by Kathryn Hoff
“Everything all right?” I asked.
“Yeah, no thanks to you. I told Bert I couldn’t find the paper and Quinn was keeping too close an eye for me to go rooting through his office. Bert was upset, but he said he thought he could get what he needs another way. I’m going to talk to him again tonight. I think he’ll let me off the hook.”
“Good.” I turned to leave.
“Hey, Kennedy.”
I paused.
“You caused me a hell of a lot of trouble, but you didn’t squeal on me. That’s something.”
“You’re welcome.”
CHAPTER 26
Who goes there?
Barney was barking.
Bleary, I looked at the time. Eleven-thirty. I’d just gotten to sleep. I put the pillow over my head and mumbled, “Go to sleep, Barney. I’m too tired to play.”
Barking. Jumping giraffes, surely it couldn’t be another fire?
As fast as I could, I pulled on a sweatshirt and sneaks, grabbed my badge, and ran for the stairwell.
As I exited onto the ground floor, a nervous soldier at the other end of the corridor shouted, “Halt! Who goes there?”
Did people actually say that? Must be one of the new guards. She stood in front of the iso lab door, her hand on her holster.
Barney was still barking. I took a deep sniff—no smoke. I relaxed.
“Take it easy, I work here. I just came to quiet the dog.” I walked closer, holding up my badge so she could get a good look. Never argue with a nervous guard with a gun.
She peered at the badge and at me before nodding. “All right, go ahead. He’s probably just excited by the noise from outside.”
Angry shouts came from the front of the building.
My stomach did a little flip. “That’s not a riot, is it?” A mob, willing to burn a family inside their home? Looters, ready to kill a cop?
“God knows. Sergeant told me to stand guard here.” She nervously eyed the iso lab door’s big red letters. Danger! Infectious Agents in Use.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’re very careful with pathogens. As long as you’re out here, you’re safe.” At least, safe from strain seven. From inside the iso lab, Molly hooted and Deedee whined. Paula was on baby duty. At least she was safe—it was strange, but as far as riots were concerned, the iso lab had to be the safest place in the whole building. I would have gone into the prep room to make sure she was all right, but my badge wouldn’t open the iso lab door.
Barney woofed. At least I could do something to help him. I trotted down the hall to the primate lab.
When I turned on the light, Barney wagged and whined hopefully from his cage. I could almost tell what he was thinking—Is it morning yet? Outside? Food? Maybe he hadn’t forgotten that wonderful day, only a few weeks ago, when he’d roamed the halls with Molly and been given lots and lots of biscuits.
“All right, here’s some biscuits. Quiet down, now, boy. Everything’s fine.”
Everything wasn’t fine. Barney ignored the biscuits, raised his nose in the air, and furrowed his black doggy brow, the picture of deep canine thinking.
“What is it, boy?” I sniffed, but my weak human nose caught only the ammonia scents of dog pee and disinfectant.
I tossed another biscuit in. “It’s just folks making noise, boy. Nothing to worry about. Stay quiet, now.”
In the hall, the new guard had wandered away from the iso lab door and was peering toward the school entrance.
Now even I could smell something—something chokingly unpleasant. I walked over to her. “What’s that terrible smell?”
“Pepper spray. I guess things are getting out of hand at the gate.” Her lip stuck out. “Just my luck. We have a little action and I’m stuck here watching a locked door.”
I wasn’t stuck, so I wandered into the cafeteria and tried to peer through the whited-out windows, but I saw only blurs. Circling red and blue police car lights played weirdly over the ceiling. Shouts filtered in: “Burn it down! Mutants! Devil children!”
The intercom sounded with Sergeant Stonehouse’s drawl. “Shelter in place. All lab personnel shelter in place.”
Well, there were worse places for sheltering than the cafeteria. I turned toward the kitchen—might as well get some grub.
Clang! The noise from the school’s front door made me jump. Metal crashed against metal—someone was trying to force their way in!
The guard rushed from the iso lab toward the noise, her radio squawking.
Bang! Behind me, the door from the loading dock to the kitchen slammed open. Running steps headed my way.
I backed against the cafeteria wall—I didn’t want to get run down by an inexperienced soldier blinded by pepper spray.
It wasn’t a gray-uniformed soldier who burst through the swinging door from the kitchen into the cafeteria, but a man in black sweats with a kerchief tied over his face. He rushed past the tables and out, headed for the northeast stair.
The guard shouted, “Halt!” The running steps didn’t falter, but there was a metallic clatter and a hiss.
Bang! The loading dock door crashed open again. I flattened myself against the wall as someone else sped out of the kitchen—someone in a gray jumpsuit.
“Rico?”
Rico pivoted, coughing and sputtering. His eyes were red and streaming tears. “Kennedy! We have to stop him!”
A cry of pain came from the guard. “My eyes!” As she stumbled away from the front entrance, a whiff of pepper spray caught in my throat.
Rico grabbed me. “The babies! The riot at the gate is just a diversion. Bert’s looking for the babies! We have to hide Gamma!”
I turned toward the cafeteria exit. A hissing canister rolled slowly down the hall, spewing sickening fumes in front of the iso lab and the northeast stair.
Eeek Eeeeeek! Molly’s screams from the iso lab drowned out Deedee’s sobs.
“The other way—hold your breath!” I clamped a hand over my nose and headed for the south-side stairway.
Just as we neared the principal’s office, three men, armed with crowbars, smashed through the front doors with a clash of torn metal. They’d come prepared for noxious fumes—filter masks protected their eyes and throats. “We’re in! Find the labs!”
“You! Stop!” Soldiers burst in after them.
I quick-turned, coughing from the stinging vapors. Rico blindly bumped into me.
“I can’t see!” Rico’s eyes were swollen nearly shut.
The air was too foul to take a deep breath, but I thought I could go a few more seconds without breathing, long enough to dash across the hall to the courtyard passage.
I grabbed Rico’s hand and ran through the searing fumes.
We blundered into the courtyard, gulping in fresh air. My eyes stung and watered. Rico stumbled behind me, dragging on my sweatshirt.
I yelled up to the third floor, “Chubb! Hide! Hide the baby!” We floundered across the play area, dodging the swing and the toy grocery cart.
We turned into the passage leading to the north hall and stairway. From within the primate lab, Barney whined and howled at the reek of pepper spray.
Quinn was just exiting the phage lab. “Rico! Thank God. Here, help me save the cultures!” He shoved a box filled with test tubes and petri dishes into Rico’s arms. “Take them to the second floor, hide them somewhere and lock the door!” Quinn began filling another box.
Before Quinn could dump any of his precious cultures on me, I shouted, “I’m going for Gabe!” and sped on through.
I galloped up the stairs, outdistancing Rico clambering behind me with his crate.
Past the second landing, up another flight to the dormitory floor. I turned the corner to the west hall, running past bedrooms and bathrooms, and careened toward the nursery hall.
“No, you bastard! You can’t have him!”
Reyna’s voice stopped me short. Cautiously, I crept forward to peer around the corner.
Reyna was backed against the closed
nursery door, stiffly holding Gabe, bundled in a blanket. In front of her, Charles stood, arms protectively outstretched, facing Bert Rasmussen.
And Bert’s pistol.
“I told you, stupid girl.” Bert’s voice was flat and cold. “Those aren’t children, they’re monsters. Monkey-mongrels. They’re my proof. I’m going to tell the world what Quinn’s done, how he’s polluted the human race. Hand it over.”
Charles spread his arms, using his slender body to shield Reyna and Gabe. “You’re nuts, Bert. No way you’re getting Gabe. You’ll have to shoot me!”
“There were two chimp-brats,” Bert said. “Where’s the other one?”
“She died!” Reyna shouted. “Little Deedee got sick and died!”
At the far end of the hall, a round face peeked around the corner. Westerly in her flamingo robe. She paused, taking in the scene.
Westerly was closer than me to the man with the gun.
Use your knowledge of behavior.
If Bert could use a diversion, we could too.
I stepped into the hall and said, with loud surprise. “Bert? What are you doing here?”
Bert swiveled toward me. His pistol was huge and it was pointed at me.
Reyna shouted, “Jackie, go back! He’s got a gun!”
I walked forward, my mouth going the whole time. “You know you’re not supposed to be up here. Did you hear the riot downstairs? You better leave quick, before the guards get here. The police are here, too, with tear gas.”
Westerly could walk soft when she had to. While I jabbered for attention, she crept closer to Bert.
As I passed Reyna’s room, I heard a small noise. “Chubba?”
Maybe my step hitched a little, but I had enough sense to pretend I hadn’t heard and to keep talking. “You might get away if you go out by the dog run. Hear that? Must be the guards.”
True enough, there was a lot of confused noise from the lower floors—but they weren’t crisp orders from ECA soldiers. “Up here! Mutants! Devil children!”
Bert pointed the gun at me. “You interfering Jezebel! Stay back! Now give me the baby.”
I stopped and waved my arms. “A gun? Oh, no! Don’t shoot!”
Westerly still had two doors to pass. Bert hadn’t noticed her yet—if I could keep his attention a few more seconds…
I waved some more and gabbled. “They arrested everyone at the gate! Charged them with treason!”
Westerly was nearly ready to pounce. I glanced to the side to be sure a doorway was handy, someplace to take cover. “Better go out this way, quick!”
Charles called, “Jackie, be careful!”
Maybe Westerly made a noise, or maybe Bert saw her shadow. He whipped back toward Westerly and raised the pistol.
“Here!” Reyna shouted. “Take him!”
She threw the baby into Bert’s face.
Bert snatched at Gabe’s blanket and staggered backward a step, but he didn’t drop the gun.
Reyna’s doll, the beautiful bride, dropped from Gabe’s blanket with a clatter.
Charles leaped out of the doorway and barreled into Bert. They fell together in a heap. Westerly steam-rolled into them, her massive arms flailing.
The gun went off. Reyna screamed.
With a grunt, Westerly doubled over. She fell slowly, like a tree crashing in the forest.
Charles grabbed Bert’s gun hand, but his slight weight was no match for Bert’s bulk.
I launched myself onto Bert’s back. He screeched, or maybe that was Charles.
I punched the bastard’s back everywhere I could reach as many times as I could, while Charles tried to wrestle the gun away. Reyna batted Bert’s head with the bridal doll.
The pistol skittered away.
With a mighty heave, Bert shoved me and Charles off, throwing Charles into the wall and me onto Reyna. Charles’s head hit the wall with a heavy thunk.
Bert scrambled to his feet and lunged for the pistol.
I lunged too, throwing myself on the pistol as if it were a grenade about to explode and I was the doomed hero in a World War II movie. The metal warmed my stomach.
Bert gave a cry—half curse and half roar. “Liars! You’ve got it in the labs somewhere. I’ll find it.” He snatched up Westerly’s badge and ran down the south hall.
“Damn!” Charles leaned against the wall, hands on the side of his head, blood leaking between his fingers.
“Chubb!” I cried. From Reyna’s room came a faint echo, “Chubb ub ub?”
“I’m all right,” Charles gasped, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. “Thanks, Jackie. I’m glad you have a fighting side. I’m just going to…rest a little.”
Reyna went to him, while I lent Westerly a hand as she struggled to sit up.
“Not serious, I think,” she wheezed. The pink bathrobe was stained with red, but it wasn’t the pouring gusher that had come from Mendez, so I breathed a little easier.
Shouts came from the stairwell I’d just come up. “Come on—the nursery’s on the third floor!”
Westerly turned to me. “They must not find Gamma. Take him to the iso lab. Go.”
CHAPTER 27
Hide and seek
Footsteps tromped up the steps.
Hiding in Reyna’s dark room, the door cracked open so I could see a sliver of the hall, I bounced Gabe on my hip to quiet him. The pistol in my pocket was warm and heavy enough to drag on my jumpsuit. Kangaroos had my sympathy.
The stairwell door crashed open. Westerly called, “Run, Reyna!”
“You can’t take the baby!” Reyna shouted. She passed my sliver of hallway, running lightly, the blanket-wrapped decoy in her arms. Two invaders pounded after her.
I checked the corridor. Westerly, now sitting next to Chubb and examining his brow, nodded to me.
“Shh, Gabe,” I whispered. “Hush, baby, please.” I hustled down the northeast stair, holding Gabe with my left arm and my right hand steadying the heavy pistol. From above sounded Reyna’s high little chirps, men’s shouts, and running steps. She and the fake baby were leading them on a merry chase.
At the second-floor landing, I paused. The ground-floor corridor was full of pepper spray, but if I crossed on the second floor and took the northwest stair down, I would come out beside the iso lab.
I bounced Gabe on my hip and whispered to keep him quiet while I peeked down the corridor. The hall was deserted, the doors to the offices and storerooms all closed.
Gabe, tired of being held, wriggled for release.
“Hush, sweetie.” With a deep breath, I fled through the hall. Muted shouts from above and below filtered through the silent offices and labs. Rioters? Soldiers taking control? Paramedics? I had no way to tell.
I paused at the northwest corner. We were right above the iso lab. If I could just get down the stairs…
I pushed the stairwell door open as quietly as I could.
With a creak and a bang, someone entered the stairwell above us. I eased the door shut and ran to the nearest storeroom, one filled with sheets and towels. Slipping in as quietly as I could, I turned the bolt to lock the door behind me. Just inside the door, I waited, one hand on the pistol.
“Hsst! No!”
Startled, I turned to see Rico rise from behind cartons of toilet paper. He whispered hoarsely, “Get out! You can’t come in!” In the dim light filtering through the painted-over window, his eyes were wide with terror.
I took a step toward him, whispering, “It’s just me, Rico.”
He whipped his head back and forth. “Out! Get out!” He held up a hand wrapped in bloody gauze. “The vials broke! I’m infected! You have to leave!”
Infected.
I retreated to the wall, numb. Getting out seemed like a great idea, except that people were in the hallway.
Men’s voices, way too close for comfort. “Locked! Do you see anyone? Where’d that damn girl get to?”
Eh eh. Gabe squirmed. I put a finger in his mouth for him to teethe on.
The doorknob rattled, inches away from me.
Reyna’s voice piped up from down the corridor somewhere. “Stay away from the baby!” Her quick footsteps ran away, followed by heavy ones.
After a few moments of quiet, I opened the door a crack. No one in sight.
I waved to Rico with as much assurance as I could. As I left him behind, his face crumpled into silent sobs.
I slipped out and into the stairwell, my sneaks tapping quietly down the steps.
As I reached the landing midway to the ground floor, the door above banged open.
The noise and confusion was too much for Gabe. He took a deep breath and let go.
Waahhhh!
“There they are!” Heavy feet thundered toward me.
I tore down the remaining steps, clutching Gabe to my shoulder.
“Stay back!” I shouted. “I’ve got a gun!”
I balanced Gabe on my left hip and struggled with my right hand to get the lump of steel out of my pocket.
Gabe cried, Wah, wah, wah!
Two invaders faced me from the landing above. “Give him up, girly. That’s no child. It’s not even human. We know what’s really been going on here.”
“You’re an idiot,” I said. “I’ll shoot anyone who comes near.” The gun was so heavy, my right hand could barely hold the damn thing straight.
I stared straight at them and hunched my shoulders, but the angry gorilla act is hard to do when your opponents have high ground and numbers on their side. Gabe writhed, sobbing bitterly at being restrained.
The idiot grinned at me, showing his teeth like an angry baboon. “You won’t shoot, girly. Gimme that little monster.”
The door below banged open. “She won’t, but I will.” Sergeant Stonehouse drawled. “On your knees.”
The invaders turned to go back up the stairway, but a soldier’s young face peered down at them over the bore of a rifle. The monster-chasers put their hands up, faces scrunched in frustration. “We’re not armed. You can’t arrest us, we haven’t done anything.”
“Trespassing counts,” Stonehouse said. While a soldier clipped plastic ties around the men’s wrists, Stonehouse plucked the heavy pistol out of my grip. “I’ll take that, Miss Jackie. You are full of surprises. Where’d you get such a thing?”