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“Liar. You don’t have a cure.”
The woman shook her head. “How else did these people survive the transition? I used a new drug on them, based on your DNA.”
Renna loosened her arm slightly. “What do you mean?” She knew better than to believe Samil, but she couldn’t help herself. If there was something that could save her…
“These people have all gone through the same process you did. Their implants tried to take over their nervous system. But with help from your DNA, I’ve developed a formula that helps integrate their implant without it taking over completely. They keep their free will and their minds most of the time. And I’m able to control them when I need to, using my neural network.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then you’re a fool. Did you think I was trying to build an army of mindless drones? That was step one, of course. I used Navang’s early experiments to figure out how to control the integration without destroying their minds. Only a few people survived, but those people were invaluable.”
Renna jerked her arm against Samil’s throat again, whispering in the woman’s ear. “Tell me where the cure is.”
“No.” Samil chuckled low in her throat. “Poor Renna. Always a step behind. I don’t want you dead, dove. You’re much too important. But I do want you immobilized, and if I give you the cure, you’ll just go right back to being a pain in my ass.”
“And yet you’re the one seconds from death. A quick jerk and I can snap your neck.”
“Did you really think I’d be stupid enough to come in here unarmed?”
Something small and hard pressed into Renna’s side, and she glanced down. Samil had another tranq pistol aimed directly at Renna’s midsection.
Before the woman could pull the trigger, Renna shoved her away, using the momentum to duck behind the gurney. She flipped it on its side as Samil’s dart hit with a metallic ding.
Fuck, f**k, f**k. She was losing her touch. Why hadn’t she restrained the woman before getting all cocky? It was a stupid, rookie mistake. She’d made way too many of those lately.
Renna scanned the room for options. The corner where she was holed up was almost empty, no help there. Just the metal gurney, a dirty white sheet that had fallen to the floor, and a small box of medical supplies. She snatched up the sheet. Pathetic. But it would have to do.
She twisted it into a tight, thick rope. Her heart raced and her limbs still felt leaden, but at least she was able to move. Maybe she could use the sheet to knock the gun away. She just needed to wait for the right moment.
“Come out now and I’ll make this painless, Renna,” Samil called.
“Really? And why should I believe you?”
“I want you alive and well. Cooperate and maybe we can find some way to end all of this peacefully. No one else has to get hurt.”
Renna waved a hand above her makeshift barrier. “Fine. Let’s talk. I’m standing up now.”
But instead of rising to her feet she darted around the edge of the gurney, striking out with the sheet like it was a whip. It snapped against Samil’s arm, and she hissed, dropping the gun.
Renna lunged for it as it clattered to the floor, but Samil was even faster. The two women collided, sending the gun skidding toward the door. Renna shoved an elbow in Samil’s stomach and tried to move toward it, but the woman grabbed her, shoving her in the opposite direction.
Renna’s body slid across the floor, hitting the edge of the doorframe. She glanced up at the handle, eyes widening.
The door was unlocked.
Screw the gun, she was getting the hell out of here. Renna yanked the handle and shoved the door open, sliding through it into the hall. In one fluid move, she jumped to her feet and slammed it shut. With a loud click she brought home the bolt, locking Samil inside.
But the bitch still had her gun and her tablet. She’d call for reinforcements in seconds.
Renna’s body still felt strangely heavy, like it belonged to someone else, and sucked in a deep breath. She needed to find Viktis and get him out of here before her body gave in to the virus. Before Samil’s neural network finally connected with her implant.
Before Renna turned into nothing but a mindless hybrid.
She forced her trembling legs to move. First stop, the building’s control room. If she could shut everything down, maybe that would stop Samil from calling for help.
She cycled through memories of her time here, when it was Blur’s warehouse. Samil had rearranged the interior, but the bones were still the same, which meant one of the control rooms should be at the north end of the building. Knowing the bitch, Samil would’ve installed security cameras everywhere. Hopefully Renna could use those security cameras to find Viktis and then figure out a way to get them out of here.
As long as the hybrids didn’t find her first.
Renna crept down the corridor, each foot placed carefully so her boots didn’t click against the cement floors. Larson had taken her gun when he’d captured her, and its missing weight against her hip made her feel naked. Her Bumani skills were excellent, but she had no idea how Samil’s network affected the hybrids. Did it give them extra-strength? Did they know moves gathered from some hivemind? Maybe her own moves had already downloaded into their brains.
The facility’s continued silence pressed heavily against her skin as she tiptoed past each door. Why hadn’t Samil sounded the alarms yet?
With each step, she held her breath, heart pounding, expecting the hybrids to burst from each room . At the end of the corridor, Renna paused, glancing back and forth between the junction. Which way? The new walls made the building feel strange, like everything had been turned around.
She tapped her foot against the cement. Moving forward was better than standing still, even if she chose wrong.
“Left. Go left,” she muttered, taking that corridor. A few steps down the hall and she knew she’d been right.
She grabbed the handle of the utility room door. It didn’t budge. Dammit. She’d give her right arm for her electronic lockpicks right now.
Renna grimaced. Not the best choice of words.
She’d have to make do with the manual pick she always carried hidden in the waistband of her pants. She wiggled it free and inserted it into the lock, but her fingers were trembling so badly she fumbled with it, dropping it to the floor with a clatter.
Samil’s presence felt like hot breath on the back of her neck, but she’d waste valuable time if she didn’t do this right. She sucked in a deep breath, letting it out in a long measured exhale.
