Dead Mann Running (9781101596494) (20 page)

He didn’t look, but when I did, I noticed something different about the gurney. “You had him covered with a sheet. What’s that? Respect for the not-quite-dead?”

Booth hissed. “I didn’t want anyone getting sick. You’ll see how much respect I have for you once we book you on murder charges.”

“You know I didn’t kill Chester…”

“Get them all back to the van.”

The scarecrow started dragging me away. “Booth, who’s yanking your chain? The mayor’s office? Some big donor? Don’t tell me you’re working for ChemBet, now?”

“You want a gag, too? Jensen…”

A new voice clipped his command. It was low for a woman’s, sweet in a practiced way, but dripping with something darker.

“I’m afraid the situation’s a little more complicated, Chief Detective. You and your men are trespassing. I happen to know you don’t have a warrant.”

Looking all comfy in the folds of her lab coat, Rebecca Maruta stood dead center in the open double doors. Have to hand it to her, her outfit coordinated nicely with the security guards behind her. Her rubber
gloves matched their black, and the bit of yellow on their shirt epaulets was the same shade as her coat.

There were seven I could count, but there could have been more in the hall behind them, all hired, no doubt, based on their resemblance to professional linebackers. They also all carried MP5s. They’re 9mm submachine guns, German design, most widely used machine pistol in the world. Funny what I remember sometimes.

Despite the sudden show of firepower, Booth stayed calm. He probably couldn’t believe they’d actually threaten police officers. Still, rather than take his customary Neanderthal tone, he answered evenly, “Probable cause. What with all the alarms, we naturally assumed there was a crime in progress.”

Her lips briefly curled into an arrogant half smile, but she quickly dropped it for a fake look of sympathy. “No crime. One of our subjects got loose. Putting aside the fact that you’re out of your jurisdiction, it’s half a mile from the grounds entrance to the building. What were you doing here in the first place?”

He shrugged. “I had a few questions about some DNA samples I thought you or someone from your staff might help with.”

“I’d be delighted. But some other time perhaps? You can call my assistant for an appointment.”

Booth nodded. “Okay. We’ll take our perps and go, then.”

The second he moved, she inhaled sharply. “Oh, that is a problem. These are all volunteer subjects, under our auspices. What are the charges?”

“Resisting arrest.”

Funny how he didn’t mention I was wanted for murder.
Was he hoping she didn’t realize who I was? Freaky to think it, but was Booth trying to
save
us?

If he was, the frigid glare that took Maruta’s face told me it wouldn’t be easy.

“Yes, yes, yes. Much as I enjoy the delightful tension that comes from suppressing resistance, as you said yourself a moment ago, our work is proprietary. I can’t allow anyone who’s seen the lab to simply leave. Especially Hessius Mann.”

I gave her a look.

“Don’t bother pretending to be shocked. It’s boring. I discovered him when he requested a transfer to the Chambers facility. Given the ridiculous disguise he wore until recently, I’m surprised you didn’t pick him up sooner for being an eyesore. Who knows what he’s discovered while he was wandering about?”

“Then why’d you let me in?” I said.

“Shut up, Mann,” Booth said.

It may have been a reflex, but I think he was warning me.

Regardless, Maruta talked to me directly, her tone like a mother admonishing her bad boy. “I think you know. You have something of mine. Something old, something new, something stolen, something blue. Maybe you don’t recall it, poor thing, and here I am being rude. A briefcase? A little beat up perhaps?” She made a rectangular shape in the air with her hands. “About yay by yo?”

Booth seemed fascinated by the exchange, but finally remembered he was there. “Mann’s wanted in a cop killing. The only place he’s headed is back to the station.”

I was starting to think that was the best place to be.

Like a lizard-man peeling away a human mask, Maruta’s sympathy vanished into that half smile. “You continue to misunderstand, Chief Detective. I can’t allow
anyone
who has seen our work here to simply leave. You really should have knocked before you came in.”

And then her guards opened fire.

D
on’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise, surprise works great. The flying bullets took up most of the hall before any of us could think about moving out of their way. That was a given for me, with chak reflexes. It was also understandable that the liveblood cops, even with their training, would be taken off guard. I did expect more from Booth. I’d seen him duck and fire in less than half a second, even with his holster clipped. Not this time.

I didn’t do any better. Unable to decide whether to run or drop, I spun and sank. The last thing I saw while on my feet was the straw-haired cop falling backward, hand clamped to throat.

I wasn’t exactly unscathed, but I was on the ground before I saw the hole in my sweater. Shoulder wound. No biggie. Not that I enjoyed it. At least now, I was in the best position to avoid being riddled, facedown on the ground, like Penny and Jonesey.

Seconds later, the three cops were dead or wounded
and Booth hadn’t even drawn his gun. When at last his hand did move for his piece, there were ten weapons trained on him. Robbed of other options, he screamed. It was the same sound he made when he found me standing in Lenore’s blood.

At least this time, the rage wasn’t directed my way. “You crazy fucking bitch!”

In a lazy display of contempt, Maruta tsked. “You’ve a gift for the obvious.”

One of the officers, wounded, tried to stand, blood streaming from his hip, right along the dark ribbon of his uniform pants. Maruta, vaguely bothered by the interruption, nodded at one of her NFL-sized grunts. He walked over, drew his sidearm, and aimed it at the man’s forehead.

Booth gave off a pitiful wail, and lunged. A gun butt whacked across the back of his skull put him out of his misery. Not particularly caring that he was unconscious, Maruta continued talking to him.

“Impatient, just like my husband. Little man, I used to call him. Be patient, little man, I used to say. I wasn’t going to kill your cub, Chief Detective. He’s going to be one of our exam subjects. Living volunteers are hard to find. Be patient, little man.”

An exam. Like Hudson. Hearing that, I got up and threw myself at the grunt. Wish I could say I was more successful than Booth. I got within a foot, but he didn’t bother raising a hand. He stepped aside and I sailed past him. I felt his boot heel in the small of my back, then ate tile.

I heard footsteps, saw Maruta’s flats stop in front of me. When her grunt flipped me over, I found myself
looking up her lab coat and getting too much information. Her lingerie was made of a kind of rubber, like the gloves. Maybe they were easier to swab clean.

She went to her knees and poked a finger into my shoulder wound. Aside from disgust, I felt the pressure. One or both made me queasy, but there was no pain. Her finger dug in like a little snake and prodded my insides.

She kept yapping, reminding me of a doctor who liked to chat during proctology exams. “Clean shot. No harm. You’re remarkably lucky considering what you’ve been through. But trust me, it’s nothing compared to what’s coming unless you tell me where those vials are.”

“You think I’m going to tell you anything?” I said.

She withdrew her finger. The top third was marred with some grayish goo. It was thicker than the stuff that came out of my abdomen.

“Yes, I do,” she said.

She licked the tip, a pinprick of gray smearing her straight white teeth. When the nearest grunt gagged, she looked at him. “Come now, there’s no rot, so it’s perfectly sterile.” She held her finger out to the pasty-faced grunt. “Tastes a bit like haggis.”

That did it. His cheeks puffed. He stumbled out of the room. Wished I could join him. Maruta glowered at the others, daring anyone else to leave. There was a glint in her eyes, like she was thinking of forcing everyone to have a taste of me.

Had Rebecca always been this psycho, or did she dive off the deep end when Travis called it quits? I wondered if the shareholders knew about this. Ha. Maybe I could file a consumer complaint.

Fortunately, a muffled groan from the back of the room broke her focus.

It wasn’t one of the wounded. It was Jonesey, loud and getting louder despite the gag. Penny had been next to him, but she was gone. Took me a second to see she’d crawled under a gurney and was half covered by its sheet. Did she think she was hidden?

Jonesey let rip with a pained lowing. I listened to two more of his long, deep wails, before I admitted to myself he was going feral. Back when he’d attacked me in an alley, I thought it was just a matter of time. Seeing Hudson was the straw that broke his myelin sheaths. Horrifying as that was for me, it must’ve been worse for a true believer, like watching your god eat your children. And I was the one who forced his face in it, the one who thought he deserved it. Funny how much damage I cause when I’m trying to do the right thing.

From the looks of things, the lizard-brain steering his body couldn’t do much with it. Its struggles against the bonds became more rhythmic. Its back spasmed in tune with the alarm and the flashing, as if the lights were electrocuting it. How long before that was me?

I couldn’t afford to let go. I had to keep it together long enough to take this place down, long enough to try, anyway. Not that I had a plan.

I heard Maruta say, “What a pity. I so wanted to get to him while he was stable, poke my finger into that delightful mind of his. I may well have discovered exactly which part of the brain was responsible for his self-delusion.” She rose and rubbed her hands. “Oh, well. Time to clean up, my little men. Quality, service, cleanliness, and value!”

She marched through the double doors, leaving the
work to her grunts. Booth was carried out. Penny, once she was dragged from under the gurney, was shoved next to me, and we were both forced to march out. I never saw what they did with Jonesey, but I doubt it was pretty. I hoped he was with Kyua, real or not.

We were taken to a windowless room, where Booth’s motionless form was already waiting. All three of us were chained at the ankles and left there.

For the longest time, Penny and I sat there, watching Booth breathe.

“You know him?” she asked.

I nodded. “My boss. When I was alive.”

“Doesn’t like chakz much, does he?”

“Least of all me.”

“So he’s probably not going to like it much when he wakes up and finds out he’s chained to two of them, is he?”

“No, he’s not.”

She shrugged her good shoulder. “Should we kill him?”

I made a face at her. “No! Jesus, who raised you, alligators? We’re trapped by a psychotic sadist with armed guards and you want to kill someone just to buy a few more minutes?”

“Yeah. Pretty much. A few minutes can be a long time.”

She was right about the last part. “Penny, I’m sorry you got dragged into all this.”

She sneered. “That and a dollar…crap, he’s moving.”

We pulled away, but the three-foot chains didn’t let us get very far.

Booth sat up and rubbed the back of his head.

“Shit,” he said, looking at the ground.

He looked at the ceiling and said, “Shit.”

He looked at the walls and the locked door and said, “Shit.”

He looked at me and Penny and said, “Shit.”

Then he saw the chain and said, “Shit.”

Each time he said it louder.

When he looked back at me, every muscle in his face tight and bulging with rage, I said, “Well, don’t expect me to disagree.”

I knew whatever happened next wasn’t going to be pleasant. He grabbed the chain and yanked. I fell to the side, my leg jutting in his direction. He kept tugging, like he could pull the metal clear through my ankle. Maybe he could. Alive, I might’ve been able to stop him. Now? A better bet would be to offer to snap off my foot to save him the trouble.

Penny had different ideas. She jumped on his back and clawed at his eyes, yelling, “Let go of him!”

I didn’t get the sense it was out of loyalty. I think I blew any affection she might have had for me after my cell phone chat with Misty. She probably figured she had a better chance of not being mangled while I was still around.

Booth bellowed, rose, and slammed her backward into the wall, dragging me along the floor in the process.

“Take it easy! You could crack her fucking spine! I’ll try to help you get the chain off,” I said. Ignoring me, he moved to slam her into the wall again.

Penny screamed, opened wide, and bit into his ear.

If I was the biggest pacifist in the room we were in trouble, but I couldn’t let him hurt her any more than I could let Penny hurt him. I waited until he had one foot
off the ground then pulled the chain hard. His leg flew out from under him. His ass hit the floor.

I hoped that would give me a second to reason with him, but the kid didn’t know when to quit. Penny’s feet near his head, she whipped some chain around his neck and pulled until he couldn’t breathe.

I pushed forward along the floor, grabbed her hand, and pried her fingers off the chain one by one. “Let him go!”

She chittered like a rabid squirrel, then squealed, “He’s crazy! He’ll snap our feet off to get free!”

I didn’t have a good comeback, especially since she was right, but I wasn’t her only problem. Booth had wedged his hand between Penny’s chain and his neck. Now he moved up and forward, taking her off the ground, ankle first.

It was like that for a while, me dragging Booth off Penny, then Penny off Booth, getting twisted, scratched, and punched along the way. Like I said, it would’ve been easier to lose the foot.

I tried to appeal to their egos. “You idiots! Don’t we have enough to worry about, like vivisection? Tom, you heard her, Maruta’s planning the same for your man that she gave Hudson.”

He hesitated. Penny used the pause to punch him hard in the jaw.