Red Awakening (Red Zone 2)

Slowly, he released his hold on the back of her dress and moved to wrap his arm around her.

“Hold on,” he said. “Nearly there.”

The light from the chopper returned, dancing in the air before it steadied on them. They just couldn’t get a break. Now they were the focus of whoever was in that craft, which meant they were on the news—and there was nothing he could do about it.

The beam of light blinded him, and he couldn’t shield his eyes because one hand was holding on to the window and the other was sliding around Keiko’s waist. All he could do was angle his head and feel his way as he slowly inserted his hand between Keiko and the wall. Once he had his arm around her, he’d get her out of there fast. She weighed nothing, and he had a good grip on the window frame. In seconds he could have her through the window and safe.

He almost had her in his hold when he felt it. A popping sensation in his shoulder, followed by a shudder through his system.

No! he silently roared.

But it was too late.

His other half, the genetic mutation the world couldn’t know about, was free.

It all happened at once. His arm closed around Keiko’s waist, just as the high-pitched screech of a newly free animal rent the air. Wings fluttered in front of his face before his other half swooped around them. And then headed straight to Keiko.

The beast brushed against Keiko’s hair and face. Fluttering with joy as it investigated her. Her body tensed. Her muscles spasmed. She sucked in air and let out a scream.

“Bat! Bat!”

Her hands flew up to knock the stupid creature away from her. All reason had fled. Torn from her by the terror of the bat flying into her face. It was the last straw for her. She jerked backward as time slowed. All Mace could do was watch the freeze-frame horror as Keiko lost her footing on the ledge. Her arms flew out. Her body dropped. Her mouth opened, and she let out an ear-piercing scream. Mace lunged for her, his arm already halfway around her. But it wasn’t enough.

She slipped through his grasp.

And fell.

Chapter Thirteen

CommTECH headquarters

New York City, Northern Territory

“Do you need us to send our security forces to supplement your efforts in securing the research facility?” Ju-long Lee asked. The CEO of Lee-Chan Medical, one of the four leaders of the territory, couldn’t quite mask the mockery in his tone.

“No, thank you.” Miriam remained gracious, even though it was clear to everyone at their virtual meeting that she’d just been insulted. None of the four territory leaders would ever let anyone else’s forces set foot on their soil. They may have a mutually beneficial alliance, but there was no trust involved.

Ju-long gave her a courteous bow. As usual, he was dressed in a traditional black tangzhuang. The fit of the silken suit made his stick-insect proportions seem like a portent of death. An image that fit perfectly with the way the octogenarian ruled his territory.

“What are the chances that these terrorists will manage to obtain information about the faulty chip?” Serge Abramovich’s hologram showed him lounging behind his ostentatious desk in the European Territory. The marble-topped, carved wooden monstrosity had once belonged to King Louis XVI—before his unfortunate encounter with a guil

lotine.

“We won’t let that happen.” What right did they have to question her abilities? She was the strongest leader on the planet. She was their business partner, but that didn’t mean she answered to them. “My heads of security are minutes from Houston. They will handle this unfortunate situation personally.”

“Ah, the Mercer twins.” Sandrine Cherbourg, leader of the Southern Territory, practically purred the words. Behind her, a view of the Sydney Opera House filled her office window. It was a spectacular sight that did nothing to make up for the fact that Sandrine was in charge of the smallest territory. Something that irked the deadly-ambitious woman to no end. She focused her catlike eyes on Miriam. “One day, I might succeed in wooing the twins from you.”

If reputation was anything to go by, Sandrine had probably already tried. But as both men were still alive, the rumor that she ate her prey after sex was obviously false.

“The question is,” Ju-long said as he paced his spartan office, “how did this happen in the first place? Have you contacted our partner in Freedom?”

Miriam bit her tongue to stop her sarcastic response. She hadn’t risen to the heights of leader of the most powerful company in the world without using every resource at her fingertips. In return for a hefty fee, their pet Freedom leader made sure any terrorist attacks his group planned were directed where Miriam and the others wanted them to go. Which meant their competitors mainly bore the brunt of the protestors’ violence.

“Arnold James confirmed that this is an unsanctioned attack by a splinter faction of their group.”

“In other words, nobody ran their plan past the leadership before they implemented it,” Ju-long said.

“Perhaps they suspect that their leadership is compromised,” Sandrine added.