Page 67 of Sergi
The old shifter took a step before Sergi stepped into his path.
“Where’s Alex?”
Cadfael studied him for another minute as if he’d missed something with his last perusal. His expression gave nothing away, but Sergi caught a bit of mischief in the shifter’s steady gaze. “She’s still on the first floor. She’s looking for evidence, too.”
“I need to get up there. They’re probably sending guards in small groups to clear rooms.”
Cadfael gave him that odd look for another moment, then nodded. “If you insist on delaying your departure, I have a small request before you search for Alex.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The soundof pounding boots grew closer, and though I wasn’t far from the director’s office, it wasn’t worth the risk, and I slipped into another room. I expected a lab, but instead of test tubes, microscopes, and a laptop running data, this room was filled with filing cabinets.
Curious about what might be in the files in this day of databases, I opened a couple to find reams of notes that appeared to be the results of various experiments. Most of the handwritten notes were unreadable, with scientific terminology and acronyms I didn’t understand.
The information was useless. While it might be readable by more knowledgeable people, Sergi couldn’t walk through the Carpathians with a backpack of paper files. I might not be able to understand the files, but I did note the date—1947. I scanned files in several cabinets. The dates were scattered, but I didn’t find anything later than the 1990s. This room held the data on everything they’d done in this facility from its conception up until computers. I guess they’d never gotten around to converting them.
The hallway had grown quiet. Thankfully, someone had shut off the alarms. I raced past a few offices before running into thedirector’s office, surprised the door was open. But if he had been in the office, I doubt he thought of anything more than getting to the command center or a panic room.
Before I shut the door, I heard a distant shot followed by howls. Not just one wolf but several. They might have been the ones who delivered justice to Leonard. There would be a great deal of atonement being served today.
I leaned against the closed door and scanned the room. It was messier than the last time I’d been here. I ignored the lab side. It was obvious the director was dabbling with something, but I had enough samples. And his written notes, even recent ones, wouldn’t be enough.
What I needed were files like the documents I’d just reviewed in the file room. Data that identified all the experiments being run and their purpose—their end game.
I slid into the director’s desk chair and snorted. The vampire must have been too terrorized by the alarms to do anything but run for safety. He seemed the twitchy type. He didn’t even take the few seconds required to shut down his laptop.
All the better for me. No password required. I wasn’t a computer geek, but I knew my way around them. The best place to start was the files directory. There were hundreds of folders, most with nondescript names. I kept glancing at the door, concerned the guards would start going room by room to search for lab staff and shifters.
My knee bounced as I scrolled up and down the list of folders and, once again, had to force myself to breathe and calm down. I moved the mouse to the top of the folders, and rather than quickly scan, I read each folder name out loud, letting it sink in. I almost laughed when my cursor fell on a folder marked BPX.
I opened the folder and found numerous files that consisted of dozens of spreadsheets and data tables. This was what I needed. What Sergi needed. He might be long gone now and,with any luck, was racing down the mountain to contact his House. It would be days before someone came, but if I could save the data, there was a chance I could keep it safe until help arrived.
I searched for a USB drive, but the desk was so messy it was like searching for a specific seashell on a mile-long beach. Every drawer was like the junk drawer everyone had at home. There weren’t any in the center desk drawer, and after searching the drawers on the right, I found several in a box at the back of a drawer on the left side.
I grabbed one, and after three attempts because my hand wouldn’t stop shaking, I pushed the drive into the slot. When the contents of the drive popped up, there was already a folder on it. It was labeled SMP, with the last active date from a month ago. The ticking clock in my head said to ignore it, but my gut said something else.
I clicked on the folder to open it, and a knot gripped my stomach as my wolf scratched to be let out. To hunt. To kill. I didn’t have to scan the list of files to know what they were about. Several of them clearly stated “shifter” in the file name.
I closed the folder and started transferring the BPX file. There would be plenty of time to review the SMP files once it was in safe hands. I groaned when the pop-up message showed five minutes to complete. It was an estimate and might finish sooner. Was luck still on my side? When my bouncing leg increased its rhythm, I jumped up to work off my pent-up energy.
I had finished my second long pace across the room, stopping to check the transfer status at each turn, when the door opened. I swung around, expecting to see one or two guards, but it was a single male that filled the doorway.
My heart hammered at the sight of him, and I took a step back. I should have hidden under the desk while waiting, not paraded around, knowing guards were roaming the halls. Themale took two steps inside before stopping to scan the room. His sinister smile was enough to make my insides melt.
Gheata. The torturer.
Once he was satisfied we were alone, he walked toward me as I moved away, taking one step for each of his until my back touched the corner of the desk. I didn’t dare look at the computer. Not that it mattered anymore. I could shift, but it would take too long. Even though the power of the Alpha ran through me, which reduced the time to shift, the male staring me down wasn’t some lab tech with illusions of bravery.
This was a stone-cold killer.
“Where are you going, little wolf?” The male’s tone was menacing but held a hint of humor. His head tilted to the side as he considered me. “I know you.”
He took another step but stopped, quite aware that he blocked my exit. He’d left the door open, but any wolves that had been on this floor should have evacuated to the second floor once they’d completed their search for other shifters.
S-272 and Carlos would know I hadn’t made it back to the second floor, but they wouldn’t sacrifice the pack. The odds would be against them. It didn’t matter who my uncle was. They would only mount a rescue if there were a reasonable probability of success. The stakes were too high. The shifter race was in jeopardy.
“You’re the little wolf who cleaned the cells.” His expression turned hard. “You cleaned the traitor’s cell.”
