Maggie grabbed his arm. "That might not be a good idea. You don't know what they did to him. The virus, Montana. What about the virus?"

  "Found it." Montana jerked his arm free and pushed a button. With a soft metallic click the lock opened. "It's an anteroom. There should be another release to get inside."

  Maggie blocked him. "Think about what you are doing, Montana."

  "Time's not up yet, Maggie. I can still get him out."

  "What if they've already activated the virus? What if that's the reason no one is here?"

  He and Maggie faced each other down, neither willing to give way. Before either prevailed, staccato gunfire sounded from a distance, followed by a room-shaking explosion. Almost immediately he heard heavy footsteps coming rapidly down the hallway on their level.

  Ito had leveled his weapon and was methodically firing through the slightly open door, one round every other second. Montana hoped he could keep the enemy from engaging them. He desperately needed more time. They had ammunition, but it wouldn't last forever.

  He gestured to Maggie and Damien, sending them against the wall beside the entrance. Unslinging his rifle, he stood over Ito and looked down the hall.

  "We got incoming," Ito warned as he opened fire on the four-man squad advancing down the hallway toward their position. The lead two men dropped with rounds in their heads and the remaining two hugged the walls and laid down heavy fire.

  Ito reloaded as Montana began to fire. Six more armed men came into sight and advanced toward them, taking cover in offices and alcoves along the way.

  Damien came to stand behind Montana, opening fire when Montana provided him with cover.

  With their backs to the wall and no room for retreat, they continued to fire as more troops advanced. The glass wall took its share of hits. Small holes absorbed the rounds, but the glass didn't break.

  Montana aimed at anything moving beyond the door. "How many?" he yelled.

  "Haven't had time to count." Ito ducked as another bullet struck the wall just behind his head.

  Montana saw a slim, dark tube fly from one of the rooms down the hall.

  "Flash bang!" He ducked away and closed his eyes, but not soon enough. The thunderclap centered inside his skull and gave him an instant headache. He opened his eyes as Ito laid down a burst of suppressive fire. "My eyes got dazzled --can't see!"

  "I gotcha'! Check fire." Ito guided Montana back along the wall, out of the direct line of fire. "Damien! Cover us. Shoot anything that moves!"

  "Yeah, sure." Damien shouldered his rifle, looking scared but determined not to let them down.

  "How ya doing, my man?"

  Montana blinked furiously and his eyes teared uncontrollably. By feel he pulled another pod of ammunition from his vest. "I think I'm okay." To prove it he locked the fresh pod into place, slapped the cover closed, and only then wiped at his eyes. "Let's rock and freaking roll, baby!"

  "I'm out!" Damien dropped his empty clip to the floor.

  Montana threw him another as Ito kicked the door closed and wedged a chair under the handle. The three of them stood with freshly loaded weapons aimed at the door and waited.

  Damien started laughing. Montana saw him hold out a hand covered in blood. He had a weird smile on his face as he looked from his hand to Montana. "I thought it was sweat." He laughed again as he stumbled against the wall and slid to the floor, landing heavily on his backside.

  Montana knelt. "Where are you hit?"

  Damien laughed again. "I'm hit?"

  "How bad?" He raised Damien's arm. His vest had taken a hit. The low-impact body armor was no match for rounds fired at such close range. When he ripped the vest open, Damien grunted with pain. His jeans were already wet with blood.

  He tore open Damien's shirt, ignoring his hiss of pain. The bullet had entered low on the left just above his waist. Montana slid a hand around to Damien's back; it came back clean. He balled the shirt up and held it against the bleeding wound.

  Ito muttered, "Why are they waiting?"

  Montana pressed harder on the still bleeding wound. "I don't like this."

  "Which part?" Suddenly Ito frowned and looked around.

  Instantly Montana realized what--who--he was looking for. "Where's Maggie?"

  "Down with Dakota?" Ito asked the question they both wanted an answer to.

  Montana, with his hand still pressed to Damien's side, craned his neck to peer into the room where he had seen Dakota. "Can't tell."

  Damien grunted with pain as Montana increased pressure. "She's there... God! That hurts... I saw her go down."

  Distant gunfire rippled through the complex, the sound somewhere above them. Ito readjusted his grip on his weapon. "Geoffrey?"

  An explosion rocked them. Dust sifted down from above. Montana shielded Damien. "Yeah, that would be my guess. We have to get Dakota out of here."

  One hand still on his weapon, Ito came to take Montana's place at Damien's side. "Go. I'll cover you."

  Before he could move, another explosion shook the building, closer and with more devastating effect. Besides dust and now fragments ceiling falling on them, smoke was starting to filter through the ventilation system. When yet another explosion reverberated through the building, it was followed by a horrible rumbling, like a locomotive barreling down upon them.

  Montana shielded his head as more pieces of plaster fell on him. "What the hell is Geoffrey doing?" The smoke pouring through the ventilation ducts grew thick and black.

  "Montana, we need to get the counselor out of here."

  Montana lifted one of Damien's eyelids. His pupils were dilated with shock. "I can't leave Dak."

  "I can't get Damien out on my own. I'll have no cover."

  Another explosion made the decision easier. This time damage was centered over the room Dakota was in. He ran to the wall. With both hands pressed against the glass, he strained to see past the smoke that now filled the room. "Dak!"

  The door into the anteroom was jammed with debris fallen from the ceiling.

  "We're three floors down. What the hell did Geoffrey do--nuke the place?" Dust swirled like a dirty cloud to mix with the poisonous smoke. Plaster, steel and internal wiring dangled from above, obscuring anything and everything. Montana pounded on the door, trying to break loose whatever wedged it closed.

  Ito's voice broke through his panic. "Montana, we have to go. Now!."

  "Dak!" Montana turned to the glass once more, trying to see his brother somewhere in the ruined room.

  "He's beyond our help. Maggie too, if she's with him."

  "No!"

  "Look at me, Montana." Ito waited until Montana turned to him. "We might still be able to get Damien out of this. If we stay, no one gets out. Not you, not me, not Damien." Ito spared the unconscious man in his arms a brief look. "He didn't know what he was getting into and he still signed on. His job was done when he got you out of prison. His wife expects him home."

  "I can't leave Dak, Ito. I can't."

  Ito considered that. "Then we all die here, my friend. Simple as that."

  Montana closed his eyes and looked back into the devastated room. He pounded his fists on the bullet-riddled glass once, and then he bent to retrieve both his and Ito's weapons. "Move, I'll cover you."

  Ito kicked the chair that barricaded the door out of the way and stepped to the side. When nothing but fire and smoke filled the hall, he shifted Damien over one shoulder so he could have one hand free for the assault rifle and stepped out.

  Montana took a last look over his shoulder, before he followed Ito into the eerily abandoned hallway lit only by the red glow of emergency lights now hazed with smoke.

  Chapter 35

  Maggie eyed the unlocked anteroom door and made a decision. She could stay and fight or she could go to Dakota. She opened the door and quietly closed it behind her. Knowing she could be signing her own death warrant, she took two steps and opened the far door. The lighting was dim, and she squinted against the shadows until her eyes adjusted.

  "Dakota?" When she received no answer, she crept farther into the room. "Dak, are you all right?"

  She saw a slight movement to her left and she turned toward it. Sitting in a corner behind the toppled bed was Dakota. He sat much as Maggie had seen him from the other side of the window, with his head bowed between upraised knees, his arms wrapped protectively around his legs.

  She approached slowly, not sure what to make of his condition, and then reached out and touched his arm. "Dak?"

  That got a reaction. Dakota snapped his head up and slapped her hand as he tried to escape from the contact. "No!" he yelled. His foot slipped when he tried to stand too quickly and he settled on scooting backward along the wall.

  Maggie backed away.

  Dakota peered suspiciously at her.

  "Dak, it's me. It's Maggie."

  Either her name or her voice made it through to him. He lowered his hand from in front of him and stared at her.

  "Maggs?" He leaned forward and made it to one knee.

  Maggie quickly assessed the bloodied scrubs and his dazed expression. "What the hell did they do to you, Dak?"

  Before he could answer, an explosion shook the building. It finally seemed to bring Dakota out of his stupor.

  Maggie shielded her head from the dust and small debris raining down from the ceiling.

  Dakota pulled her next to him, trying to keep her safe with his own body. "Maggs, what are you doing here? How did you get in?" He looked past her. "It's not safe here."

  "Dak, I need you to listen to me very carefully." Another explosion caused her to duck into his protective embrace.

  "What the hell is going on up there?"

  "That's what I need to talk to you about. That..." She gestured to indicate the gunfire and firefighting above them. "...is Geoffrey."

  "What? Why?'"

  "Why do you think? He's come to take his prize back."

  "And why are you here, Maggie? To make sure I come quietly?" He released her and scooted toward the overturned bed.

  "No! There's no time for this. Please! Just listen. If you want to hate me after that, fine. I came to make sure Geoffrey never lays one slimy finger on you ever again. He lied to you, he lied to me. God! He even lied to Michael."

  "Lied? About what?"

  "They weren't trying to find a cure for avian flu. They turned you into a walking biological time bomb. They infected you with an inert form of Ebola, and then lit the fuse by adding a designer flu virus to kick it off. When your body temperature reaches a certain level, that will initiate the Ebola. You won't get sick, but you'll infect anyone you come in contact with."

  "Oh my God." Dakota buried his face in his hands. "Maggie, they already messed with me. This new General--makes McKinley look like a pussycat, by the way--told me my temp maxed at one hundred and three degrees. I went into seizures and they brought me out of it. What if they already initiated the Ebola?"

  Maggie considered before shaking her head. "I don't think so. They would all be sick by now--or dead. Ebola isn't subtle. Your temp must need to go higher to kick things into gear."

  Another explosion sent them both stumbling back into the wall behind them. Black acrid smoke drifted into the room, making it hard to breathe.

  "You have to leave now, Maggs. Get yourself out of here."

  "I'm not leaving without you."

  "Maggs, Michael would understand. Please, just go!"

  "I'm doing this for Michael. Dakota, you aren't the only one Geoffrey will want."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I'm pregnant with Michael's child. What do you think Geoff would do with that information if he ever found out?"

  Dakota's eyes went wide. He took a breath and nodded in understanding. "The kid wouldn't stand a chance."

  Maggie coughed and wiped her tearing eyes. "We have to get out of here without Geoffrey knowing about it." She hesitated. "Without Montana knowing about it."

  "Montana's here?"

  "Who do you think got me this far?"

  "Oh, that's just great. Any suggestions as to how we might get out of wherever the hell we are without the good guys or the bad guys finding out?"

  "Not a clue."

  Dakota grinned back at her, but his expression changed as he looked beyond her. He put an arm around her shoulder and pushed her behind him.

  Maggie turned and saw one of the tallest men she'd ever seen. "Holy shit."

  Dakota took a step toward him. "Don't even think about touching her."

  A third violent explosion shook the complex. The ceiling cracked. A support beam running the width of the room gave way, taking half the ceiling down with it.

  The enormous man shoved Dakota and Maggie out of the way. When the worst of the debris stopped falling, he rolled off Dakota and wiped blood from an open wound on his scalp.

  "Why?" Dakota said, while helping Maggie to her feet. "Why'd you save us?"

  "Dak?" Maggie didn't know what to make of the man. He made Ito look small.

  "This is Moses, I almost forgot he was in here with me."

  "A friend?" Maggie said hopefully.

  "Not lately."

  Moses ignored them and went to the sink. He pushed on the two screws attaching the polished chrome mirror. Part of the wall separated and swung out on quiet, hidden hinges. Moses reached inside, withdrew two windup flashlights, and threw one to Dakota. He stepped into the dark cavern, having to bend nearly in half at the waist to do so, and motioned for Dakota and Maggie to follow.

  Maggie was about to follow when Dakota grabbed her hand. "Maggs, we can't trust him. For all we know he's leading us right back to the General."

  What was left of the ceiling above them creaked and groaned.

  "What choice do we have?" She followed Moses into the dark.

  * * * *

  Dakota spun the handle on his flashlight long enough to illuminate the gaping hole. He just made out Maggie's disappearing backside as she climbed a twisting stairway up into the unknown.

  He had no idea where Moses might be leading them, but unless they had a death wish, Maggie was right. They had no choice. The building was coming down around them. He could only hope the hidden stairwell held up until they made it to wherever Moses was leading.

  The air was stale with the taste of smoke and sweat. There was enough smoke that he assumed the fire had completely engulfed the warehouse and the complex beneath. He hoped to hell the General was a captive inside. The sweat was his own. His blood-spattered scrubs clung to him. His hands slipped on the metal rails, wet with his blood or sweat. He couldn't tell which. His bare feet quickly became shredded and bloody from the sharp, raised metal surface of the steps. Every muscle in his body felt the after-effects of his abuse at the hands of Moses and his Taser.

  Dakota kept putting one foot in front of the other. To stop was to die. He didn't want to die, not now. Not like this.

  He'd climbed the Statue of Liberty when he lived in New York. Three hundred and fifty-four steps to the crown. He had counted every one. They'd long passed that number. His feet throbbed with every step. He kept slipping on his own blood and soon fell behind.

  Maggie had disappeared, gone beyond his narrow beam of light. He could still hear footsteps echoing off the metal steps, but the darkness had swallowed them and left him alone.

  The air felt solid in his lungs. His eyes burned. The narrow stairwell was so hot the walls seemed about to burst into flame at any moment.

  He pushed himself, feeling every step an accomplishment. He'd have thought the higher they climbed the clearer the air should be. He'd also thought that good conquered evil. He'd been proved wrong on both counts.

  Dakota didn't realize he'd stopped moving until he felt someone lift him. His arm was slung around a thick neck. He opened eyes he didn't know were closed and saw Moses. Even with Moses' support, he tripped and missed half the steps he aimed for, so Moses simply slung him in a fireman's carry over his shoulders. The extra weight barely slowed him down.

  Suddenly searing bright light blinded him, and clear, cold air flooded his lungs. He was flung onto cool grass. He coughed and gagged, vomited sooty bile. He rolled to his side, and then pushed himself to his knees and looked around. Moses and Maggie lay beside him, looking no better.

  Dakota saw they'd exited a small door cut into a grassy embankment at the back of the building next door to Kale's warehouse. They were surrounded on three sides by a hedgerow, backed by closely planted Lombardy poplars, completely concealed from everyone.

  Moses recovered first. He helped Maggie to her feet, and gestured for them to follow him into the hedgerow.

  Sirens cut through the air between the explosions that now came at regular intervals. From the safety of the hedgerow, the three of them watched flames and smoke consume the warehouse.

  "Montana..." Dakota couldn't see how his brother could have made it out of the inferno.

  Maggie took his hand. "Dak, it's Montana. If anyone could get out of there, you know he could. We did."

  Dakota narrowed his eyes at Moses. "We had help. Why? Why did you help us?"

  Moses seemed to consider the question for a moment, before he started making rapid hand movements. It took Dakota a minute to realize Moses was communicating. He might have recognized the movements as sign language, but it didn't mean he understood them.

  "Is he deaf?" Maggie was watching Moses with keen interest.

  "No, mute. His tongue was cut out. The General said he saved Moses from insurgents."

  Moses signed again, frantically.

  Dakota shook his head in frustration. "I don't understand, I'm sorry."

  "He says the General didn't save him. The General is the one who did this to him."

  Dakota wiped soot out of his eyes and looked at Maggie in amazement. "You understand him?"

  With her attention still on the rapidly signing Moses, she nodded. "My Gram was deaf most of her life. I don't remember not knowing how to sign." She held her hand up to get Moses's attention. When he stilled she began signing back to him as she spoke. "Slow down, I'm a bit out of practice."

  Moses looked impatient but slowed the almost beautiful fluid movement of his hands and fingers.

 

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