Chapter One:
If I had known what was going to happen, I'd have never taken this assignment. Kayla's hand slipped to rest on her stomach as she tried to quell the fluttering feeling and fought the bitter taste of bile threatening to rise in her throat.
Having to watch her 'boss' torment his subjects was starting to grate on her nerves more than usual. For two years now she had worked as his personal assistant and it was a miracle she hadn't already killed him. She barked out a bitter laugh. She,
a killer, hated to watch people suffer needlessly. How ironic.
As soon as the others give the word, I can finally rescue those poor soldiers and end their immediate suffering. She inhaled deeply and let it out slow.
After all, that is why I went undercover to begin with. She shook her hair loose from the bed knots.
All I can do now is bide my time until the team finally arrives. Kayla stood up and walked toward her tiny bathroom to gently splash cool water onto her high cheekbones. She shivered.
Unfortunately even the water can't wash away the horrors I've witnessed day after day for the past twenty eight months. She spun around and turned on the shower, adjusted the temperature and then climbed into the shower, allowing the water to fall over her body. After bathing and shutting off the water, she walked over to the sink to blow dry her hair and combed it. She quickly dressed, sighing while she strapped her watch to a slender wrist.
I can't wait for this mission to end. Kayla clicked the vid-screen on her watch and a photo of a man with salt-and-pepper hair popped up. Her fingers stroked the tiny screen affectionately. The clock on the wall chimed. With a heavy sigh she turned the screen off, and tied her hair into a ponytail high on the top of her head. She added her medium black waist pouch, which she always wore to the office, across her hips, and then placed a tiny ear bud inside her ear.
Bracing her shoulders she straightened her spine and grasped the knob of her apartment door.
It's just another day, Kayla. You just have to get through one more day. She walked downstairs and climbed into her SUV and drove to the lab across the grounds.
XOXOXO:
Locking her vehicle up tight she clipped on her I.D. badge and started toward the building. After all three security checks she stopped outside the door to the lab, swiped her card and then entered her pass code. The door unlocked and opened. She slipped inside and pulled a disk out of her pouch. She went over to the doctor's computer and typed in the codes to open his files. She placed her disk in the slot and started the program and then switched disks.
Once she copied all of the files she checked her watch.
I should still have about forty-five minutes before the doctor arrives. That was a relief, she really didn't want to face him any sooner then necessary. She slipped the DVDs back into her pouch.
Faze one complete. She calmly erased her tracks, taking care to delete the program from the bios and then pulled up today's agenda.
After grabbing up the clipboard with her notes from the previous day, she stared at the mountain of papers waiting to be filed.
When did I become a secretary? Fighting back a groan she filed the papers.
As soon as I get the signal from Raven, I'll free the soldiers and then install the virus and blow up the PC. She tapped the chart and scanned the list, not really seeing anything.
Raven and his group are supposed to tranquilize and rescue the lab animals, including the wolves and tigers, which have been horribly disfigured from the doctor's most recent experiment to locate the genes responsible for creating advanced stages of muscle growth. She scowled.
Damn that bastard. How dare he hurt the innocent animals? Her fist tightened by her side.
One last day, then I'll finally be free of this hell-hole and all the insanity of working with the Doctor. She repressed a shiver and turned her mind away from the gloomy experiments both the soldiers and the animals had been made to suffer through. She put away the files, which she'd already printed out an extra copy of, that currently resided in her pouch. Twenty minutes later she finished and went to check on one of the men, just as the doctor walked in.
"Hello, Kay." A wretched smile tugged at his lips. "I didn't expect to see you here so early."
Her spine stiffened at the nickname. "Doctor Olsen." She shrugged. "I wanted to come early to finish sorting the files away and check on Dran. He wasn't looking so well last night." She made some notes on the patient's chart. "His fever seems to have broken finally." She smiled at the poor man who was barely waking up.
The old face cracked an amused grin. "You should learn to distance yourself a bit more from the patients. That soft heart of yours is going to get you in trouble one day, my dear."
"Maybe doc." She lightly squeezed the patient's shoulder to reassure him. "But at least he's improving."
Dran's dried lips cracked into a small smile as he wheezed. "Thanks Ms. Kayla." He coughed a sickly, wet sounding noise and wheezed more.
Kayla handed him a tall, clear glass of water, before passing her boss the chart, with the new notations on it. She checked his blood pressure and then pat his shoulder. "Try to rest a bit, it seems to be doing you some good."
Doctor Olsen scanned the chart. "It seems that his vitals are finally returning to normal." He gazed at his latest patient. "Too bad he had to come down with a cold and land himself bedridden for the past week. This will put us way behind schedule." Hee sighed. "I had hoped to be past the preliminaries by this point."
Kayla clenched her teeth and forced her voice to remain calm. "If all goes well, he should be back to normal in a few days." She forced a bright smile on her face
. As normal as he can be, you heartless bastard. Doctor Olsen nodded and made some notes in the file, before handing it to his assistant. "Be sure to put that away." He walked over to his PC did a quick scan. He pulled up his files and scanned the day's routine agenda.
Kayla walked around checking on the other men, one at a time, taking thier vitals, giving medication as needed and adding a cup of juice for the ones able to hold it down. "Don't worry, Dran will be back to his cheery old self soon enough."
She returned to Dran's side and did a follow up on his vitals. Her head nodded approvingly as she noted his chart and then took his temperature.
Doctor Olsen walked into the back room and began mixing vials.
Watching him go into the vial room Kayla grit her teeth.
Damn that cocky son of a bitch. How dare he deliberately spill that elixir on me four months ago? A frown tugged at her lips.
I haven't even told daddykins yet. How can I? Her fist clenched. I still don't know exactly why he did it, but at least the pheromone enhancers failed. Her hand gripped the file so tight her knuckles turned white, as she remembered reading his file on her.
"Kayla, get in here."
She released a heavy sigh, pulled on her gloves and mask. She walked into the back room and put on her lab coat.
He held up the first vile. "Catalog this for me."
Plastering on a look of admiration she dutifully pulled out her logbook and pen.
He continued mixing the vials. "Calmodulin, 2 grams. Rhodopsin, 3 milligrams."
She speedily and neatly wrote down the information. The phone rang and she picked it up. "Hello?" She handed him the phone. "Doctor Olsen, it's for you."
"Excuse me."
She removed her lab coat and closed the door leaving him to his phone call. Walking over to the tiny fridge she took out a small dose of medicine and helped Dran sit up.
"Be sure to drink all of you water."
He drank the liquid. "Why are you with him Kayla?" His green eyes bore directly into hers.
"Because, he's supposed to be the most intelligent scientist of the century."
He snorted. "You're smarter than that Kayla and we both know it." Dran shook his head and released a heavy sigh. "I just don't get why someone as sweet as you would get mixed up in such a mess as this." He ended with a scowl.
"One never knows," Kayla patted his shoulder and helped him lay back. She gave him a confidant look.
Dran huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
I know he doesn't believe me. At least he's not pressing any further. She turned away to hide the shadows in her eyes.
His recent cold has rendered him pretty damn close to useless, one of the unfortunate side effects of the deranged doctor's experimentation.
She made o a note on the chart and frowned.
When Dran and his men signed on they had been told that it was to be purely physical enhancements to make them more efficient soldiers for their country. She bit back a grimace.
How many other poor souls has that manic duped with such a line? Her eyes glanced to Dran.
He is much stronger now, but, even the common cold germ can target him and the others' immune systems and render them as helpless as a newborn babe, all thanks to doc's experiments. She shook her head and forced her mind to the task at hand.
Dran rubbed his hand down his face and grimaced as he felt the beginning stubble.
The medicine kicked in making him a bit drowsy. Kayla watched the man fall into a troubled sleep and released a soft sigh.
I can almost feel the poor guy's pain as if it were my own. She mentally slapped herself.
Focus Kayla! The last thing you need right now is the stupid doctor discovering that you can feel their pain. A scowl crossed her face.
No way in hell I'm going to remain his next project! Despite all of her training her nerves were starting to get riled and she had to work at keeping her breathing controlled so as not to give her true feelings away. She absentmindedly rubbed her palms on the legs of her slacks.
When the door opened she realized that the scientist had finished his call and was heading out of the office. Kayla's chest rose and fell in relief as the heavy door whooshed shut and the alarming beep confirmed that he had locked the lab.
Good, I've gotten a bit of a breather. She nearly missed the tiny ear crackle.
"How are ya holdin' up darlin?"
Raven. The throat mic hidden as a cameo around her neck like a choker relayed her whispered response. "Good. He just left."
His deep southern twang always managed to soothe her nerves. She smiled feeling less edgy now that the team had arrived.
"Good, just hang in there a little longer, okay? We're moving to intercept him now. Wipe the PC and get those men out of there."
Kayla released a long breath. "You got it."
She slipped over the desktop PC. Pulling out a tiny disk she inserted it into the computer. Inhaling a deep breath she forced her nerves down. Her fingers flew across the keyboard setting the plan in motion. She grabbed the cell keys from the hook on the wall and opened the cells. She held up a hand to silence the oncoming questions.
"I can't explain. Just trust me. I need you all to help Dran and we need to evacuate - now."
She watched calmly as the confused men walked over and shook their leader to rouse him. Dran's eyes popped open and he stared at his now freed men.
"What the hell?"
Kayla slipped over and covered his mouth with a strip of her shirt shaking her head. "Trust me Dran. We have to move - now." She tied it over his mouth and nose. "Be sure you keep that there. Ripping another strip free she tied it over her mouth and nose.
Dran's emerald eyes widened and he slowly nodded.
She ripped four more strips off and passed them to the other men.
"Make sure you don't breathe the air when we leave this room."
They blinked but tied the cloths in place. Two of Dran's strongest men helped him to his feet grabbing him around his waist and followed behind the others.
Kayla now appeared to be wearing a half shirt with the material barely touching her flat stomach below the breasts.
Her training kicked in overriding her nervousness.
"Stick to the right. Don't worry about the cameras. Just make for the outside. I'll take care of the guards." She didn't wait for their confirmation, just unlocked the doors.
Sensing her urgency the confused men fled with their leader. She walked back over to the PC, hit enter and made a beeline for the door, grabbing today's paper files on her way out.
Just as the thick steel door closed behind her, a tiny beep resonated in the lab. The computer screen went haywire and then a sizzling sound was heard and the computer was silenced. A smirk graced her soft lips as she moved away from the lab.
Faze two complete. She rolled the paper files up slipping them into her pouch.
Moving down the corridor and tapped her broach. "Cameras disabled in this wing."
She nodded to the soldiers. "Move just as soon as I do and wait until the path is clear." Her hand dropped to the bag at her waist. She reached in and pulled out some shiny objects.
The first guard stared at her. "We have a bit of a problem here
Senorita." He noticed her shirt was torn. "What's going on?" His hand reached for the gun at his side.
"Take a guess." She threw her first shuriken. As it got within a foot of the guard, he fired. She'd judged his intent the minute the gun raised and took measures to dodge the bullet.
His eyes widened as the shuriken embedded into his chest. "Why?"
The small ball in the middle of the weapon exploded and a deadly vapor entered the air. He started gasping as the oxygen failed to reach his lungs. He fell to the floor still gasping, but it was in vain.
hat powder is quick to activate and one hundred percent deadly. When the dust dissipated she nodded to the soldiers and used her hand to motion them forward. They quietly slipped passed the first detector.
One down. Reaching into her bag she withdrew some throwing knives and calmly made her way to the next security check point. Before the guard could turn around and draw his gun she threw one knife into his hand.
He grabbed it, screaming out in pain.
She quickly ran over, kicking the gun hand which sent the gun clattering to the floor. She used another knife to slit his throat. Before his body hit the floor she was making her way towards the final check point.
One to go. She scowled when she noticed the fiery shoulder length hair and fuller figure.
Damn, it just had to be Rachel today. "Kayla, what the hell is going on?" Rachel fired her gun.
Kayla dropped into a roll to dodge the bullet. As she came up, her wrists flicked. Two sharp and shiny weapons rapidly embedded into the woman's chest and neck. With wide eyes and a gurgling sound the woman's heavier body dropped to the floor with a heavy thud.
"I never liked you anyways." Kayla went to the door and scanned for anymore possible hindrances. Seeing none she signaled for the men to follow her.
Once the last of the altered soldiers had cleared the building she slammed her elbow into the glass covering the fire alarm button and yanked the lever down, signaling for the evacuation which would cause mass panic.
That ought to help disguise our escape and clear the building. She quickly led the men to a place that would have enough cover for them to disappear.
She disgustedly threw off the mouth covering.
"All clear Raven." She smiled sweetly at the men who stared at her completely baffled. She motioned without speaking for them to follow her into the dry creek bed where they would finish their escape.
The confused soldiers stared at their sickly commander in uncertainty.
Dran nodded curtly. "You heard the lady, move out."
Kayla calmly led them and took out the few guards that were posted along the way. By the time they fired their first shot she was already moving in for the kill. Moving almost too fast for the soldiers' eyes to keep up with her she disarmed the booby traps and took out the last soldier.
As the final soldier fell to the ground with his blood draining from the in his gut and neck he squeezed off a second shot at the woman who had turned her back to him. Kayla hissed as the bullet bit into her arm. Growling she whipped around and tossed several kunai into the man, who choked on his own blood before he went limp.
She tied tore off her good sleeve and tied around the wound to stanch the blood and jerked her head at the soldiers.
"Okay you're all clear, make for the right and stay low. Dran get your men to the ravine. My people will be there to help you, dressed in all black - now hurry."
Green eyes widened. "What about your arm?"
"It's just a flesh wound. I'll be fine. Get your men out of here." She turned her back to him signaling that it wasn't up for debate.
Dran blew out a frustrated breath and then focused solely on getting his men as far away from that accursed building as they could. Sighing he nodded to his men and they began the long trek to the ravine.
After making sure the men had followed orders Kayla put on a burst of speed and circled back the way she'd come to meet up with the second team.
Faze three complete. Her nerves began to settle a bit. She blew out a frustrated breath and stared at her arm.
Oh man, Raven is going to have a fit. So is daddykins. For once Kayla allowed the anger and frustration to seep through her normally sweet and calm voice.
"Raven, did they get that damned psychopath?"
"Ya now darlin' yer Pop won't be too happy hearing how ya got yerself shot."
She snorted and rolled her eyes.
"To tell ya the truth, I'm half tempted to lay into ya myself."
She grit her teeth. "Did they get the damned nut job or not?"
"He's in custody. They're taking him back to the holding van as we speak."
A resounding boom sounded in the air and the building exploded in several key places.
"Building terminated."
She could hear the smugness in his voice and pictured his widely known smirk.
"That's one place where old doc won't be returning."
For the first time in two long years Kitara felt as if her smile actually reflected in her eyes. She lifted her face up to the sun and basked in its cleansing glow as a light sprinkle of ash and plaster dust rained down on her. A small smile tugged at her lips when a light sprinkle of rain fell from the sky washing away what remained of the horrible building. Her spirits lifted some more.
"I'll handle the clean up detail. Yer to circle back and regroup with the soldiers. They're gonna have questions. Answer only what ya have to. If ya need me just holler, and Tara..."
"Yeah," Kayla sighed and began to make her way towards the ravine.
He's right. The men will have questions... unfortunately I'm not going to be able to answer most of them. "Ya owe me a rematch."
Kitara laughed for what felt like the first time in ages. "You got it Dev." Her shoulders hunched. "Just as soon as I get caught up on two years' worth of school work." She grimaced.
His deep chuckle rumbled out. "I'll come over and help ya out. Get that arm mended soon as ya meet up with the team. Raven out."
A smile crossed her lips as she continued an even pace towards the meeting point. Wiping the moisture from her forehead with the back of her ruined sleeve she broke through the foliage and waved to her teammates.
Dran sat on a stretcher. As soon as she came up to the vehicle he pinned her with a hard glare. "You have some explaining to do, Kayla." His jaw clenched.
Might as well meet this one head on. She nodded and sent him a genuine smile. "Actually it's Tempest when I'm in the field." She hissed when the medic began tending to her arm.
"And when you're not in the field? What do you go by then?"
"Kitara." She winced as the disinfectant was poured onto the wound before it was stitched shut.
Dran blinked and his eyes went to her arm.
How can she sit there and pretend like nothing is happening? His eyes locked to hers. "Why Kayla then?"
She grit her teeth. "Kayla is a persona that was created specifically for the mission."
He blinked and cocked his head to the side.
Taking a deep breath she stared into his eyes. "I've been deep undercover this whole time. Twenty eight months to be exact."
"Okay Kitara, be sure not to overuse this arm until it's fully healed."
Kitara nodded to the medic and then turned to her men.
"Get him in the van. I'll explain there."
Dran reluctantly allowed the men to strap him into the stretcher and place the oxygen mask over his face. His men had already been loaded after explaining that they would all meet back up at the rendezvous point. Only his second in command had been allowed to stay with him.
Avoiding his piercing gaze she climbed into the van.
"Pass me a canteen." After drinking her fill of the cool refreshing water she stared down at the glowering man. "I work for some people who have been tracking Doctor Olsen for many years."
He nodded.
"Three years ago they tracked him down and managed to implant a couple of their younger operatives. Unfortunately, the other two had been found out, as the doctor had never trusted them and eventually stopped speaking to them at all. I just happened to be the one best suited for the assistant job, so," She shrugged her shoulders.
Dran removed the mask. "What happens now?"
"Now you will all be taken to a special facility where my people and I can help you rehabilitate to some semblance of normalcy. We can't undo everything that he has done, but we will do our best."
His eyebrow rose.
"We have his files and better yet, they've captured him and are at this minute… interrogating him." She sent him a coy smile. "Plus, they have me and I won't let anything happen to you guys." Her voice rang with finality. She reached over replacing his mask. "Rest for now."
He sighed and laid his head back allowing the physicians to do their jobs. His tense shoulders eased a bit.
At least the guys and I aren't being left to handle everything alone. With Kayla- correction Tempest… having been the doc's assistant, she would be our best hope at getting back our lives. He smiled bemused.
Tempest huh? He closed his eyes and forced his body to relax while holding her slender hand.
She blinked back tears as she held his hand and watched him drift off to sleep, forcing the pain resonating from him into the furthest recess of her mind.
The van started and she allowed her mind to ease off from the adrenaline rush.
Everyone is safe and the files were secured. These solders will get the best possible treatment with my company. Having some firsthand knowledge of what went on I will at least be able to help them through the long road ahead. She allowed her head to rest on the cot next to her friend and closed her eyes. The strenuous exercise had her feeling a little drained. Knowing that she and her friend were currently safe she closed her eyes and allowed herself to nap just a little.
XOXOXO:
Back at the facility Raven supervised the clean up ensuring that all of his operatives had made it out safely. The animals had all been safely tranquilized and loaded. He climbed into the bench seat of the last van and nodded for the driver to take them away.
Having not seen his best friend in over two years and knowing how compassionate her heart was he was concerned for her. "Van four, report."
The male passenger looked back. "Tempest seems to be sleeping, sir."
"Thanks. Make certain that when y'all arrive, she goes straight to the debriefing. Wolf, I'm charging ya with the task of personally escorting her."
"You got it boss." The connection was cut.
