by Jade Powers
“I wouldn’t keep anything from Kendall if I were you. He’s got microphones everywhere. Can you show me the room? Maybe I can help you figure out how she got out.”
Tully groaned and pushed up from the chair with a considerable lack of grace. Bryce forced his hands to his sides and bit his lip. He was so anxious to get to that room before Stan came back from searching. Tully wasn’t the type of guy you pushed around. If Stan had been a little nicer, Bryce would have never gotten this chance to see the room. It was Tully’s way of flipping Stan the bird, and Bryce understood that.
Tully pulled out keys and physically unlocked one of the pair of double doors with one of those big warning signs about Authorized Personnel. He said, “Don’t touch anything. At least one of these docs is certifiable, brilliant, but you don’t mess with his gadgets. He takes it personally. Dangerous guy.”
“Did he hurt someone?”
“Shot them dead is what I heard. Just rumor, but from a reliable source. You would probably know more than me.” There were a dozen side doors. Tully walked to one and pushed it open.
Bryce said, “I’m not on the clean-up crew...more like asset management.” He followed Tully into a room with tables of futuristic stuff. Not fakey plastic crap. These labs were filled with intricate robotics, high dollar and sophisticated. Bryce whistled and said, “I bet the day shift doesn’t even have the keys to this lab.”
“You bet right,” Tully said. He added, “Hell, not even the night shift does. I turn my keys in after every shift.”
Bryce did a slow investigation of the room. After Tully’s warning, he was particularly careful to stay about three feet from the tables. The last thing he needed was for Kendall to put a hit on him because he saw something in that room that he shouldn’t. He was there for Jana...wherever she was hiding.
“So you brought her here. When you said you didn’t see her leave, were you talking specifically about his room or the area with the double doors?” Bryce asked. There were those dark half-circles in every corner of the room. While it was impossible to tell where the cameras were pointing, Bryce easily believed that the door and the parts desks were well-covered.
“Double doors, but we have three other members of the night shift. They were doing their little cheerleader session, so it was just me and the girl. I was called away on another problem. She shouldn’t have been able to leave this room without someone seeing.” Tully looked like a bulldog with his arms crossed and his stance wide and those jowls frowning.
Bryce stopped and turned. If one of the cameras covered the door, that would leave two more for the rest of the room. It would make sense that the most expensive tech would be under surveillance, and maybe the surgical area. If Jana were hiding in this room, she was keeping absolutely silent.
“So I’m betting those two other cameras cover the table with the gadgets.”
Tully nodded.
That left the corner with the sink and cupboards. That was the only open place. Jana had to be hiding there. Bryce strode to the sink, and gently pulled open the cupboard under the sink. Jana was curled up in a tight little ball sucking her thumb. She didn’t make a sound, but from the way she flinched he knew she knew he was there.
Bryce quickly closed the door and opened the next one, hoping that Jana would stay silent. It couldn’t be easy staying cramped up in that tiny space. He said, “What about a camera loop? Is it possible someone got to the security tapes before you could look? There just isn’t any way you’d miss her. Not in a place like this.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought, too. She might be in one of the side rooms, but she couldn’t have actually left the area.”
The phone in the room rang. Bryce jumped. It was on the wall near the door. He heard a tiny squeal. Bryce glanced over at Tully. He hadn’t heard. Focused on the phone, Tully hefted his way across the room. Watching him, Bryce was reminded of Godzilla or King Kong. Tully didn’t seem to worried about Jana, despite Stan’s comments.
Grabbing the phone, Tully snarled, “Surgical Lab Seven.”
The conversation didn’t last long. Tully gruffly mumbled that he would and hung up the phone.
Tully turned on Bryce. “Is that intern with you?”
“We carpooled. To be honest, I kind of forget about her,” Bryce chuckled and feigned chagrin, “I bet she’s angry. Sorry you had to get in the middle of that.”
“Not angry. She wandered into one of the patients rooms.”
“Yeah she’s probably looking for me. I can run and get her if you want to tell me where she’s located?” Bryce had no idea how to get Jana out of the cupboard and safely away from the hospital while at the same time circling back to Gail. The last thing they needed was a ton of security on their tails.
“I need to escort you and that woman downstairs. Come with me,” Tully stepped to the side to allow Bryce to walk past.
Bryce said, “I’m going to try something.” In his most booming of voices he said, “Jana, if you can hear me, I am here to help you. One of Kendall’s scientists, her name is Gail, is here to help you, too. She might not be able to help you see again, but she is really smart. We’re going to get Gail now. If you can here me, I expect you to be waiting outside the double doors in the hallway when we get back.”
“I thought you saw her go down the stairs,” Tully said. Those beady eyes really did pay attention. Bryce had missed the intelligence wrapped up under Tully’s laziness.
Bryce followed Tully out of the room and as they passed the doors said, “So did I.”
Tully didn’t trust Bryce. Not after his mistake. Bryce could see it in the way Tully watched him. When they stepped into the hallway Stan and two security guards were coming up the hall with Gail between them, Bryce imagined a pair of storm troopers, with Princess Leia between them, and Darth Vader just behind. He couldn’t help the image. It fit too well.
Bryce caught the door just before it closed, wrenching it open and ducking inside. He yanked it shut and turned the lock. Jana was peering out from the room. Bryce realized that she could see to some extent.
“Jana, it’s Bryce. Your sister is outside with the doctors. May I pick you up?”
“Yes.” Jana lifted her arms.
Crossing the hall in three large strides, Bryce picked up Gail’s little sister. Now he had to get her out safely. He could already hear the key in the lock. He had barely slowed down Stan and the guards. Ducking down a side hall, Bryce followed the Exit signs. He turned backwards to push back through the set of double doors. Nothing happened. The door was locked.
He could hear the door open across the way. He turned down another side hall, each footstep placed as carefully as possible because if he could hear that door open, they would hear his movements.
He heard a burst of footsteps and knew they were running. He fled down the hall with Jana in his arms, hoping he could find an unlocked exit. Stan came from the other direction meeting Bryce. The halls had made a rectangle and each of the pursuers had come from a different direction. Stan said, “Give her to me.”
“I don’t think so. You don’t have her permission to proceed with the tests.” Bryce said. Jana’s arms tightened around his neck.
The other two guards came running from behind Bryce. They stopped when they saw that Jana was with Bryce. Tully said, “I told you she was still here.”
Stan sneered at Tully. There was no love lost between those two. Stan said, “Her mother signed the consents. Give her to me or I’ll call the police and have you charged with kidnapping.”
“Go for it. I’d love to hear the charges when Jana tells them that you’ve been taking her out of her wing at night to do clandestine human experiments. As a matter of fact, there’s a phone at the nurse’s station. You’re welcome to use it.” Bryce adjusted Jana on his hip and swept an arm across the air to indicate the counter, and indeed there were three phones. Stan could choose from any.
“You’re not really an employee from Kendall, are you?” Stan said. His lab coat
opened just a tiny bit and Bryce could see that his arm pits were wet. Also that he was carrying a gun. That gave Bryce a major chill.
Bryce said, “I’m on Kendall’s payroll. I just don’t clock in for a desk job. You heard about the big to-do at the airport?”
“Yeah, right. You didn’t kill Robert Brinn. You’re no murderer,” Stan took a step toward Bryce. Bryce stepped back, keeping Jana out of reach. Of course the step back put him closer to the hospital guards.
“CTV’s Director? I thought that was McFarland’s deal. No. I’m talking about forcing Lucas out of town. That was me,” Bryce said. He’d heard that the big airport scene had helped confuse the scene of a murder. Bryce would put his money on Kendall after what happened to his dad. But McFarland had a ruthless streak as well.
“And what does Lucas have to do with our set up here?” Stan took another step forward. It was getting crowded in the hallway. Bryce felt like he was about to get jumped.
He said, “Gail, can you carry Jana for a minute? She’s getting heavy.” Bryce hoped he could push Stan back a little, maybe get between him and Jana. The guy had a one-track mind. And from what Bryce could see, they were outmanned and outgunned. Gail stepped forward, her face pale but her jaw set. In the meanwhile, Bryce had to think up a quick and justifiable answer to that question. What indeed.
Gail said, “I need to get her weight and height.” Without another word, Gail carried Jana toward the scale.
Bryce realized that they were getting way too desperate here. Something had to give and he had the feeling that he and Gail were going to be on the losing side of this transaction. The worst part was that Jana would be the one to suffer.
“Stan, can we talk in private?” Bryce did a little head bob toward Gail and lifted an eyebrow.
Now that Jana was in sight, Stan was much calmer. He said, “We’re not doing the procedure tonight anyway. We’ll reschedule for tomorrow. Let’s talk. When Jana is done getting weight, escort her to her room and keep a guard at her door at all times.” Stan ordered the men.
Stan studied Bryce, as if waiting for him to interject. Bryce bit his tongue. If the game he and Gail were playing had been scored, they’d be skunked right now. Bryce needed to keep his mouth shut and let Jana get safely to her room. As Stan led him away from Gail, Jana, and the two guards, Bryce couldn’t help but feel that the moment of escape had slipped away. He didn’t know what to do next. He wished he were Drake or Sven or one of the guys with some military experience. Maybe then he would know what to do.
Chapter 14
GAIL RELEASED JANA to the scale, her shoulders twitching. Her body blocked Jana from the guards and Stan, but Gail was a small woman. If they wanted Jana, it wouldn’t take much to get through her. The hospital smell, antiseptic, urine, and cleanser, made Gail feel nauseous. That, and her terror that the hospital would punish Jana for hiding made her hands shake.
“You’re such a good girl. Now let’s see how tall you are,” Gail said. She was proud of Jana for keeping their relationship a secret. Most kids Jana’s age would have given it away by now.
“I want to go home,” Jana said. It was more plea than whine. If Jana had been the type of kid who stomped her feet and demanded her way, Gail might not feel so bad about failing her.
“The doctors want to do a few more tests. Are you able to see shapes now? I hear you’ve made some wonderful progress. Don’t you want to stay and see even more?” It was so hard pretending to belong to Kendall while talking to her sister. Gail picked Jana up again, not willing to give anyone else the chance to swoop in and take her away. From the periphery she heard Stan telling Bryce that Jana would be escorted back to her room under guard.
Jana shook her head. She lifted her chin. She said, “I see everything now. I don’t need to see more. They’re going to make a program that controls me. I overheard what they said, and I don’t want to do it.”
“I can understand why that would be scary. Let’s go back down to your room. They’re not going to do anything tonight.” Gail held out her hand and Jana took it. Prickles ran along her spine and tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. Jana could see. Maybe not like everyone else, but Jana could reach out and take Gail’s hand without prompting.
Walking past the guards, Gail had the urge to snatch Jana and run away. Playing it cool was not an easy task, not when her emotions were screaming to do something.
The door had just closed on Bryce. Now they were separated. Gail had the keys. She was holding Jana’s hand. Earlier, as Jana’s sister, Gail had seen her room. But as Kendall’s research scientist, Gail wouldn’t have a clue about the room assignments. She said, “You’ll have to show me where your room is.”
“We will take the stairs. It’s healthier. I heard the nurse tell the guy across the hall,” Jana said. She tugged on Gail’s hand and they stepped past the elevators. The two guards followed. They didn’t order the sisters into the elevator, so Gail followed Jana’s lead.
Jana let go of Gail’s hand at the stairwell and placing both hands on the rail started climbing the steps down. Gail could see fuzz where Jana’s hair was starting to grow back.
At the bottom of the landing, Jana pushed open the door, turning down the corridor as if she had passed that way a hundred times. Gail and the guards followed behind. The nurse at the station looked up and smiled. She said, “Did you have fun at your tests?”
Gail held back a string of words that would have cost her whatever chance of escape she had left. That nurse was supposed to protect her patients. Gail found it hard to believe that she could let a child Jana’s age out of her sight in the middle of the night for so-called tests.
Jana didn’t seem bothered. She shrugged. Jana said, “I’m going to sleep now.”
The nurse gave a noncommittal wave to Gail and the security men as if a child followed by a pair of security guards and a college student through a hospital was an everyday occurrence.
When Jana reached her room, she pulled the curtain closed, dividing her and Gail from the two men. She said, “It’s easier to sleep if this is shut.”
Then Jana motioned Gail to come closer. Gail leaned in.
Jana whispered. “Are we going to escape now?”
Gail whispered back, “That could be difficult with the men out there and the nurse at the station.”
Jana pointed to the clock and said, “The nurse will walk around when the large arrow is on the twelve and the little arrow is on the three.”
“That’s three o’clock,” Gail said in a whisper. If they were going to escape, she needed the security guards to be complacent. In a louder voice she said, “I’m studying the effects of neurons with robotics. How much can you see? Do you see the letters on the whiteboard?”
“Yes.” Jana said. Shyly she asked, “Nurse Carlie says she likes my new eyes. She said they look almost real. Do you like them?”
They really were a marvel. Gail thought they looked better than Jana’s other glass eyes. She said, “I think you look very pretty with them.”
“And I can see.”
Gail wrote a note on the board, “We can escape through the bathroom. I will keep the guards busy.”
She looked expectantly at Jana. Jana nodded, “I see your squiggles.”
Oh. Of course. Gail knew better. Jana had never actually seen the alphabet. For Jana, letters were still something to feel. While she knew her Braille alphabet, Jana would have to relearn the rest. Gail erased the board before the security guards could come in.
She quickly scribbled the letter P on the board.
To keep the guards thinking they were talking about research, she pointed to the bedspread and said, “This color is blue.” Then she pointed to another section and said, “This is green. Do you see the difference?”
Jana nodded, “Yes. I see color.”
Gail whispered to Jana, “At three o’clock, go through the bathroom to the other patient’s room. Go to the elevator and hit the P. It matches the letter on the board.”
Jana grinned at Gail and in a hushed voice said, “Okay. I’ll wait for you outside the elevator where the P takes me.”
“It will be a bunch of cars,” Gail whispered. Aloud she said, “Shall we watch television?”
They settled down to watch cartoons. Gail tracked that large hand as it crept closer to the twelve. It was still the early hours of the morning. The men were talking outside, and even fifteen minutes later, Bryce hadn’t made an appearance. Gail worried that he was somewhere getting the crap beat out of him...or that he had found a way to escape and took the car leaving Gail and Jana to manage. Gail had to tell herself repeatedly that Bryce wasn’t like that. He wouldn’t leave without Jana.
Now it made sense that Jana looked so tired during the day. It was almost as if they had turned her into a nocturnal creature, keeping her awake at night doing experimentation and having her sleep during the day.
Jana pulled a plastic bag off the floor by one of the chairs in the corner and dumped out her clothes. Gail felt better for seeing it. She was wondering how they would escape when Jana was so clearly in a hospital gown. Jana pushed her gown up over her head and grabbed the shirt out of the bag, tugging it down.
“Have you been allowed to leave the hospital on field trips?” Gail asked. She kept her voice quiet, even if the question itself might not have raised any suspicions.
“A few times. We went out for ice cream and for sandwiches. They were teaching us how to fit in with the outside people, since things are different for us now.” Jana pulled her pair of vibrant pink shorts out of the bag and tugged them on. Looking at them Gail realized that this was not going to be an incognito, camouflage sort of thing. Not that it ever was. They would have to escape on wits. And go straight to the police station or be accused of kidnapping.
The whole plan hinged on getting out of the hospital. They would drive three blocks to the nearest police station and then tell the authorities what was happening at the hospital, file reports, and go home. Gail didn’t like the idea of putting Jana through that, but she liked less the idea that another little girl with the same hopes and dreams might become someone else’s human guinea pig out of extortion or bribery.