40. Zero
40
ZERO
T hey cut the lights once they reached the beginning of the woods so that they could continue to drive undetected. It was dangerous. The night was dark, and the road ahead was barely visible. The only thing guiding them was the faint moonlight that cut through the trees and illuminated parts of their path. As long as they drove slowly and proceeded with caution, they might actually have a chance at making it through the woods unscathed.
“This is as far as we go,” the burly man driving growled, setting the van in park and killing the engine.
Everyone jumped out of their vehicles, adjusted their tactical gear—or tight leather pants and crop top in Levi’s case—then set along the dark path heading toward the mad doctor’s facility.
This part of the operation was led by the league of super-secret assassin commandos. This was a team of eight highly trained ex-armed forces who moved in unison and smelled of protein. One choke hold by any of these guys, and your neck would be flatter than a French crepe at Sunday morning breakfast.
“Over there.” Ares pointed to a large sewer grate hidden behind some overgrown bushes. It was well concealed and barely noticeable to the untrained eye.
During their extremely long car ride, Zero learned that in addition to being wanted by several governments worldwide, Ares was also a criminal mastermind, skilled in evasive tactics and traveling under the radar. The man made a great deal of his living smuggling guns and other contraband around the world.
Using hand signals, the super commando SEAL team disappeared into the sewer grate to do whatever it was that the testosterone-fueled steroid heads were tasked with doing.
The other, more sane group of people, as Zero liked to think of himself, continued making their way through the dark woods. According to Marc’s intel, there was a building located about a kilometer from their current location.
Their current plan was simple. One team was going to locate Diesel and, hopefully, any other victims the mad doctor might be holding. Another team was going to locate the doctor and any other guilty parties. While a third team was going to locate any intel or useful information that could be used to further their cause.
The teams carefully moved through the trees, trying to remain silent and conscious of any traps or dangers too difficult to see in the dark. Throughout the area, torches glowed as if the inhabitants wanted to allow for some light. Was it to provide for safety? Or add to the terror of traveling through the darkness at night?
Zero placed his hand on the trunk of a tree for support as he checked something stuck to the bottom of his boot. A twig. Annoyed, he pulled the offending object from the ridges of his sole, then tossed it to the side so that no one else would step on the offending object.
When he moved his hand, he felt a warm, sticky residue on his fingers. Holding up his hand to one of the nearby torches, he examined the foreign substance.
What the fuck?
Thick red blood stained his fingers and his palm.
“Everything okay?” Ares asked, stopping the row of men who followed him. He glanced over his shoulder with interest.
“I don’t know. It looks like blood,” Zero answered, holding his fingers closer to the light, struggling to get a better look.
Jared and Chase stepped up next to him, leaning over his shoulder to get a better look for themselves.
“Perhaps it’s animal blood?” Jared suggested, glancing over at Chase as he waited for confirmation.
Chase glanced up at Ares. “We need to keep moving. Now.”
Jared’s face said it all. He didn’t like the concern in Chase’s voice.
Nodding, Ares rounded up the troops once again and continued their march toward the research facility that was supposedly holding their friend captive.
What was Chase not saying? Chase had worked several years with the Toronto police force in Canada, so when something got him worried, Zero knew it was something serious.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a large concrete structure surrounded by a chain-link fence. A sign attached to the fence read “high voltage.”
Zero’s stomach sank. How were they going to get around this little snag in their way?
“I’m on it.” Marc hurried to a junction box hidden behind some bushes and began playing around with the wiring. Next, he pulled out his tablet and began entering codes and strings of information Zero had no chance in hell of ever understanding.
“We’re in,” Marc whispered, shoving his tablet back inside his satchel, then joining Chase and the others near an opening in the fence they were making.
Silently, they squeezed through the cut fencing and moved across the grass, being careful to stick toward the shadows. Given that the facility was in the middle of nowhere, they figured that physical security probably wasn’t high on their security list. A few surveillance cameras and a rotating guard or two were probably all this place needed. Marc had already taken care of the surveillance cameras. Now they just had to take care of however many guards there might be roaming the hallways.
The outside of the building was quiet, as if everyone inside had abandoned the place and gone home for the evening.
Zero didn’t like it.
Something felt off. Just like that feeling he got when Diesel was in trouble at the club.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Zero whispered, huddled behind Chase, who was trying to pick a lock to gain them access to the facility.
“Yeah, I know. It’s never this easy. Even gangsters have more guards walking around than this place.” Chase glanced around the space before making eye contact with his fiancé. “You better stick to my ass like glue in there,” Chase warned.
Levi and Isaac had insisted on coming with them to rescue Diesel. They had spent the better part of two hours threatening their fiancés with castration, murder, and even calling off their weddings if they so much as tried to make them wait in the vans. But it was the threat of withholding sex that finally caused Chase and Jared to break and give in to their demands.
Matteo simply shook his head in disgust, reminding them that their fiancés had now identified their Achilles’ heel and would never win another argument again in the future. The look of pure horror on their faces was priceless.
Zero envied the two couples. He wanted that type of love. That playful understanding and support for one another.
“And here I thought that I was the bossy bottom,” Levi quipped, slipping past Zero and wrapping his arms around Chase’s bulging bicep, tugging it close to him.
Chase rolled his eyes. “I need my arm back, love. People need killing, and someone needs saving.”
With an annoyed huff, the violet-eyed dancer released his property and took a step back and out of the way.
With a flick of his wrist, the door unlocked. Chase pulled it open and peered inside.
Empty.
Just like the path they had taken up here, as well as the yard they had cut across.
Strange.
Zero watched as Chase slipped inside, followed by Levi, Matteo, Ares, Jared, the twins, Marc, and finally Zero coming up the rear.
The rest of the super-secret assassin command was off doing God knows what somewhere else on the compound. Zero still wasn’t sure what their mission was, but Ares had given his second-in-command very specific instructions.
The inside of the facility resembled any other small laboratory. Hallways led to doors that were passcard-protected. Doors that were unlocked led to thick glass windows that peered out into rooms used for experiments.
“Watch your step,” Chase warned Levi as he stepped through a glass door and into a decontamination chamber used to access the lab next door. “Only three are allowed in at a time.”
Isaac, Jared, and Chase stepped into the chamber and waited for the door to close behind them before reaching for the latch on the connecting door. Chase gave a tug.
Locked.
Damnit.
“Come back through, and we can find another way around,” Zero suggested, turning to head back the way he came.
A click alerted them to the door being locked from the inside. Zero turned back to the chamber, where a terrified Levi was yanking on the latch of the door that they just walked through.
“It’s locked!” he shouted, eyes wide as he banged his fist on the door.
A sinister chuckle seeped in through the overhead speakers strategically placed throughout the room.
“I thought I might run into you boys once again. That was you in my office a few weeks ago, rummaging through my things, wasn’t it?”
Zero’s head snapped around, searching for the source of their unseen observer. A tiny camera in the corner turned slightly and zoomed in on where Zero was standing.
“My name is Dr. Baasch, and welcome to my research facility.”
The sound of the doctor’s voice made Zero’s skin crawl.
“Where’s Diesel?” Zero shouted, looking directly into the camera.
More chuckling. “What, no introductions? How rude .”
Marc yanked his tablet out of his bag and began typing in words and codes, doing his high-tech wizard thing.
“You know, one of the major concerns any research facility has is the introduction of viruses, bacteria, and other foreign agents into a sterile environment. Luckily, we have several of these nifty little decontamination chambers that help to fight against such risks and exposures.”
Chase’s eyes went wide when realization set in.
“Want to see how it works?” the voice boomed over the speakers.
“No! Wait!” Zero and the guys inside the chamber screamed.
“It’s no trouble at all. It will only take a second to demonstrate,” the doctor’s voice hissed seconds before the nozzles overhead began spraying a slightly yellow liquid down on Chase, Levi, and Jared.
“Shit! Do something!” Zero yelled, rushing over to the decontamination door. He raised his gun and began shooting bullets into the reinforced glass.
“I’m on it!” Marc shouted, sweat dripping from his forehead.
Inside the chamber, Chase buried Levi’s face into his chest, trying his best to shield his lover from the toxic liquid.
“Hurry!” Zero shouted to the sound of the doctor chuckling over the speakers.
Oh, this fucker was dead when he got his hands on him .
“There!” Marc cried just as the jets overhead came to a screeching halt. A second later, the door clicked, releasing the locking mechanism and freeing those trapped inside.
Chase, Levi, and Jared all spilled out, coughing and gasping as they tried to control their breathing.
“Hold still,” the twins shouted in unison. They both reached into their backpacks and pulled out their water bottles.
“Shut your eyes,” Gunnar ordered, popping the lid off his bottle. Both he and his brother pointed their bottles at the trio and began spraying their faces and bodies.
Jared threw up an arm, demanding to know what the fuck they were doing.
“It’s water. Water neutralizes everything!” Gunnar shouted.
“We’re saving your life,” Anders cried.
Coughing, Levi and Jared shook their heads. “Is that true?”
Zero shrugged as he helped the guys wipe their faces, hopefully removing any chemicals they may have been exposed to in the decontamination process. “I have no idea. But it’s water, so can it really hurt?”
“I’ve seen it online.” Anders huffed.
Wiping the water from his face, Jared glared up at his Scandinavian brothers. “Hey, if it’s online, then you know it must be true.”
Realizing that the guys were alright, Zero stood and glared up at the camera. “I’m coming for you, asshole.”
“I’m counting on it,” the doc sneered over the speakers. A door to the left clicked and slowly began to open.
Raising his gun, Zero began moving toward the open door.
Nothing said trap more than an unlocked door and the villain's invitation to enter. Yes, red flags were popping up everywhere.
“Step back,” Chase said, sneaking up behind Zero and lobbing something into the hallway.
A loud bang filled their ears, followed by men screaming and gunfire erupting. Chase peeked around the corner before diving into the hallway and opening fire on all those present.
Moans and shouts were followed by more gunfire and the sound of bodies falling to the floor with a disturbing thud.
The whole thing lasted two minutes but felt like twenty.
“It’s safe to come out now,” Chase teased from somewhere on the other side of the wall.
They all cautiously stepped into the hallway and took in all the carnage.
Wow, for one man, Chase really did have balls of steel.
“I’ve never found you more sexy,” Levi whimpered, staring up at his man with the biggest heart-shaped eyes Zero had ever seen. “When we get home, I’m sitting on your face for at least an hour.”
“Just an hour?” Chase chuckled, staring at his man like the boy hung the moon.
“Long enough for you to stretch out my hole before you abuse it for the next six,” Levi returned.
“I should have brought a spray bottle,” Marc groaned, rolling his eyes at the love fest exploding right before him. Zero got the sense that Marc wasn’t always the most comfortable when it came to public displays of affection or dirty talk, apparently.
“Spray bottle?” Isaac asked next to Zero.
“Dog owners sometimes use them to get their pets to stop doing bad behavior,” Zero clarified.
“Well, Levi does love doggy, so it seems appropriate,” Isaac added, wincing when Levi punched his arm.
“Let’s split up,” Marc suggested, breaking them into smaller groups and sending each group off in a separate direction.
Zero was partnered with Jared. Go figure. There was no way that Chase was letting Levi out of his sight. Especially not after their near-death experience.
The two rushed down a corridor, opening fire on anything that moved. More and more men kept popping up, shooting guns and trying to decapitate them with their knives and lead pipes.
Where were all these people hiding when they first arrived?
Rage surged through Zero as they approached a door marked “Communications.” With Jared picking the lock, Zero stood guard with his back against the wall. His leg was cut, and his cheek was bleeding. He wasn’t sure where he injured his leg, but he didn’t have time to think about the pain.
Where the hell was Diesel? Was he still alive? Did he know that they were coming for him?
The lock clicked beneath Jared’s fingers. It appeared that Jared and his brothers had more skills than just taking off their clothes and raising their legs above their heads.
“Do I want to know where you learned that?” Zero asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer. In his mind, the stripper guild were all angels who never did anything illegal or unsavory.
“Spent a few years in the British Army. I learned a lot of useful skills.” There was something unsettling about the way his smile landed. Zero imagined it was probably how Hannibal Lecter looked when speaking directly with Clarice.
Carefully opening the door, Jared listened for any sounds of movement. Silence. But that didn’t mean shit when being hunted.
Raising his finger, Zero began counting down from three. Right when he got down to one, an explosion went off inside the room, and gunfire erupted.
What the fuck?
Zero charged into the room, gun drawn and ready to fire. Standing in the center of the room, with his arm holding the doc in a choke hold, was Ares.
Bodies lay scattered and bleeding. One man held his arm, which was dangling at an unnatural angle. Next to him, Matteo stood holding a gun to the man’s head.
“Move. I dare you to, asshole,” Matteo growled.
Standing there in his tactical gear, perfectly sculpted hair, and shimmering blue eyes, Matteo was sex personified. It was as if the gods of sex and beauty had a child, gave him a loving personality with a dash of a hot temper, and then let him lose on humanity.
The human race stood no chance.
“Let me go, you piece of shit,” the doctor spat out.
“Such language from someone who is supposed to be an upstanding member of society,” Ares teased.
Zero was still confused as to what just happened.
“Where did you guys come from?” Zero asked, walking over to where the doctor was struggling against the growly-looking man.
“Up there,” Ares said, nodding his head upward toward an open air vent dangling from the ceiling.
Perhaps now they could finally get some answers.
“Where’s Diesel?” Zero asked, punching the doctor in the gut.
The man barely moved, still trapped in Ares’s grip. He let out a laugh.
“That depends.”
“Depends on what?” Zero shouted. He was tired of these games and attempts at stalling.
“Umm, guys? You need to see this,” Jared called from behind Zero.
“What—” Zero shouted, spinning around and gasping when his eyes landed on the screens Jared was staring at.
The wall was filled with several screens monitoring different sections of the property. Each screen cycled through multiple shots and angles, all capturing different aspects of the area surrounding the facility.
In the center of the wall was one large screen with the word “live” pasted in the top right corner and the number 435 listed just below it.
Zero stepped forward, eyes wide with horror as he watched a man creep up behind a woman who appeared to be hiding behind the trunk of a tree, sobbing.
Zero watched as the number on the screen jumped from 435 to 438.
Were those the number of people watching this live stream?
“Watch this. This is always my favorite part,” the doctor said from where he sat, sitting on a chair, gun pointed at his head.
They watched as the scared woman held up her hand in front of her face, appearing to be transfixed by what she saw. She moved her hand back and forth, smiling as her hand appeared to comfort her.
“This is where the patient gets lost in their hallucination, forgetting that their life is in mortal danger,” the doc added, seeming pleased with what he was witnessing.
Zero held his breath as he watched the man stalk toward the woman, his chest heaving as he raised a log above his head. Closing his eyes, Zero listened to the sound of the woman’s skull cracking open as the man brought down the weapon in one fell swoop.
The room gasped as the woman’s lifeless body fell to the ground, leg twitching as the nerves in her body continued to react.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? Seeing how one drug can have a calming effect even when one’s life is in imminent danger. The more powerful the hallucination, the more powerful the effects on the body. Can you imagine what that can do for military interrogations? Convincing your prisoner that they are in a safe environment, creating a world in which they feel comfortable enough to tell their enemies their secrets? Think about the power that drug could yield.
“Then, of course, you have the drug that heightens aggression. It dulls all sense of morality—that which makes us human by giving us a conscience—and brings forth the animalistic need to survive. The drug creates such intense fear that the patient becomes overly aggressive in an attempt to protect one’s self, that basic need for self-preservation.” The doctor let out another laugh. “Want to know which drug I gave your little friend?”
Zero didn’t care. Both drugs were dangerous and could bring about unspeakable horrors if Zero didn’t find Diesel quickly.
Checking the rounds in his gun, he picked up a discarded gun and tucked it into the back of his jeans.
“I’m going after him,” Zero announced.
“We’ll see if there is some sort of a serum that might help counter the effects of the drug,” Matteo responded.
Zero took a deep breath, then charged out of the room. He hoped that he wasn’t too late.