Page 45 of Turn the Tide
“Why?” Von growled.
“They’re gonna blow it up. Once we’re off.”
“Shut up!” one of the prone security guards snarled.
“No! Are you kiddin’, man? They leave us here, and we’re blowing with this fucker!” The cowboy was freaking out now. It was as if they’d hit a lever and he was spouting. “I’m not dying forChronos.”
Eric wasn’t sure exactly when his blood started to go cold, but right now, it felt like ice in his veins. Something was very, very wrong. They needed to go, now.
Ans had other ideas. He walked around the cowboy, grabbed the first security guy, and yanked him high enough to talk into his ear. “You set the charges on the rig?”
The security goon’s eyes were wide in the dark. “Yeah.”
“Where?” Ans asked.
“All over the place. You’ll never get to them in time.”
“Why not? They on a timer?”
“No.”
Ans shook him, hard enough to rattle his teeth. “Dammit, then who’s got the detonator?”
“The helicopter pilot.” The goon sounded like he’d run a marathon. “Headed here now.”
Fuck.
Zoe grabbed Eric’s arm. “If they blow the rig, the reef… Wait. I want to talk to the other scientist. She knows something.”
“No.” The woman on the floor shook her head. “No. No, I don’t want to talk to you.”
This time, it was Leo who bent and grabbed the prisoner. She pulled her up and dragged her the few steps toward Zoe. “All yours,” she said, though she kept a loose hold on the collar of the scientist’s lab coat.
The woman was young—Eric would have guessed college age, but he wasn’t always good with these things, especially through night-vision goggles. She gulped, looking scared out of her mind.
“You’re not a geologist, are you?” Zoe sounded so calm. In charge.
Eric glanced at her, surprised, then watched the other woman.
“Look, I’m not really supposed to talk about—”
“Spit it out.” Von played bad cop like a champ. Wasn’t much of a stretch, of course.
“I signed an NDA. My career could—”
The ominous metal click of Von pulling back his handgun’s slide worked like a charm.
“Oh, please don’t kill me,” she whimpered, eyes as big as saucers. She turned in Zoe’s direction. “Don’t let them kill me.”
“What’s your name?” Zoe asked quietly.
“Emily Marquette.”
“Dr. Marquette?” Zoe asked.
The woman nodded.
“What do they have you looking for, Doctor?”
