A low humming, something human ears wouldn't be able to detect, caught his attention. He followed the sound, finally ending in a darkened room with several computers and a large two way mirror. He was on the non-mirror side and could see out into a lab.
The humming was louder on the other side of the glass, and he stepped up to peer through it. Three large cylinders full of water bubbled in a row in the center of the room. Wires and tubes ran out and into a computer next to each tank. Jackson blinked twice. There were men in those tanks.
Each man floated in a stream of bubbles, a mask over their mouths and eyes shut. Tubes of various sizes pressed into arms and legs. Jackson felt his stomach turn at the sight. One of them had a wolf tattoo on his shoulder; his brown hair waved gently in the water. Jackson felt sick. He knew that that was Blake Madison.
"Is everything ready for tonight?" Colonel Bronn asked, walking into the laboratory. A small, nervous looking scientist followed him. "I want them ready for the full moon tomorrow."
Jackson panicked for a moment before realizing he was behind the glass. Still, he went to the side of the room where he wouldn't be immediately seen.
"Yes, but, sir, I really must protest again. This isn't safe for the subjects." The scientist dry-washed his hands. Jackson could practically smell the fear and nervousness from the observation room. "They're basically full Weres on steroids at this point, but subjecting them to another round of the serum... I just don't think it's going to be safe."
The Colonel rounded on the smaller man. "Did I ask for your opinion, doctor? No." Colonel Bronn stood in front of Chloe's brother's cylinder, peering up into the water at the floating man. "I need these men to be more than just Weres. These boys are going to win us the War on Terror. One night in the 'stan and these boys will have everyone riding a camel begging for them not to come back."
The scientist frowned and brushed a lock of light brown hair out of his face. He was small and thin with a long nose and nervous eyes. "Colonel, this isn't what I signed up for. The whole point of my experiments was to he
lp increase the Were population, not to create monsters."
Colonel Bronn turned slowly and stared down the scientist. It was only seconds before the man in the lab coat was sweating and looked like he was ready to roll on the floor to get away.
"Dr. Hulsey, I don't really care." Bronn said. The doctor was visibly shaking. Bronn looked back to the tank, his face hidden from Jackson. "These boys are soldiers. They are weapons. Weapons you created. This is the future of warfare."
Dr. Hulsey whimpered slightly and Bronn's attention returned to him. The colonel stepped up to the smaller man, Bronn's large finger directly under Hulsey's thin nose. Dr. Hulsey gulped audibly.
"You best take care, Dr. Hulsey." Colonel Bronn smiled coldly. "I'm the one who makes sure you get your funding and that no one questions where you got your cross-species DNA from. You best make sure it stays that way. You know what I do to people who cross me."
Dr. Hulsey looked ready to wet himself with fear. "Please don't send the Squad at me..."
Colonel Bronn patted him gently on the shoulder. "Now, get back to work. These boys are going to get me my general's star."
The scientist whimpered again as Colonel Bronn removed his hand and looked back up at the giant test tube. Dr. Hulsey scampered to one of the computers controlling the cylinders and began pressing buttons and reading the screens. "I'll have them ready for you, sir."
"Good." Colonel Bronn turned and walked from the room without another word to the shaking scientist. As soon as he had left the room, the poor scientist leaned against one of the machines as though he had lost all the strength in his legs.
"I'm so sorry. I tried, but..." Dr. Hulsey whispered, talking to the unconscious man in the nearest cylinder. "You'll be all right, though..."
Jackson had seen enough. He had found Chloe's brother and two other soldiers that needed rescuing. His instinctive dislike of Colonel Bronn had been correct. The man was only motivated by power. Jackson could see the allure of this project for him. A squad of super soldiers under Bronn's control would advance him up the ranks and give him status and power. It was a frightening thought.
Jackson waited until the scientist was busy and had his back to the mirror before exiting the small observation room and heading back down the hallway to the changing area. He neatly rehung his lab coat and found a locker with a matching name to the stolen key-card. He dropped it casually on the floor by the locker, hoping the man would return and simply think he had dropped it changing.
He listened at the locker room door for a moment to make sure no one was coming before slipping out and hurrying out to the first locked door. Once out, he walked casually back outside. The entire encounter had lasted less than fifteen minutes, but it was making Jackson's head spin. The genetic testing on soldiers had him concerned, but what really bothered him about the whole discovery was that he was going to have to tell Chloe. He could only imagine the danger she was going to put herself in to save her brother and that terrified him more than anything.
Chapter 20
Chloe stared at Jackson, her ears hearing the words but her brain struggling to comprehend. The man had found her brother and something bad was going to happen to him if she didn't rescue him that night.
"We're going to save him, right?" she asked, her voice much squeakier than she wanted it to be. Quent glanced over at Jackson and then back at her.
"Of course we are." Quent gave her a reassuring smile. She still felt like a tornado had ripped through her world. Ten minutes ago she had been trying to convince herself that Blake really was just in Afghanistan and that he didn't have a connection to the Weres. She knew it wasn't true, but it was better than the alternative of her brother being used as a guinea pig in some werewolf lab experiment.
Jackson put a hand on her shoulder. Just having him touch her made her feel calmer. She was still trembling though. "Are you okay?" Jackson asked.
She nodded, though his frown told her he didn't believe her. That was okay; she didn't believe her either. Chloe put her hand on top of Jackson's, making sure he couldn't pull away. His hand was so warm beneath hers as his fingers tightened gently in a reassuring squeeze. Chloe took a deep breath.
"Okay. What do we do now?" She glanced back and forth between Quent and Jackson.
"Whatever we do has to be tonight. Bronn said he wanted the changes to be in place by the time of the full moon," Jackson answered. Quent nodded.
"If they are enhancing the genetic structure of the Were gene, it would have to be done before the full moon transformation. The gene is at its most volatile right before the change." Quent's eyes went distant. "It may be our only chance to save them."