Sorry I didn't step in sooner. I went to higher ground and dug myself in, just in case using that much energy took its toll. You must have been completely wiped.
Ken tried to sit up, and hit his head on rebar. He swore softly and glanced down at his hands. He hadn't felt the scrapes as he moved over the jagged, unfinished cement, leaving smears of blood behind. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore but getting Mari out of there. For a couple of hours. I couldn't get to Mari and I thought I'd lose my fucking mind. I didn't realize I had such a vivid imagination. I lay there scared shitless. The only time I've ever been that scared was when Ekabela's man was cutting my cock into tiny little pieces. He'd never admitted it before. Never discussed it with Jack--but Jack had to know he couldn't do without Mari. He had to get her out.
There was a small silence. She all right?
Sean was going to force himself on her. He'd been her friend; they trained on her GhostWalker team together. It's obvious she had genuine affection for the fuckwad, and for him to betray her like that . . . Ken hit the cement with the flat of his hand, needing to expel his pent-up anger in some physical way. She was pretty torn up, Jack. Ken took a deep breath and forced his mind and body back under control. I'm going to be taking the women out through the corridor the minute you give me the signal. I marked the way to make the run fast, but if you get a shot at Sean, take him out.
You're certain?
He'll never stop. Even if we don't get Whitney, and Whitney gives him a direct order, Sean is going to keep coming after her. In the end I'm going to have to kill the son of a bitch and she'll have a hard time forgiving me.
She isn't a stupid woman, Ken. You're underestimating her. Not that I mind killing him one way or the other.
Take him out, Jack, if you get the chance.
Jack briefly laid his head on his arm. His brother's emotions swamped him at times; then he'd recover, pull back, and regroup. But Ken was at a boiling point. Roger that. Is Mari organizing the women?
Ken reached out to Mari. Hey, baby. How you doing? It's a great day for freedom.
There was a short silence while he counted his heartbeats. Yes, it is. There was a smile in her voice. Everyone's excited. I've cautioned them about telling anyone the new escape route, and they're waiting for the word. Her voice dropped an octave, the sound brushing like velvet on the walls of his mind and stirring his body in spite of the cramped, uncomfortable quarters. I can't wait to be with you in your home.
Ken closed his eyes and allowed that breathy, sexy sound to wash over and through him. He could admit, there with the walls closing in on him and the dark surrounding him, that he had fallen hard for Marigold. It had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with the emotion threatening to choke him. He would continue to deny it, but right now, in this place, with her soul brushing against his, and cement walls separating them, he admitted it. "I love you more than life, woman."
He swallowed and leaned his head against the concrete blocks. I can't wait for us to be there together either.
Mari's softness vanished and she got down to business. Whitney grabbed Rose. She's the one who was afraid she might have conceived. He has us pee in a cup every morning, so if she is, he knows it. He's going to hold her over our heads while the senator is here, to keep us in line.
Ken rubbed his throbbing temples. There were so many threads, and he had to pull off a precision escape to get all the women out. Don't worry about her. If he knows she's pregnant, he grabbed her in case you all manage an escape. My guess is Sean tipped him off to what you're all planning, and he doesn't want to take a chance on losing her. Do you know where she's being held?
The man who is paired with her is named Kane. He's with her. Rose thinks he'll help, but I'm afraid for her, and I have no idea where she is.
Damn it. This is getting complicated. I have to get back to Jack, hon. Hang in there. Ken swore again, rubbing his hand over his face. You get that, Jack?
Yeah, I got it. I say screw waiting for the senator. The waters are getting murkier. Grab your woman and let's get the hell out of Dodge. Jack sounded decisive.
Ken had been contemplating precisely that all morning. He had reluctantly left Mari right before the guard came with her food. She hadn't even clung to him. There was no last kiss, no protests, and no tears. She simply watched him sneak away, like a thief in the night. It shamed him to leave her there. He had made love to her and left his prints on her. The sex had been rough and wild. She had given him everything she was, and he had just left her there in that cage.
He despised himself. What kind of man would do that? None. Monsters did that. Sick, depraved men who didn't respect a woman. He hit the back of his head against the cement wall and felt a burst of pain.
Cool it, bro, we've got company, Jack watched the small plane circle above their heads and begin descent. The senator is arriving. Jesse did some digging, and he thinks Whitney could have as many as twenty supersoldiers in his employ. Another psychic test was given out about six months ago.
Ken swore softly. There was no stopping Whitney. You know, Jack, Whitney isn't just a mad scientist conducting illegal experiments. He has too much help and he's too well covered. He's up to something far bigger than we ever imagined. And he can't be alone in this like we all thought.
The plane is down. I see two men getting off. Neither is familiar. Jack crawled through the thick foliage for a better view. He adjusted the viewfinder. Nope, I don't recognize any of them, but Violet knows them. She's acting very comfortable with them. Whoever they are, they're GhostWalkers. They're covering the senator like a blanket.
Ken hated being trapped inside the walls, unable to see for himself what was going on. He didn't trust Violet at all. He wanted to get Mari out. His goal had narrowed to one person.
We've got trouble, Ken. Sniper lying up in the trees about a hundred and fifty yards from me. Oh yeah. I recognize that son of a bitch. Remember Mitch? Big guy, smart mouth. Thought he could take the instructor and ended up staying in bed for a week? He's got to be one of Whitney's supersoldiers.
Jack watched the woman walking beside the senator. She looked confident and tough. Her gaze was restless, searching the trees and bluffs, and twice she said something to one of the senator's guards and he immediately moved a step or two to further blanket her husband. Senator Freeman reached out and took Violet's hand even as he nodded and smiled, clearly feeling as though he was safe.
There's no way the senator and Violet believe that Whitney put a hit out on him, Jack reported. They're walking in like they own the place. They're cautious, but not 'we're fucked' cautious.
And Violet thinks she's safe because she managed to get her own team in place. The senator must have been the one who tapped someone at the top to change the team, Ken concluded.
Mari's got to warn them, Ken.
Ken rested his head in his hands. He didn't want to have Mari get in the middle of Whitney and the senator's battle. And she would.
There was deep affection in Mari's voice when she spoke of Violet. She obviously thought of the woman as family. And if Mari got in the middle of Whitney's fight with the senator, her chances of survival took a sharp downturn. Whitney already disliked her. She was a rebel and stirred the other women to mutiny. If he decided to eliminate one of the women to keep the others in line, his most likely choice would be Mari.
If they're walking in like they own the place--maybe they do. Maybe we have this all wrong, Jack. We know Freeman helped Whitney lure us to the Congo. Maybe they're strutting because they have reason. Mari trusts Violet, but that doesn't mean Violet's not part of this whole thing. She could have sold out for money and power. People do it all the time. Fuck the senator and his wife, I'm not letting Mari risk her life for them.
Ken felt Mari stirring in his mind. Violet says they're on their way up.
Don't you tell her anything, Mari, about your escape plans, Ken cautioned. Think of the other women. I'll be monitoring the conversation, so don't worr
y about relaying me information.
Senator Ed Freeman and his wife, Violet, entered the facility, flanked by the security team. Mari, we're going to come talk to you about things and then Ed will straighten everything out with Dr. Whitney. Violet's voice was calm, controlled, and very confident.
We want out of this facility, Violet.
There was a slight hesitation on Violet's part, but when she replied, her voice was even smoother. Ed is going to try to help. I told him about the breeding program and he thinks it's appalling. He's ashamed he ever helped Whitney.
Mari pulled back abruptly. On some level she had known, but the confirmation of the senator's complicity still shocked her. What did he do for Whitney?
There was a small silence. He didn't know about us, Mari.
Don't make excuses; just tell me what he did.
Violet sighed, clearly reluctant. He was on the appropriations committee and kept Whitney well funded.
And . . . , Mari prompted.
Violet was silent for another long moment. Ken's stomach hardened into knots. He resisted sending another warning to Mari.
Mari, we're here to help you. This is unnecessary.
Maybe to you. I don't think you're all that safe, Violet. You and your husband may be the ones needing help. You've been away from Whitney a long time.
What does that mean? What do you know?
Mari caught the impression of Violet striding down a narrow hall, suddenly looking around herself warily. Answer me, Violet, or you're on your own.
Damn it, Mari. We came here to help you. Violet hesitated again and then capitulated. He helped Whitney draw a couple of GhostWalkers to the Congo for some experiment he was conducting. Ed didn't bother to ask what it was. He just was the bait to draw the men there. In return, Whitney and the others put him in a good position for the vice-presidential candidacy.
Mari's stomach heaved. She knew Ken was listening, felt him go very still. She desperately wanted to wrap her arms around him.
Was he aware that the man who went to rescue him was captured and tortured? That Ekabela was waiting for him? Violet, he had to have known, and he led them there anyway in order to get a better political position.
I know. It was a terrible thing to do, and he regrets it. I've talked to him, made him see what a monster Whitney is.
Mari closed her eyes. Ed Freeman was directly responsible for Ken's capture and torture by Ekabela. Ken had gone to the Congo to rescue the senator. He'd literally put his life on the line to save him. And Freeman betrayed him for a place on the vice-presidential ballot. Neither Violet nor her husband could possibly conceive of the damage Ed Freeman had done to Ken--damage that would last a lifetime. It sickened Mari that Violet could love such a man.
Ken considered himself a monster. He feared the violence in himself, but Mari knew one Ken was worth a million Ed Freemans. Ken would never, under any circumstances, deliver another man to the enemy, especially knowing how bloodthirsty and brutal Ekabela was. Everyone knew his reputation for genocide, for torture, for the mass murder of opposing forces. Yet Whitney had made a deal with him, and Senator Ed Freeman had gone along with that deal to further his political career. She was suddenly very suspicious that if Freeman was capable of betraying a soldier for political gain--he just might have his own agenda coming here to this place.
Mari broke off contact with Violet. Ken, I'm so sorry you had to hear that.
I'm all right, baby.
But he wasn't. She knew he wasn't. Tears for him burned her eyes. Ed Freeman is an asshole, Ken, and Violet's an idiot if she really could love a man like that. I'm not sure what to say to them.
It's a trap, Mari. I don't know what they expect to get out of this visit, but they want something, and it isn't to get you and the other women out. Warn the others not to talk to her at all, not to give out any information.
They won't. Mari could feel Violet tugging at her mind, trying to open the pathway between them. Mari kept her out, but it wasn't easy. Her head pounded, and she felt the thin trickle of blood at her ear.
Tell me what you want to do, baby.
She made up her mind. They had to go now. Whatever was happening, they couldn't wait, they had to try to make their escape.
Ken, get to the other women and get their cells unlocked. Do it now!
Roger that. I'll give Jack the word they're coming out.
Violet shoved hard at her mind and Mari let her in. Mari, honey, I'm afraid for you. Dr. Whitney seemed really upset with you. He didn't want Ed talking to you. He offered to allow him access to all the other women, but I convinced him to insist on speaking with you.
Mari sank down onto her cot, slamming her mind closed again to Violet. Ken, Violet is well aware any of the women could tell her husband what's going on here. This isn't about the superbaby program, that's for sure.
We're going with your instincts, sweetheart. I've got your back.
Mari let her breath out. Of course he did. Ken could be counted on. Get the cells open fast before Whitney pulls his ace out of the hole. Violet's playing with a cobra and she's bound to get bitten.
The little group came around the corner, Senator Freeman and Violet surrounded by her security team, Whitney leading the way, and, to her disgust, Sean walking beside Whitney.
Whitney stopped in front of her cell, that same little half smile on his face. "The senator would like a word with you, Mari."
She stepped back away from the cell door, glancing at Sean. His gaze was on the smudge marks and strawberry on her throat and going lower below the neckline of her blouse. There was satisfaction in his expression, and she realized he believed she had cooperated with him and he had been the one to leave marks of possession on her body. For some reason, that embarrassed her and she found it much more difficult to face Violet and her husband.
Senator Freeman moved out of the circle of his security guards. "I've been hearing rumors about a breeding program. According to what I've heard, and I can hardly give it credence, Dr. Whitney is forcing psychically enhanced women to breed against their will with enhanced soldiers to produce offspring to be raised as weapons."
Ken, he sounds like he rehearsed that over and over. Mari moistened her lips and glanced toward Whitney.
"It's all right, Mari," Freeman assured. "I'm a United States senator. Dr. Whitney isn't going to harm you for telling the truth. You know my wife, Violet. My word is good. I'll see to it that you don't come to any harm."
She moved farther from the door, toward the back of the cell, and shook her head.
"She's afraid Dr. Whitney will hurt the other women," Violet volunteered. "We're trying to help you," she added. "Just tell him the truth."
Eyes locked on Violet, Mari said distinctly, "Yes, Senator, it's all true. There are several women here. Dr. Whitney holds one under threat in order to secure cooperation from the rest of us." He already knows, Ken. I can see it in his eyes. He looks triumphant and so does Violet. They can't be so stupid as to think Whitney would let them walk out of here if he thought for a minute they'd expose him. What are they up to?
"You're telling me that these women are held against their will? That the doctor sends soldiers in to force cooperation?"
"You don't need to act as if you're outraged, Ed. You know what's at stake here. You know what we're trying to achieve. Besides, you've done much worse. You helped deliver a U.S. Special Forces soldier to Ekabela to be skinned alive. And as for you, Violet, my dear, you really should have done a better job keeping your husband's attention properly focused."
"We're taking Mari with us," Freeman said, his voice unnecessarily loud and demanding.
It had all definitely been rehearsed. Whitney would never let the senator get away with this puffed-up importance. "No, you aren't. I absolutely won't go with you." Violet, whatever deal you have with him isn't going to work you know. You can't trust Whitney. If you're selling all of us down the river to stay on the ballot . . .
I love my husband, Mari. I don't
want him dead.
Understanding dawned. Mari felt like a fool. This was your idea. You made the deal with Whitney. Whatever he wants in exchange for Ed's life. You knew he was the one who put the hit out on him. There was no other explanation. Whitney wanted something from Violet and Ed Freeman, and they were willing to do a deal. In return, Whitney would call off the hit and his friends would back Freeman for the vice presidency. What did you have to do, Violet? Who'd you sell out?
You, of course, Mari. It's all about you and your sister and the Nortons.
Ken had been running through the maze to get back to Mari. When he heard Violet's answer, his heart somersaulted. Jack! If I don't get to her in time, they'll be bringing her out with the senator's group. Damn it. Damn it all to hell.
Senator Freeman stepped close to the door. "You will come with us."
"When I slit your throat, Senator, I'm going to do it slow, so you can feel it, just the way Ekabela did to Ken Norton."
Freeman's eyes flicked to his guards and then to Whitney. "So you do know Ken Norton."
"Don't you say his name," she hissed. "I mean it. Don't you dare." She let the promise of death smolder in her eyes.
The senator stepped back, casting another swift look around him at his bodyguards to insure they were in position. Violet stepped protectively in front of him.
Mari reached out telepathically to her most vulnerable sister. Rose. Are you clear? Can you get clear?
Kane is taking me up to the ground level. We're using the service elevators. He's helping me escape because he's afraid of what Whitney will do to the baby.
Violet cleared her throat. "She's talking to someone."
Whitney had that same little half smile on his face. "She's talking to him. Ken Norton. You are, aren't you? He's close. I knew he wouldn't leave you, any more than Jack would leave Briony."
"Go to hell, Whitney."
He lifted his eyebrow and gestured Freeman and Violet and their bodyguards down the hall. "There is no point in trying to reason with her when she's this way," he said. "We'll let my men handle it. Would you care for coffee, Ed?" He left without a backward glance, Sean following.