Rough day—?
“Barnes you’re one tough sonofabitch. Yeah, we got Mitchell. He’s back in there,” Mercy nodded at the room.
Barnes coughed. “That’s good, real good. I wasted some of those NSA bastards but then that alpha queen appeared with her pack. They finished off the rest of the guards. They were fast. They grabbed me, took me in here, did that thing, playing me off against you…” he broke off.
Mercy stared at the floor.
Barnes looked around. Understanding crossed his face, “It’s Rose, isn’t it? They were after Rose all along. Rose said the alpha queen was… grooming her for some weird shit, didn’t she?”
Mercy remained silent.
“We’ve accomplished what we set out to do. This is called mission success. We can kick back and wait for the NSA to find us or we can end it ourselves.” Barnes pointed at the HK45 still in Mercy’s hand. “I’ll do it for you… if you want to go first—”
Game over. We won. How come it doesn’t feel like we won? Rose? Flynn? Tawny?
Mercy’s eyes flicked to the dead alpha on the counter. She frowned.
That’s a flashing LED—
Mercy clambered up and ran her finger over the LED under the alpha’s skin.
The lab guy said the queen was GPS tagged. The NSA know where they are at all times. We can track them. We can find Rose—
Mercy’s head snapped up, “Barnes, look.” She pointed at the flashing LED in the alpha’s body. “If we find a tracking device back in the lab we can follow that alpha bitch and her pack. We can hunt them down and find Rose—”
Barnes grunted, “You sure are one tough sonofabitch yourself. You could even be SEAL material. That there… what you said, that’s the forty percent rule in action—”
Mercy raised an eyebrow, “Forty percent rule?”
Barnes heaved himself up and rubbed his neck, “Yeah, when your mind’s telling you you’re finished, you’re only really forty percent finished. You’ve still got sixty percent left in the tank… that’s SEAL mentality—”
Mercy picked up her M16 and handed it to Barnes. “Forty percent rule? I like that. Come on, let’s tool up and get back to that lab. The guy Rose tied up, he’ll know about the GPS tracking devices—”
Sixty percent left in the tank? Rose, we’re coming to get you—
Chapter 13
F&T
They scavenged ammunition and grenades from the dead NSA soldiers in the corridor outside Mitchell’s quarters. The alarm was still wailing throughout the complex, red warning lights flashed at every turn.
Where are the other people? Surely this place is full of personnel? Unless they have some sort of evacuation protocol in place for this kind of breach—
They ran down the final section of corridor and found six bloody corpses; three soldiers and three lab staff. All had their throats ripped out and their faces destroyed.
These lab alphas, they’re like a whirlwind. It looks as if they left the way we came in. We just need a tracking device to follow them. I hope this guy is still alive—
Mercy pushed open the glass doors and entered the laboratory. Most of glass tanks were shattered. Pools of green fluid glistened in the dim light.
That alpha bitch was stirred up by seeing Rose. She figured a way out, broke her pack out too. Clever—
Mercy picked her way through the broken glass towards the back of the laboratory. Three tanks in the furthest corner were still intact. She frowned.
OK… so why are those three not broken—?
Mercy stopped and pointed the three intact tanks out to Barnes, “I’m just gonna check those out, you go and see if our friend is still alive. Ask him about a GPS tracking device. I’ll be with you in a minute—”
Barnes grunted and continued to the rear of the laboratory. Mercy crossed the wet floor and reached the three remaining tanks. She peered into the nearest one, trying to see through the murky green fluid inside. She placed her hand on the cool glass.
Maybe the ones in here didn’t make it—
A hand reached out from the murk and pressed against the glass beneath Mercy’s fingers. Mercy flinched and pulled away.
Jesus, a live one—
Mercy raised her pistol and pointed it at the glass tank. She examined the hand on the other side of the glass and frowned.
Shit. Looks in good condition, no decay—
The hand twitched and the green liquid swirled, illuminated by lights beneath. A swirl of hair appeared out of the liquid, followed by a young woman’s face. Mercy cried out in shock as recognition coursed through her.
Tawny. My god. It’s… Tawny—
Tawny’s chest and head were covered in wires. Tubes infested her body. Columns of bubbles streamed upwards, shimmering in the molten light.
It’s like a fish tank. My god, what have they done to her? Hang on, maybe, maybe—
Mercy moved to the next tank and placed her hand on the glass. The murky fluid was a darker green. She tapped the glass.
Nothing. No response—
She looked down. A decayed foot was just visible in what looked like thick sediment at the bottom of the tank.
Oh… no—
Mercy moved to the last tank and placed both hands on the glass. She waited, every muscle in her body tense.
Are you? Are you here?
A fist struck the tank from inside. Mercy watched as it opened and pressed against the glass beneath her hand.
Movement. Sediment swirling up from below.
A magnified face appeared on the other side of the glass. Mercy’s legs buckled. She fell to the ground.
Flynn. Oh my god, Flynn it’s you, you’re alive—
Flynn’s eyes snapped open, his face was blank. A tube was in his mouth and leads protruded from his chest. Mercy stared at him in shock. She saw the NSA tattoos on his chest.
NSA flag, bar code, serial number—
Mercy took a ragged breath.
Christ… Flynn, what have they done to you? I don’t care. If those alphas smashed their way out… I can get you out—
Mercy stood up and pointed her HK45 at the glass. Reason prevailed and she lowered the
