Be on the Lookout (8 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Jake blew through a red light, swerving around a car driving past the intersection. Jonathan gripped the handle of the passenger door. He wasn't afraid, but he couldn't deny that he was anxious. He'd just met the man ten minutes ago and now they were speeding toward an apparently secret lab for an equally secret antidote.

It was all very James Bond.

“I know you have no good reason to trust me, but I'm afraid you're going to have to,” Jake reiterated. “After we get what we need and administer it to Kate, I'll let her explain everything she's willing to—she can do that better than I can, at least—and everything will make more sense.”

Jonathan was starting to doubt anyone had all the answers to connect the dots that had sprung up in the last two days, but he was willing to hold out hope.

“Are you at least going to give me more info on this ‘secret lab' of yours?” he asked, making finger quotes around the part that undoubtedly made it sound like he was in a spy movie. “Is it a part of the FBI?”

A car horn blared at their side as Jake did some more defensive driving. Instead of hitting the brakes, he smoothly dipped into oncoming traffic before swerving back to the original lane, passing the taxi that had thought it a good idea to cut them off.

“Yes and no,” Jake answered, unaffected by the high speeds and subsequently more dangerous obstacles in their way. It made Jonathan think he'd done it before. “The lab was created and is currently funded and maintained by the FBI, but only a few know about it. The facility is run by its lead scientist, Greg Calhoun.”

“He said he was in business consulting now, only dabbling in scientific pursuits,” Jonathan interrupted, paraphrasing what the man had said earlier.

Jake snorted.

“He lied,” he said. “And before you get your panties all in a twist about being lied to, you must understand that even Kate doesn't know about his involvement with the FBI or, for that matter, that Greg in no form or fashion lives or works in Buffalo. He's never even been to Buffalo. Hell, she doesn't even know of my involvement with Greg.”

“Which is what?”

Jake cast him a look that perfectly exhibited pride and simultaneous defeat.

“I'm his handler.” The defeat—the guilt—now made sense. “Normally I wouldn't have been assigned a job like this—it was given to me barely out of the academy—but Greg said the only way he'd agree to work with the Bureau was if he could pick who oversaw his work and the day-to-day operations. He picked me.”

“You grew up with Kate,” Jonathan added, realizing the connection. “That means you—”

“Also grew up with Greg around,” Jake finished. “That's why he chose
me
. He trusted me, and now—” Jake cut himself off by slamming his hands against the SUV's steering wheel. “He's in the hospital, and now Kate?” He quieted a moment but didn't give Jonathan enough time to say anything before he spoke again. “The power went off in my building last night and killed my alarm clock. I'm not one of those people who can just wake up to the sound of their phone. I need both. Without the first, I woke up late and missed a call from Greg saying he was going to meet Kate. I was supposed to go with him. I was supposed to be there. I was supposed to protect him.” Again, Jake's anger at fate, or himself, boiled over. He punched the steering wheel. Normally Jonathan would have stopped the rant. He didn't know Jake, so how could he relate to him?

But, the thing was, he absolutely could.

In a way Jake was Greg's bodyguard, just with a different title. He was responsible for keeping him safe. For protecting someone he cared about. As soon as that car had floored it through that intersection, he had failed.

Just as Jonathan had with Kate.

Empathy started to create a fondness for Jake, but that didn't mean it would last. There were still too many questions he needed answered first.

“So what does Greg have to do with what happened to Kate? And why are the injections we need in his lab?” he asked, trying to grasp
something
.

While Jake had admitted freely that there was a secret lab and he was Greg's handler, these questions made him hesitate. “Listen, if I'm about to help you
steal
from a lab operated by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
, then you're going to tell me why.”

Jake turned on his blinker seconds before taking a quick turn. Another series of car horns went off. So far the traffic hadn't been too bad, a fact that made Jonathan again realize Jake had done this before. When they were heading straight again, he let out a long breath.

“Kate has been working on the beginnings of a drug that could help law enforcement in a phenomenally big way. One that could help turn the tides on interrogation while remaining one hundred percent humane,” he explained. “She brought the idea to Greg, who was an FBI consultant at the time. To his surprise, it actually seemed plausible. He pitched the idea to an FBI task force dealing with scientific pursuits. Instead of simply taking the idea for themselves, Greg convinced them that Kate's singular focus and passion for the project would benefit them more than a bunch of old scientists trying to become famous. I guess they agreed, but only in part. They let Greg find funding and contacts for her to start her research while giving Greg the same tools. He was told to oversee her work while simultaneously trying to work on it alongside her. While some believed in Greg's vote of confidence for Kate, others thought she was too young, too inexperienced, to come up with any usable end goal, especially before they could.” The FBI agent cut Jonathan a quick smile. “But she did.”

“She doesn't know about Greg working on the same thing then, does she?” Jake shook his head. “So what was supposed to happen when she finished?” He didn't understand how the convention fit into the picture. Jake seemed to pick up on that thread of thought.

“The convention is a somewhat private event where scientific and technological inventions and ideas are presented to potential investors to try to get more funding. It's also a way to monitor possible future security threats—shutting down could-be mad scientists,” he added with a tone that said he was joking, though Jonathan was sure he wasn't. “I think the idea was to get her to the convention, have her make her case and then offer her a job. Then let her know what Greg had been up to.”

“And if she didn't take the job? What was the plan then?”

“They would have continued her work and made all attempts to keep her from receiving any other funding. Until she'd have to accept.” At least Jake didn't sound happy about that plan. “And before you ask, yes, she would have eventually accepted. Kate might not have gone the exact route I did, but she's always wanted to be part of the FBI. It's just in our blood.”

Before Jonathan could ask what he meant by that, another flurry of questions came to mind.

“So what the hell was she injected with? The drug she created? And how did she know to call you if she didn't even know about Greg's laboratory here?”

Jake's jaw tightened.

“Kate is a very cautious person. Up until now she hasn't started testing on her finished product—that's what the next step is supposed to be. However, Greg isn't as cautious. He synthesized a version of it off her current notes and gave it to her as a present during a visit, a memento of all the work she'd done so far.”

“She took it,” Jonathan guessed, already picking up on his hardened body language.

“Yes. Frustration got the better of her. It was too early in the research stages and the effects were dangerous. If Greg hadn't been there to counteract them... Well, let's just say you wouldn't be in New York right now.” For the first time since Jonathan had gotten into the SUV, they began to slow. “He said he'd make a few more vials just in case someone ever accidentally did it again. Being his handler, I was also there with them. I suppose that's the only reason Kate wanted you to call me.”

“She knew you would put it together.”

“She doesn't know that I know the location of Greg's lab, but I'm guessing she assumed, being FBI, I'd have a good chance of figuring it out.”

“That would also mean that she knew she was injected with the failed drug,” Jonathan said. “A failed version of
her
drug. One that was made in an FBI-sanctioned lab...”

“Which means the couple you told me about when we first got into the car had access to the lab and the failed samples Greg kept for further study.”

“Or someone helped them get it.”

“Let me worry about that later,” Jake seethed, knuckles tightening around the steering wheel until they were white. “What we need to focus on now is stealing from a lab that isn't supposed to exist.”

“Don't you have access, though?”

Jake shook his head.

“No one except Greg is allowed to take anything out of the lab. Even if I explained, they still wouldn't let me grab the injections and would most likely lock them down instead.”

“So what do you need me to do?”

Jake took one last turn into a two-story parking garage. He flashed his badge at the parking attendant before he even had a chance to stand. The gate began to retract and Jake continued inside. He drove to the back corner and parked in a spot reserved for overnighters. He cut the ignition and turned, a smirk clear as day on his face.

“I need you to be a distraction.”

* * *

T
HE
RAIN
DIDN
'
T
come back.

Kate instead only heard the sound of voices floating down the hallway to her bedroom. She didn't like the voices. They made her cold.

“Want to see it again?”

She turned to look at the boy next to her. He was playing with something in his hands.

“It's not a real badge, Jake,” she answered. “It doesn't even say the right thing.”

Jake didn't let her harsh words bother him. He shrugged.

“We need to get closer so I can hear,” she declared.

“Kate, that isn't a good idea.”

A man appeared in the corner, leaning against her dresser.

“I can't hear them,” she insisted.

“You don't have to do this,” he responded. He didn't blink as he spoke. The stars from her lamp now attached to his shirt.

“If I don't get closer, I won't know what they're talking about,” she reasoned again, already getting up. She took Jake's hand and tugged him along after her into the hall. The voices got louder.

“If he's lying, then what?” her father asked. He sounded scared. It made her pause.

“You can go back to your room,” Jonathan offered, now standing next to her. “You don't need to do this again, Kate. You can't change what happens.”

Kate shook her head, trying to clear his voice out of her head.

“Deacon, they'll find them,” the woman said.

A loud ringing exploded throughout the house. Kate threw her hands over her ears and tried to yell, but nothing came out.

Suddenly she was in the office. Jake had the house phone pressed against his ear, hand over the receiver. Kate watched as he carefully hung up the phone and began to speak to someone else in the room.

It was a girl.

Both of their mouths moved, but no words came out. Kate could tell the two were excited. Afraid, but excited.

She followed them back to the girl's bedroom and watched as they opened the window.

“Don't go,” Kate warned, though she couldn't remember why. Jake and the girl didn't listen and soon they were out of the window and running across the grass to their bikes.

“They're worried about their mom and dad,” Jonathan said from his seat on the bed. “They're being brave.”

Kate shook her head, the intensifying feeling of wrongness making her start to cry.

“They shouldn't go,” she cried. “I shouldn't have gone.”

Chapter Fourteen

He didn't like the plan.

Not one bit.

No matter that there was still a good chance that this was all some elaborate setup.

One giant lie that would only spell giant trouble for him.

“You ready?” Jake asked, holding the bag up.

Jonathan looked at it with annoyance.

“From what you've said, I don't think we even have time to go back over this very bad plan of yours.”

Jake flipped the bag upside down.

“You're right,” he said. Jake didn't hesitate putting the bag over Jonathan's head. The world instantly went dark.

Completely and utterly dark.

“Put your hands behind your back now.”

Jonathan did as he was told, still in no form or fashion liking the plan. He felt a zip tie go around his wrists but, thankfully, it wasn't tightened all the way.

“Just in case,” Jake said, voice lowered. “Now, let's get to walking. And remember, no talking. If we're going to keep this under wraps, I don't need you to incriminate yourself.”

Jonathan snorted.

A very, very bad plan.

Jake grabbed hold of his arm and together they began to walk away from the car.

“You know, I've got to hand it to you,” Jake whispered. “To go through this, the risks you're taking, you're either really dedicated to your job or Kate's made quite the impression on you.”

Jonathan let those words sink in. On the one hand, he was extremely dedicated to his job. When he succeeded, despite unforeseen obstacles, Orion Security Group succeeded. Which meant Nikki, Mark, Oliver and all of their loved ones succeeded, as well. It was a trickle-down effect that he'd always strived to keep positive.

On the other hand, Kate
had
made quite the impression on him. In less than two days, she had annoyed him, frustrated him, angered him and, yet, she'd also surprised him. Her passion—her drive—was so strong it was nearly tangible. Where others, like the ex she'd mentioned, had seen it as perhaps a flaw—an obstacle to getting to know her—Jonathan saw something else. He saw love and perseverance and patience. Kate was so focused on completing something meant to save lives that she'd practically given up her own to see it get done. She'd sacrificed herself for strangers. Sure, she'd been a pain in the backside to him, but Jonathan was starting to see that a woman like Kathryn Spears was much more than her snark. She had a good heart.

And that heart needed protecting.

So, without answering the man Jonathan believed to be Kate's closest friend, he walked in darkness, ready to accept whatever consequences might come his way.

“We're about to get in an elevator that will take us to the basement,” Jake whispered after they'd walked for less than a minute. “This isn't the usual way in, so we'll be seen. Don't talk.”

Jonathan nodded and soon the sounds of the outside world became muffled and then disappeared. He heard a series of clicks before the motion of moving downward pulled at his stomach. Jonathan half expected to be in the elevator for much longer than it took to get between one floor and the next, envisioning a secret lab much farther down, maybe even in an abandoned subway tunnel or the sewers, but the movement stopped after one floor.

The door slid open and a wave of cold air met them. Still, the bag blocked him from seeing his surroundings. Jonathan moved his wrist around slightly, making sure he could get out of the tie if need be. It silenced some of his nerves.

They walked straight off the elevator and took a sharp left. From there they continued straight for at least thirty seconds before taking a step down. Jake's grip on his arm tightened for a moment.

Jonathan rolled back his shoulders before pulling away from Jake's grip. The agent responded by tightening his grip again before pulling Jonathan forward with obvious aggression.

“If you don't stop fighting me, I'll break your kneecaps,” Jake growled loudly. Jonathan continued to fight against him, but Jake had the upper hand. He shoved him forward until Jonathan finally heard the other man.

“What's this?” the third man asked. He was farther away, and soon after he spoke, the rollers of a chair scraped the ground. He'd been sitting.

“Someone who needs to be taught a lesson in manners,” Jake said smartly, still struggling with Jonathan. “I need to ask him a few questions and this was the safest and closest place to do it.”

“But no one is allowed down here since the lockdown,” the guy said. “Sorry, but you'll have to take him somewhere else.”

“Listen, you heard about what happened to Greg?”

There was a silence in which Jonathan guessed the guard nodded.

“I think this guy can help lead us to the people who were behind it.” The man must not have looked convinced. “Listen, until we find out who did this, Greg is still in danger, and I'm not willing to let him die because of a traffic jam between here and the Bureau. Are you?”

For added effect, Jonathan chose that moment to break free of Jake's hold and lurch forward into the unknown. The men behind him reacted fast. Someone's full weight crashed into him and pinned him hard to the tile. The second man came up and together they lifted Jonathan back to his feet.

“Take him into the back room so he doesn't break anything in here,” said the guard.

“Thanks, Barry,” Jake replied, already moving Jonathan forward.

They walked for what felt like several hundred feet before the sound of a door opening and closing met his ears. Jake pushed Jonathan hard, causing him to stumble into what felt like a table.

“Sit down and don't move,” he barked out.

Jonathan did as he was told, finding a chair with rollers. Once he was seated, Jake grabbed the chair's arms and pulled him away from the table to the middle of the room, apparently away from anything. Jonathan heard another chair's rollers scraping against the floor before it seemed to be positioned across from him.

“Barry is a good man, but he's very protective of Greg and the people who work here every day,” Jake said. “The way he looked at me when I said you might know who is behind Greg's current condition... He may get physical with you, even though I'll tell him not to.” And then he heard Jake stand and walk away. He called out to Barry without waiting for any kind of response from Jonathan. “I need you to watch him for a second. I need to take this call.”

Barry didn't question or complain this time around. Jonathan heard his footfalls and then a quick exchange of whispered words between the two men. The sound of Jake talking louder came back. He was pretending to be on a call, getting him into the lab while their only obstacle, Barry, was in the same room with Jonathan.

This time the door wasn't shut.

Jonathan hoped Barry's focus would remain on him and not what Jake was doing in the other room.

* * *

K
ATE
COULDN
'
T
SEE
ANYTHING
, but she knew she was in a box. Just like she
knew
she was naked. Those were two facts that she accepted as absolute truth.

She ran her hands over the wood that enclosed her, trying to feel for a way out while also trying to determine why she was there at all. Then the inside of the box lit up.

She wasn't in just any box.

She was in a coffin.

Pain in the back of her neck moved an already terrified feeling to its limit. Tears sprang to her eyes as she threw her fists against the top. It did nothing to damage the wood.

“Help!” she yelled.

No one responded.

She pounded on the lid and its sides for what felt like an eternity, but nothing changed. The wood didn't splinter or crack, and no called out to her.

She was alone.

Unwilling to give up, she scooted as far to the side as she could to see where the light was coming from. Through eyes blurred by tears, she could just make out the shape of star lights against the wood.

“Kate?”

The sound of someone yelling above her made her focus back on the lid. Instead of relief pouring through her, a deep coldness enveloped her. It started against her back and slowly moved up across her skin. The light from the stars flickered. Kate turned her head to see why.

She screamed.

Water was seeping in through each star and rising at an alarming rate. It was already to her ears.

“Help!” she yelled again, resuming her pounding against the lid.

The water moved higher until she had to prop herself up on her elbows, trying to keep her head above water. However, the attempt seemed to make it rise faster. She turned her head, pressing her cheek to the wood, and took one last long breath seconds before the box was completely filled.

The flickering lights stabilized, continuing their earlier, steady glow. Kate wasn't only going to drown, she was going to be able to watch herself do it.

Pain in the back of her neck shot downward and dispersed.

She was going to die.

* * *

T
HE
PUNCH
PROBABLY
didn't come out of nowhere. Had Jonathan been able to see, he would have picked up on the physical signs that Barry was about to clock him one good. He would have seen the tension in his arm, in his shoulder and in his jaw. All tightening as a result of acute anger or adrenaline or both. He would have also seen the expression, or complete lack of one, and realized that the man sitting across from him was indeed very protective of his colleagues.

The punch landed against the right side of Jonathan's jaw. It sent his head reeling to the left as pain exploded along the bone. Jonathan didn't know what Barry looked like, but from his voice alone he'd bet the man was similar in size to him. By the power behind his punch, Jonathan guessed the man had less muscle, though. A blessing given the current situation.

“Who hit him?” Barry asked, voice low so Jake couldn't hear. “Who is the woman who hit Mr. Calhoun?”

Jonathan snorted.

That's exactly what I'd like to know, too, Barry.

“Are you laughing? Is this
funny to you
?” Barry seethed. Jonathan braced for another hit. He turned his head to the other side, hoping to catch the new hit on a spot that wasn't already throbbing. But then he heard the man's chair push back. He was now standing in front of him. No matter where he decided to hit, Jonathan knew it was going to hurt.

A sound of glass shattering in the lab put a halt to Barry's wrath. Jonathan froze. If Barry got at all suspicious of Jake's intention, then Jake would have no choice but to keep him quiet.

“If there's a chance someone on the inside is involved with whatever is going on with Greg and Kate, then I want to find out on my own,” Jake had said after they'd run through their plan in the parking garage. “I'm sure Kate will tell you later why I have trust issues, but until I figure this out, I'm not going to trust anyone. That's why I couldn't do this by myself. I need to stay in the clear if I want to see this through.”

Jonathan saw the same determination in Jake that Kate displayed about her work. The agent suspected someone had betrayed their task force—their team—and was going to do everything in his power to crack the mystery wide open.

But not if he got caught.

“Jake, what are you—” Barry started to ask. He didn't get the chance to finish the question. Jonathan rocked up on his feet and threw his shoulder into the man's chest so quickly that he didn't have time to dodge the attack. The two of them toppled over Barry's chair and once again Jonathan hit the ground hard, but not harder than Barry. He could hear the man's breath wheeze out and decided to use that against him. He slid one hand out of the tie binding his wrists together and struck out, connecting with the man's face. He made a grunt and then went limp.

Jonathan waited a moment.

Barry still didn't move.

Slowly, Jonathan rose to his feet and lifted the bottom of the bag. Barry was most definitely unconscious.

The sound of quick footsteps made him turn around just as Jake slid into the doorway. He looked at Jonathan and then down at Barry.

“It was either that or you would have been caught,” Jonathan said, answering the unasked question. “Plus, you were right. He did get physical.”

Jake let out a quick breath but nodded. In his hand was a small black bag.

“We need to leave.”

Jonathan followed the man into the lab and paused. Workstations covered in machines, vials, papers and things Jonathan didn't recognize littered the room. He pictured Kate among them all, head bent over a microscope before going to one of the walls that was nothing but a whiteboard, concentrated yet just as excited. Imagining her working made him smile, but at the same time soured in his stomach. This was her element. Her life.

One he just didn't understand.

“Fast thinking, taking him down. I accidentally knocked over an empty vial,” Jake said, running over to a small office in the corner next to the hall they had originally come down. “I'm going to reboot the security cameras. It should give us enough time to make it back to the car.”

“Are there cameras in here?” Jonathan asked, following. Jake still had the bag in his hand.

“No, lab work isn't supposed to be monitored, just the exits.”

“What about when Barry wakes up? Won't he realize you helped me?”

Jake's hands flew across the computer's keyboard.

“I wouldn't be leaving here with you if I didn't have a plan,” he said when he had finished. “Now, run!”

Jonathan followed as Jake ran into the hallway. Unlike the lab it was narrow and cold, its walls a crumbling white that barely reflected the lights. They ran until they took a sharp right to the elevator. It wasn't as old or as high-tech as Jonathan had envisioned. It looked like a normal elevator with only two floors as options, disappointing his inner James Bond fan.