Page 16 of Black Bay Protector
Notwantingtoattemptto remove the tracker at the rest area where someone might wander by and see what was going on, Jace drove for a bit before getting off the interstate and headed for a wooded area. The van wasn’t built for off-roading, but it took the bumpy ride into the trees like a champ.
Once he stopped, he told Paige to stay in the van with the gun at the ready and went out to check the area. Only once he was one-hundred percent certain they were alone did he return.
“Are you ready for this?”
She was pale, her lips pressed into a bloodless hyphen, and she was clenching her hands together so tightly her knuckles were white, but she nodded just the same.
She was so fucking strong.
Getting out of her seat, she maneuvered into the back and grabbed the first-aid kit. Jace frowned at the small white box suddenly wishing he’d packed one of the larger med-kits, but honestly, when you were someone that could heal almost any injury, you didn’t think about things like that. He wouldn’t have even packed this kit if it hadn’t been for Lark. The mother hen of the group, she insisted that everyone have a first-aid kit with them when they left the compound on a mission. It was easier to comply than hear her nag.
Paige sat down in the back, the supplies he would need to remove the tracker now set out neatly for him as she swabbed the area he’d be cutting into with lidocaine, the only thing in the kit that would numb the area even a little. It wasn’t going to be enough. He’d need to make an incision and probe around with tweezers until he found the tracker. It was going to be painful for her, and God, how he wished he didn’t have to do this.
Settling on his knees beside her, he looked around for a moment before he grabbed the tough nylon shoulder strap from his duffle. “Here,” he said, handing it to her. “Bite down on this.”
When she took it, he looked deeply into her eyes. “I’ll be as careful as I can.”
Putting the strap between her teeth, she nodded.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he pulled on the blue disposable nitrile gloves and unwrapped the sterile scalpel. With one last look at her pale face but determined eyes, he turned his attention to the bruise on her thigh and made the incision.
Doctor Dietrich had just sat down at her desk with her barley soup when the call came through. The tracker had been destroyed. Anne shook her head and grimaced. Not only had they lost coordinates on the Commander, a multi-million-dollar military asset thanks to Doctor Jerome’s little experiment, but now they’d lost her specimen as well.
Honestly, she was surprised the tracker had stayed active as long as it had. All of her specimens had possessed a keen intellect. A soldier that was all brawn and no brain would have been worthless. She’d designed them to be highly intelligent and the Commander showing up would have tipped off her prototype that a tracker was in play.
This entire day had been a giant clusterfuck, but she wasn’t out of the game yet. She’d leave Doctor Jerome to chase down his asset, while she made some calls. She still had contacts in high places and now that she knew her specimens were still alive, she’d use every scrap of dirt she had on them to make them tell her where they were. She’d start with the man who’d once implied they were dead. The senator had his fingers in all sorts of pies and she’d bet everything she had that he knew exactly where her experiments were.
Picking up her phone, she didn’t navigate to contacts because she didn’t store any. She’d once made the mistake of trusting in technology and trusting people, and it had cost her everything. Doctor Jerome thought she was paranoid. Fine. Let him think that. He’d find out for himself someday. Her mind was her greatest strength and the only thing she could fully trust. She dialed the number from memory.
It rang several times and Anne was certain it was going to go to voicemail when the senator finally answered. Instead of the usual customary greeting, she heard, “Right in the middle of my backswing! This had better be good.”
“Why do you even have your phone on the course, John?”
There was a low chuckle followed by, “Judging by the glares I’m getting, you’re not the only one wondering that, but you know how it is.”
Actually, she did not. Instead of saying as much, she got right to the point. “I’m calling in a favor.”
“Hm. Interesting.” Over the line, she heard him excuse himself to his golf buddies and a few moments passed, probably as he walked far enough away for him to have some privacy before he said, “I believe you cashed in that favor when I saved your ass, Anne. Or don’t you remember that you were heading for a prison cell? Unless you’d like to go back there…”
“Don’t you dare threaten me, John. You and I both know I can destroy your career with a single phone call.”
The man had some rather disturbing fetishes that wouldn’t play well to the public and Anne just happened to have some rather revealing photographs that she’d been keeping for just such an occasion. It paid to have leverage in case you ever needed a plan B. Nor was the senator the only one she’d saved information on for a rainy day. There was a lot of dirt in the upper echelons.
She heard a sound of frustration before the senator barked, “What do you want?”
“Where are my specimens? I know they’re alive. I saw one of them. And I know you know where they are.”
“That’s classified.”
Anne let out an exaggerated sigh. “Well, I guess you leave me no choice but to call a press conference. But then again,” she added thoughtfully, “a juicy anonymous tip would have the press salivating. A mystery they can dig into, you know. Whichever I choose, I hope you have a plan in place, John. I know your wife has expensive tastes. Not to mention your daughter. Isn’t she at Berkley? I wonder what she’d think of her daddy when the news breaks.”
Silence for a few seconds before she heard a low growl of anger. Anne could just imagine at this moment he was fantasizing about reaching through the phone and strangling her.
“This is it, Anne. I tell you and we’re done. No more favors. You send me that file you have and forget you even know me. Understood?”
Sitting forward in anticipation, she readily complied. “Agreed.” Then tacked on, “As long as what you tell me is true and not some bullshit wild goose chase.”
“It’s legit. Your people are housed at Black Bay Penitentiary.”
