Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 39

ZANDERTHAL'S REMOTE COMPOUND

"What are you doing in here?" a man said. A tuft of black hair hung down over scrunched eyebrows and a pair of thick-framed glasses. He pushed up the sleeves of a white lab coat to his elbows. "I'm not aware of a scheduled patrol of the sleep tank. Show me your badges."

"Sure thing," Jake said, casting a sidelong glance at Sarah, ending with a follow my lead nod.

"We thought we heard something," she said as they approached the man. He appeared no older than thirty years old. "So, we came to check it out."

"Really?"

As they walked, Jake fingered his security card, waved it side to side as a distraction. "That's right. We have clearance, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is... she's a woman... and there are no women employed here as guards."

"That sounds sexist. I'm offended." Sarah whipped her pistol from its holster.

The man flinched, scowling at them. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

While Sarah trained the gun on the scientist, Jake slipped around behind him. "I want you to go to sleep."

"What on Earth are you—"

He clubbed the man over the head with the butt of his pistol and watched him collapse to the floor. Jake had done such a thing years back when he and Tony escaped from a whaling ship after sabotaging their harpoons. He judged the amount of force necessary to incapacitate the man appropriately. It seemed to be the quickest and easiest way to solve their dilemma. But the way the scientist thudded to the floor shocked Jake, speechless. He didn't want to hurt the guy, but he didn't want him calling for reinforcements, either.

The white part of Sarah's eyes widened, clearly visible, encircling her sapphire irises. "You can kill someone like that. This is not the movies."

Jake returned the gun to the holster and dropped to a knee, placing two fingers over the jugular vein on the scientist's neck. "He's alive."

"Thank God." Sarah sighed, and then looked around the room. She pointed toward the back wall... finding a door. "Stick him in there. Might be a storage closet."

Jake shook his head, now feeling grateful he hadn't killed the man. He grabbed an arm of the unconscious scientist and Sarah latched onto the other, and they dragged him across the concrete floor. At the door, Jake opened it, and they pulled him inside. The interior of the small closet held a mop bucket, a wide-headed floor broom, and several lab jackets hanging from hooks on the wall.

"Good choice," Jake said, backing out and closing the door. "We should leave the same way we came."

"Let's hope this guy stays out long enough for us to make our exit."

Sarah led this time. Jake didn't mind. He just wanted to get clear of this section of the building before they got caught. They exited the sleep tank, as the scientist called it, and crept up to the back of a semi truck. Jake nodded for Sarah to go, but she didn't move, her eyes locked on the guard activity at the front of the warehouse. Then, when the moment seemed right, she darted for the storage room where they originally entered. He sprinted behind her, tight on her tail. They slipped inside, passing the gas cylinders standing erect in rows around the room, and entered the alleyway between the buildings.