Julian approached the table, stopping short of the chair across from Dumay. Crossing his arms over his chest, he quickly checked the room. No sign of any video or audio surveillance.
“Where’s the laptop? I’m not doing anything until I get proof you have it.”
“You hacked into secure Naval databases to find the location of a confidential informant and used that information to lure El Mago out of hiding in Central Sulawesi. Is that enough proof that I have evidence that will obliterate your life as you know it? No more playing house with Mena. You’ll be rotting in a prison cell for the next fifty years if I hand it over to the Navy,” Dumay explained.
“What do you want from me?” Julian asked.
“You need to make amends for derailing my life’s work. Critical work to better humanity is in jeopardy because of you. I often wondered why you were so determined to find Ella Sapphire. She was an unremarkable and useless bitch. The laptop helped me understand you better. Guilt can be a powerful motivator.”
“Ella didn’t deserve to be kidnapped, and she sure as hell didn’t deserve to be murdered.”
“Neither did your SEAL team.”
Grasping the back of the chair, Julian leaned toward Dumay. “Stop fucking around and tell me what you want?”
“I had this amazing plan to kidnap sweet Mena from Africa. I knew you would come after her and I had laid a perfect trap for you. She would watch you die, then I’d ship her off to my new facility to be the first surrogate to restart the production of genetically enhanced infants. That was what I wanted. But you thwarted that plan, didn’t you?”
Julian lifted the chair and hurled it toward the back wall. Priscilla Dumay didn’t even flinch as the sound of the crash exploded within the room. The chair tumbled to the floor within feet of where Dumay sat.
“If you ever try to hurt Mena again, I will kill you. Do you hear me? I will end your miserable life!”
Priscilla raised her hands in mock surrender. “Relax. Now that I have the laptop, you are much more useful to me alive than dead. I must admit, I underestimated you, Julian. I thought you were just another fallible, brainwashed military operative who could be easily tricked and silenced. But you are so much more than that, aren’t you? I wonder what goodies lie within your genetic code?”
“You want my DNA? Is that what this is about?” Julian asked.
“No, although it is an interesting prospect.”
“I’m sick of this bullshit. Either tell me what you want or—”
“I want you to break me out of here. I have no plans to go back to Tiverton tonight. You secure my freedom and I give you the laptop. Simple transaction. And you have my word that I didn’t even make a copy of the contents. Do we have a deal?” Priscilla asked.
Julian recoiled. He’d spent over a year working to ensure this bitch would go to prison for every crime she’d committed, and now he had to help her escape? Dumay had done her research on him and knew what he was capable of, what he’d done before. Extraction of captives with little time and even less to plan had been the hallmark of many of his SEAL missions. Even as he spoke, a plan to smuggle Dumay out of the courthouse undetected had taken root in his mind.
“How can I get you out of here with all the police and guards around? Not to mention the security cameras.” Julian stalled.
“With this,” Priscilla said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an object. A small spray bottle filled with a white substance.
“What the hell is that?” Julian asked, stepping closer to get a better look.
Dumay raised the bottle and pressed the nozzle, sending a fine mist of powder toward him. Instinctively, Julian ducked. His movements weren’t quick enough. The fine powder settled on his face. Dumay stood, continuing to spray him with more of the powder.
“What did you … do to … me?” Julian’s words grew slurred as he lost the ability to control his mouth. Numbness raced through his body. His limbs tingled, then lost all feeling as he watched his arms collapse at his side. Julian felt nothing as the room shifted from upright to sideways. The floor rushed toward him as he landed with a loud thud. His body didn’t register any pain from the impact. What the fuck had she done to him?
“Lazirprene is an amazing biotoxin. One of the best in existence. Capable of a targeted attack on the human body, it shuts down skeletal muscle of the extremities, leaving the victim fully conscious, breathing and aware of what’s happening around them.” Priscilla nudged him onto his back with the tip of her Chanel ballerina slippers, then stepped over his body to open the door.
“Don’t worry. I carefully determined the exact dosage that would render you immobile for only a few minutes. You’ll regain your ability to move soon.” Priscilla dropped to her knees next to him, jerking his hand forward. Julian felt nothing as her pale, veined hand gripped his. Dumay lifted a syringe from the inside hem of her white dress and pressed it into his palm. Maneuvering his thumb onto the plunger and his fingers around the cylinder, she brought the syringe to her chest.
Julian tried to snatch his hand away, but his muscles weren’t responding.
Dumay guided his hand and forced him to push the thin needle into her skin. Resting her thumb on top of his, she depressed the syringe, sending the clear liquid in the plastic cylinder into her body. Priscilla laid next to him and gave him a sinister smile. “Now let’s see who ends up in Tiverton first.”
An anguished scream erupted from her mouth. Seconds later, Dumay’s body jerked and convulsed. Frothy white foam gurgled from her lips. Her face grew pale, flushed with sweat.
Julian’s mind was a jumble of confusion and bewilderment. He couldn’t make any sense of what had happened. A sharp pain seared through his body, jolting him. Racing from his feet toward his face, he regained sensation in his limbs. His arm was draped across Dumay’s chest, still holding the syringe. If he could move his fingers, try to remove the syringe, he might be able to undo whatever Dumay had done to herself.
Intense shooting pain pricked his muscles as his nerves reawakened. Julian clenched his jaw as the sensation heightened. The pain was damn near unbearable, but he pushed through, struggling to move. His body responded with stiff, uncoordinated movements. The pain subsided, and Julian could feel again. He tightened his grasp of the syringe and yanked it from Dumay’s chest. Flinging it into the corner, he reached for Dumay’s head to prevent her from choking on her own vomit.
“Freeze!!! Hands in the air! Step away from the prisoner!”
