H.A.L.F.: The Makers (41 page)

She headed to the girls’ locker room and entered from the back side. She wanted to avoid passing through the gymnasium filled with sick and dying people.

The shower room was dark and empty. The smell of soap, cleaning products and mildew was familiar. The water was tepid at best, but at least it wasn’t cold. The showerhead was so caked with hard-water deposits that most of the tiny holes were blocked. The water was barely a drizzle. But it was wet and clean and the best shower she’d ever had.

Erika let the water wash away layers of dust and dirt while tears slid quietly down her face. She tried to wash her grief down the drain along with the grime. After nearly forty minutes standing under the spittle of water, her skin was like a raisin and her tears exhausted. For the time being, anyway.

Her pits were still hairy and her legs were like Velcro, but at least she didn’t stink anymore. She threw on the lost-now-found clothes, served herself another round of PB&J and slept in the empty bed near Ian.

Her sleep was fitful. She dreamed of her dying town and her now dead mother. After a few hours, she gave up on sleep and went in search of Dr. Randall and Tex.

She figured Dr. Randall was in the Spanish department pod, where he’d told her Tex was receiving treatment. Two guards in hazmat suits and carrying rifles stood at either side of the door to the pod. One of them stepped in front of the door before she could open it. “Sorry, miss, you need clearance to go in there.”

It was hard to tell if they were military or the Makers or some other agency. Their clothes weren’t visible inside the white suits.

“Look, is Dr. Randall inside? I’m his research assistant and he asked me to come see him. Well, go on. Go inside and ask him.”

The guards exchanged a look. The one who had been silent shrugged his shoulders.

The other one let out a sigh. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

In less time than it took her to scrape some dirt from beneath a fingernail, the guard was back. He opened the door and held it open for her. “Dr. Randall says it’s about time you got here.” The guard wore a look of smug satisfaction that Erika’s butt was apparently in a sling.

Erika nodded curtly and entered like she owned the place. She stepped inside the vestibule that connected the four classrooms of the pod. Three of them were dark, but the one on the right had some lights on. She opened the door and peeked her head inside.

Dr. Randall waved her in. “Come in, come in. My, don’t you look better. A shower does a person a world of good, doesn’t it?” He beamed at her.

Now that she was clean and no longer wearing rags, she noticed how terrible Dr. Randall looked. He’d already looked disheveled when they met him so long ago back at his underground home in Aphthartos. But now he looked like a mentally ill hermit who’d spent a year walking through a desert. His patchy beard hung down in an unflattering sort of Fu Manchu goatee that met up with scraggly sideburns. His greasy, matted hair hung down to his collar. It was everything she could do not to hold her nose as she got near him.

He’d been sitting behind the teacher’s desk but stood when she walked in. There was a woman sitting with him, dressed in the white hazmat suit that everyone else wore. Well, everyone who wasn’t sick or who had arrived via a silver orb.

There was only one bed in the room and it was hidden behind a portable curtain wall. Erika assumed Tex lay on the bed behind that curtain. He made no sound.
Maybe he’s sleeping.

As Erika approached, Dr. Randall made introductions. “Dr. Montoya, this is Erika Holt, the young lady I told you about.”

Erika could see little of Dr. Montoya except for a pair of warm brown eyes hiding behind eyeglasses and a screen of plastic. She was short, even smaller than Erika. But her handshake was firm.

“Very nice to meet you, Ms. Holt. Dr. Randall has told me so much about you, our brave young hero.”

Erika had never thought anyone would apply the moniker ‘brave hero’ to her. A blush crept up her cheeks. She fought off the temptation to say something off-putting or sarcastic. She settled for, “I’m no hero.”

“And humble too, I see. Well, I’m very glad that you all survived the incredible ordeal that you’ve been through. I would like to hear more about it someday. But I’m afraid I don’t have the time for stories right now. Dr. Randall and I have been discussing – things – and, well, I have to get back to my office in Phoenix to – do some work.”

Erika was glad to see that despite the fact that Dr. Randall looked like a crazy hermit, Dr. Montoya had listened to him. And she was glad to meet Dr. Montoya, especially since Ian would be working with her. Dr. Montoya was being discreet even when speaking with Erika. Given all that Erika had seen, discretion was a good thing. She hoped that Dr. Montoya would find a way to get the antiviral synthesized and into the right hands before the Makers had a chance to derail her.

As Dr. Randall and Dr. Montoya made plans to speak again soon, the door opened. A military guy built like a refrigerator barged in. He wore the same hazmat suit that the others wore, but the collar of his military uniform was visible through the clear plastic faceplate. He was flanked by two other men, one on each side.

“General Bardsley, what a surprise,” Dr. Randall said.

Erika knew it was no surprise. She also knew Dr. Randall well enough to know that his tone carried a fair amount of disdain for the general. If Bardsley noticed it, he didn’t show it.

“General? Oh my, what an honor,” Dr. Montoya said. “I am Dr. Helen Montoya of the Phoenix office of the CDC. I’m so happy to see that the federal government is providing such high-level assistance to the outbreak here.” She put out her small, gloved hand to General Bardsley.

The general took her diminutive hand and shook it once then let go. “Dr. Montoya. The honor is mine, ma’am. And yes, I am sure that the president is working on getting the best people out here to, ah, help out.”

To her credit, Dr. Montoya didn’t get pissy with the general about the fact that she was the best. Instead she asked, “Well, isn’t that why you’re here?”

“Epidemics aren’t really my department,” General Bardsley said.

“What is?” Dr. Montoya asked.

“To be frank, Dr. Montoya, I’m not at liberty to discuss these things with you. In fact, you don’t have clearance to be in here. Nor does she.” Bardsley tilted his head toward Erika.

“I think a round trip in that ship we arrived in and her time at A.H.D.N.A. gives her the required clearance. She knows more about it than you,” Dr. Randall said.

Erika kept her mouth shut and enjoyed the show. Even through the hazmat suit, Bardsley’s face flushed with anger.

“I will take my leave, Dr. Randall,” Dr. Montoya said. “There is much important work to be done and many lives in my hands. I’ll be back in a few days to check on things here. You know where to reach me.”

Dr. Randall hugged her. “It was wonderful seeing you again, Helen. I wish it were in better circumstances.”

“It was wonderful to see you too, Will. Take care of yourself.” Dr. Montoya nodded curtly to General Bardsley, flashed a warm smile to Erika and departed the room gracefully.

General Bardsley acted as though Dr. Montoya had never been there. He shifted his attention immediately back to Dr. Randall and chose to ignore Erika’s presence entirely. “Let’s cut to the chase, Will. As you may have guessed, after the little stunt she pulled in Aphthartos, Sturgis is no longer in charge of the H.A.L.F. project. I am.”

Erika didn’t know yet whether this was good news or bad for Tex.
And what does this mean for Jack?
Because she hadn’t found Jack in Ajo, she worried that Sturgis had killed Jack after the Conexus ship left Aphthartos.
But if Sturgis was booted, maybe this Bardsley guy let Jack go? Jack, where are you?

Dr. Randall stared evenly at the general.

“How’s the thing doing?” Bardsley glanced toward the screened bed where Tex lay.

It had taken him only one sentence to make Erika dislike General Bardsley intensely.

“
He
is resting,” Dr. Randall said.

Bardsley ignored Dr. Randall’s not-so-subtle redirect. “It can rest on the way. We’re transporting it to a new holding facility.”

Dr. Randall’s eyes blazed. His voice came out higher and a bit squeaky. “You can’t move him now. He’s not stable. You don’t seem to understand.”

“Understand what? I know you think of it as a pet, but it’s not a dog, Will. It’s government property. An experiment. What we’ve been preparing – what it was made for – is coming to pass. It’s time for it to get back to work.”

Erika’s hands were balled into tight fists at her sides. It took great restraint not to interfere in their conversation and let Bardsley know that he’d make Tex into an experiment again over her dead body. But she chose to glare at him rather than confront him. She had no doubt that Bardsley would make her into a dead body if he found her standing between him and his goal of taking Tex.
Getting him out of here won’t be easy.

Dr. Randall took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He replaced his glasses, put his hands on the desk and leaned forward so that the two men were mere inches apart. “Let me put it to you in a way that you can understand. If you take him from here now, you will kill him. He has been severely damaged. There are only two people on this planet that know how to properly care for his kind. Seeing as how Croft has Lilly sealed up in prison, that leaves me. You seem to think he’s valuable. How valuable will he be to Croft if he’s dead?”

Bardsley didn’t back up or back down. “You’re as melodramatic as Sturgis is. You two fossils really did get warped by your time down in that cave, didn’t you?”

But Dr. Randall didn’t shrink back from the general. “What is the harm of allowing me twenty-four hours? One day to stabilize him. Get him prepared for transport. He’s so weak right now. You have to understand. They operated on him and I don’t even know yet the extent of the damage. If you attempt to dampen him to control him, he’ll die. As surely as I’m standing here, I promise you that. In fact, let’s get Croft on the phone right now. Let me tell him that if he’s moved today, he can expect the arrival of a dead hybrid.”

Erika didn’t know if Dr. Randall was bluffing or not. If he was bluffing the general, it was very convincing. Erika looked toward the divider screen and wished she could go to Tex right then.

Bardsley flinched first. He pushed himself back onto his heels, putting distance between them. “You’re not shitting me, are you?”

“No, sir, I am not.”

“It’s really that bad off?” General Bardsley looked toward the bed surrounded by screens.

“Yes, he is. I’m doing what I can. You know what he means to me. But not even I can be sure that he’ll make it.” Tears came to Dr. Randall’s eyes. He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Twenty-four hours, Frank. That’s all I’m asking.”

General Bardsley was silent for a few seconds. “You win. But one day, Will. That’s all I can give you. And I don’t think I need to tell you that losing it isn’t an option. I’ll be back tomorrow. See that you have it ready to go at 13:30.”

Dr. Randall put his glasses back on and sniffled. He held out his hand to shake. “He’ll be ready.”

General Bardsley didn’t take Dr. Randall’s hand. He gave Erika a last disapproving look and left the room.

Dr. Randall put his hands back on the desk and took a deep breath. “That was close.” He held up a hand in the air and it was shaking.

“Were you serious? Is there really a chance that Tex won’t – that he’ll die?”

Dr. Randall shook his head. “I don’t think so. But you know how melodramatic I am.” He winked at her.

“You were right. What you said to me earlier. We need to get him out of here tonight.”

Dr. Randall nodded. “Erika – I heard about your mother.” His eyes were misty, but this time it wasn’t an act. “I’m very sorry.”

Erika had to look away to keep herself from sobbing again. She fidgeted with the stapler on the desk. “Thanks, Dr. Randall.” She forced a small smile.

“When we spoke of you taking Tex – well, that was before your mom. I mean, I don’t expect you to go through with what we spoke of. I’ll find another way.”

It hadn’t occurred to Erika to change their plans. She needed to keep herself busy. Taking care of Tex would at least give her a way to keep her mind off the losses piling up around her. She felt compelled to help him though she couldn’t say exactly why. “It changes nothing. If anything, it makes it easier for me to go.”

“I suppose I can understand that. It’s just that – well, caring for him is a big responsibility. And Croft will have men looking for him. It will put you in danger. I wasn’t thinking this through properly when we spoke before. I can’t ask this of you. It’s too much.”

“I’ll decide what’s too much.”

“But –”

“No buts, Doc.” She looked him in the eyes. “I’ve got this. I’ve got to do this.”

He stopped trying to talk her out of it, resigned to the fact that Erika was not about to accept no for an answer. He instead focused their conversation on a strategy to get Tex out of the makeshift hospital facility. The whole plan hinged on Tex’s ability to walk out on his own two feet.

Erika had wanted to take her mom’s old Cadillac. It smelled of sun-rotted upholstery and stale cigarette smoke, but the ride was smooth and comfortable. But Dr. Randall cautioned that there would be checkpoints. Not only the usual border patrol ones on the highways, but according to Dr. Montoya, they weren’t letting anyone in or out of Ajo, and the Arizona borders were also closed and being monitored by highway patrol.

“You’ll need something that can go off road.”

Erika knew just the vehicle. Ian’s dad had a beat-up old four-by-four truck that he’d jacked up even further to give it high clearance. Mr. Frew wasn’t going to need it anytime soon.

“How is he really?” Erika finally asked.

Dr. Randall studied her face, maybe trying to decide whether to tell her the truth or not. “Not all test reports are in yet. But so far, things are encouraging. Physically, he’s in much better shape than I had expected. They have a portable MRI machine out here. Fascinating technology. Anyway, his brain is fine. He’s missing a kidney and part of his liver, yet his kidney and liver function are within acceptable parameters. But –”