"And if we shut down the main backup?"
"Everything will lock down. You would not be able to get in anywhere."
"Ah. No point in doing that, then."
I rubbed my temples wearily then spun and walked back into the bedroom. Merle was still prone, his mind still caught tight. I dove deeper, taking control of his speech and movement centers, then forced him to reach for the phone and dial the security center.
"Security. Harris speaking."
Merle's thoughts told me Harris wasn't the main man, security wise, just one of the plebes who watched the cameras and monitored phone calls, and maybe that was just as well. A man who was only there because he had to be was a far easier target—and one more likely to stray.
"Harris, Merle."
"Evening, Mr. Merle. What can I do for you?"
"I'm sending a woman over to collect a copy of the day's reports."
"A woman, sir?" It said a lot about Merle and Moss that only the faintest hint of surprise showed in the guard's voice.
"Yes, Harris. You got a problem with that?"
"No, sir."
"She'll be there in ten. Make sure the guard on entrance ten know she's coming and lets her in. I don't want my toy harmed."
"Yes, sir."
Lances of fire were beginning to shoot through the back of my eyes, and sweat trickled down my spine. I had to end this quickly, before the totality of control slipped and he became conscious enough to fight me. I made him drop the handset, then touched his forehead with my fingertips. Though I had no idea if touching him this way would help enforce my will, it just seemed the right thing to do. Besides, Jack had done it the few times he'd subjugated prisoners, so it had to be of some use. "You will sleep until you are woken. When awake, you will remember nothing more than having sex all afternoon and ordering Iktar to escort me upstairs at five before falling asleep. Go to sleep now, and sleep the sleep of the well sated."
As the orders slipped into his subconsciousness and became fact, I pulled out of his mind, carefully erasing the traces of my presence and making doubly sure he remembered nothing more than fucking the hell out of me.
As the connection fell away, a shudder ran through me. The pain behind my eyes became so fierce that for several seconds all I could see was shooting stars. I took a deep breath and swept a hand through my damp hair. What I'd really like to do right now was to take a painkiller or two and catch a few hours' sleep. But I'd given myself an hour's window to do some worthwhile investigating and maybe even some rescuing, so I couldn't waste it, no matter how much my head ached.
"Wake him just before six." I rubbed my eyes wearily, and pushed to my feet. "Let's get going."
"You know where central security is?"
"Yes."
He raised an eyebrow, but didn't question my knowledge, simply led me out of the rooms to the elevator. When it was moving, I looked at him. "Ten minutes, remember. And if you don't do what I asked, I'll find those detonators and set them off myself."
"I will do as you ask."
"Good." I glanced up, saw we were almost at the ground floor. "What is the toy room you mentioned earlier?"
"A torture room on the first level."
Trust Starr to call a torture room a toy room. "What else is there?"
"An armory. Secure meeting rooms. Stuff like that."
The elevator jerked to a stop and the doors opened. I headed left, but not directly toward the security area. There was ten minutes to kill before the power outage removed the threat of the cameras, so I pushed open the nearest exit door and walked out into the coolness of the gathering evening. The sun had moved behind the mountains and trees, and shadows hunted across the ground. The scent of eucalyptus filled the air, and kookaburras were beginning their evening laugh-fest. I walked across to the nearest gum tree and squatted down on my heels. Awareness tingled across my skin, and I glanced sideways to see a guard appear a few doors down. Meaning my earlier guess that we would be watched from now on had been spot-on.
I casually touched my ear, then plucked a long blade of grass and idly fiddled with it.
"Hey, Jack," I said softly. "Any more news of Nerida and Berna?"
"And good fucking morning to you, too. Or evening, as the damn case is."
"This is the first chance I've had to report, so don't pull the heavy on me."
"It doesn't take much to Hick your ear and let me hear what is going on even if you can't speak."
"Which is impossible to do when you're unconscious."
He swore loud enough to make my wince, then added, "You'd better update me."
I did. "You heard from Rhoan at all?"
"He touched the com-link briefly as he was going into the fight, but nothing since then."
"Damn. Hope he's okay."
"He's been in far worse situations. He'll be fine."
"But Starr is suspicious of us both, Jack. He's got a watch on me, even now." I flicked the blade of grass away and glanced sideways at the man in question. He was leaning, cross-armed, against the brick wall, his face raised as if he was studying something in the trees. The mere fact I'd sensed his presence when I hadn't even heard him meant he was something other than human. Which possibly meant it wasn't going to be easy to ditch him, but I had to try before I went anywhere near the security center.
"Then maybe we'd better pull you out."
Pull me, not my brother or Kade. "I'm not going anywhere just yet."
"Riley, if he does suspect, it's far too dangerous for everyone—"
"I have things to do first."
He swore again. "You can't rescue that kid—"
"We made promises to people. Jack. I'm going to try and uphold them before I run. Besides, I'm not going to leave my brother alone in this mess."
"He's got far more experience than you to fall back on."
He hadn't seemed too damn worried about my inexperience when he'd sent me in here. "Experience won't mean squat if he's outnumbered. Which he is."
Jack grunted. "At least tell me what you're planning, then."
I gave him a rough outline. He was silent for a few minutes, then said, "You know, it might be worth destroying the labs and security."
"What? Why?"
"Starr may be suspicious of you, but I actually doubt he realizes that you're working for the Directorate or that you're a dhampire. Even if his suspicions are raised over you losing your guard, he won't suspect you being behind the destruction of security and the lab. We both know only someone with vampire speed can manage to get to those two places in a short amount of time."
"Agreed, but I'm still not seeing the point."
"It's a simple subterfuge to deflect his suspicions. Given the kitchen bombing that barely missed taking out Merle, he may suspect the cartels playing friendly are actually attempting a little double-cross."
"Which means I couldn't actually leave, even if I wanted to."
"Yes."
"Then how do I get the baby out?"
"Women," he muttered. "Look, bring the kid to the forest and I'll call in an eagle-shifter to get her out. We'll look after her until Dia is free. Okay?"
I grinned. I'd actually figured I'd have to argue a whole lot longer before jack gave in. "Okay. And you know this means Dia will be in the Directorate's debt, don't you?"
"Oh, I'm counting on it." His voice was dry. "Just remember, kiddo, that you can't leave live evidence behind."
My grin faded. "I know."
I'd just avoided thinking about it, because it was just another step down that road, another twist in the chain Jack was wrapping around me. One kill, then two, and before I knew it, I'd be killing without thought, without regret. Or so he hoped.
"Good. Contact me when you've finished creating havoc."