Marie Harte - Zack and Ace

“Well then, let me get on it.” Sabrina tore past him, relieved beyond measure when the doors opened right away and she hustled her patient inside. She watched McKinley as the doors closed. Bemused, she thought she saw him murmur “good luck” before she lost sight of him.

Once on the ground level, she hurried down the nearly deserted hallway toward the back lot. With the keys to a white, nondescript medical van the PPA used when working Circ cases, Sabrina loaded Kelly into the vehicle with the slowest pneumatic lift known to man. Once Kelly was inside and the gurney locked down, Sabrina flew into the van and drove away.

It took every ounce of discipline she had to make small talk with the gate guard and to drive the fifteen-mile-an-hour speed limit off the property. She nodded at Mary, one of the homeless who lived outside the grounds. A nice woman, one who used the information Sabrina gave her all too willingly.

Sabrina knew where that information went. She could only hope it did more good than it seemed to lately. Because she wouldn’t be able to pass any more. Not now when she’d stolen Elliot Pearl’s greatest treasure.

A dark black sedan came out of nowhere behind her. She swore when she saw Simon Dunn in the driver’s seat, sitting next to another PPA agent. “Son of a bitch.” She veered sharply into him when he tried to pass. Unfortunately, they both sped along an unused street between deserted warehouses. The industrial section in this part of town hadn’t been used in a decade, which made it the perfect place to create monsters.

Gritting her teeth, Sabrina knew she wouldn’t be able to outrun them. She needed to drive carefully, concerned about the pregnant Circ in the back. Rummaging through her pockets, she found the syringe she’d love to stick in Dunn’s neck. I’d watch while you seize to death and enjoy every minute of it, you creep.

A high-pitched scraping sound scared her spitless as another vehicle rammed her from the other side. A red truck sandwiched her against Dunn. It was driven by a man who looked more savage than McKinley. Dark brown skin surrounded eyes that glowed like gold.

Surprisingly, Sabrina could see an arresting face despite the grimace he wore. She wondered where her head was that she noticed something like that, or that she could concentrate enough to see him through a blurred window and at such distance.

Shots fired, scoring her temple and lodging in her shoulder. She slammed on the brakes.

The truck and sedan continued past her. Her head throbbed, but thankfully, the bullet hadn’t done more than graze her there. Her shoulder felt on fire. Not sure who to trust with Malloy, Sabrina turned the vehicle around and raced in the opposite direction. In the rearview mirror, she saw three men exit the red truck to confront Dunn, Folsom, and Colins from the sedan.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky, and they’ll kill each other.”

Not going to happen.

Her cell phone rang, scaring the shit out of her. Answering cautiously, she waited.

“You got her?” Harry asked.

“Yes.” Relief made her light-headed. No, that was the bullet currently stuck in her arm, in addition to the blood loss from her forehead.

“Bring her to the warehouse with the broken fish outside.”

She knew just the one. An old cannery at the entrance to the industrial park. She disconnected and drove back a quarter mile, zigzagging through the complex. Aware she was still too close to the PPA for safety, she nevertheless had to rely on Harry. His Circ friends would help. From what Sabrina gathered, they were the good guys in this fight -- or at least, a helluva lot less bad than Pearson Labs.

Parking in the darkened building with the engine running, Sabrina quickly moved into the back to check on Kelly. To her surprise, the woman had revived.

“Where am I? What did you do to me?” Kelly cried out.

“Nothing.” Sabrina held up her hands. “Shh.” Crouched as she was, her balance was off, and she wobbled. Her wounds were weakening her. She needed to leave, but she had to make sure Kelly Malloy was protected first.

“You’re that woman from Pearson Labs. Pearl’s assistant,” Kelly hissed.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m bleeding here,” Sabrina said dryly. “I’m going to unstrap you. I think your buddies are on the way. Three big Circs just stepped out of a red truck, and they didn’t look happy. They’re duking it out with some PPA guys right now.”

Sabrina caught her head and tried to overcome the dizziness.

“You’re bleeding,” Kelly said.

“A master of the obvious.” You don’ have time for wit, Sabrina. “Don’t attack me when

I get closer,” she warned. Strapped or not, this woman was a Circ. She’d only been given mild tranquilizers to knock her out, and she wasn’t injured and normal, like Sabrina. “Some key 120

Marie Harte

points. One, you matured faster than normal. Pearl arranged for a mutated Circ to infect one of your lovers with an aggressive virus.”

“What? When?”

“That mission in Glen Falls. A rogue Circ bit one of your team, who in turn infected you. The virus was designed to jump-start a female Circ’s biological clock. Once activated, the virus soon died. Don’t worry, only you were impacted by it. Which leads us to key point number two. You’re pregnant and extremely valuable to Dr. Pearl right now.” Sabrina moved her left arm and grimaced at the pain.

“Pregnant?” Kelly sounded shell-shocked as Sabrina released her.

“You have to leave. Go back to your Circs and make sure to stay away. Tell them.” She paused. She’d once dreamed of a better life, of being someone important. Now her “career”

was nothing more than a dirty, shaming mess. Then again, all that had really ended three years ago with the crumbling destruction of Project Dawn. “Tell them Pearl isn’t running the show. He hasn’t been for a long time. He’s making a new batch of Circs.” Time was running out. She was fading fast. “He has female Circs who aren’t crazy. He’s started a breeding program. Not with you, but he’ll use you to make sure they conceive.”

Kelly reached out to help steady her, and Sabrina jerked back. A knock on the back of the van door scared her, not helping matters.

“Hurry up in there, dammit.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, recognizing Harry’s voice. “Go. Harry’s a friend. He knows your buddy, Derrick, I think.”

“Derrick. Right.” Kelly inched toward the doors, then looked back at her. “Come with me.”

“No. I’m as good as dead. You don’t need that right now. Not with a baby on the way.

Now tell them what I told you. And give them this.” She handed Kelly a small disc. “It’s password protected. But the password is --”

The van shook, and bullets whined through the front windshield.

“Dammit. Get out of here!” Once the shooting stalled, Sabrina crawled back into the front seat. The minute the back doors opened and she caught sight of Harry and Kelly racing for safety, she floored the accelerator. Sabrina tore out of the warehouse and went straight, then left, away from the red truck and Simon Dunn. In minutes she had four of the PPA’s company cars on her ass. With a determined grimace, she stepped harder on the accelerator, aiming for a way out of this maze.

“Doc” and his pals could find a hacker to get into her encrypted files. Maybe he could do more with them than she’d ever been able to do. Then again, she was just a woman, just a stupid phlebotomist, as she’d often heard Pearl refer to her.

“Yeah, well, fuck you, Elliot Pearl.” She wiped a hand over her face, clearing the blood from her eyes. “Now the enemy has your secrets. And I’m not done with you yet.”

Not by a long shot.