Recon Marines III: The Marine's Doctor (26 page)

“
Do you think those men on
Arid Four were using their free will when they attacked the people
responsible for their torture?”

All semblance of friendliness slipped
from her expression. “They weren’t being tortured. We’d nearly
perfected our methods with them. Their handlers became
careless.”

Mak gestured around the room this
time, taking in the guards on the raised walkway. “You think you’re
being careful? I saw the vid of your man that traveled with Admiral
Lester. If your creations turned on you this minute nothing could
save you.”

Shear curled her lip. “Ben Lester took
Nemon without my approval. I had already inserted myself into
Molly’s scientific team, coming back here now and then to
supervise. He exposed our existence and forced General Drant to
investigate before we could clean up. We’re nearly ready to go
public with our product anyway so I had only to make sure the army
didn’t rush in to cover us up. Not even the general will be able to
stop us once the world knows what we’ve done here. The army will
demand we continue this work.”

“
You’ll all go to prison
right beside Lester and all the others. Actually, you’re fortunate
my brother Vin found some peace. He wouldn’t have come after you in
a science vessel.”

“
Despite your
intelligence, you lack an understanding of human nature.” Shear
stood up and stalked around Mak. The big men followed her with
their dead stares. “Humans want power more than anything. With my
men at their command, they’ll have all the power they need. And
they’ll want more. With the experimentation completed, we’ll
produce more specialized soldiers as demand insists. Unlike the
Recon Marines whose creation started before the egg met the sperm,
my improvements can be made on full grown men and take much less
time to create.”

“
You think men want to be
like this?”

“
These men
volunteered.”

“
I doubt they understood
what they were in for. You took away everything that made them
individuals.”

“
Like you think you’re an
individual? What would a psychologist make of something like you? A
laboratory experiment that thinks it’s human.” She stopped in front
of him and peered up at him like a specimen under study.

Mak grabbed her by the shoulders and
lifted her. He flung her into the two giants standing to his left.
Within one heartbeat he followed her. The men caught and stumbled
back a step at the impact. Mak leaped, putting one foot on Shear’s
body and using it as a springboard. He vaulted over the railing of
the upper walkway and tackled the guard he’d selected earlier. As
he wrenched the weapon from the guard’s hand, Mak struck him in the
throat with a disabling blow.

Three of the giant men hopped up and
grasped the railing. They hauled themselves up with effortless
grace but Mak already ran toward the next guard. Only a few seconds
had passed, and the guard only now brought his weapon up. Too late.
Mak kicked him over the railing into the herd of giants running
along the floor beneath them. The other three that had gained the
walkway pounded closer. Mak spun and fired, hitting each of them
once before continuing his flight.

“
Don’t kill him!” Shear
screamed from the floor of the training room.

With only two steps separating him
from the next guard, Mak spotted what he wanted. He lifted the
heavy gun, prompting the man to duck. Instead of shooting him Mak
sent a stream of bullets into the gas jet on their
ceiling.

Shear shouted a warning about masks
and made it simple for Mak to take out three more guards as mist
hissed from the damaged jet. Another of the giant men jumped up to
grasp the railing, but his hands slipped off.

Mak sprinted toward the next guard.
This one had masked up but staggered a bit as if he’d protected
himself too late. The honey sweet smell of the gas warned Mak it
might be a powerful sedative and not the deadly poison used on Arid
Four. The guard got off one wild shot before Mak knocked him down
and ripped the mask off his face. He continued running and reached
a spot directly across from where he’d attained the high
ground.

The next guard shot at Mak, the round
hitting him in the shoulder. Pain exploded but not enough to make
his drop his gun. Rubber rounds meant to disable him. Damn, that
meant he hadn’t killed anyone either. Mak’s shot took the guard in
the head where it really might kill him.

On the training floor below all the
giant men were down, some prone and some on their hands and knees.
Shear had her mask fixed firmly to her face and glared up at him.
Mak leaped over the railing and landed beside her. For a split
second he considered taking her along as a shield but instead tore
off her mask.

He ran out through the door where
they’d brought him in. Counting on the military sameness of the
complex, Mak turned in the opposite direction from his cell. The
hall ended in the set of stairs going up with the lift beside it.
Freedom.

Chapter Sixteen

Molly paused at the top of the stairs,
not quite believing she’d made her way across the expanse of the
hangar without being spotted. She’d waited until dark and a pause
in the cleanup work. They’d left no lights burning, perhaps to
preserve the cloaking. Despite their hours of labor, twisted pieces
of the ship still littered the floor of the hangar. The mess
provided some cover though she didn’t see any guards lurking
around. Their absence unnerved her more than if she’d had to dodge
them.

The door built into the corner opened
without a sound, exposing the dark maw of the unlit stairwell. This
deep inside the hangar Molly didn’t even have the benefit of
starlight to help her. Once she stepped inside the door would close
and leave her in complete darkness. She hadn’t been afraid of the
night since she’d been a little girl sitting on her father’s knee.
After taking the first step she eased the door closed behind
her.

She slid her foot forward until she
felt the edge of the first step. With one hand along the wall she
took another careful step. Her foot hovered over the black
emptiness when the door at the bottom swung inward. Trapped! Her
mind screamed for her to flee but her body froze. Then Mak stepped
through the door.

Light streamed through the door behind
him as he paused for just a moment. Long enough to show his
surprise with just a raised eyebrow. Then darkness dropped like a
drape over her again. Mak found her hand in the dark and he led her
back up the steps. Somehow she didn’t trip. He opened the door and
the meager illumination in the hangar seemed like sunlight. They
ran for the corner.

Mak didn’t speak even after they were
outside the hangar. Instead of continuing around the contours of
the massive building, he headed out across the plains.

Molly struggled with to keep up the
pace Mak set and soon the grass seemed to reach up and grab her
toes. He noticed but rather than slow down, he put his arm around
her waist and ran faster. Her feet skimmed the ground, only
touching the grass at times. Soon Mak sounded winded, but he didn’t
slow his pace.

At first Molly thought the expanding
deeper darkness in front of her meant her brain was shutting down
for lack of oxygen. But it slowly took a more defined form. The
forest she’d seen on Mak’s AI screen. Mak dodged around clumps of
brush and smaller trees, barely slowing. Only when they’d gained
the cover of the taller trees did his pace slacken.

He released her waist but took her
hand as they wound their way through the thick trunks. Without his
guidance she would have bumped head first into one of the
dark-as-the-night trees. After another ten minutes of walking Mak
stopped.

Molly set her hands on her hips and
took deep breaths while her heartbeat slowed to normal. Mak
recovered long before her. Though she couldn’t see much, his
posture seemed a little more perfect than usual, almost
stiff.

“
Why were you entering the
lab?”

“
To help you.”

“
To help me?” It was the
loudest she’d ever heard Mak speak. “You were to stay in hiding
until reinforcements arrive.”

The sun neared the horizon after the
short period of darkness so Molly could discern his stern
expression as she moved closer to him. “You misled me. I thought we
would both hide. Instead you ran out into the open to sacrifice
yourself and keep them from discovering me.”

“
If you understood my
intentions why did you break cover?”

“
You block-headed marine.
Do you really think I would accept you giving your life for
me?”

Golden light blazed in between the
trunks. It touched Mak’s eyes, turning the dark blue to shards of
violet ice. His words came out with an odd hesitation, making his
marine’s drawl more pronounced. “My purpose on this mission is to
protect your life with mine.”

“
Those may be the orders
the general gave you.” Molly wished she’d had more time to study
psychology so she could use the right words for Mak to understand.
“What would you have done if one of your men or me had been
captured?”

“
I would have come after
you.”

“
Exactly.” Molly decided
she couldn’t win this argument. “Are you all right? They didn’t
hurt you?”

“
Dr. Shear took blood
samples and did some other scans, but they sedated me for most of
it.”

“
Helen? But she left with
the others.”

Mak walked deeper into the forest and
spoke over his shoulder. “She slipped away before they took off and
signaled her subordinates at the lab. I believe she’s in
charge.”

Molly heard something beyond Mak, a
murmuring like voices whispering a song. “What is that?” But she
figured it out in another step. The stream that cut through the
forest and ran out onto the plains. The sound of tinkling reminded
her of her parched throat.

“
You didn’t bring my pack
with you.” Mak knelt by the stream and scooped up a handful of
water. He sniffed it and then took a small sip. “There’s no way to
tell if it’s contaminated with something harmful.”

“
I’ll take my chances.”
She knelt beside him and scooped up the water, finding it cold and
fresh tasting.

Mak helped her to stand when she
finished. Her legs trembled with fatigue, and her knees and ankles
ached from running over the uneven ground. But he only led her over
to a fallen log where she could sit.

“
They’ll be coming after
me.” Mak didn’t sit, staring back toward the way they’d come. “They
want to take me alive. That’s the only reason I escaped. They might
not be so careful this time. I should find a place for you to
hide.”

“
No. I’m going to be your
advantage.” Molly stood up. “They don’t know I’m here. Helen Shear
thinks she’s smarter than the rest of the world. But she’s not. I
am. We’re going to defeat them with our brains.”

****

Mak crouched behind a thick tree trunk
as the formation of hovercrafts approached the forest. He’d
intended with his original plan of escaping into the forest to take
the hunt farther from Molly’s hiding place. The trees also would
force the enemy to come after him on the ground without the
advantage of the hovers.

The small transports landed fifty
yards from the tree line, crushing the brush and smaller trees
struggling to extend the forest into the grasslands. Two men rode
on each, half of them the lab creations and the other half regular
guards. They all carried full armament of long and short guns as
well as wearing body armor. Dr. Shear dismounted from one of the
crafts. She spoke through a small hand mike that broadcast her
voice across the distance.

“
Well done, Recon Marine.
You managed to flee the lab but you’ve only put yourself where I
wanted you. I had planned to simulate a battle in the training room
but this venue will be more realistic. My products are superior to
you though you did surprise us with you audacious action when so
obviously outnumbered. By now you know the weapon you took carries
only nonlethal ammunition. I’ve armed my men with the same. I want
you alive. For now. You can give yourself up so we can do this
under more controlled conditions.” She paused as if giving him time
to consider surrender.

Mak watched the men. They seemed
recovered from the gas and their expressions gave nothing away,
neither anger nor lingering effects. Fifteen of the giants in total
and Mak wasn’t a physical match for even one of them. Shear might
believe her men superior but she wasn’t taking chances. If he’d
been alone, he would have had more chance by running. But the
forest only measured around ten square miles, and they didn’t know
Molly hid here with him.

Shear laughed into the mike. “I knew
you wouldn’t surrender. We’ll be watching all sides of this little
stand of trees in case you were thinking of escape. I’ll see you
shortly, marine.”

After the giants hopped off the
hovercrafts, the guards flew in both directions and spread out
along the tree line. Probably making a perimeter as Shear had
warned. The giants gathered into one group, listening to the
tallest one as he pointed and gave orders. When he finished they
split apart, spacing themselves along the entire tree line. Too
much distance between each man for such a landscape. Even without
camouflage a competent soldier could sneak through their line.
Hiding could buy him the time needed for help to arrive but keeping
Molly’s presence a secret remained his top priority. And Recon
Marines didn’t hide from the enemy. It just wasn’t in his genetic
makeup.