Project Terminal: Legacy (7 page)

“Tonight? Isn’t it too soon? You’re hurt. And you said it’s in Texas. We’re still in Louisiana.”

“It’s on the Louisiana-Texas border, and we’re close. I can take them by surprise and have what I need, they won’t expect it so soon after what happened at Doug’s place. Then we can go to Strong Stock and see what Doug’s left behind for us.”

She folded her arms. “You can’t, if you do something stupid, you’ll bleed to death from that bullet hole.”

He rose and pulled a clean shirt over his head, wincing with the movement.

She maneuvered between him and the door. “You’re not going tonight, Damian. You can’t rely on my stitching skills, if you rip that place open you’re going to bleed. A lot. And you couldn’t be at the top of your game.”

He passed her a reassuring smile. “Then it evens the odds a little for the other soldiers, but I can still handle a few scientists and a handful of troops.”

A muscle in her jaw ticked and she narrowed her eyes. “Fine, I’m going with you then.”

This time he gave her a level stare. “No, you’re not, Laura. I won’t put you in any more danger than you’ve already been put through.”

“This isn’t open for debate. I’m going with you, and that’s final.”

His human brick wall had returned. “Not if I tie you to this chair.”

“Not if I kick you in the balls before you get me tied to this chair.”

He rubbed his forehead, a headache setting in. “Stay here, please.”

“Nope.”

“Please.”

“Nope.”

“If I say yes, do you promise to do what I say, and stay out of trouble?”

Laura nodded. “I promise.”

He glanced to her hands. “I see your fingers crossed.”

She lifted a shoulder. “Just habit. I always do that when I fold my arms. I promise to not put you in any more danger, Damian. But I
won’t
promise not to help if I see you in a bad situation.”

Defeated, he could do nothing but agree. “Fine, but
only
if I’m in a bad situation and signal you.”

* * * *

A few minutes later Laura was back to clutching Damian’s waist while he drove a maze of county roads, some paved, some dirt trails. Panic danced in her brain, mocking her earlier determination to help him break inside Project Terminal. Good God, what did she know about anarchy? She’d never even gone to detention in school.

But she wouldn’t have been able to live with her conscience if Damian had gone on the mission alone. Maybe she could provide a distraction? She dug around her memory for what movie characters did in such circumstances. They could blow up a military vehicle, or she could let guards see her darting through shadows. Or she could walk straight up to the front gate, pretending to be drunk and lost. She’d run her ideas by Damian once they stopped. Playing an active role in the takedown seemed much less frightening than standing back and watching it happen.

Chapter 8

“Do
not
move from this spot, you hear me?” Damian’s command needled her. She screwed her face up at him, but his look bore no argument. He’d go alone, leaving her exactly where she didn’t want to be—in the dark.

“Sir, yes, sir.” Laura gave him a mocking salute before turning her attention to the fourteen foot chain-link fence they huddled near. The top had razor wire woven in circles, while huge signs declaring the fence to be electrified were posted every ten feet or so. “Do they keep T-Rex in there or what?” she asked, resisting the urge to touch the fence and test whether the signs were phony.

“Something worse, I’m afraid.” Damian squatted in the dirt, tools scattered about.

“What are you going to do?” She eyed the dark shapes in the moonlight, unclear of their intended use.

“Short circuit the fence,” he replied.

“How?”

He looked up, meeting her gaze. “You’re full of questions tonight.”

Laura shrugged. “Is this your way of telling me to be quiet?”

He gave her a lopsided grin, dropping a quick kiss on her lips. “Exactly.”

Several minutes later a small pop made her jump. Afterward, Damian took clippers, snipping the wire until he had a spot just big enough to crawl through.

“I’ll be back soon.” He held up a finger. “Don’t move.”

He disappeared, swallowed by the shadows of brush. She didn’t know what Damian’s plans were, she only knew they were outside of what he referred to as Headquarters, the place that had created the virus—and super soldiers like Damian. He wanted evidence of what went on within its closely guarded walls to put an end to things, though how he’d do so she didn’t know.

The wait quickly grew from annoying to unbearable, and she eyeballed the cutout in the fence. She could sneak inside closer to the nearest austere building, the one Damian had targeted. Maybe she’d be able to hear inside, or catch sight of something useful. As she contemplated the idea, she leaned back on her hands, swatting gnats and mosquitoes making a beeline up her nostrils. The lonely orbit of a satellite passed between stars as she got to her feet and inched closer to the opening.

A bright light surrounded her. She gasped, shielding her eyes.

“Don’t move. You’re trespassing on federally restricted property,” a loud voice called.

Blinded by the spotlight, she could only blink. Hands grabbed her. She screamed, kicking out as men cuffed her and dragged her away.

* * * *

Damian swiped the borrowed keycard through the lock. Behind him soldiers lay piled in a heap on the ground. In a few hours they would awake with headaches, but other than a few broken bones they were in one piece. Thus far he’d successfully made it to the science building. He needed to get the files, he knew where hard copies were kept. Along with using the thumbdrive in his pocket, he’d be able to gather all the information he needed.

Then he’d blow the place to hell. Anticipation honed his senses as he entered an office. The combination to the safe was easy. He’d once watched Doc punch in the code, and he’d committed it to memory, filing it away in the back of his mind. One never knew when such a thing could be handy.

Several files were there, but he grabbed the one of most importance—the file labeled
R1LN
, which contained info about the virus. He stuffed the papers inside the pack he carried. Next, he moved to the computer, a little more difficult to navigate, but soon had what he needed downloaded to the thumbdrive. After shoving it in his front pocket, he set the timed explosive devices he had stashed in the pack he’d brought. This section of the building would be empty, so no casualties. A distraction for a fast getaway.

He slipped from the office and down the hall.

“Damian?”

Damian stiffened. He turned slowly.

“Doc,” he said in greeting. Tall and lean, she looked more like a runway model than a mad scientist. She had a nasty black eye and a bandage across her swollen nose. “That’s a good look for you, by the way.”

Her eyes were narrowed. “Somehow I knew this would happen when I got the call about that woman. I never pegged you as one who’d get involved with a civilian.”

“Regardless what you led Laura to believe you never had a shot in hell either.” Seconds were ticking away. In four minutes thirty seconds this section of the labs would blow to hell and Damian had no desire to be part of the rubble. “I’ve learned a few things about the operation you run here. I’ve decided to turn in my resignation.”

Doc walked closer. “There’s no walking away, Damian. You know that.”

Four minutes left.

“Well, that’s exactly what I’m doing, Doc, and I’d advise you to do the same.” He glanced around, they were still the only ones on this side of the building.

“What if I told you we have your new friend?”

His heart stalled, he clenched his fists. “What have you done with her?”

“She will be of great service to the cause.”

“The cause? What the hell are you talking about?”

“We wanted a healing agent for the soldiers we were creating, but found something infinitely more valuable. A virus we could set loose to do the damage without loss of American soldiers. You can’t tell me that’s not something you’d back. Lives will be saved, Damian. Families won’t lose loved ones in senseless wars.”

Two minutes thirty seconds.

“A virus which happened to escape, threatening billions of innocent lives. Families have already lost, you know how it feels to lose someone close to you.” Damian fought to temper the anger boiling in his blood.

Doc frowned. “A mistake, one I assure you will be corrected. Mary should’ve never gotten away from us. Max was careless.”

He shook his head. “Leave Max out of it, you take a fair share of the blame too. How does Laura play into all of this?”

“We’ll track down exactly what makes her immune and find a way around it. We can’t have survivors.”

He grew sick to his stomach. “So she’ll be treated like nothing more than a lab rat.”

Doc shrugged. “A sacrifice to science in a cause which should mean something to you.”

One minute. He had to get the hell out of the building. Doc stood a few yards away. He dove in her direction, her cry of alarm muffled in his hand. He dragged her from the building as she flailed against him. Sharp pain shot through his wounded shoulder.

The explosion blasted the air, shattering the night. Damian fell on top of Doc, protecting her from flying shrapnel. A hot piece of metal lodged in his thigh, more in his back, but his adrenaline pumped, numbing the pain. Flames shot skyward, alarms wailed, and soldiers swarmed the area.

He yanked Doc upright, ducking behind a utility vehicle, shoving his gun against her ribs. “Now tell me where Laura is or I swear to God your life ends here.”

“In Laboratory Two.” She nodded in the direction of another building.

Damian pulled zip ties he’d taken from a soldier out of his pocket and tied her hands. Then tore off a strip of his shirt and gagged her with it, leaving her stashed out of sight, then made for the building.

Laura, Laura, Laura
a chant in his mind while he weaved through panicked soldiers to Lab Two. He made short work of the lone guard at the door to the room where she was held.

He threw open the door and narrowly missed having a metal lab stool bashed over his head.

Laura dropped it and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh my God, I heard the explosion. I didn’t know what’d happened to you.”

“Time to go.” He guided her down a hall and out a back entrance.

“Oh my God, Damian. You’re bleeding again.” She paused, staring at his back.

“We don’t have time for this.” He grabbed her hand to pull her forward.

“No!” she screamed, jumping in front of him, her cry cut short by the sharp staccato of gunfire before she sank to the ground.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her even as he lifted the Glock and used his directional hearing to aim and take out the attacker. After the soldier fell, the Glock dropped from Damian’s hand. A growing circle of dark stained the back of Laura’s black shirt and she laid face first in the dirt. He sought for the emotions he should feel. Anger, agony, disbelief, but found nothing, only a ringing in his ears left behind by the explosion. He sank to his knees and rolled her onto her back.

Her eyelids fluttered, and she met his gaze. Her chest rose and fell as she struggled to breathe.

“You promised to stay out of trouble.” His voice sounded hollow, far away.

“But not…” She took a wheezing breath, then another. “…if you were in…a bad situation.”

Rendered immobile and at a complete loss for his next move, he stroked her hair. Her image blurred, and hot tears streamed from his eyes. Shouts sounded, and instinct warned him to leave. But his limbs wouldn’t obey.

If he lost Laura...

Fuck it all, if he lost Laura nothing fucking mattered.

She coughed blood then gasped for air. “I…I can’t breathe. Damian, help.”

Her plea cut through the fog. She slumped lifeless as he scooped her up, grabbing his Glock and firing toward the soldiers charging his way. Two fell and the third took cover as Damian jumped inside a Humvee. He revved the engine and gravel spit around the tires as he sped into the night.

* * * *

The steady
beep beep beep
drew Laura from sleep. She blinked against gummy eyelids, frowning at the incessant noise.

Warmth covered her hand. She focused on the sensation, realizing fingers held on to it. She looked through the haze, trying to make out a figure standing nearby.

“Laura, baby, can you hear me?”

Her throat hurt, but she tried to answer anyway. “Uhhh.”

“Laura, it’s Damian. You’re in the hospital with a collapsed lung, but the doctor says you’ll be fine.”

The words stumbled through her brain. She felt floaty, a pleasant feeling, and she gave over to it.

When she woke again, soreness gnawed her chest. She opened her eyes and grimaced against the flood of light hitting her eyeballs. It took several tries to figure out where she was. Not her bed. Not at her parents.

The hospital? “Oh God.”

She tried to sit up, but pain lanced through her and hands pushed her back to the pillow.

“Take it easy, you’ll be in here a few days.” The familiar baritone voice teased her memory.

“Damian?” She focused on him standing over her. God, she sounded like a woman who’d smoked for ninety years. “What’s happened?”

“You’re in the hospital, you have a collapsed lung.”

She dug through her memory, but came up empty-handed. “How?”

“Retrograde amnesia, you may not actually remember how it happened, but you took a bullet for me, Laura. And I’ll never forgive you for that.” He softened the words with a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.

She remembered running through the building where Damian had rescued her, but nothing else. She frowned.

He looked panicked. “Are you hurting? We can up the painkillers. I’ll get a nurse.”

She grasped his hand. “No, I’m high as a kite as it is.”

It did hurt to breathe, and she felt like an elephant sat on her chest, but she wanted to be awake. If awake, she got to be with Damian. “What did you tell the doctor?”