Page 86 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
"I hate asking this of you, but I have no other alternative. I can't cut out my own heart or behead myself, which, other than that poison, are the only ways to end an immortal's life."
"I'm not going to kill you."
"You'd be saving me from something far worse than death."
"Nothing is going to happen to you. I won't allow it."
He was one man against potentially dozens of enhanced soldiers. What could he do?
"Just promise," she whispered.
"I'll protect you. That is all I can promise."
It wasn't what she wanted, but she could hear in his voice that it was all he could give. She pressed closer to him, trying to memorize the feeling of safety in his arms, afraid that it might not last much longer.
28
DR. ZHAO
Zhao glanced at the cot in the corner of his laboratory and wondered whether he should fold the blanket. His mother would have been horrified to see the mess he allowed in his space, but she wasn't there to chastise him now, was she?
In the hotel, he'd had his suite cleaned daily, and he'd grown accustomed to the service. It had been nice staying there, and he missed the bar, but he was too exposed in the hotel, and he feared his creations going after him.
It wasn't just paranoia.
After receiving several threats, he'd switched his methods so he would never be with one of those monsters alone unless they were chained to a metal chair that was bolted to the floor. When the promises of retribution for the rough treatment grew in number, and several of the threats included descriptions of his brains splattered across the walls, he'd also decided to move into the heart of the lab, where the walls were thick and the door could withstand anything.There were no windows so the monsters couldn't get in.
If only he could get off this accursed island, but his only way out was in a coffin, and he wasn't ready for that yet. It might come to that, but he wasn't a quitter, and he would hold on for as long as he could.
Standing before the reinforced door separating his lab from the rest of the testing facility, Zhao took inventory of his defenses. The door was a work of art—six inches of hardened steel with magnetic locks that could withstand a direct hit from a rocket launcher, and the walls were twelve inches of reinforced concrete, designed to contain explosions from without and within.
It felt like a tomb, or maybe a vault, depending on the perspective, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it would become his mausoleum. He was going to die in this lab, but at least it would be at the same location where he'd created his greatest achievement.
He'd even been too scared to visit the lovely Sheila. Perhaps he should organize a supervised visit and get some pleasure before his demise.
"Doctor Zhao?" The voice of Brovos came through the intercom. "The subject is secured and ready for you."
Zhao pressed the communication button with a hand that trembled only slightly, from caffeine, he told himself, not fear. "Confirm protocol."
Brovos was a good soldier, one of the normal ones, and he shared Zhao's concern about the enhanced ones.
"Titanium chains at wrists, ankles, and neck. Four guards present, weapons at the ready."
"Good. Subject?"
"Hozran, designation E-47."
E-47 meant enhanced subject number forty-seven. Zhao remembered when he'd been excited to reach double digits in his test subjects. Now, the numbers felt like a countdown to detonation.
He input the code that initiated the door opening. It moved on hydraulic hinges, silent despite its weight.
Hozran sat in the examination chair, looking like a caged serpent. The chains that bound him were thick enough to moor a yacht, and yet Zhao had seen enhanced soldiers snap similar restraints when properly motivated. The four guards stood at the corners of the examination room, hands on their assault rifles.
"Dr. Zhao," Hozran said, his voice carrying an edge of mockery that hadn't been there before the enhancements. None of them had been particularly respectful before, but now contempt dripped from every word. "Did you come to poke and prod your favorite lab rat?"
"Who said you are my favorite, Hozran?" Zhao pulled on latex gloves.
Today was going to be different, but Hozran didn't need to know that. Instead of the usual enhancement formula, the cocktail Zhao had prepared contained sodium pentothal derivatives and his proprietary compoundsdesigned to lower inhibitions and encourage truthfulness. Thiscompound didn't just loosen the tongue—it dismantledthe architecture of deception.E-MC²Xtargeted theprefrontal cortexandamygdala, modulating neurotransmitters to suppress the ability to liewithout compromising clarity.
