"You look like his dog, Sean," she called after him, furious that both Violet and Sean could be such traitors.
Mari heard heavy footsteps approaching her cell. They wanted her to know they were coming. They wanted her to be afraid. Fear was creeping in whether she wanted it to or not. Whitney always seemed so powerful. Had he found a way to use Mari to capture Ken, Jack, and Briony? She felt sick.
The cell door was yanked opened and she faced two of Whitney's security team. She recognized them both. Don Bascomb thought he was tough, but Gerald Robard really was. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, both with somber expressions.
She forced a smile. "Haven't seen you two around. How have you been?" She forced herself to look as nonchalant as possible. Mari tried to be the picture of complete cooperation.
There was no warning. Robard was on her before she was even aware she was in danger. He hit her with the force of a nine-hundred-pound tiger, driving her across the room, her head snapping back under the force and a thousand stars whirling, as the room spun and began to go to black. "Sorry, kid," Robard said, catching her before she hit the floor. "There's no need to make this harder on you than it already is." He laid her on her bed. "He wants you looking in bad shape. Whatever you do, Mari, don't defy him like you always do. Just cooperate and it won't be so bad."
Don Bascomb produced a needle and syringe. Mari's eyes widened and she shook her head violently in protest. As Robard bent over her, she brought up both feet and smashed him as hard as she could in the chest, driving him back. He hit the wall from the force of her blow, grunting a little, his face darkening with anger.
"I'm trying to make this easy on you, you little she-devil. Come on, Mari, it's the old man's orders. Anyone else would just take the shot and go to sleep. I can work you over while you're out, and it's done."
It amazed her how reasonable he sounded, as if knocking out a woman and beating the crap out of her while she was unconscious was perfectly okay. Robard swept the blankets from the bed and came at her again.
They wanted Ken to see her black-and-blue body. She was sure they planned to let him catch a glimpse of her as they brought her out to the plane. They were certain he'd follow them--and he would--even back to the Congo.
Bascomb stood back, grinning, as he pulled a couple of vials of clear liquid from his shirt pocket. "Have fun, Ger."
There was no sound, nothing at all to give him away. One moment Bascomb was standing there looking like an ape, taunting his partner, the next he was slumped on the floor, a needle sticking out of his neck and Ken filling the room looking the angel of vengeance. The guard at the door lay in the open doorway in a pool of blood, his throat slit.
"Let's see you hit someone your own size," Ken said softly.
Too softly. Mari winced at his tone. It was one she recognized as being lethal. Being a practical woman, she rolled off the bed and searched Bascomb's body for the other vial, quickly filled a syringe, and circled around behind Robard. He was concentrating on Ken, not thinking she was a threat at all. Ken shouldn't be there. He couldn't get caught, and no matter what, Robard had to be out cold when Whitney got there.
"Ken Norton. How the hell did you get here?" Robard asked, and feigned a right punch, only to swing around with a roundhouse kick.
Ken blocked the attack and delivered a fist with the force of his enhanced strength as well as his body weight behind it, straight to the man's face. Robard staggered under the impact, taking one step back in an effort to regain his balance. Ken ducked under his raised fists and hit hard with three consecutive blows, a left, right, and a hook that stunned Robard. Mari stepped forward and plunged the needle into the guard's buttocks, pushing the plunger to release the clear liquid.
The sound of a door slamming down the hall alerted her. Mari's heart nearly stopped beating. She grabbed Ken's arm and shoved him. "Get out of here. They're coming. I mean it, go now."
He gathered the front of her shirt in his fist and yanked her against him, his mouth coming down hard on hers. "You get into any more trouble, you call me. I mean it, Mari--you try to handle a couple of enhanced soldiers again, bent on beating the shit out of you, and I'm going to turn you over my knee." He brushed fingers down her bruised face. "This has got to stop."
"We're almost there, Ken. I swear, I'll go with you as soon as possible. Give me a little more time."
He crushed her mouth under his, teeth tugging until she opened for him, tongue sweeping in and taking over. She could taste anger and desperate fear. No one had ever cared that much about her before. She felt empowered by his concern. Mari kissed him back, a breathless moment of hot silk, sizzling electricity, and welling passion, and then she resolutely pushed him away.
"Go. They're coming now."
He still hadn't released her shirt. "You be safe, Mari. You hear me? You be safe. Whatever happens, whatever that son of a bitch Whitney manages to do, I'll get you out of here. Understand? Stay alive and know I'm coming for you."
The hot lick of desire mingling with his fears for her turned her heart into a melting pot of mush. She pushed at the wall of his chest again, feeling a little frantic. "I will. Just go. You have to go."
His thumb slid down the curve of her cheek; he pressed the bloody knife into her hand, and he was gone, slipping away just as she heard voices down the hall. Mari stepped back, away from the two bodies, straightening her clothes and waiting for Whitney with her chin up.
The doctor stopped abruptly when he saw the door to her cell open and both of his supersoldiers lying on the ground unconscious and his guard dead. His gaze flicked to the darkening bruise on her face and then to the knife in her hand.
"Marigold. You seem to have had a little trouble."
She spread her hands innocently. "The two of them came up looking to give me a shot for no apparent reason. They said something about vitamins, but you know what a phobia I have about needles."
Violet cleared her throat, looking suddenly nervous, her gaze sweeping the hall and ceiling, even the floor. "Come on, Ed, let's get out of here," Violet said, tugging at his arm. "This isn't our business." She signaled to her team and they surrounded the senator, pushing him toward the elevator.
Realizing they were reneging on their deal, Whitney called for his guards and then stepped back watching, as he always did, detached and unemotional, waiting to see what would happen as if he were in the middle of a scientific experiment and not a life-and-death drama being played out before his eyes.
Violet's team and Whitney's men went at each other, fighting viciously.
Violet shoved the senator ahead of her. "Run for the elevator!"
"There's no escape," Whitney said, complacent.
She ignored him, running behind her husband, a gun in her hand. Mari scooped up a gun and started to follow her. A downed security guard grabbed her ankle, tripping her. She went down hard.
"Stop them," Whitney ordered.
Before anyone else could move, Sean stepped forward and, in one smooth, efficient motion, swiped at Whitney's throat with a razor-sharp knife.
CHAPTER 18
The soldier closest to Whitney yanked him back and down. The blade sliced across the back of soldier's arm. As he whipped out his gun and leveled it at Sean, Whitney yelled, "No! Don't kill him. I need him alive."
Sean didn't look at any of the security team. His gaze was solely on Whitney, as if he were a robot programmed to destroy. In spite of the men who were surrounding the doctor, he waded in, fists flying, trying to achieve his goal.
Mari struggled to her feet. Violet and the senator were already at the elevator, and they weren't waiting for her. She was left on her own, facing Whitney, his supersoldiers, and a demonic Sean. She took a deep breath and inched toward the hall. Most of the guards were watching Sean, trying to find a way to subdue him without getting hurt. He was fast and dangerous, and most of them had at one time or another been bested by him.
She couldn't use the elevator, so the stairs were her only option. She
made it about six feet before Whitney turned his attention to her. "Stay where you are, Mari. You don't want Rose to get hurt, now, do you?"
Rose? Are you out? Mari hesitated, needing reassurance.
Kane made me run. He fought off a couple of the guards. Someone, must be your friends, provided covering fire. I'm over the fence and running free. Someone tried to stop me; he kept shouting they could get me out, but I don't trust anyone. I'm sticking to our original plan. Scatter and evade. I can get to the stash of money and take my share.
Mari knew she had hesitated too long. Most of Whitney's supersoldiers in the vicinity wrestled Sean to the ground. He was making animal noises and still trying to crawl, with the security force on his back, toward Whitney.
Cami. Are all the girls safe and away?
We're close. We'll scatter and will meet you at the rendezvous point, Cami confirmed. Are you out? I'll come back and help.
The doctor sighed. "You're a lot more talented than I ever suspected, aren't you, Mari? And to think I nearly gave the order to eliminate you. Are you pregnant with Norton's child?"
"You sent Sean to me last night. I won't know until after it's born, will I?" She took another step back, but two of Whitney's guards were locked on to her. Each step she took, they mirrored, so they were doing a macabre dance with her.
It was bizarre and very difficult to be in a deadly dance and yet hold a telepathic conversation with her sister. Of course Cami would risk her life and return to aid Mari. Mari would do it for her. No! Keep moving. I'm going with Ken to his home in Montana. She sent the images of its location she'd picked out his head.
"I don't understand how I could have missed your abilities all these years." Whitney frowned and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
"I knew you were psychic. You use touch, don't you?" she guessed shrewdly, hoping to throw the guards off by talking to Whitney. She gained a few more inches, but the entrance to the stairs was still so far away. She was fast, very fast, but Whitney's team was enhanced.
No! Cami objected. Don't trust any of them. Stick to our plan.
Go, Cami. I'm in a fight right now. Get away!
"Very good, my dear. Of course I do. I have a superior brain as well as being psychic. There are very few true strong psychics in the world." He glanced toward Sean. The man was pinned down and secured with flex-cuffs on both his ankles and wrists. He was still fighting to get to Whitney. "You controlled his mind, Mari. You planted a suggestion, a nasty one at that. He hasn't touched you, has he? He simply thinks that he has. Yet Brett . . . ," he said thoughtfully, a small frown of concentration on his face.
Mari leapt to cover the distance, using enhanced physical ability to gain the stairway. She grasped the railing, leapt onto it, and, using it as a springboard, jumped half a flight of stairs. She raced up to the third-level landing. She heard Whitney yell to his men to go after her, and she caught the second banister and made a second jump.
Ken. I'm on the run. Are the other women away clean? She didn't like that almost Cami had given her and wanted him with her. She could hear the men, one leaping after her, the other galloping up the stairs, talking into a radio, and telling someone to cut her off. Someone was waiting on the next staircase; she heard the radio and the buzz of men's voices.
I led them out through the corridor. Your friend Cami's taking them the rest of the way. It's up to them to get out once they're on the surface. Jack says all hell is breaking loose. I'm on my way back to you.
I'm on the stairs, trying to get to level two, but I'm trapped between two security teams. I don't think I can make it to you. You'll have to go without me.
Like hell, don't be ridiculous. I'm not leaving without you. How close are you to level two? Can you beat the team chasing you?
Yes, but I'm running right into the men waiting for me. Mari paused, unable to decide what direction would be the most promising.
Keep going, sweetheart. Fast. You want to be at the top; hit them hard and mean, buy us a couple of seconds.
What are you going to do?
I'm going to take down his house. I take it Sean didn't get him?
No, and Whitney realized he was under a suggestion, but he thinks I did it. She had sprinted as fast as she could up the long staircase. Without slowing down, she hit the door and plowed into the security guard waiting there for her. They both went down, Mari kicking hard at his face.
The guard caught her left foot and twisted, rolling her over onto her stomach, but she kicked at him with her right foot, hitting him hard enough that his hold loosened. Still using the momentum of the fall, she rolled over into a crouch and sprang back to her feet. The second guard loomed over her, and she ran into his chest before she could stop her forward motion. He wrapped his arms around her smaller frame, pinning her arms against her sides. Mari used her knees, driving upward to hit him under the chin with the top of her head.
She dug both thumbs under his ribs, and when his arms loosened, she dropped lower, spreading her elbows to gain even more precious inches of room. She was able to get one arm free and drove the heel of her palm into his nose, pivoting to throw her body weight behind the blow. Breaking free, she tried to run again, knowing the two other guards who had been chasing her were only a couple of steps behind her.
Get down!
She dropped, both hands covering her head, as a deafening explosion knocked them all off their feet. Ken burst out of the rubble, grabbing her arm and jerking her up. As he turned, he drove the toe of his boot into one guard's head, dropping him like a stone. "Run, Mari!"
Ken tossed her a gun and a knife, then dropped back to protect her as she made her way through the dirt and debris. Go left. Take the left passage, he instructed as he laid down a spray of bullets, driving their pursuers back.
Mari whirled around, all business, as two lab techs popped up waving guns. She shot them both, her aim deadly. She kept moving, running along the narrow hall, twice taking out a camera as she went, her legs carrying her when her mind felt numb.
"The others, Ken, have you heard anything?" Mari asked anxiously.
Ken swept her against the partition, covering her body with his as bullets spat into the wall behind them. He returned fire, pushing her forward, urging her to run while he stepped out and sent covering fire down the long hall. Glass shattered, and guards leapt into doorways, finding whatever shelter they could. Ken ran backward, keeping up the fire until they rounded the next corner and he could turn and sprint after her.
"Jack says the women took off in different directions. My team had a hell of a time providing covering fire for them, but no one could stop them long enough to get them to the waiting helicopter. They went up and over the fence and scattered into the forest. We stopped most of their pursuers, but there's one hell of a firefight going on between Violet's men guarding the senator and Whitney's supersoldiers. It actually helped get the women out."
Ken caught her arm, bringing her to an abrupt halt as he yanked open a small maintenance door set into the wall. "The grill, get inside the shaft. Hurry."
She didn't waste time asking questions. They only had seconds. When the guards rounded the corner and saw they were gone, they would check the small maintenance room. She yanked the grill free and dove into the shaft, scrambling forward to give Ken plenty of room. He pulled the grill after him and signaled her forward.
Almost immediately bullets cut through the door and walls of the room behind them. Mari hesitated, her heart pounding, but Ken pushed her bottom, urging her to keep moving. Mari crawled as fast as she could, trying to stay quiet. The tube was surprisingly large, and getting wider as she moved down it. Ken tapped her ankle as she came up on another grill.
She pushed it out and like the other one, the grill fell open easily, the screws already removed. Mari slid through headfirst, rolling, gun up and ready, tracking the room. She found herself in another maintenance room, tools scattered everywhere and a bucket of dirty water with a mop stuck in it pulled away from the wall. The
bucket seemed out of place to her with all the tools.
She looked around, breathing hard, struggling to control her fear. She'd been on several missions with bullets flying, but nothing had prepared her for this--escaping from Whitney. He had controlled her life for so long she wasn't certain she could even think for herself.
Ken's hand brushed the nape of her neck. "You've been thinking for yourself for a very long time, honey. Stop worrying."
"You weren't touching me and you knew what I was thinking. I hate that. You scare me sometimes."
He flashed a small grin at her as he pushed past her to crack open the door enough to peer out. "You don't exactly have a poker face, darlin'," he drawled.
"I wish I could believe you, but I'm not that transparent. I spent too long fooling Whitney. You've got way more psychic talent than you let on."
The alarm was blaring through the compound now, and chaos had broken out. Lab techs hurried out into the corridor. Ken reached out and snagged a man by his coat, yanking him into the closet and smashing an elbow to his head. The tech slumped to the floor and lay there groaning. "Get his jacket off."
Mari crouched down to pull the jacket from the tech. Whitney had made it mandatory for all techs on the third level to wear a black lab coat and those on the second level a white one. The man was wearing a white coat, but she'd caught a glimpse of several third-level techs. They were swarming up the stairs along with the security teams sweeping through each of the levels.
"What was the explosion?" She kicked the man as he tried to rise, and he went down a second time. Mari donned the jacket and looked around the room for a hat.
"I set a few timed charges. They'll keep going off at odd intervals, just enough to keep Whitney and his men rattled. The women are over the fence and presumably away. Jack says unfortunately the senator is almost to the plane. Jack's waiting for us."
"They don't have my sisters?" She winced as Ken grabbed a second white-coated tech and slammed him into the wall. He bounced and Ken dragged him into the small room. "Not a single one?"
"Your sisters aren't very trusting." His vivid gaze pinned her. "You knew they wouldn't be. You all discussed it ahead of time, didn't you?"