Page 55 of Deadly Strain

“Well, she’s not as shiny as the A-1 you were shooting, but she’s a good weapon. Accurate.”

“Thanks.” Sharp shook his teammate’s hand. “I’ll take good care of it.”

“Make sure you do. No dropping it out of an aircraft.”

“Ah, come on. It’s only happened once.”

“Cut the chatter, you two,” Cutter said. “Clark and Smoke, you two find us a helicopter we can steal. The rest of us will spirit the good doctor out of lockup. Ping me when you’ve found a bird.”

“Yes, sir,” Clark said, while Smoke nodded.

Cutter led the way, followed by Hernandez, March, Runnel, and Sharp. Sharp kept his head down, so his face wasn’t front and center. He was just one of the guys, no one special.

Marshall had set up some kind of brig in a prefab metal rectangular building. It was hot, the air smelled stale, and the walls and floors were a uniform gray color. Immediately to the right of the entrance was a hallway with several doors on either side.

An armed guard sat on a chair at either end of the hallway. None of the doors were open.

The guard at the door got to his feet real quick when Cutter walked in. “This building is off-limits.”

“You got that lady doctor stashed in here?” Cutter asked him.

“Prisoners are not allowed contact with anyone.”

Cutter snorted. “I’m not her lawyer. My guys and I are going to get thrown into the mess she left up north. I need to ask her two questions so we don’t get shot to shit when we land. That’s it.”

“The colonel said—”

Cutter cut him off. “I know what the colonel said. He was referring to her calling some bug expert who thinks the world revolves around him, not us getting intel from her. I’ve got to know how to protect my guys.”

The guard hesitated another second, glanced at the rest of their group, his gaze jumping from their obvious readiness, then back to Cutter’s face. He checked his watch. “Marshall should be back in ten minutes.”

“We’ve got to leave in five. That’s why we’re here now and not laterwithMarshall.”

The guard turned and nodded at the other one, then stepped aside. “Okay. She’s not talking to anyone, though.”

“I think she’ll talk to us.” Cutter smiled a shark’s smile at him. “Which door?”

“Second on the left.”

Cutter and Sharp went to the door while Runnel and Hernandez stayed behind with the first guard. March continued down the hall a little toward the second guard and leaned against the wall like he was bored.

Cutter opened the door, let Sharp in, then closed the door.

Grace had been lying on a narrow cot. She sat up and blinked owlishly at them. “What are you two doing here?”

She was fine. Just fine. Lying there like she was on vacation. No hysteria. No panic. Something raw and bloody inside Sharp healed over. “Breaking you out,” he answered.

Her jaw dropped open. “Are you nuts? Marshall will have both of you in handcuffs in the next room.”

“Don’t think so,” Cutter said. “There’s seven of us.”

“Besides,” Sharp added. “We’re planning on stealing a helicopter too.”

“God.” She flopped back on her cot, sighed, then said to the ceiling, “Someone left the bag of idiots open again.”

Cutter choked back a laugh.

“Is that any way to talk about your liberators?” Sharp asked.