SharedObjectives (13 page)

“I’m so sorry.” The assistant’s words were halted and his
voice shaky as he spoke.

The interrogation forgotten, Dixie turned his full attention
to the man standing in front of him. “What happened?” He needed to know that
Lisa was okay but the possibility that she wasn’t made him freeze with fear.

“We were assisting Dr. Colt when a team of men breached the
lab.”

The room fell into a silence so profound that Dixie could
hear the hiss of his blood as it rushed through his head. For one moment the
world blurred around him and black dots swam through his field of vision as
panic consumed him. “Is Dr. Colt…” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the
question. He couldn’t use the word “dead” in the same sentence as her name.
Just the thought made his stomach cramp painfully and his eyes burn with the
threat of tears.

“She’s gone, sir.”

No. Surely the man was wrong. He had to be wrong. Dixie sank
back into his chair. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

“Five men infiltrated the lab. They were dressed in black
fatigues and their faces were concealed under heavy paint so I immediately went
to hit the alarm.”

“And?” If the man planned on dragging this out, Dixie might
have to resort to violence.

“Before I could get to the alarm, one of them hit me.” His
fingers fluttered toward the injury but he stilled his hand before he reached
it. “Everything went black. When I woke up, Dr. Colt and the life form were
both missing and the rest of our team were dead.”

“Missing? As in abducted?” He allowed his body to relax with
the wave of relief that swept through him. Abducted might not be ideal but it
was so much better than dead.

“Yes. Though we don’t know why.”

“What were you doing just before the breach?” If there was
any shot of getting Lisa back, Dixie needed as many details as possible.

“We’d completed the surgery and Dr. Colt had brought the
life form out of stasis.”

“She’d done that once before, though,” Dixie pressed.

“Yes, but this time Dr. Colt gave the life form mood
stabilizers. She appeared confused upon waking, but not suicidal as the first
one had been.”

“She solved it?” Isle’s words grabbed Dixie’s attention and
reminded him of the scientist’s existence once more. “She really woke a
Subservient and it lived? Is there a recording? Can I watch it?”

“I’m sorry but I think you’ve mistaken our intentions with
you. The only thing you should be asking right now is if we’re going to let you
live.” Dixie turned to the guards standing next to Isle and said, “Get him the
hell out of my sight.”

“Yes sir.” They helped the scientist stand before leading
him through the room. “He’ll be in detention block C if you have further need
of him.”

Dixie nodded but didn’t comment as the guards led Isle out
of the room. He was certain he’d have further need of the man. But only after
he’d gotten control of his emotions. Right now he wanted to choke the truth out
of him. But a dead witness couldn’t give up his secrets. “Is there a recording
of the abduction?”

The assistant nodded slightly. “We document everything. It’s
part of the procedure.”

“Where can I access the recording?”

“Dr. Colt’s office.”

That was the last place Dixie wanted to be right now. Being
surrounded by her things, her notes, her smell, would be torture. But he would
endure that pain happily on the off chance that the video would give them some
answers. He wouldn’t do it alone though. Dixie turned to one of the other
guards still waiting in the interrogation room. “Find Ben Mincer and have him
meet me there.”

“Yes sir.” The man saluted stiffly before he left.

Dixie turned back to Lisa’s assistant and gestured at the
door. “Lead the way.”

When they got to Lisa’s office, Dixie insisted they wait for
Ben before they viewed the tape. He’d have to be the one to tell Ben why they
were there and what’d happened. He didn’t relish the idea, but it would be
better coming from him than from a stranger.

“What’s up?” Ben’s voice pulled Dixie from his troubled
thoughts immediately. He took a second before turning to face the man, however.
This had to be done and Dixie should be the one to do it, but he really didn’t
want to.

“There’s been an incident.” The opening might be lame but it
was the best he could come up with. “As far as we can tell Lisa is alive, but
she and one of the life forms have been abducted.”

Ben sank into one of the chairs near Lisa’s desk. “By who
and where did they take her?”

Dixie caught Ben up as much as possible and gave him a few
minutes to process the information before pulling the video up on Lisa’s
computer. “I don’t know what’s on here. Whatever it is, I’m sure it doesn’t end
pleasantly. If you don’t want to watch it, I’d understand.”

Ben turned to face the monitor squarely. “I don’t want to
watch it. But I need to.” Dixie could relate to the sentiment. “Let’s get this
over with so we can find our girl.”

With one keystroke the video started to play. He knew it’d
be difficult, but seeing Lisa on the screen made it all the more real. He
wanted to reach out and touch her, pull her to him and hold her so tightly
she’d never slip away. But all he could do was watch as the events played out
before him.

The camera sat close enough to her that he could see her
pride as the Subservient woke and then sat up in the opened stasis chamber and
began to look around. Lisa tried to speak with it but the life form only stared
blankly at her.

This continued for a few minutes but then Lisa swayed and
placed a hand on her temple. It looked as if she’d been about to faint but she
managed to collect herself quickly. After that, Lisa just stood there staring
at the Subservient for a few minutes. Her behavior seemed odd to Dixie, but
he’d be lying if he said her behaviors on the best of days made complete sense
to him. Even her decision to be with him was beyond Dixie’s comprehension. He
was too big and too jaded for someone with her tender sense of vulnerability.
He would be forever thankful that made sense to her, though.

A loud boom filled the lab and the video shook slightly as
it recorded the dust cloud left by the explosion. When the dust settled, the
scene played out much as the assistant described. Five commandos swept into the
room and neutralized any resistance. When the assistants and guards were all
incapacitated, they turned to Lisa. She looked frightened but held her body
rigidly in place.

“Run, goddamn it.” Dixie tried to will her into following
his order. But she didn’t. She placed herself between the men and the life form
still sitting in the stasis chamber as if she could somehow protect the being.

He didn’t think it was possible, but he loved her more in
that moment than he had just a few seconds ago. Oh, he was mad as hell at her
for putting herself further in harm’s way. But he understood the need to
protect the vulnerable.

In the end, the men didn’t even have to threaten her to get
her to leave with them. They’d read her body language as well as Dixie had. All
of their threats were directed toward the Subservient. If she wanted the life
form to live, she’d have to go with them willingly. The being didn’t seem fazed
in the least as it stepped out of the chamber and fell in line with them. So
much for Lisa’s theory of muscle atrophy. The Subservient seemed to be moving
just fine to Dixie. Hell, if Lisa hadn’t thrown a protective arm around the
life form’s waist, Dixie would’ve suspected the Subservient had somehow helped
with the attack.

They were almost at the end of the recording. Next Dixie
would have to watch Lisa walk out the door to the lab with her captors. He
cursed the inevitability even as his entire body tensed with the need for
retribution.

“Wait!” Everybody’s attention shifted to Ben as he hit the
key to freeze the screen. “Did you see that?”

“What?” He’d seen so much and yet too little. Nothing seemed
important to the investigation despite the entire event having such a profound
impact on his soul.

Ben keyed the video back a couple of frames and pointed to a
small glint of metal on one of the commandos’ wrists. “Focus right here.” He
then let the video play.

As Dixie watched the film play again, he clearly made out
the metal gleam. It wasn’t the bracelet he originally thought it’d be. It was a
watch. An antiquated timepiece like that was a rarity. He’d only seen one like
it.

Lisa’s assistant gasped from behind them. “No. That can’t be
right.” He moved to pull his reader out of his jacket pocket but both Dixie and
Ben jumped into action. They grabbed his arms and then twisted them so they
were held behind the man’s back. The position might not be one of the most
comfortable ones but it certainly wasn’t painful. The man went pale and started
to shake as if he’d just been threatened, however.

“You know who that man is.” Dixie didn’t bother to phrase it
as a question. His reaction had given him away.

“No. There has to be a mistake. He must have lost it or
maybe it was stolen.”

“Commander Wallace doesn’t let that watch out of his sight.
If it’d been lost or stolen, the entire Coalition would’ve heard about it.”

“He wouldn’t do this.”

“We’ve got the recording. He did. The only question I’ve got
is, who is Wallace to you?”

The man glared at Dixie and then his attention darted back
to the image of the watch frozen on the screen. “He’s my father.”

“Guess that’s why you were the only one lucky enough to
survive.”

“You’re wrong. He’s the one who assigned me to work in the
lab. He wouldn’t put me in that kind of danger if he knew there was going to be
a raid.”

Dixie didn’t like where this was going. “He assigned you to
work with Dr. Colt?”

“That’s what I just said.”

“Did you report to him on her progress?”

“Of course.” The man struggled halfheartedly in their grasp
but then remained still.

Dixie looked at Ben as the pieces started making a very
unpleasant picture. “Wallace ordered Lisa’s rescue. He’s the reason she was
here in the first place.”

Understanding filled Ben’s expression almost immediately. “No.
This entire thing can’t be one elaborate setup.” Ben looked down at the
recording again. “Can it?”

The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. “If
the military was desperate to get those weapons up and running and the only
person smart enough to pull it off was ethically opposed to it, what choice
would it have?” As he said the words out loud, they made too much sense to
dismiss. They hadn’t rescued Lisa, they’d handed her over to the enemy on a
silver platter. And now that they’d disclosed her alliance with the Coalition
to Ben’s journalist friend, they’d managed to dig the Coalition’s hole even
deeper. Hell, by this point it could probably bury them all.

Lisa walked slowly down the dark, cold corridor of the
spaceship. She was only allowed access to a small section of the ship that’d
been secured. Still, every step she took reminded her of how far away from her
life she currently was. And every second in space only served to take her that
much further. The only thing worse than thinking about the space between her
and her family was knowing there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

Her feet refused to budge another inch and her knees almost
gave out as she thought about her men. She did find some comfort in the knowledge
that Nate would have his father. She didn’t have to worry about him now as much
as she did just a month ago. Still, as she pictured Ben playing with their son
and tucking him into bed at night, the last of her control snapped and she sank
to her knees on the cold metal floor.

Sobs racked her body but she couldn’t seem to release them.
They got stuck in her throat and choked her with her own grief. She didn’t
usually complain about the twists and turns in life but she’d been through so
damn much over the past couple of years. To have everything ripped out from
under her just when she’d found happiness again was unfair. No. It was more
than unfair, it was cruel.

A warm hand rested on her shoulder and calm peace filled
her. She didn’t have to look behind her to know who the touch belonged to. It
was the life form she’d saved in the lab. They hadn’t been together for long,
but already Lisa had started to become used to the woman pushing her emotions
and thoughts into Lisa’s mind. If anything good ever came out of this, it’d be
that she somehow managed to save the remarkable being.

Lisa looked up in time to catch her smile. Apparently she
liked Lisa’s high opinion of her.

“Yes.” It was the first word she had ever spoken and hearing
it threw Lisa into such a state of shock that she fell back onto her bottom.

“You can speak?” If so, why hadn’t she up to now?

“Little. Still learning.”

Lisa felt another, harder push into her mind as images
filled her brain. With each image, Lisa compulsively thought of the object’s
name.

“Shoes. I would like shoes.”

The image of shoes had just flashed thought Lisa’s mind. It
had to be more than a coincidence. “You’re using my thoughts to learn
language.”

“Yes.”

Lisa drew back at the invasion of privacy but then
immediately regretted her reaction as pain flashed across the woman’s face.

“Sorry.” She stepped back from Lisa just as Lisa felt the
woman’s consciousness withdrawing from her own.

“No. I’m sorry.” She reached forward to grab the woman’s
hand. “It was just a shock. We’re not used to sharing our thoughts and memories
with others.”

The woman nodded. “It is the most efficient way for me to
learn.”

“I understand.”

“I understand,” she repeated.

The pressure returned to Lisa’s mind as the woman pressed
her consciousness back into Lisa’s. It was uncomfortable but Lisa tried to
relax through the experience. She needed to help the woman more than she needed
privacy at the moment. “Do you have a name? Something you’d like me to call
you?” There had been a number one on her chamber, but Lisa didn’t like the idea
of giving the woman a number. It felt hollow.

“Harlow?” She cocked her head as she tested the word out.

“No, hollow,” Lisa corrected softly. “It means empty.”

“I am empty, but I am not. Harlow is a good name. You may
call me that.”

Her logic made some sense. Besides, who was Lisa to argue
with her? If she liked the name, that should be good enough for Lisa. “Okay.
Harlow it is.” Lisa looked down the corridor in the direction she’d been
walking. “Do you know where we’re going or how long it’s going to take us to
get there?”

“A lab. Like the one I was in. It scares the men.” She
looked back over her shoulder toward the bridge of the ship. “The doctor scares
the men. But he pays them well.”

“I’ll just bet he does.” She snorted as the benefits of
having a telepathic friend became clear. “Any idea when they expect to reach
the lab?”

She shook her head. “Time confuses me.”

“Don’t worry. It confuses us all. We think we have more than
we could ever fill only to find out we’ve run out just when we need it most.”

Harlow smiled and nodded as if Lisa’s words had made sense.
“You are a friend.”

“I’d like to be.”

“You saved me. I saw it in your memories.”

“I did what any good doctor would do.”

“And I will save you. That is what any good friend would
do.” She offered her hand to Lisa and Lisa took it without reservation.

“Thank you.” A plan was already spinning in Lisa’s mind but
she couldn’t be certain who it belonged to.

“I am drawing from your experiences. You seem to get
kidnapped a lot.”

Lisa laughed at the woman’s straightforward personality.
“This is only the third time. And the last was more of a rescue.”

Harlow smiled as images of Ben and Dixie filled Lisa’s head.
“I can see that.”

“That is personal.”

Harlow nodded and instantly the memories of her men left her
so completely that she felt empty.

“You’re hollow?”

Lisa noted Harlow’s use of contractions as she nodded in
answer. She’d picked up the language quickly.

“But you also are not.” Harlow started leading her down the
corridor. “We’re more alike than they think.”

Lisa didn’t have to ask who Harlow was referring to. As
Harlow said the words the image of the men who’d taken her and Harlow flashed
through her mind. “Do they know you’re speaking now?”

“No. I had nothing to say to them.”

“Good, we should keep it that way.”

“The element of surprise.” One of Harlow’s eyebrows rose
slightly. “I like it. You’re more devious than I gave you credit for.”

“And you’re smarter than I gave you credit for.” Lisa was
amazed at how quickly the woman picked up an abstract idea like deception.

“You should take that as a compliment. This form of learning
is efficient, but it’s also limited. I can only be as smart as the people
around me.”

The ship shimmied and a booming voice came over the comm
system announcing their arrival. “Looks as if we’re about to meet the doctor.”

Once they’d landed, a group of armed men met them in the
secured area and guided them through the ship. Harlow did a great job keeping
up the silent act as she and Lisa were led down the boarding ramp and into what
could only be classified as a compound. The high, thick walls were
intimidating. But the security grid that stretched over the large building
filled Lisa with dread. Every time a bug flew near the place, a loud popping
noise filled the air as the bug disintegrated.

“Pretty drastic measures to guard against a couple of bugs.”
She couldn’t care less about the insects though. If something as small as a bug
couldn’t get in, how was she going to get out?

But the guards didn’t seem to question the validity of her
statement. They turned toward each other and laughed. “Trust me, sweetheart,
some of the bugs on this planet are the stuff of your worst nightmares. You
should be thankful for that grid. It’s there for your protection.”

Sure it was. Despite their assurances, she didn’t buy it.
She didn’t comment on it further, though. She didn’t want them to know she was
examining the security. She didn’t really have a chance to check out much more
of it anyway. As soon as the men guided them into the main building, she had to
focus on making a mental map of the corridors. Her primary concern changed to
memorizing the path out.

They took several turns and then stopped in front of a door.
As one of the men punched in his security code, the numbers appeared in Lisa’s
head. Being around a telepath might take some getting used to, but she quickly
decided it was definitely worth the effort.

When the door slid open, it didn’t surprise Lisa to find Dr.
Antihway standing on the other side. “Welcome to my humble abode. I wanted to
greet you at the front gate but the life of a scientist…” He shrugged and then
turned away from them before walking into a large lab. “Never a free moment.
I’m sure you know what I mean, Dr. Colt. Our research is our life.”

He gestured to a large table in the middle of the room and
Lisa had to cover her mouth to keep from gagging in disgust. “What is that?” A
man-sized animal lay prone on the table with its arms and legs secured by cuffs
and chains. It had iridescent scales that shimmered under the low lights of the
lab as it fought against its captivity and a large snout that resembled a
reptile’s mouth with the sharp teeth to match. That in itself was enough to
cause her to tremble in fear. But that the creature currently yelled obscenities
at them pushed her fear to a new level.

“That, Dr. Colt, is a prototype for what was going to be the
next super soldier. But since you were so kind as to fix my last prototype, I
fear he’s no longer needed.” He pulled a remote control out of his jacket pocket
and pushed a button. The creature screamed in pain and twitched for a moment
before he became still.

Tears threatened as she watched the being simply cease to
exist. She would never condone Antihway’s methods or ethics. The man was as
evil as the rumors made him out to be. But she couldn’t let that prejudice
color his creations. Once a life form was created, it had to be respected. A
mad scientist might be able to create a sentient being, but that didn’t give
him the right to kill that life form on a whim. The injustice of it burned in
the pit of her stomach. But the thing that made her heart hurt was her
inability to help the poor creature. She’d just stood there and watched it die.

Harlow grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly but didn’t
project any mental images or emotions. Something Lisa would be eternally
grateful for. As a telepath and a madman’s science project, witnessing the
creature’s death had to be infinitely harder on Harlow than it had been on
Lisa. “I won’t help you.” The words were soft but sure.

Dr. Antihway laughed as he snapped his fingers. Two of his
cronies grabbed Harlow’s arms and began dragging her away from Lisa. “Sure you
will. I’ll tell you why. You’re too good-hearted to let anything happen to her.
But just in case she’s not enough of an incentive, I’ve got several hundred
more just waiting to be used as leverage.”

He walked to the back wall of the lab and pressed his hand
against a biometric scanner. The wall made a hissing noise but then slid back
and revealed a room filled with stasis chambers. He turned to face her again
before he stepped to the side to give her the full, tragic view of her current
situation. “If you can’t help them, I fear there’s nothing to do but unplug
them. That’ll also mean picking up where I left off with my cross-genetic
studies.” He nodded toward the dead reptile-man. “Might go a little more subtle
this time, though. Look a little more human but keep the cold heart of a
reptile? Not to mention the venom glands. Of course that wouldn’t help with infantry,
which is where the real money is, but imagine what a good assassin he would
make.” Dr. Antihway walked over to a computer terminal and then started typing
furiously. She’d already been all but forgotten, as were the life forms in the
next room. If she didn’t do something, they were all as good as dead.

“Fine. I’ll show you how to fix them.”

He looked up at her and cocked his head as if trying to
place her before shaking himself out of his stupor. “Oh, you’re still here?”

“Where else would I go?” she asked dryly.

“Guess you do have a point.” He giggled and then nodded.
“Okay. What do you want?”

The list was too long for her to even contemplate. And,
seeing as it started with his head on a pike, she doubted she’d get any of it.
Still, she had to give him something. He was already suspicious of her. If she
didn’t ask for anything he’d know she was plotting. “I’ll show you the
procedure with one of them. They you’ll let me go and you will promise that
we’ll never cross paths again.” The request had just the right
self-preservation and selfishness to be believable to a man of his moral
character—none.

He looked at her skeptically. “That’s all you want?”

“No. But I figure it’s the best I’m likely to get.”

“See, I knew you could be reasoned with.” He stared at her
for a moment as if he was giving her offer serious consideration. “And the deal
sounds fair enough. Okay, you have my word.” Which was about as good as a bowl
of rotten fruit. Still, she’d bought herself some time. “Why don’t you get
settled and we can start first thing in the morning.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather get started now.
The sooner this is over, the sooner I’m back home.” She needed time but too
much time was almost as bad as too little. The longer she spent here the more
depressed and despondent she’d become. Plus, if he was going to believe she was
going to work with him for her release, she was going to have to appear eager.

One of his eyebrows rose slightly but then he nodded and his
face became expressionless. “Of course. Just let me know what you need and I’ll
make sure you get it.”

“I’ll make up a list.” She walked over to a computer before
turning back to face him. “And, of course, some background information would be
helpful. To be honest, I was mainly going with hunches before.”

“Your hunches seem good enough. You were successful, after
all.” He gestured toward Harlow as proof of his words.

“One success is a fluke in the scientific world. Besides,
the first time we tried to wake one up she died just moments later. It’d be a
shame if I only have a fifty percent effectiveness rate because I’m operating
on hunches.” She shrugged as she turned back to face the monitor. “Especially
given that fifty percent is the best-case scenario at this point. There’s no
guarantee that once I get in there and start guessing my success rate won’t dip
to closer to twenty-five percent—or worse.”