Coffee (28 page)

He
saw himself in the mirror. “...like Yul Brynner with a sun
burn. Get your things, I’ll put on the uniform.”

“I
don’t need anything.”

“Then
take my bag.” He pulled off his black pants and shirt and
stuffed them into the duffel, no time for modesty. He squeezed into
the guard’s uniform. The legs were a little long, and the
chest a bit tight, but workable.

He
gagged the guard with a towel. Another piece of line secured him to
a bed post so he couldn’t crawl out. As a last precaution,
Bryce cut the phone cord.

“Let’s
go!” They ran out the door and down the hall. He radioed
ahead, “Comin’ (cough) through with the girl!”
They traversed the condo lobby separately, but when they hit the
Rotunda, Bryce reached down and grabbed Etty’s upper arm,
hard. He pulled her along, jerking occasionally to nearly throw her
off balance.

“Ow!”

“I
can see them watching us. The hospital entrance is that one over
there, right?”

“Yea.
Just don’t make me trip.”

As
they approached, Bryce pulled even harder. He whispered, “Pull
back, try to get away a little.” While she tugged, he kept
her to his left side, opposite from the two men staring at them from
the security desk. He flashed an ID behind him, never facing, and
they buzzed him in. Etty made a convincing fuss. “Hey, quit
pulling me Goddamn it! I’ll go by myself!”

Bryce
grunted and coughed, then pulled Etty into the hospital.

- Chapter Eighteen -

Ablurry
world greeted Warren. He lay face up on a thin bed, covered with a
tightly pulled sheet. When he touched his aching head, he felt
little threads sticking through a swollen line of stitches along the
top of his forehead. He blinked a few times to clean the blood and
mucus off his eyeballs. Only after a few confused seconds did he
realize where he was. ‘Global Growers - Etty - Bryce.
Where’s Bryce? What time is it?’ He opened his eyes
enough to see a wall clock. ‘6:30. Shit, I’ve got to
get to Etty!’

He
dropped his legs off the side of the table-bed and sat up. His head
pounded, and the tugging stitches sent stinging pain down his face.
A one page contract sat on the bedside table. Warren glanced at it
- he would pay $15,000 for the fence and $500 for the office visit.
There at the bottom was his own wiggly signature. He had no
recollection of reading or signing it. He whispered to himself, “Way
to go, Bryce. Make me so drunk I tell them my name.”

He
stood and unsteadily approached the pile of soiled clothes on a
chair in the corner. He had to stop and take gulping breaths to
block a wave of nausea. He heard rustling behind him, and turned to
see a second bed. Long blond hair spread messily around the pillow.
Warren removed the hospital gown, and bent to get his pants. The
woman rolled over and eyed him standing naked. Her voice shook
nervously as she whispered, “Oh, excuse me!” She turned
away, but continued, “Thank God, I thought you were the
Doctor.”

Warren
pulled up his blood blotched pants, and sat on the edge of the bed
to button his filthy shirt. “What’s wrong with the
Doctor?”

“Can
I turn around?”

“Sure.”

Even
with blond hair strewn haphazardly and a wrinkled cotton blouse, her
beauty radiated. Her words spilled out, running over themselves.
“They’re trying to kill me. They’re looking for
me. You have to help me. Please help me.”

“Slow
down, what do you mean?”

“This
company, it’s full of murderers.” She lowered her head.
“I know you think I’m crazy. I found something and
they’re going to kill me. I ran for it - the Hospital’s
the only way out.”

“Who’s
trying to kill you? The Doctors?”

“No,
security guards, but the Doctors are bad too. They’re all in
on it.”

Warren
moved closer on the bed. “What did you do?”

“I
can’t say.“

“I’m
not one of them. There’s a reason I need to know. Tell me.”

Jennie
concocted a story from a book she was reading. “I work in
accounting. I think they’re laundering foreign currency for
the Colombian drug cartel. I questioned some invoices to my
supervisor, and it’s been hell ever since.”

A
man’s voice sounded nearby. The woman dived back into the bed
and pulled up the covers. A Doctor guided back the curtain and
entered.

“Back
to the living I see, Mr. Sherman. How’s your head?” He
waved a pen in front of his face. “Follow the tip.”

“I’m
fine - well actually I feel like shit if you want to know the truth.
”

“Let
me take a look at your stitches.” Warren leaned down so the
Doctor could see up close. “Looks good. You should only have
a thin scar line.” He reviewed Warren’s chart. “You’re
well enough to leave. The payment contract’s over there on
the table, take care of it at the front desk.” He looked over
the top of his reading glasses. “And son, drinking and
driving like that - you’re lucky you and half the State aren’t
dead. I hope you learned a lesson.”

“I
don’t usually do this, Doctor, really. I mean I’ve never
done it ... “ Warren felt foolish mid-sentence, and ended it.
“... It was a bad night.”

The
Doctor noticed the woman. “Who’s this? That bed’s
supposed to be empty.”

“She’s
been out like a light since I woke up.”

“Humm
- excuse me while I look for her chart,” he said, returning to
the main room.

Jennie
threw off the sheet as he left. “See? If they find out who I
am, I’m dead. Take me with you!”

He
studied the woman’s attractive face. From what he already knew
about Global, he believed her. The Doctor returned. She dived
again under the sheets. “Miss? Miss, wake up. I don’t
have any record of you here.” He stepped to the bed and shook
her shoulder.

Warren
knew he couldn’t complicate his situation any more than it
already was, but an annoying pang of compassion surfaced. “Doctor,
I’m sorry, she’s my girlfriend. She just came in to see
if I was okay. She was pretty oiled herself, and caught a few winks
after she stopped by. I’ll take care of her.” Warren
walked over and kissed her cheek. The woman pretended to wake up.
“Ahhh. What? Where am I? Warren? Warren! It’s you,
are you okay honey?” She reached around his neck and hugged
him.

“Oh.”
The Doctor glared at Warren, angered for his wasted research. “Then
move along, right now, or I’ll have to call Security.”
He pointed at the woman. “This is very much against hospital
policy, young lady,” and stomped out.

Once
alone, Warren asked, “How did you know my name?”

“I
looked at your chart - had to make sure you weren’t someone I
knew when I took the bed.” She smiled convincingly.

“Well,
go - there’s the door. Just walk out and go.”

“I
can’t go without you, they’ll know. You can’t
leave me here!”

“Yes
you can. I’m not leaving, and you’re not staying with
me.”

“I’ll
never get out without you! And what do you mean, you’re not
leaving. You can’t stay here any more than I can.”

Exasperated,
“Fine, I’ll walk you to the door, and then you need to
go.” He put his arm around her shoulders and headed toward
the glass entrance doors. Jennie stood firm and blocked his
progress, now more desperate.

“Look
at all the guards outside. They’ll stop me, ID me. I won’t
have a chance, they’ll take me back in and kill me within the
hour.”

“That’s
a chance you’ll have to take. Look lady, I’ve got my
own problems. I believe you, really. I know all about how these
guys operate. But I’ve got an appointment inside, and I’m
already late.”

“The
name’s Jennie. Inside? Do you know what you’re dealing
with here? This is a maximum security facility, you can’t
just walk around.”

Warren
pulled her farther away from two chatting nurses. Now more softly,
“Let’s just say you’re not the only one in trouble
around here trying to get out.”

“What
are you saying, you’re here to help someone else? And you
think you can just walk ‘inside’ and get him? You’d
need an army.”

“I
have help. I’ll walk you to the parking lot, you hide among
the cars until I’m gone, and I’ll come back in here to
pay my bill and figure it out from there. If you want, give me an
address and some friends and I can hook up with you later.”

“Warren,
please. For your sake and mine, either run now with me, or let me
come with you. I know the complex. And look at this -” She
jingled some keys in front of him. “I can get in places. You
can’t.“

Warren
watched her twinkling eyes. “First you’re running
scared, now you want to go back in with me, an intruder?”

Jennie
felt a drop of sweat trickling under her arm. “You give me no
choice. Now that the Doctor thinks I’m your girlfriend, I
have to stick with you. Plus, if there’s someone else in
here, I want to help. We’ll have a better case against Global
if there’s more than one.” She formed a convincing
expression with her eyes and lips. “And look at you! You
can’t walk around like that - you’re a mess and you
stink. I know where they keep supplies, including orderly garb.
Come with me.”

Warren
wanted to protest, but her arguments were compelling. He had no
plan. His blood caked shirt looked ridiculous next to all the white
clad employees. She led him down an empty hall and opened a linen
storage room. “Go ahead, you’ll find something to wear
on the shelves. I’ll keep watch.” Warren went along
and entered the closet.

A
guard had seen them turn the corner, and followed. He rounded the
hall and connected eyes with Jennie. She pressed a finger to her
lips, then waved him away. He recognized her and slowed. She
whispered, “I’m working for Bart. Get away! Quickly!”
The linen closet opened just as the guard retreated.

Warren
wore light blue cotton pants and short sleeve shirt. The dried
iodine, shaved spot, and exposed stitches on his forehead ruined any
hopes to look like an employee, but it was a great improvement.
Jennie sized him up. “At least you don’t stink. Where
now?”

“Jennie,
I can’t take responsibility for you. I appreciate your help,
but the others are my main concern.”

“Who’s
responsible for whom? I have the keys, remember? I’ll get
you to your friends, and help find a way out. All you have to do is
let me tag along. Protection in numbers, you know?”

“There’s
no more time to discuss it. Take me to room 310. I think it’s
an examination room.”



Bryce
and Etty passed through Hospital security. The guards were more
interested in confirming Etty’s identity than Bryce’s.
She laid her bracelet on the desk and scowled while Bryce swiped his
card through the reader.

They
found room 310. Joyce Jenkins was pacing nervously in the hall.

“Doctor,
I can’t thank you enough for this,” Etty said while
approaching. The Doctor looked warily at Bryce. Etty reassured
her, “Oh don’t worry, he’s with me.”

“Come
in, quickly.” Jenkins urged them into the examination room,
then followed.

The
Doctor looked haggard and lacking sleep. “Miss Bishop, I’m
sorry I doubted you. There’s something very odd going on
here. I’m worried for myself too.”

Bryce
interrupted. “More reason to move this along.”

The
Doctor continued. “After I found out you were supposed to be
dead, I looked into your bacteria story. I found some alarming
statistics in our records, an inordinate number of sudden deaths due
to bacterial infection. An outbreak like this should be reported to
CDC. When I asked about it, they made some phone calls, and the
next thing I know, I’m being interrogated by security. They
were questioning my credentials, and talking about dismissal.
They’re obviously hiding something.”

“Dr.
Jenkins, believe me, it gets worse,” Etty said persuasively.
“They’re using bacteria to manufacture a killer toxin.
That’s why we’re here. I need the anti-toxin.”

“I
know, listen. I was talking to a trustworthy Doctor friend about
this, and she told me about working Emergency one night when a girl
came in with symptoms of some kind of horrendous infection. Before
she knew it, the Chief of Staff was on the scene, giving her a
special serum that revived her. They keep a supply down there. I
came to the same conclusion, we must be dealing with a bacteria born
exotoxin, and Global’s keeping the anti-toxin under wraps.”

“Can
you get some of the serum?”

“I
knew you’d need it. I was hoping to take you out through
Emergency and see if I can find a way to take some for you. I’ll
give you some syringes, but ...”

Bryce
checked his watch impatiently. “Will an injection do the
trick? One shot?”

Dr.
Jenkins shrugged. “That’s the problem, I’m
worried that it won’t work unless you use IV, and just at the
right time. There’s nothing written on it, the whole
program’s secret. You also need some powerful anti-biotic to
kill the onslaught of bacteria. The biggest problem is we don’t
know when they’ll be released.”

Bryce
asked, “How sure are you that you can get the anti-toxin in
short notice, like ten minutes? Because I think Etty has a way for
us to release the bacteria.”

“You
do? My friend starts duty at 6, so she’d be down there now.
I’m pretty sure she can get it. Fifteen minutes?”

Bryce
again checked his watch. “Well then, you better go now. I’ll
wait here to be sure.”

“You
want me to run down and get the treatment, right now? You have a
way to control it?”

“Yes
we do. But I can’t risk releasing it unless I know you have
the medicine.”

Etty
disagreed. “Bryce, we can’t afford the time. You have
to leave now. After 7, they’ll be a rush of workers by
McKinsey’s office, then you’ll never get in. It sounds
like Dr. Jenkins will have an easier time than you, so we’re
more likely to have medicine and no release than the other way
around.”