AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You mean this drive?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little flash drive. My whole body went still. I never thought I’d get another chance to retrieve it, but the fool had brought it with him. My goal changed from simply surviving to retrieving that drive.
Once he saw how focused I was on it, he laughed and set it on the floor. “Oh, you’re not going to get your hands on this.” Quick as a flash, he slammed the heel of his boot down on the drive and it shattered into three pieces.
My heart sank. “Snails.”
He bent down over me again, this time lifting the knife a little. “I’m going to kill you now. And then I’m going to make doubly sure your friend over there is dead. And then I’ll work my way through killing your whole team, starting with your partner.”
Fear gripped my insides, and I felt my vision blur momentarily. “Leave them alone. They don’t know anything.”
“But they’ll keep digging. So, I’ll just have to keep killing. You won’t be around to witness it; don’t worry.”
There was movement behind him, and a body fell from the ceiling. There was absolutely no noise, and I thought for a moment I had hallucinated it, but then I caught sight of amber eyes. I didn’t even have enough time to process what was happening before an arm snaked under my attacker’s chin and wrenched it up, exposing the skin on his neck. He made some noise of surprise, but he was too slow to combat Steel when he drew a blade across his jugular, cutting deep.
Blood sprayed me and I closed my eyes. I wiped them off with my good hand before opening them again. Steel held tightly to the man, waiting until he was definitely dead before letting the body fall to the floor. He frowned at me. “You look like a mess.”
I lifted my uninjured arm and pointed at Ethan. “Help him. Please.”
Steel glanced back at Ethan and then dropped to his knees beside him. He touched his neck, checking for a pulse, and then gently tilted his head so he could see the back of it.
Worry gnawed at my stomach. “Is he okay? Please tell me he’s alive.”
“He has a pulse, but it’s faint.” He produced a syringe from a pocket and stuck him with it.
“Nanobots?”
“Yes.” Steel grabbed a handkerchief from another pocket and pressed it to the back of Ethan’s head. I tried to move, to go over to them, but when I tried, everything hurt. I couldn’t even muster up the energy to crawl over to them. Steel gave me a disapproving look. “Don’t move.”
“Is it working? Is he okay?”
Steel checked the back of his head and his pulse again. Then he nodded to me. “It’s working.”
Relief rushed through me, and I collapsed against the wall. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, feeling tears well up. I wanted to swipe at them, but there were too many other fluids on my face, and I didn’t want to smear them into my eyes, nose, or mouth. Blood could cause infections. That had been hammered into me during IPF training.
Steel stood up and walked over to me. “You look like a mess,” he repeated.
“This hasn’t exactly been a cakewalk you know.”
He prodded at my face, and I flinched. “Broken nose.”
“Figured as much.”
He peered at my arm and then lifted it slightly. I hissed. He sighed. “No exit wound. The bullet’s still inside. What else hurts?”
“My ankle’s shattered.”
Steel peered at what he could see above the shoe. “That’s a nasty break. I can’t give you any of the nanobots until we get the bullet out of your arm. Otherwise, you’ll heal over it. The bones in your ankle will also probably need to be set before we can give you nanobots.”
I bared my teeth against the pain. “Figures.”
Ethan stirred, and my heart thumped in my chest. “Ethan?”
Steel went to help him sit up. Ethan groaned and put his hand on his head. “What happened?”
“You whapped your head. Steel gave you some nanobots.”
Ethan sat with his back against the wall, trying to get his bearings. “My head is pounding.”
“Give the nanobots some more time.” Steel peered at the wound on the back of his head. “The bleeding has stopped, so it’ll heal soon.”
