“You’re something, all right. What are you going to do with me?”

“They’d smell a bomb on you, but poison? Doubtful. At least not at first. I’ll just tell them you’re drugged when the exchange is made. Dumb and Dumber, who just left, are going to get the blame for kidnapping you. I know where both of them live so it’s just a matter of making a stop to retrieve the money I’ll have to pay them. Neither one of them is smart enough to stash it in an offshore account or hell, even a safe-deposit box. They probably hide it under their mattresses or behind furniture.”

She watched him, waiting for an opportunity.

“You could tell those idiots of my plan but they won’t believe you. I’ll just say you made threats and said how stupid they were that you could turn them on me. That makes it even better.” He chuckled. “Being warned and yet still getting caught. Sound familiar, Jeanie?”

She braced her feet on the floor, hoping he’d come closer. All she had to do was wait until he turned a little. He wouldn’t be able to move out of the way fast enough before she’d be on him. He outweighed her but she was in better shape and had a weapon. She didn’t see one on him. The sweats were baggy but he was too arrogant to think she’d attack. It was a bet she was willing to risk her life on.

“You’re a spineless prick.”

He paused, staring at her. “You think your precious New Species are better? Give me a break. Do you know how easy it’s been to manipulate them? You have gullibility in common with them. You also wouldn’t believe how stupid some of them can be about honor and shit. They just drop money into an account if you show them any proof at all and they think they might be able to recover more of their kind.”

“You wouldn’t know anything about honor, would you?”

“Nope. I don’t have that flaw.”

He seemed proud of that fact. Jeanie felt disgust.

Jerry Boris winked. “They ruined my life. It’s only fair they pay for it. I had to create a whole new plan to get back some of what they took away. I had a really sweet thing going on until you ruined it all. I almost wish I could take you out with something really painful but it’s going to have to be a slow-acting poison and you’ll need to be unconscious. At least you’ll have a few days to mull that over and suffer, knowing your fate. I’m also petty and spiteful, by the way.”

“How can you look in a mirror?” She really needed him to start pacing again but wanted to get more information before she hit him. “You knew those New Species were suffering. Hell, you knew I was being used as a guinea pig for a drug trial but you let it go on for months. What about the Gift? Is her life miserable too? Is she being abused? What kind of monster has her? What does he do for a living?”

“I couldn’t care less if any of those animals suffer or that you did. It was funny as shit, actually. Stupid people deserve it. I dragged it out to angle for more money when I realized they’d pay the big bucks. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the drugs your boss gave you but whose fault is that, Jeanie? You chose to take that abuse to save your favorite dog. You could have avoided it all and just quit at any time.”

“I couldn’t. I have a heart.”

“And it will get you killed.” He snorted and began to pace, glancing at his watch again. “They need to hurry, damn it. I don’t like it down here and they better not be late. As much as I enjoy giving the NSO some grief over what they did to me, dank, dark places aren’t my thing. I’ve seen rats down here.”

“What did the NSO ever do to you? Are you one of those morons who dislikes them because they are genetically enhanced?” She purposely curled her lip, sneering at him. “You sure aren’t.”

“I was in charge of Homeland!” He turned, furious. “I helped make it what it is today. This place was my baby and what did they do? I got fired and was told to get lost. The only reason I acquired the warden job at Fuller was because I was able to blackmail my way to get it.”

“Blackmail?”

He grinned. “Yeah. I found something out and used it.”

“What did you find out?”

He shrugged. “I discovered they can have babies. I didn’t tell that to Senator Hills but I implied I could make a lot of waves if I wasn’t handed Fuller Prison. That was the cost for my silence.”

Boris knew New Species could have children. It meant he could go to the press. She felt sickened by the ramifications of that classified information being leaked.

He leaned in closer. “How do you think I found out where you were staying? They locked me out of the back door I had into the computer systems but only on the security level. They didn’t classify their stock records of the supplies being ordered for Homeland and Reservation. Diapers, prenatal vitamins, and a whole list of other things were delivered. It was a dead giveaway. They had clothing and food delivered to a home that was previously empty right when you were returned to Homeland. It was so easy to find you, Jeanie. You thought they could protect you? It’s a joke. I’m ten times smarter than they are.”

“You’re wrong.” She decided to bluff. “Some of the human staff has babies but not New Species. I would have been told otherwise.”

He snorted. “Right. Fury married Ellie and I know where he lives. That cunt had his baby. The diaper deliveries went straight to them. You never see them on television anymore, which is good because they make me sick after what they did to me, but it’s because she’s probably a fat cow after birthing his puppies.”