Free Herculean (Cerberus Group Book 1) by Jeremy Robinson, Sean Ellis Page B

creatures that inhabited ancient stories weren’t fanciful daydreams. Some of them perhaps, but not all. Many were real, flesh and blood creatures. Impossible creatures. The product of recombinant DNA engineering produced thousands of years before the discovery of the DNA molecule. If we can unlock the secrets of their genetic code, figure out how to combine diverse genetic material with viable results, there’s nothing we won’t be able to accomplish.”
    “It’s been tried,” Pierce said, unable to hide his disgust. “It never ends well.”
    “The key to finding the source of those mutations is in this room.” Kenner picked up another item. He regarded it for a few moments before holding it up for inspection. “Do you know what this is?”
    Pierce bit back an angry retort. The artifact was a wide band of what looked like leather, dyed black, at least eight inches wide and about two feet long. Kenner’s light revealed an intricate pattern of decorative tool work. Pierce couldn’t make out all the details, but he had quickly identified the object. His real effort was put into keeping that fact hidden from Kenner.
    “Come, George, you’re the expert on Hercules. This is the girdle of Hippolyte, the Amazon Queen. Capturing it was his Ninth Labor.”
    Pierce gave a noncommittal shrug.
    After a few moments of studying the artifact, Kenner raised his eyes to Rohn. “This is it. This is what we came for.”
    “Good,” Rohn declared. Then, without any hesitation, he aimed his pistol and fired.

 
     
    9
     
    Kenner jumped at the noise of the pistol discharging in the enclosed space. He had known it was coming, but the noise was much louder than he had expected.
    At almost the same instant as the shot, the room went dark. Pierce’s light had gone out. Kenner dropped to the ground and caught a glimpse of movement in the paltry beam of his own light.
    The gun thundered again, and again, as Rohn pumped shot after shot into the darkness, where Pierce had stood. Kenner waited until the noise stopped, and then a few seconds more before raising his head and playing his light around the room. The air was filled with smoke and the stink of sulfur, but through the haze, he saw the big man heading for one of the exit openings.
    “Stop!”
    Rohn turned, his already unbearable visage twisted with disgust. “They’re getting away.”
    “You missed?”
    “No.” The reply was immediate, defensive. “I don’t think so. But a wounded animal can run for many miles before dying.”
    Kenner felt an unexpected surge of emotion. He had known all along that Rohn intended to kill Pierce and the girl, and while he found the prospect distasteful, he had come to terms with it. Sacrifices had to be made sometimes. Now, he felt a measure of relief. This was a better outcome. Not as cold-blooded. “Let them go. They’ll never make it out of here.”
    “How do you know that? They know how to read the signs.”
    Kenner frowned. Rohn was right. The connection between the Disc and the correct path through the Labyrinth had been easy enough to figure out, and he had pictures of the Disc to help him navigate. “Which way?”
    Rohn pointed to one of the exits. Kenner swept the floor with his light, hoping to see tell-tale drops of blood—there were none. Then he moved the beam up to shine on the walls beside the passage. As expected, there was a Phaistos glyph, but it did not match any of the combinations on the Disc. “This is not the right way,” he said, then he moved quickly around the perimeter, checking the other exits until he found one that matched the character stamped in the center of the reverse-side of the artifact.
    “Here. This way will take us out.”
    Rohn jabbed his gun into the passage Pierce and Fiona had used. “What about them?”
    “Forget them. The Labyrinth will take care of them. And we’ll close the door on the way out. Even if they find their way back here, they’ll never be able to leave.”
    The big man