Scarlet Angel (30 page)

Click.
“Well enough.”
Click.

“
Any chance I can convince you to
let me out?” She waited several seconds for a reply. When none
came, she sighed. “Thought not.”

The next several hours passed by excruciatingly
slowly for Scarlett. As her heart sank lower and lower, any hope of
escape faded. She knew it was only a matter of time before Derrick
sent Neil or one of his other goons to kill her. Why he hadn’t
already killed her was still a mystery. Neil had mentioned that
Derrick wanted to see her.
But why? What could he possibly get
from seeing me?

Her thoughts drifted back to her last conversation
with Agent Barnes, and how he’d asked her to help the FBI get to
Derrick. Scarlett had simply denied everything. The last thing she
wanted was the Feds to get involved. Having Derrick prosecuted with
whatever crimes the Feds could make stick was not enough. She now
knew the only way her family would ever be safe, was if he stopped
breathing all together.

Scarlett glanced up at the exit.
Wouldn’t mind
Agent Barnes getting involved right now.

Something else he’d said triggered in her memories.
One of the other research assistants, Aimee Lackston, had been a
federal agent herself. When Aimee died in the same accident that
had nearly killed Scarlett, the FBI believed the project destroyed
and closed the case.

She raised an eyebrow.
What if...

Scarlett reflected on her training with Neil and how
easily she’d picked up the martial arts. Weapons had come quickly
to her as well.
If Derrick knows about my skills.

Her eyes opened wide. A scratch on the metal floor
came into sharp focus.
Shit. He thinks I’m the undercover FBI
agent.

“
You took too long.”

Scarlett’s head snapped up. “What?”

“
I said you took too long. To go
after the data core.” Neil’s eyes appeared in the narrow slit at
the door. “If you’d have gotten there sooner, I would have
completely missed you.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, that’s a real comfort.” She lay
back on the cot and rested her wrist over her eyes.

“
You know it wasn’t personal.” His
tone, flat as ever, sounded like he was reading a list of facts,
not talking about their relationship.

Scarlett forced herself not to laugh. “Which part?
The sex or the betrayal?”

“
That’s not fair.” His words
wavered. “I told you the job is the job. You knew that before
we...” Neil’s voice trailed off and he coughed.

“
Did you come here to ease your
tiny speck of a conscience? The fact that Derrick’s going to kill
me any time now, that’s not coming back to haunt you, is it? Or are
you compartmentalized beyond that?”

He cleared his throat. “No. Two guards are on their
way now. We’re going to escort you to his office.”

“
He thinks I was the FBI
informant, doesn’t he.”

“
Yes.”

“
Does it matter that I
wasn’t?”

“
Not anymore.”

Scarlett rolled over to face the wall. “Then why
don’t you leave me to enjoy my last few minutes in peace and
quiet.”

Neil’s fading footfalls signaled his departure.

Lying on her side, a hot tear trickled from
Scarlett’s eye across her nose. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed.
If this was going to be the end for her, at least one thought
comforted her. Her family, Cash, Ruby, Emily and the kids, were
safe. Derrick had no use for them now.

“
You got busy with
that
guy?”

Scarlett sniffled and held her breath. She rolled
over and looked at the door, but there was no one there.
“Hello?”

The ceiling clicked. “What?”

“
He seems like a real jackass.”
Dax’s voice seemed to fill the room, even though Scarlett knew she
was the only one who could hear him.

She blinked a few times. “Uh... nothing.” She rolled
back over to the wall and whispered. “Dax? How the hell?”

“
Yep. Me, in all my
glory.”

Another voice rang in her head, this time more
distant. “Oh, I don’t know. He sounds pretty handsome. But he’s
still a jerk.”

Scarlett bolted upright on the cot. “Jules?”

Chapter 46
Out of Time

Sometimes, the only escape is to push through until
it’s over, one way or the other.

* * *

The footsteps echoed from the hall outside
Scarlett’s cell. The hollow metal sound grew closer until it
stopped at her door.

“
Dax, no. I... I don’t have time
to explain,” Scarlett whispered. She glanced up at the camera in
the ceiling. “Listen, just shut up and wait ‘till I give the
word.”

“
But...” His voice rose in pitch,
sounding like a child’s.

“
Shhh.”

“
Fine.”

Scarlett rolled onto her back on the hard cot bolted
to the wall of her small cell. A short while ago, she’d expected to
die in this tiny room aboard the Universal Dynamics Industries
research space station. Even if she did manage to get out of the
holding cell, she had no idea where to go to escape. Neil’s news of
Derrick’s need to see her only changed the location, not the
outcome.

A surprise communication from Dax through her
implanted chip gave her a small ray of hope. He’d hacked into the
station’s systems and relayed his signal to her. The station’s core
computer also gave him her exact location and an escape route.

Jules’ voice on the comms was an even bigger
surprise.
Have to ask her what the hell she’s doing there when I
get a chance.

The door beeped and slid to the side. Two UDI guards
in black uniforms entered. One of the guards held a short rod with
metal prongs. He half smiled and half sneered as the tip of the rod
sparked with blue bolts of light.

Taserboy

“
Don’t worry.” Scarlett rolled off
the bed. She rose to her feet slowly. With her shoulders slumped,
she held her arms out and displayed her metal wrist-cuffs still
intact. “I’m done fighting. It’s not like there’s anywhere for me
to go, anyway.”

Taserboy’s half-smile disappeared, but his sneer
remained.

The other guard, who she named No-neck, had arms
thicker than Scarlett’s own thighs and his shirt bulged at every
seam. He seized the center of her cuffs.

With more force than she expected, No-neck yanked
her off the cot and propelled her through the door. Once past the
guard post and out of Holding, Scarlett was led down one dim
corridor after another. Only Dax’s voice in her ear kept her from
being completely lost.

Dax whispered a hushed explanation to Jules. “Okay.
Running through the center of the ring is a wide hall. That’s where
they are heading. Most of the corridor between here and there looks
empty.”

Scarlett ran through several scenarios in her head
of how a fight with these two guards would go. The only way she
could win was with the element of surprise.

“
Ok, up ahead,” Dax explained to
Scarlett, “the passage you’re in turns then exits to the main
corridor. Once you’re through the door, there’s people all over the
place. You’re out of time.”

She lifted her head. All her mental scenarios
vanished from her mind.
Son of a bitch.

The trio turned the corner.

“
I’ve locked the door. You’ll have
a few seconds of surprise.”

Fuck it.

Ahead, the heavy door leading to the main corridor
that ran the length of the entire station was closed. Her escorts
took an extra step before they realized she was no longer between
them.

Taserboy whipped around. “Why’d you stop?”

Scarlett closed her eyes. She focused on her
heartbeat and waited.

“
Hey! I’m talkin’ at you.”
Taserboy leveled his electric prod at her face.

She opened her eyes again. Her upper lip curled up
and she clenched her jaw. “Now.”

Dax’s fingers tapped in her ear. His computer beeped
and confirmed the command was sent.

No-neck stepped back and held up a small device,
similar to the one Neil had used earlier.

Scarlett’s shackles clicked and fell.

Taserboy’s gaze followed the metal cuffs until they
clanged on the floor. He looked back up at her with wide eyes.
“Shit.” The guard leaned forward and thrust the buzzing prod at
Scarlett.

Scarlett turned and stepped in close to Taserboy.
She grabbed the guard’s wrist and wrenched hard. The snap of the
man’s bones reverberated through her own. She let the feeling fuel
her rage and hone her focus.

From the corner of her eye, Scarlett saw No-neck
produce a gun from behind his back. She snatched the prod from
Taserboy’s useless fingers and grabbed the front of his armored
vest. Scarlett pulled his body in close and hefted his weight.

Three plasma bolts slammed into Taserboy’s armored
back, pushing her back. Peeking over his shoulder, Scarlett shoved
forward and ran at No-neck. The large guard shot several more
blasts, each hitting the dead guard’s armor.

Scarlett used all of her momentum and slammed
Taserboy’s body into No-neck. The impact sent all three of them
crashing into the wall. She reached up and grabbed her opponent’s
gun hand.

No-neck looked down at her and grinned. His large
arms were more than a match for all of her strength. He pushed
against her hand.

Her arm burned as No-neck pushed her arm down. The
man’s free hand grabbed a fistful of her hair and she screamed. He
forced her arm lower and lower, gradually shifting the barrel of
the gun closer to her face.

From between her chest and Taserboy’s she pulled out
the prod. Her face shifted from the grimace of pain to a wicked
grin. With the last bit of her strength, she shoved the prod into
his neck and pressed the trigger-button.

No-neck seized and twitched with the current flowing
through his body. His teeth slammed together and his eyes squeezed
shut. Spasms wracked his entire body. His fingers gripped hard
against the plasma pistol’s grip and trigger. A single blast shot
out from the plasma pistol, singeing her hair.

Scarlett held the prod against No-neck’s skin until
its charge was completely dissipated. Finally, she released the
button. No-neck, Taserboy, and the prod fell to the ground as she
stumbled back.

She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Her
whole body shook. A twinge started in her gut and fluttered up
through her chest. She felt wetness, but not sweat, at the corners
of her eyes.
Ohmygod...

“
Scarlett? You still there?” Dax’s
voice was tentative, worried.

Scarlett shook her head and wiped the tears from her
eyes, forcing her emotions away. “Yes. I’m still here.” She
searched the guards and found a second plasma pistol.

“
Oh thank God.” Jules voice
started faint then grew very loud. “I was so worried. I mean... We
can’t see what’s going on, so it’s like torture. Though, I don’t
think I’d want to see ev—”

“
Jules, it’s okay. I’m fine.”
Scarlett sniffled and shoved one of the pistols behind her back.
She put the other in her front waistband.

“
Oh. Okay.”

“
Jules... You gotta...” Dax
grunted. “Here. Sit here. She can hear you just fine from
there.”

Scarlett chuckled at the mental image of Dax trying
to share his space with Jules. “Alright, you two. I need a place to
put these bodies.”

Dax’s fingers tapped, but Jules answered first.
“There’s a maintenance closet about fifteen feet back and to the
left.”

“
Excellent.” Scarlett grabbed
Taserboy’s smoking armor vest and pulled him back to the closet. As
soon as she got there, the door clicked. The handle turned with
ease.

“
I could get used to you guys
opening things for me on a regular basis.”

“
Does that mean I get to
help?”

Scarlett heard the smile in Jules’s voice. “We’ll
see.”

She shoved Taserboy into the closet and closed the
door. Sweat poured from her brow and she wiped it away.

“
Uh, Scarlett? You might want to
hurry.”

“
What’s up?” She bolted back to
No-neck’s body. She skidded to a halt just in time to hear
something pounding on the door into the main corridor.

“
Someone’s trying to get
in.”

Scarlett grabbed No-neck’s vest. “Yeah, I got that.”
Without thinking, she pulled with the same strength she used on
Taserboy, but No-neck didn’t budge.

“
Shit, this guy’s heavy.” She
grabbed hold with both hands and pulled with all her strength. The
body moved as if stuck in mud.

Foot by foot she moved the dead guard, while every
second someone pounded on the corridor door from the other side.
With her teeth clenched, she grunted and rounded the corner to the
closet. She yanked open the door and dragged No-neck inside.
Scarlett closed the door and collapsed on the ground next to the
two dead guards. “Okay, open it.”

“
I already did, a few seconds ago.
They were making a call to maintenance.”

She panted, trying to get her breath. “You couldn’t
tell me?”

“
Sorry, I was impersonating their
maintenance department. A little busy.”

“
Whatever.”

“
Okay, they’re gone. Now that
you’re safe, we gotta get you out of there.” Dax’s fingers clacked
away at his keyboard. “Once you’re out in the main—”

“
I can’t leave. Not
yet.”

“
What? Not... Why?”