"Who are the buyers?" I demanded.
“I can’t…”
The pliers closed again. The second fingernail resisted before tearing free. Her scream climbed octaves. Her body arched, and a thin line of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth where she'd bitten through her own cheek.
By the third finger, blood had soaked through her lab coat and pooled beneath the chair. Her skin had taken on a waxy pallor, lips blue-tinged at the edges.
"The Russians," she surrendered, words fractured between gasping breaths. "Chinese. North Korea. Anyone with cash to burn. It’s an open auction! Please, no more."
Reid set down his tools and wiped his hands on a cloth. He stepped back from her, the job complete for now.
I studied her. She was no longer the arrogant scientist who'd stolen my technology. Just another broken thing leaking onto expensive flooring.
"And the activation protocols?" I asked. "Has Shaw managed to bypass Xavier's security measures?"
Frustration flashed across her features. "No. That's why he's kept me alive this long. The Banshee remains inactive without your biometrics and that fucking playing card."
I smiled. Despite his resources, despite stealing our technology, Shaw remained locked out of his prize.
"Shaw's furious," she gasped. "Can't make it work. Throwing money, throwing people at the problem. Nothing helps. Not that that’ll stop him from selling the damn thing."
I circled her, my cane tapping against the tile. My knee sent sharp twinges up my leg, surgical repairs holding but imperfect.
"Why did you betray us, Doctor? After everything Lucky Losers provided. The facilities, the funding, the freedom to pursue your work without government oversight."
Blood from her split lip painted her teeth pink. "Provided? You limited my research. Refused to let me pursue the military applications I wanted. Always with your precious ethical boundaries about civilian targets." Her voice rose. "Shaw offered unrestricted research. No oversight committees. No questions about collateral damage. And yes, money. More than Lucky Losers would ever pay me in a lifetime."
"A lifetime that's growing shorter by the minute," I said, tracing the silver tip of my cane along her jaw. She flinched.
"He's worse than you, you know. Shaw. At least you pretend to value scientific achievement. He sees us as disposable tools. Screams at researchers who can't meet impossible deadlines. Threatens families when results fall short."
"And yet you chose him over me."
"I chose myself." Defiance sparked in her eyes. "Every researcher who's ever worked for you knows the truth, Algerone. Or should I say, Jackson?"
My fingers tightened on the cane. My pulse quickened. No one had spoken that name in decades.
"Jackson James Wheeler," she continued, a cruel smile spreading despite her split lip. "The trailer trash from Oklahoma who reinvented himself. Shaw knows everything about you. Your pathetic origins. How you fabricated your entire identity. How you crawled out of the gutter on the backs of better men."
I struck her across the face. The crack echoed through the lab. I checked my watch, then glanced at Reid. He nodded. Our time was running short.
"Your attempts to distract me are noted, Doctor. But ultimately futile." I wiped her blood from my knuckles with a monogrammed handkerchief. "Shaw's obsession with my background is irrelevant. What matters is the prototype and his auction plans."
She spat blood, glaring up at me. "He's right about you. Underneath all that polish, you're still that scared little boy from the trailer park. Hiding behind suits and money and hired muscle."
"Perhaps." I smiled thinly. "But that scared little boy grew up to become the man who holds your life in his hands. Interesting how things turn out."
Reid shifted behind her. "Sir, we should move quickly. Local authorities might have been alerted."
"Agreed." I turned back to Hardin. "One last chance, Doctor. Tell me everything else you know about Shaw's operation, and I'll consider a merciful end."
Terror returned to her eyes. Blood leaked from her ruined fingers, pooling beneath the chair. "There's a laptop in my quarters. Second drawer of the desk, false bottom. I kept notes despite Shaw's instructions. Technical specifications, security protocols, contact information for his entire network."
"Why would you risk that?"
"Insurance." Her voice trembled. "I knew Shaw would discard me eventually. Needed leverage. Something to bargain with when this day came."
I nodded to one of the security specialists. "Retrieve it."
