Page 97 of Wild Oblivion

We made it about halfway down the hall when he said, "Hold up right there."

I had that unmistakable sensation that his pistol was aimed right at my back.

"Don't move. Toss your weapons to the ground. Now!”

We hesitated a moment.

"Do it. Or I swear to God, I’ll put a bullet in you both.”

He had the drop on us. No doubt about it. He'd be able to shoot one of us for sure. Maybe two. It wasn't worth the risk.

With angry faces, we tossed our weapons to the ground. They clattered off the tile.

"Kick them farther away."

They were still within reach.

After a moment of hesitation, JD and I complied.

The pistols scraped across the tile.

"I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you're either on the take or you don't work for DRI," I said.

"Did you figure that all out by yourself?" he said in a condescending tone. He tossed two pairs of flex cuffs to me. "Cuff him, then yourself.”

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Ifigured the real guards were tied up or dead in a storeroom somewhere.

With the twitchy barrel of a gun aimed at me, I flex cuffed JD. Though I left it as loose as I thought I could get away with. Then I cuffed myself and pulled it tight with my teeth. Not too tight, mind you.

Dugan frisked us and found our backups.

“Move!” Dugan commanded. Probably not his real name.

He marched us down the hallway and into the lab. Keycard entry allowed access, and the octagonal door slid open like it belonged on a sci-fi spaceship. A gust of air hit my face. The lab had positive pressure to keep contaminants out.

The air was clean and antiseptic, with the faint hint of ozone and electronics. Beakers and test tubes sat atop stainless steel work tables. There were gizmos and gadgets, centrifuges, cryo-tanks, liquid nitrogen and helium, spectrum analyzers, and a gas chromatograph. There werecomputer workstations with large flatscreen displays with colorful spectral readouts and simulation models. Storage lockers lined the walls, along with subzero freezers. Antistatic suits hung from racks alongside other personal protective equipment. The lab was part chemistry set, part subatomic madness.

Emily and her fiancé were on the floor, both zip-tied about the wrists and secured to the legs of a table. A goon with an AR-15 stood watch over them, keeping the two in line.

A gentleman in a stylish gray suit with a black shirt, no tie, looked at us with surprise as we entered. In his mid-40s, his slicked hair had already turned silver. His steely blue eyes narrowed. He had sharp features and an athletic figure. There was a smarmy vibe about him with the fake smile of a politician.

“They showed up, snooping around,” Dugan said.

The silver-haired man huffed. "Deputy Wild. I must say, I'm quite surprised. I didn't expect to see you here, but it seems fate has brought us together. Please come in. Have a seat.”

The voice was unmistakable.

Dugan shoved me forward.

JD and I took a few steps toward the center of the room.

"I assume you’re alone? Everybody else is at the stadium." Slick looked at his watch. "It's almost time.” A slight, devious smirk tugged his lips.

“This was always about the Oblivium,” I said.

“Of course,” Slick replied. “With the added bonus of eliminating every law enforcement officer in the region. I’ll be onthe other side of the world with enough Oblivium to vaporize the planet while they’re still sifting through the rubble.”