Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
“There are no choices,” Cameron hissed.
Tyler made another sound, this one suspiciously like a child’s wail.
“Of course, there are choices. You’re all intelligent men. You know there are choices. Agus can throw the vial and he’ll be shot dead. That’s a choice. My guess is, all three of you will go down in a hail of bullets.”
“That’s better than being dragged through a public trial,” Orucov said. “My family would be humiliated. They’d never be able to raise their heads in public again.”
“And you think if you die here today, that still isn’t going to happen? Don’t be ridiculous. Whitney sent you a one-time offer.” She was very aware of Draden going very still in her mind.
“Anything Whitney says is pure bullshit,” Orucov snapped.
Cameron put up his hand to caution Orucov. “I’d like to hear what she has to say.”
“He’ll take you back and see that your names are cleared. You’ll be working for him for a very long time—and he didn’t specify how long that would be—with little pay and no weekends away from the compound.”
“In other words, as his slaves,” Orucov protested.
“You’d most likely be treated the way he always treated us. You didn’t seem to mind when he kept us under lock and key.”
She kept her voice strictly neutral, but she was on high alert, every sense totally focused on Agus Orucov. He was the one with the virus capsule making the threats, and there was pure desperation in his eyes. He looked to be completely unraveling, but not in the childish way Tyler was losing his mind.
Orucov’s gaze kept shifting wildly around him as if he could see the GhostWalkers in the shadows. She knew he couldn’t, but that didn’t stop him from trying. His entire body shook, not just his hand.
“It’s not the same,” Orucov told her. “We’re educated men with something great to contribute to the world. What are you?” Contempt filled his voice. “A woman bred for genetics that aren’t even your own. We can’t be put in a cage, doing only what Whitney decrees. He isn’t smarter than we are, no matter how much he lords it over us.”
Cameron took a step closer to Orucov, and Shylah wanted to yell at him to stop. It wouldn’t take much to push the scientist over the edge, nor would it matter where the shove came from.
“I want to hear her out, Agus,” Cameron said.
“Did she tell you she killed Montgomery? I’m sure she did it. He didn’t just die or wake up one day to commit suicide. They have ways of making it look like that.” Beads of sweat broke out on the Indonesian’s face.
“Montgomery apparently was into autoerotic asphyxiation. He was found with a rope wrapped around his neck as well as other body parts. His father covered that up. No one believes he tried to commit suicide, but there was a porn flick on and he took his kink a little too far.” She shared the information matter-of-factly. “I can’t imagine how you think I was in any way involved with that. On the other hand, Whitney is giving you three an out. Your reputations will be restored. You’ll remain alive. You gave him what he wanted most of all—a biological weapon and the vaccine needed to be able to wield it if necessary. You’re really his golden children.”
Cameron’s facial expression changed. “She’s right, Agus. Tyler. If there is a vaccine, he’s going to be jumping up and down for joy. We did create exactly what he wanted. He has to be happy about that and we’re still useful to him. We just have to eat a little crow for a while and then we’ll be back on top.”
“What about Lupa Suku? How do we get out of that mess?” Orucov demanded, his voice swinging out of control. “They all died. Every single one of them.”
“Yes, they did,” Shylah agreed, “but that’s on the MSS, not you.”
“You have an answer for everything. The fishermen. The MSS didn’t kill them.”
“That’s on your conscience. You know damn well Whitney doesn’t have one and he believes one or two lives taken for the good of others is perfectly okay.”
“She’s right, she’s right,” Cameron said. “Whitney does think that. You’ve heard him say it dozens of times. We didn’t create this mess. The MSS did. Montgomery insisted,” he added, looking eagerly at Shylah. “He said it had to be that village.”
Shylah pitched her voice low and soothing. “Agus, all this time we thought it was you who had chosen that village, but we know it was Montgomery. No one is going to blame you for that.”
Orucov stepped back away from Cameron, shaking his head almost violently. “She’s lying, Cameron. The minute I hand this over, she’s going to kill us, or her friends will. If she’s with Whitney, what’s she doing with them?”