Page 41 of Her Selfless Warrior (Omega Sky)
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“You’re Rice,Harper, and Iris Robinson, right?” Kostya asked the scientists.
“Who are you?” Harold Rice asked. His voice was hoarse, and when Kostya got a good look at him, he could see that he’d been beaten.
“United States military, Sir. I’ve come to take you home.”
“Really?” The woman asked. Her voice was weak.
Kostya managed not to wince when he looked at her. She was wrapped in three thin blankets—obviously, the men had given up theirs to give to her. But even with those coverings, it was clear that she too had been badly abused. What was worse, she was trembling, and if Kostya had to guess, she was suffering from a fever.
Getting her back to the SUSI in this weather will be a bitch. Good thing we didn’t blow up the Vityaz.
“There are two more people in your group, aren’t there?” Kostya asked. “Doctor Lord and Benjamin Leeds. Do you know where they are?”
“Ben’s dead,” the woman choked out. “They killed him. They kept saying we were spying on them and wanted to know what we were looking for.”
“We haven’t seen Gwen for two days,” the third man in the room said. Kostya recognized him as Ted Harper. He looked to be in his early sixties and he didn’t seem to have suffered as much, which was a blessing. Hopefully, he could make it out of this mess without much trauma.
“She was asking too many questions. I told her to keep her mouth shut,” Harold Rice spoke up again. “She just couldn’t help herself. She’s been the wrong person to lead this expedition from the start.”
“Harold, stop.” Iris couldn’t say anymore, she went into an agonizing coughing fit. Kostya winced again. She sounded bad. They needed to get her out of here as soon as possible.
“Nolan, you seeing anything on your side?” Kostya asked into his mic.
“No. Why? Whatchya got?”
“Need a medic. Get in here.” Kostya stepped out of the room and went over to where Sebastian and Landon were with the couple, who were naked and huddled up against a wall. “Landon, you got this?” Kostya asked.
Landon nodded.
“Seb, go trade out with Nolan.”
Sebastian left the room about the same time Nolan was coming in. He peered at the naked couple.
“Not here,” Kostya said to Nolan. “I need you next door. One of the biologists doesn’t look too good, see what you can do to help her.”
Nolan nodded. Kostya turned his head to the couple huddled on the bed.
“Where is Doctor Gwendolyn Lord?” Kostya snapped out the question in Russian.
“Who?” the woman asked.
“The other woman. The other scientist.”
“I don’t know,” she answered.
Kostya pointed his assault rifle at the man. “And you? What don’tyouknow?” Kostya asked in a deadly sarcastic tone.
“You have to believe me,” he begged. “I work with computers. Both of us do. We’re not part of what goes on in the labs. That’s where they took her.”
Kostya frowned. The lab hadn’t shown any sign of life. Dr. Lord was a biologist, did they mean they had her working there?
“When was the last time you saw her?” Kostya asked them both.
Neither of them answered.
Kostya walked further into the room and pushed down the man’s blanket with the muzzle of his rifle until it was pointed at his flaccid penis. “I’ll ask again,” Kostya enunciated each word in slow Russian. “When was the last time you saw Doctor Lord, and where was she?”
