“This could be it,” Kate said. “But you can’t tell anyone. We cannot let this get out.”
She hung up her lab coat and started to open the door.
“Go find Ron and tell him and Sammy to wait for me at the Variant tunnels.”
“Where are you going?” Leslie asked.
“I need to tell Reed,” she said. “And the president.”
***
Another long day in Calgary had passed without incident. The sound of water dripping echoed through the warehouse far outside the city limits. Banks of sodium lights hung overhead, and pipes ran along the ceiling. Team Spearhead was taking their turn guarding the place, while Dohi and Ace watched Corrin.
But that was not why Fitz had trouble finding some shuteye.
“Can’t get a lick of sleep?” Ace asked, his face ripe with bruises and exhaustion.
Fitz sat up against a crate. “Impossible.”
“Worried about an attack on Calgary?” Dohi asked.
Fitz gazed over at Corrin, who had somehow managed to nod off. The Chimera was in the corner of the warehouse, chained and shackled to a bolt in the concrete floor about twenty yards away from them. That was a result of the Canadians’ orders when they had arrived, before the medics had taken General Kamer elsewhere into the outpost for medical treatment with Sergeant Prince. They had left Spearhead and Ghost to watch Corrin out here.
“Worried about him,” Fitz said, gesturing toward the Chimera. “He got us out of Seattle and saved Kamer. I’m worried the Canadians are going to kill him.”
Ace flicked a cockroach crawling toward him. “Yup, and it’s a damn shame. I think the guy is being truthful with us, even if he is uglier than my ass.”
“The Canadians are right to be suspicious,” Dohi said, voice calm.
“What? You think he actually called the enemy in?” Ace asked, bushy gray brow raised.
“No. I just think there’s something we’re missing. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“If you figure out how they tracked him—or us—I’m all ears,” Fitz said.
“Maybe a GPS,” Ace suggested.
“We didn’t find anything on his clothes or on his body,” Fitz said.
“They might’ve forced one of those devices down his throat or something,” Ace said.
“No,” Dohi said. “The only GPS trackers small enough to implant in a person or ingest have batteries that don’t last more than a couple days at max, especially with the power required to transmit a signal from Banff to Seattle.”
Ace opened his mouth to speak, but the sounds of footsteps clattering toward them interrupted him. Fitz scrambled to stand on his blades, and the other two followed suit. Corrin jolted awake.
The steps echoed in the wide space, until Neilson appeared with Toussaint and Daugherty. Behind them were another ten men, all military. A few gasped when they saw Corrin. Others looked terrified, and Fitz noticed several lift their rifles slightly, like they were ready to shoot Corrin down.
Fitz swallowed, was this it? Had the Canadians decided to come deal with Corrin and get rid of him?
Corrin’s innocent, Fitz thought. But will you die trying to protect him?
“Master Sergeant Fitz,” Neilson said politely. “We got orders from your science team in Houston. They want a full-body workup on Corrin. Medical image, biopsies, all of it.”
“What for?” Fitz asked.
“Didn’t say. These men have a truck waiting to transport Corrin in the loading bay. They need to take him to a medical center in the city but want to keep him out of sight. You want us to help with escort duty?”
Fitz looked at Corrin, then the men. “Yeah, that would be good.”
He didn’t trust the other Canadians, but his gut told him Neilson was a good man.
“Brass is anxious to get this thing out of here,” Neilson said. He tossed the keys for Corrin’s chains to Dohi. The Canadians had not even trusted the Americans to hold onto the keys, they were so worried about betrayal. “They’re wondering how long it’s going to be before these New Gods attack Calgary too, especially with the beast so close.”
Dohi took the keys to Corrin.
“We’ve kept the guy locked down, under guard, and hidden since we got here,” Fitz said. “He hasn’t made a single call and hasn’t once been out of our sight.”
“I believe you,” Neilson said. “But it would make people feel better to have hard proof that this Chimera didn’t start the attack on Banff. And even more important, that he doesn’t bring the New Gods here, too.”
Dohi finished unlocking Corrin and helped the Chimera stand. Chains still shackled his wrists and ankles together.
“He helped us escape that attack,” Fitz said.
“Yeah, but he’s one of them, and all people know is the attack happened not long after that beast arrived at Banff.”
“And what do you think?”
“I don’t know what to think,” Neilson said. “All I know is that I watched most of our people die in a matter of minutes. And now all we can do is watch the walls around Calgary for another attack that you and I both know is inevitable.”
Fitz understood why the Canadians were nervous. Hell, he wasn’t sure how the collaborators had found Banff, but Dohi was right. Somehow it had to be connected to Corrin.
“Where are we going?” Corrin asked, a slight tremor in his normal gravelly voice.
He sounded nervous.
“We’re just doing some routine exams,” Ace said. “Science team back home wants to know what makes you tick.”
Corrin eyed the ten military men standing behind Team Spearhead. “You’re not just leading me outside and putting me down like a rabid dog, are you?”
“Just medical stuff,” Neilson said. “I promise.”
Corrin nodded, but remained tense. “Fine. I’m used to being a medical experiment.”
A minute later they were outside the warehouse next to the waiting truck. Ace helped Corrin inside, and Dohi and Fitz jumped up with them. The other ten soldiers piled in around them. Neilson patted the door and started to close it when Fitz reached out.
“Don’t fuck us,” Fitz said.
“We don’t betray people,” Neilson said. “You have my word, Master Sergeant.”
Fitz kept his hand on the door for a moment, then relaxed and
