Virals(69)

Finally, the thug drew level with their hiding place. His gun swept back and forth in front of his body. Amateur. Foolish.

Shelton edged closer, not needing to be told. His broom handle arrowed between the man's legs. The man stumbled, but somehow kept his balance.

Fast as lightning, Hi smashed down on the man's outstretched hand. The gun hit the cobblestones and ricocheted into the shadows.

Shelton didn't hesitate. Slipping forward, he jabbed his broom into the man's rib cage.

"Hmmmph!" The thug doubled over.

Hi reversed his grip, whipping his broom handle 360 degrees and slamming it across the back of their assailant's head.

Wood cracked on bone.

The man dropped. Lay still.

No time for celebration.

The warriors bolted from their hiding place.

Raced the darkened streets.

Didn't slow until they hit the water.





CHAPTER 50


"Where have you been? We've been waiting for hours!"

Venting felt good. I still had adrenaline up the wazoo.

"Sorry," Hi said. "The research took longer than we expected. And the hit men slowed us down."

"Right." I rolled my eyes.

"Two dudes tried to cap us!" Shelton was wired higher than I was. "We took one out, gave the other the slip."

Hi and Shelton bumped fists.

Ben held up a hand. "Stop. Explain."

They stepped all over each other telling the story.

"Who'd be after you?" Ben asked.

"The same fools from Loggerhead," Shelton said.

"Why?"

"We know about Heaton's murder, so now they want us dead. Right?"

"Maybe." I wasn't so sure. "Seems like a lot of trouble over a forty-year-old crime."

"Tory, we used our flare this time," Hi said. "The change gave us powers. Super senses and super strength."

Shelton concurred. "It was amazing."

"You're not the only ones." Ben shared our adventure at LIRI.

"So Karsten is banking cash to run secret experiments?" Shelton whistled. "And we walked right into it."

"Whatever he's doing, records of the project aren't in his office," I said. "Must be in the lab. Did you guys learn anything useful?"

"Could be."

Shelton and Hi took turns explaining the findings.

"So some parvoviruses do transfer between species," Hi summarized, "and there are human-infecting strains. But the human form doesn't infect dogs, and the canine form doesn't infect people."

Something bothered me. What? The answer stayed hunkered deep in my brainpan.

"What's the human form called again?" I asked.

"Parvovirus B19," Hi said. "The scientist who named it found the first example in his nineteenth petri dish."

"B19," I repeated, more to myself than to the others. Was that the message that was nagging? Why? The name was as generic as mud.

Still the answer refused to surface.

I closed my eyes.

Think. Think.

No go.

Just then Coop bounded into the bunker. Now that he was stronger and more spirited, we were allowing him free run of the nearby dunes.

The puppy wormed figure eights around my legs.

"Coop, whoa!" I barely kept my feet.

Tucking his tail, the puppy crawled beneath the table and whined softly.

I rubbed his back and made comforting noises. I hated when he got scared. He'd suffered enough at Karsten's hands.

I was scratching Coop's ears when the subliminal message finally broke through.

B19.

That's it!

"Guys!" I yelled. "I know what happened! Karsten must have--"

Hackles rose into a prickly ridge along Coop's spine. He growled, eyes fixed on the bunker's entrance.

I whipped around.

From outside came scratching, then the unmistakable sound of someone squeezing through the opening.

A shadow appeared on the floor.

We drew back into one corner, shocked that someone had found our secret hideout. Whoever it was had us trapped.

A form emerged from the crawl. Straightened. Glared at us with undisguised malice.

It was the last person I expected to see.





CHAPTER 5


"Tory Brennan."

Karsten spat my name as though it were something bitter on his tongue.

I gaped, thunderstruck.

Our bunker was practically invisible. How had Karsten found it?

The boys stared in dejected silence. Game over. We'd lost.

"So this is where you plot your little larcenies." Karsten smirked, amused by his own wit. "How quaint."

Karsten's eyes suddenly widened, then narrowed to slits. I followed his sightline.

To Coop.

The puppy was planted before me, legs splayed, ears flat, fur bristling. His lips were curled, revealing glistening white teeth.

Coop's eyes stayed on Karsten as a low snarl rose from his throat.

"It's true." Karsten's voice trembled with rage. "You took him."

"Yes," I said evenly. "We did."

I stroked Coop's head. He remained tense, alert to Karsten's every move. Ready to strike.