"I'm coming for you, mon ange mon ange," he whispered after shutting his phone. He pulled the flashlight from his belt. He didn't want to trample any possible tracks, but he also didn't intend to wait around. Sarah needed him and he wouldn't let her down.

Chapter Eleven

Xavier was frantic, but he couldn't let it show. His men knew, of course. Especially Sam. None of his guys were stupid. After the meeting the night before, they had to know that he and Sarah were involved.

With Sarah abducted right from under his nose, all bets were off. Xavier found it impossible to keep his detached professional air. He was pissed, heading toward all-out fury, and those around him knew it.

Sam had the chopper at the site in less than five minutes. By that time, the cargo van was long gone. Xavier had made quick rounds, dropping off transmitters on each pile of goo. The girl was missing. She had either woken up immune or risen from the dead. He would have to figure it out later.

Xavier had hopped into the chopper as it hovered a few feet off the ground, and they'd spent a fruitless half hour in the air, looking for a damn needle in a haystack. That van had disappeared.

"I want you to bring in Dr. McCormick for questioning. No, wait. Let's go get her right now. We don't have time to waste," Xavier said over the headset they used so he could communicate over the noise of the helicopter's blades. Reno was piloting. "Reroute to Cold Spring Harbor," he ordered.

"Get on the radio and arrange for local police to meet us there. See if they can lend us a vehicle. Sam, do you have the doctor's address?"

"Yes, sir." Sam pulled a PDA from his belt and tapped the screen a few times.

Xavier saw Reno keying his mic. He was on the radio, setting up things for when they landed. They were both good men. They'd get the job done. But it wasn't fast enough. Nothing was fast enough to suit him right now, with Sarah in the hands of that unethical son of a bitch, Sellars.

"The county cops will have a tactical unit waiting for us. We're landing at one of their stations. They're loaning us a SWAT team and their gear," Reno reported over Xavier's headset as they hugged the northern coastline of the island on their way west, toward Cold Spring Harbor.

"You told them why we need it?" Xavier didn't want the local cops-good as they were-getting in the way of his team. He also didn't want a lot of targets scattered around the site, ready to become zombie fodder. He was the only one who could do this extraction. He and he alone.

"They wanted to talk to Officer Petit and I had to tell them. Sorry, sir."

"Don't be. They'll throw everything they have our way when they know one of their own is in danger. Your job will be to keep everyone secure, away from the target zone while I do the extraction. Clear?"

Reno grinned. "I'm always up for a little misdirection, Captain. We'll babysit the locals if we have to, while you get your woman. And if you need backup, you know that we have your back, despite the danger."

Two things struck Xavier. First, his men were willing to face the horrific threat of the zombie contagion for him. Now, that was some serious loyalty, especially when they'd seen firsthand what had become of the others who'd tried and died. They were brave men and Xavier was touched by their willingness to face such a threat for him.

Second, though perhaps this was more important, Xavier felt a strange warmth spreading through him at Reno's words about Sarah. He'd called her Xavier's woman woman. Damn if that didn't feel right.

This was about more than retrieving a colleague. This was personal.

"Landing in five," Reno updated the team.

They set down on a small helipad a few minutes later. Xavier was glad to see a welcoming party ready and waiting for them at the pad behind the police station. There were two big trucks that he knew belonged to the SWAT team.

He hit the ground running, making his way to the man in charge. They shook hands and shouted to be heard above the roar of the blades winding down. Reno would park the chopper and be ready to depart before Xavier had straightened out the logistics of who would be in which vehicle.

He wanted one vehicle just for his team. One with no locals hitching a ride.

"Captain Beauvoir," the SWAT commander shouted over the noise. "I'm Sergeant Luke Tomlinson, Emergency Services Section. I've been ordered to assist in whatever way possible."

The rotors on the chopper were slowly winding down. With them went the roar of the wind and the noise from the engine. Xavier was able to speak in a more normal tone as he walked toward the waiting vehicles with the SWAT commander.

"Sergeant Tomlinson, we'd like one of your rides."

The man stopped walking and turned to regard Xavier, taking his measure. "I don't know why the army is involved in this-whatever it is. All I've been told is that an officer has been abducted and you're our best bet for getting her back. Personally, I take offense at that, but then it's been some years since I left the 82nd Airborne. I recognize your beret and your insignia, Captain, but I don't like being left out of the loop."

The cop had been Airborne. That counted for something. Xavier decided to tread as lightly as possible while still making his point.

"I appreciate that, Sergeant. Truly, I do. Unfortunately, I don't have time-and you don't have clearance-to know the details of our mission here. All I can tell you is that it has to do with national security and the missing officer is working as a liaison with my unit. She's been read into the mission and her life is in imminent danger. I intend to get her back with all possible haste. After that, maybe we'll be able to talk more."

Tomlinson stared him down, but Xavier sensed the man understood. Finally, the sergeant nodded, throwing a set of keys toward him. Xavier caught them, his reflexes sharp.

"Take the SUV. It's loaded with standard SWAT gear. We'll act in a support capacity, as ordered."

Xavier spared a moment to thank the man, then heard his unit jogging up behind. He tossed the keys to Sam as he and Kauffman passed. Reno was still a few lengths behind but catching up fast. "We're going to do recon. We'll meet you back here at the station once we have a plan of action."

"You do that," Tomlinson shot back.

Getting rid of the locals had been easier than Xavier expected. It had helped to have a man like Tomlinson in charge. He'd been military. He'd know that a small spec ops team like Xavier's would likely operate more efficiently without a parade of cops tagging along.

They parked the SUV around the corner from Dr. McCormick's home. They were in a fairly middle-class area with small houses every quarter acre or so, in the less fashionable part of town. Xavier waved Sam, Reno and Kauffman to watch each side of the simple house in case the woman tried to flee out a window or through the backyard. Xavier took the direct approach, ringing her front doorbell.

An elfin face moved the curtain over the window in the door and peered out at him. Her eyes squinted a moment before she planted wire-framed glasses on her freckled nose. Her eyes widened as she took in his attire.

"Dr. McCormick? I'm Captain Beauvoir, U.S. Army. I need to speak with you about one of your former colleagues. Will you come with us?"

The woman looked startled but opened the door a crack. "Us?" she asked, looking around.

"My men are around back. We have a situation and we really need you to come with us."

"You were afraid I'd try to run." Knowing eyes tilted in his direction. "As you can see, I won't. Where do you want to take me?"

She was cagey, this one, and much younger-looking than he'd expected. Her file said she was in her late thirties, but her pixie looks made her appear much younger. She was pretty in a sort of ethereal way.

"The police are letting us use some of their facilities since one of their officers has been abducted."

She seemed upset at the news, but she was hard to read.

"Are you arresting me? You want to put me in a cell?"

"Only if you're guilty of something, Doctor. Right now we need to pick your brain for anything you might know about your former colleague Dr. Sellars."

Her brows swept downward in an angry frown. "I want nothing to do with that man."

"That may be, but we know he's been in contact with you." Xavier sighed heavily. It didn't look like she would come willingly, and time was wasting.

"Why don't you signal your team and come inside?" She opened the door wide. "You can question me here and I'll give you what little I have on Dr. Sellars. I never liked that man."

That last bit was almost muttered under her breath, but Xavier heard it. She didn't look happy, but from what he could tell, she was willing to help.

Xavier considered his options. They weren't many and they weren't good. He pursed his lips and gave a short whistle. That signal would bring his men in. One by one, they appeared from behind the house.

Dr. McCormick stepped back from the door and ushered them inside the small house. Xavier looked around as he sent his men off to clear each room. Oddly, she didn't object.

She must've sensed his surprise, for she explained. "I worked for the navy on top-secret projects for more than a few years, Captain. I'm familiar with the need for security and the way you soldiers go about assuring it." She sat on a flowered chair that had a matching sofa.

When the guys returned, reporting the house was clear, they took up protective positions around the room. Only the woman sat.

Xavier started with a question. "You know why I'm here?"

"I can guess. I know Dr. Sellars got a job in Stony Brook. He tried to get me to meet him for dinner, but I've declined. He always gave me the creeps. What's he been doing to get your attention?"

Xavier did his best to read her. So far, she seemed on the level.

"He's up to his old tricks. Doing experiments on coeds." He was satisfied when she went pale. Nobody could fake that kind of shock. She truly hadn't known. "So far we've had over a dozen killed. No bodies to show to their parents or loved ones, if you understand my meaning."

She nodded tightly. "I do." The small woman started to shake, but Xavier had no mercy. Sarah was missing and he needed to find her. Every moment lost was a moment when she could be undergoing torture. A moment when she might be killed.

"Then you understand my urgency. One of the first to be attacked was a Suffolk County cop. She survived. About an hour ago, Sellars abducted her. We know he wanted to run tests on her to figure out why she was immune. Dr. McCormick, he's going to sell the technology to the highest bidder."

"Dear Lord." The woman looked stricken.

"I need to know anything you know about Sellars and where he might have taken Sarah." Xavier had slipped and used her name.

"Sarah," McCormick repeated. "Is that the police officer's name?"

"Yes. Sarah's in grave danger, Dr. McCormick. Do you have any idea where Sellars might have taken her?"

"No." She seemed to rethink her answer. "Not really. Maybe." She stood and reached for a black bag that had been propped up next to the armchair. It was a computer bag. She quickly unzipped it and pulled out a slim laptop, opening it and powering it up. She looked up at Xavier as the machine whirred to life. "He invited me to dinner. I accepted at first and he sent me directions to a place nearby. I looked it up online and realized it was a private residence in a very exclusive neighborhood. I thought he was trying to impress me." She rolled her eyes in a mocking expression. "I didn't want to be alone with him, so I cancelled and haven't rescheduled. I thought a nice public place like a restaurant would be ideal to tell him I want nothing to do with him. I didn't want to be stuck someplace alone with him." She placed the computer on the coffee table and began to open software and connect to her files.

"I don't blame you at all." Xavier crouched nearby. She had an advanced system but one he was very familiar with. He was almost vibrating with the need to get to Sarah. He watched impatiently as Dr. McCormick opened one last file and sent it to the wireless printer across the room.

Reno grabbed the paper before it even had time to hit the tray. He nodded to Xavier, who interpreted that to mean it had an address printed on it that Reno could find.

"Thank you, Doctor. Now, I need you to come with us. Sellars could come after you." He stood, expecting her to follow.

"Where do you propose I go?"

Damn, she was going to balk. He could feel it. Xavier didn't have time for this crap.

Sam came over, clandestinely pushing Xavier aside and extending a hand to the woman in the chair. She took it hesitantly but stood, looking up into Sam's smiling face. The man could turn on the charm when he had to, and Xavier was never more thankful for that than now. He didn't have the time or patience to deal with the doctor's fears. Thank goodness Sam had his back, as usual.

"We're going to take you to the local police station. We have some friends there who will keep you safe until we have the situation under control." Sam spoke in even tones. "Maybe you should pack a few things, just in case."

McCormick eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then relented. She disappeared into another room for a few minutes and returned with an overnight bag. Sam took it from her as he led the doctor toward the door.

But she stopped short of their goal. "Am I under arrest?"

"No, ma'am," Sam said, trying to placate her. "More like protective custody until we're sure the situation with Sellars is under control. He might target you because of your past association."

"So you're going up against him and his creations?" She looked around the room, pinning each man with her glance. "Are any of you immune?"

Xavier was surprised by the question, but then he realized she knew exactly what this experiment was all about. She'd been in on the initial experiment. She knew firsthand what the contagion could do. He wasn't certain which side she was on, though her aversion to getting involved with Sellars and willingness to give them his address had to count in her favor.

"I am." Xavier stepped forward and her gaze met his. He could see concern in her eyes as she looked back at the others.

"I have something you might need, then." She lowered the laptop she'd been clutching to her chest and handed it to Sam.

Xavier jerked his chin at Kauffman and Reno to keep an eye on the doctor, who was well on her way toward another room in the small house. They followed behind like well-trained puppies while Sam stowed her computer in the bag she'd taken it from and slung the strap over his shoulder.

"What do you think?" Xavier asked his friend and XO.

"I think she's beautiful." Sam surprised him with the all-too-serious comment. "I'm also pretty sure she's innocent since she didn't want anything to do with Sellars."

"That's my read, too."

She bustled back into the room, holding a small, flat black case that zippered all the way around. It was about an inch thick and roughly five-by-seven inches. She opened it as she moved, and Xavier went instantly on guard when he saw the vials inside.

"What is it?" he asked, suspicion in every bone of his body. For all he knew, this harmless-looking pixie could go all mad scientist on their asses without a moment's hesitation.

"Not an antidote, unfortunately, but the next best thing. If I'm right, it will provoke the immune response in some people after exposure to the contagion. I've been working on it on my own time. I know that puts me in violation of the agreement I made with the navy when they dumped me, but it had to be done. I was afraid some of the other members of the team wouldn't let the work rest, and I feared something like this would happen. I made this"-she held up the small holder full of vials-"to help when the time came. It appears that time is now."

"So if one of us gets bit and we take that stuff, we'll end up like the captain?" Reno asked. "We'll be immune?"

"It should redirect the contagion to act as it was supposed to, but only for some people. It's not perfect yet. I haven't had the time-or the desire-to really test it. Think of this as a last resort. Do everything you can not not to get bitten. But if you do get bitten, this is something you can try before dying. I wish it was more." to get bitten. But if you do get bitten, this is something you can try before dying. I wish it was more."

"It's more than we could have expected, Doctor." Sam stepped in and took the case from her with gentle hands. "Thank you."

"Okay, I'm ready." She headed toward the front door without further urging.

Kauffman drove them all back to the police station with Reno and Sam sitting in back, flanking the doctor. Sam had given her the laptop case and she clutched it on her lap.

Reno had engaged her in a somewhat scientific discussion of how the immune boosting compound she'd developed worked. It wasn't Xavier's field, but he found her talk interesting, to say the least.

"So why would it work for some people and not others?" Reno asked.

Xavier wanted to know, too.