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The lab phone rang, but Dr. Nikas was already too absorbed to pay it any mind.
Brian picked it up. “This is Archer.” He fell silent. “I see. Thanks.” He replaced the phone in its cradle. “Jacques says that Nick has begun moaning for brains.”
My gut dropped to my toes. How much longer did he have before his body simply gave out? I turned to the others. “We have to stop her. Confront her. Get the cure now. If she figures out we know what she’s up to, she’ll make sure we never get it.”
“I agree,” Sorsha said. “She’s already spooked by my presence, and I’ve been in here with you long enough to make her worry. Last thing any of us need is for her to destroy data.” She began to text another message. “I’m informing my supervisor of the new development. I’ll also let my partner know what’s going down, but he’s at least twenty minutes away.”
“What about the backup team Agent Garner sent from Baton Rouge?” I asked. “Are they driving or coming by helicopter?”
She gave me a long look. I gave an innocent shrug. “I have really good hearing.”
“Of course you do,” she said drily. “Driving. Also at least twenty minutes away.”
Rachel eyed Sorsha. “What about local law enforcement.”
“Too risky,” Sorsha said quickly. “Potential biohazard, right?”
In other words, Sorsha was keeping the situation confined to her task force—and a lid on the weirdness. That fit our zombie leave-us-alone agenda perfectly.
Kyle spoke up. “We have enough personnel to confront her. Fritz and Dr. Charish are currently in the microscope room with two of her techs. The other two techs are right next door in histology. Both rooms are along the hallway around the corner, which means that Reno Larson, who has stationed himself outside those two rooms, has no line of sight on this lab or any of the other rooms along this corridor.”
Sorsha folded her arms over her chest. “Poor tactics on his part.”
“Quite,” Kyle replied.
“Rachel and I need to stay with Dr. Nikas,” Brian said. “Top priority.”
Sorsha’s eyes flicked from Kyle to me as if assessing her resources. “Unorthodox joint operations are not unheard of in my task force. We know how to . . . adjust the paperwork.”
What the hell other weirdness did they deal with? Not that I minded. “What’s the plan?”
“Charish has two bodyguards and four lab techs. If she resists—and I do expect resistance—it will be dicey, even with your special zombie abilities in play.”
Of course she knew about zombie special abilities. “She also has Billy Upton,” I pointed out.
“He’s one of mine,” she replied.
“No way! He seems way too sweet and innocent.”
Sorsha let out a dry chuckle. “And he uses that to his advantage.” Her phone buzzed with a text. She sobered as she read it. “Charish just made a call to Saberton security. Agent Garner believes she asked for backup and extraction.”
“Which means we have to confront her right now!” I said, anxiety rising.
“It also means her backup might arrive before we’re finished with her,” she replied, mouth tight. “That tilts the odds that much more in her favor.”
Except there was one unique zombie ability she didn’t know about. “What if we had our own special backup right here?” I asked, smile growing.
She and Kyle regarded me with matching doubtful expressions.
Sorsha lifted an eyebrow. “And where is this special backup?”
I grinned. “In the gator room.”
Her other eyebrow went up. “Are you trying to tell me you wish to use the alligators as backup?”
“Trust me,” I said. “But we need to hurry. Let’s go!”
“Hold on,” Brian said. He opened a drawer and pulled out pint-sized packets of brains along with the normal smaller ones. “Tank up and stock up.”
