by E A Chance
Dr. Holverson’s face brightened. “You’re right, I didn’t expect that request, but you’re in luck. I have a cousin who’s a vet. His name is Dylan Clevenger, and he has a clinic less than a mile from here. He knows his stuff, but I warn you, he’s a bit of a character. Harmless, though. He’s planning to see this thing out in Huntington, so he should be around.”
Riley let out her breath. “That’s more than lucky. It’s a miracle. Please, point us in the right direction. We don’t have much time.”
Dr. Holverson grabbed a legal pad and pen to draw a quick map. When he handed it to Riley, he said, “Come back when you’re done with my cousin and we’ll see if we can hook you up with some supplies before we take off.”
Riley folded the map and stuffed it in her pocket, then shook each of their hands. “We will if we have time. This may seem impossible now, but we wish both of you long and happy futures. You’re doing an incredible service here. Stay safe.”
Dr. Walser’s turned away when his eyes teared up. Dr. Holverson patted him on the shoulder and said, “We’ll do our best. Same to you. Tell Cousin Dylan I’ll stop by tonight.”
Coop gave a quick nod, then took Riley’s hand as they hurried to the entrance. “What was that about?” he asked.
“Must be the maternal hormones. They just seem so young and vulnerable to be carrying such responsibility. I couldn’t have shouldered what they are so soon out of med school.”
Coop pulled her to a stop and kissed her cheek. “I don’t believe that for a second. You would have whipped this entire city into shape by now, Red Queen.”
Riley gave a weak smile at his use of Julia’s call sign for her. “Believe what you want, but the biggest challenge in my life then was to get the other Orthos to accept a five-foot tall woman into their boys’ club and respect her. None of us knew what truly mattered in that old life.”
Coop shrugged. “It was still kind to give those boys their own dose of hope. My wish is someday you’ll see yourself for the remarkable Riley Cooper I know and love.”
She gave him a tender kiss before starting for the door. “Don’t hold your breath.”
Echo let out a whinny of welcome when he saw Coop and Riley. The brief rest in the shade had restored his strength slightly, but his skin was still hot to the touch. Riley was grateful the vet clinic was nearby. When Coop untethered Echo and clicked his tongue to get him moving, Riley was disappointed to see his limp hadn’t improved.
“Help is close,” she whispered.
The streets grew quieter the closer they got to the river. People were clearly moving out of the city or hunkering down. The sun was setting and Riley guessed people were locked in their houses for the night or had abandoned the city already. She hoped Dr. Clevenger hadn’t left the clinic. They made the last turn and Riley wanted to whoop for joy when she saw lights flickering in the windows.
The clinic was in a large building on a corner with steps leading to the main entrance, but Coop pointed out a sign reading Large Animal Clinic in the Rear. He led them around back and past a bank of solar panels to where they found a set of rolling barn-style doors. The doors were closed, but they could hear a generator humming and see light trickling out. They only had to wait a few seconds for the doors to slide open after Coop pounded on the green painted wood.
A young woman with her blond hair pulled into a ponytail and wearing jeans and a tank top stepped through the doorway. She hooked her thumbs in her belt loops and studied them for a moment before saying, “We’re closed and not taking new clients.”
Riley marched up to her, and said, “Our horse won’t survive without emergency treatment. Brent Holverson sent us here. He said Dr. Clevenger would see us.”
The woman broke into a smile, exposing the deepest dimples Riley had ever seen. “Uncle Dyl will do anything for friends of Dr. Brent. This way.”
“Dyl?” Coop whispered in Riley’s ear as the girl led them into the clinic.
“My name’s Callie, cause that’s where I’m from,” she said over her shoulder as they walked. “My mom is Uncle Dyl’s sister. She and my Dad sent me out here to train with him and I got stuck here for obvious reasons, but I don’t mind. I’ve always been crazy about animals. Guess it runs in the family. What’s wrong with your horse?”
“Chatty,” Riley whispered to Coop before raising her voice, and saying, “He injured the skin on his leg about a week ago and it’s become infected. We’re both doctors and we’ve been treating the wounds with people meds, but Echo needs more help than we can give.”
They entered an open room the size of a basketball court, containing stalls, tables and medical implements. What they didn’t see was any animals.
Callie said, “Echo? I love that name. Who are you two?”
As Coop inspected the room, he said, “I’m Coop. This is my wife, Riley.”
“Married doctors. Cool. Wait here. I’ll get Uncle Dyl.”
“Julia would love her,” Riley said, as they watched Callie push through a set of swinging doors. She looked at the well-equipped room in wonder. “Cousin Jessie would have loved a room like this.”
“He probably trained in a facility like this, just like Callie. I’ve been thinking the past few days that when we get to Colorado, it might be smart to breed horses and other large animals and learn to treat them. There’s going to be an enormous need in the coming years.”
Before Riley could respond to Coop’s surprising comment, an enormous man of about fifty wearing stained scrubs burst through the doors. He finished gnawing on a chicken wing, then wiped his plate-sized hands on his pants. Riley stifled a giggle at the sight of chicken bits in his gray-streaked beard.
“Evening,” he said, grinning. “Call me Dyl. How do you know my cousin?”
Coop shook his hand and said, “He attended a medical seminar of mine in Chicago a couple of years back.”
Dyl walked to Echo and pressed his ear to his side. “Well, that’s good enough for me. This must be Echo. Fine specimen, but I could tell the instant I walked through the door he’s one sick fellow.” He straightened and stared down at Riley like it was all her fault. “What happened?”
Riley quietly recounted the accident on the bridge and what they’d done to treat Echo. She was close to tears by the time she finished.
Dyl gripped her shoulder and smiled. “You did your best. Don’t worry. I’ll fix him.”
It sounded like he was going to repair a broken toy, but Riley hoped Dyl was right. He went to work examining Echo and barking orders at Callie, who assisted without hesitation. Coop gestured to some folding chairs behind them. Riley gladly took the suggestion and sank into one with a sigh. Dyl worked for another twenty minutes before walking toward them with his hands on his hips.
“His fever was 104 degrees. Good thing you got here when you did. I dosed him with a drug called Dipyrone even though my supplies are low. It will get the temp right down. That’s the simple part. Callie says you’re both doctors, so you’ll understand this. The deepest laceration is over the fetlock. Infected joint wounds in horses can be dangerous, but this infection looks like it’s still localized. It’ll take weeks of loving care, but I predict he’ll survive. I’ll have to keep him here until he’s well. Do you live in the area?”
Riley and Coop stared at him in shock. Weeks? They were only staying in the city for hours.
“We’re just passing through on our way to Colorado,” Coop said. “Since we are doctors, Riley’s an orthopedist, can’t you just tell us how to treat him and give us the meds? We’ll trade for them.”
“Impossible. This horse has to go easy on that leg, not take a cross-country trip.”
Riley had known in her gut that Echo wasn’t up to going with them, but hearing her diagnosis confirmed was more than she could take in her exhausted state. She leaned forward and sobbed into her hands while Coop silently rubbed her shoulder.
“Now, there,” Dyl said. “None of that. I’ll take excellent care of this fella. You can tr
ust me.”
“She’s pregnant,” Coop said. “She cries at the drop of a hat these days.”
“Well, I do my own share of blubbering these days,” Dyl said.
Riley wiped her face on her shirt and glared at Coop. “You say that like we haven’t been through hell the past week. No, these past months. This has nothing to do with me being pregnant. Don’t you get it? We have to leave Echo with these strangers.”
“Wait a second,” Dyl said. “What do you mean, leave Echo? You can’t wait for your horse to recover?”
“Trust me, we have good reason for moving on and Kearns’ forces are on their way. We saw firsthand what they did to Charleston. Why are you staying?”
He barked out a laugh. “You think I’m going to let those snot-nosed babies order me around? This is my home. It’s always been my home, and I won’t abandon it. I’m not going anywhere. Stay until Echo’s well. I’ll put you up with my family.”
Coop stood and helped Riley to her feet. “That’s a generous offer, but we have to be gone by sunrise. Would you be willing to take Echo in trade? We’d feel better knowing he was in your excellent hands.”
Dyl tried to hide his reaction, but Riley caught the slight widening of his eyes. “You’re giving me your horse? Do you know how much he’d fetch in trade? I own nothing matching his value I can part with.”
Riley half-heartedly searched the room, hoping to find something of value they could take for Echo. She was about to give up when she spotted an item worth its weight in gold on a corner table in Dyl’s office. It looked like it was in decent condition, maybe a few years old.
“We’ll take that ham radio,” she blurted out. “Does it have a backup battery pack?”
Dyl glanced over his shoulder towards his office. “It does, but I’m sorry, Riley. Anything but that. We use the ham to communicate with Callie’s parents. She’d be heartbroken if I gave away her only connection to them.”
Riley moved closer to him and gently laid her hand on his arm. “I have one daughter in Virginia and another daughter and a son in Colorado. I don’t even know if they survived. They don’t know I’m alive. Both families they’re staying with have ham radios. I’d trade a hundred horses for yours if I had them to give.”
“Let her have it, Uncle Dyl,” Callie called from where she stood at Echo’s side. She gave her new friend a quick scratch behind the ears, then crossed the room in five strides to join them. “I’d miss talking to Mom and Dad, but poor Riley’s got kids. They need to know their mom’s safe. I would if I was them.”
“Think of what you’re saying, Callie,” Dyl said. “You might not talk to your parents for years or even the rest of their lives.”
Callie dismissed his words with a wave of her hand. “Stop being such a hen. I’m young. I’ll make it home once this nonsense calms down.”
Dyl shook his head. “Your choice.” He shifted his gaze to Coop and Riley. “The radio for Echo, but give us a chance to reach Callie’s parents one last time and let them know.”
Riley got up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “You’ll never know what this means to me, and thank you, Callie. I understand the sacrifice you’re making.”
Callie flashed her dimples and gave a quick curtsy.
Riley smiled back, then glanced at her watch. “We need to meet Adrian and Dashay. We’ll come back with the cart. That will give Dyl and Callie time to make their call.”
Dyl leaned closer to Riley. “Excuse me, did you say Adrian?” When Riley nodded, he asked, “Dr. Adrian Landry?”
Coop and Riley eyed him in confusion.
“How can you know that?” Coop asked.
“I’ll show you,” Dyl said. He hurried to his office and came back clutching a piece of paper. Holding it out for Coop and Riley to read, he said, “This is how. Adrian’s an uncommon name. When I heard Riley say it, I wondered if it was the same person.”
Staring back at Riley from the page was a disturbingly accurate sketch of Adrian under the words #1 Most Wanted. Below the picture was a list of Adrian’s alleged crimes, including treason and murder, with instructions on how to contact Kearns’ people if he was spotted. Riley’s throat tightened and she couldn’t take a breath. As her legs gave way, Coop caught her and lowered her into the chair.
“Put your head between your knees and take deep breaths,” he ordered before turning to Dyl with the poster in his fist. “Tell me about this.”
“They started showing up around the city a few days ago. Callie brought that copy home this morning.”
Riley took a deep breath and jumped to her feet. “It’s all lies. Believe me. Kearns is the offender, not Adrian. I can’t believe she’s making him the scapegoat to cover her crimes.”
Coop looked at the paper. “Can we have this?”
“It’s of no use to me.” Dyl watched as Coop folded it and shoved it in his pocket. “Now I understand your hurry to get out of town by dawn. Are you sure this Adrian character hasn’t manipulated you into believing he’s innocent?”
“We never said he was innocent, but he’s not guilty of these crimes,” Riley said, as she started for the door. “We’ll be back in one hour for the radio.”
Coop rushed to catch up with her as she headed for the street. “Riley, stop. We need to discuss this.”
She ignored him and kept going. “We shouldn’t leave Adrian and Dashay exposed out in the open in the park. Talk while we walk.”
Coop got into step beside her. “You know what we have to do, right?”
“Yes, we’ve got to get Adrian far away from here, then hide and protect him.”
Coop put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her to a stop. “No, Riley, that’s not what we’re going to do. We’ll warn him, get him situated, and then we part ways. He’ll have to make his own way from here.”
“Ditching him now is worse than leaving him alone to die in the woods. He’s coming with us.”
“A week ago, you were ready to strangle the man. Now you’re willing to risk your safety for him? I was willing to tolerate him tagging along for the ride, but that was before his very presence put my wife and child in danger. He’s being hunted by the most powerful authority in the country. You know what Kearns is capable of. If we’re caught with Adrian, who knows what they’ll do to us.”
Riley paused a moment to clear her thoughts. Coop’s argument made logical sense, but that didn’t make it right. Adrian was the last man in the world she thought she’d defend, but she felt obligated to do it.
“You know how I feel about Adrian,” she said. “That man gets on my last nerve, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to leave him at the mercy of Kearns’ brutes any more than I could leave him at Branson’s mercy in the compound. You helped me save his life then. Do the same now.”
“The compound was different. We just gave him medical treatment. We weren’t at risk.”
“They’ll torture and kill him, Coop. You know that. Adrian’s the only person in the world who knows that Kearns kept her mouth shut about the CME. She stood by and watched millions die and millions more suffer rather than risk her own ass. We could have been most of the way to Colorado if we’d known the truth. Kearns may not have been able to predict the extent of the damage the CME would cause, but I believe her choice was a calculated power grab. Look what she’s doing with that power. Destroying more lives.”
“You’re making my point, Riley. She’s powerful and dangerous and will stop at nothing to consolidate her chokehold on this country. You want to bring down her wrath on us? Yes, Adrian’s at risk, but he’s just some guy we crossed paths with. We’ve saved his life more than once. We don’t owe him anything.”
“I can’t justify my argument rationally, but my gut is telling me we have an obligation to protect him and keep him alive. This may be one of those turning points in history where someone made a choice with long-term ramifications that put them at risk. Or maybe it’s just the doctor in me not wanting to send Adrian like a lamb to slaughter. Either w
ay, I’m determined to do this.”
As Coop studied her, the frustration and fear were etched in his face. Riley hated going against his wishes for the sake of a man she could barely tolerate, but Adrian’s life had value and she felt he had an important role to play.
Coop put his cap on and took a deep breath. “Everything in me is screaming that this is wrong, but I made a promise to go along with whatever you said. You’ve made that a hard promise to keep more than once, Riley, but I’ll trust you. Don’t make me regret it.”
Riley threw her arms around him and held him tight. “I appreciate your trust in me. I’m right. You’ll see.” She released him, then tugged on his hand to get him moving. “I feel like we’re characters on a vital mission in an espionage novel. Let’s get to Adrian before Kearns’ people capture him.”
“Feels more like a Greek tragedy to me,” Coop said, as he reluctantly got into step with her.
Riley spit on her knuckles three times to ward off evil as she ran along the dark, deserted street toward the park. Only time would tell which of them was right or if they both were.
Riley ran to Dashay and Adrian as soon as she spotted them and waved for them to follow her to a dark stand of trees where Coop was waiting. He handed the most-wanted flier to Adrian and shined his flashlight on it while Dashay read over his shoulder.
Adrian stared at the paper in stunned silence. After several moments, he whispered, “What are you going to do with me? They’re offering a reward.”
Riley grabbed the flier and tore it to pieces, then let them blow away on the wind. “Do you actually believe we’d trade your life for shelter and supplies? Give us some credit.”
He raised his frightened eyes to her. “You were wishing me dead last week.”
She linked her arm in his and started walking, pulling him along. “Haven’t you gotten it through your thick head yet that I didn’t mean it? I was just distraught over Brooks. Coop and I are committed to getting you to safety, wherever that means. Dashay, it’s your choice to stay with us or not. Just be advised this little field trip of ours could get a lot dicier.”