Sean surveyed the downed men, bullet-hole-riddled walls, and blood splatter. It was quite a mess. But the network excelled at taking care of such things, particularly when Seth aided them by altering a few memories.
“I’ll teleport Amani and Seong-Su,” Seth said. “You three clear both elevators for the network then take one up and join us.”
Sean nodded. “See you in a few.” Keeping an arm around Nicole’s shoulders, he headed for the elevator.
Seth waited in the immortality lab, as Henderson called the soundproof room doctors had shackled Tessa in.
All was quiet. Not just here, but throughout the building.
Henderson’s massive cleanup crew here in Texas impressed Seth as much as Reordon’s in North Carolina did. All facility employees on the lower floors were unconscious. Most now bore wounds they hadn’t when the battle had ended. Bruises, for the most part. Nonlethal injuries that would explain their lack of consciousness without tranquilizer darts raising questions.
Henderson had gone with the simplest explanation for the violence: a mass shooter, namely Dr. Orson, had loosed his vengeance upon them all. An examination of Orson’s mind had uncovered acts in the man’s past that had eliminated any guilt Seth might’ve otherwise felt over framing him. Dr. Orson now lay dead in the outer lab, the result of what authorities would ultimately deem a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The other primary lab researchers—none of whom had borne the concern and guilt Dr. Baker had over the inhumane treatment of the vampires and the abduction of Tessa—had replaced the mercenaries whom Seth, David, Bastien, and Cliff had slain up here. All had been rewarded for their lack of ethics with nonlethal gunshot wounds and new memories of how events had transpired. Every spec of blood spatter on the fourth floor now bore the doctors’ blood rather than that of the mercenaries killed in the fray or the wounded immortals.
The blood on the second floor had been replaced with that of guards authorities would praise for valiantly attempting to stop the shooter. The memories of all employees would reflect the cover story.
Henderson’s crew had since withdrawn to the FOB.
Sean, Nicole, Bastien, and the others were all back in North Carolina.
Only Seth remained.
Crickets chirped. Other insects hummed and buzzed, unconcerned by the night’s chaos.
David abruptly appeared.
When Seth cast him a questioning look, he shrugged. “I thought you might like some company.”
Seth nodded. “How are Nicole and Tessa?”
David lowered himself onto the chair beside Seth’s and stretched out his long legs. “Tessa is nestled in a spare bedroom at my place, with Leah fussing over her.”
A smile full of affection curled Seth’s lips as he pictured it.
“Nicole is trying to convince Sean to wait until tomorrow to pester Aidan or Roland into transforming her.”
Seth laughed. “They’ll have better luck if they ask Aidan.”
“Such was my thought,” David responded with a chuckle. “Roland does seem to like Nicole, though, so he may make an exception.”
“As long as the others don’t start calling him The Transformer again?”
David grinned. “Just so.”
Engine noise disrupted the usual night sounds, produced by a vehicle approaching at high speeds.
Both looked toward the front of the building.
Seth delved into the minds of the drivers. “Benford, his henchman Danvers, and six armed guards.”
David nodded.
Neither moved as the car parked in front. Doors sprang open. Shoes pounded the pavement. Then bodies tromped through the front doors.
Swears erupted when the newcomers spotted the fallen guards and employees.
“How do you want to play this?” a man asked. “You want to call 911?”
“And tell them what?” Benford snapped. “That the mercenaries I hired accidentally shot more people than I told them to?”
Seth listened to their progress as they made their way to the elevator. Instead of taking stock of the rest of the building, they took it straight to the fourth floor.
Ding.
More swears.
“Why the hell did they shoot the researchers?” Danvers demanded.
“I thought you said they were professionals,” Benford growled.
“They are. They do shit like this all over the world.”
More curses. “Do you know how hard it will be to find replacements who won’t leak what we’re doing here?” Benford snapped. “And where are the mercenaries? Did they cut and run after they fucked up or something?”
“No,” Danvers grumbled. “I’m telling you, these guys are professionals.”
“He’s right,” a third man muttered. “That one there looks like he shot himself. I don’t know what went down, but we don’t fuck up missions. Our guys must be canvassing the second and third floors.” Click. “Saturn, this is Titan. Over.”
Silence.
“Saturn, this is Titan. What’s your 20? Over.”
More silence.
“Saturn, this is Titan. Radio check. Over.”
A long pause ensued.
Someone shifted.
“Let us take point,” Titan uttered.
Footsteps tromped up the hallway.
A security lock clicked when someone swiped their card and typed in a passcode.
The door to the outer lab opened.
More swears. More footsteps.
Then six mercenaries entered the immortality lab. Spreading out, they aimed their weapons at Seth and David, who lounged in chairs near the glass room in which Tessa had been restrained. Like the others, these wielded semiautomatic handguns. But assault rifles dangled down the backs of four of them.
Danvers entered next, followed by Benford.
As soon as Danvers saw Seth and David, he drew a 9mm and aimed it at them.
Benford planted himself at the center of the horseshoe of assholes. Lips tight, he reeked of arrogance and false power. “Who the hell are you?” he demanded.
Ignoring him, Seth smiled at the mercenaries. “Thank you, gentlemen. You may lower your weapons.”
After exchanging confused looks, they opted not to comply.
Seth rose, as did David.
The mercenaries tensed.
“Hands in the air! Hands in the air!” one shouted, his voice identifying him as Titan.
Seth and David merely smiled. And their complete lack of concern clearly rankled the other parties.
“Who are you?” Benford demanded again. He looked past them to the empty glass room. “Where’s the girl?”
Seth arched a brow. “Do you mean the girl you kidnapped from a college campus in North Carolina and brought here against her will so you could use her as a lab rat?”
Not even a smidgen of doubt or indecision flickered across the mercenaries’ faces. And a quick examination of their thoughts revealed duplicitous natures. None of them cared if some unnamed college girl got hurt as long as they got paid.
They were no better than the bastard who’d hired them.
“Where is she?” Benford shouted.
“Dead,” Seth lied, “like the other college students you kidnapped.” Benford believed Becca and George were both dead. And Seth opted not to refer to the other victims as vampires.
No mercenaries wavered.