The Leaves in Winter
Page 50
“Try them again!”
“The interlock may be controlled electronically, but it’s held fast mechanically. It’s also under pressure.”
Colin inspected the unusually wide frame around the door. “You’re talking about the pressure bladders…don’t worry about those. I’ll take care of them. You just get the interlock released.”
The guard paused as he considered all that would entail.
“Go!” shouted Colin.
Jerking away into darkness, the guard rushed to obey orders.
Colin retreated through the Work and Interaction area to the outer corridor to retrieve a fire ax from the wall. Returning straight away to the locker room, he set about chopping away at the frame of the shower room door’s pressure bladder. Compromising the inner seal, he recoiled as a jet of air rocketed from the breach.
Ripping at the rent sections of the bladder with his hands, Colin could see into the door frame and parts of the armature that held the interlock in place.
As he inspected the framework, repeated clicks of relays and motorized hinges engaged along the inner frame from ceiling to floor. As he watched, all but one of the interlocks disengaged. The errant relay buzzed and clicked again as its corresponding servo attempted to activate but the stubborn hinge wouldn’t budge.
Incensed at the mechanical delay, Colin turned his ax around and leveled the blunt end against the defective part. With all his might, again and again, he struck blows against the stressing metal until the powerful impacts bent and snapped the troubled connection to pieces.
Dropping the fire ax at his feet, Colin grabbed the door handle with both hands and gave a yank. His effort was with such force that when the door gave way, both the door and he flew backwards onto the floor.
A wave of heat coursed over him. He kicked the door aside and jumped up.
There, draped over the threshold laid Janis’ naked body. She was unconscious and streaked with sweat and ash. He stooped down and scooped her up into his arms. On the way out of the locker room, he dodged aside to grab hold of her street clothes from the work table. There was no time to waste. Even as he crossed the darkness leading to the outer corridor, he could hear the advance of flame behind him.
From outer corridor to the base of the stairwell, Colin raced with Janis cradled in his arms. In the stairwell, fresh air fed from above was a welcomed relief.
Colin carefully set Janis down on the concrete then attached an oxygen canister to an intake hose leading to his gas mask. He slipped the gas mask over her face and switched on a forced air feed. He checked her neck for a pulse. He found one but wished it was stronger. He dare not risk the time it would take to carry her up and outside. She needed oxygen now. He cradled her up over his lap in his arms and called to her.
“Janis…it’s all right…Janis…!” He tapped her cheek and rubbed her hands in his. Luckily, by collapsing, it appeared she had spent the worst time near the floor, under the heaviest smoke layer. Within minutes, she was blinking.
When her eyes opened and looked up at him, she was disoriented.
“Where am I…?”
Colin held her steady. “You’re safe.”
She rolled her eyes to gaze up into the stairwell. “Where’s Alyssa?”
“We got her out. She’s fine.”
“You came back for me…” The statement established the sequence of events as much as it did a tacit surprise.
Colin stared into her eyes. “I had no choice.”
Becoming more alert, Janis raised her head. “I’m naked.”
Colin swept his gaze over her body then quickly returned to the patch on her arm. “What happened in there?”
“I tried to outrun the fire…the self-destruct.”
“You made it.” Colin considered they were still on sub-basement level. “You need to get your clothes on. We have to get out of here. Come on, I’ll help you…”
He leaned her up. She leaned back against the wall.
Colin retrieved the wads of clothes he had dropped nearby. In proper order, he started helping her slip things on. After underwear and socks, he helped her to stand.
Holding onto the wall, she let a wave of vertigo pass.
“I have to get out of here…” she mumbled.
Colin supported her while she slipped into blouse and pants.
“I’ll feel better when I finally get you outside.”
“No, that’s not what I mean,” countered Janis. “I have to get away.”
“You need medical attention, then rest.”
She leaned on his shoulder. “You don’t understand…”
“You did your best,” offered Colin. “There’s no point beating yourself up about it. We both knew it was going to be a long shot. It was foolish even to try – we could have lost you.”
Janis turned into him. Her face was inches from his. “I didn’t fail…”
The words didn’t register. Colin stared back. “What do you mean? You brought nothing out with you. I found you collapsed on the floor.”
Janis lifted her blouse’s left sleeve to expose the bicep patch.
“You brought me out – that was enough.”
The impact of what she was implying knocked Colin back. “You didn’t…”
“Now do you understand? I have to get away before they find out.”
“You infected yourself? You gave yourself 2GenGEN…?”
Janis teared up. “There was only one way left when I got there…”
Colin read her face. Concern mixed with sadness. “The interaction sample…”
Janis gave a nod.
“No!” Colin’s shout echoed up the stairwell. “Why the hell did you do that!”
“It was the only way…”
“And now what?” yelped Colin.
Janis buttoned her blouse. “What do you think?”
“I can’t imagine…” Pangs of grief took away his breath.
Stepping over to her shoes to slip them on, Janis turned back. “…the final option.”
“You mean now?”
Janis started up the stairs but found herself too weak to continue. “I must get away. You can’t let them find me.” As Colin hesitated, Janis stepped back to him. “What did you think was going to happen when I came out of the lab with the specimen? You must have planned an escape…”
Colin knew what was coming but couldn’t resist it. “There’s a private plane waiting at the airport. You can tell it where you want to go.”
“Fine,” snapped Janis. “I have to take Alyssa along with me.”
Colin stiffened. “You know what The Project thinks of her…”
“This is non-negotiable. Make it happen.”
Colin wavered. “All right. I’ll think of something.”
“You always do…”
“Where will you go?”
“It’s best if you don’t know.” She held a hand to her head.
“You’re right.” Colin eyed the arm patch. “How long do you have?”
Janis grew somber. “You’ve followed the news. You know the incubation period. 3rd Protocol comes on quick but 2GenGEN is even quicker. I’d say I have no more than 48 hours.” She paused. “The last few…will be spent incapacitated.”
“You’re sure you want to do this? There are medical things we can try.”
Janis’ smile was weak. “There’s nothing worse than a hopeful lie…”
“You never know.” The sadness overtook Colin. “We could have found another way…”
Janis remained resolute. “I’m afraid I don’t trust any of you to do what’s right. This is my one chance to make sure it’s done. There’s no other way. I have to try…”
Colin saw the strength in her eyes. He took a deep breath. “Then let’s get going.”
Janis smiled. “You’re going to have to carry me up these steps.”
“It’s the least I can do…”
Her smile faded. “I know.”
He paused, absorbing her intent.
They held their embrace for as long as they could. When they finally pulled back, their eyes met with a tenderness not seen for each other for fifteen years.
The feeling was strong; much was lost but something was gained.
Once again, Colin scooped Janis up into his arm, this time to carry her to the surface. Emerging into the night air, Janis was thankful to see the stars again. Even more so, she was overjoyed to be reunited with Alyssa. The two of them hugged even as Janis dodged all questions about what had gone on in the lab.
As Janis delighted in Alyssa’s hug, she couldn’t help but take in the aftermath of destruction around her. The devastation to Building 3 was beyond surprising. To imagine she’d survived such an attack from below was even more miraculous. Then again, to survive the onslaught only to emerge with only 48 hours to live seemed a cruel twist of fate. All of it made more bittersweet by the reunion with Alyssa.
Shunning attempts by security personnel to route her to a medical aid station, Janis collected Alyssa and followed Colin’s lead to the far side of Building 2. There she found a parked car waiting for her. Colin handed her the keys, passports, and instructions to give the airport guard. He gave both of them a kiss on the forehead.
“We’re crossing into unchartered territory…” he warned. “Once we do this, so much is out of our control.”
Janis drew Alyssa close to her side. “If there was any other way, don’t you think I would have taken it? This is everything I hoped for – and the last thing I wanted.”
“It’s not over. I won’t give up on the hope that we still have other options…”
Janis got behind the steering wheel as Alyssa took the front passenger seat. Janis gave Colin one last look. There was nothing more to say. She drove off.
Rooted in place, Colin watched them go. His phone buzzed. It was Faye.
Chapter 54
Apartment Level
GARC Building 2
Faye swung open her apartment door and Colin rushed in.
“What the hell is going on?” demanded Faye.
From the text message he had received, Colin expected a confrontation. If it had to be, he wanted to set the pace. “When did they let you back in the apartment? I thought everyone got herded into the basement shelter.”
“I just got back.” Faye followed him across the room. His bandaged arm drew her concern. “What happened to you?”
“I’m all right…”
Faye drew near. “What’s going on with Janis and Alyssa? Did they get out of the sub-basement or not?”
From the elevated window, Colin peered through darkness to find a campus in disarray. “They both got out.”
“Then where are they?”
Colin paused. “They’re gone. They had to get away.”
“Gone! Where?”
“She didn’t want to say…”
Faye paced and rubbed her temple. “You’re not making any sense. They wouldn’t just leave and you wouldn’t just let them.”
“It was necessary to keep them away from The Project…”
“Were they hurt? Are they going for medical care?”
“No….” Colin turned from the window to face Faye. “I told you days ago – I needed to talk with both of you…”
“Janis didn’t want to meet; you know that. I kept after her to make it happen. It was only earlier tonight I finally got her to agree to meet you.”
“Really…,” noted Colin. “Well, I spoke with her. I’ll tell you the same thing I told her. This business about a final option, giving plague survivors extended life…The Project never intended to make good on that.”
“Why not?”
“All they want is sole control of 2GenGEN. They only agreed to Janis’ plan to get her to synthesize what no one else in the world possesses. Once they got her process documented and they knew they could duplicate it…well, tonight they saw a way to make sure she’d never get a chance to use it.”
“They’re behind the attack tonight?” Confusion mixed with surprise.
“No,” answered Colin. “NCO and André Bolard was behind the attack. But as usual, The Project never lets a good emergency go to waste. When they found out the attack was on, they ordered the lab destroyed.”
Faye took it in. “How do you know this?”
“I placed a tap on any secured calls in and out of here that connected to the agents that came back with me from D.C.”
“You’ve never talked about that trip. Why?”
“At first I wasn’t sure. I suspected something wasn’t right. I took a chance in D.C. and planted a bug. After I left the meeting, I monitored conversations for days. It took about a week to catch them speaking their truth.”
“But that’s two months ago. Why wait so long to tell us?”
“I didn’t want to bring you two in on it until I had a grip on what to do. When Janis refused to meet, it gave me time to think.”
“What’s to decide? Janis could have stopped work on 2GenGEN.”
“It didn’t matter. She had already drafted her process. Key concepts were already in place and backed up. You don’t understand the kind of people you’re dealing with. Believe me, if we get cut out of the game, there’s no chance to win.”
Faye folded her arms. “That’s the difference between Janis and you. She never looked upon it as a game.”
Laden with the weight of all that had happened, Colin sat down. “There’s something else you must know. It’s not easy to say…”
Seeing his face taut with dismay, Faye drew near and sat across from him. “It’s about Janis, isn’t it?”
Colin swallowed on a dry throat. “I told her about The Project…how they were going to destroy the lab. I told her what I overheard the Project talking about…”
“What else did you hear?”
“Even if we come up with a vaccine for 3rd Protocol or a sterility fix, they plan on a distribution that’s phased and selective. They have no intention on giving it to everyone.”
“What happened in the lab?” Faye filled with dread.
“She said there was only one way to defeat them. She had to go in and save it.”
“2GenGEN? She went back in?”
Colin nodded.
“…but you said she was all right…” Faye’s anxiety rocketed.
Colin lowered his gaze. “I said she got out. I never said she was all right.”
“I asked you if they were hurt…,” snapped Faye, her dread venting as anger.
He raised his eyes and leveled with her. “The fire was about to take the lab. There was only one specimen left. There was no time to do anything else…”
Colin paused, hoping Faye would realize what he was about to say so he wouldn’t have to say it. But Faye stayed silent, stunned by unthinkable anticipation.
“…she infected herself.” Colin’s words split the air between them. Into the gaping space once reserved for hope poured sadness one could drown in.
Faye gasped and raised a hand to her mouth. “The interaction test…”
Colin nodded. “She told me she believes she has 48 hours.”
Faye slumped back, buried her face in her hand, and wept. Through her tears, she managed to vent an aching rage. “Why on Earth did you let her go!”
“It’s her time. It’s what she wants to do with it.”
Faye lurched to her feet. “What she wants to do with it! And what exactly do you think that is?”
Colin kept calm. “My guess? She wants to spread single-dose GenLET.”
“That’s right. She has it in her blood. She’ll catch the cold and spread it from person to person. Aren’t you missing something?”
“What?”
Faye paced away her agitation. “She obviously wasn’t in her right mind. She was probably in shock. Of course she can walk around spreading the 2Ge
nGEN virus but my God, there’s a better way!”
“She had to get away. She couldn’t take the risk of The Project finding out what she had done and putting her in a locked-down quarantine.”
Faye stopped before Colin and lectured him. “Don’t you understand! We need to take and preserve samples of her blood. You shouldn’t have let her out of your sight! If she dies before we get those samples, her sacrifice could be all in vain. There’s no guarantee she’ll pass 2GenGEN to enough people to make a difference. She sacrificed all to get it out of the lab for us. Now we need to preserve it in a way that makes sense – a way that The Project doesn’t know about.”
“What good is her blood? It’s also loaded with 3rd Protocol.”
“The non-contagious kind. One can be extracted from the other in the lab.”
“What lab?”
“You’ll have to find me one. But first you’ll need to find Janis.”
“I got a report from the private pilot I hired. She told him to fly her to Atlanta.”
Faye backed off and sped to her computer. “And why not – it has the busiest airport in the world. Lots of people to mingle with…”
Colin caught on. “People flying everywhere.”
After a quick Internet search, Faye scanned the statistics. “Hartsfield-Jackson serves 151 U.S. destinations and more than 80 international destinations in 52 countries…more than 240,000 passengers a day.” Faye turned back to Colin. “When The Project discovers her gone, you know they’ll be going after her…”
The facts were harsh but Colin had to say them. “There’s no treatment for 3rd Protocol plague. With every passing hour she becomes less valuable to them.”
“Regardless, they still won’t want her spreading 2GenGEN. Are you saying they won’t go after her?”
“No, they will. They won’t want to take the chance of letting her spread it.”
“Then we need to get to her first.” Across the room, Faye’s phone buzzed. Rushing to it, she noted an incoming text message.
“Who is it?” asked Colin.
Faye’s eyes lit up. “It’s from Janis!”
Colin jumped up and hurried to her side.
Faye punched keys to retrieve the message. When it appeared, she stood surprised, saddened, and overwhelmed. A past conversation and a flash of memory conjoined upon an insight. At first it made no sense – and then it meant everything.