Red Zone (Red Zone 1)

There was no shutting the damn rattler up. And to add insult to injury, he’d been tied hands and feet and shoved in the boot of a hatchback. It wasn’t even a proper boot. It was the equivalent of putting the dog in the back of the car. At least he could see out the windows and knew they were heading south through the city.

Friday was in the car, too. He could see the back of her head. She sat, surrounded by muscle, in the middle row of seats. There were two guys in the back row nearest him, two on either side of his woman, and two in the front.

It occurred to him that they were driving in a people mover. He was stuck in a mom van on the way to soccer practice with his team. Oh yeah, and it was possible he was losing his mind.

Let me free. I get her.

He wished he could knock some sense into the diamondback. If he set the damn thing free in a car with Kane Duggan, he’d end up on a dissection table at a CommTECH research facility. And who would save Friday then?

No, he needed a better plan. A sensible plan. He hadn’t been immobilized for long, but he knew they’d missed their flight to the Northern Territory. They still had time to get to New York and get the antidote before the deadline. He was sure of it. All they needed was nine hours. An hour to get to La Paz airport, seven for the superfast jet to New York and another hour to get to the clinic. Sure, he’d have to break every speed limit on the planet, but it was doable. He just needed to get out of his current predicament with nine hours to spare.

“Where are you taking us?” Friday’s voice cut through his thoughts.

Of course, she was going to ask questions. And more than likely, those questions were going to piss their captors off. If only he had a telepathic link to her instead of his other half. It would have been a whole lot more use.

Go to hell, the diamondback said helpfully, having read his mind.

“Somewhere secure.” Kane’s voice was easy to recognize. It was a flat, emotionless void.

“To download the data from my chip?”

“Nobody wants the information on your data chip. We’re more interested in stopping it from getting out.”

There was silence as Striker watched the buildings zoom past. He struggled at his bonds, but he couldn’t break them. His fingers felt along the strap securing his hands. It was the equivalent of an old zip tie. It could be cut, but the goons had relieved him of all tools and weapons.

“You’re going to kill me.” Friday sounded calm. Far too calm.

She sounded like she’d accepted her fate. Her death. The anger he’d been fighting to contain surged.

Kill. Save Friday. Save mine.

Not helping, he told the rattler.

“I don’t need to kill you,” Kane said. “You’ve done that for me. All I need to do is watch it happen.”

Over my dead body, he told his diamondback.

For once, the rattler agreed.

If I call you out, you need to follow orders. We need to work as a team.

Kill!

He almost screamed in frustration. It was like dealing with a stubborn two-year-old. Not kill. I need you to bite through the bonds around my wrists and ankles. Then I need you to come straight back onto my skin. If you don’t, they’ll know you’re here, and they’ll kill Friday. Do you hear me? They won’t give us a chance to save her. They’ll kill her.

There was silence for a beat. I follow.

He fought the sigh of relief that wanted to escape. Okay. Here goes. Do exactly what I tell you. We need to work together to save her.

Okay.

Against his better judgment, he called the diamondback from his body, hoping the slight snapping sound wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention.

Don’t rattle! He ordered before sending the snake images of the bonds and telling him what to do.

He felt the diamondback slide over him to where his hands were tied at the base of his back. He kept watch as the rattler gnawed at the bindings. They passed an armed checkpoint, where Kane was addressed as “sir” before they were waved on through. Where the hell were they taking them? And why was someone showing Kane Duggan deference in a Coalition country?

“Why aren’t there any company logos on these buildings?” Friday asked. “What is this place?”