Pulse

FIFTEEN

A sudden brilliant light turned the insides of Pierce's closed eyelids bright red. He woke with a start, launched into a standing position, and then just as quickly fell down. He felt a hand take his arm and help guide his fall so that he landed on the same padded bench he'd been sitting on.

"Easy now," came a deep voice. "The drugs are still wearing off."

"Where am I?" Pierce asked, rubbing his eyes.

"With friends," said a second voice. "Take these."

Pierce felt two pills placed in his hand. "What are they?" His world was spinning and his mind was only half with it, but he wasn't going to take a drug without knowing what it would do to him.

"Caffeine pills. They'll help counteract the sedative you were given… which should never have been given to you in the first place."

Pierce sensed that the man speaking really was irritated about his being sedated and decided to trust him. "Water?"

A bottle was placed in his other hand. He opened his eyes a crack and looked at his hands. Two small blue pills in one. A bottle of Poland

Spring water in the other. He popped the pills in his mouth and swigged the water. It was cool and refreshing. The pills dissolved quickly and took effect within seconds. A tingle ran up his spine and when it reached his skull it was as though a switch had been thrown and his mind came rushing back to him.

Pierce looked up and saw two men looking down at him. One was tall and bald, wearing an expensive-looking suit jacket. The other wore dress slacks, a perfectly pressed shirt, and a red tie that complimented his groomed face, hair, and hands. Both wore kind smiles and had intelligent eyes. Assuming they were some kind of authority, he asked, "Did you catch the men who kidnapped me?"

The tall, bald man's crows feet crinkled around his blue eyes as he held out his hand to be shook. Pierce took it with apprehension. As they shook hands, the man said, "Richard Ridley. Happy to make your acquaintance, Dr. Pierce. I am the man who kidnapped you." Ridley smiled wide.

Pierce looked at the other man, who now wore a frown. He pushed away from the men and found he had nowhere to go. Glancing around quickly he noticed the small white room was actually a cell.

"Well, not me," Ridley said. "But men who work for me."

"What do you want?"

"The Hydra."

Pierce felt like he'd been punched. The man's statement was so self-assured, so plain and blunt. Was he serious? Pierce decided he was, and realized that lying would do no good. "Why?"

"I believe you were given an example of what we can do?"

Pierce remembered the three bullet wounds in McCabe's chest. How quickly they healed. How her life returned. "Regeneration." Pierce glared at the man. "You could have just asked."

The man crossed his arms and gave Pierce a skeptical look. "You and I both know that as soon as the Hydra head's authenticity was proven, no one would be allowed near it until whatever government agency claimed it was finished with it. In other words, never. You and McCabe would have no doubt disappeared along with the relic."

Pierce didn't argue. He'd had the same fears as well. But he couldn't forget the savagery of the attack on the camp. "My friend, Jack Sigler. What happened to him?"

"Your 'security,' yes." Ridley flashed a smile and chuckled. "He came a day early. An unfortunate turn of events. I'm sorry for what happened.

Truly. It's not how I envisioned things turning out. But you should know that both of your friends are alive and well. The crew was freed, as promised, two hours after you departed. They dug Jack out from under the stone. No one was seriously hurt."

Pierce couldn't shake the feeling that there was more. He remembered a wave of apprehension before passing out. Something the kidnappers had said. But it escaped him. "Why did you take me?"

"It never hurts to have an expert on the subject in question," Ridley said.

"And we like to give credit where credit is due," the other man said. "When we announce our findings, you will receive credit for your part in the discovery."

"And you are?"

"Todd Maddox," he said. "I'm the lead geneticist here. I developed the regeneration serum that… saved your friend. It should never have happened in the first place."

Pierce detected guilt in the man's voice. He seemed earnestly displeased with the situation. "Am I a prisoner?"

"Not at all," Ridley said. "In fact, I was hoping you'd join the team."

Pierce squinted at the man, making no effort to hide his skepticism.

"You'll be given full access to the artifact and may study it any way you want," Maddox said. "All we require in return is that you help us unlock its secrets."

This all seemed too convenient, too well packaged to be real. But what choice did he have? He doubted these men would let him walk free. Even if King, McCabe, and the rest of the crew had been unscathed, they were still criminals. High-tech looters. He also had no doubt that King would come for him. That meant keeping the status quo for as long as he could. "Take me to it."

Ridley laughed and looked at Maddox. "He's as ambitious as you." He turned back to Pierce. "I'm afraid that's not possible right now."

"Why not?"

Ridley pointed to the side wall. "You have a window. Look for yourself."

Pierce stood and balanced himself against the wall. The floor had shifted beneath him. He looked through the small oval window and held his breath. The ocean sparkled far below. They were in an airplane.

Ridley clapped him hard on the shoulder like they were old chums. "We have more than a thousand miles and thirty thousand vertical feet between us and Manifold Beta. Care for some tea in the meantime?"

"What is Manifold Beta?"

Ridley grinned wide. "Wonderland."