The Search for Artemis - By P. D. Griffith Page 0,117

and bring him here. We’re going to need his access codes.”

“Gotcha,” Cortland answered as his attention turned away from the team and back at the fence. He stood tentatively, awaiting the next patrol to stroll past the area they were watching.

Peregrine whispered, “Here he comes,” and a minute later a muscular man in a dark suit walked into their line of sight.

Dr. Brighton gave the signal, and without blinking, Cortland bolted from the woods. The damp leaves swished under his feet as he took off toward his target. Landon watched nervously as Cortland raced across the grassy space between them and the guard. Cortland had his arms pulled behind him, forming a V shape as he leaned forward and sprinted with unbelievable speed.

The guard soon noticed Cortland racing toward him and reached for a weapon strapped to his side, but before he could pull it from its holster, Cortland made a quick motion of his arms, drawing them from behind and sweeping them forward. The telekinetic force emitted from his movement pushed the guard off his feet and caused him to collide with one of the fence’s support poles, knocking him unconscious.

Cortland ran up to the man, grabbed him by both wrists and dragged him back to the woods. When Landon got a closer look at the guard, a shiver ran through his entire body.

The motionless man wore a black suit, shiny black patent leather shoes, a crisp white shirt and a sleek black tie, and coming up from his collar was a coiled wire that reached up the side of his neck and disappeared into his ear. If it weren’t for his blonde hair, square head and clean-shaven, rigid jaw, Landon wouldn’t have recognized him. It was the same man that chased him through the city after his apocratusis.

Landon stepped back a few feet from the body, his scalp tingling and his suit feeling increasingly tighter. He closed his eyes and fought to regain his composure. He couldn’t let this affect the mission. People were counting on him, but he couldn’t deny that this discovery had shaken him.

Dr. Brighton examined the body and pat down the guard. He pulled a gun he found from the man’s holster and looked it over.

“Tranquilizer gun,” he said as he pulled a loaded round out of the firearm. Effectively disarming the weapon, Dr. Brighton tossed the gun aside but looked at the dart with more careful scrutiny.

It was small, no larger than a battery, with a sturdy metal casing protecting the vial of black poison inside and a thick one-inch needle with three small gripping prongs on the business end. Dr. Brighton then took the dart and jabbed it into the unconscious guard’s upper arm. The dart let out a hiss as it injected its contents into the man’s body. Basically pressing his nose against the man’s skin, Dr. Brighton took in a deep breath.

“Smells of vanilla . . . must be Morphium-12. If you get hit by one of these, you’ll be out cold in three seconds, and it will take quite a while to wear off. The needles look strong enough to penetrate our suits, so be careful.” Dr. Brighton stood back up and turned to Parker. “Okay, Atalanta, you’re up.”

She broke from the back of the group, stepped up to the unconscious guard, and lowered herself to her knees just above his head. Leaning down, she placed her hands firmly on the sides of his face and closed her eyes. Everyone stood silently still, watching her work, but Landon just stood there trying to understand what it was she was doing. He’d never seen or heard her do anything like this in training.

“What is she doing?” Landon asked Cortland out of the side of his mouth.

“Hacking,” he answered, nonchalant. “We need the codes to get in, and like I told you, Atalanta has a knack for getting into people’s heads.”

“Hacking?” Landon mouthed to himself as his attention returned to Parker, who was still kneeling over the patrol guard.

“Got ’em,” Parker said as she rose back to her feet.

“The gate is about two hundred yards in that direction.” Peregrine pointed off to her right.

“Then that’s where we’ll go,” Dr. Brighton said. “Stick to the tree line and move quietly. Echo, keep us updated, and we’ll be back soon.”

Brock led the team as they headed into the woods toward the entrance to the compound. Pulling up the rear, Landon gave Peregrine a quick tap on the shoulder before hop-stepping into a run