Read Online Immortal by Bill Clem - Free Book Online
Authors: Bill Clem
Tags: Suspense & Thrillers
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instant, she realized that the feeling that someone was following her was no longer there. Just her imagination.
Within a thirty-second span, Kelly felt overwhelmed with a sense of dread. Pain racked her chest and back, and her head felt like it was under a blowtorch. She came to an abrupt stop in front of a donut shop and staggered toward the entrance. She was in the throes of respiratory arrest and her wheezing breaths were not enough to sustain her any longer. She collapsed at the foot of the shop's front door, dead before her face slammed against the concrete.
Chapter 25
Josh Logan arrived at the Ford Institute and paused. It was very late--Kelly Frock had been quite insistent on the time--and the facility was almost unnaturally silent. He listened to the silence for a minute; the faint sounds surrounding the building, more than likely something to do with the facility's mechanical systems.
Josh pulled the bill of his ball cap down, glancing around nervously. It was Sunday and all the administrative staff were gone, so there was nothing to worry about. Nothing. Exiting his car, Josh checked his watch.
Where the hell was Kelly?
Josh waited twenty more minutes, and then decided Kelly had changed her mind. He couldn't say he blamed her; after all what they were going to do was not without risk of serious consequences if they got caught. But he was here and he desperately needed to get those files. He zipped his dark jacket, hoping to create stealth, and darted across the parking lot to the rear entrance. The door he wanted was easy to identify:
'DELIVERIES ONLY' was emblazoned across it in huge, bold green letters.
He pressed himself against the wall, hidden from sight behind a half-dead palm, and slipped his I.D. card from his pocket. Josh swiped his card through the reader attched to the wall, punched in his code, and the gleaming stainless-steel doors to Ford opened with a whisper of well-machined metal. The hall exhaled the scent of fresh urethane-wax and warm electronics. Everything was quiet.
Still, Josh hesitated. His eye strayed down the long corridor and to the hall beyond. He felt a small tingle of apprehension. Trying to shake it off, he stepped inside and crept down the hall, his sneakers making a squeak-squeak sound on the bright linoleum tile.
At the first door, he paused, almost instinctively. He felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck, as if someone were watching him. He turned, but the dimly lit corridor behind him was empty. Stop being paranoid.
He strode down the hallway, past offices and labs, all locked up tight, then hesitated again. He could have sworn he'd heard the soft scrape of a shoe on the tile. He waited for another footfall, for someone to round the corner, but nothing happened. He swore to himself; it was probably a guard making rounds.
Gathering his courage, he strode on, approaching the double set of doors leading to the vast medical records room. He paused at the doors, thinking he had heard another sound behind him.
He waited, listening.
This was ridiculous. He looked around and saw the gleaming metal doors of medical records. He stepped over to them and as quietly as possible swiped his key card in the magnetic reader. The security light blinked from red to green and the door softly unlatched. He pushed it open, stepped inside, and closed it behind him, hearing the electronic click of the lock reengage.
There was a small wire-mesh window in the door, through which Josh could see into the corridor beyond. Now he could see anyone coming in or out.
A minute passed and then a sudden shadow fell across the pane. A face appeared in profile, then turned with a snap and gazed in the window.
Jolted, Josh stepped back into the darkness of a nearby closet, knocking down a box of pens as he pressed himself into it. He was certain the man in the window hadn't seen him, but he wasn't taking any extra risks. He stood perfectly still, cloaked in absolute darkness. Suddenly,
Within a thirty-second span, Kelly felt overwhelmed with a sense of dread. Pain racked her chest and back, and her head felt like it was under a blowtorch. She came to an abrupt stop in front of a donut shop and staggered toward the entrance. She was in the throes of respiratory arrest and her wheezing breaths were not enough to sustain her any longer. She collapsed at the foot of the shop's front door, dead before her face slammed against the concrete.
Chapter 25
Josh Logan arrived at the Ford Institute and paused. It was very late--Kelly Frock had been quite insistent on the time--and the facility was almost unnaturally silent. He listened to the silence for a minute; the faint sounds surrounding the building, more than likely something to do with the facility's mechanical systems.
Josh pulled the bill of his ball cap down, glancing around nervously. It was Sunday and all the administrative staff were gone, so there was nothing to worry about. Nothing. Exiting his car, Josh checked his watch.
Where the hell was Kelly?
Josh waited twenty more minutes, and then decided Kelly had changed her mind. He couldn't say he blamed her; after all what they were going to do was not without risk of serious consequences if they got caught. But he was here and he desperately needed to get those files. He zipped his dark jacket, hoping to create stealth, and darted across the parking lot to the rear entrance. The door he wanted was easy to identify:
'DELIVERIES ONLY' was emblazoned across it in huge, bold green letters.
He pressed himself against the wall, hidden from sight behind a half-dead palm, and slipped his I.D. card from his pocket. Josh swiped his card through the reader attched to the wall, punched in his code, and the gleaming stainless-steel doors to Ford opened with a whisper of well-machined metal. The hall exhaled the scent of fresh urethane-wax and warm electronics. Everything was quiet.
Still, Josh hesitated. His eye strayed down the long corridor and to the hall beyond. He felt a small tingle of apprehension. Trying to shake it off, he stepped inside and crept down the hall, his sneakers making a squeak-squeak sound on the bright linoleum tile.
At the first door, he paused, almost instinctively. He felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck, as if someone were watching him. He turned, but the dimly lit corridor behind him was empty. Stop being paranoid.
He strode down the hallway, past offices and labs, all locked up tight, then hesitated again. He could have sworn he'd heard the soft scrape of a shoe on the tile. He waited for another footfall, for someone to round the corner, but nothing happened. He swore to himself; it was probably a guard making rounds.
Gathering his courage, he strode on, approaching the double set of doors leading to the vast medical records room. He paused at the doors, thinking he had heard another sound behind him.
He waited, listening.
This was ridiculous. He looked around and saw the gleaming metal doors of medical records. He stepped over to them and as quietly as possible swiped his key card in the magnetic reader. The security light blinked from red to green and the door softly unlatched. He pushed it open, stepped inside, and closed it behind him, hearing the electronic click of the lock reengage.
There was a small wire-mesh window in the door, through which Josh could see into the corridor beyond. Now he could see anyone coming in or out.
A minute passed and then a sudden shadow fell across the pane. A face appeared in profile, then turned with a snap and gazed in the window.
Jolted, Josh stepped back into the darkness of a nearby closet, knocking down a box of pens as he pressed himself into it. He was certain the man in the window hadn't seen him, but he wasn't taking any extra risks. He stood perfectly still, cloaked in absolute darkness. Suddenly,
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