The Chimera Vector (The Fifth Column #1)

Chapter 6: The Neopsyche

'Sophia, can you hear me?'

He sounded Russian.

Her eyes stung from the light and her brain felt two sizes too big for her skull. She was sitting somewhere, but she could only make out muted sounds and dark blurs. Had she gotten to the river? She couldn't even remember hitting the water. Or what happened to Damien and Jay.

'Why am I...' Her voice cracked through dry lips.

'My name is Doctor Adamicz.'

He spoke softly. His head and shoulders came into focus. He watched her with faded blue eyes through wire-rimmed glasses. The man looked in his 70s, civilian, oddly calm. If there was menace behind his eyes, it wasn't coming out to play.

He stood about five meters before her. Unarmed. She could take him down. Clear the room. Find Damien and Jay.

But not just yet.

She could see him in full clarity now. Adamicz was dressed in slacks, a navy blue vest over a pinstriped shirt, cuffs rolled past elbows and damp patches under his arms. He had a thin, aquiline nose and a puff of white hair atop his head. He looked dimly familiar.

Sophia realized how rapid her breathing was. She tried to calm herself with slower, deeper breaths. She stood—for some reason he hadn't restrained her—but felt suddenly dizzy.

'I think it best if you remain seated.' He gestured to the chair she'd been sitting on. 'What I am to tell you may come as shock.'

'I'd rather stand.'

Her legs gave way beneath her, kicking up dust from the tribal rug underfoot.

She heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Two armed men stood over her. He'd need more than two, she thought. But Adamicz gestured for them to retreat. She stumbled to one knee and tried to stand again.

She couldn't quite place Adamicz. Was he the target? Was he an informant? She couldn't even recall what operation she was on.

'How did I get here?' she said.

Adamicz smiled. 'With great deal of money, planning and some luck. The bus sliding across the bridge was not part of the plan, but we adapted.'

The dull pain in her head began to recede. 'What are you talking about?'

'The former Blue Berets you see here are responsible for your capture.'

Men dressed in jeans and dark T-shirts, carrying M4 carbines, flanked Adamicz. The carbines were fitted with suppressors and angled foregrips. Sophia's gaze locked onto the balcony overhead. Four other men with carbines. She checked her sides. Just dark-stained bookshelves. She was in a library.

'You're holding me hostage?' she said.

'To the contrary, I hope to set you free.'

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Back on her feet, steadier this time, she turned. A heavy door twice her height blocked her exit.

She wanted desperately to escape.

She wanted to listen to what he had to say.

She wanted to kill him.

She needed to regain her senses, observe her surroundings and, above all, think. If she couldn't think, she couldn't escape.

She sat back on the chair. 'I need some water.'

Adamicz gestured to one of the men, who disappeared from her line of sight. He returned a moment later with a bottle of water. He placed it a meter before her, then retreated, carbine aimed.