Retribution (SSU Trilogy Book 3) (The Surgical Strike Unit) (10 page)

“As you’ve seen from the blood samples, the chemical mix used by Kaufmann contains a variety of known and unknown substances.” Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her chin and delivered the bad news. “I know of no way to reverse all the damage done to these men. Right now, the best I can promise is some easing of their symptoms. Hopefully, the notes and samples I brought out will help us eventually develop a cure that will return Kaufmann’s subjects to some degree of normalcy.”

She paused, wishing she had better news. “Unfortunately, I don’t think Nate and the others have that time.”

Now for the tricky part. To give them what she could without exposing her knowledge of Agent Styx. “I’ve had some prior experience with one of the chemicals Kaufmann used, a chemical that is known to trigger rages even decades after exposure. I’ll share the formula I developed to mitigate the rage. Kaufmann led me to believe the formula had some success, but he never let me see the men I was treating.”

She glanced around the table. “I had no idea that Kaufmann’s program included drugs that caused the acute organ failure and hemorrhaging displayed by the escapees on the truck. If any of you have suggestions on how to help stop the men from reaching that phase, I’d love to hear them. Otherwise,” she shrugged unhappily, “we’ll be starting from scratch.”

To her surprise there was no grumbling over the lack of an easy solution. The others just nodded grimly and started brainstorming a treatment plan. No one had any illusions. The men couldn’t be saved. But they’d do their best to alleviate the men’s symptoms and treat them like human beings for the last days of their lives.

S
everal hours later, Gabby finally left the conference room, more determined than ever to help Nate and the others.

“Dr. Montague!”

Gabby spun around as an unfamiliar young woman came hurrying down the corridor.

“I’m sorry,” the woman panted. “I wanted to catch you before you left the building. I’m supposed to give you this.” She handed Gabby a thick envelope.

At Gabby’s raised eyebrow, she explained, “They found these notes hidden in the clothes of some of the men you brought with you.”

Laurel. Tears stung Gabby’s eyes. Her friend had managed to get the notes out of the lab after all, even though she herself hadn’t made it. “Thank you,” she murmured.

With a smile that said she was pleased to have fulfilled her duty, the young woman headed back toward the office at the end of the corridor. Clutching the envelope with chilled fingers, Gabby followed the written directions to the temporary lab she’d been assigned. There, waiting on the counter as promised by Dr. Smith, were several vials of blood and urine samples taken from Nate and the others.

The instant Gabby looked at one of Nate’s blood samples under the microscope, she felt a thrill of recognition. He had the marker for Agent Styx. Unfortunately, Nate’s blood also held traces of chemicals she didn’t recognize, in addition to variations of both steroids and amphetamines. One thing stood out, however. Nate’s body was deteriorating. Not so fast that she expected him to hemorrhage in the next twenty-four hours, but unless her team discovered a miracle solution, he wasn’t going to survive.

Ignoring the weight of sorrow pressing on her shoulders, Gabby ran her first series of tests on each patient’s samples. She jotted notes and made calculations, but in her gut she knew Nate and the others were too far damaged for her to save. The effects of Agent Styx were difficult enough to counteract. Once the chemical entered a person’s system, it mutated, inserting itself into that particular body’s weakest points.

That was one of the reasons it had made such an effective, although highly unstable, poison. Put it in the water supply and it was guaranteed to kill. Eventually.

Even the soldiers sent to disperse the agent couldn’t escape it. Gloves had been issued to protect their hands after it was learned the chemical could burn through skin. But the government hadn’t put protective measures in place to stop the men from inhaling the fumes when they poured Agent Styx into village wells in rural Vietnam. The long-term aggressiveness triggered by the fumes had worked to the U.S. government’s benefit, giving them more ruthless, dangerous soldiers.

Soldiers like her father, who years after he’d been exposed still suffered from uncontrollable bouts of rage. But since the government insisted there had been no side effects to Agent Styx, none of the veterans had received specific treatment for it.

Until Gabby came along. Before she’d joined Kaufmann’s group, she’d been close to finding a counteragent that worked to contain Agent Styx’s effects in the body. Unfortunately, some of the chemicals used in Kaufmann’s program enhanced the negative side effects of Agent Styx, making her wonder if the man had been briefed on the full spectrum of potentially dangerous side effects. And if not, then why had that information been withheld?

“What’s got that pretty face scowling so fiercely?”

At the unexpected sound of Rafe’s voice so near her ear Gabby’s hand jerked up in surprise and her pencil stabbed him in the cheek.

“Hey!” he protested, jerking back. His hand shot out and captured her wrist, moving her hand out of range of another attack.

She turned her head and glared at him. “Don’t sneak up on me!”

Rafe’s eyes laughed down at her. “I knocked, sweetheart. You were too focused to notice.”

Knowing that she did have a habit of losing track of her surroundings when she was deep in thought, Gabby crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing here?”

“I brought you a welcome gift.” Rafe pulled his hand from behind his back. There, cradled in his palm, sat a small teddy bear wearing a white lab coat and a stethoscope around its neck.

“Oh!” Her heart melted as she reached out to stroke the bear’s silky fur. Tears unexpectedly filled her eyes. “No one’s given me a gift in…” She let her voice trail off, aware of how pathetic she’d sound if she admitted it had been years. She hadn’t had time to date and her friends had been casual, not the type to exchange presents.

Rafe placed the bear into Gabby’s hands, then surrounded her hands with his much larger ones. “Shh, don’t cry,
querida
. I wanted to make you smile, not frown.”

She shrugged, but couldn’t stop a tear from falling. “These are happy tears,” she murmured.

Rafe nodded sagely. “Ah. Those mysterious tears that men never understand.”

She gave him a watery smile. “Exactly.” She glanced down at the bear in her palms. “He’s perfect.”

“I thought he could watch over you in the lab,” Rafe admitted softly.

Oh man, he broke her heart. How did he know just the right words to say? “Thank you.” With a gentle tug, she freed herself from Rafe’s grip, then placed the bear on top of her computer. “How’s that?”

“Just right.”

Gabby grabbed a couple of tissues and blotted her tears. “Sorry, the stress is making me emotional.”

“Nothing to apologize for. So, how are you settling in?”

She shrugged, then stared at the rack of test tubes. “I’ve started working with the samples Dr. Smith gave me and—”

Rafe’s hands lightly gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him. “That’s not what I meant, Gabby. How are you, the woman, not the doctor, settling in? Everyone treating you well?”

“Sure. They’ve all been very friendly.”

His eyes searched her face and she wondered what he was looking for. Then the brown depths of his eyes heated. Tingles of electricity ran up her arm from where his fingers encircled her wrist.

Gabby suddenly couldn’t breathe. She blamed the fire in his eyes, because surely it was eating all the oxygen in the room. Uh-huh. And that’s why her skin flushed and her heart sped up. Lack of air, not an inexplicable flash of desire unlike anything she’d experienced. She couldn’t want him so fiercely. She didn’t do impulsive. Heck, she didn’t really do relationships. Not for over a year, at least.

Maybe she was getting sick. Or maybe the stress was finally getting to her and making her weak, because she swayed toward Rafe and didn’t turn away when he lowered his head.
Then his lips touched hers. Her legs trembled and she feared she might crumble to the floor.

Oh, damn. She was in
such
big trouble.

His lips were warm and soft and fit against hers like they’d been custom molded. She kissed him back and his groan of male satisfaction made her shiver.

“
Madre de Dios
,” he murmured, slipping into his mother’s native Spanish as he reached for Gabby. “Come closer, baby.”

She stepped into his arms and slid her hands to the nape of his neck. Part of her reeled in shock at her obedience to his command, but she couldn’t resist the urge to touch him. His hair was shaved close at his nape and she stroked her palms over the short hairs, smoothing them down like she’d pet a cat, loving the sensuous feel against her skin. Loving the way Rafe bent his head to give her better access.

“Hell, yes, Gabby. Do that again.”

Oh, God. The rough sound of his voice tightened parts of her body as if he’d physically stroked her. When was the last time she’d desired a man like this? Had she
ever
felt her heart race from just touching another man? From knowing that her caress had such a powerful effect?

No wonder women got drunk on their sexual power. She felt lightheaded and bold. Sliding her fingers deeper into his hair, she tugged until his chin lifted. Then she placed a kiss in the hollow at the base of his neck. She tasted him with the tip of her tongue and couldn’t hold back her groan of approval.

Alarm bells blared somewhere in the back of her head, but she didn’t care. This felt too good. After living so long with fear, she wanted heat. She wanted passion.

“Ah, Christ, you’re burning me alive,” Rafe said an instant before he took her mouth in another kiss.

This time she opened for him. The feel of his tongue inside her mouth, the spicy taste of him, had all her senses clanging. Shrilling in—

Rafe lifted his head. “Your phone,” he gasped.

“Wha-?”

He nodded over her shoulder. “Your phone is ringing.”

Trying to remember what a phone was and why she should care it was ringing, Gabby turned around and spotted the cordless phone sitting on the corner of her workspace.

Right. Lab. SSU. Patients!

She lunged and snatched up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Dr. Montague, Dr. Smith would like to see you as soon as possible. One of the patients is showing advanced symptoms.”

Gabby bit back a curse. “Of course. I’ll be right there.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “Uh…which patient?”

“Gibson.”

Gabby blew out a relieved breath. Not Rafe’s friend, thank heavens. “I’m on my way.”

She gently set the receiver back in its cradle. Talk about a harsh return to reality. Her body still sung from Rafe’s kiss, and for the first time in her life the woman resented moving aside for the scientist.

“Bad news?” Rafe asked.

She nodded without turning around. “Gibson is doing worse,” she said. “I need to go see Dr. Smith.”

Rafe’s hands settled on her shoulders and gave a comforting squeeze. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll walk you down. These corridors can be confusing until you’ve been here a while.”

“Thanks.” She forced herself to step away from Rafe, when what she really wanted was to pivot and feel his arms enfold her against his warmth and strength. But she had to stay focused. Had to remember that her place here was still shaky, so she didn’t have time for indulging her personal weaknesses.

Besides, she had patients to treat.

Chapter 9

R
afe took a sip of Ryker’s special blend of dark roast coffee and watched his boss spin the antique globe in the corner of his office while he spoke on the phone. Ryker nodded, even though the senator on the other end of the line couldn’t see him. From listening to Ryker’s side of the conversation, Rafe understood that the senator wanted the SSU to find his missing college-age daughter, even though she’d only been missing for twelve hours.

Ryker chose his words with extreme care, politely pointing out that the SSU was a counter-terrorist and national security organization. That, given the daughter’s history of running away whenever she had a fight with her father, the senator would be better served by waiting a few days and then hiring a private investigator if she remained missing.

Ryker was freaking amazing, never losing his respectful, polite tone. Rafe would have told the man to get lost five minutes ago. Yet as the conversation drew to a close, Rafe couldn’t see any tension in Ryker’s expression or detect any sign of frustration or impatience in his voice.

“Why the hell did you pick
me
to train as your successor?” Rafe demanded when Ryker hung up the phone. “I hate crap like that.” He’d been working with Ryker for seven months and still didn’t think he’d be half as good in the position of director.

Ryker raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I like it? Trust me, I have to work to stay calm and polite. I do it because we need support like his if we’re going to stay in the game. You’ll get the hang of it.” Ryker poured himself a cup of coffee, added one cube of sugar, then perched on the edge of his desk.

“So, give me your impressions of Dr. Montague.” Ryker’s lips smiled around the rim of his coffee cup as he sipped. “Or should I say, of your little scientist?”

Rafe rolled his eyes. The SSU’s gossip mill worked faster than the speed of light. Scary thing was, he did think of Gabby as his. But he’d die before he let his teammates know that.

“We scared her pretty bad,” Rafe admitted. “Unless she’s a world-class liar, I believe her when she says she had no clue Kaufmann was running a second program, and that she only switched sides in order to save her life. Still, we should keep an eye on her.”

Ryker nodded. He took a long drink of coffee, then stared over Rafe’s head. The hairs at the back of Rafe’s neck stood up as he sensed Ryker struggling with some piece of information.

“I knew her father,” Ryker finally said.