Page 48 of So Deadly
Then an alarm klaxon wailed.Red lights strobed through the room, and David understood why Jayce had tried to stop him.
When he opened Sierra’s door, he set off an alarm.Their escape was ruined now.
The enemy was coming for them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The dogs reacted instantly to the alarm and the strobe lights.They stiffened and yelped, shaking their heads and stumbling backward.As the hypnosis faded and they regained control of their own senses, they did what any dog would do if it found itself trapped in a cage surrounded by red lights and wailing alarms.
They freaked the hell out.
As barks and rattles erupted, David looked at Jayce sorrowfully.“I’m so sorry.I didn’t think.I just saw her, and I—”
“It’s all right,” Jayce said.“I understand.”His voice was clipped, but his expression was compassionate.He grabbed David’s hand and pressed a thumb drive into it.“Get out of here.Take Sierra.The other dogs have to stay for now.I’ll hold them off.Go straight out the back side of the facility and run until you can’t run anymore.Keep moving south, and you’ll reach the road after seven miles.Twenty miles east, you’ll hit Oklahoma City.It’s a long way, but you’ll make it.”
David hesitated, thinking both of Jayce and the other dogs.They would almost certainly be executed if he left them behind.
A cold voice in his head reminded him,You made this choice.Once more, you let your emotions rule your decision-making.Now Jayce and these dogs will suffer for it.
“No!”he cried out.“No, they’ll kill you!All of the dogs too!”
“They won’t kill the dogs,” Jayce said.“They’re valuable assets.They’ll just move them again.”
“But what about you?”
“I can keep them occupied long enough for you to leave, but youhaveto leave.Take that data to your wife.She’ll know who to contact in the FBI.”
“Jayce…”
“It has to be you,” Jayce said.“You can’t hold them off.Not even close.”He smiled sadly.“I love you, buddy, but you’re not a fighter.I’m only half a fighter, but like I said, I can give you time to get out of here.”
David still lingered.It was his fault that Jayce was dying, his fault that he couldn’t for once let logic rule over emotion.“Jayce, I’m so—”
“Enough,” Jayce interrupted, kindly but firmly.“Go.”
Shouting voices echoed from the hallway outside.Jayce’s eyes flicked to the door, and his face hardened.“Take the back exit,” he said.“Run until you’re going to fall over, then walk until you reach the city.Get on the phone and call your wife immediately.Go!”
Sierra barked, and David finally listened.She sprinted toward a back door, and David followed.He lowered his shoulder, and with a cry slammed through the door.More shocks rocketed through his body, but he didn’t check to see if he had broken anything this time.If he had, so be it.He could get help when he escaped.
Ifhe escaped.
Behind them, gunfire and shouting echoed in his ears.He winced, squeezing tears through his eyes as he thought of Jayce, whose life was surely forfeit now.He sobbed once, but then he was at the fence.Tears would have to wait.He needed to move.
Sierra cleared the fence easily, springing up the eight-foot obstacle, touching her paws lightly to the top rail of the chainlink and hopping over the razor wire with two feet to spare.David had seen that athleticism only in one other dog.He really wished Turk was here with him now.Faith too.
Actually, no, he was glad they weren’t here.He didn’t want anyone else to die because of him, especially not the woman he loved and the dog they both loved.
He reached the top and did his best to jump over.When he got caught in the razor wire again, he just went limp and let his body weight tear him free.Another lance of fire coursed through his leg—the right one this time—and fresh aches exploded within him when he landed, but he got to his feet and kept running.
A bullet whizzed past his ear, close enough that he could feel the buzz.He didn’t turn around to see if the shot had been aimed his way or if it was just a stray.
No more bullets reached him, though, and slowly, the crack of gunfire receded behind him.He kept moving, lungs burning, tears streaming from his face.The gunfire had dragged on.That was a good sign, right?It meant they hadn’t gotten Jayce yet.Maybe he could fight free and escape.
He told himself this, but he knew it wasn’t true.Jayce might be athletic and strong for his size, but he wasn’t fighting a bunch of untrained civilians like David.He was fighting killers.He had no chance.
So, make sure he doesn’t die in vain.Get this data to Faith.
He kept running.His lungs burned.His body ached.The stinging in his legs sharpened to lancets of fire that flared up each time his feet landed.He resisted the urge to look behind to see how far he’d gone.He’d left his goggles in the building anyway, so he had no way of knowing the answer anyway.
