I rappel down the four-story building, landing on my feet in seconds. Then I break into a run to catch up to Parsons before he changes direction and loses me.
Within minutes, I find his trail. He’s moving faster than I’d expect for a human, but he’s in shape. Why not take a military vehicle or a bus? All my questions are answered when we arrive at his destination.
Kenzie’s hospital.
I pour every last ounce of energy into intercepting. I will not risk him finding Kenzie.
The loud blare of a bus’s horn causes me to jump out of its path. I look up intime to make eye contact with Parsons, a fraction of a second before he darts into the emergency room entrance.
When I burst through the door, humans all around stare at me. Those closest back away. A security guard approaches, his hand on a nightstick at his side.
“Don’t,” I warn, without reaching for my blaster. I won’t shoot an innocent, even one who tries to stop me, especially in a crowded room. “I’m chasing a criminal. A man in a dark jacket and jeans. Did you see him?”
“He ran through a minute ago. Said he was looking for an alien. You, I presume.”
“He’s an enemy agent.” And he’s looking for my sholani.
Krike, by telling him and Collins that my witness is an E/R nurse I led him right to her. This is the only hospital with an E/R in a fifty-mile radius. A fact I didn’t realize until I checked while on the rooftop. Parsons knew precisely where to find her.
I glance down at the open bays. Medical staff, a dozen males, stare at me. Kenzie’s not here.
“Did he take a female with him?” I ask the guard. “A nurse.”
Still leery of me, the guard doesn’t move closer. “No women on duty when he came through.” He points at a set of metal double doors.
I run through a maze of patients in chairs and medical personnel attending to them. There must have been a major accident considering the number of patients sitting on the floor, holding bloody heads and limbs.
As I turn a corner, I glimpse Parsons disappearing into the stairwell. The faint echo of boots striking the stairs precedes the click of a door above. He hasn’t gone too high. One or two floors.
On the second floor, the door is ajar, enough to entice, but not fool me. The clever drekker is trying to mislead me. I continue climbing the stairs and enter the third floor. Biohazard and restricted access signs mark the doors in the empty corridor.
Parsons is here. I know it, though I don’t hear or see anyone.
I draw two knives, one in each hand, as I stalk my prey.
The low hum of the dim lights above intensifies as they flicker, once, twice. Nothing will stop me from catching this male. Or killing him. Whatever proves necessary to keep him from harming Kenzie.
I hope she’s safe in a far section of the hospital.
At the end of the corridor, beside a set of double doors, a sign reads, ‘authorized personnel only.’ I slip inside. Four operating bays surround a central room with linens, sinks, and soiled garment bins. Inside two of the bays, humans wearing blue masks and gowns work on patients.
There’s no sign of Parsons here. He must have gone to another floor. Do I pursue him or find Kenzie? I have a greater chance of finding Kenzie, and the idea of her being unprotected when Parsons could find her unnerves me.
As I exit the area, the medical staff from Bay 3 emerges and begins pulling off masks, gloves, and gowns.
“Whoever you are, you don’t belong in here,” one male scolds.
“I’m leaving.” As I turn, I realize one of the males remains clothed in his medical gear. He’s still wearing a gown and a mask but I recognize his eyes and the scar above his brow.
Parsons.
The second my eyes meet his, he races into the operating room and grabs a scalpel from a tray. “Try, Warrior. I’m not leaving here in cuffs.”
That tiny knife can do damage, but not enough to incapacitate me. When he charges, I block and grab him by the wrist twisting until I feel the snap of several bones and hear the clink of the knife hitting the floor.
He wails in pain but doesn’t stop fighting. With his remaining good arm, the drekker grabs one of my horns and we fall back into a tray of medical instruments which crashes to the floor. He’s stronger than I expected.
One punch to his face sends him hurling into two operating lamps, knocking them over. He swings one of the lamps at me. I block with my forearm then capture his good arm and twist it behind him before shoving shove him into a wall.
