by Ellen Clary
“You can keep your stupid bag, if you come back with me.” Rats, I just lied to him. Ah, well.
“No. You’re just trying to scare me.”
Amy shouted, “What part of ‘over’ do you not understand?” Guess those fancy allergies distress codes aren’t that important anymore? she thought.
“Forget it, go away.” He started pulling her along.
Amy grappled for footing. Adam had gotten one arm out of his jacket and had his other arm halfway out. He shifted his bag between his hands.
Amy readjusted her hold on the jacket, using it to get a lock around his right arm, which was still in the sleeve. They were now leaning on the railing, but trying to get better footing against one another.
Adam may have lived on a farm, but he hadn’t done farming or heavy lifting, and Amy’s training was helping her hold him in place.
He said, “You can’t stop me.”
“I think I am.” Just hold on, she thought.
They were stuck in a tableau. A sort of tug-of-war, with sweat included as a bonus. Amy could feel the railing bending with their weight.
Adam was twisting, and Amy had to keep readjusting her grip.
“Let me go.”
“Sorry, can’t do that.”
“Why’d you lie to me?”
“I’m sorry, Adam, we’re concerned.”
“No, you’re not, you just want my research.”
“Adam, I couldn’t possibly understand the complexity of your work. My understanding ends somewhere before organic chemistry.”
“So, you have to let me go?”
“No, I can’t let you go.”
This continued for two more rounds, Amy nearly losing Adam’s arm a couple of times. Then she heard a bark, and she heard, “Amy! Amy!”
They both looked over to see Lars leading Steve, Yolanda, their dogs, and Tyson up the hill.
Adam cried, “No!” and he lifted the bag with his left arm, cocking it back across his chest in order to throw it.
Dropping the arm she was holding, she cried out, “Shit, Adam, no!” She dove for the bag and both of them slammed against the railing. Their combined weight cracked the already weakened wood. She had her hand on the bag and pushed it towards the bridge floor, but the world was shifting. They were falling. “Fuck. Adam, grab something.” Amy’s motion propelled her forward to the next section of the railing. She grabbed at it with both hands. Pain seared through her palm, and she realized she’d impaled it on the broken section. Trying to focus on keeping her hold, she looked down to see Adam just falling. “Oh Gods, no. ADAM!” She watched him fall, almost like he was skydiving, but he didn’t land in the water. Instead he fell on his side on a boulder. His head whipped down in a frightening way. Amy heard herself crying as she hung in the air, wrapped around what was left of the railing, wondering how much time she had before she fell, too. The railing groaned with the sway of her weight. Someone was shouting at her, but she didn’t pay any attention. She had to get herself up before she or anyone else fell.
She looked at the bridge walkway and could see that the bag was safely on it. Small favors, she thought. Grimacing with effort, she swung her right foot back on the walkway. There was a creaking sound underneath her arm. Working through the pain in her hand, she slowly edged her foot closer. When she was able to put some weight on it, the railing started to lean away from the bridge. Readjusting her grip, she got her knee up high enough to hold purchase, but the handrails continued their quest to free themselves from the bridge. Almost, she thought, and shifted her weight so she could wrap her arm around the railing, relieving some of the throbbing in her hand. Gasping a couple of breaths, she crawled up the X section, and then she was able to get her other foot back on the walkway. She launched her body at the next railing just as the one she had been bracing against came completely off. It screeched and fell to the ground, flattening the berry bush, and then careened off the boulders, pieces tumbling into the creek. There was a voice calling her name and she tried to wave that she was okay, but she suddenly thought, The bag. Don’t step on the bag. She edged past it and sat down, her head spinning. All she could do was lie down, sobbing from the exertion and the vision of watching him fall. “Adam, Adam. Adam.”
“AMY, DAMMIT, you’re scaring me to death. Stop with the aerial stunt work,” said a familiar voice. “Hang on. Crap, and you’re bleeding.”
Amy looked up to see Yolanda coming towards her fast. Amy took a sharp breath and pointed. “Stop! Watch out for that bag.”
Yolanda froze, trying to arrest her feet. “Is it a bomb?” Her face tightened.
“No, it’s fragile and toxic.”
“Oh, what fun. Central, or anyone else who’s listening, we have a bag of toxins up here that appears to be sealed.”
A commlink voice said, “Copy that, Yolanda, do you want us to come up?”
Amy said, “No! No more people on this bridge. We’ll bring the bag down.”
“We have to get you past this broken railing first.”
“Move the bag first. Carefully.”
“How carefully?”
“Adam had it in a canvas tote, so it must be transportable.”
“Okay.” Yolanda, put a hand out and grasped the bag at the top, lifted it and moved it further back up the walkway, and set it down gingerly. “Now the hard part,” she said, looking pointedly at Amy while she walked back to her, and knelt down in front of her. “Let me see your hand.”
Amy offered her bleeding hand.
Yolanda frowned. “This is gross. Didn’t your mother teach you to wash your hands?”
“Leave my mother out of this. This fuckup is entirely mine,” Amy lifted her hand and starting to shrug.
“Give me back that hand, and stop splattering me,” Yolanda pulled a towel out of her bag and wrapped it around Amy’s hand, and grimaced. “Yick, if you give me a blood-borne disease, I am not going to forgive you.”
“I’m clean. Well, as far as blood goes. Can we just go?”
“I’m just going to wrap this enough to get you down, then a medic can fix my bungling.” She wrapped gauze around the hand and covered that with a self-sticking elastic wrap. She pulled a waist belt also out of her bag, and started guiding it around Amy’s waist.
“That doesn’t look like standard issue.”
“It’s for damsels in distress.”
“I am not an effing damsel. I got myself back on the bridge.” Amy tried to get up.
“I am more than a little impressed with that, by the way.” She pushed Amy back down. “And stop trying to fly down.”
“Hurry, Adam has info we need.”
Yolanda clipped a rope to Amy’s waist belt and wrapped it around her own waist. “Let’s see if you can stand.”
“I’ll be fine,” Amy teetered to her feet, her teeth clenched.
Yolanda looked down, her face grave. “I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”
“You don’t understand, we have to get to him. He’s hidden bags in the reservoirs, and he didn’t tell me where they were.”
“I really don’t think—”
“I have to try. Please help me walk,” Amy unsteadily took a step.
Yolanda pulled her up to full standing. “You don’t look like you’re in any shape to—”
“Help me get off this thing,” Amy wobbled, trying to take another step.
Yolanda guided her past the broken railing, keeping tension on the rope between them.
“I need to get down,” Amy said, half-dragging herself back along the walkway and stopping to pick the bag up.
Yolanda took hold of her arm. “Fine, bleed to death, pushy girl. Don’t make a mess on your way down the ladder.” Amy only tripped twice and Yolanda righted her each time. Yolanda said into her handheld, “Steve, can you call for a medic? We have one cut-up hand, and one fallen body of unknown status.”
“Already on their way,” he said.
AMY GOT to the ground and headed towards the berry bush.
Yolanda tackled her. “Stop, dammit.”
“We have to get to Adam. This is my fault.”
“Bullshit! Not while you bleed to death or get an infection courtesy of our wooden friend here.”
Not really listening, Amy said, “Both of us leaning on the railing is what broke it.”
“I saw it happen, remember? This is not your fault. It was an accident, and you were trying to stop him.”
“This whole situation is so screwed up.” Amy handed her the bloody bag.
“Gee, thanks, you shouldn’t have, what the hell is this toxin?”
“It’s a dissolvable bag of killer nanobots.”
“Do we have any place to put this bag?”
Tyson, came forward and took the bag.
Amy repeated, the urgency in her voice increasing, desperation making her voice start to screech, “We have to get to Adam, he’s hidden three other bags, and he didn’t tell me where they were. And how are we going to get through this bush?”
Tyson had already called the maintenance people, and they were cutting back the bush.
Steve and Yolanda physically restrained Amy from trying to help. A medic unwrapped her hand, took a look, and said the wound was messy but superficial. She painted a substance on it that could act as a bandage, a disinfectant, and another layer of skin. She offered to numb the surface some to help with the pain, but Amy declined, not wanting to lose coordination.
The workers had cleared just enough of a path and Amy charged in. One guy called, “Careful, there are stones out there with a steep drop-off.”
AMY APPROACHED Adam’s body. She’d seen dead bodies before, with their grey pallor from no blood circulation. Adam looked alive, but in sorry shape. The right-hand side of his face was partially caved in and his arm was bent the wrong way. She could hear him quietly gurgling. “Adam. Adam, can you hear me?” She put a hand on his left shoulder. He was still warm and he was breathing, wheezing with effort. He started to shake. “Adam!” She looked over her shoulder. “He’s seizing.”
A medic moved in to hold his head.
Steve appeared at her side and said. “I’m not terribly surprised.”
“Adam, it’s Amy, where did you hide the bags?’
Steve said, “His head is caved in, I don’t know if you’re going to get a reliable answer—”
“Shut up for a sec,” Amy said, cutting him off and leaning in, trying not to be completely horrified by the appalling sight.
“Adam, did you hide three other bags? Adam?”
Adam stopped shaking, and started sputtering. “Yssss.”
“Yes, three?”
“Ysss.”
“Where, Adam can you tell me where?”
“Waahter.”
“Which water? Which reservoir?”
“Waashter. Bags disssolvvve … T-T-Twelve … hours.” Adam’s sputter became a rattle. His body spasmed once and then stilled. All of his remaining animation just stopped.
Realization sank into Amy. “Twelve hours? Shit! Where, Adam, where?” Clenching her teeth, blinking back tears, Amy started hitting Adam’s shoulder. “Dammit, Adam, where are they?” Steve moved in to pinion her arm.
Amy said to the medic, “We have to keep this man alive. Revive him if at all possible.”
The medic looked doubtful.
Steve said, “Just humor my crazy colleague.”
Sniffing, Amy said, “Don’t call me that. This is important.”
“But you are acting a little crazy, but fine.” To the medic Steve said, “Please do what you can for this man for my nutball partner.”
Steve pulled Amy up by force, nearly lifting her off the ground.
She pulled back, “No.”
Now he did lift her, saying, “You need to stop, so we can regroup and come up with a plan to locate the bags.”
“No. No. No.”
Putting her back on her feet and taking her arm, he asked, “We have hours?” Amy nodded. “Well, get your gear and let’s go regroup. Pound on me if you like.”
Amy looked up suddenly. “Lars?!?”
Steve said, “He’s okay, he led us here, and—”
/Amy. Amy,/ Lars said.
Amy could see that Tyson, of all people, was trying to hang on to the collar of the excited kelpie boy. He and Steve were probably the only ones who could contain him.
Tyson saw Amy and said, while being bounced up and down, “Agent Callahan, can you come fetch your beast before he throws himself onto the berry bush?”
Amy charged back to Lars and threw her arms around his neck. Hugging wasn’t Lars’s favorite thing, but from Amy, he treasured it. He shoved his head up to her and started licking her face. /Amy, Amy,/ was all he would say, and then would butt his head into hers. /Okay?/
“Ow, you silly beast. Stop. You are sopping wet, but I am so happy to see you, and I’m fine,” Amy said, rubbing his neck. “What a good boy.”
Steve said, shaking his head and trying not to laugh, “He was in such a hurry that he overshot the turn up the hill and ran into the creek, and then raced back to us barking, letting us know we were too slow.”
Regaining her composure, she combed through his black, sepia, and golden fur with her fingers, and examined his legs for cuts, abrasions, and swelling. He seemed remarkably fine, except for—“He’s drooling, has he drunk anything?
“No,” said Steve in a scolding tone with a scowl at Lars.
Amy could hear the ‘dammit’ he implied.
“He wouldn’t drink anything from anyone.” Steve knelt down, too, with a collapsible bowl of water dripping over the sides. To Amy he said, “Why don’t you have a go before I pour water over his head?” He leaned down to Lars, and in his ear said, “Fool.”
With that admonition, Lars immediately started drinking the water.
Still scowling, but only in play, Steve continued, “At your warning, we ran down the access road, but we couldn’t see where you were. The bridge was obscured by the trees, but Lars appeared with that follow me dance. He knew where to turn up the creek. Well, after that brief swim in the creek to completely confuse us.”
Amy sighed, looked at Lars, and told him a private, /Thank you./
Still drinking, he said a contented /Mmmmmm./
Steve looked over at Tyson, who was rubbing his sore hand from holding the struggling Lars. “Okay, now we really need to plan.”
“And I need a drink,” Amy said.
“How about a nice juice?” Tyson said.
“Can it be a smoothie?”
“I’m sure we can arrange something,” he said.
CHAPTER 60:
They Devise a Search Plan
AMY, STEVE, and Yolanda, along with Choran locals Markus and David, crowded into the Choran LAI meeting room. Beth, the lead detective, was waiting for them at the front, her hair windswept, as if she had flown there using only her arms and had run into turbulence. Fed Tyson was up in the front on the side, looking unruffled as ever. Harris and Director Catherine were on the datalink video monitor. Harris, who was not the most comfortable being on camera, was looking off to the side, probably talking to his dog, his normally straight hair pointing in several different directions. Someone had thought to get bagels, coffee, and juice delivered, for which Amy said a silent thank you to the bagel and juice gods. Steve and Markus appeared to be genuflecting to the god of coffee.
Amy leaned over to Yolanda and asked, “Do you think Harris minds always being the one to hold down the fort at Evergreen?”
Yolanda shook her head. “He likes it that way. He’s the one with all the power there anyway, and with this amount of chaos, I’m sure he’s happier down there.”
Sipping from a coffee cup, Beth said, “Hello, and welcome to you all. I can honestly say I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”
The room filled with murmurs of assent.
“Just to recap what everyone already knows. Agent Callahan met with Suspect Adam Robertson because Adam said he ha
d something he wanted to discuss in person.” Adam’s photo appeared on the large screen and Amy shuddered and looked down. Both Steve and Yolanda put a hand on her shoulders. Beth looked at Amy and said, “Amy, I’m so sorry that we have to go over all this. I have not included any further photos of him.”
Breathing in and nodding, Amy said, “Thank you.”
“Agent Callahan went in wired and we have a recording of much of the conversation. Adam took Amy to an old bridge at the Strongwill Reservoir. He told her he intended to place a bag of nanobots that were set to increase blood pressure and heart rate. Adam was convinced that the nanobots would just make targeted people ill. His hope was that they wouldn’t want to live in Choran anymore. He said that he had already placed three other bags. Amy refused to fully cross the bridge and called for help over the wire, while she held Adam in place. When help appeared, Adam tried to throw his bag off the bridge and Agent Callahan dove in to prevent him from doing so. Their resulting struggle broke the bridge railing and Adam fell to the rocks below. Amy was able to cling to the remaining railing and climb back on the bridge, and Agent Yolanda Danimeyer helped her down from the bridge.”
Amy was carefully studying the floor, trying to stay present, and unsuccessfully attempting not to remember Adam talking from his shattered, leaking skull. Yolanda rubbed her back.
“He was still able to speak, and he again confirmed to Amy that there were three bags of harmful nanobots in the reservoirs. But he did not disclose where he hid the bags. Agent Callahan requested that he be kept alive in hopes of reviving him, but such efforts have not proved successful. He has been pronounced brain-dead and the decision what to do now goes to his family.” Looking at Amy, she said, “He is an organ donor, so the effort has not been futile.”
“Heartwarming,” Amy said, just to Yolanda.
“It’s good karma, you did the right thing,” she replied, readjusting in the folding chair.
Beth touched a control and the display showed a map of the surrounding reservoirs. Amy groaned. “Definitely more than fifteen.”
“Seventeen actually. We don’t think he went outside this area, since there were so many choices and it would have taken too much time.”