Not very long could have been ten minutes or ten hours. It all depended on your point of view. And surely if the labs were only ten minutes away, the Directorate would have noticed. They'd been watching the place for ages. "Then what are you offering in exchange for our help?"
"Whatever it is in my power to do."
Which really wasn't telling me much as I had no idea what he could and couldn't do. I studied his featureless face for a second, then said, "If you are able to move around this place so freely, why haven't you done something to release your people?"
"Because we are booby-trapped."
I raised my eyebrows. "Booby-trapped?"
He stepped forward and held out his arm. "Feel."
I ran my fingers up his arm as directed. His flesh was cold and clammy, not unlike that of a frog. I repressed a tremor of revulsion and stopped my exploration when I hit something small and hard near his armpit. "What is it?"
"A bomb powerful enough to blow away half my body."
"Nasty." I let my hand drop and stepped back. I wasn't comfortable standing so close to him, and I had no idea why. Maybe it was just an itchy feeling that while this man might be telling the truth as far as what he wanted, he was about as trustworthy as a rattlesnake. That if he thought it would further his aims, his bid to freedom, he'd kill me quicker than I could blink. Or report me to Starr. "Have you all got one of those?"
"Only those of us he considers leaders."
"Why not just cut it out?"
"Because unless the main unit is destroyed, removing it will trigger the device. We discovered this the hard way."
I tried to ignore the image of splattered spirit lizard, and asked, "And the detonator? Where is it kept?"
"I'm not sure, but it would have to be in either Starr's rooms or the main security room. It needs to be destroyed before we can flee."
"Have you tried to get into either place?"
"I cannot."
"Why not?"
"I have access to Merle's and Moss's rooms and the upper levels. They would kill me instantly if they saw me anywhere else."
The main security room was in the upper level. But maybe Starr figured a spirit lizard heading there could only be up to no good. After all, if he trusted them, he wouldn't have booby-trapped them. "They'll kill me, too, if I go anywhere near either place."
He smiled. "But you have an invite to brunch tomorrow. That takes you deeper into his hole than I have ever been allowed."
"You know," Jack said into my ear, "the aim of an update is to actually report everything that has happened since the last update. What is it about that concept you cannot understand?"
I restrained my grin, and said to Iktar, "How about a trade?"
"Trade?"
"I'll try and get the detonator, if you try and snatch the keys Merle has for the elevator."
He considered me for a moment, then nodded. "It will be a risk, but I will try."
"Good. What does the detonator look like?"
"Like the controller of a game machine, with more buttons." His thin mouth twisted. "So he can kill us off one by one or all at once."
My gaze went back to die listening shadows. "What of the lab-born amongst you?"
"What of them?"
"They're programmed with a different kind of bomb, aren't they?"
Again surprise flitted through his eyes. "You know more than I realized. And yes, they are. But no one can do anything about the triggers in their DNA. They would rather die free, if that is to be their fate, than penned."
"And the other nightmares penned here?"
"They are not my problem."
Charity, thy name is Iktar. Not that I could blame him for looking after himself and his people before everyone else.
"Do we have a deal?" he said. "Will your people help mine escape this place?"
"If he upholds his end of the deal, we'll see his people relocated," Jack said. "I make no such promises about the lab-born amongst them."
"Deal," I said, and held out a hand.
Iktar looked at it, then back at me, and smiled grimly. "I will shake your hand, but know that if you and your people do not hold to your word, I will kill you."
My grin was nasty. "And if I get the slightest whiff of a double-cross, believe that I will kill every fucking one of you."
"That's my girl," Jack said approvingly.
I wished I could tell him to shove it, but with Iktar close that wasn't an option. "When do you want to meet again?"
"Given Merle was interrupted during his time with you, he will undoubtedly claim you again. I will signal you when I have the keys."
"It may take me a while to get the detonator." If indeed I could actually find it.
"That I understand."
I nodded and backed away, not turning my back to him until I was well down the hill. He looked a little amused at the precaution, but I didn't give a damn. Better safe than sorry, and I wasn't trusting that creature for an instant.
"Are you really going to let his people go?" I asked, when I was well out of earshot of the zoo.
"If he and his people prove to be no threat to society, yes. Do you trust him?"
"I think he's telling the truth as far as what he wants, but no, I don't trust him."
"Then be careful when dealing with him."
"Well, duh, wouldn't have thought of that."
He snorted. Not a nice sound in my ear. "Anything else I should know?"
"I want you to check a couple of people for me." I gave him Nerida's and Berna's full names. "Something about them just feels off."
"I'll let you know what we find."
"Is Rhoan in yet? I know new guards arrived this evening, but I'm not sure if he was one of them."
"He got onto the bus, but I can't tell you more because he hasn't yet contacted us."
"Talk to you later, then." I flicked off the link and stopped under the boughs of a leafy elm. The main house stood to my left. The stables to my right. I was bone tired, muscle weary, and the thought of slipping between the sheets to catch some sleep was more than a little enticing.
But so was the thought of easing the deep-down ache.
I wavered between the two desires, but in the end, horny won out over tiredness.
After wrapping the shadows around myself, I snuck toward the stables. They were dark, still. I switched to infrared, saw that there was nothing more than horses inside. The old guy wasn't about, and there were no guards. Still, I had to be careful. The last thing I needed to do was make anyone aware that there might be a horse-shifter spy amongst all the plain old horses in the stables.
I slipped inside the smaller door to the left of the main door and padded down the aisle. Though still covered in shadows, the horses snorted and shied away from my scent. The only one that showed any sort of interest was the only one I was interested in.
I slipped inside the stable and locked the door behind me. The golden haze of shifting swept across his body, then he was standing there, all mahogany magnificence looking good enough to eat.
A wicked grin curved his lush lips "You have a lusty look in your eyes, my dear. Anything I can do to help you ?"
"God, yes."
I took the few steps that separated us and he slid his hands around my waist, his touch possessive, almost demanding, as he pulled me closer still. His body felt like hot steel against mine, his erection even hotter where it pressed against my stomach. Flash fires of desire skittered across my already overheated skin, but I fought the instinct to simply take what I desired. There had been more than enough taking for one night. This time, desire needed to be shared.
"What I want," I said softly, wrapping a hand around his neck and pulling his mouth down toward mine, "is for you to caress me, tease me, cover me with your kisses and your scent, until we're both driven so wild with desire that we can't even think."
"I think I can manage that," he murmured, a second before my lips claimed his.