Page 37 of Crocodile Tears
“I’ll need to discuss this with Dr.Vega.This could delay progress significantly.”
Which is exactly my goal.“Of course, but the timeline for preliminary results assumes access to all necessary biological materials.He might need to be more flexible.”
My room has been upgraded with a desk, additional lighting, and dinner that’s actually decent—protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates that suggest someone understands nutrition requirements for intellectual work.I eat methodically while continuing to work on the restraint crack.
The small pieces of polymer I’ve been able to remove have exposed more of the internal wiring system.The restraint appears to use a combination of mechanical locking and electrical feedback to prevent shifting, but the electrical components seem to be the primary control mechanism.
If I can disable the electrical system without triggering the full shock response, the mechanical lock might be vulnerable to simple physical pressure.The manufacturing defect provides access to the wiring, but I need something that can cut or short-circuit the electrical connections.
The dinner tray includes a metal fork that might be useful for electrical work, assuming I can avoid electrocuting myself in the process.The restraint system probably has safeguards against obvious tampering, but those safeguards might not account for someone with detailed knowledge of shifter physiology.
The jungle sounds outside provide a constant backdrop of insects, birds, and occasional larger animals.Based on humidity and the specific combination of sounds, I’m probably somewhere in Central or South America, most likely in a region with limited government oversight.
Calvin’s warnings about surveillance and professional kidnapping seem remarkably prescient now.His apparent paranoia was actually accurate threat assessment based on experience with exactly these kinds of situations.
I wonder if he’s noticed my absence yet.It’s been roughly thirty-six hours since the kidnapping.My failure to appear for work would have been obvious to Margo, and my missed date would definitely have gotten his attention.
The thought of Calvin potentially mounting a rescue mission is both amusing and oddly comforting.His military background and security consulting experience might actually be useful for tracking international kidnapping operations, assuming he has the resources and contacts necessary for that kind of work.
Of course, the more likely scenario is that he’s contacted local authorities and is dealing with official channels that move slowly and require extensive documentation.International kidnapping cases involve jurisdictional complications and diplomatic protocols that could take weeks to resolve.
I continue working on the restraint crack while organizing my approach to the genetic research sabotage.The key is developing modifications that appear to meet their requirements while actually being too unstable for practical implementation—scientific sabotage that looks like technical limitations rather than deliberate obstruction.
The metal fork provides enough leverage to expose additional wiring, but I need to be careful about creating short circuits that would obviously indicate tampering.The electrical system needs to fail in a way that appears to be equipment malfunction rather than deliberate damage.
As I settle in for what promises to be a long night of escape planning, I think about Calvin, imagining how our second date would have happened.By the time I reach the kiss goodnight, I’m thinking of him as Cal and wishing he was here.No, I’d rather be where he is.Definitely nothere.
I think again about Cal’s enhanced senses and tactical training.If anyone could track down a kidnapped geneticist in a jungle laboratory, it would probably be a paranoid Gila monster shifter with military experience and an apparent talent for detecting threats that other people dismiss as coincidence.
The crack in my restraint has widened significantly under careful pressure applied with the fork handle.Between my own escape efforts and the possibility of external rescue, my situation might not be as hopeless as Dr.Vega wants me to believe.
If Cal is out there somewhere planning a rescue operation, I want to be ready to help rather than being a helpless victim who needs to be carried to safety.The thought of his reaction to finding me already halfway through my own escape makes me smile despite everything.
He’d probably find it either incredibly attractive or completely terrifying that I approached kidnapping like a research problem requiring systematic solution development.Knowing Cal’s apparent appreciation for competent women who don’t need constant protection, I’m betting on attractive.
Chapter 10
Cal
ThejourneytoreachBecci involves three border crossings, two bribes that cost more than my best rifle, and one extremely uncomfortable eight-hour ride in a cattle truck, where I have to convince the driver I’m not smuggling exotic reptiles into the country.Technically true, though the irony of a reptile shifter hiding among actual livestock isn’t lost on me.
The compound where they’re holding her sits in a valley surrounded by dense jungle, accessible only by a single dirt road that winds through territory controlled by three different criminal organizations.Nikolai’s intelligence was accurate.The facility is heavily fortified with professional security measures that suggest significant financial backing.
I spend six hours conducting reconnaissance from the tree line, cataloging guard rotations, security camera positions, and perimeter defenses.The compound’s designers clearly expected threats to come from the main access road or the cleared areas around the buildings.What they didn’t account for is the crocodile-infested river that borders the northern perimeter.
Most people would consider a waterway full of territorial predators an effective natural barrier.For a Gila monster shifter with enhanced senses and military training, it’s an ideal entry point.The water is warm and murky, with enough vegetation cover to mask my approach.
I slip into the river two kilometers upstream from the compound, allowing the current to carry me while I use controlled swimming to navigate around the actual crocodiles who seem mildly curious about my presence but not overtly hostile.Apparently my shifted scent registers as “fellow reptile” rather than “potential prey,” which is more useful than I expected when planning this operation.
The security perimeter extends only ten meters from the riverbank with motion sensors and cameras focused on the cleared areas rather than the water itself.I emerge from the river during a gap in the guard patrol, streaming water from my tactical gear as I move quickly toward the main building.
Time to find out if the facility’s layout matches Nikolai’s intelligence reports.According to his intel, the research laboratories are in the central building, administrative offices are in the eastern wing, and what appears to be residential quarters are in the western section.If they’re keeping Becci anywhere, it would be in the secure areas near the laboratories.I can’t imagine they’d give her a separate apartment since she’s not a paid recruit.
After twenty minutes, I concur Nikolai’s intel is accurate.I slip inside the central building after knocking out a guard and “borrowing” his palm print to scan for entry.I’m moving through the shadows of the hallway when an unexpected guard rotation forces me to immediately take cover.The nearest concealment is an unmarked room about one hundred meters from the main lab hub, with an electronic lock that yields to my picking tools within seconds.
I slip inside and close the door just as footsteps approach in the hallway.The room is dim and seems to be a makeshift room/cell.I press myself against the wall and wait for the guards to pass.
That’s when I hear the soft scraping sound coming from the back corner of the room.I turn slowly, my hand moving to my sidearm, and freeze as my enhanced vision reveals a familiar figure hunched over what appears to be some kind of restraint system.“Becci?”
