Ghostwalker 05 - Deadly Game

his lungs. Night was falling, and always – always – the night belonged to the GhostWalkers.
    Ken?
    I'm here with you, baby. I had a brief meltdown but I'm back on track. Does the doctor live in the compound?
    Everyone here does. Most of the soldiers live in the outer barracks. Whitney's men have their own section. It's closest to the small cottages. Whitney's staff live in those houses, separate from the rest of us .
    And where are you, Mari?
    We used to have our own barracks, but with the new program we've been moved to the center of the laboratory underground, where he has bars on the doors. We're always on lockdown and they try to keep us apart .
    Do all of the women have telepathy?
    I'm strong and so is Cami. We can build and hold a bridge between all the women, so we plan when we're locked in our rooms .
    How many have to get out?
    There are five of us, but we have a plan. We can get rid of the bars on the doors, we think. We haven't dared to test yet, but if we can, we'll go out through the south-facing doors. It's easier to move through the laboratory; there's a little less security because the cameras are angled wrong. Once we make it to the surface we can head for the electric fence that's about two miles from us. The woods are dense and there's water. They have dogs, but a couple of the women can control them. Don't do anything until we're ready. I won't leave anyone behind .
    Well you make certain they're ready to go, because when I come to get you, you'll be coming out with me one way or another .

    Mari opened her eyes and stared up at the bright light, trying not to smile again. He had that edgy command in his voice, the one that brooked no argument, the one that said he was the boss and she'd better damn well fall in line. He made her heart beat faster and her blood rush through her veins. Her temperature went up a couple of degrees every time he pulled the caveman routine. She liked him worried and edgy and ready to tear down the laboratory to get to her – and that told how far gone she was.
    "Very good, Mari," Dr. Prauder said. "We're finished." He signaled Sean, and the guard came forward and removed the straps from her arms and legs and handed her the gown.
    She refused to look at him. They're taking me back to my room. Thank you, Ken. I don't know what I would have done without you to distract me .
    Ken wiped the sweat from his face. She would have endured. She knew it and he knew it
    – because when you were in the hands of a madman, you resisted as little as possible and waited for that one moment to strike or run. Endurance was all you had.
    What is the doctor's name and what does he look like? Even as he lay under cover of bushes and grass, he'd seen half a dozen men in lab coats walking in and out of the facility.
    Prauder. He's Whitney's chief doctor. The man's a worm. I'm not entirely certain he's human. He acts more like a robot . Mari pulled her gown around her and went back toward the alcove.
    "What are you doing?" Sean asked.
    "Getting dressed. I don't feel like parading through the halls with this hospital gown on. I need my clothes."
    Sean glanced at Whitney and then shook his head. "We need to sweep them for tracking devices."
    She wanted Ken's shirt. It was stupid, but she wanted it. She didn't even glance at the alcove or at Sean. "I'm not walking down the hall in this stupid getup."
    I want a description of Prauder . Ken's voice was insistent.
    Mari was proud of herself for using telepathic communication without Whitney or Sean realizing it, both right there where they should have been able to detect it. But now that she was sitting up, facing them, she was afraid she might make a mistake. She took a breath and let it out. He's short and skinny, balding with a small goatee . She kept it short and succinct.
    Ken could feel her nervousness and her reluctance to continue their conversation. All right, baby, do whatever you have to do and contact me when you're alone again .
    Mari didn't reply, but she was grateful that he let her know he was going to be within her mind's reach. She snapped her fingers. "At least get me another gown, Sean. I'm not walking in front of you half-naked."
    Sean muttered something under his breath, but jerked another gown from a shelf under the table and tossed it to her.
    Mari caught it and shrugged into it, wrapping it around her back. She never once glanced up at Whitney, but she could feel him there, watching every move she made. She made herself