Not for himself.
There was no way the crazed scientist with delusions of grandeur would take his own life. The man believed he was a god of sorts, and no matter what happened, he was going to come out on top.
So if he was there, Dr. Gardner would be alive. Likely surrounded by more guards and locked in a safe room.
No one shot at them as they climbed up a short staircase leading to a porch. Nor did anyone shoot at them as they broke down the door and took those first steps inside the mansion.
Thunder’s heart began to sink.
If the doctor was there, someone should be trying to stop them, incapacitate them, and get them locked back in cageswhere Dr. Gardner wanted them. If no one was shooting at them, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the idea that it was because they were too late once again.
Dr. Gardner was gone.
Together, he and his team cleared room after room. Finishing with the ground floor, making sure to check for any hidden room or secret passage, they moved up to the second floor.
Again, they cleared room after room.
Opulent bedrooms, ornate libraries, beautifully decorated sitting rooms. But each one was empty, and Thunder could feel his frustration grow with each door they opened to find nothing waiting inside.
They were down the end of the top floor, opening a set of double doors, when finally he saw what he’d been hoping for.
This bedroom had to be the master. It was larger than all the others, with an enormous canopy bed taking center stage, three doors he was sure led to bathrooms and dressing rooms, plus another set of doors opening onto a large balcony.
But none of that was what caught his attention.
It was the lump in the middle of the bed, lying still beneath the covers.
Blade hadn't indicated hearing anyone else’s presence, but they’d become accustomed to the idea that Dr. Gardner used white noise generators to disrupt the man’s ability. There was also a strong floral scent being pumped into the house, no doubt meant to disrupt Dragon’s ability to smell anything and everything.
As they slunk across the room, weapons in hands, prepared to come face to face with their creator, he saw both Dragon and Blade shake their heads, indicating they didn't find anything to tell them the man in the bed was still alive. Lion likewise gave a single nod, telling them he didn't see the rise and fall of a chest.
Were they too late?
Had they read Dr. Gardner’s motivation wrong? Had the man decided to end his life anyway when he realized that his guards couldn’t hold them off?
It felt like being cheated out of his winnings right as he was about to claim them.
That anger that had become as much a part of him as his enhanced speed flared, raging at the bars of the cage he kept it permanently locked inside. It wanted out. Wanted to punish the man who had brought it to life, wanted its reward for obeying these past ten years and staying on its leash only because it had been promised this moment.
A moment that might have been stolen from it.
Stolen from all of them.
February 21st
11:33 P.M.
Everything inside her head was so loud while the outside world was deadly silent.
Or maybe it was the other way around?
Honestly, Maya Newell wasn't sure anymore.
She wasn't sure of much of anything.
It had been too long. Too many years had passed. She hadn't been a real person since she was fourteen years old, and now she was …
Actually, she was no longer sure of her age.
