Page 3 of Hollow State

The doorknob rattled violently. A heavy thud shook the frame.

Complete.

"Darwin, it's⁠—"

"Hang on, Gus." Darwin yanked the flash drive free, stuffed it into his pocket and bolted for the side door that connected his office to the adjoining lab. He threw it open just as his main office door splintered inward with a deafening boom.

"What the hell is going on?" Gus asked. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not." Darwin ran through the lab, weaving between the stainless-steel tables and centrifuges. He hit the emergency exit at the back of the wing, an alarm blaring the second he pushed the crash bar.

Red strobe lights pulsed overhead. Sirens wailed through the building. A high-pitched scream reverberated through Darwin's bones.

He hit the back stairwell, practically falling down the three flights to the ground floor. "Finch is using my drug exactly the way I was afraid others might." Darwin burst through the exterior doors, out into the Vancouver night. Rain lashed at his face, instantly soaking his shirt. The cold air shocked his system, but he didn't slow down.

"What do you mean?" Gus asked.

"There's something going down in Bralorne Backcountry, right now. I don't know who Finch's team is fighting, but they don't stand a chance. I'll send you where I believe the location is based on what I saw. What I can remember from the image," Darwin said so fast he wasn't sure the words came out right. "But Finch is basically juicing people to be fighting machines instead of using my drug to save lives. It's exactly what I was afraid of." He sprinted across the wet pavement of the executive parking lot.

Pop. Pop-pop.

"Whoever Finch is fighting, they won't last the night. Not against this drug. Not based on what I saw on the biometric readouts."

Pop! Pop!

Concrete exploded near Darwin’s left foot, hurling sharp shrapnel against his shin. He ducked, adrenaline flooding his veins, and dropped behind the reinforced concrete base of a lamppost. Darwin crouched, using a row of parked SUVs as cover as he scrambled toward his Mercedes.

"Listen to me," Gus said. "I’ll take care of the team. You just need to get somewhere safe, and I know exactly the place."

Darwin reached his car, jamming his thumb against the handle to unlock it. He threw himself into the driver’s seat, tossing his backpack onto the passenger side. He hit the ignition, the engine roaring to life.

"Get to my private residence at Harrison Lake," Gus commanded over the speakers as Darwin slammed the car into gear. "Make sure you’re not being followed. Ditch the tail. Zig, zag, take the back roads. And for God's sake, do not go home."

"Harrison Lake. Understood." Darwin shifted the car into drive. He stomped on the accelerator. The tires spun on the slick pavement, gripping violently before launching the heavy car forward.

A guard stepped into his path, raising his weapon. Darwin didn't brake. He laid on the horn and kept his foot buried in the floorboards. At the last second, the guard dove out of the way, a spray of bullets sparking off the rear bumper as Darwin smashed through the exit gate, sending the wooden arm spinning into the night.

"I'll send you that information in a minute."

"Be safe," Gus said. The line clicked dead.

Darwin quickly sent a voice text with as much intel as he could remember to Gus.

Darwin gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white, his breath coming in ragged, tearing gasps. The rain beat against the windshield, the wipers working frantically to clear the glass.

He checked his rearview mirror. A pair of headlights whipped out of the Hyperion parking lot, accelerating fast and turning onto the street behind him.

Shit.

Darwin yanked the wheel hard to the right, taking a sharp turn down a narrow industrial side street. He floored it, the rear end of the car fishtailing on the wet pavement. He took the next left, blowing through a red light, horn blaring as a delivery truck locked its brakes to avoid hitting him.

Watching the mirror constantly, he drove south, the opposite direction of Harrison Lake, weaving through the labyrinth of downtown Vancouver. He took three quick right turns, boxing a city block, then killed his headlights and slipped into a dark, subterranean parking garage under a high-rise.

He unzipped his backpack and pulled out his computer. Connecting it to his hotspot, he pulled up what little he had on Bralorne and sent it to Gus. It had to be enough to find the team and save them.

Darwin sat in the idling car, the engine humming quietly in the concrete structure. He waited. Five minutes. Ten minutes.

No headlights followed him down the ramp.