Ambrose
Alpha Site: Danger Site
His head pounded in time with the raindrops pelting the back of his skull. The ground beneath him was wet and uneven. His body laid there at an awkward angle and he wasn’t sure how long he’d been in that position. But one word coursed through his mind faster than the lightening illuminating the sky.
“MOVE!”
His arms and legs felt weak but he knew he had to keep moving. He wiped mud from the side of his face. Donovan wouldn’t be happy he’d made such a mess of himself. But then again, Donovan didn’t approve of much. It wouldn’t be long before the Director sent the dogs after him. He knew this to be true. It was his gift to know, as well as his curse.
The lights of the compound behind him swirled in an erratic pattern. Two minutes and ten seconds later than the last time. Somehow this time, he’d managed to change the past. Now he had to find his target and warn her. She was the only one of his kind who was truly free from the Site with no memory of the evil things that had been done to her in the name of science and technological advancement.
“There’s no use running, Thane,” Shayne Michaels’s voice boomed over the series of loud speakers. He was Donovan’s top security goon.
“Your aim is noble, but you should know by now that we won’t let you go without a fight.”
What Shayne Michaels and Donovan didn’t know was that it wasn’t his aim to escape. He had to find the girl and warn her before she ruined everything, before she revealed to Alpha Site what was coming in the future. If he didn’t succeed, this, his last trip backward in time, was in vain.
^^^
“How does that bastard keep getting out?” Shayne Michaels paced in front of the bank of security cameras that showed him exactly nothing. “Where is he?”
“He is one of the most intelligent subjects we currently have in captivity, sir,” said the guard monitoring the security area of the west wing of Alpha Site.
“That’s not it. It’s almost like he knows what we’re going to do next and then evades us. It’s damn well getting on my nerves.” Shayne raked a hand though his mussed hair. “Try thermal imaging and keep me informed. I have to meet our guests at the front gate. Apparently, Doc McRae thinks he has an open invitation.”
The guard nodded as Shayne exited making his way to the west gate.
^^^
Mila Ferguson had a bad feeling about this place. It reminded her too much of the settings of one of her stories, Edge of Danger. Movement to her right grabbed her attention. Maybe it wasn’t even movement but a knowing that someone was watching her. She squinted trying to break the darkness.
The man staring at her had to be twice her age. It was strange, but he didn’t give her the same icky feeling the military-like facility did. He put a finger to his lips giving her the signal to be silent. She tried not to act any differently, but Austin McRae gave her a strange look.
“You okay?” he asked.
Mila cleared her throat and swallowed. “Fine, just fine.”
A man dressed in fatigues stepped out the facility door and McRae exited the car.
“Stay here. I need to talk to that man.”
Mila nodded fear clawing at her throat. Why had she ever allowed that man to bring her here? Maybe she really was too naïve.
As McRae was distracted, the man from the bushes approached her. He kept his distance from the two men conversing at the entrance. He opened the car door and finally got a good look at the girl inside.
“Mila?”
Mila pressed her back into the far door. “How do you know my name?”
“Because in a strange way, I’m your father. My name is David Carter.”
^^^
Kate Donovan’s feet clipped down the hallway. She’d been summoned to the lab for a security problem. She didn’t really want to deal with this tonight. She had other plans with Shayne Michaels, and she didn’t want to put off her night of enjoyment.
Two men stood over a third who was lying still on the floor. Kate shook her chestnut curls. Yet another fowl up. What was she going to do with these people? They had incompetence written all over them.
“Please tell me that’s not our lead scientist.” Kate brought her head to her throbbing temple.
“Headache, boss?” Farley asked. He pushed the blocky black glasses back onto his nose.
“Of course, you idiot,” Kate snapped. “We need David. His research is groundbreaking.” She sighed. “Do I even want to know what happened?”
Joshua Shaw stepped up behind Farley. He was younger than most of the staff, but his intelligence was off the charts, only David and his brother, Hank was smarter. Joshua looked out of place among the sea of white coats.
“It was my fault, boss lady,” Joshua admitted. “I walked in and found David destroying files, files of his research. Without those documents, we’d have lost years and years of Echelon research. I had no choice. I had to call security.” He looked down at the dead body. “Security did that to him. I’m sorry, Kate.”
“We needed him, Josh. He was the one who could think outside the box.”
A dark and brooding man entered the room. Kate stood a bit straighter. The man’s name was Carlos Santini. His snake skinned boots blipped against the dirty tile flooring.
“I’ve delivered the package we agreed upon into your office. But we found a little stowaway hiding in one of our vehicles. Bring him in, boys.” Carlos bellowed to the guards in the hallway.
The security team struggled with their prisoner. The young man did not look happy that he’d been captured.
“You know that top secret project David’s been working on?” Her eyes clashed with Carlos. “Kate meet Matt, David’s genetically enhanced clone.” Carlos walked around next to Kate. “You wanted someone who thinks like David? This boy is David, but with a few extra features even he doesn’t now about.”
^^^
Neither seemed to remember Michela Forsythe was in the car with them. David seemed surprised by her sudden appearance.
“What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here right now.”
Michela raised a curious eyebrow. “Really? If I’m not supposed to be here, where pray tell am I supposed to be?”
“With Hank at his house.” David was certain of that.
“Well, things don’t always turn out the way you plan, do they?” Michela said. “Hank and I were following Reese. She’s sure Matt is in trouble.”
“You’re name’s not Michela, is it?” Mila asked.
“Yes, we weren’t introduced. I’m Michela…”
“Forsythe,” Mila supplied.
“That’s correct. Have we met?”
“In a way, you’re one of my characters.”
“Characters?” Michela questioned.
“We don’t have time for this you two. If we want to stay alive, we all must exit this vehicle right now.” David grabbed at Michela’s arm.
“Why the rush?” Mila said. “We don’t even know you.”
“In less than a minute this car will blow up.”
“Are you psychic now?” Michela asked.
“In a manner of speaking. Just humor me, okay?”
David managed to get both Michela and Mila out of the car before a grenade launcher targeted the vehicle and turned it into a pile of scattered metal fragments. The three of them jumped into the shrubbery away from the fireball that chased them from the vehicle.
Hank Carter witnessed the man entering the car with Michela. He was concerned.
“What is going on?” he whispered leaving the golf cart behind and doing a bad imitation of a spy slipping from one location to another. He looked more like the Inspector from the Pink Panther. It was a good thing everyone was distracted by the burning vehicle to notice his antics.
He followed the trio into the bushes on the other side of the courtyard.
“Are you all insane?” Hank whispered. Then he saw the man sitting off to the side. “David? I thought you were dead.”
“I’m afraid reports of my death have been greatly fabricated,” David said. “But we don’t have time for catching up, I’m afraid. We need to get out of here before one of the Alpha Site goons find us.”
“What about Matt?” Michela asked.
“He’s fine for the time being.” David said. “There is a secondary access tunnel a half a mile behind us. We can exit from there.”
^^^
Shayne Michaels was not happy to see Austin McRae back so soon. He’d be happy if the man just left Kate well enough alone. They didn’t need any more hack surgeons.
Before the two could reintroduce themselves, the vehicle exploded. They dove for cover.
Austin called out a woman’s name but Shayne couldn’t understand his words.
“This is your fault,” he suggested. “I had her. I had the clone.”
“You think I did this? You’re crazy,” Shayne said. “I have enough paperwork to deal with without putting this on my plate.”
The walkie-talkie at Shayne’s hip crackled as an animated voice emitted from it. “Colonel, we have discovered three or four tangos on thermal imaging. They’re heading away from the burning vehicle. We’re having a bit of trouble tracking them due to the heat of the explosion.”
“Copy, security.” Shayne said. “Out.”
Shayne began running to the gate. He spied a figure slip into the access tunnel just as the gate performed a full lockdown. By the time he sprinted the distance, the gate was closed and locked.
“Dammit!” He kicked the gate muttering a few more colorful swear words.
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