sami and an ex–Utah State baseball player named Shawn Banks flanked Jax, while Raze and a former wild game hunter followed Wyatt. A team of six was low for the mission, but until everyone else decided whether they were in or out, it was all he had.

He jerked his head for Sami to scout an area of abandoned cars circling the three story building, and she sprang into action. Though young and impetuous, she had the markings of a great cop or soldier. If she’d just keep her personal shit out of the way.

During the mission, she’d remained professional while managing to glare at him several times in a way that didn’t feel professional. They were going to have to talk about the mistake of her trying to kiss him months ago, and he really didn’t want to go there.

Hell, truth be told, he might’ve kissed her back if he hadn’t carried Scorpius inside him. Good thing he hadn’t.

Although he knew better than to open the conversation with that gambit.

She’d finished the task and gave the high sign. He swept left and gingerly opened the glass front door while Wyatt’s team came in the back.

Papers, shredded drawers, and overturned furniture littered the reception room. He stalked behind the desk and rifled through papers for a map of the building. Offices made up the first floor, while labs and testing areas comprised the second. Shipping and a loading dock were located one floor down.

Wyatt’s crew silently entered the reception room, flashlights down. “Nothing but offices that have been picked over,” he whispered.

Jax nodded. “You head down one level to shipping to see what you can find, and we’ll go up to the labs. Look for vitamin B.”

Wyatt loped toward the stairs. “It’s awfully quiet out there.”

“Hopefully the storm will keep Twenty indoors for the night,” Jax said. Of course, good luck didn’t exist. “But keep an eye out. They’re trained and like to kill.”

Wyatt led the way to the basement stairs. Raze easily kept to his six, and Jax wondered at his training. Definitely special ops, but not Delta. The guy didn’t feel like a friend, and he watched like an enemy. But at the moment, Jax needed him more than he needed to be cautious.

Jax found the stairs to the next floor and jogged up, keeping track of Sami and Shawn by the sound of their footsteps. She moved silently, and he moved like an elephant. He’d need to work on stealth in the next few months.

They reached the next floor, where several labs with glass doors lined the hallway. “Everybody take one and meet back here. Keep the lights low and away from the windows as much as possible.” Without waiting for a reply, he opened the door to the first lab.

Beakers, counters, and nonfunctioning machinery lined the counters. A couple of useless dead refrigerators made up one entire wall. He yanked open the few drawers that hadn’t already been ransacked and went through the entire room. No vitamin B.

A box of bandages had been forgotten in the back of one of the lower counters, and he fetched it before exiting and turning for the next lab.

By the time he got to the final unsearched lab, he’d found small samples of bandages, shampoo, instant noodles, shaving cream, and some toothpaste. Not a lot, but something. After securing the items in his backpack, he turned toward the door.

Shawn stood there, feet spread, Ruger pointed at Jax.

Jax froze and dropped the backpack to the ground. “Looks like you learned how to move quietly.”

The kid shrugged, anger burning in his deep eyes. “Not really. You just made a lot of noise ripping apart that last cupboard. What did you find?”

“A stash of condoms,” Jax drawled. “The good kind with lubricant and ribs. You know. For her pleasure.”

Shawn snarled. “So you can continue to fuck the woman who pretty much killed society? My mother? My entire family?”

Ah. Jax eyed the gun pointed at his gut. Safety off. Probably one in the chamber, and the kid’s aim remained steady. “Scorpius was a bacteria nobody created or expected, and Lynne did her best to cure it.”

Shawn cupped the gun with his free hand, steadying his aim. “Maybe, but the fact remains that you lied to us. You’re a carrier and should be destroyed before you infect us all.”

Anger tried to swell. Jax shut down all emotion and focused. “Who are you working with, kid? We both know this isn’t your plan.”

Shawn’s chin with the barely there goatee lifted. “I could be workin’ alone.”

“You’re not. Who’s pulling the strings?” Jax leaned nonchalantly against a countertop.

Shawn’s shoulders went down from around his ears, and his legs unlocked. “Red is our new leader.”

“Says who?” Jax said softly.

“Says my gun,” Shawn spat out.

How many people had voted to have Jax killed? His blood quickened through his veins. “What about Lynne?”

Shawn smiled, the sight garish in the odd yellow light. “Oh, that bitch is dead by now. Red has taken care of her and the infected.”

Jax stiffened to keep from running through Shawn to get home. Dig deep and concentrate. “Red wanted to kill Lynne, Tace, and Haylee?”

“Anybody infected.” For the first time, an emotion other than anger filtered through Shawn’s eyes. “I liked Haylee, but either she’ll be a Ripper or she’ll be a carrier if she doesn’t die from the fever. We have to protect ourselves.”