Free Fallen Rogue by Amy Rench Page B

once inside you were trapped. Besides, they didn’t want any superfluous accounts of what went on inside.
    Finally reaching the last step, Rome took a right turn and faced a solid gray door. He stuck his master key in the dead bolt, turned the knob, and walked in. The lighting was very sparse and very synthetic. He couldn’t understand the handful of folks who worked here every day and night. He’d go crazy without fresh air and sunlight, even if it was watery northwest sunlight.
    After a few long steps down the corridor, he stopped at a good-sized room. The light was brighter here, and he easily found the person he needed peering at the screen attached to a bulky machine. The display cast a bluish tint to Dr. Andy’s face.
    Dr. Andy—a doctor of what, Rome wasn’t sure—managed everything in the romper room. Read all the data that was extracted. Processed any samples taken. Administered who knew what. Made decisions about methods. Jeff was the boss and directed everything that happened. But down there, Dr. Andy saw that the orders were carried out.
    “Hey, Doc.” Rome’s voice boomed across the open space, and he held back a smile when the startled Dr. Andy jolted forward face-first into the monitor.
    “Agent Lucian,” she murmured, pushing up the thick-rimmed glasses that had fallen down her diminutive nose. Dr. Andrea “Andy” O’Brien pulled herself to her full height, which was still a good foot shorter than his, as he sidled up next to her, trying to look at anything that would clue him in about Harper. “What can I do for you?”
    “Just checking in.” Rome glanced around, but didn’t see anything except Dr. Andy’s myriad of scattered Diet Dr Pepper cans and a bag of Oreos, half of which were gone, the crumbs left everywhere. “How’s my favorite gal?”
    Blushing and mumbling something, she swung away from him and grabbed one of the aluminum cans. She took a long swallow, refusing to meet his eyes. She was always a little nervous around him, which surprised him, considering her chilling job. He rarely visited and even more rarely stopped to chat with the doctor when he did. Truth be told, she creeped him out a little, but he’d never let on.
    “So, what’s with the woman I brought in the other day?” He turned on the charm, but knew not to underestimate her. Dr. Andy appeared as a shy mouse, but underneath she was a cunning predator. Her intelligence was limitless and she knew how to get what Jeff wanted, one way or another, no matter how long it took.
    She gave him an inquiring look, raising her reddish eyebrows. He knew it was unlike him to ask, but not unheard of. He had followed up a time or two.
    “She has something inside her,” Dr. Andy answered vaguely. “Something giving her an unusual power.”
    He already knew that. He also knew that she wasn’t telling him the whole story. “Really.” Rome feigned casualness. “Any idea what it is or how she got it?”
    “Not yet,” she answered, and stacked some papers mechanically. Then she smiled that eerie smile she got when she encountered a particularly difficult challenge. One she loved to conquer. “But soon.”
    “Well, you mind if I take a peek?” He gestured to the row of small flat-screen monitors that showed video of each holding cell for observation.
    “Go ahead.” She waved her hand and then brushed it through her short red curls, bouncing them around like a nine-year-old.
    “Thanks, doll.” Rome winked and gave her a sexy grin as he sauntered over to the monitor bank. Hewatched her return to the big machine she’d been viewing when he’d first walked in, her face reddening even more.
    The screens were on, yet all completely dark. No shadows or anything. Adjusting them to infrared, the pictures revealed two ethereal red-hued figures. Two captives today.
    “She’s in B, monitor two,” Dr. Andy supplied from across the room. Giving her a sideways glance, he saw she wasn’t even looking at him. Creepy.
    Rome