Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
“It’s not him,” Thunder said as he flipped back the covers to reveal the man in the bed.
Relief filled him at knowing they hadn't lost their chance of being the ones to end the life of Dr. Gardner, but it was quickly followed by frustration.
The scientist had gotten away again.
“He hasn’t been dead long,” Dragon said, his nostrils flaring as he scented the room, probably able to catch a scent now that the body was exposed.
“Agree, his body is still warm,” Lion added as he stared at the older man in the bed.
“Who is he?” Blade asked as they all stared at the body. “Looks too old to be one of the guards, and I doubt Dr. Gardner would leave one behind anyway if he found out we were on our way here. He’d want as much protection with him as he could get.”
“Doctor,” Voodoo said, and shrugged when all five of them looked over at him.
“How do you know that?” Steel demanded.
Another shrug. “Makes sense, and … I just get a healer vibe from him. We know that I shot him in the forest, that was just a couple of weeks ago. We have no idea how badly he was injured, but it would make sense that he’d have a doctor taking care of him.”
That did make sense.
Still, they’d need to confirm it, so Thunder took out his phone, snapped a photo of the dead man lying in a pool of blood amongst the covers, and sent it off to Prey. Someone in Cyber Team would work on IDing the man, and they could follow up on a lead if one presented itself.
“They haven’t been gone long, probably made us when we hit the island.
Enough time for him to get the white noise generator going, pump the house full of strong air freshener to mess with us, then kill this man as a diversion,” Steel said, the same frustration Thunder felt bleeding into their team leader’s voice.
They were all sick of this. This song and dance had been going on for months now.
They took a step toward capturing the doctor, but then he took one back, and so it went on, backward and forward, backward and forward.
They had all his known labs closed down and his lead scientist was on their side.
They’d taken out so many of his guards and made him well known in the mercenary world that taking a paycheck from him was basically a death sentence.
Now they even had his home, but they still couldn’t catch the man they all wanted dead.
“How do we think he left?” Blade asked. “We didn't hear or see a helo or plane leave, so I suppose that only leaves a?—”
Dragon lifted his head, his nostrils flaring again, and Blade broke off as all their attention shifted to the man with the amazing ability to scent everything.
Maybe Dr. Gardner hadn't left the island at all.
Maybe he was still there somewhere, hiding out, hoping they would think he’d gone and head out, leaving him to escape and remain free.
“Someone is here,” Dragon murmured, and they all went back on high alert, scanning the room for threats.
There were three doors, not including the ones leading to the balcony. Whoever was there had to be through one of those doors.
Without exchanging a word, the six of them split up, one of them watching the door they’d entered through, one remaining by the bed, ready to provide back up to whoever needed it, while the other four each took one of the remaining doors.
Taking the middle door, Thunder approached it quickly, weapon in his hand, ready and willing to take out any threats that presented themselves. More than that, he wanted there to be a threat that needed eliminating. They’d gone there wanting to spill blood, and killing those guards wasn't enough.
The only bloodshed that would soothe his rage was Dr. Gardner’s.
Easing the door open, he was met with a dark room with no windows and only one entrance, which was the door he’d just opened. Because he was wearing his night-vision goggles, it didn't matter that there were no lights on inside the small room.
He still saw her.
A woman was inside the cage, which sat in the exact center of the space. She was lying on her back, her knees bent, legs spread wide, giving him a perfect view of her most intimate area.
That rage that had already been simmering inside him, annoyed that it hadn't gotten what it wanted tonight, now boiled over.
There was no need to guess who the woman was.
Back when they’d been held captive by Dr. Gardner a decade ago, there had been talks that he kept himself a sex slave.
Indigo, who had been held captive by the man as recently as a month ago, also spoke of the fairly common knowledge that Dr. Gardner had a woman he kept locked up in his home and used however he wanted.
Talk was he spoke of her as if she were a pet, and seeing her now, lying flat on her back, presenting herself to him, locked inside a cage, and the scent of human waste filling the room now he was inside it, Thunder almost couldn’t breathe for the pressure of his anger pressing against his chest.
Lowering his weapon, he stalked toward the cage.
The woman didn't move, didn't acknowledge his presence.
It was like she was there, but not really.
Still, unless she spent all her time like this, then she had to have heard them, assumed they were Dr. Gardner, and that he was coming in to use her body for his own pleasure.
Even without the whispers that Dr. Gardner had a sex slave, all it would have taken was one look at this room, at the woman lying so still in the cage, to know that she wasn't here by choice.
“Hey,” he said softly as he reached her head, kneeling beside her.
Again, she didn't move, didn't acknowledge him in any way, but this close to her, he could see that her eyes were open and staring at the ceiling. Her breathing didn't even hitch in fear of what was going to be done to her.
It was like she had completely checked out.
Alive but not really living.
“Get in here,” he growled into his comms. They needed to get this woman out, not only did she deserve to be rescued and returned to her family, but she might have valuable intel that would help them finally catch Dr. Gardner.
Maybe that sounded cold, that he was worried about using her for information, but the way he saw it, she had every bit as much reason as the rest of them to want the man responsible for locking her up here dead.
Not just dead.
Tortured first. It was only fair that after all the pain and suffering he’d caused to so many, the man endure his own pain and suffering before he was gifted the blessing of death.
“What the hell?” Steel said softly as the others filed into the room.
Someone flicked on a light switch, and the room was suddenly too bright. Quickly removing his NVGs, Thunder kept his attention focused on the woman, but she hadn't moved an inch. She didn’t seem to react at all to the sudden light after being kept in the dark.
“Find keys to get her out,” Thunder muttered as he reached between the bars of the cage to brush his fingers along the woman’s long blonde locks.
Like he was beginning to expect, she didn't react to his touch, and his concern for the woman’s mental state ramped up several notches, along with his anger on her behalf.
How long had she been there?
What had she suffered in that time?
What had she suffered before winding up there?
“To hell with keys,” Steel muttered, and he stalked toward the door to the cage.
“Hold on,” he whispered to the woman, stroking her head with his fingers. “We’re going to get you out and get you back home with your family. You're safe now.”
There was no response to his words, nor did she respond when Steel used his enhanced strength to literally rip the door to the cage off.
“I’ve got her,” Thunder told Voodoo when their healer moved to slip inside the cage and collect the woman.
For some reason, it suddenly seemed important that he be the one to get her.
After all, he was the one who found her, and he felt a … responsibility of sorts.
Pulling his hand back out, he stood and circled the small cage, then stepped inside it. The woman still hadn't moved, remained in the same position, legs spread, staring at the ceiling, waiting.
Waiting for Dr. Gardner to use and abuse her.
There was a fine tremor in his hands as he reached for her. She was thin, her skin dirty, old bruises were layered with newer ones, welts and cuts littered her body, and her vacant eyes were terrifying.
Were they rescuing a person or the empty shell of what was once a human being?
Regardless, this woman deserved a chance.
If her mind was already too far gone, then at least she could be sent home to her family, and they could get her every treatment possible to see if she could recover.
They weren't leaving her behind, she was another victim of Dr. Gardner, and that made her one of them.
“We’ve got you now,” he whispered as he gathered her into his arms. “You're getting out of here. I need you to fight for me, okay? I need you to try to fight your way back. Don’t give up, don’t let him win.”
February 22 nd
12:18 A.M.
She was being touched.
Moved.
It didn't matter.
Maya allowed her mind to drift from her current situation, blocking it out as best as she could.
Voices spoke, but she didn't care what they were saying, she’d trained her mind to listen out for key words. For instructions she needed to follow so she didn't find herself in more trouble.
Since no one had issued any relevant instructions, she didn't listen to the voices.
There was more than one of them, though. It wouldn’t be the first time Master brought other people to her room, although it didn't happen very often. He didn't like to share his toys, and he didn't play well with others.
Drifting in her zone, she didn't allow what was happening touch her. It was safer this way. She didn't need to focus on the pain Master inflicted on her, or focus on the humiliation of being treated like she was less than human.
Even if she was less than human now.