WINDOW OF TIME (26 page)

The tiny hairs on the back of Lucy’s neck prickled. It could be nothing more than another course of chills, but then it also could be an idea trying to surface through her fevered brain. When that little voice in her head reached out to her, it was always better to listen. “Dr. Von Strauss, what are you working on?”

Helga tensed. “Something bad … dealing with a retrovirus.” She stepped closer and softened her voice. “I only work on part of equation, but these men wanted us to create a drug-resistant, highly infectious form of influenza that not only is contagious in fresh water, but reproduces exponentially in uninfected water. We’ve succeeded in doing that much, but salt water kills the virus very quickly. We have yet to solve that problem.”

Lucy wiped her sweaty forehead with her sleeve. “That’s fortunate. It’s probably what’s kept you alive this long.” She nodded toward the front door. “Can you tell me which building you work in?” Over the next two minutes, Lucy learned as much as she could from the research scientist about the compound and the camp. She and her partners had been kept in the dark in more than one way. They literally weren’t allowed to talk to each other while they worked, nor were they allowed to spend any time outside in the sun, which was the reason the satellite never picked up their images. She also learned the layout of the building that held the laboratory, too.

The cells where Lucy found the other two doctors were exactly like Helga’s, void of anything except a bed and toilet, but behind one door was a housekeeping closet which had metal shelves stocked with cleaning supplies and paper goods. She couldn’t take the three scientists on her extended mission. They needed to stay in a safe place until they left, but under the circumstances there wasn’t any way that she could ask them to stay another minute in the cells.

“Sunny, I need you to stay with the doctors while I spring Adam and go to the lab and download their computers. You too, Dusty. I want you to keep them safe.” Somehow, Lucy knew he wouldn’t give her an argument.

“Yes, ma’am.” Dusty nodded while staring at Sunny.

“We’ll try to hurry.” Touching Helga’s arm, Lucy leaned closer. “Please, try to keep your voices down to a whisper. I don’t want anybody from outside the building to accidentally hear you talking. Okay?”

Nodding, Helga smiled through her tears. “Yah. I understand. And thank you.”

The unexpected hug Lucy received brought burning tears to her throat. Three months without conversation was worse than anything she could think of, and to know your dear friends were just on the other side of a couple of walls was akin to torture.

“Wait a minute.” Lucy took the duct tape from her pack. The closet door automatically locked every time it closed. Kneeling down and using a strip of duct tape, Lucy pushed in the door’s throw and taped it securely inside the chamber. Johnny knelt down next to her and watched.

“Clever. I’d forgotten that old trick,” Johnny said quietly. “Now the door can open and close without latching. They shouldn’t feel so frightened.”

The tenderness in his voice melted Lucy’s heart.

“Thank you,” Lucy whispered. “We should go now.” After she stood up, she lost her balance, falling against Johnny.

“Lucy, what happened?” He had her by the shoulders.

“I—I just got a little dizzy.”

“It is her illness,” Helga said softly.

“It’s passed already.” Pushing out of her boyfriend’s arms, Lucy took a cleansing breath and reached for another cough drop.

“This isn’t good,” Dusty said.

“I think you’re the master of the understatement,” Sunny whispered.

“Lucy, can you do this?” Johnny asked.

“Twenty minutes. I can last another twenty minutes. Then I promise to spend the whole way home in bed.” Staring up into Johnny’s chocolate brown eyes, she said, “Okay?”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Lucy kept them in the deep shadows of the night and always at the back of the buildings near the fence. The few outdoor lights suspended under the roof’s overhangs helped them stay out of sight while she studied the other buildings. The one directly adjacent held the laboratory Helga and her partners were led to every morning under gunpoint. It had a connected bathroom for showering and washing their clothes and a small kitchenette where they ate their meals in torturous silence.

The building next to that had light smoke spiraling slowly out of a ventilation pipe. Lucy figured it was their mess hall, possibly even where the men bunked at night. Before moving from their hiding place, Lucy used her paintball gun and covered the lens of the security camera on the building next to them, making it useless. They made their way around to the next building in the pinwheel. It didn’t seem anybody from the compound had security duty. She’d disabled two cameras, and nobody had come out to check on them.

Lucy knelt in the sand, dropping the only pack Johnny would let her carry, and leaned heavily against the wall. It was hard to think. The double dose of ibuprofen Lucy had ingested before they left the plane felt like it hadn’t taken effect yet. Or maybe the meager medication couldn’t fight against the infection effectively. The fever still had a solid hold on her body. Between the shivering chills and sweat producing hot flashes, trying to concentrate was a trial in perseverance.

“Lu?” Johnny asked.

“I’m okay,” Lucy said quietly, turning to face Johnny. “This is the building where they interrogated Sunny. Hopefully they haven’t moved Adam. We’ll go into the hallway together, but I’m going into the interrogation room alone.”

“Are you sure about this?”

She leaned closer to his worried face. “If you hear things go wrong, I want you to get out. Go the same way we came and get back to Dusty. He’ll get you guys out of here and back to the plane.”

“I won’t leave you,” Johnny said, grasping her hand.

Dusty’s voice came through their earpieces. “Lucy, we’re in this thing together.”

Gazing into Johnny’s dark eyes, she took in a deep, shaky breath, trying to accept their help without feeling cornered. Lucy nodded. “Then stay close. I’m going to do this quickly.”

After she checked her dart gun one more time, Lucy shouldered her backpack and crept around the corner of the building, holding the gun down by her leg. The sound of a man’s shouting reverberated through the window as she ducked underneath it. According to Sunny, three men had questioned her. Adam had been tied up but kept in the corner of the room and made to watch her being beaten. One man brought her to the jail building, which left two men inside with Adam. Hopefully. Anything could change in a few minutes. Lucy knew that better than anybody.

Lucy grasped the doorknob and gave it a gentle twist. It turned under the pressure. With a quick push, Lucy confidently walked into the small foyer. The man sitting next to the table eating his evening meal looked up and received a dart in his neck before he could put down his fork or let out a warning. Sunny didn’t tell her about him.

As she walked to the first door on the right, Lucy replaced the spent dart. The door wasn’t locked either, and it opened easily with a twist of the knob. Adam was tied to a wooden chair positioned in the middle of the room. One man stood over Adam and readied his fist to strike—obviously not for the first time. He received the first dart before Lucy turned the gun on the two men advancing on her. The shout that one was able to utter went unheard beyond the concrete block walls of the interrogation building.

“Go get that guy from the lobby and bring him in here,” Lucy said to Johnny as she took out her switchblade and stepped over the unconscious man in front of Adam.

“Lucy,” Adam said, slurring her name. “Glad you’re here.”

Her sharp blade sliced through the bindings tying his hands behind the chair. “I bet you are. Can you walk?” Lucy asked, looking at his knees and cutting the rope holding his legs to the chair before putting the knife away.

“I’ll do my best,” he said, rubbing his bruised wrists. “Sunny was taken out of here about five minutes ago—”

Lucy quickly reloaded her darts. “Don’t worry. We got her.” Adam stood up—for a moment. His swollen knee buckled, and he ended up leaning against Lucy. He was heavier than he looked. Johnny took over holding Adam up after he dragged the other unconscious man into the room. “We need to get out of here.” Lucy eyed a metal table next to the door. Two phones plus three syringes filled with cloudy fluid sat on a folded cloth.

“Adam, did they inject you with anything?” she asked, pocketing the two phones.

Adam shook his head. “No, but they were about to.”

“How about Sunny?”

Adam shook his head again. “But they threatened it.”

Dusty answered, “No, she didn’t get anything but knuckles. And I’m pretty sure her left arm has a hairline fracture.”

Lucy gasped as an icy wind swept across her skin. The dim room darkened to flat grays and blacks—except for the surrealistic colorful window encompassing Johnny and Adam.

It’s happening!

The door opened. The man who came inside momentarily stared at the bodies on the floor before he pulled a gun. He shot Johnny. As he fell, the man killed Adam before he swung his gun in Lucy’s direction—

Things changed.

Time rewound.

Lucy pointed to Johnny. “Put Adam back in the chair. We have an unexpected visitor headed our way.”

“What?” Adam asked.

Johnny touched Lucy’s hand and groaned. She leaned heavily against the table as her heartbeat raced with sudden fear. Lucy pulled away from him, taking in deep breaths and tamped down the sudden influx of unreasonable emotions to keep from falling apart.

“We need to do what she says, Adam.” Johnny dropped him back down on the chair. “Pretend you’re still tied up.” He knelt behind him. “Put your head down, too.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Please be quiet now,” Lucy said, taking out her dart gun. She knew there would be only one man coming through the door, but that man was armed and had a quick hand. She couldn’t let him take the gun out of its holster. Johnny would be the first to die.

“Will you tell me how you know this—”

“Later, Adam,” Johnny said.

“But, the bodies,” Adam continued.

Lucy put her index finger to her lips, and Adam stopped talking and hung his head. A moment later, the door opened and the man began to enter, but stopped before coming all the way inside. Lucy reached around the door, grabbed the front of his shirt, and with her leg in the way, yanked him forward. He lost his balance and tripped, falling in front of Adam, who quickly took the opportunity for a little payback and kicked him in the face with his uninjured leg, knocking the man unconscious. Lucy shot him with a dart for good measure.

“Let’s get out of here,” Adam said. Johnny lifted him up and helped him over the prone bodies littering the floor.

“We need to hurry,” Lucy said, swinging open the interrogation room door. She had a short amount of time before her side effect would take away her ability to move. The unwelcome icy feeling churned in her chest and began pulsing into her arms and legs as she lead them out the front door. “Stop in the back of the building, near the fence. We need to hide.” Lucy’s words became more breathless with each additional syllable. With Johnny helping Adam hobble his way two steps behind her, Lucy carried her equipment and concentrated on making sure the way was clear.

“Here,” Lucy whispered, stepping around the corner, barely out of sight of the mess hall’s back door. Johnny almost tripped over her kneeling in the sand.

“Lucy,” Adam said, “you can still be seen. Scoot over some more.”

“I can’t …”

Johnny caught her just as she fainted.

~*~

“Give her a few more seconds,” Johnny said.

“I hate this part,” Lucy whispered, pushing out of Johnny’s protective embrace. “I’m okay now.” She had two men watching her sleep. One understood what happened, yet she felt embarrassed. She felt … weak. “Johnny, get Adam back to Dusty.”

“Where’re you going?” Adam asked. “Aren’t we leaving now?”

Letting her shoulder lean against Johnny’s chest, Lucy stared at the worried pilot. “No. I’ve got some computers to screw with before meeting up with you guys.”

“But you’re sick. You passed out.”

Giving him an easy smile, Lucy said, “Don’t worry; it won’t take long.” She looked at Johnny. “Remember to look and listen before crossing to the next building. If you see any movement, stay put and let me know. We’ll make it out together. Okay?”

“Lu—” Johnny gripped her elbow. “Is this information important enough to spend any more time here? It’s getting very dangerous.”

“It started out dangerous. You’re just feeling the heat.”

“I told you, I’m not leaving you.”

“You’ll do as I say, and when I say it.” Lucy lowered he voice, hardening it. “I’m in charge. You forced your way onto this mission, making it much more complicated than it would’ve been.” She flicked her eyes toward Adam. “Now get my pilot back to safety, and trust me to do my job. Dusty, be looking out for them.”

“Yes, Agent James,” Dusty replied in a snap.