The dragon needed some time. That was reasonable. Whoever he was and whatever had happened, it had probably been a very long night for him. Brinkmann and the guards had poked, prodded and teased him, and it made sense to let him rest. Besides, Alyssa had plenty of other work to do.

She quickly found the blood samples Brinkmann had drawn and set them up with various tests. One vial went into the genome sequencer. She used another sample to test for any known bacterial strains. There was plenty of blood available, and she quickly started all the analyses she could think of with her muddled brain.

There was a dragon in the basement. A dragon. It was the kind of thing a zoologist would want to find, not a synthetic biologist—no, maybe not, since Dr. Brinkmann insisted that this creature was also a human. It was just so hard to wrap her mind around, and she had helped develop artificial vision and bionic limbs for injured soldiers. The kind of work she was doing was incredibly advanced to the point of being illegal for most people, and yet she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Once the lab equipment was doing its job, Alyssa sat down at her computer. She tapped absently at the keys, not even sure what she wanted to do next. She just wanted to talk to the dragon, to find out everything about him and who he really was. Maybe she should be taking pictures of him and measuring his wingspan. Either way, she had to get back down there.

Alyssa was pleased to see that the soldiers had followed her orders and stayed away from the containment unit. She had considered bringing another meal with her, but she decided it might be a better idea to use that as a bribe if the dragon refused to talk again. She stepped into the cell without hesitation.

The dragon was in almost the same position as she had left him. The plate that had held his steak was licked clean, and the creature paced along the back of the enclosure. He watched her as she approached, those silvery eyes staring into hers.

“I hope you enjoyed your meal,” Alyssa said pleasantly, aware that she shouldn’t anger him.

He said nothing.

Great, it was going to be like this again. At least Brinkmann had only been expecting lab results, not a full-length interview. “I want to help you. I don’t know exactly what’s going on or why you’re here, other than you broke in. But I can’t help you at all if you don’t talk to me.” She wanted to help, but he had to cooperate.

The dragon swung his head around to look at her. “Why would you want to help me? Aren’t I your captive?”

Alyssa bit her lower lip. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I would put it that way. You’re certainly a medical marvel, though, and I think knowing more about you could make a big difference in the lives of regular humans.”

He grunted. “If you say so. It’s not as though I could stop you.”

Watching him for another minute, Alyssa studied his scale-studded face and the way his large, reptilian eyes looked back at her. There was something almost familiar about him, but of course that was ridiculous. “If you’re human, as Dr. Brinkmann says you are, then you probably have friends or family who are worried about you. Is there someone I can give a message to?”

“I wouldn’t advise it,” he said crisply. “Not if you want to stay alive.”

“Alright, then. I do prefer to remain whole.” Her heart was pounding at the threat, even though it was an indirect one. “Just tell me your name. You don’t have to actually identify yourself or tell me your address, but give me something I can call you.”

That silver eye narrowed at the corner. “No. You’re going to have to guess.”

She almost laughed. “How could I do that? You could be anybody.”

“I could, but I’m not,” he assured her. “Have you decided you like White Russians?”

Alyssa stared at him for a long moment, her breath caught in her lungs like a trapped fish. It couldn’t be. Someone had to be playing a trick on her. This was just some very elaborate costume or something. Dirk was a rich man, and he must have gotten together with Brinkmann to make a fool out of her.

With hurt and dismay rattling in her chest, she understood that she knew exactly what was going on. “Dirk? You’ve got to be lying to me. I’ve never wanted anyone to lie to me in my life, but please tell me you’re shitting me.”

But those familiar eyes looked at her once again, and she knew this was no prank. As though to prove it, the dragon began to change right before her eyes. The massive wings shriveled and sank into his back, the useless splint falling to the floor. His strong, scaly arms smoothed over with human skin, the claws shortening and retreating into very human fingernails. The creature writhed as it morphed, as though the process was painful. Alyssa took a step back as the shoulders narrowed, the neck shortened, and the long muzzle of the dragon pushed in to once again become the man she had gotten to know so well the night before.

Tentatively, Alyssa reached out with one finger and touched the back of his hand when he had finished the transition. “Is it really you? I mean, it looks like you, but…”

Dirk stood, but he didn’t try to approach her. Instead, he watched her carefully as though she was the creature who might lash out at any moment.

Her confusion fell away to anger. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She turned her back to him and wrapped her fingers around the back of her neck, trying to think. Would she have done anything differently if she had known it was Dirk? Of course she would have, and that was what made it worse. The identity of the man in the containment unit never should have mattered. It had been more important that they get their scientific studies in than that they consider the feelings of the shifter. Sure, she had tried to get him to talk, and it had been his choice to refuse, but still. “I can’t believe this.”

“You seem like you’re angry with me.”

“I am angry!” she raged. “I’m beyond pissed. You come waltzing into my life acting like you want to know about the work I’m doing, but you’re a medical marvel yourself. Or maybe a mythical one. I don’t even know. And then you’re here, and you’re a dragon, and you won’t even talk to me. I’m not the enemy here, Dirk. I don’t think I even know who is, anymore.” Alyssa turned to look at him, but she couldn’t stand seeing those same soulful gray eyes that had only a minute before been part of a beautiful and wondrous creature.

“If it makes any difference to you, Brinkmann knew exactly who I was.” Dirk took a few tentative steps closer. “I was still in human form when I broke into the lab.”

This brought a whole new round of questions to her mind. “You mean, he knew all along that you were a shifter? Even when we were out at dinner and everything?”

“No, not until after one of your action heroes shot me with a tranq gun. Then my body shifted on its own. But he certainly knew my identity.”

Alyssa took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had to find some way to control her temper or she was going to pass out. “I don’t get it. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t tell me.”

Dirk was only a few inches away now, and he reached out and touched his hand to her waist. “Because he knew what you didn’t know until after we went back to my apartment. You like me. If you had known who I was, it would have made you think twice about keeping me here.”

She didn’t want to admit he was right about that, about all of it. She did like him, but it didn’t seem right that anyone should know about it before her. “Alright. Then tell me why you broke in here. You left a note that you had gone for a walk.”

He bobbled his head from side to side as he thought about it. “Which isn’t technically a lie because I parked down the road and walked to the building, but I get what you’re saying. I told you I wanted to know more about what you were doing here. I knew it had to be something big, but Brinkmann made me suspicious about it when he gave me so little information. I can see that I wasn’t wrong.” He gestured around him, encompassing the soldiers, the equipment, the building.

“The Talos Project is big,” she agreed. “It’s bigger than I ever imagined it would be. It’s named after a mythological creature made of bronze at the order of Zeus, an automaton who patrolled the island of Crete to protect it. Some myths say that he was part man and part machine, making him a perfect role model for this project.” She had helped come up with the name herself and had been quite proud of it until recently.

“And from what I can tell, you’re creating super soldiers.” It wasn’t a question, and Alyssa didn’t doubt that Dirk had seen a lot during his short stay at the lab.

“I didn’t think we would go beyond fitting war veterans with robotic arms. But these are men who want to get back out in the field and fight again, who don’t want to be seen as a hindrance because they’ve been injured. Brinkmann is going a step beyond bionic organs and is outfitting them with weapons. We even have one who has heat vision.” It was just the sort of thing she was starting to wonder about, ethically.

“Yes, I met him last night. Charming fellow. As exciting as your work must be, why would Brinkmann be interested in me?”

Alyssa shifted uncomfortably, suddenly wishing she was on the other side of the glass. Why did this have to be so hard? Why did Dirk have to be so damn good looking, and then smart and charming on top of it? He was clouding her judgement, and it had been clouded enough by working on humans, even when that wasn’t what she had originally signed on for. “Think about it, Dirk. A man who can become another creature, especially one as fierce and terrifying as a dragon, would be the perfect soldier. They come in looking completely normal and then scare the holy living hell out of their enemies while taking them down with ease. What better super soldier is there than that?”

Dirk reached out with his finger and brushed aside a strand of her hair. “Do you really think I’m terrifying?”

She didn’t know how to answer that. He was, but not for the reasons he thought. Alyssa was confident that Dirk wouldn’t shred her with his claws, but he represented a threat of an entirely different kind. She’d lived her life for herself for a long time, and she hadn’t been sure how Dirk would fit into it even before she had known what he really was. “Listen, I’ve got to find a way to get you out of here. It isn’t going to be easy. Brinkmann has the soldiers who aren’t being actively experimented on set on guard duty at all times. It keeps them busy and it keeps our secret safe, at least most of the time.”

He waved ironically at the containment unit around them. “But what will happen when a scary beast like myself gets out of here? Won’t I harm all the villagers?”

She didn’t miss the spark of humor in his eye, but she didn’t have the time for it. “Just come on. This is only going to get more complicated the longer we wait.” Opening the electronic lock, Alyssa led the way out of the containment unit. A soldier immediately stepped up, weapon at the ready, when he saw Dirk following her through the door. “It’s alright,” she said, holding up her hand. “I have some other tests I want to run on him, and I can’t do it inside the cell. He’s agreed to stay peaceable.” Alyssa continued through the lab confidently, as though she had nothing to worry about.

“You’ll lose your job,” Dirk whispered in her ear.

“I know.”

“And Brinkmann will expose you for everything the two of you have done here together. He’ll blame you for everything.”

“I know that, too.” And she did. Brinkmann was the one who had constantly pushed her ethics when it came to testing and their human subjects, justifying it all with the fact that these men had been injured in service to the government and it was only right that they be permitted to live their lives again. And the soldiers had signed all sorts of waivers and contracts that made it seem like everything was fine, but Alyssa knew better. The kind of work they were doing would make people question the ethics and morals of it all, especially when they saw the statistics. There were men who now had use of their limbs again—their own limbs even, and not necessarily bionic ones—and others who would no longer have to suffer from their internal injuries. But then there were the others, the ones who lost too much blood on the surgery table or who didn’t react well to injections and gene therapies. They had lost plenty of them. This, too, could be justified with the ones who had lived, but Alyssa knew that wouldn’t work if and when the media got a hold of the truth. The general public also wouldn’t be pleased when they found out how naturally violent Brinkmann’s therapies had made the soldiers, and how difficult it was to keep them happy once he had worked on them. They had numerous men living at Bios Labs, and all because they didn’t qualify to be returned to society.

And Dirk wasn’t wrong. Brinkmann was the kind of man who wouldn’t take any of the blame. He would claim he had been lied to, that Alyssa used him and did what she wanted in the name of science. If things got bad, he would skip the country and never be seen again. But she couldn’t let any of this go on any longer. At the very least, she had to get Dirk out of there. She would figure out the rest of her plan afterwards.

“Maybe you should tell me what’s going on in that mind of yours,” Dirk said as they wound their way up the stairs, being careful not to run and call attention to themselves. “I can see the gears clicking behind your eyes, but I don’t think I’ve seen your mouth shut so tightly.”

“I don’t know,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’m still thinking.”

“Well, let me in on your ideas. I have friends, guys who could help.”

She paused on the stairs, one hand on the rail as she turned around and glared at him. “Oh, really? Who’s going to help us now? Who’s going to believe that you’re a dragon and that you need to escape from a mad scientist?”

Dirk shrugged. “Well…”

“Seriously?” But there was no time to ask him more.

The door at the top of the stairs opened, admitting a rather happy Dr. Brinkmann. He stopped on the landing as soon as he saw the two of them. His dark eyes narrowed and his mouth curved down into a deep frown. “What is this?”

Alyssa cleared her throat, her pulse beating so loud she could swear it was echoing in the stairwell. “I thought I would bring him upstairs for some other testing. I’d like to see what kind of vision he has, as well as his hearing. Later on, I think we need to set up some digital recorders so we can get video of him changing back and forth.”

Brinkmann folded his arms across his chest. He wasn’t a big man, but the gesture reminded them that he was still quite powerful. “And I suppose you’re going to tell me you can’t do that in the containment cell?”

“I could,” she admitted. There was no getting around that. “But Dirk has been living in the community his entire life without eating anyone, and I don’t see any reason to treat him like a rabid dog.” As she said the words, she realized she had no idea if Dirk had ever eaten anyone or not; that wasn’t exactly something they had talked about. But he had been gentle with her, and there was no reason not to trust him until she knew otherwise. “He’s agreed to be part of the study so that he can learn more about our lab and decide if he’s still interested in backing us.”

“Alyssa,” Dr. Brinkmann warned, “he’s dangerous. You saw his teeth and his claws. If he’s acting cooperative, it’s just so he can take advantage of you.” He took a few steps down the stairs toward them.

“We can’t go back down,” Dirk whispered. “The soldiers are down there. We can take this guy easily enough and get out of here.”

“I hate to break it to you, but there are just as many guards upstairs. We’re screwed.”

Dr. Brinkmann laughed. “Young, foolish lovers! You don’t think I can see you whispering to each other? You don’t think I noticed how you looked at each other last night at dinner? Drop the act. It’ll make things easier on both of us.”

“Just follow my lead,” Alyssa whispered. Louder, she said to her boss, “I was just explaining to him that he’ll be safer in the containment unit. I’m not afraid of him, but I can see how others might be. It’s for his own safety, and he understands.” She turned around, following Dirk back down the stairs. She could feel Brinkmann’s gaze on the back of her neck like a laser sight.

She had it all worked out now. They would go back to the lab, pretending not to fight with Brinkmann. Before they got to the containment unit, though, they would make a break for it toward the second stairwell. There would still be someone guarding it, but it wasn’t used as frequently and it might not be expected. And they would know that Brinkmann was behind them, not in front of them. With any luck, he wouldn’t be able to sound the alarm before they got away.

But before she could say a word to Dirk, an arm grabbed her from behind. Brinkmann dragged her backwards, her heels pounding against the linoleum. She yanked uselessly at his arm where it wrapped around her neck and cut off her air. There was movement behind her she couldn’t quite discern, and then something cold and metallic was pressing against her temple.

Dirk swirled at the noise, anger flashing in his eyes. He didn’t hesitate a moment to morph, his body immediately lengthening and stretching. His skin undulated, rising up from his body for a moment and coming back down as silver scales. The wings that she had so admired before shot out from his back, tearing through his shirt and sending a shelf of glass beakers crashing to the floor. The silver of Dirk’s eyes covered his entire body. His strong, powerful human form was now triply so, with a thick back and scaly haunches. His talons clicked against the floor as he approached Brinkmann. “Let her go.”