Carlton stood with Zoë and Greer. The head of ACRES understood what was not being spoken aloud. “The animals are about to be transported to the New Orleans Zoo’s veterinary hospital. We’ll go with them and keep our heads down. And we’ll continue researching what we can over there.”

Zoë nodded. “Paul…” Her voice cracked around her husband’s name. “He backed up our data to an off-site server. We’ll be able to pick up where we left off.”

Carlton placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We’ll update you if we learn anything that will help.”

Jack gazed at the expectant faces staring back at him.

“Then let’s get moving.”

Chapter 41

Standing in the holding pen, Lorna now knew what a pit bull on death row must feel like. Under the glare of stark bare bulbs, she studied her confinement. The rest of the subterranean laboratory had been as sleek and antiseptic as a modern hospital.

Not here.

The cell floors had been cut out of native rock and trenched to help wash down urine and feces. The walls were damp cement blocks, sealed by a chain-link gate. She stood in more of a dog run than a prison cell.

Without even a stool to sit on, Lorna paced the ten-foot-by-four enclosure. Another dozen identical runs ran the length of the low-roofed room. All of them were empty, but she could imagine the usual inhabitants. She ran a hand along the wall, felt the scratches in the cement. She remembered the dead body on the surgical table. From the high forehead and flat face, it had to have once been human, but like the animals from the trawler, it had reverted to some earlier form, a genetic throwback to a prehistoric form.

But to what end?

Duncan’s description returned to her: bioweapon systems.

She had no explanation of what that meant but now knew with cold certainty that this outfit had moved beyond animal research into human experimentation. And isolated out here, who would question it or even know about it? It wouldn’t even be that hard to find test subjects. The Caribbean area was rife with human trafficking. In poor countries like Haiti, people were regularly sold into slavery, sometimes by their own relatives. Authorities in the region knew about such trafficking, but they would look the other way for the right price.

She heard a door open across the room. Voices reached her.

“I put her over here.”

“Bring her out.” She recognized Duncan from his raspy, harsh voice. “Malik wants to attend her interrogation. It seems her background as a veterinarian has intrigued Dr. Raghead.”

Lorna absorbed his words. Her hands went instantly damp. She moved away from the chained gate as the two men stepped into view.

Her bodyguard unlocked the gate with a key. Duncan stood back with his arms crossed. “C’mon,” the man named Connor ordered. He didn’t even bother with his holstered sidearm.

Lorna took a deep shuddering breath. It took all her strength to obey. She didn’t want to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the cell. For the moment she had no recourse but to cooperate.

Duncan fixed her with that dead gaze of his, his face a frozen mask of scar tissue and barely suppressed anger. Without a word, he turned and led them out of the kennel and back down to the main lab. Only now the circular room was empty. Except for Dr. Malik. He stood at one of the genetic workstations and turned as they approached.

Lorna hesitated at the threshold. Connor shoved her from behind. She stumbled into the room, close to falling on her face.

Malik scowled. “Is that bloody necessary?” he scolded. His words had a British lilt to them, but the accent was plainly Middle Eastern. He waved to Lorna. “Join me over here, Dr. Polk.”

Duncan accompanied her to the workstation while Connor hung back.

Up close, Malik appeared older than she originally estimated. Though his dark skin was unlined and his thick hair salted with gray, he had to be in his late fifties. He still wore the same surgical scrubs from before, but he had donned a starched white lab coat that reached to mid-thigh.

He motioned her to a chair. “I must apologize for dragging you into all of this.”

She remained standing. Duncan grabbed her shoulder hard, guided her to the chair, and pushed her into it.

Malik’s frown deepened, but he kept silent.

“Ask your questions,” Duncan said. “Let’s get this over with.”

Malik sighed. “For the sake of the security of our intellectual property rights, I must ask what you and your colleagues in New Orleans learned from the specimens in your possession.”

Lorna could not look them in the eye. Her gaze dropped to the equipment around her. She took in the labels: PureLink Genomic digestion buffer, Novex zymogram gel kits, a Spotlight hybridizer. Behind Malik stood a stack of two incubators and an inverted microscope station with two micromanipulator controls for viewing and working with embryo dishes.

She recognized the setup as an in vitro fertilization lab.

Was this the origin of all the bloodshed and horror?

She lifted her face, only to have the back of a hand strike her hard across the mouth. Blood flew from her lips. The knot behind her ear rang with the impact, echoing the pain of the blow.

Tears welled in her eyes-less from pain than fury.

“That’s enough!” Malik said.

Duncan ignored him and loomed over her. “Answer his questions or there will be worse.”

Lorna saw the promise in his eyes.

Malik began again, but Lorna cut him off, wiping the blood from her split lip. She had already decided not to withhold any information. What was the use?

“We found additional chromosomes in all the animals,” she started. “And we discovered the structural changes in the brain. A network of magnetite crystals.”

“Impressive,” Malik said. “Considering how little time you had with the specimens.”

“What else?” Duncan asked, the threat plain in his voice.

She didn’t hold back. “And we learned that the animals were somehow able to link up neurologically. And we came to believe this networking enhanced their intellectual capacity.”

Malik nodded, confirming what was conjecture before.

“That’s as far as we got,” Lorna said.

“Who else knows about what you learned?” Duncan pressed.

Lorna guessed this was coming. It was the only reason she’d been dragged here, the only reason she was still alive. To discover if the information had leaked out of ACRES. Her only hope of staying alive was to shadow the truth.

“I can’t say for sure,” she said. “But we regularly back data up to an off-site server. It’s done automatically.”

Malik looked at Duncan.

A half scowl twisted the commando’s lips. “Shouldn’t matter. At least not immediately. With everyone dead, it will buy us a window of time to clean this up.”

“We’ll still need it purged as soon as possible,” Malik said. “Mr. Bennett will insist on it.”

“Where’s the backup stored?” Duncan asked her.

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. ACRES contracted with an outfit in Baton Rouge.

Duncan lifted his hand again, ready to test her veracity.

Needing to be convincing, she cowered back and protected her face. “All I know is the name. Southern Compu-Safe. But they have servers throughout Louisiana.”

She didn’t know if that last bit was true, but if this bastard believed the data was bottled up at one site, he’d just order the facility blown up. In that scenario, she would not be needed. To live, she had to remain useful.

Duncan lowered his hand, momentarily believing her. His gaze went long as he weighed his options.

She had to direct those options as best she could. She continued, talking rapidly, allowing the terror buried deep inside her to shine out. “The only way to access the stored data is through a series of security clearances. An employee ID password, followed by a series of challenge questions unique to each employee. But I have no idea how to gain access remotely.”