Read Online Love in Retrograde by Charlie Cochet - Free Book Online Page B

long way to go. On their way to the stairs, they ran past the bioengineering nanotech lab. Kelly came to an abrupt halt.
    “The labs.”
    “We should go,” Mars replied, taking hold of Kelly’s wrist.
    “No, you don’t understand. We have to destroy it all. They’re going to make more of you. More soldiers who’ll become sentient and then have their humanity taken from them.”
    Mars’s eyes turned blue, and Kelly understood its implications. Before he could utter a word, Mars marched into the lab. He gritted his teeth and appeared to focus. Kelly was about to ask Mars what he was doing when the lights flickered and the equipment around the room began to pop and fizzle. The glass panel interfaces came to life, information scrolling at unreadable speeds until only the words “No files found” were displayed across all of them. As Mars walked out, anything that was of any value burst into shards of useless biotech.
    “Kelly?” Jordan’s voice came through the speaker of his tablet.
    “I’m here.”
    “The building has been evacuated. I’ve made arrangements, but you must get to St. James’s Park. You can lose yourselves in the crowd, but you have to hurry before the rest of the military’s reinforcements arrives.”
    “Got it.” Kelly handed the tablet to Mars. “Find us a way out of here.”
    Mars brought up the infrared feed of the building’s security, and Kelly wished he hadn’t seen what was in front of him. The whole damned army had been called in. Heavily armed soldiers flooded into the building, making their way up the elevators and stairwells. Through the speakers, an order for their apprehension was given.
    “Priority Mars. To be apprehended alive and sedated. Dr. Sutton to be apprehended dead or alive.”
    Kelly swallowed hard. “Dead?” They were going to shoot him on sight, weren’t they?
    “Kelly.” Mars took hold of his arms, his gaze hard. “I won’t let them hurt you.” He pulled Kelly along with him as they ran through the emergency exit and down the stairs. They had to find a way out of this together. He was under no illusion they wouldn’t shoot him on sight, and if they got their hands on Mars, Mars would be as good as dead anyway.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    IT WAS like he was in some live version of a video game. With every door they went through, Mars would tap into the network and close another somewhere else. They ran down corridors, doors opening and closing left and right. Mars would open one while simultaneously shutting off the way to the approaching soldiers. Mars worked on their exit, doing his best to stay ahead of the ever-nearing mass of armed men. Despite his ability to dispatch the soldiers, Mars refused to hurt them. They were under orders, just as Mars had once been.
    When they reached the twenty-first floor, their luck ran out. The floor was a canteen with very few doors and only two exits, both of which were blocked.
    “There’s no way out,” Kelly said, pushing against one of the glass-paned windows. Everything was sealed shut. Even if they could go through a window, where the hell would they go? It was a straight drop down to the sidewalk. Across at St. James’s Park, hundreds of people had gathered, and it looked as if the police were having trouble containing them. Above them, the nanoparticles in the sky rolled news footage of Kelly’s supposed loss of senses, an unstable American intern who attempted to unleash havoc upon the city. Why did they have to say he was American? As if that explained the crazy.
    “I found a way out. Hurry.” Mars led him to the center of the floor, the sound of battering rams slamming into fire doors resounding around them. Kelly said a quick prayer as Mars’s eyes glowed blue and he took a deep breath before crouching down to place his palms against the floor. Kelly was so not ready for whatever Mars was about to do, but they had little choice in escape routes. The thick nanoglass floor pulsed and vibrated before