of her hand. “We had a feeling you’d sell out, just like this one here. Good thing Nora kept an eye on you for us.”
Caroline had to give her credit. Maureen appeared pissed not scared, her mood confirmed by her words.
“Oh, bite me, asshole,” she said.
The officer forced her to the floor until she was kneeling. He pulled his firearm out of its holster and announced, “Let this be a message to the rest of you.”
He pressed the gun to her temple and pulled the trigger, and in a split second the smarts that had gotten Maureen Savage through her entire academic and professional career were splattered against the wall.
Caroline struggled against the soldier who had tackled her, her eyes now focused on the lifeless body still bleeding out onto the floor. “Jesus Christ,” she yelped. “Jesus fucking Christ.”
The soldier slammed her head to the floor and she started screaming. How naïve she’d been. She realized that the horror she encountered in the woods was just a taste of what these people were capable of. She hadn’t wanted to think about it but the evidence was right in front of her. Caroline kicked and clawed at the man holding her down, trying to crawl her way down the hall. The others rushed over and helped pin her against the wall, inches from where blood and brain matter dripped disgustingly to the floor.
The one who had the strongest grip on her spoke first. “Man, this lady’s a lot tougher than she looks. I don’t think you all drugged her enough.”
“Savage told me to let her wake up,” Nora said. “What the fuck was I supposed to do? You people should be happy I called you before they got out of the building.”
“You’ll get your bonus. Be patient.”
Nora smiled. “Yeah, that little piece I got the last time around suited me just fine.”
He let go of Caroline and rose to his feet. “Keep it up. I’m sure there’ll be more troublemakers coming your way, and not just doctors. Don’t have to limit it to your workplace either. Any time you see dissidents, we wanna know about it.”
“For sure,” she said. “What else can I do for you all today?”
The soldier laughed as his colleagues continued to struggle to keep Caroline pinned to the wall. “Maybe a sedative? She’s a scrappy little bitch.”
The nurse laughed. A grating noise. “Wouldn’t have thought it, her being all high class and shit. Guess they can always surprise you.”
Caroline tried to weasel her way out of their grip, the adrenaline pumping through her, but it wasn’t enough. Every time she gained an inch, she lost two.
Nora returned with a very large, painful looking needle. “This should knock her out for a while. You boys got big plans?”
“She’s gotta take a little ride first.” The soldier came over to help his struggling comrades, slamming Caroline’s head into the wall.
Caroline closed her eyes, trying to regain her bearings. Nora was now kneeling in front of her.
“Hold her steady,” Nora said. “Wouldn’t want to get an air bubble in there and ruin all your hard work. You want her alive, right?”
The soldier fell silent and exchanged a look with his colleagues, now deferring to his commander. Caroline would have found the weird hierarchy fascinating if she weren’t eye level with a giant syringe.
“For now,” the officer said.
Caroline glared at the nurse. “Was it worth it?” she asked. “Worth it to drive a nicer car and have more spending money? Worth it to sell out your country and send good Americans to their doom?”
Nora plunged the needle into Caroline’s forearm. “What a politician you are, with your flowery words and your hypocritical bluster. You’ve got a nice flair for the dramatic.”
“Fuck you,” Caroline spat, still trying to fight the men pinning her down.
Nora pulled the needle back out. Her sneer returned. “It’s worth every fucking penny, you privileged cunt.”
Caroline hated that word. Cunt. Fuck reclaiming language. The nurse meant it as an insult of the worst kind, and she opened her mouth as Nora withdrew, ready to throw every profane insult she could at the woman.
Before she had a chance, she was out cold.
Chapter Three
The Fed
When Caroline woke up she was aware of movement. Rough movement. She blinked. Even her eyelids hurt.
She was in the back of a transport van, shackled to a bench. Alone. Her facial splint was gone, as was the tape on her ribs. The latter revelation proved to be highly unsettling.