After the Cure

by Deirdre Gould

It was almost laughably predictable. Nella watched Frank and Dr. Schneider comb through the first tapes for the third time without comment. She had tried to tell them that whoever set the fire in the vault must have had the security codes and it was unlikely that they'd left video footage of themselves behind. But Dr. Schneider was convinced that whoever it was would have missed something. There were so many power outages, that they couldn't tell when the cameras had been deliberately stopped and when the solar cells had been depleted.

  Nella tried to use the time more wisely, attempting to engage Dr. Schneider in conversation, but the videos engrossed the doctor's attention. Nella had to wait until late afternoon, when they were all exhausted, to get Dr. Schneider to concentrate.

  Dr. Schneider sat slumped in her chair not bothering to watch the video feed that never changed, where only the light moved. Frank had left, going back to the executive office to pack their gear in frustration. Nella sat, quite forgotten by both, and she watched Dr. Schneider.

  "Who knew about the Recharge bacteria?"

  "Huh?" Dr. Schneider looked wearily around at Nella.

  "I know you and Dr. Carton knew, as well as Ann and Dr. Pazzo, but who else knew?"

  Dr. Schneider pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought. "Well, if you mean the original version, the university administration had a vague overview of the project. Our funding partners had a few more details, but the in depth lab work was solely up to Dr. Pazzo, Ann and myself. I brought Dr. Carton in later. If you mean who knew about the more powerful strain, then it was only the four of us. Dr. Carton and myself didn't want any extra attention until the trials were done. We were due to brief a team here on lab testing, but the outbreak happened first."

  Nella watched her intently, allowing the reason for her secrecy to pass by unspoken. "Do you think Dr. Carton was telling the truth about where he's been since the outbreak?"

  Dr. Schneider looked up with a sudden twitch of her head. Her eyes narrowed and her lips twisted into a nasty, secretive grin. "What has Michael told you about where he's been and what he's done? Not the real truth, surely?"

  The question prowled between them. Nella began to revise her opinion of Dr. Schneider almost without realizing it. "He told me that he was in such fear for his life that he resorted to aping the Infected. He told me he wandered for months that way until you found him and brought him back to the City." She watched Dr. Schneider's grin sour slightly. "He also told me that you made him- eliminate the evidence of your experimentation with the Cure until you got it right." Nella felt her gorge rise, a painful stone scraping along her throat.

  The nasty grin was back. Dr. Schneider leaned back in her seat. "Well, Dr. Rider, food was scarce. Waste not, want not, am I right?"

  Nella kept her face neutral with some effort. "I thought you cared for Dr. Carton," she said in a casual tone.

  "What does my relationship with Dr. Carton have to do with anything?"

  "I think your relationships with all of your business associates are at the root of why we're here now. After all, it was your suggestion that Ann expose herself during your testing phase was it not? And your persuasion that convinced Dr. Carton to bypass procedure and steal a sample of the Recharge bacteria in order to work on a more powerful strain- against the express opinion of Dr. Pazzo. And your extended absences from the lab was a brilliant use of passive-aggression. After all, the sleep deprivation of both Ann and Dr. Pazzo caused them to miss not only symptoms they might have caught earlier, but also your activities with Dr. Carton's lab."

  "I thought you were supposed to be impartial. I see Dr. Pazzo has persuaded you that I am the villain here. Let me remind you that he and Ann were free to leave at any point, they weren't my slaves or captives. I've explained to you that Dr. Pazzo assured me that the strain was safe, that all the experimental results were normal. What does it matter if I persuaded Ann to progress the experiment at a slightly accelerated level? What happened would have happened anyway."

  "That argument may work in court with lay people, Dr. Schneider, but you and I both know that isn't true. If the testing went as it ought to have gone, the human testers would have been isolated and observed. The chances of an epidemic resulting from a controlled experiment would have been miniscule."

  Dr. Schneider waved her hand dismissively. "Why are we even arguing? You've already decided that I'm guilty. Let me remind you that I was the one that cured the disease. What did Dr. Pazzo do? Nothing. He and Ann sat drooling in their monkey cages for months while I worked. Dr. Carton was demented, little more than a garbage disposal system. It was me. I cured all those people, without me, what's left of civilization wouldn't be here. We'd all be dead or bestial. It's because of me that society continues."

  Nella laughed bitterly, her professional mask flaking off in the heat of her anger. "Without you? Without you the world would be just as it was a decade ago. Without you, billions of people that are now dead would be living out their lives with their families. No one would be haunted by what they had to do to survive or what they'd done when they weren't themselves. You may have stopped the disease but you can't ever clean up the harm that you've done."

  Dr. Schneider stood up, her dark eyes were empty holes in the pallor of her face. "Does this conversation have a point? You aren't my judge, I'm not here to justify myself to you."

  "I was inclined to feel sorry for you before I met you. I was convinced that you were simply a victim of circumstance. I see now that I was wrong. You created the circumstance for yourself. I still might be sympathetic, except you, alone of all the people I've met Immune or Infected, you show no remorse at all. The point of this conversation was to find out if Dr. Carton was telling the truth about where he'd been. You've confirmed it rather callously, so I'll waste no more time on it. What we're looking for isn't here and I don't think you know any more about it than you've already said. The sooner we get back to the City and turn you over to the authorities, the better."

  Nella began to get up and saw Frank watching them from the doorway. "I couldn't agree more," he said grimly. "Unfortunately, the sun is going down. I don't want to risk walking at night in the open. And Nella needs more sleep. We'll have to stay one more night."

  Dr. Schneider sneered at Frank. "You walked here? The court must not want me that badly after all. We can take my car and get this over with. I don't want to be around you people any longer than necessary."

  Nella looked surprised and Dr. Schneider whirled around toward her. "You underestimate me. You may be able to dismiss the Cure, but I assure you, most of the world will not. I've already retained the best attorney. When I find the stolen samples, and I will, I'll be heralded as a savior."

  Frank's voice was quiet but menacing. "No one is ever going to believe you're a savior. I'll make sure of that."

  "You're both officers of the court. You can't testify against me. It's a breach of confidence for Dr. Rider and a conflict of interest for you."

  "Dr. Carton can testify," said Nella quietly. She stood up, ignoring Dr. Schneider's contempt for that suggestion. She and Frank headed back to the executive office, leaving Dr. Schneider to fume by herself.

  "Sorry," Nella said into the silent elevator.

  Frank smiled at her for the first time in what felt like days. "What for?"

  "I didn't want to create more tension, but I needed to find out if she or Dr. Carton were lying about where the samples are."

  "They aren't here. I don't think Dr. Schneider has any clue where they are."

  The elevator doors opened and they walked slowly into the artificial dark of the boarded up office. Frank flipped the light switch as the door closed behind them. The smile had faded from his face and he looked as if he had swallowed something bitter. "This was such a waste of a trip." He turned toward her and gently untied the sling on her wounded arm. She sighed with relief as her arm relaxed.

  "At least Dr. Schneider is g
oing to be brought to trial," Nella said as he checked her bandages. He scowled.

  "Her karma would have gotten her in the end. It still will. She isn't worth you getting injured like this."

  "What do we do now?"

  Frank shook his head. "I don't know. What I don't get is why whoever has it has waited so long. What are they waiting for? Maybe the samples were destroyed after all."

  "Frank, you don't know who has them do you?"

  He sat down on the carpeted floor, hugging his long legs and staring off into space. "I don't. I realize you think I'm hiding something from you, and- well, I guess I am. But I don't think it is very important and I don't think it has to do with the samples. I've just got a hunch that something is off. I'm not even sure what it is exactly."

  "Then I guess we're back to figuring out what to do next."

  "We need to tell Judge Hawkins that we haven't found anything. I'm afraid that whoever has it has been waiting for this trial, or the verdict. If that's the case we need to prepare everyone somehow." He glanced up at her, "And you need to get some medical attention. That's going to cause questions as it is."

  "But if we warn people, then whoever has it may forget their plan and release the bacteria immediately."

  "What choice do we have?"

  Nella sat down in front of him. "Give me a few more days. I know I've almost got it figured out. I can feel it, just beyond the edge of my thoughts. We can turn Dr. Schneider in to the prison and delay our conversation with Judge Hawkins until Sunday. That will give me tomorrow and the next day to work on it."

  "If that's what you think would be best, that's what we'll do."

  They heard the elevator bell and exchanged a glance but stopped talking. Frank helped her into the sleeping bag and they went to bed without saying anything further to each other or Dr. Schneider.

  The Warden