It was nearing four a.m. when Lilly had finally managed to analyze what substance had been in the microdrone.
“It’s Midazolam,” she said, looking at Jack.
“A poison?”
“It’s a powerful sedative. It can paralyze people, and in high doses cause respiratory arrest. It’s used in anesthesia. But considering the size of the microdrone, only a tiny amount could have been injected.”
“Enough to knock somebody out even if just for a short while?” Jack asked.
“Yes, somebody like my size would have most likely been knocked out for a short time, but not somebody like you, although you would still have been affected and felt woozy.”
“Which means if Thomas got this small amount of Midazolam, his reaction would have been impaired.”
She nodded.
“That’s how they might have gotten the drop on him,” Jack said.
Lilly shuddered at the thought of it. Thomas would have been conscious and perhaps known what was coming. What had they done to him to warrant the usage of Midazolam?
“If they were able to get close enough with the drone to inject him with Midazolam, then wouldn’t they also have been close enough to shoot him?”
Jack met her gaze. “You’re right.”
“Perhaps this wasn’t used on him.”
“Or perhaps they didn’t want to kill him, not immediately anyway.”
“What are you saying?” She stared at him, but he didn’t immediately answer. She saw it in his face, saw what he suspected. “You think they kept him alive to torture him to give them information?”
“I’m sorry, but yes, it’s very likely.”
Lilly pushed back the rising tears and turned back to the counter. She was still running tests to find out what had soaked the ground beneath the microdrone. She knew it wasn’t Midazolam that had leaked there. “I still need to figure out what’s in this sample.”
She suddenly felt Jack’s hand on her shoulder. “I know that you loved him like a brother. We’ll get justice for him, I promise you.”
“Okay,” she said with a sob.
When he tried to put his arms around her, she freed herself from them. “Don’t, Jack, or I’m gonna start crying for real.” She sniffled. “And I have to finish this.”
“Okay,” he said gently. “I wish I could help you with this, but I’m not a brain surgeon. I don’t know much when it comes to—”
“Oh my God. Why haven’t I thought of that?” she suddenly said and grabbed the glass slide with a tiny sample of the dust from the warehouse.
“Thought of what?”
She placed the slide underneath the microscope and looked into it. “I was so focused on it being a toxin or some other chemical. I didn’t even consider…” She turned the nob on the microscope to sharpen the image. There it was.
She looked up. “It’s cerebrospinal fluid.”
“Cerebro—… you mean brain fluid?” Jack asked, stunned.
“Yes, the fluid that flows in and around the hollow spaces of the brain and spinal cord, and between two of the meninges…”
“Can you test that for DNA?”
“Theoretically, yes, but I don’t have that kind of equipment, and”—she glanced at the clock on the counter—“there’s no time anyway.”
“Then let’s pack up,” Jack said.
It took fifteen minutes for them to return everything to its proper place, so that nobody would realize that anybody had been in the lab. Lilly switched off the under-cabinet light and turned to Jack, when she suddenly heard a sound: a beep as if somebody was using an access card to enter the laboratory.
She grabbed Jack by the sleeve of his jacket and ushered him to the end of the counter, and together they crouched down behind it. Just in time, because the door opened, and somebody flipped on the light switch for the overhead lights.
Lilly held her breath, and Jack did the same. They exchanged a look, and Lilly noticed that Jack held his gun, the silencer still attached, ready to shoot. Her heart beat frantically.
She heard heavy footsteps, then the door to a cabinet was being opened. She recognized it by the sound. She lifted her palm toward Jack to tell him to stay back and risked a look past the counter. And then she saw him: the security guard was literally raiding the lab’s cookie jar. He stood with his back to her, busy stuffing cookies and chocolate into the pocket of his jacket.
Lilly eased back behind the counter and gave Jack a reassuring look. He seemed to understand. Another few seconds, and the security guard closed the cupboard and walked back to the door. The door was opened once more, then he turned the light off, and left the room.
Lilly let out a breath and looked at Jack. “No wonder he’s so fat. And the cookie jar is always half empty,” she whispered.
Lilly was about to get up, when Jack pulled her back. “Wait. Give him a minute or two to get back to his post.”
Then he put his hand on her nape and pulled her head closer to his. His lips were on hers before she could react. He kissed her hard and deep, before his kiss turned more tender. A moment later, she felt cool air brush against her lips.
“What was that for?” she asked breathlessly.
“Didn’t wanna waste a perfectly good occasion for a kiss.” He helped her up. “Now let’s get outta here.”
They didn’t encounter anybody as they left the laboratory and made their way back down the same stairs they’d taken earlier. When they entered the corridor that led to the back entrance, they didn’t hear any sounds. It appeared that the security guard was back at his post in the lobby, probably on a sugar high from the cookies and chocolate.
Relieved that she’d managed to get the tests done before the early birds showed up at around six a.m., Lilly turned toward the door. Jack pressed the handle down and opened it, first a sliver, peeking out, then wider.
Jack stepped outside, Lilly on his heels. There was a chill in the air. She glanced in the direction, where Jack had parked the car, turning her head slightly, when something blinded her.
“Down!” Jack cried out and pushed her down just before a bullet embedded itself in the door they’d exited five seconds earlier.
On the ground, behind a low hedge that provided a small greenbelt around the building and hid some of the utilities, Lilly crouched next to Jack.
“Same shooter?” Lilly asked breathlessly, her heart hammering in her chest.
“Not sure. It’s not a rifle this time. More like a pistol with a silencer. Stay down as low as you can. I’m gonna go after him.”
Lilly gripped his arm. “Are you crazy? He’s gonna kill you.”
“Not if I kill him first.” He moved his hand along the ground and felt the pebbles that covered the soil around the hedge. He picked up one the size of an egg and handed it to Lilly. “Do me a favor. Count to five Mississippis, then toss this to your ten o’clock. As soon as you hear the pebble hit the ground, crawl along behind this hedge until you reach the corner of the building. Stay there, and I’ll come and get you.”
She nodded, understanding. Nevertheless, she was shaking. “Be careful,” she whispered.
“Start counting.”