Page 97 of Perfection

No. She forced back the tears, getting control of herself. She couldn’t believe one of her colleagues was behind this.

How sick…

“Nothing more can be done here. Let’s go,” York said. “The investigation team will handle it from here and send in their bomb technicians.”

Cal, Kindra, and York pushed their way through chunks of downed tile and wall debris, their path growing clearer the farther they moved from the computer room and toward the exit.

Outside, a SWAT team was pulling up to the curb in armored transporters.

“Take Kindra to the transporter,” York said over his shoulder to his brother. “I’ll be right there.”

She wanted to sit down and close her eyes. She’d never been through anything so traumatic. She couldn’t think; her thoughts were jumbled.

When she climbed into York’s transporter, the seats felt cool and reassuring. From where she sat, she could see York and the emergency vehicles. He headed for the lead SWAT vehicle and the commander in charge. He spoke to a short man, seeming to introduce himself, and showed his ID. After chatting with the guy for several minutes, he jogged back toward her.

And, oh, she was ready to welcome him with open arms. Her tough, powerful, and handsome problem solver had saved her life.

* * *

They formed a small parade marching through the precinct. Every eye watched them as they filed down the hall to Captain Avery’s office. Avoiding eye contact, Kindra folded her arms across her chest and curved herself inward.

Inside the captain’s office, her tension eased. Cal got them drinks, and Captain Avery asked several times about her comfort. York was the only one out of sorts. The horrible scowl on his face made her wonder how this was the same man who had so gently helped with the children.

“I’m sorry,” York said, his voice gruff. “I should have suspected that might happen. I should have stopped you. Are you sure you’re all right?”

She eyed the cuts and scrapes on his arms, his torn shirt hanging in places. Then she glanced at her own clothes, at the backs of her hands, scratched and bruised. Her stomach clenched, and she fought a wave of nausea.

Was this what it was like to be a Coder? She knew Coders faced death far more often than GEIs, but she’d never given it any thought until the virus struck. Now she recognized a kinship with York—and felt so veryalive.

She swallowed and forced slow, controlled breaths as if she were in a unity session. She looked up at him. “Yes. I’ll be okay.”

“Now what?” Cal asked.

Kindra fought the urge to dwell on the what-ifs of the explosion and instead focus on Cal’s question, but doubts and negative thoughts crept into her mind. What if whoever was behind this knew what she’d tried to do and came after her again? Her mind raced, struggling to analyze the available options. Where was she going to have the analysis done now? Her brain was foggy. “The supercomputer is history. The next best thing will be to take the samples to one of the other HERO computers. London or Tokyo are perhaps our best options.”

York’s gaze softened. “Your recommendation?”

“London,” she said without hesitation. “My father is in charge there.”

“Very good,” Avery said. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements for your trip. York, you will accompany Dr. B-Zaika. Cal, round up every employee at Seville and begin interrogating them.”

“Yes, sir,” York said with a nod.

Kindra tensed at the sudden direction events had taken. She hadn’t spoken to her father in nearly two years. Life had moved too fast after she’d brought Brianna home.

The little girl in her looked forward to seeing him, but the adult Kindra…not so much. She never felt like she measured up to his expectations. And now with her involvement with a renegade virus…she was worried he would somehow find her responsible for the genetic error. Did a weakness in the genetics leave these children vulnerable? She didn’t have enough information yet to determine that. Only time and study would tell.

In the meantime, she wasn’t sure what she would say to her dad.