“I always know where you are, Natalie,” she said.

A small smile touched her lips, but her eyes remained dead.

“I am your mother, after all.”

“And I helped design the tracking protocols in your blood.”

My blood ran cold.

The rain outside seemed to beat harder against the exhaust vents above.

“The drive, Natalie,” she repeated, her hand still extended.

“Before I let my men take it from you.”

I braced my feet against the floor, calculating the distance between us.

“He wouldn’t want you to trade it,” I said.

“He wanted this destroyed.”

“Raymond was a coward who regretted his greatest work,” Caroline said.

“But I do not regret it.”

“It made you strong.”

“Strong enough to make this choice.”

Behind her, one of the tactical officers raised his weapon slightly.

The red dot of a laser sight appeared on my chest, bobbing slightly against my vest.

“You have five seconds,” Caroline said.

“Five.”

I slipped my fingers into my vest pocket, feeling the hard plastic of the drive.

“Four.”

My eyes darted to the dark corners of the laboratory, looking for an exit.