Page 41 of Double Take

“We think you do, and you’re insurance,” Roger said.

They need me for bait. They’re going to use me to lure him in.Did that mean the agent named Marshall hadn’t managed to apprehend him?

“Help! Help me!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Help! I’m being kidnapped!”

Rogers swore, and then she felt a sharp sting in her neck.

* * * *

Faith came to on a cold, hard, gray-speckled floor, her mind fuzzy, her vision slightly blurry.Where the hell am I?Seconds later, she remembered. The men. The sting.The bastards drugged me!She rubbed her neck and scrambled to her feet.

The exit didn’t open. The solid-steel sliding panel had no handles, knobs, or levers. A tiny red eye glowed on an electronic pad. Did that open the door? She waved. The red eye blinked. She pressed her hand to the pad and got an electrical shock. “Ow!”

Rubbing her arm, she surveyed the room, noticing now how the table and chairs around it were molded to the floor.

A sensor-controlled sliding door. Furniture affixed to the floor. Dull-gray floor and walls.

I’m on a spaceship. Has it launched? How long have I been here?She listened for the high-pitched squeal of an engine. Planting palms on the wall, she felt for a vibration. No noise, no vibration.Still grounded.But for how long?

I have to get off this ship! I have to find John.

Unless they’d captured him? Was he on this ship, too? She wished she’d never told Rogers and Glenn she knew John was a clone. The agents had blindsided her. In hindsight, she realized she should have sent them on a wild goose chase to find their quarry.

“Anybody out there? Let me out!” She pounded on the door. “Rogers! Glenn! I’ll tell you everything I know!” she lied. Could anyone hear her? Maybe the room was soundproofed—or bugged. Were they watching her on vid? She scanned the room from floor to ceiling but saw no recording or transmitter devices.

She would tell them nothing. She’d tear a page from Mark’s book and feed them a line of crap. Let them continue to believe they’d convinced her her husband was alive. Hopefully, she could get them to drop a clue to John’s whereabouts. Maybe she could still send them on that wild goose chase.

Yelling, she pounded on the door again to no avail.

She had no choice but to wait for the agents.

Chapter Fifteen

“What are you doing here?” Bragg demanded.

“I came to save your ass. You don’t make it easy.” Marshall stood up and holstered the weapon under his jacket.

“Save me from what?”

“Mainly yourself, but also from Dark Ops throwing you and your girlfriend into the brig. I didn’t come alone.”

Fear for Faith knifed into his gut, but he forced himself to play it cool. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“You came to Terra Nova for the hell of it?”

“I’m entitled to a vacation.”

“You deviated from your approved itinerary.”

Bragg shrugged. “Patagonia wasn’t what I thought it would be.”

“Faith Hammond is in custody.”

If Faith got hurt, nothing would matter. Not his freedom, not his life. “Where is she?” He charged at Marshall. He’d beat the truth out of him.

His CO dropped him with a punch. Pain splinted through his face, but he rolled to his feet, clenching his fists, readying for another go.

Marshall flexed his fingers and shook his hand. “You dipshit! Why did you make me do that? I’m on your side, you fucking moron. We don’t have a lot of time. If you want to see her again, you need to come with me.”

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