Two burly patients grabbed each of us under the arms and practically carried us a pristine white wall at the end of the hallway. Zachau joined us, placing his palm against a metal plate. The entire wall slid aside, revealing an elevator. Which explained why we'd never found the lab.
The guards shoved us inside, but they remained outside. Zachau joined us, and the wall slid closed. We began to descend. The doctor held our guns, one trained on each of us.
I settled back, gaze never leaving him. Zachau would slip up eventually. Mad scientists always did. I only hoped the mistake occurred before he performed his experiment on Will.
The door slid open, revealing a state of the art facility - lots of bells and whistles, computers, beakers, test tubes, microscopes. Who was funding this guy?
In the corner stood a shiny silver cage. He flicked the barrel of a gun in its direction. Will and I stepped inside, and the door clanged shut behind us.
Zachau wasted no time, moving to a table, setting down the weapons so he could prepare a syringe, then returning. "Give me your arm, Mr. Cadotte. "
"Leave him alone," I said, my voice impressively forceful though I felt anything but.
Zachau lifted a brow. "You think I'd go to the trouble and expense of having the two of you sent here, capture you, then leave him alone just because you say so?"
His words hinted at a traitor in the ranks. Wouldn't Edward be surprised? If we managed to stay alive, and non-furry, long enough to tell him.
"It was a worth a shot. " I kept my gaze on Zachau, but part of my attention remained on the guns that still lay on the table behind him. If I could grab the doctor, smack his head into the bars, then I just might be able to sweep those guns closer with my foot. They weren't that far away.
"Shot," Zachau repeated. "A very good word. " He picked up my gun and pointed it at my head. "Give me your arm or she dies. "
Will presented his arm in a hurry.
"Move away, Ms. McQuade," Zachau continued. "To the far side of the enclosure, please. "
Hell. He seemed able to read my mind, or maybe it was just my face. I'd never been much good at hiding things.
Seeing no other way, I retreated until my back pressed against the outside wall that made up one-quarter of our prison.
"What trouble did you go to?" I asked. Maybe if I kept him talking, he'd make a mistake. Couldn't hurt. Besides, I was curious.
"Hmm?" Zachau murmured, tapping Will's arm as he searched for a vein.
I could tell by the tension in Will's body that he was waiting for an opening, too. Unfortunately the doctor appeared quite ambidextrous. He kept my gun aimed at me while holding the syringe in that hand as well. This left his other hand free to mess with Will's arm.
I had no doubt that if I made a quick movement, he would have no trouble plunging the syringe into Will's arm before I could get close enough to stop him. If Will moved in any way that annoyed the doctor, a bullet would be dispatched for me. I wanted to avoid both scenarios.
"You said you went to a lot of trouble to get us here. I'd like to know what you did. "
"You must be as delusional as my boxenwolves if you think I'll tell you. "
"If you tell me, it'll go no farther than this room, since you plan to kill me when you're through. "
"Why would I do that?" Zachau didn't bother to look at me, which only made me more certain I was right.
"Because if you inject that shit into Will, you're dead the next instant. "
"Big talk for someone without a gun. "
More than talk but Zachau would figure that out soon enough.
"So tell me how you did it. "
"The usual way. " He shrugged. "I paid for the information. "
"No one in the Jager-Suchers would dare. "
"There's always a price if you can afford to pay it. "