Maximus gestured for the men to advance, and they crept forward, listening for anything out of the ordinary and keeping watch on the doors opened on either side of the hallway. They checked each room with two men sweeping inside but found nothing.
With the bulk of Alpha Squad guarding the perimeter, Quinen couldn’t escape, and if he was anywhere, he was probably in the warehouse. The guards had probably been helping to load equipment onto the trucks.
You’ve lost, Quinen, Maximus thought. We’ve got you surrounded, and you’re all out of surprises.
“Screw you, creep,” shouted a familiar voice from the warehouse. Selena. “You’re going to pay for kidnapping me. I’m betting all those guns we’ve been hearing is Maximus and the hybrids, isn’t it? Your ass is grass.”
Apparently, the doctor wasn’t out of surprises.
Chapter Twenty-two
Selena hoped her face wasn’t betraying her gut-churning fear. It was bad enough some goon grabbed her and knocked her out with a drug. Then he’d dragged her to some warehouse and when she woke up, she was in front of a wizened mummy of a man in a suit who looked at her with what could only be described as a leer. The only thing keeping her from throwing up was, weirdly enough, the gunfire outside. This didn’t look like the forest, and she didn’t know how Maximus had tracked her down, but she wasn’t going to question it. That’s what heroes did, showed up and saved people, especially cute redheads.
The old man smiled. “I’m Doctor Quinen, my dear. Don’t be too frightened. I don’t intend to cause you serious injury, and I apologize for being rough, but it’s been difficult to conduct my business and research with various government and hybrids hunting everyone because of the Horatius Group.”
Selena scoffed. She struggled against the meaty grip of the thug holding her, but it didn’t do any good. Stalling. That’s what she needed to do now.
“You work for the Horatius Group?”
“Of course not.” Doctor Quinen clucked his tongue. “I’ve worked with them in the past, but they had their own goals separate from my own. There was always too much of a religious flavor to their work. I came to understand that they couldn’t separate out their fanciful beliefs from the science of what we were all doing. They were fanatics masquerading as scientists. Their goals, perhaps, I could understand, but they let themselves be far too drawn in by myths and legends, obsessed with the past. Note, after all, their obsession with naming all the hybrids with ancient Roman names and even their organization.”
Selena blinked. “I remember the news mentioning something about that, but I hadn’t thought about it when I met Maximus.” She gasped. “I’m not telling you anything, you Phoenix Corps mercenary.”
Doctor Quinen’s thin eyebrows rose. “Oh, you’re a well-informed one, I see. They did employ me for a while, but they are spent as an organization, dead, really. They were always a means to an end, seeking nothing more than muscle, but I can’t complain about the money they gave me.” He gestured toward two crates on a forklift positioned near the back of one of the trucks. “Admittedly, the last of their funds are being used to support my temporary research facility here, but alas, your… boyfriend and his associates have ruined that with their undue pressure.” He wagged a finger. “At first I was surprised. I’d expected more circumspection from the hybrids. That one, of all of them, should have known. Even if he hadn’t taken out my guards with ease, I know my own work well. It’s better work than anything the Horatius Group could come up with.”
“Oh, you’re a smart one, aren’t you?”
Selena licked her lips. Trying to run was pointless with the goon behind her, even if she could somehow get away from him, but she’d noticed something the doctor must have, too. There had been a flurry of gunfire, but it’d stopped. If the hybrids were dead or wounded, she would have expected guards to come in and report. Doctor Quinen didn’t seem to care at all about the idea of his creations coming in with guns. As far as she could see, he had one thug. That didn’t scream excellent anti-hybrid defenses. He must have had something else planned.
She groaned. “You son of a bitch.”
Doctor Quinen let out a quiet chuckle. “You’re angrier now, my dear? Whyever for?”
“Because I’ve figured it out,” she spat. “I figured you out.”
“And what have you figured out?”
Selena glared at him. “You knew it was too late once you saw Maximus in the forest. You knew you couldn’t run. You knew your little game was up, and so you needed leverage.”
“Leverage?” Doctor Quinen tilted his head, a curious look on his face.
“You needed a hostage to protect you from Maximus.”
“Hostage?” Doctor Quinen shook his head. “Hostages only complicate things. Abducting you was a calculated risk that increased my chance of detection. You’re not here as a hostage.”
“Then what?” Selena swallowed and bit her lip. “You plan to kill me?”
“Not unless absolutely necessary. It’s so difficult to get a proper specimen these days, you see.” Doctor Quinen peered at her with an intensity that made her shiver. “The Group were looking through a keyhole, seeing the light of true potential, but not the entire shape of the source. The Phoenix Corps were nothing but idiots who wanted extra muscle, but they all stumbled around the truth. But now, freed of them both, my research can begin again. Genetic sequences and data are one thing, but there’s nothing like a good live subject.”
“Y-you’re going to experiment on me?” Selena’s voice quaked.
“You have to understand, my dear. My new employers. No, not employers. My new partners. They understand the true potential. Most of them are true scientists
