“I can take two if you take the other one.”
“Done. What about Barnes?”
“We’ll deal with him later.” The tone of his voice said he clearly thought Barnes not worth thinking about.
Rain wasn’t so sure. The scientist may not have been a fighter, but he was clever and ever so slightly crazy. She wouldn’t be at all surprised if he had a gun or something stashed away.
The three Marines started across the lab. Out of the corner of her eye Rain saw Micah shift slightly to the left, putting space between them. As expected, the two biggest ones headed toward Micah while the slightly smaller one headed her way. Obviously they assumed she was the lesser threat. Physically they weren’t wrong.
Rain bent her knees slightly, shifting her weight to the balls of her feet. Sutter had taught her to fight, but Padre Pedro had taught her to dance. Sometimes dancing got you a lot further than fighting. Something the meathead facing her was about to learn.
He wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d come easy, but he was stupid enough to underestimate her. He watched her for a split second as she stood, lightly balanced, unmoving. Then he lunged, swinging his fist straight for her jaw.
She leaned to the side, letting his fist whiz past her face. She could feel the air displacement kiss her cheek, he was that close. The jab she gave him to the kidneys would have hardly been felt by the huge man. She just didn’t have the strength to get through his muscle mass. Except for the brass knuckles she’d slipped onto her hands. Another gift from Sutter.
The Marine let out a gasp and staggered slightly, thrown off balance by the surprising pain of her punch. Rain smiled a little. She was faster and stronger than she looked, reflexes honed from years tracking the high desert, and the brass knuckles gave her an edge against the bigger man.
The Marine hauled off and threw another punch which she easily avoided. She cast a quick glance at Micah. Watching him fight the two other men was like watching poetry in motion. Every move he made was fluid grace, faster and more powerful than anyone she’d ever seen. Too bad she didn’t have time to watch him properly. Instead she was busy avoiding the boot that lashed out to sweep her off her feet.
Round and round they went, the Marine throwing punches and Rain avoiding them. One hit from those giant fists of his and she knew she’d be down for the count.
Then she caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. Barnes. But he wasn’t going for a gun. He was going for a syringe. Again. Man, the guy just didn’t learn.
She kept Barnes in the corner of her eye while keeping up the dance with the Marine. They were both tiring which meant it had to end soon.
She sensed more than saw Barnes sneaking up on her. In one flowing move, she grabbed the Marine by the lapels as he lunged for her and used his own momentum to swing him around just as Barnes brought down the hypodermic.
The naked needle plunged into the Marine’s back, sending whatever poison Barnes had cooked up shooting straight into the man’s system. The reaction was nearly instantaneous. The Marine crumpled to the ground at Rain’s feet. His body spasmed, foam bubbling from his mouth.
Barnes stared at Rain, eyes wide. Rain just smiled. “Your turn, doctor.”
Barnes turned and fled.
She cast a glance over at Micah who obviously didn’t need her help. One Marine was on the floor, still as death. The other was up and fighting, but he didn’t look like he’d last long.
Rain took off down the hall after Barnes. If he got away, he’d be free to pull this crap all over again.
She caught sight of the tail of his lab coat disappearing around the corner ahead. Her boots thudded against the concrete floor as she raced after him. Right into the middle of a group of Marines.
“Shit!”
They looked as surprised as she felt. She whirled and ran back down the hall, the Marines bellowing after her.
She darted into the lab and slammed the door, throwing the lock. Micah had the second man down.
“We better get out of here. There’s half a platoon of Marines on my ass.”
He nodded and grabbed one of the heavy shelves, heaving it across the door. “That ought to slow them down.”
Rain laughed as they headed back the way they’d come. At the door she paused. “Wait here a minute.” She disappeared back into the lab.
Micah heard the crash of breaking glass and then the acrid smell of smoke. Rain reappeared, a smug look on her face. He raised a brow. “He’s probably got plenty of equipment elsewhere, you know. Barnes isn’t stupid. He’s sure to have backups of his work.”
“No use making it easy for him. Besides, it’ll really piss him off.”
He laughed at that. Then he took her hand as they both sped down the dark, dusty hallway. The fire raged behind them.
“I KNEW THEM MARINES were up to no good. I told you!” Dave Dugan’s strident voice cut through the chatter in Hank’s bar. “But, no. You wouldn’t listen to me. Crazy drunk Dave Dugan, you said. Don’t know which day it is, you said. Well, you know what’s up now, don’tcha!”
Micah and Rain had returned to Fossil. The first thing Albie did when they told her what they’d learned was call a town meeting.
“Come on, Dave, sit back down.” Albie patted his arm. “You were right and we were wrong. We know that now. But there’s no use in gloating. What we need now is a plan.”
“A plan? What do you mean by a plan?” a young woman spoke up from one of the tables in the front. She was clutching a baby to her breast, her narrow face prematurely creased
