Under His Guard (23 page)

“I understand.”

“Wait!” Farrow sheathed her KA-BAR. “Wait, Lincoln.” She touched his shoulder. “We should start with
why
first.”

“Shoot first, ask questions later.” Cannon banged the door closed, shutting us inside.

“And I'm jes' sure Nathaniel appreciates your single-mindedness, you big bull. However, everyone has a reason.” Farrow was not doing herself any favors, getting close to the enemy.

Val looked around the room we filled. We bristled with hostility and more weaponry than could be counted. She glanced at Farrow, who nodded encouragingly.

“This is my family's home from centuries ago.” For the first time, Val's voice trembled. “I was far too keen, far too smart, and far too ambitious for my own good. When the CEO first approached me, I was in awe of his brilliant campaign. We'd been minor nobility and lost it all during the uprising—”

“Uprising? The Purge was earth-wide destruction!” I boomed.

“It was…unfortunate. And we fell on misfortune. I was promised my parents' and my sister's safety, and if I didn't comply, he told me they would all die.”

“Cutler.” I choked on his name.

“Many years ago, yes. I traveled to Beta, where I worked under Dr. Robie Grant.”

Liz jerked her gun. Linc gently pushed it to her side and took her in his arms.

“Robie had such vision. Everything he talked about was to better peoples' lives. He was torn in two, just as I was.” Her eyes glazed over. “I'm sorry, Lizbeth. I'm so sorry. Robie was a man of honor.”

Liz looked coldly in Val's direction.

“What's your first name?” Farrow joined Val on the sofa.

“Elizabeth—Elizabeth Valary. And you are Farrow Monroe?”

I cut in. “You know us all. You have our dossiers?”

“I do. I did. Now all I have are these walls, this home, memories, and heirlooms, and a past filled with arrogant mistakes.”

I paced a ring around the rug in front of the fire.

“I'm not afraid to die. I deserve it.”

“Fuck!” I punched the wall in front of me, hoping some part of me would bleed. “You created this shit. The new strain that's about to go on the rampage. You infected people!”

“I've repented.”

“That's not enough. You better have a fucking good reason why I shouldn't just shoot you now.”

“Copy that.” Liz slipped away from Linc to stand by my side.

Elizabeth Valary tried to rise to her feet, but Farrow soothed her down. Then she rounded on us. “Maybe you should give her a chance to explain.”

“Are you kidding me right now, Farrow? What the hell? She coerced my dad. She infected Leon!” Liz shrieked, at breaking point.

“You know I love you, Lizbeth. But you better back off.” The hard glint in Farrow's green eyes reached all the way to her thinned lips.

I forced a shoulder between the two. “Opposite corners. Now.” I pointed my weapon at Val. “Talk. And do it quickly unless you want me to set Liz free to go off mission.”

She spoke softly but strongly, an all-pervasive air of hopelessness shrouding her. “I can get you to Cutler. Or I could, except I'm on house arrest. He confiscated all of my laboratory equipment, and of course, there are the guards outside.”

“We took care of them.” Cold corpses were all they'd be come morning light.

“And there's Leon. How are you feeling?” She struggled to stand with her hands tied behind her back. The first step she took toward him found her face-to-face with the muzzle of my gun.

Throughout all of Dr. Val's interrogation, Leon was stationed behind the thick wall of Nathaniel and Cannon—well guarded—but his face peeked out and his features were sheet-white as he watched his torturer.

“Don't do that,” I gritted between my teeth. “You nearly killed him five fucking times! You do not get to do the concerned-doctor act here.”

“I was brainwashed, too, with my own formula. I tried to extricate myself long before Cutler made me use the same mind-altering components on Robie.” Her head swung to Liz. “You must believe me. I never wanted any of this to happen. None of it. When Leon was brought to me, I was controlled by drugs. I'm just as much an unwilling participant in this as all of you.”

“What about my dad?” Liz's voice was a rough whisper.

“I thought it would be better for him. For you and your mother, too. Lizbeth, he was used and used up. Robie was so bright, a truly affectionate man, a remarkable scientist. When he started falling apart…I wanted to give him a clean slate before what we'd done together destroyed his humanity. I wanted to give him his old life back. I was capable of carrying all the blame.”

“I don't know what's worse—my father coming clean for the cause or you not being completely successful in keeping his memories at bay.” Liz turned a tearstained face into Linc's shoulder.

“I'm sorry, Liz. All we can do now is focus on the new strain.”

“Once again, the one you created.” The Smith on my hip was burning a hole in its holster. I wanted to raise it so badly and pull the trigger. Leon's sudden presence at my side calmed my blind fury enough that I had the presence of mind to ask, “What is the plan?”

“Leon is Patient Zero. His body holds all the answers.”

He flinched beside me, and I moved in front of him, blocking him from her sight. “No. No more testing on Leon. Try again. If there's not another viable option, you're dead tonight. I promise you that.”

She sat forward. “He's the
key
to all this.”

“And I'm going to lock your mouth shut with a bullet.” My patience wore thin. Leon huddled behind me, shaking. “You've got about two minutes to come up with an answer I like.”

“The first Plague strain was reborn from a virus introduced in 1918. We used that superbug as the prototype. Perhaps if I go back and research the first wave…”

“Ticktock. Not enough time.” My teeth clicked together.

“Then it's getting to Cutler, all or nothing,” she said, squaring off her shoulders. “He has the stashes of the antidote.”

“Are you saying you can get us inside? Close enough to kill him, to vaccinate everyone?” Cannon marched toward her, his Glock inches away from her face.

“Yes. If you trust me.”

“You'll have to earn that,” I snarled.

“I can start right now. I think there's someone else here you should meet.”

None too gently, Cannon yanked her up and prodded her forward. We formed a cage around the doctor as she led us down long hallways. Her heels clicked on the marble, her skirt swayed from her hips, but she moved awkwardly with her hands tied behind her back. Pre-Purge artifacts lined the passageways: disintegrating statues, frayed framed Old History artworks nothing like the ones fed through the D-Ps and deemed suitable by the Company. Cobwebs hung from doorways that might not have been opened for decades.

At the end of the very last hall in the vast mansion, she nodded. “In there.”

With our sidearms aimed and at the ready, we waited while Linc pushed the door open.

Inside the soundproofed room sat one solitary male figure at a long steel desk topped by D-Ps and snaked by wires.

“Fucking hell,” Liz breathed.

“It's you!” Linc burst across the threshold.

D
enver?” Liz strained forward.

He continued to sit with his back facing us, long black hair barely swinging over the chair when he turned his face briefly, unconcernedly. He swiveled away again, raising one hand to silence us, as if we didn't have an armory of weapons trained on the back of his head.

“It seems it's time for me to sign off. I have unexpected visitors tonight. Remember, citizens of the world, victory is within our reach. Love Free or Die!” His tone—heard unmodulated for the first time—was rough and slightly lilting with a foreign accent.

“That's Denver?” Fury mangled my words. I was surprised blood vessels didn't pop in my eyes.

“Holy shit! You're the Voice?” Liz hooted.

“The voice of wisdom and reason.” The man stood with a flat stare and gave a slight bow.

“The bastard who had it in for Leon.” I growled.

“I know I never had
Monsieur
Cheramie. I'm fairly certain I'd remember that.” He appraised Leon with one eyebrow hooked in interest.

I bucked as Cannon's hands suddenly gripped my arms.

“Here we go again,” Cannon muttered.

“You set us up at the water tower in Beta. You probably set up his goddamn kidnapping, you know, the one that got him infected by your fucking pal over here.”

Denver casually leaned against the desk behind him and crossed one foot over the other. “You don't really get a lot of choice in your evil deeds when you're Cutler's aide-de-camp.”

I vaulted past Linc, jerked Denver up, and drove my fist into his face. His body flopped in my arms, and I dropped him like a deadweight.

Cannon came up beside me. “Knocked him out, huh?”

“Yeah.” My chest chugged in and out.

“He has a little pent-up anger,” Farrow said to Val.

“That's becoming apparent,” the doctor replied.

“Feel better?” Leon ran his arm around my waist and looked down at the man I'd just laid out.

I flexed my knuckles. “A bit.”

After a couple minutes, Denver came around. Linc helped him to his feet while he brushed out his hair and checked to make sure he still had his weapons on his body, which he didn't.

Meanwhile, I stayed busy emptying all the cartridges from his fancy, custom-made pair of handguns, pocketing the ammo.

Denver hungrily eyed his weaponry, then relaxed his shoulders.
“Daijobu.”

He was a big guy, at least as tall and as broad as Linc, Cannon, and me. His slanting eyes and unusual skin tone marked him as FarAsian. A bright synthetic tattoo of a dragon slithered up one side of his neck, and his face bore a fine crosshatching of pale scars. Something about him reminded me of the kind of quiet calm before a snake strike.

I didn't trust him for an instant.

Sebastian, on the other hand, eagerly bounded up to him. “Shit. Your setup is righteous.” Denver watched as Bas inspected his monitors and couplings. “You know, I might have some ideas about how we can network the Voice faster. You're coaxials are way outdated.”

“Who is this kid, and why is he touching my stuff?” Denver hit several buttons that flipped his expanded DPs shut.

“Sorry, man. I get a little crazy when newbies get nosy with my shit, too. No offense.” Undaunted, Sebastian grinned at Denver, whose lips curled into a little smirk.

Linc stepped between the two and slapped Denver on the shoulder. “So, the Voice, huh?”

“Ah,
irasshai,
good to see you alive and whole.”

Beckoning Dr. Val over, I asked, “I'm assuming there's food and beds.”

“Water, too,” Denver added with a grin.

“Of course. I'll make sure everyone is well tended.” Val headed for the door.

“Farrow, I want her kept detained. She's to have no contact with anyone else inside or outside of this house. And you.” I pointed at Sebastian.

“Hmm?”
He blinked from his latest detailed inspection. This time it was Denver, not the computers he focused on.

“Fuck off out of here so we can question Denver. Stay with Leon. Keep your hands to yourself.”

“Seriously?” Pretty boy punched his hands to his slim hips.

“I wouldn't mind keeping his hands to myself.” Denver's gaze traveled up and down Sebastian's body, appraising the lean blond man.

“Out, Bas. Now,” Linc ordered.

“Uh…okay.” Bas stumbled over his words, pushing his white-blond hair from his deep purple eyes. “C'mon, Leon. Let's get you sorted.”

Before leaving, Leon slinked to me. With a half smile, he looped his hands around my neck. “You could try bein' a little less—”

“Possessive?” I ran one palm over his firm ass. “Not a chance.”

He left, thoroughly pleased.

Left in the room were Cannon, Linc, Nate, Denver, and me. I swung into a chair and raised one of my guns on the Voice. “Start talking. Or start running. Your choice.”

All air of familiarity and friendship fled when Cannon and Linc barred the door.

“You don't want a drink first?” Not a single muscle moved on Denver's scarred face.

“We don't need your type of hospitality, not when it usually comes with one of our own being taken.”

“He's a hostile one,” Denver said as he sat down across from me.

There wasn't a goddamn twitch or tell on the man. His emotional reading flatlined.

Linc stalked toward him. “Darke's not the only one. You captured Liz!”

“Then I saved her for you.”

“That's goddamn debatable.”

“Semantics, my man, and you know we speak a different language.”

“Yes, and yours is all about Cutler politics.” Nathaniel's voice cut like a sharp blade through all the others.

“Nice to meet you, too, Nathaniel Rice. You should hear your father speak about you.”

Without another word, Nathaniel lashed the butt of his Glock across Denver's cheek.

Denver spat a dark red stain on the floor. “
Y'all
better hope I'm not infected.”

“You better goddamn hope you can get us to the cure.” I moved behind him and grabbed a chunk of his hair. “You sent us to Omega. You set us onto Raine. Just whose fucking side are you on?” I shouted in his face.

“What are you talking about? What about Raine?” A flicker of emotion crossed his indecipherable eyes. “He was working on the antidote, and he was closer to solving it than anyone else. He had the resources to keep you safe.”

“Until he sold us out.”

“To who?”

“Who the fuck do you think?” I rasped.

Denver stared at the twins. “Daddy Dearest.”

“That's right. So you expect us to believe you've switched sides, too? The bad bodyguard going clean for the good of all mankind?” I laughed bitterly. “I don't think so.”

“Raine was my lover many years ago. I never made him for a rat.” There was finally a chink in his stoic armor, revealing the depths to which he felt Raine's betrayal.

“Raine said to tell you good-bye when I stabbed him through the heart.” Cruelty bred cruelty. In this instance, I wasn't sorry.

I dropped back as Denver's head fell from my grasp.

“That is not an honorable death.”

“No, it wasn't. He was fortunate to get an honorable burial.”

“That is something to be thankful for.”

Linc squatted in front of Denver. “You've double-crossed us so many times I don't even know where the line is with you anymore.”

“I have been burdened under the fealty of ownership just as you've been buried beneath the bond of blood. Our deeds and actions are not always just.”

“You're English is getting better, old
tomodachi
,” Linc said.

“Your Japanese still sucks,” Denver returned.

“Yeah, and just because you're the Voice doesn't mean I trust you.” I interrupted their buddy-buddy moment with the barrel of my Smith & Wesson.

“I am not surprised,” Denver said.

“I take it you still have access to our father.” Linc began pacing while Cannon glowered in our general direction.

“I am his most trusted guard.”

“You have access to the Quad?” Linc asked.

“Yes. In fact, I'm expected back later, along with my weapons.”

“No,” I said. “How do we know he's not going to turn us in?”

Rising from his seat, Denver padded softly around, ignoring the pistols tracking his every move. “You don't.”

“You're not helping your situation here, Den,” Linc cautioned him.

“I am with Cutler every day. Every moment I'm free, I'm here, with Val. There's a reason we're together in this. All of us, at the end. To bring the CEO down. I'm risking my life to start a new one. A life where I'm not forced to bow down and make innocent people bleed. There can be only one end to this.”

“Cutler's,” I said.

Denver nodded. “Besides, do you honestly think I like being called
the Voice
?”

“It is a pretty crap name,” Nathaniel allowed. “And you are a damn good hacker.”

“I used your schematics.”

Nate barked a loud laugh.

“My weapons, if I may, Darke.”

I reluctantly handed them over, watching while he reloaded.

“You will get us inside, pronto,” Linc said. “And we need to know every move from here to FarAsian Nu that he's planning.” Clasping Denver on the shoulder, Linc ushered him to the door.

“I'll be in touch tomorrow.”

The bastard had just earned his life back.

Sebastian was waiting outside the doors when we emerged.

“Where's Leon?” I growled at him. Screw manners. It'd taken every last reserve of civility to not go for Denver's throat.

“Upstairs. Liz's watching him.” He yawned.

I patted him on the shoulder. “Thanks, Bas.”

He smiled, but his attention was on someone else. I glanced around to see Denver returning his look.

Oh, Jesus.

Cannon dragged me to the opposite side of the hallway with him and Nathaniel to lay down a few plans for the next day. All the while I overheard Denver speaking to a very interested Sebastian. Denver towered over the paler man, who turned his face up as if he were catching the last rays of the sun. When Sebastian's fingers ghosted over the discolored bruise on Denver's cheek, Denver's eyelids slid closed.

I wondered if that's how I'd looked the night of Cannon and Nathaniel's handfasting, the first time Leon had touched me. Perhaps Denver deserved some leeway. Or perhaps I'd knock his teeth loose tomorrow.

Sebastian led him away, ostensibly to care for his swollen cheek and possibly other swollen things by the looks of it. I wanted to intervene, but it wasn't my place. Linc trusted the man. And after the shit Tate put Sebastian through, he wasn't as naive as he used to be.

“They looked cozy,” Nathaniel said.

“You know sexy gearhead talk gets me off, too, Blondie.”

One good thing came of it: With Linc heading away, Cannon and Nathaniel saying their good nights, and Sebastian otherwise occupied, I could be sure there wouldn't be any interruptions between Leon and me. I'd hardly had a chance to talk to him, let alone hold him since Raine had done a runner in Omega.

Unfortunately, I spent what felt like an hour lost in the mazelike house of high walls, tall windows, and Old History furniture. The place was fascinating, a time capsule filled with relics dating as far back as the mid-1800s, near as I could tell.

Eventually, I turned the corner in one of the sloping upstairs hallways to come across Liz leaning opposite a closed doorway. “Sebastian said I'd find you here.”

She stretched her arms above her head, pursing her lips around a yawn. We were all running on empty, but still running. “We're on rotation. Me, then Darwin, then Cannon. In case anyone comes after Leon.”

So they could each have some downtime with their lover while they protected us.

I swallowed roughly. “What about the house?”

“Sorted.”

“Val and Denver?”

“Oh, I think the Monroe kids got it under control.”

“You caught that already?” No need to ask which particular asset Sebastian was guarding while his sister probably tucked Elizabeth Valary into bed.

“I have a nose for these things.”

“Just not when it comes to yourself.” I tweaked her nose until she slapped my hand away.

“I take offense to that. It didn't take me that long to figure my head out when it came to Linc.”

“And your heart.”

Her smile skipped away. She reached for my hand and brought it up to her chest, where she held it. “We were lucky, me and Linc. Funny to think that now, when I was pretty sure one or both of us would…die in Beta.” She let me go to turn her head aside, but I knew what she was hiding, the brightness of tears filling her eyes.

“I'm sorry,” she said.

“Maybe I should—”

“Go. Be with Leon.” She knocked her shoulder against mine. “We'll keep you safe. And whatever Leon tells you, just remember how much he loves you, Darke.”

“Are you okay?”

“Oh sure. You know me. I live for the doom and gloom.”

I took Liz in my arms. She always appeared so in control and unaffected. It was only while holding her that I realized how much she took on, and into herself, without letting it show.

“Darwin is relieving you soon?”

“One hour.”

“And Linc's waiting for you?” I watched her check the ammo in her gun belt.

“Sure as the cock crows.”

“You're a good woman, Liz Grant.”

“And you're a damn good man, Darke. Now, go be with yours before I get weepy and shit because Cannon would love hearing all about that in the morning.”

In the bedroom, Leon lay curled on his side facing the opposite wall. One candle glowed, illuminating a small space simply furnished with a high bed, a washstand, and a rolltop desk with a chair.