Release, page 9
Vince got a roll of coax cable and repeated the process he’d done three times already. Seth watched carefully to make sure he made no mistakes.
“Seems like it would be. Considering.”
“Considering what?” Seth wasn’t liking this conversation much.
“You know. You’re a guy. She’s not. Both in the same house. Hell, her bedroom’s just down the hall.”
“I sleep in the basement.”
Vince’s eyes widened. “Whoa, what’d you do wrong?”
“Nothing.” Seth gave Vince a pointed look, hoping he’d buy a clue and change the damn subject.
“I’d have figured you two would be a natural.”
So much for buying a clue. “Could we just get back to business?”
“Sorry,” Vince said. “All I’m saying is that it makes it all better, you know? You’ve been dealt one hell of a crappy hand—if you’ll pardon the expression—and being with someone soft and sweet can turn a shit day into something livable.”
“Vince, I’m real happy you and Kate got together. But shut the fuck up.”
“Got it.”
Seth stood. “I’m getting a soda.” He didn’t wait to hear if either of them wanted one, too.
In the kitchen, he got himself a Coke and drank about half of it before he sat down at the table. What was it with people? He’d liked Vince from the beginning, but the man was treading a very fine line.
Screw it. There were more important things to think about. Like getting her the right gun. He figured a .38 would be just about perfect, and Nate had one at his place. That’d do nicely. He wanted to take her to the range tonight, get them both working on some target practice.
He looked over at where she’d stood this morning. When he’d had to will himself to stay still and not make an ass out of himself.
It was clear she had no interest in him, not that way. He might not have the same body as before, but his instincts about women hadn’t changed a bit. She thought of him as a patient. Maybe she was starting to consider him a friend. But that’s as far as things went.
He put the soda can on the sink, then headed back to the bedroom. He could only hope that the conversation would stay more focused.
“That’s not right,” Nate said as soon as Seth entered the room. He was sitting on the bed, looking at the small monitor.
Seth sat next to him and saw exactly what he was talking about. The camera had shifted and was pointing to the floor. “I’m on it.”
This was, at last, a task he could complete on his own. It only took one hand to adjust the camera via the remote wires they’d placed last night. The camera gave a few fits and starts, but eventually it reached a decent angle. Not quite perfect, though.
“There she is again,” Vince said.
Harper was in the reception room, looking for something in the file cabinet behind Mary Lee. As they watched, Karen walked into the room and sidled up to Harper.
Nate turned on the microphone. Searing feedback filled the room until Nate got the right meter to obey. A voice replaced the squealing. Karen’s voice.
“So where’s tall, dark and silent?”
Harper kept on looking for her file. “I assume you mean Seth?”
“I do.”
“He had some private matters to attend to today.”
“Damn,” Karen said. “I wish I’d known.”
“You aren’t even scheduled to be here until next Tuesday.”
“I know. I thought I’d check in for a few extra hours.”
“How noble of you.”
Karen leaned against the file cabinet, folding her arms over her chest. She wore the same white coat as Harper, but underneath hers was a very low-cut green blouse. “Listen, if I’m stepping into something I shouldn’t…”
“What you do with your spare time isn’t my concern,” Harper said. “But do you think it’s wise to pursue a relationship with someone here at the clinic?”
“Wise? Probably not. That hasn’t stopped me so far.”
Harper turned so her face was clear on the monitor. She didn’t look amused. “Karen, I say this as a friend. Back off.”
Karen stood up straight. “Oh, really?”
“Don’t.”
“Hey, I’m backing off right now. Don’t give it another thought.”
“Wait a minute. I’m not—”
“Of course not. Perish the thought.”
Harper sighed and shook her head.
Seth relaxed. That exchange had been awkward but sensible. Harper knew perfectly well that he couldn’t risk getting involved with anyone outside their small group.
Karen patted Harper on the shoulder. “I think I’ll go back to Kaiser. See you on Tuesday.”
“On Tuesday,” Harper repeated, still frowning.
Karen walked out of the reception room, Harper watching her go. The moment she’d cleared the door, Harper smiled. It was wry and small, but it said more than all the words before it.
“No,” Vince said. “It’s not like that at all.”
Nate laughed.
Seth put down the remote and left the bedroom. His blush didn’t ease up until he was all the way down in the basement.
9
It was after seven when Nate had finished at Harper’s. He was satisfied with the electronics but more so with Seth. It finally felt as if his old friend was back. Given time, Seth would join him in the field. God knows, Nate could use all the help he could get.
Not that Vince wasn’t doing an admirable job, but he hadn’t been trained the way Nate and Seth had. There was a whole language-barrier thing, too, because Vince hadn’t been in the service.
Nate would feel a whole lot better once Seth hit his stride. Things were heating up with Omicron. He and Seth had planted listening devices in the main office in L.A. some time ago, and from what Nate had heard, they were gearing up to make a major sale. So there was another storage facility. The bitch was they still hadn’t found the manufacturing plant. There had been a hint, and Nate had sent Boone to Nevada to check it out. Nothing concrete so far.
Vince had told him that their faces were plastered on the walls of every police station in the Greater Los Angeles area. That pressure was coming from high circles to all law enforcement to apprehend without prejudice. And, worse, Cade’s cover had been blown. He’d been in Colorado all this time listening in to the Colorado office of Omicron, which, just like their L.A. office, was on its face a military consultancy. They’d found him, traced him to the safe house. Cade was fine, but the house was gone. Burned to the ground. He was on his way here with any data he’d collected, which would be helpful. But, damn. His work in Colorado had been important.
Soon after they’d gotten back to the States, they’d all decided they needed a fail-safe. Somewhere to run if Omicron got too close. Since there was that small branch of Omicron in Colorado, Cade had been chosen to go find a house with a decent basement, then stockpile all the things they’d need to survive. It had to be close enough to Colorado Springs to be able to pick up transmissions from the office there, and he’d found the perfect place.
He’d gotten in, much as Seth and Nate had done with the L.A. office, and he’d planted four microphones. Unlike the Los Angeles branch, it turned out that most of the Omicron business in Colorado was somewhat legitimate. They were consultants who placed soldiers—mercenaries—with armies all over the world.
But Cade had continued to listen in, hoping that he could glean any information that would help the team. It had taken him a full year to get the safe house together. The most important work, other than eavesdropping, had been to dig the evacuation tunnel. The ground was too frozen in winter to dig then, so he’d had to work around that. Finally he’d dug a half mile of tunnel that went from the basement to a hidden valley, where he stowed three ATVs, at the ready. Turns out the tunnel had saved his life.
What had Nate so scared was that Cade’s mistake had been so small. He’d made one phone call to his grandfather’s house. That’s it. He was only on the line for a few moments and he’d never said his name. But Omicron had heard enough.
Not ten days later, Cade had picked up intruders with his motion sensors. He’d taken what he could and made his way through the mountain.
It wasn’t all bad. Since Seth wasn’t the help he used to be, Nate needed Cade. He was Delta and he understood the stakes. There could be no more errors. Not a phone call, not a misplaced step. It could all come crashing down on them in a heartbeat.
So much depended on what Tam had to say. He’d be at her lab in about forty minutes. She’d called this afternoon, asking him to come by. Something in her voice made him worry, but he didn’t want to stay on the phone for even a minute longer than was necessary.
He debated not stopping for supplies, but he couldn’t bear to walk into that place without something to cheer her up. That she’d managed to stay sane all this time was a miracle.
Yet another thing to admire her for. She really was the most remarkable woman. Brilliant in a way that almost scared him, she still had a sense of humor in the bleakest of times, still took care of herself when most people would have thrown in the towel. And, Christ, she was…beautiful.
He’d always been lucky with the ladies, but Tam was in a class by herself. A class so high he doubted very much she’d want a thing to do with him once this was over. If it was ever over.
As each day sped past with so little to show for it, his optimism waned. But it was his job to lead. To take point. And he wasn’t about to let any of his team down. Not while he could still pull in a breath.
* * * * * *
At seven-fifteen, Harper walked into the house. She was tired, not so much from work but from the lousy night’s sleep. She hated taking sleeping pills, but she’d brought some home. She was forgetting little things, nodding off at her desk. Something had to be done.
As she crossed the kitchen, she slowed and sniffed. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear the room smelled like pizza. No, that wasn’t right. She headed to the stove, where a half-closed pot simmered. Lifting up the lid, she saw spaghetti sauce bubbling. It smelled wonderful, but what the hell? Seth didn’t cook. He made sandwiches.
Had Karen decided to go for him after all? The thought made Harper’s throat tight with anger. If they were down in the basement, doing it under Harper’s roof—
“Hey, you’re home.”
She spun around to find Seth, alone, standing in the hall that led to the spare bedroom. “What’s going on?”
“We got the clinic wired and I’ve set up the monitoring system. Well, not just me, but I’ll feel much better about you being there. If anyone tries to bug the place, we’ll know it immediately and we’ll catch it on tape.”
“Great, but I meant the sauce.”
“Oh.” He walked into the room, no prosthetics on his face, his hair all dark and spiky. He had the claw on his left arm, his best, most worn jeans and a white T-shirt that hugged his chest like a second skin. The wires and harness that held on the wrist were visible under his shirt.
She felt like a slug in her old turtleneck sweater and wool slacks.
“I was here and I figured making some dinner would be good practice.”
“Dinner?”
“Just spaghetti and sausage.”
“It smells great.”
He shrugged, but the way he looked at her…something more than dinner was cooking.
“Well, I’m going to jump in the shower.”
“Okay. Great.” Seth moved a little to the side so she could pass him. He also tried to put his hands in his pockets, then got flustered because the claw wouldn’t go.
As she headed to her bedroom, she saw that he blushed all the way down his neck to his chest, in addition to the traditional cheek thing.
He was flustered. She had the feeling it wasn’t just because he’d forgotten about his hand but because she’d witnessed it.
Damned if she didn’t feel his gaze on her all the way down the hall. When she turned to shut her door, he glanced away too quickly.
What was she going to do about him?
* * * * * *
Tam smiled the moment Nate entered the lab. He smiled back, holding out his offering. A big salad, the kind she liked, with some grilled fish and crusty bread. For dessert, he’d brought a couple of slices of key lime pie.
Her eyes lit up as she opened the containers, especially when she got to the pie. “I haven’t had key lime in so long. How did you even know it was one of my favorites?”
He shrugged, not wanting to admit that she’d mentioned the fact one night about seven months ago, when he’d brought tuna sandwiches.
“You got enough for two. That means you can stay for a while?”
He nodded. “Let’s eat and then you can tell me what all the mystery’s about.”
She got out a couple of real forks, two bottles of water and paper towels, then led him into her bedroom. It was the only place she could escape from work. Everything that was personal, that was Tamara, was in this tiny room. It only allowed for a twin bed, a small used dresser and a box where she put her TV.
At least he’d gotten her cable. What the hell, he was already wanted for treason, he might as well add cable theft to the charges. Besides, no one deserved the R & R more than Tam.
They’d at least tried to make it livable here. There had already been a shower in the room directly behind the bedroom. Seth had fixed it so she got hot water, which she’d been very grateful for.
She made a fuss over the grilled fish and tried to give him the big piece. He refused and she didn’t argue. That told him a lot.
For the next half hour they ate, drank their water, enjoyed sitting on the bed together, plastic containers teetering on their laps. When it came to the pie, Tam moaned in a way that made him uncomfortable, not that he let on.
He had time enough to wish that he had brought wine, maybe a few new CDs for her small system. She was too pale. It was ridiculous that she should be trapped here.
Maybe he should get her some new clothes. Harper or Kate would know her size. He wanted to see her without that damn lab coat. In something other than jeans. Although, he had to admit, she did her jeans proud.
It was something of a relief when the trash was tossed and they were back in the lab, where both of them were on more stable footing.
She went to her favorite perch, a stainless-steel countertop that was just a bit lower than the others. She hopped up, pushed her hair back and gave him a sly smile.
“What’s going on, Tam?”
“Oh, nothing much,” she said. “Just that I’m pretty sure I’ve done it.”
“Seriously?”
She nodded. “I really think I’ve worked out the last of the problems. But I won’t know for sure until I can test it.”
“So what are you waiting for?”
“To paraphrase a famous line, we’re gonna need a bigger lab.”
“How much bigger?”
“Well, I think I could make do with the chemistry facilities at UCLA, but I’m not certain.”
He ran a hand over his face, suddenly so tired that it was an effort to keep his head up. He didn’t have any money left. There was a job coming up, but that wouldn’t happen until next month. He had no idea how to break into the chemistry facilities at UCLA. His people were hurting and tired, his options were few and time was running out. What the hell was he supposed to do?
“Nate, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Let me think about this, okay? I’ll come up with something.”
She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a single sheet of paper. “I printed out a priority list. Things I have to have, things I can jury-rig, things that would be nice but are not vital.”
He took it, but he barely gave it a glance. Tomorrow he’d feel better. He’d talk to Harper. Maybe she knew someone at a chemistry lab or drug company. He’d take any suggestions about now, as he was tapped out.
“You don’t look so great,” Tam said, sliding off the counter. She touched his forehead with the back of her hand. “No temperature. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll live,” he said, then instantly regretted the admission. He couldn’t be down around Tam. She needed all the positive energy she could get. “Actually, today was good all the way around. Seth’s really coming along.”
“I’m glad. From what I knew of him, he seemed like a great guy.”
“He is. And a hell of a soldier. It’ll be good to have him back.”
“I have a somewhat radical idea,” she said.
“Oh?”
“How about you get away for a couple of days? Go somewhere nice, like Palm Springs. Get drunk. Go sit in a hot tub. And don’t think about Omicron or chemical weapons for even a second.”
He shook his head. “Me? I’m not stuck in this pit day after day. It’s you who should get out.”
“If things go well, my part of this will be done very shortly. Once we have an antidote that can be delivered, I’m out of here. But that just starts a whole new set of problems for you.”
“We’ll get through it. The object isn’t just to have an antidote. It’s to get rid of the weapon altogether. To expose the pricks behind it and take them all down.”
“Which probably isn’t going to happen tomorrow. Which means that you could get away for a couple of days without the world coming to an end.”
“Come with me.”
“What?”
“You need the rest as much as I do.”
She blushed, her cheeks turning a really nice pink. When she looked at him again, there was a shyness there he’d never seen before.
He wanted to take it back. Not that going away with Tam would be anything but great, but he didn’t want it to be like this. He most especially didn’t want to scare her. “Separate rooms, of course,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as desperate as he felt.
“I thank you for the invitation, but I still have a lot to do. I want the antidote to be a viable threat to Omicron’s business. It can’t be that unless I can deliver it to a large area very quickly.”
“Granted. But you know, I was thinking…what about crop dusters? Do you think those could work?”
