Phillips and Seung faced each other.
Seung was a good head shorter, but her teeth were far longer. “You touch him again, and I will tear you limb from limb.”
“I’m trying to figure out if whoever released those things is still close,” Phillips said. “They might have access to how Denton triggered the implants used to shut down the other curs. There’s no way they wouldn’t have a fail-safe to stop something that dangerous.”
“… the dogs are up. Signal is strong. ETA five minutes…”
“He didn’t call anyone.”
Both women gave Luca their attention.
“He typed something into the tablet on the dash and saidthe dogs are up.”
Phillips rushed over to the M-ATV. She returned with a tablet in hand and woke it up. Her mouth thinned out.
“What is it?”
“Looks like they can track them.” She showed Luca the screen.
Dozens of blue dots bunched together at the corner of the screen.
Seung sat next to Luca. The color bled from her cheeks.
“The betas are in trouble too.” Luca made it a statement.
“Yeah. Enough that they can’t block me out anymore. They’re tired. Really tired. Nox is killing what he can.” To Phillips, Seung said, “Luca’s right. If we don’t find a way to stop them, they won’t last much longer.”
Johnathan pushed off the door.
“What the hell are you doing?” Dr. Dante got in front of him. “You can’t go out there. They’ll kill you even faster than the others.”
“Yeah, and I can’t sit on my ass either.”
“I just sa—” Dr. Dante snapped his mouth shut. “In the shape you’re in, you’d only get in the way.”
“Is there another computer in the vehicle?” Phillips held up the tablet. “Looks like this is only good for tracking and remotely operating bay doors.”
Seung shook her head. “No. And if they had one, it’s probably in the field somewhere with the bodies.”
“They wouldn’t leave a safety mechanism sitting out to get damaged. They’d keep it somewhere secure but easy to get to,” Phillis said.
“And I don’t think the guy in charge really gave a shit if they died.” Seung winced. “He practically asked my wolf to kill him.”
Luca hadn’t spotted a computer anywhere either, but he had found something else. “There’s a box. It was under the dash on the passenger side.”
“I’ll get it.” Dr. Dante hurried to the M-ATV.
“What did he say to your wolf?” Phillips looked at Seung.
“I don’t know. It’s hard to think right now.” Seung closed her eyes.
Dr. Dante brought the box back over.
Phillips took it and laid it on the floor beside Luca. She opened a simple square unit with a button at the top, a keypad, and rows of LEDs, each with a switch. “Keep your fingers crossed.” She pushed the top button, and a line of lights blinked twice and went out.
“Did it work?” Dr. Dante said.
“Luca?” Phillips closed the box.