Betrayal: Book 3 of the Guardians Saga

Ch. 9.1 The Destruction Left Behind

"You tricked me." Morgan crushed Alex's arm when he saw that the office was a dead end.

"Relax." Alex struggled in vain to break free. "Just watch."

She placed her free hand on the back wall and searched the cracks and crevices. "Here." Her fingernails dug into the crumbling wall. She dug out the outline of a large rectangle. "Help me push out these panels. They're covering an old access port."

Morgan released her arm. "Hurry up. I won't like killing you quickly even if your freak lover's reaction is fun to watch."

Alex bit off her smart reply.

I hope I hear Gabe coming, but it sounds more like security men. I want even less to be captured by Hermann than Morgan. The stalkers will be in more danger from Hermann.

Sunlight streaked into the lab. At least now if her friends did manage to get through, Hermann's men wouldn't trap them in a dead end.

Morgan kicked the rest of the panels free. Morgan stepped through the opening and pulled Alex with him.

"I have plans for us," Morgan said.

Alex moved so fast that he couldn't see what she had done, much less stop her.

Then she showed him the empty syringe. "I have my own plans. Dr. Hermann's special potion, double dose. I'll be dead soon and with me dies your hopes of profit and revenge. Don't you know that my power is mainly biochemical in origin rather than anatomic? When I die, it dies with me and can never be traced. The implants are useless pieces of tissue when I'm dead. The fission slipstream generator kills its host in a short time."

Shards of knowledge, dislodged by stress, came to the surface of Alex's brain and she used them. "You take my body to any lab and they'll slap you in prison so fast you won't be able to say the word 'million'. Or they'll kill you for what looks like a double cross. I've won again. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 and go directly to jail, Morgan."

She met the watery grey eyes that were the stuff of her nightmares. His face darkened with a terrible rage and he slapped her so hard that she saw double.

"I'll play with you while I can. Slow and painful."

***

Grange and the brothers were still at the force field, Grange still typing frantically.

"Company," Cale called and drew his staff. He stood in front of Rile's limp body.

Grange punched a final button. "Got the code."

Gabe drew his sword. "Too late now."

"Gabe, staff," Cale said. "We don't need a body count in a laboratory."

"Allow me." Grange drew his pistol and fired over the heads of the approaching security guards. "Grab your brother. Now we run."

"We must follow Alex." Gabe sheathed his sword and hefted his brother.

"Run that way, then." Grange fired a few more rounds and this time shots answered his."I'll cover you."

Gabe, carrying Rile, and Cale bounded through the now unshielded doorway. They entered the small office and found the crumbling access port. Gabe knelt and unloaded Rile, then he and Cale pushed him through open port.

"Go through, Cale. I'll wait for Grange." Gabe stood and unsheathed his sword. "We can't risk Rile being seen."

In answer, the man came running, his black jacket flapping. He fired behind him as he ran.

"He makes that look easy," Cale said.

"Get through," Gabe hissed. "Grange, this way."

Gabe gestured to the hole before ducking through it after Cale.

Grange slid on his knees to the hole, scrambled through, and jumped to his feet. He pulled out his phone, tapped it once, and said, "Backup. Now. The east alley with supposedly no building exits."

"Cale, you take Rile," Gabe said.

Before he could unsheathe his sword, three black cars screamed to the alley exit. The men jumped out, guns aimed at them.

"Show those amateurs what they're up against," Grange said, unfazed by the weapons trained in his direction. "Only a dozen security guards. Handguns, three rifles. Everyone in for questioning. Make sure you snare Hermann." He turned to Cale. "Put your brother in the car."

"Then track Alex," Gabe said.

"Tracking Alex is top priority." Grange pulled out a small electronic device.

Gabe and Cale hefted Rile into one of the black cars. He groaned and shifted.

"I'll stay with him. You track Alex," Gabe ordered.

Cale bent to the sidewalk and concentrated. His tongue flicked out once, twice. He stood and walked, sniffing the air. He only walked a block before he stopped at the curb.

Again, he crouched to the curb and concentrated. Shaking his head, he walked back to the black car, shoulders slumped in defeat. Gabe stood outside the car and the back door was open.

"Morgan took Alex in a car," he told Gabe. "Cars all smell like metal and oil and dirt to me."

Rile now sat on the back seat, holding his head. Grange leaned against the car, tapping on a small device.

"Perfect," Rile said.

"Back to the carriage house," Gabe ordered. "Alex may be there."

"With that Santa Claus guy," Rile said. "No, Cale. You're the best tracker on all of Olam. Those human cars must smell different. They must. Now get back there and start tracking again."

Cale nodded and returned to the curb. He knelt, cupped his hands over a spot on the curb, touched his muzzle to his hands, and breathed in deeply.

One of the men in black that Grange had ordered into the building jogged back out."Security guards subdued, sir. What charges do you want to file?"

Grange held up a hand. "Standard, but I want you to cover him as he tracks AL-X." He motioned toward Cale. "Use a car."

The man nodded, slid into the driver seat of one of the black cars, popped a flashing light on top of the car, and pulled behind Cale.

As Cale crawled, intermittently stopping and cupping his hands to intensify the scent, the black car motored behind him, protecting him from traffic.

After four blocks, Cale was pale from concentration and he pounded the pavement in frustration. Gabe rushed to his side and knelt beside him.

"I can't tell anymore," Cale said, grief heavy in his voice. "The stench of these hunks of metal and the fuel they burn have mixed too much."

Gabe gripped his shoulder. "You've done what you could. We'll return home."

Grange pushed off the car when Cale and Gabe approached him. He gave his device a final tap. "I'm returning to the office. We'll contact each other if we find anything, right?"

Only Cale nodded.

"Do you want a ride back to your apartment?" Grange asked.

"We'll walk," Gabe said. "Rile, come with us."

"Do you feel well enough?" Cale asked with some anxiety, clacking his claws. "Are you having 'withdrawal' from the drug, as Alex calls it?"

Rile hauled himself out of the car. "I'm fine. A walk will help clear my head."

***

A/N

I thought the grim tone of the music fit the chapter

Dedicated to
Torkuda
His novel Globe Tracers is now on YouTube!!

Dragonlord0919