Page 71 of Furry Equations
Through their bond, Marcus sensed Natalie activating emergency protocols - protocols they hadn’t fully tested. His scientist mate had a habit of improving security systems without documenting all the changes.
“Emily?” He tried the com again as he dispatched another enhanced soldier. “Status?”
“Command center secure.” His sister’s voice returned. “By the way, Nat and I have been working on something.”
“Whatsomething?”
“You’re about to find out.”
Emergency shutters slammed down throughout the facility, creating a maze of sealed corridors. Clever mate. She’d turned the lab’s defensive architecture into an air-tight trap.
Through the ventilation system, a fine mist hissed out targeting enhanced cellular structures with precise molecular efficiency.
The first wave of enhanced soldiers dropped to their knees as the counteragent neutralized Tomlinson’s formula. Their grotesque mutations began to recede, leaving them human - or natural shifter - once more.
“Tomlinson’s forces are transforming.” Emily’s typing echoed through the com. “But he’s still got a clear path to the main lab. Marcus, he’s herding Natalie’s team into a corner.”
FORTY-THREE
Marcus reached the lab level, crashing through the emergency door. The corridor ahead swarmed with enhanced soldiers, but they were on the floor recovering.
“Stand down,” Marcus commanded, letting alpha power fill his voice. “Tomlinson’s enhancement is killing you. We’re helping you with antigen.”
Several soldiers lowered their weapons. Others convulsed, the formula burning through their systems. But the path to Natalie cleared.
Marcus sprinted toward the main lab. The mate bond pulled him forward, every instinct screaming to protect.
The scene that greeted him stopped him cold. Tomlinson stood in the shattered lab doorway, impeccable in his tailored suit despite the carnage. His enhanced guards held Delta team at gunpoint while his fearless mate faced Tomlinson directly.
“Amazing,” his mate said, studying the shifter guards that hadn’t succumbed to the air-delivered cure. “What did you do to these poor men to where my treatment doesn’t help them?”
“Yes, fascinating advancements, Dr. Grant.” Tomlinson’s cultured voice dripped condescension. “But ultimately futile. Asyou see, these are my newest samples. I’ve completely rewired their neural pathways. Your ‘cure’ is useless. Now, your formula and treatment, if you please.”
“You mean my cure showing how your enhancement kills everyone who takes it? I’m sure yournewest sampleshave even shorter lifespans.”
Marcus edged closer, cataloging threats. Six enhanced guards, all showing late-stage symptoms. Tomlinson himself remained unenhanced - too smart to take his own poison. But something in his stance set off Marcus’s predator instincts.
“The formula can be refined.” Tomlinson stepped forward. “With your expertise?—“
“The cellular degradation is inevitable.” Natalie’s voice carried pure steel. “You turned your own men into dying weapons.”
“Acceptable losses.”
“Not to me.” She met Marcus’s eyes across the room.Ready?
Always.
Natalie slammed her hand down on the emergency controls. Chaos erupted as the lab’s siren system went super-ultrasonic - Natalie’s special modifications transforming sound into weapons.
Marcus burst into motion as the enhanced guards staggered, overwhelmed by the high-frequency pulse Natalie had engineered. His mate had designed it specifically to target enhanced shifter ears.
Tomlinson’s calm facade cracked. “Kill them all!”
But his guards dropped, blood streaming from their ears. The enhancement made them stronger, but it also made them vulnerable to Natalie’s countermeasures.
Marcus reached his mate’s side as Tomlinson pulled a gun. “This facility’s rigged to blow.” Tomlinson’s finger tightened on the trigger. “I won’t leave without that formula.”
“About that.” Natalie’s tablet chimed. “Emily?”