yards away, then up at the crescent moon shining in the inky-black sky. It was a warm night, the water calm, the breeze balmy. She inhaled the fresh, salty air, realizing this was the first time in a long time she wasn’t running around in a stressed-out daze.
And yet she missed the commotion of the clinic. She missed her patients. Her coworkers.
Her throat clogged, and she swallowed the lump of sorrow that formed there. They were all gone. The clinic was gone. And for what? So the military could cover up whatever inhumane tests they were conducting on unsuspecting people?
“I think we should let Julia contact her friend in Boston,” Sebastian finally said, his tone resigned. “We can ship him the sample—”
“No way,” Tate cut in. “We’re not letting that sample out of our sight. If it’s going to Boston to be tested, then one of us is going with it.”
“I’m the one who has to go,” Julia said. “Frank won’t agree to help unless I’m there to ask for it in person. He won’t trust any of you, even if you drop my name.”
Tate didn’t look the slightest bit pleased about the idea of sending her to Boston alone. Neither did Sebastian, who turned to her with a frown. “You’re not going anywhere without backup, Doc.” He glanced at Tate. “If she goes, I go with her.”
“And while they take care of the lab part, I’ll keep digging about Project Aries,” Eva spoke up.
“Project Aries?” Julia echoed.
Sebastian nodded. “Remember I told you my unit was sent to Corazón? Well, we were ordered to extract a man by the name of Richard Harrison, an American doctor who was supposedly being held hostage by the ULF. Long story short, Harrison was already dead when we arrived. Turns out he worked for a private research facility that specializes in biological weapons development. He was in charge of something called Project Aries, which we think has to do with the virus he was testing in Corazón.”
“I’ve been looking into it, trying to find out more details, but it’s slow-going. Some of these databases are impossible to hack into,” Eva said, running a frustrated hand through her black hair.
Julia was taken aback. “Wait—you’re a hacker?”
“A damn good one,” Nick piped up.
“I’m working with a friend to crack this,” Eva admitted, “but we keep striking out at every turn. We need to find out who else worked on Project Aries, what the objective was, what this virus actually is. ”
“Well, Frank can help us with that last part,” Julia answered. “The man’s a genius.”
“Then it’s settled,” Sebastian said. “The doc and I will head to Boston while you guys stay here and do what you can to shed some light on Project Aries.”
Although Tate didn’t look particularly happy about this latest development, the man didn’t object.
“We’ll need to secure some papers for Julia,” Sebastian added. “How fast can Fernando get them done?”
“Less than twenty-four hours if we email him the photos.” Nick was already scraping back his chair. “I’ll grab the digital camera.”
The next thing Julia knew, she was being ushered inside and forced to pose for several photographs in front of the white wall in the cozy living room of the beach house. Nick even asked her to tie her hair up for some shots, for “authenticity,” whatever that meant. The photo shoot didn’t last long, and when it ended, she drifted outside again and made her way down to the water’s edge.
Tate, Eva and Rafe had disappeared into their bedroom, and Nick had stayed in the living room, hunched over a table laden with laptops and monitors. She’d noticed the computers earlier, as well as the fact that the men were armed at all times. Eva didn’t seem to mind it, but for Julia, it was an obtrusive reminder of the danger they faced. These men had been forced to leave their homes and flee to another continent.
And now she was in the same awful boat.
She hugged her chest, gazing at
And yet she missed the commotion of the clinic. She missed her patients. Her coworkers.
Her throat clogged, and she swallowed the lump of sorrow that formed there. They were all gone. The clinic was gone. And for what? So the military could cover up whatever inhumane tests they were conducting on unsuspecting people?
“I think we should let Julia contact her friend in Boston,” Sebastian finally said, his tone resigned. “We can ship him the sample—”
“No way,” Tate cut in. “We’re not letting that sample out of our sight. If it’s going to Boston to be tested, then one of us is going with it.”
“I’m the one who has to go,” Julia said. “Frank won’t agree to help unless I’m there to ask for it in person. He won’t trust any of you, even if you drop my name.”
Tate didn’t look the slightest bit pleased about the idea of sending her to Boston alone. Neither did Sebastian, who turned to her with a frown. “You’re not going anywhere without backup, Doc.” He glanced at Tate. “If she goes, I go with her.”
“And while they take care of the lab part, I’ll keep digging about Project Aries,” Eva spoke up.
“Project Aries?” Julia echoed.
Sebastian nodded. “Remember I told you my unit was sent to Corazón? Well, we were ordered to extract a man by the name of Richard Harrison, an American doctor who was supposedly being held hostage by the ULF. Long story short, Harrison was already dead when we arrived. Turns out he worked for a private research facility that specializes in biological weapons development. He was in charge of something called Project Aries, which we think has to do with the virus he was testing in Corazón.”
“I’ve been looking into it, trying to find out more details, but it’s slow-going. Some of these databases are impossible to hack into,” Eva said, running a frustrated hand through her black hair.
Julia was taken aback. “Wait—you’re a hacker?”
“A damn good one,” Nick piped up.
“I’m working with a friend to crack this,” Eva admitted, “but we keep striking out at every turn. We need to find out who else worked on Project Aries, what the objective was, what this virus actually is. ”
“Well, Frank can help us with that last part,” Julia answered. “The man’s a genius.”
“Then it’s settled,” Sebastian said. “The doc and I will head to Boston while you guys stay here and do what you can to shed some light on Project Aries.”
Although Tate didn’t look particularly happy about this latest development, the man didn’t object.
“We’ll need to secure some papers for Julia,” Sebastian added. “How fast can Fernando get them done?”
“Less than twenty-four hours if we email him the photos.” Nick was already scraping back his chair. “I’ll grab the digital camera.”
The next thing Julia knew, she was being ushered inside and forced to pose for several photographs in front of the white wall in the cozy living room of the beach house. Nick even asked her to tie her hair up for some shots, for “authenticity,” whatever that meant. The photo shoot didn’t last long, and when it ended, she drifted outside again and made her way down to the water’s edge.
Tate, Eva and Rafe had disappeared into their bedroom, and Nick had stayed in the living room, hunched over a table laden with laptops and monitors. She’d noticed the computers earlier, as well as the fact that the men were armed at all times. Eva didn’t seem to mind it, but for Julia, it was an obtrusive reminder of the danger they faced. These men had been forced to leave their homes and flee to another continent.
And now she was in the same awful boat.
She hugged her chest, gazing at
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