Page 15 of His Reluctant Mate

Kallik shrugged. "I felt something was off. The land here… has a different feel. I followed my instincts."

Melinda stepped forward, her breath visible in the frigid air as she traced the symbol on the door. "This is the logo of the company I worked for. If they have a facility here, it might explain why they were so determined to keep us isolated. There could be information inside that we need."

Joe nodded, his mind racing. "We have to get inside and see what's there. But we need to be careful. If they went to these lengths to hide it, it means there's something important—and dangerous—inside."

Kallik nodded in agreement. "I will keep watch. You two find a way in and see what you can discover."

Joe turned to Melinda, “Any chance you’ll stay with Kallik if I tell you to?”

She grinned at him. “None whatsoever.”

They approached the door together, examining it for any signs of an entry mechanism. Joe found a hidden panel and managed to pry it open, revealing a keypad. "Looks like we'll need a code," he muttered.

Melinda knelt beside him, her fingers tracing the worn numbers on the keypad. "Wait," she said, thinking aloud. "Try the standard emergency override—9-1-1."

Joe punched in the numbers, holding his breath. There was a moment of silence before the door hissed and swung open, revealing a dimly-lit corridor stretching into the mountain.

CHAPTER 9

MELINDA

Melinda and Joe slipped silently into the shadows of the compound, their movements synchronized and quiet as if they’d been doing this kind of thing for years. The facility’s corridors spread out before them like some kind of malevolent spiderweb—its cold metal walls seeming to hint at and hide dark secrets. Melinda’s heart pounded in her chest, the memory of her colleagues being murdered flashing across her brain whenever she caught sight of the security patrols. Those uniforms, once symbols of order, now represented betrayal and death.

They managed to avoid detection, moving with deliberate care through the maze of corridors. The guards' patrols seemed random, yet Melinda knew better than to assume anything about this place was left to chance. Every corner they turned, every door they passed, was a potential trap. Joe signaled to her to follow him, his eyes scanning the hallway for any sign of danger.

Hearing footsteps approaching, they ducked inside one of the darkened labs, the door whispering shut behind them. Melinda’s breath caught as she took in the room. Advanced climate manipulation technology lined the walls, the sleek, intimidating equipment humming with contained power. She recognized some of the devices, its presence confirming her worst fears about the facility's purpose.

"I'm going to see how big this place is and if I can get an idea about the size of the staff here and the ratio of security to researchers," Joe whispered, his voice barely audible. "I’d also like to see if I can find their communications hub. Can you stay and see if you can figure out what it is they’re trying to do?” She nodded. “Good. Stay safe; I won’t be long."

Melinda nodded, her focus already shifting to the consoles and screens around her. Joe slipped out, leaving her enveloped in the dim glow of the lab’s monitors. She moved to the nearest console, her fingers brushing over the keys, bringing up screens filled with data. Graphs, charts, and streams of numbers appeared, all pointing to one horrifying conclusion: the facility was actively manipulating local climates, testing extremes and pushing boundaries.

As she sifted through the data, her training took over, and she began to make sense of the information. They were not just experimenting with weather patterns—they were trying to weaponize the climate itself. But who would have a use for such technology? Big corporations, cartels and even the military. The implications were staggering, and Melinda felt a cold sweat break out on her brow.

Her concentration was intense, her mind racing to piece together the fragments of information. She couldn’t help but think of the broader consequences, the impact on the world if this technology were to be deployed. The scale of potential destruction was overwhelming.

Rising methane levels could have significant effects on the climate due to methane's potency as a greenhouse gas. If someone could manipulate the earth’s temperatures, changes in weather patterns, and effects on the planet’s ecosystem and inhabitants, the potential for abuse was staggering.

Minutes felt like hours as Melinda worked, her heart a steady drumbeat in her chest. Every sound outside the lab made her freeze, her ears straining for the telltale signs of discovery. But she pushed forward, driven by a need to understand, to find a way to stop whatever horrors were being planned within these walls.

Melinda's heart leaped into her throat at the sound of approaching footsteps. She quickly crouched behind one of the towering machines, its metallic surface cold against her back. The dim lab was a labyrinth of shadows, each one a potential hiding place, but also a trap. She held her breath as the door creaked open, the faint glow from the hallway spilling into the room.

Peering through a narrow gap between two machines, Melinda’s eyes widened in disbelief. The figure entering the lab was Amy Brighton, a colleague who had vanished over a year ago. Amy's appearance was startling: her hair had turned almost completely gray, her face lined with exhaustion and fear. She moved with a cautious, hesitant step, as if every shadow might conceal a threat.

"Amy?" Melinda whispered, stepping out from her hiding place.

Amy's head snapped up, her eyes widening in shock and recognition. "Melinda? Oh my god, I thought you were... I mean, I didn't think I'd ever see anyone from outside this facility again."

Melinda rushed to her, wrapping her arms around Amy in a quick embrace before turning back to the machinery. "What happened to you? We thought you were dead," she said, glancing over her shoulder to look at Amy.

Amy’s eyes filled with tears. "I've been here, all this time. Greaves forced us to work on his projects. There are others, too, held against their will. We’ve been under constant surveillance, treated like prisoners."

Melinda’s mind raced. "We need to get you out of here. And we need evidence to expose what they’re doing."

Amy nodded, her face a mix of hope and fear. "The main server room has all the data you need. But be careful; Greaves?—"

Before she could finish, the door slammed open again, and Greaves stood there, flanked by two armed guards. His eyes blazed with fury as he took in the scene.

"Well, well. Look what we have here. I knew there was a rat in my facility,” he sneered, looking at Amy. His eyes darted to Melinda. “We’ve been looking for you.”

---