Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
In the midst of charming the female technician with the lazy eye and greasy hair, Yuri heard several popping sounds. Indistinct, the concrete walls of the basement level muffling noise.
“Did you hear that?” he asked.
“Hear what?” Becky asked, holding up a vial of blood and giving it a shake.
He should have known better than to ask someone without his enhanced auditory sense.
More gunfire erupted and, not long after an alarm sounded, sending Becky of the roving gaze fleeing the room, leaving Yuri alone—and bound. He’d been brought to the lab for more tests because apparently the pints of blood they’d already gotten weren’t enough.
Had someone come to their rescue? Maybe Idris? He’d not seen the man, or his sister for that matter, since his arrival, but the doctor sure had lots of questions for him about Idris.
Did you know he was a bear when you met?
When did you last see him?
How long have he and your sister been involved?
Yuri’s replies?
Totally. We sniffed each other’s butts.
Haven’t seen him since my last show.
And his favorite, What do you mean he’s banging my sister!
A sister he worried about. He’d never been more shocked to see her as a bear. Guess that shot to hell her theory he was God-blessed. Was it a family trait? Not something he could ask his long-dead parents.
The siren continued to blare, and no one came to check on him.
He strained against the straps holding him, but Becky, as giggly as she might be when Yuri flirted, had bound him tight.
Not ideal given the gunfight happening. Rescuers or a clean-up crew?
If the latter, he was a sitting bear. Literally.
He could have shifted, but knew from experience it wouldn’t do any good.
The collar around his neck didn’t break when he thickened.
On the contrary, the tightness of it choked him out the last time he tried.
Guess he’d have to bide his time and see what happened. He didn’t wait as long as expected.
A petite Asian woman, her hair cut in a bob, spattered in blood, entered the lab, gun held in front of her as she swept the space.
“Well, hello there,” he drawled. “How nice of you to drop in.”
She focused on him only for a bare second before returning to search the lab. “Where is everyone?”
“Not here. Becky ran away when the alarm went off.”
A golden gaze alit on him. “And who are you?”
“Yuri Sokolov. Although Dr. Levy calls me Patient One oh two. And you are?”
“Looking for Idris, also known as Patient Seventy-six.” Her lips twisted as she said the last part.
His brow lifted. “It would seem we have a friend in common.”
“You know Idris? Prove it.”
“Big brown-skin man who can turn into a bear.”
She snorted. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“He wants to kill Dr. Levy.”
“Who doesn’t?”
He racked his memories of the man and blurted out, “He hates peas. Says they remind him of boogers.”
That made her smile. “Sounds like you’ve met. Do you know where he is?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t seen him since me and my sister were captured and brought here.”
“Have they started you on the protocol?”
“Not necessary since I am already a mighty beast.”
She pursed her lips. “What’s your animal?”
“Bear.”
She snorted. “Given your size, I’m not surprised.”
He gave a sniff. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re some kind of feline.”
“Tiger, name of Takhi.”
“One of Idris’ military comrades,” he exclaimed, recognizing the name.
“Yup.” She slung her gun over her shoulder as she approached. “Here to rescue.”
“How did you find this place? Did Idris manage to follow Levy?”
“He did and managed to send me a text two days ago with a location pin, but he’s been incommunicado since.”
“Would the doctor have killed him?”
“Guess we’ll soon find out.” She undid the binding on his left hand before tackling his ankles. He did his right then his neck. By the time he reached for the one across his torso, her nimble fingers had it half undone.
When the last strap came off, he sprang from the metal bed tilted on an angle. “Free at last!”
“No celebrating yet. We have to free the other prisoners before we blow this joint.”
“Did you come alone?” Yuri asked as he followed Takhi to the door.
“Nope.” She didn’t mention how many.
She went through the door first, gun out. No one waited in the hall, unless the very dead Becky counted.
Seeing him glancing at the limp body, Takhi said, “Bitch tried to jab me with a needle.”
“Yes, she used to be quite fond of doing that.”
Takhi reached down and hauled Becky up by the hair and began dragging.
“Can I ask why you want her corpse?”
“Facial recognition. All the doors have scanners.”
“Don’t they also require codes?”
“I hacked in and got a set ahead of time,” a reply given with a grin tossed over her shoulder.
“Ah, yes, Idris mentioned you were good with computers.”
“Idris has a big mouth,” she muttered.
“Don’t blame him. He was trying to charm my sister or make her jealous by talking about another woman.”
“Idris is too clueless to think of something like that.” Takhi reached the elevator and glanced at him. “What level do they keep the shifters?”
“Second floor.”
Her brow lifted. “Try again. We’re on sub-level two.”
He pointed overhead. “We were kept above ground.”
“Really? Didn’t expect that. Last place we were all in the basement.” Takhi hauled Becky high enough to face the screen and then dropped her to punch in a sequence of numbers.
“If you could hack the codes, why not put your face in the database too?”
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to add everyone. I only managed to get a few installed and dumbly didn’t make sure mine was first.”
They entered the elevator, with Becky, and hit the button to go up. The gunfire appeared to have died down.
“I’m surprised you don’t work in pairs.”
“We usually would, but I lost Morton to a headshot.” Her lips turned down. “Shame. He was a good guy.”
“So how many are involved in this rescue mission?”
“Enough.”
A non-answer, but Yuri didn’t care. Freedom beckoned—soon as he found his sister. They emerged onto the second floor to find a woman alongside a wolf about to open a door with the severed head of a lab worker.
Hard to feel sorry for the prick who’d taken glee in slicing Yuri’s flesh to test how much he could be hurt before the shift forced him to heal.
“Hey, Takhi. Any trouble?” asked the woman with the wolf.
The little woman shook her head. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. Found this guy in a lab on sub-level two. Name of Yuri. He’s a bear like Idris.”
“Really?” The woman’s brows arched. “Idris will be glad to meet another.”
“Already met,” Yuri replied. “My sister, Svetlana, is a bear, too, which might explain why they like each other.” He flared his nostrils. “By the smell of it, they’re on this floor.” He pointed up the hall and tried to contain his impatience at seeing her.
“I’m Tanis, not a shifter,” the woman stated. “And this is my husband, Barrett.”
Takhi glanced at him. “Recognize anyone else on this floor?”
He shook his head. “Lots of scents, but nobody I’ve met. They kept me isolated since arrival.”
“They do that so we can’t conspire,” Takhi murmured.
“Enough talk. We need to get these doors open. I did the first room already, and judging by the still-damp floors, it was recently cleaned out. The second Barrett wouldn’t let me open, meaning there’s most likely a feral inside.”
“A feral?” Yuri questioned.
“Some folks don’t react well to the change,” Takhi explained. “Let’s see what’s behind door number two.” Takhi held up Becky, who was more useful in death than life. Once the screen unlocked, a few taps and they had access to a live feed inside a cell.
Yuri gaped. “What is that?” Because the thing on the screen didn’t appear human or animal.
“That is only one of many reasons why this shit needs to be shut down once and for all,” Takhi growled.
“We’ll leave the cell for last,” Tanis stated, heading for the next door.
“Why last?” Yuri asked.
“Because if shooting doesn’t turn them human, then we might want a few extra bodies if it comes to a fight,” Takhi explained.
While Tanis headed for the next door, and Takhi the one across from it, Yuri’s nose had him striding farther down and stopping in front of the one marked B7.
“Idris is in here,” he announced.
“You’re sure?” Takhi asked.
“Can’t you smell him?”
“Not as well as you, apparently,” grumbled Takhi, abandoning her door to bring Becky to the screen for B7.
Rather than activate the video, Takhi had the door unlocked. It opened to reveal Yuri’s sister and Idris. Both seemed healthy, and much too glowy, probably because of the lingering smell of sex. It led to Yuri snapping, “Did you seriously defile my sister again?”