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Billy came running around the corner of the building and slid to a stop. He took in the woman in ill-fitting men’s clothing, then the partially dressed dead woman on the ground, the smashed skull, the bloody brick, and the distinct absence of most of her brain.
His gaze finally rested on me. “Gotta say, this assignment sure hasn’t been boring.”
Chapter 36
Sirens wailed in the distance.
“Angel, get back upstairs and deal with the gators,” Billy said. “I’ll take care of . . . this.” He waved a hand at the two Kristis.
“Take care of this how?” I asked with suspicion. “The mass-murdering Kristi is the one on the ground. The scroungy one is . . . new.”
“I gathered as much,” he said, manner still easy and friendly, though his eyes were guarded. “Trust me. You really do need to get upstairs before someone else dies.”
Kang-Kristi swayed and sank to her knees, but gave me a thumbs up. Pierce had been forced to rest and integrate after his transformation from the Pietro-shape, but he’d been able to function for a while before completely collapsing.
“Go,” she said. “I’m old enough to take care of myself.”
“Well, pardon me for worrying about an old lady then.” I cast one more uncertain look at her then raced for the front entrance. She was right. Her situation was as under control as it could be, given the circumstances. But I was the only one who could deal with the gators.
Several dozen people milled at the far end of the parking lot. The sirens grew louder. Fire department and paramedics no doubt, with deputies not far behind.
The building security guard at the main entrance waved me right past. Billy must’ve given him a heads up that I’d be coming in.
The fire alarm was still hooting, and of course the elevators weren’t working. I slid to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. Grey tinged my vison, my ribs were on fire, and an overall achiness screamed that I hadn’t fully healed from the fall. “Okay, okay,” I muttered to my body. “I’ll be more considerate.” I sucked down another packet of brains then climbed at a far more reasonable pace. Though I was still out of breath when I finally reached the third floor, the pain had faded.
Cries for help and the growl-bellows of gators echoed through the corridors as I ran through the LZ-1 suite. I found Sorsha, face covered in blood, sitting beside the closed door of the gator-filled microscope room. The short black guy from the genetics lab was on one knee beside her with a first aid kit, splinting her forearm. A thick lump of gauze already bound what must have been a nasty scalp wound.
Kyle’s body was nowhere in sight, and the pool of blood had been somewhat wiped up, with a streak extending down t
he corridor.
“Hey, Ninja Girl,” Short Guy said.
“Hey. Thanks for helping.”
Sorsha’s head lolled my way. “Billy texted that you’ve dealt with Charish.”
“Er . . . yeah. She won’t be any trouble.” How much did she know? I wasn’t about to fish for that info while Short Guy was here. “Are you okay?”
“I’ve been worse.” Sorsha glanced toward the microscope room door as two male voices hollered for help. “Charish’s techs. One was on the electron microscope, and I don’t know where the other ended up. He was on a counter last I saw, and that wasn’t going to last long.”
That meant Fritz had been the gator food. Damn it. Even though he’d been working for the bad guys, he’d seemed like a basically decent guy. A pro. “Gators can climb,” I said, “but the techs will be okay now that I’m here.” I silently told the gators to leave the two high ones alone then touched Short Guy on the shoulder. “What’s your name?”
“Travis Montague,” he said as he tightened the last binding on the splint. “Finally got to use my First Responder training.”
“I’m Angel. You did good, Travis. Would you mind going down to meet the paramedics and show them the way up?”
“You got it.”
Sorsha grabbed his forearm with her good hand. “You are not to repeat, share, or otherwise disclose anything you’ve seen or heard here today. This entire situation is under federal investigation. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m good at secrets. Part of my job.”
“Thank you,” she said and released his arm. “I’ll contact you soon for a post-incident interview.”
“Do you need my—”
“I’ll find you.”
