Page 16 of Black Bay Defender
She didn’t know what had happened when he’d plugged into that AI, but whatever it was, it hadn’t been good. His hazel eyes had shimmered with a blue iridescence that reminded her of a grid and at first, she’d thought he was communicating with it, telling it to shut down. But then that grid had disappeared and there’d been… a void. She knew in her gut Grady hadn’t been in there anymore.
Horrified, she’d tried to pull him away, to disconnect him, but with her lungs seizing from the gas, she hadn’t been strong enough to move him before she’d collapsed.
A loud noise, the screech of metal sliding on metal, had her jerking her head to the left and then wincing as pain sliced through her head again. A shaft of light came through the dark weave of the burlap sack over her head. A door was thrown open and the dark silhouette in the middle of that sunlit rectangle had Leo and Kong both making aggressive noises. The enemy.
Movement, and then the door was slammed shut again and everything was dark once more. She heard footsteps drawing closer and she picked up the smell of peppermint.
“Wake up!” The shouted command was followed by the unmistakable sound of a kick being delivered.
Since Kong and Leo couldn’t have been playing possum after those threatening growls, that meant Grady was here too but still unconscious. Relief surged through her. They hadn’t messed with him yet. They still had a chance.
If she could just get free… But whoever this was had done their homework. They knew about the Beasts, knew to cover Lark’s eyes and secure her mouth. Knew too, that no simple cuffs could hold them. They’d underestimated one thing though. They must not have known about their healing because all Lark needed was to get one hand free to yank up that sack and a single glance would have the enemy in her thrall. She’d break her goddamn wrist to splinters if she had to.
Chapter Nine
Thesoundofthedoor had roused Grady but he’d kept his body lax within the chains securing him, opening his eyes just the barest slits to assess his surroundings. His system was running a reboot analysis, the data scrolling up one side of his ocular implant, but he ignored it. The sunlight had illuminated the interior of a cargo container. Lark was directly across from him with a bag over her head, her arms restrained behind her and her ankles chained together. They’d taken her boots. They’d taken all of their boots.
Next to her was Kong, his broad, muscular body secured with thick chains from just below his shoulders to his waist, pinning his arms to his sides. His ankles were chained as well, and a tight gag split his face as he glared with murder in his eyes at the man that just walked inside.
Grady wouldn’t give himself away by turning his head, but he could just make out Leo to his right in his peripheral vision, trussed up similarly to Kong.
“Wake up!” A hard kick impacted Grady’s knee but he didn’t even flinch. They’d picked the wrong leg if they were looking to hurt him. The robotic limb might be covered with cloned skin that afforded him some sensation, but it was nowhere near what he would have felt if they’d chosen his right knee. Good. That would give him an advantage.
A hand grabbed the gag lodged between his lips and yanked it down roughly.
Done playing, he opened his eyes and looked up to learn the face of his enemy. Memory slammed into him with a one-two punch. “Commander Carter, good to have you aboard.” He knew this man. The sight of him was like a key had turned in a lock, opening a box that had been hidden from him until now.
The CIA. The mission. The suicide bomber that had known Grady’s name. The hospital. The men talking in that recovery room – Doctor Jerome and this man.
Grant Ridley, Deputy Director NCS and the man who’d recruited him to the CIA, who had sent him on that mission. Rage was a red fury over his vision. This was the man who’d handed Grady over to the Resurrection project.
“Just look at him!”Doctor Jerome had said that day while Grady was laid up in that hospital bed with extensive injuries, and drugs were being pumped into his system.“Do you know how long it’s going to take him to heal sufficiently for any sort of procedure? This isn’t what we agreed on.”
“He’s alive isn’t he?”Ridley had returned.“So I guess you got exactly what you wanted.”
The smell of that gum…
Control. He needed to stay in control. Lark, the others, needed him to keep cool.
“Deputy Director,” Grady managed to drawl, sounding for all the world like he was completely unaffected while internally a storm continued to brew.
Ridley chuckled. “Very good, Commander. You know, I have to tell you, I was impressed by how you overcame the programming.” Raising a hand, he tapped a finger against his temple. “Strong mental fortitude. It was a shame to give you up to Resurrection, but…” he trailed off with a shrug before he smiled, the expression reminding Grady of a weasel. “What did you think of the new security upgrades I installed? Effective, right? Of course, we were expecting you.” His hand flicked to indicate Lark, Kong, and Leo. “Not them.”
He reached for the nine-millimeter holstered under his arm and pointed it at Grady’s head. “I’d rather not shoot you, Commander. You’re a very expensive asset or will be again once we make the necessary repairs. But I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in your head if you don’t give me answers. What were you doing with the Beasts?”
Since he couldn’t shrug thanks to the chains securing him, he let his head loll back against the wall. “You know, braiding each other’s hair. Painting our toenails.”
That took care of that greasy smile. Ridley’s face was suffused with red as he pushed the muzzle of that gun into Grady’s temple, forcing him to cock his head to the side. “Do you think I’m bluffing? What did you tell them? What do they know?”
Kong and Leo both growled and even with the gags in their mouths, the sound was chilling. It held the promise of death.
“I’ll get to you,” Ridley barked, turning his attention briefly to the other two males.
That was when Grady saw Lark’s arm jerk hard. Metal clanged loudly against metal and he realized Lark was free. She brought forth a badly mangled hand and struggled to grab hold of the bag that blinded her, but the noise had drawn Ridley’s attention. Grady lurched forward, tried to lunge for Ridley and knock him off balance but the sound of two shots being fired in the enclosed space rang through his skull. Two shots right into that bag that covered Lark’s face. Her body spasmed with each hit before it slumped, and the rage... it exploded.
He didn’t fight it. With an anguished bellow, his body surged to life, becoming the weapon they’d created. Man and machine, in perfect sync, as he shattered the chains that held him. The links flew like shrapnel. And Grant Ridley… There wouldn’t be enough left of him for them to identify the body.
Kong stared in disbelief at Lark’s limp form. His horrified shout and Leo’s angry roar were drowned out by the sound that came from Commander Grady Carter’s throat as the man broke his chains and launched himself at the enemy.
