Page 93 of Scorned
Halfway down the corridor, a hum of computers filled my ears like a sweet sympathy of relief.
“All of these new updates are jacking up our programs and interfering with our progress.” She flung the door open and stepped in, revealing a large area filled with desks and people, all who looked too busy to care. “Which one of you is taking this one?”
Marcus instantly pointed to me. “He is.”
We all had roles to play, and mine was to find the security room, work alongside Jimmy to dismantle the entire building, and steal as many files as possible in the process, so this opportunity was perfect.
“Great. I’ll show him where to set up. Do you need me to escort you to the next area afterwards?” the receptionist asked, peering up at Marcus, giving me a perfect opportunity to slide Randal’s badge into Sage’s hand.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m familiar with the layout, ma’am,” Marcus said so genuinely even I almost believed him.
“Thank you. I appreciate all the hard work you guys do.”
The receptionist strolled into the room and I took two seconds to glance at Lyric. She gave me worried eyes as Marcus shut the door, leaving me behind.
Chapter 27
Sage
Winnie slid a badge into my hand and I quickly pocketed it before the door closed. We followed Marcus off with no clue where we were going. I was grateful Lyric and I had both stashed our rifles in the decontamination room, thinking they’d be too obvious to carry when we no longer had prisoners. I wasn’t used to carrying one like she was and the damn thing was heavy.
My mind reeled with thoughts of everything that already happened today, including the witches. If I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced they existed before, I was now.
No one other than Marcus, Lyric, and Peach knew I’d ingested vampire blood. Well, and Winnie. I could tell by the look he had that Lyric already told him. I hadn’t meant to keep it a secret, there was just too much going on for it to qualify as a topic of conversation.
The last time the witches told me to take the offer, Peach had offered me her blood the same night. I had accepted it without even considering the witch’s words. Now I was going to hang onto every damn one of them.
Less is more. Small raindrops bring back life while large rivers will end it. What does that mean?
Although uncertain of their importance, as we walked the pristine white establishment, I had a feeling those words would come in handy.
We came to an area with a large sign that said Public Health in black lettering. Marcus scanned his badge and it opened, then he locked his eyes on Lyric, nodding his head to the side. I swallowed my nervousness as she disappeared alone through the door, grateful she had an earbud.
We passed doctors, nurses, a janitor, and even a couple guards and not one person gave us a second look. We stumbled upon a designated space for the study of hematology and Ravage scanned his badge, entering the section alone.
Like Randal, the whiteness of the area gave me a slight headache as we moved on. I was grateful I’d been walking the woods back home every day and was used to it because the halls in VRC felt never-ending.
Another five minutes had passed when I read the next sign: Anatomical Pathology. While I had limited knowledge on the subject, my gut twisted, my instincts strongly indicating this area was mine.
I didn’t wait for Marcus to give me the go-ahead before I slapped my badge onto the security pad and entered, leaving everyone behind, praying for their safety.
The door slowly closed behind me as I stared into another damn white hallway with no one in it. I inched my feet forward, taking casual strides until I came to a fork in the road. The white sign on the wall had black letters with names of the areas and arrows pointing the way.
Straight in front of me was Cytopathology, Surgical Pathology to my left, and Forensic Pathology on my right, and for some reason, that was the one that kept replaying in my brain.
Forensic Pathology it is.
The hallway was short with a large double door at the end, reminding me of ones I’d seen in hospitals. I tapped my badge and the security pad stayed red, then beeped.
This must be a higher clearance area.
Retrieving Randal’s badge from my pocket, I slapped it against the security pad and a small window to the right of it opened, revealing a keypad.
Shit.
I pushed the button on my earbud and whispered, “Winnie, I need that code.”
Silence.
