Page 15

“T hat is a question I’d like answered as well,” Max said to Con. “We don’t know. We’ve done security checks on every contractor on base, as well as every person who comes on base. We found a couple of questionable people and threw them out, but tonight’s events make it clear that we have a bigger problem than we realized.”

“Sounds like you need to step up your investigation. I can’t keep her safe the way things are right now.”

“Agreed.” Max was silent for a long moment. “She has a lot of bruises, huh?”

“Yes, sir.”

“We have some platelets I can give her that will help short term.” It was several seconds before Max spoke again. “Did you lose any gear in the fire?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Eugene, get them emergency replacements for whatever they need. I want them ready to go in two hours.”

“Yes, sir.”

Max nodded at Con and walked down the hall toward the washrooms.

“How do you want to play this?” River asked Con.

“Very carefully, gentlemen. Sophia isn’t going to meekly follow instructions, especially if they’re for her own safety.”

“That could be a problem,” River said.

“I think it’s guaranteed.”

Smoke grunted. “Make it about our safety.”

A grin relaxed Con’s face. “Now that is an excellent idea.”

With a plan in place to deal with Sophia’s resistance to being babysat, Con was able to focus on their preparations for this new mission. In addition to some replacement gear, they also picked up four Marines for additional security. A refugee camp could be a lawless place and the likelihood of needing a few extra people with firepower was almost guaranteed.

They’d also need help with moving the supplies, Sophia’s fancy lab tent, her lab-in-a-bag, and solar rechargeable batteries to power her analyzing equipment. Not to mention food, water, and additional medical supplies.

By the time he, Smoke, River, and their security team returned to the lab the sun was up. As they walked smoke hung in the air, clinging to their clothing and hair.

“Anyone know if there were casualties?” Con asked the Marines.

“Yes, sir,” their unit leader, Henry, said. “At least six, but several others are missing, so the count will probably go up.”

“Son of a bitch,” River said.

Max was on the phone again when they walked in, but Eugene and Jones were there, standing in the middle of a sea of duffel bags.

“You’re taking all this with you?” Con asked.

“Nope,” Eugene replied. “You’re taking all this with you .”

There was enough gear to supply an entire Forward Operating Base. “We’ll be lucky to get it all in the helicopter.”

“You’ll be in a Super Stallion so you’ll be okay. We’re sending some additional food for the refugees,” Eugene explained. “You can also request food drops if things are dire in the camp. No one wants a riot.” Eugene glanced at Max’s back.

“Makes sense.” Con looked around. “Where’s our Sophia?”

“She’s in Max’s office getting a unit of blood platelets.”

“Thanks.” Con glanced at the men with him. “Let’s get this shit to the helipad.”

“You got it,” River said.

Con knocked on Max’s office door then went inside.

Sophia was lying on a cot, a bag of straw-colored fluid dripping into her arm. Her newly dyed brown hair looked out of place.

“Hey, is this stuff going to stop the bruises?”

She glanced at him only briefly, like he was a minor irritation. “Yeah.”

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yep.”

Shit, she sounded pissed.

“Are you going to give me more than a one-word answer today?”

“Don’t know yet.”

“You’re angry—at me.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“I already told your boss, I’m no Sherlock Holmes. You’re going to have to explain what I did wrong, so I don’t do it again.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Use small words.”

“You told Max about my bruises.” Her flared nostrils and pronounced frown told him she wasn’t angry. She was furious.

“In my place, you’d have done the same thing.”

Her glare nearly stripped a layer of skin off his face. “I was going to tell him.” The look of betrayal on her face gutted him, but he forced himself to appear unaffected, and shrugged.

“You took too long and we don’t have time to spare.”

She pressed her lips together. “Asshole.”

“We’ve already established that.”

“I’m a big girl, you know. I can take care of myself.”

“Doesn’t matter. I won’t compromise when it comes to your safety.”

She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, like she was counting to ten in her head, then asked in a calmer tone, “The fire?”

“Six dead so far.”

She gritted her teeth. “If I get my hands on Akbar, I’m going to rip him a new one.”

“Cool, but only if I can help.”

This time when she looked at him, worry had painted lines where there shouldn’t have been any on a face as young as hers. “What we’re going into, it could kill us.”

“So can a bullet or a bomb, but that’s what we do—the shit no one else will, because it has to be done.”

“There have been hundreds of deaths in the camp we’re going to in the last forty-eight hours. I suspect there will be hundreds more before we’re done.”

Con looked at her, really looked. She appeared fragile, like a piece of spun glass, a masterpiece, until someone dropped and destroyed it.

“What the hell is Akbar planning?” he asked under his breath.

“Creating a weapon of mass infection?”

“Yeah, but what if the answer isn’t that simple? The guy’s wacko. We could be wrong.”

“Max thinks he wants revenge.”

“On who?”

“The American military.”

“A big target.”

“But he’s already created one biological weapon. His anthrax strain could kill hundreds or thousands. If creating a biological weapon is his goal, I’m superfluous.”

“There are two instances where you, one individual, would matter.” Con ticked them off on his fingers. “You’re part of the problem, or you’re part of the solution.”

The color drained from her face. If she’d been standing up, she would have passed out. “How could I be part of either?”

“You’re the youngest doctor to have two doctorates.”

“So what?”

“Did you do any groundbreaking research?”

“Not on anthrax. I spent most of my time on rabies and the flu, investigating genetic drift and mutation rates.”

“What was your thesis on?”

“Rabies. How it’s transmitted from animals to humans, its effect on the brain, and what makes it so deadly.”

“Deadly?”

She gave him a look. “Rabies is nothing like anthrax. It’s difficult to work with and it can take weeks to kill. There’s usually plenty of time to administer treatment for it if you know you’ve been infected, but once symptoms appear nothing can save you. You’re dead.” She released a pent-up breath. “What if he’s picked me because I’m young, a woman, and a doctor? What if his intent is to demoralize and get the American military to withdraw to a certain degree?”

“He could be trying to encourage the American military to send its specialists back to the States. You are a valuable and finite resource.”

“Or reduce our numbers to the point where we’re ineffective.”

“So when he does release a biological weapon on a mass of people, we can’t stop it.”

“That makes way too much sense.”

“If he’s anything like General Rommel, he’s got a plan within a plan.”

“Yeah,” Con said, standing. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He looked at the bag hanging above the bed. “How much longer?”

“A few minutes.”

“I’ll meet you at Eugene’s desk.” He turned and headed for the door.

“Con?”

He turned. “Yeah?”

“I haven’t forgiven you.”

He grinned at her. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

***

S ophia wanted to kiss the smug smile off his face. Or cry. Or scream the rage out of her body. There were too many emotions churning inside her, all of them looking for an exit, only there wasn’t one.

Her unit of platelets finished infusing. Time to go.

Only there wasn’t much time left for her to do anything. No time left to make her mark or enjoy the full sexual experience with the aggravating, amazing man who’d just left.

Perhaps she should tell Max about her low cell counts, let him really send her home. But if she did that she really would leave him with too few specialists to do the work he and the Army needed to do.

The door to Max’s office opened and Max walked in, shutting the door behind himself. He didn’t say anything as he came over and began the process of removing the intravenous line.

“I think you should request more specialists,” she said to him. “You don’t have enough teams.”

“Getting more teams put together is going to take time.”

“Then take the time.” She put her hand on his arm, bringing him to a stop as he was putting a Band-Aid on the back of her hand. “Akbar is only one man, but the threat only begins with him.”

He frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

“We’re fighting terrorists. They’re going to use every weapon they can to inflict damage and terror to anyone who doesn’t bow down to them. Biological weapons are the perfect terror weapon. Killing slowly, horribly, and without mercy.”

“I requested more staff and specialists two months ago, but there’s a shortage of everyone.”

“Is that why you’re not sending me home for real?”

Surprise made his eyes widen momentarily before he laughed and shrugged. “Yes.” He gestured at the bag of platelets. “You shouldn’t need this, Sophia.”

“I’ve never been within normal ranges in anything.”

“No, you haven’t.” He paused, then continued with, “I trust you to look after yourself while on this mission, because the men going with you need you.”

“You think the threat is real?”

“I do. Akbar is playing a lethal game. I need you to use that brain of yours to out-think him.”

“He’s willing to die, Max. He might even want to die. He’ll take risks no sane person would, and I think that might make the difference between winning and losing.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve been there. If you accept that death is inevitable, there is an intellectual freedom in it. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done.” She knew, she was already risking her life.

“Where have I heard that line before?”

“Brigadier General, retired, Chuck Yeager.” Con walked all the way into the office and shut the door. “You two were taking too long.”

Max grunted. “I suppose a test pilot needs to have accepted the inevitability of death in order to take the risks he does.” He turned to Con. “What do you think?”

“I think she has a point. We’ve got to assume he’s going to do crazy suicidal shit.”

“There’s an advantage to being prepared for whatever horror he enacts on the world. Nothing is precious to him anymore.” Sophia looked at Con. “Nothing matters but revenge.”

He flinched, but the expression was only on his face for a fraction of a second. If she hadn’t been watching him she’d have missed it. “Is she well enough for the mission?”

Sophia answered before Max could. “That’s an unanswerable question. I’ve been asked to out-think a madman. No one is well enough for that.”

What had made him flinch? She thought back over what she’d said and realized Con hadn’t reacted until the last word she’d said. Revenge .

“She’s fit for duty,” Max told Con. “Though I agree, no one is well enough for what might be necessary on this mission.” He turned to her, and hesitated only a second before saying, “Be ready to leave in thirty minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

Max left, but Con didn’t move.

“Are you going to bring some more of that stuff?” he asked with a nod at the empty bag of platelets.

“Yes, one.”

He tilted his head to one side. “What causes your platelets to stop working?”

“They work, mostly. Problem is, there aren’t enough of them.” She got up from the cot and disposed of the IV tubing and bags. “Stress, infection, sleep deprivation, any number of things can trigger ITP or make it worse.”

There was a pause of two or three seconds before he said, “I’m sorry I haven’t had time to teach you many self-defense tricks.”

She stopped and glanced at him. He stood in the center of the office, his face serious, almost glum. “Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault an insane man chose to target me. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be not enjoying said wacko’s lack of hospitality.”

He shook his head.

“Or is this your way of sucking up?”

“I fully intend to teach you those tricks,” Con said.

He was watching her face so closely he probably knew how many eyelashes she had. The man was a champion worrier.

Was he also contemplating something else, like revenge?

She knew she was going to die. She’d have to make sure he didn’t join her.

She grabbed a duffel bag that had been sitting on the floor next to Max’s desk and stopped in front of him. “Shall we?”

She made it sound like they were going on a routine trip to somewhere safe.

Where they were going was about as unsafe as it got.