CHAPTER SEVEN
No way was Sterling leaving Becca to deal with whatever was happening in Zodius City on her own. The minute the fire alarm went off and water started spewing all over him, Sterling did what he’d wanted to do for hours. He busted open the electronic panel by the door and unlocked it himself, immediately heading down the deserted hall for the lab, knowing exactly where he was going. Not only had this section of Zodius City existed when it had been Area 51 and his assigned post, but he’d studied the maps Michael had provided while undercover as Adam’s second.
Down a flight of stairs, he paused at a door and eased it open only to discover something was blocking it. Holy crap. There was a Zodius soldier face down in front of the door. What was going on, and where was Becca while it was happening? Sterling reeled back and shoved his weight against the door, the water puddle at its base adding resistance. He managed to create a space large enough for him to examine the vacant corridor before he exited. Bending down next to the soldier, Sterling retrieved the man’s weapons, slicking his wet hair back as the uncompromising water covered his face.
Sterling took off in a light jog and stepped over two more Zodius soldiers lying face down, before he rounded the corner to find the lab door open. His gut clenched as he entered, and he didn’t breathe until he’d confirmed none of the six bodies in the lab were Becca. Fear for Becca seeped into him, twisting him into knots.
His gaze landed on the computer by the doorway, water pooled around it. Not optimistic, he headed toward it, setting his weapons down to punch some keys. Against all odds, the screen came to life, and he worked his magic. In a minute flat, he had the security feed live and had opened several windows at once, confirming that whatever had happened in this area of the city wasn’t happening elsewhere. Soldiers gathered at a distant corridor, and Sterling had no doubt the only reason this place wasn’t swarming with them was that whatever had set off the alarm and flattened everyone but he and Becca wasn’t contained.
A few more screens and he wanted to shout from relief. Becca was alive and on the move. He punched in a code to shut down the security cameras and then snatched his weapons. A search of the lab for ICE followed and came up dry. Cursing, he headed after Becca and vowed to find a dealer and the ICE that Becca needed in the city.
Her path ended at an underground ventilation tunnel he knew would lead to deserted terrain near a highway. Obviously, she’d put her brains to work to figure that out or taken a calculated risk.
He pulled open the steel door to the tunnel and climbed inside, resealing it behind him. He didn’t dare call out for fear of being heard, but the farther he traveled with no sign of Becca, the more worried he became. When he reached the end of the tunnel, he went topside to discover that Becca was nowhere in sight. He’d lost her again, and she was running on borrowed time. He had no idea if she had a supply of ICE, and he didn’t have the serum.
Once the sprinklers were off and the security feed was analyzed, Adam entered the lab with Dorian by his side. He grimaced with disgust at the sight of his second-in-charge knocked out on the floor—the worthless piece of shit. Half the men who’d taken a nap, compliments of Rebecca Burns, were already awake, but Tad lay there sleeping in a puddle of water. He kicked Tad.
“Get up, you moron. Get up now!”
Tad jerked to a sitting position, a stunned look on his face. “Holy crap. What the fuck happened?” He jumped to his feet and glanced around to see the scientists on the floor as he had been. “Where’s—”
“You tell me!” Adam demanded furiously. “She and Sterling are both gone. How is it that your prisoner dropped all of you flat on your asses without lifting a hand, and now she’s missing and the cameras are out? How does that happen with my second-in-charge here? And you idiot, she used your badge to get out of the lab.” Adam motioned to Dorian and then the rest of the men. “Wake them all up.”
Dorian quickly began kicking the other men with the force of an angry elephant. Despite his irritation, Adam found himself amused at the display.
The doors to the lab opened, and the lead scientist for the ICE program rushed into the room, his lab coat neatly buttoned, his glasses sliding down his nose. Adam had expected the world when he recruited the brilliant Chinese scientist from under General Powell’s nose, and he’d been given ICE in all its failing glory. Chin was wearing on his nerves and outstaying his welcome, if he wasn’t careful.
“I just finished watching the camera feed,” Dr. Chin said. “The woman levitated items in the lab and caused the men to pass out. It’s remarkable, like nothing we’ve seen before.”
Adam ground his teeth, barely containing the urge to snap the man’s neck. “Yet another side effect of ICE we should have known about.”
Chin pressed his glasses up his nose. “Thousands of people have used ICE, and no one else has developed anything remotely similar to the skills this woman has demonstrated. Perhaps ICE reacted to her recent cancer treatments. I need the woman and her records from the Germany hospital to be certain.” He held up a hand. “I make no promises, but if my theory proves correct, we could combine ICE with the treatments and recreate her skills in your men. But we must locate her quickly before ICE withdrawal kills her. The camera footage showed her taking a small supply, not more than a few days at most.”
Adam wanted no part of giving anyone the kind of power this woman had, unless it was him and him alone. He eyed Tad. “Find her, and you kill her. Bring her body to Chin to study.”
“I need her alive,” Chin argued.
“I want her dead,” Adam said. “Now, before she can be used as a weapon against us, which means before Sterling manages to get her to Sunrise City and under my brother’s protection.”
He cut the three dripping wet scientists a look. “You have all failed me, and that comes with a price.” His attention flicked to Tad. “Kill her, and you will be forgiven. Fail…and you will suffer worse than all three of them together.”
Becca reached the highway and stripped her jacket off, hiding the gun in its folds. Waving her hands, she raced in front of an oncoming truck and prayed the driver stopped. Her heart racing as he got closer and closer, a huge sigh escaped her lips as the semi came to a screeching halt inches from hitting her.
Shaking, Becca ran toward the passenger’s door, which popped open, only to have the ICE vials in her jacket crash to the ground. No! No! She bent down and tried to recover them, but they were gone. Her lifeline was gone.
“You comin’, lady?” the trucker asked.
“Yes,” she said. She had no other option. She couldn’t go back; she could only go forward and pray she could find a stock of ICE on the streets. Either way, there was a good chance she would die, but she’d be damned if she was doing it before she stopped Adam from hurting anyone else.
Becca climbed inside the truck and started rambling about a made-up, crazy boyfriend who’d left her on the side of the road, when all she could think about was her supply of ICE being lost. The ICE was gone. Sterling was gone. He’d deceived her, she reminded herself. He wasn’t what he’d seemed. He was never her friend, never her lover, and thank goodness for it. But as her gaze settled on the road, and she was traveling farther and farther away from him, she found herself replaying every moment with him, questioning his true agenda. No matter how she justified leaving him behind, no matter how she told herself she had taken her one chance to leave Zodius City alive and warn the world about Adam, leaving without Sterling hurt.