With a flick of his wrist, Zellar shifted the barrel to face Sam. The man only had time for an expression of betrayal and indignation to cross his features before the bullet entered his brain.
Kristin didn't even flinch when the blood and grey matter splashed across her, joining Wendell's already dried gore. She did, however, smile mischievously at Zellar. "Why, Rubin, I thought you didn't like guns."
He placed it in his waistband again. "I don't like other people having them. But when I'm using one, that's a different story."
"That seems reasonable," she chuckled.
"Well, shall we?" He asked brightly, motioning her forward.
She nodded, leaning into the arm wrapped around her waist. After only a few steps, Kristin stumbled, and swore from pain. Zellar easily picked her up, and she didn't fight it.
They were passed several times by his staff but paid no attention to their frantic shouts. Kristin rested her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes, "please tell me we are going somewhere I can rest."
"You'll be able to sit comfortably, my sweet. My jeep doesn't have a back seat but there is plenty of leg room for you to stretch out."
She smiled into his neck, "you drive a jeep? That seems... so undignified."
Zellar scoffed playfully, "it's useful in this terrain, and my Gulfstream is in the shop."
When Kristin laughed with him, slowed his walk to look at her. "You seem much better now."
"How do you mean?"
"Back there, when I interrupted you... You said some things..."
"Oh," she glanced up at him. "Well, you did shoot me, Rubin. As a rule, I don't remain polite when that sort of thing happens."
He nodded, "I can accept that." They continued on in silence for a few more minutes before Zellar shifted her weight. "It's right through here." He opened a door and a blast of cold air swirled around Kristin's face startling her.
"I know it's chilly, you'll be warm soon enough." Zellar opened the passenger door and carefully set her inside. After he ensured the seatbelt was firmly buckled, Kristin settled back and closed her eyes. She was too tired and sick to think clearly. A spark of rage still burned inside of her, she just had to figure out how to use it.
She heard the other door slam and jerked out of the light doze. Heat blasted from the vents, threatening to put her back to sleep. Kristin forced her eyes open in time to catch the inside of the large cave they were emerging from. "Did you build this?"
"No, most of it was here. We made some improvements though. The cave opening is off the side of the mountain, it was a handy place to store vehicle should we require a hasty exit." Zellar shot few glances at her as he entered the snowy mountain road.
"Hm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Why did you try to run? I thought you understood."
"Then you don't know me very well."
"I did everything I could to make you give up. But you just kept fighting. What is the secret to making you obey?"
"I was never that much into obeying, it rather grates my nerves."
"What about your captain?"
"I rarely, if ever, obey him."
He nodded, "I believe I underestimated you."
"You made at least one very large miscalculation." Kristin informed him, staring at him evenly.
Zellar held the steering wheel loosely in one hand, while looking at her. "And what was that?"
"Well, you were so intent on tormenting me with Lucas' withdrawal problems, you never took mine into account." As she spoke, Kristin dropped two fingers to the clasp of her seatbelt, double checking that it was fastened firmly.
He looked at her sharply, "you only had a few doses, what symptoms did you have?"
Now placing the same hand on his leg, Kristin smiled wryly, "you made me question myself, Rubin."
His eyes flickered between her fingers crawling up his thigh, and the road. "Like what?"
"Why I was trying so hard to first do no harm." He blinked, trying to understand her meaning. "It made me angry."
"Angry, but what..."
"And," she interrupted softly, "quite reckless." In one smooth movement, she unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed his leg down, forcing the gas pedal to the floor. Next, she grabbed the steering wheel in the other hand, tearing it from his grasp and spinning it.
"Good luck," Kristin smiled coldly as they swerved off the road onto a tree filled incline.
"This is ridiculous." Nathan huffed at his people.
"If it was any one of us walking through snow without shoes on, you would make us do the same thing." Lucas pointed out smugly.
He looked down at Probie as he rode it sidesaddle. "This has to be some kind of mutiny." The crew chuckled around him easily. Nathan heard a click behind him, and twisted around to glare at Ben and Miguel.
"Was that your phone, Krieg?"
Ben quickly stuffed the object back into his pocket, "just checking the weather sir." Miguel suppressed a smile, and started to distance himself from the guilty looking man.
"Will it help if you have someone with you?" Tim offered innocently. He picked up Bishal, and swung him up beside Nathan. "Now you're just making sure he doesn't fall."
Nathan grudgingly held onto the child as he giggled about the strange ride. They approached the beginning of the path, but slowed to watch the flood of people running down it. "Do we apprehend them?" Crocker asked darkly.
Nathan shook his head, "no, we get Zellar and Kristin."
Bishal shouted happily and jumped of Probie. A thin middle aged man ran to him with tears streaming down his face. He picked up the child and hugged him tightly. Bishal could be heard whispering, "yehi!"
"No," Tim held out his hand when Crocker started towards the pair protectively. "It's ok, that's his father." He stepped up to the man and started speaking rapidly. After a few interruptions from Bishal, the man nodded. Tim turned back. "Keshav can show us where Zellar might be. He said there is a cave where they stored vehicles, if he's trying to escape he'll have to take one of them."
With Bishal's father leading them, and still holding on his son tightly, the crew marched around the side of the cliff. Tim spoke to him intently, pausing and shaking his head angrily a few times. "What is it?" Nathan asked, seeing his disturbed expression.
"You were right to let those people go. Most of them have been kidnapped and kept there against their will." Tim explained, "Keshav was one of them. After he decided he didn't like what Zellar was doing, he was imprisoned. They… they were doing experiments on them. Giving them injections."
Lucas looked at them sharply, "are they having any symptoms? Like acting crazy?"
After relaying the question to Keshav, the man sighed and nodded. He rattled off a few sentences darkly. Tim swallowed, "yes, but they died soon after."
"Did… did it spread between people? Is it contagious?" Lucas demanded. "Please," he whispered now, "tell me it isn't airborne."
Tim quickly translated, but Keshav was shaking his head before he even finished. "He said everyone was separated, in cages. They could see each other, but not come into contact. They only started to act strangely after an injection."
"He caged them like animals." Katie hissed, "Zellar did always think everyone was beneath him."
It took a few moments for the information to absorb into Lucas' brain. "Thank you," he nodded grimly.
Ford narrowed his eyes, "this is going to be one hell of a debriefing, isn't it?"
"Just the norm," Ben snorted, "some crazy person does something crazy, and we stop them." Katie slowed Probie's controls long enough to swat him lightly, but silently agreed.
Bishal wiggled free of his father's arms and began pointing at the path that was barely wide enough for a car to fit. "Tracks," Miguel observed before Tim translated. "Down the side of the mountain."
"And broken branches." Katie added, as Probie's camera zoomed in on the scene further away off them. "There's … god, there's a wreck down there."
Nathan leaped from the vehicle, "come on people, we know what to do." He spoke with authority, but an edge of dread crept into his voice. When smoke started to billow from the accident site, Nathan took off at a run.