Chapter 28

In the darkness, Lorna stumbled away from the necropsy table and hit a warm body. Arms caught her, held her. She knew it was Jack by the musky mix of sweat and iodine.

Light bloomed on the far side of the table as Zoë freed her cell phone and used the light of the screen to push back the darkness. The phone wasn’t good for much else. The storm had knocked out the area’s cell tower-not that they had good service here anyway.

They all gathered closer to the phone’s glow like moths to a flame.

Carlton stood with his hands on his hips, maintaining his usual aplomb. “Agent Menard, what makes you think this is some form of attack versus a power glitch?”

Jack answered swiftly and forcefully. “Until I know better, Dr. Metoyer, I’m assuming the worst. Whoever firebombed that trawler could be coming after the remaining animals. That chip removed from the cub looked like a tracking tag, one that could lead them here.”

“That’s a stretch, Agent Menard,” Carlton dismissed. “Besides, who would go through so much effort?”

Lorna felt the tension in Jack’s body, which had gone rock hard. He still hadn’t let her go. Her brother eyed her with a dour expression. Under Kyle’s judgmental gaze, she finally slipped out of Jack’s arms on her own.

“Maybe we should listen to the agent,” Zoë said as she retreated next to her husband. “Take precautions. What could it hurt?”

All faces turned to Jack.

“This room has no windows,” he said. “Which means it’s a blind spot to any surveillance of the facility. Just to be cautious, everyone should stay here while I check out what’s going on.”

Greer spoke up. “What about just leaving?” He pointed to the far side of the room. “There’s a service ramp that leads out from here.”

“No. They’d have the place surrounded by now. The exit would be watched.”

“Then what do we do?” Zoë asked, her fear growing as large as her eyes.

“For now, you all hole up down here. Is there some place to keep out of sight, maybe barricade?”

“The walk-in cooler,” the pathologist said. “But there’s no way to lock it from the inside.”

Kyle spoke up. “Let me look at it. After spending four years in engineering school, I should be able to finagle a way to secure it from the inside.”

Jack nodded. “Good. Then everyone else grab weapons. Scalpels, knives, scissors, syringes, whatever you can find and retreat there. I’m going to make for my truck. I have a rifle and a shotgun in a lockbox out there.”

Greer had found a pair of emergency flashlights, clicked one on, and passed the other to Jack. “In case you need it.”

The group began to disperse under the pathologist’s direction, gathering anything sharp.

Lorna followed Jack out of the circle of light and into the gloom as he headed toward the door. A small battery-powered “Exit” sign glowed weakly above the doorway ahead.

“What about my tranquilizer gun?” she said. “The one I went hunting with. I dropped it back at my office. It’s closer than going outside.”

She didn’t want Jack confronting some assault team while totally unarmed.

He nodded. “Good idea.”

“I’ll go with you.” She knew Jack would argue, so she pressed. “It takes skill to safely load the syringe cartridges with M99.”

And it did. Just a few drops could kill a man in seconds.

Still, he seemed ready to balk.

“I’ll go just as far as the office,” she promised. “It’s only one flight up. Then I’ll head straight back here.” She passed him and reached the door before he could stop her. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

She pulled open the door, but he blocked her from stepping out. She was ready for him to push back, to refuse to let her go. Instead, he slipped out ahead of her.

“Keep behind me. No talking.”

She followed his broad back into the hallway. As the door closed the hallway went pitch-black. Jack reached and fumbled for her hand. His grip was huge, rough with calluses. But his hard hold helped settle her in the darkness. He led her in the direction of the nearby stairwell.

Why doesn’t he use his flashlight?

They reached the dark stairs and began to ascend. Faint light filtered as they neared the first floor landing. Windows let in some meager glow from the stars. After the pitch darkness below, even this little bit of illumination was welcome.

He continued down the hall. Her office and lab were only a few doors down. Halfway there, a muffled crash echoed, sounding like it came from the front of the building. Her fingers tightened on Jack’s hand. No one else was supposed to be here.

Jack hurried toward her office door. He pushed it open, swung an arm out, and scooped her into the room ahead of him. She rushed inside as he softly closed the door. Framed against the frosted glass of the door’s window, she saw him lift a finger to his lips.

She hurried to her desk, bumping her knee against it in the dark. She had left the rifle case on top of her desk. She fumbled for it, undid the latches, and quickly assembled the two halves. Marines might be able to break down their weapons in the dark, but not her. She struggled for a breath, but finally the stock snapped into place.

Behind her, Jack kept watch on the door.

She grabbed two syringe cartridges and plucked the vial of M99 from its velvet-molded compartment in the case. It was stupidly dangerous to attempt this in the dark, but she had no choice. She might not be able to assemble a rifle blindfolded, but she had years of experience with needles and drug bottles. She quickly filled the two syringes and loaded them into the rifle.

As she turned Jack’s silhouette slipped back from the window. Through the frosted glass, darker shadows swept past out in the hallway, eerily silent. She had not even heard a footfall. One shadow stopped outside the door.

Lorna froze, holding her breath. Her heart pounded against her ribs.

Then the shadow moved on. She could guess where they were headed. The kennel ward lay in that direction. Still, they would be disappointed when they got there. They’d find mostly empty cages. While the lamb was still down there, the other rescued animals were up another level on the second floor, still caged in the genetics lab after Lorna’s testing.

But how long would it take to find the others, especially if the intruders were using electronic trackers? Would the devices even work inside?

After ten seconds, Jack crossed to her, moving unerringly in the dark. She tried to give him the rifle, but he pushed it back into her chest. His words were a breath against her ear. “Stay here. Stay hidden.”

He squeezed her fingers tighter to the rifle, communicating silently.

She understood.

The game had changed. What was a possibility before was now a terrifying reality. They were under siege. He refused to leave her unarmed while alone. From the firm grip on her fingers, this was one argument she wasn’t going to win.

He didn’t wait for any acknowledgment and moved back toward the office door. He eased the door open and slipped out. Once in the hall, he pulled the door silently closed.

Lorna stared at his silhouette out there, suddenly not wanting him to leave. But Jack had no choice. His shadow retreated, heading in the opposite direction from the intruders.

But how many more were out there?

JACK HATED LEAVING Lorna alone, but he dared not wait. He hurried down the dark hall toward the nearest exit. He should never have allowed her to come with him. The others, locked up in the cooler, had the best chance of avoiding any encounter with the assault team. And he didn’t harbor any delusions that these were ordinary thieves. These were professional killers, likely with military backgrounds.

His mind ran over their potential objectives, and he didn’t like the conclusions he came to. Clearly this nighttime raid was a cleanup operation, a continuation of what was started with the trawler’s explosion. The primary objective had to be the collection and elimination of the remaining animals. But what then? How extreme was the order, how thorough a cleanup was necessary to cover their tracks?