The Chimera Vector (The Fifth Column #1)

Chapter 33: Damien's Stopped Breathing

‘And yours?’ Jay said.

‘Preloaded.’

‘You have everything fucking covered, huh?’ He wasn’t smiling.

‘Almost.’ Sophia looked down at Renée. She was still unconscious. ‘Give her some fluids, she doesn’t have much time.’

‘You give her blood plasma,’ Jay said to Sophia. It almost sounded like an order. ‘I’ll help Benito save Damien.’

‘We need to check on troop movements,’ Sophia said. ‘Which means I need my com.’

‘I think your comrade’s life is more important than a com,’ he snapped.

‘Don’t tell me what’s more important.’ She turned to Benito. ‘Load the vectors; inject half into Damien’s bloodstream.’

‘And the other half?’ Benito said.

‘We need it to save Renée. She’s lost too much blood.’

With her hand back over Renée’s torn artery, Sophia said to Jay, ‘Take Renée’s webbing off. She has a supply of plasma in the pouch near me.’

Jay reluctantly left Benito in charge of Damien. Using his only working hand, he retrieved the blood plasma from the webbing belt Renee, like all of them, was wearing. Sophia didn’t supply any further instruction. He knew what to do from there.

‘Give me the com,’ she said.

Jay connected the catheter to the bag, but didn’t say a word.

‘Jay,’ she said. ‘Give me the goddamned com!’

He dug into a vest pouch and gave it to her.

Lucia, Nasira and Cassandra burst into the lab. Sophia realized she was aiming her P90 at them. She was just as startled to see them as they were to see Renée unconscious.

‘What the heck happened?’ Lucia said.

‘She’s stable.’ Sophia lowered her P90. ‘Why aren’t you at your posts?’

Cassandra tapped her earpiece. ‘Something’s wrong with our frequency.’

Sophia’s jaw clenched involuntarily. ‘Define wrong.’

‘Screw the frequency, we’re easy targets here,’ Nasira said. ‘We gotta pull out before we’re surrounded by these motherfuckers.’

‘Too late.’ Lucia sniffed the air. Her head was tilted back slightly, lips parted.

‘Talk to me,’ Sophia said.

‘There’s a lot of them. They’re not far.’

Sophia checked her com. ‘No kidding.’

‘What the fuck?’ Jay said.

‘I have hyperosmia,’ Lucia said. ‘Enhanced sense of smell. It’s my natural ability.’

‘I have that too,’ Jay said.

‘Then you have her to thank for your upgrade,’ Nasira said. ‘You should use it more, train yourself.’

Two troops were moving in from opposite sides. They’d be here soon. Sophia’s heart raced. Their only chance was to slip through a crack in the ambush. Providing there was a crack. But with Renée and Damien in critical condition, she knew that wasn’t going to happen. If they left Renée and Damien behind, the pair would be killed. Yet if they all stayed here and tried to save Renée and Damien, they’d all be killed.

Lots of good choices.

She’d messed up. And everyone was going to pay for her mistake. And all she could think about was how scared Leoncjusz must’ve been when Denton and his Blue Berets raided the library. It seemed like a lifetime ago.