Nexus: Ziva Payvan Book 2 by EJ Fisch Read Free Book Online Page B

fitted to her as tightly as possible, locked so firmly she could barely make out the seam where they were fastened. Her arms wouldn’t budge when she tugged on them, and the metal was beginning to rub her skin raw. Even if she could somehow release the clasps, the thin force field prevented them from opening fully, and any attempt at disabling the field from where she sat would trigger an alarm on the car’s control panel. Another force field separated her from the agents in the front, an extra security measure they’d implemented in case she somehow got loose. She wasn’t entirely sure what would happen if she touched it, and she had no intention of finding out.
    A voice up front derailed her train of thought. “Transport to Checkpoint Fourteen,” the agent in the passenger seat called over the comm. “We are approaching your position.”
    For a moment the only sound that could be heard was the thunder of the rain pelting the car’s roof and windshield. Then the comm crackled. “Copy that, Transport. Status report?”
    The piloting agent eyed Ziva in the rear cam. “Everything’s under control up here,” he said, waving to the agents on the ground as they passed over. “She just woke up.”
    “Roger that. Next check-in in fifteen minutes.”
    Checkpoints . So Emeri had them using a staggered security system rather than a convoy. They would check in with patrols placed strategically on the ground, and if they failed to make contact at the appointed time, agents would be dispatched into the forest to find them. It was a procedure the agency had implemented for special circumstances, usually when the prisoner transfer was in danger of being interrupted by a third party. Ziva doubted the public was happy about Tachi’s death, and it was guaranteed that someone somewhere would want her dead. A single, unmarked transport was much less likely to attract attention than a whole procession of HSP vehicles; the agency was essentially protecting her for the sake of being able to punish her themselves.
    Her fogbound mind struggled to do the math as she tried to calculate her precise location. The trip from Noro to Haphor took roughly four hours. If the checkpoints were equally spaced like they were supposed to be, and the next one was fifteen minutes away… four hours divided into fifteen-minute intervals … that’s sixteen . Her eyes grew wide. The Haphor Facility itself would represent Checkpoint Sixteen; only one more checkpoint remained before they entered the city.
    Ziva stopped and closed her eyes, slipping into her state of deep concentration before the panic could set in. Letting her emotions take control like she had in the interrogation room certainly wouldn’t help matters, and dwelling on that experience would only drag her down further. If there was ever a time she needed to be thinking clearly, it was now.
    Though the mountains still commanded much of the view outside, the first signs of civilization could be seen in the distance. Ziva normally found the capital to be a beautiful and peaceful place – at least compared to the rough spaceport city of Noro – but now the idea of going there sent a chill down her spine. She couldn’t go there.
    Once they entered the city there was absolutely no turning back; any sort of escape attempt would have to happen right after they cleared the final forest checkpoint, and it was also guaranteed to result in injury. She took a moment to study the design of the car. The windshield was large, extending up over the edge of the roof and giving the pilot a clear view of the environment both around and above him. The seat where Ziva sat was built into what would probably be the cargo space if the vehicle were for public use. The back of the car was more enclosed; she had a small window on each side of her, but there was a solid roof over her head and no rear viewport.
    You know these agents will probably die if you try something.
    She shook her head and closed her eyes