Tom opened the door and scanned the hallway. 'All clear.'
'Go on, Iris. I'll be out before you know it.' Maddox kissed her forehead and slipped into the hallway past Torn.
Tension hummed through Iris's skin as they crept toward the exit Maddox had shown them, the anxiety of her companions mingling with her own. They found the exit and started to head outside when Iris felt something slam into her, as strong and tangible as a body blow. She staggered into the wall.
Tom caught her arm. 'What is it?'
'I don't know.' she admitted. Energy coursed through her, unbridled and fierce. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. 'Something strong-out of control-'
'Oh, my God.' Hildi breathed. Her gaze was distant and her face had gone pale. 'The building…'
A new pulse wave shot through Iris. A familiar tingling sensation set in like her limbs were going numb. Grinkov. But this sensation was stronger than she'd felt from him before, and much more unbridled.
'We have to get out of here.' Hildi said with a gasp, 'The support columns are starting to buckle. I see cracks forming-'
'I have to warn Maddox!' As Iris pushed away from the wall, a faint tremor made the world tilt under her feet.
For a moment she thought it was more of the same sensations she'd been feeling, but she heard Bailey utter a low profanity and growl, 'Earthquake?'
The building was giving way, Iris realized. Whatever was happening with Grinkov, was threatening the integrity of the lab. She turned to Tom. 'Get them out of here. I think I know what's causing this. And I have to slow it down until Maddox and Sandririe can get out.'
'What are you talking about?' Tom asked.
'Grinkov has latent telekinetic abilities. I've felt it when I'm around him. It's like electricity pushing through me. It's kind of what I feel from Bailey, only with Grinkov, it's unleashed. It's emotion-based, and he can't control it.'
'What about the others?' Bailey asked.
Iris wasn't sure there were any others, but she promised to send them out if she ran across anyone, Tom gave her an uncertain look but finally nodded and led Hildi and Bailey out.
Iris closed her eyes a moment, trying to get a direction on the energy slamming its way down the laboratory corridors. It seemed to be focused in the direction from which she and the others had just come. She took a bracing breath and headed down the hallway.
Maddox slipped through the infirmary door, weapon drawn, and quickly scanned the room. Sandrine Beck was where he'd last seen her, but this time, she wasn't alone. A caramel-skinned nurse with wavy black hair tied in a ponytail low on her neck stood at her bedside, changing the IV bag. She turned at the sound of the door opening.
'You're not authorized to be here-' she began, then stopped quickly as her gaze fell on the gun in Maddox's hand.
'I believe I am.' Maddox stayed alert as he crossed to the bed. 'Is there anyone else here?'
'There's someone in the back.' the nurse said quickly. Too quickly. Maddox knew a lie when he heard one,
'No, there's not.' He glanced at Sandrine's pale, still face. 'What's wrong with her?'
'We're not sure ' the nurse admitted. 'She fell ill after the first session.'
'Why didn't you transfer her to the hospital in Sebastian?'
The nurse laughed mirthlessly, eyeing Maddox's weapon. 'Believe me, our facilities, staff and equipment are closer to what you'll find in the States than anything the Sebastian hospital can provide. This was the best place for her.'
'The best place for her was with people who gave a damn about her in the first place ' Maddox growled. 'Can she be unhooked from this stuff? Is any of it life-sustaining?'
The ground under their feet shifted suddenly. Maddox grabbed the cold metal headboard with his free hand to steady himself. It felt like an earthquake. Almost.
'What was that?' The nurse's eyes widened.
Nearby, a ceiling tile fell to the floor with a loud smack. The nurse whirled around at the sound.
A low vibration buzzed through the floor beneath Maddox's feet, feeding his urgency. 'Can we unhook her and get her out of here?' he asked the nurse.
'You want us to wheel her out of here on a gurney? To where?' The nurse found her backbone suddenly, apparently alarmed at the thought of hauling her patient around.
Maddox found her concern encouraging, 'Something's happening here, I don't think this building is safe.'
The nurse eyed the gun. 'What do you want me to do?'
'Can we strap her in a wheelchair instead of a gurney?'
The nurse gave him a worried look, but she nodded and headed into the back room to retrieve a chair. As they headed down the hallway, the nurse pushing the chair and Maddox bringing up the rear, the vibrations rumbling beneath his feet grew stronger. Along the walls of the building, the floor buckled and threw off chunks that littered the tile floors underfoot. Maddox pushed the nurse to move faster, building their pace to a slow jog as they navigated through the falling debris toward the side exit.
They ran across several alarmed members of the cleaning crew but oddly, no security guards. Maddox directed the cleaning crew to the exit. One of the men held the door for the nurse and Sandrine while Maddox kept an eye out for security teams. He heard a crashing noise from somewhere behind them, but there was no sign of any pursuers.
He followed the others into the sheeting rain, shrugging out of his coveralls to make a makeshift umbrella for Sandrine. He'd given Tom directions to a place to hide the others until he arrived. It was slow going for the wheelchair, the wheels sinking into the rain soaked ground underfoot. But with the help of Piet and the other maintenance crew, they made it before the rain soaked through the coveralls,
'Thank God you're here!' Tom greeted him with a smile and hearty handshake. He waved the plastic-covered satellite phone at Maddox. 'The cavalry should be here in fifteen minutes.'
'Where's Iris?' Maddox asked.
Tom looked surprised. 'I thought she'd be with you.'
Maddox's stomach knotted 'What?'
'She went back in to warn you about what was happening. She thought she knew what was causing it, and she said she could hold it long enough for you and her friend to set out safety. You didn't run into her?'
Before Maddox could answer, a muted crack came from the direction of the laboratory, so faint that most of the others seemed not to notice. But Maddox did. So did Tom. They exchanged looks of alarm.
It had been a gunshot.
Chapter Eighteen
The ground shuddered under Iris's feet, and she staggered against the wall. She had told the others that Grinkov was telekinetic, but now she wasn't sure she was right. Whatever was happening here, she couldn't imagine Grinkov was doing it on purpose, for along with the sparking of energy came rolling waves of unadulterated panic. Grinkov was terrified, and that fear was finding substance through the energy pulsing through the laboratory, leaving chaos in its wake.
The combination of sensations overwhelmed her, driving her to her knees. She twisted until she was sitting with her back to the wall, trying to absorb the shock waves of Grinkov' s unfettered energy, hoping it would be enough to keep the lab from falling down around them before they could safely escape.
But the waves kept coming, rising on an angry sea of emotion. A large chunk of ceiling crashed into the floor a few feet from Iris, shattering into dozens of pieces that skittered across the tile floor. She blinked as particles stung
