Hell & Back (Outbreak Task Force)

by Julie Rowe

  Raymond practically tackled DS with questions.

  Henry put a hand on her shoulder. “You ready to go?”

  “Yeah.” She glanced at DS and Raymond one last time as they left. “He looks ready to stroke out.”

  “Who? Raymond or DS?”

  She glanced at the pair again. “Both, I guess.”

  “DS can handle him.” Henry looked at her and frowned. “Do you live alone?”

  She was about to answer, but they were walking past an office, and someone inside called out, “Henry, got a minute?”

  He stopped and put a hand on her arm to stop her, too. He angled his head into the office, and she followed him in.

  Four people were inside talking all at once, two women and two men. Ruby had met all of them exactly once, though not at the same time. The women were Ava Lloyd and Kini Kerek, a microbiologist and a nurse. The men were Walter River and Lyle Smoke, both former Army Rangers, who’d come to work for the CDC in the last year.

  River smiled at Ruby, a bright, engaging, flirtatious one that seemed at odds with the flat, cold stare Smoke had on his face. Night and day, those two.

  Ruby preferred Henry’s unhappy expression to Smoke’s lack of one. At least she always knew how he was feeling.

  “We’re getting sent out of country,” River said like it was the most exciting thing to happen in a long time.

  “Where?” Henry asked the question like he expected to hear they were heading to the moon.

  “The Congo,” Kini said. “I’m going to be training public health nurses in Ebola prevention measures.”

  “Syria,” Ava said. “There are thousands of refugees in camps all along the Syrian border. Cholera is running rampant through them. We need to get it under control and people vaccinated before it spreads outside the camps.”

  Henry studied the two women before he looked at the men.

  “You two need backup? Syria is no joke, and the Congo is full of people who’ll shoot anything that moves.”

  “We’re taking a few people with us,” River answered. “Canada, England, and France are also sending teams.”

  “We’ve got a military escort,” Smoke said, and for a moment he looked almost happy, as if the possibility of needing that escort might be fun.

  “What do you need from me?” Henry asked.

  Smoke glanced down at Henry’s leg, or rather, his prosthetic. “Can you hook me up with some used prosthetics? Intel says there are quite a few kids in the camps who’ve lost limbs.”

  Henry nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. The people who built mine will be all over something like that.”

  While Henry was talking, Kini moved closer to Ruby. “How are you settling in?” she asked.

  “Okay,” Ruby said, surprised to realize she meant it. “It’s been a busy two months, but I like busy.”

  Kini glanced at Henry. “Well, stick with Henry. He’s good people, despite his tendency to growl.”

  Ava, who’d joined them, grinned at that. “Most of the men here have perfected the art of growling, snarling, and roaring to get what they want.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Don’t be afraid to stand your ground.”

  Ruby almost laughed and managed not to, but she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. “Thanks for the advice.”

  Henry said goodbye, so she did, too, and they left.

  She dared a look at his profile. “That’s a good thing. Helping kids who’ve lost limbs.”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, then said quietly, “It isn’t their fault most of humanity are a bunch of greedy, dumb fucks.”

  Ruby opened her mouth to argue but realized he was right and closed it without saying anything.

  He glanced at her, his gaze sharp. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “What?” He’d asked something? Oh yeah. “I have a roommate.”

  “New?”

  “Um, no, we moved to Atlanta together. His work wasn’t particularly happy about that, but he’s kind of irreplaceable.”

  Henry’s face did something she’d never seen before. It went blank. “How long have you two been together?”

  For a second she wondered what he meant, then realized he thought they were a couple. Well, they were, but not the way Henry was assuming. “Oh no, we’re not boyfriend and girlfriend. We’re—”

  “Henry,” someone shouted from another office, one they’d passed a few moments ago.

  He turned and said, “I’ll be right there.” Then, he looked at her, that blank expression still confusing the heck out of her. “Go on ahead. With a couple of teams going out, I might be a while.”

  He’d included her in these sorts of conversations before, ones that had nothing to do with microbiology or virology. “Can I do anything to help?” she asked.

  His mouth tightened.

  Okay, what had happened to make him mad in the last minute or so? All they’d talked about was her living situation.

  “Are you concerned my roommate might be in danger?”

  “More like a danger to you,” he replied after a few seconds. As if he’d taken the time to really think about what he said before he said it.

  “My brother is frequently a danger to himself, but never to me.”

  “Brother?” He sounded surprised.

  “Yes.” She sighed. Most people thought living with your brother was only one step up from living with your parents. “He’s not a very good roommate. He’s forgetful and terrible at housework.”

  Henry’s mouth didn’t look so tense now. “Sorry. Too many things on my mind.”

  “It’s okay. After all the attacks and the measles outbreak…” Her voice trailed off, and she smiled weakly. “Everyone is on edge.” She hoped that was it. If Henry had figured out why she’d really joined the CDC—to find the source of the leak—he’d be furious with her. She hadn’t told him there were two reasons she’d wanted to work here. One was the science—she loved solving puzzles, and infectious diseases were among the most complicated of medical mysteries. Small, insignificant variables could effect great change in an outbreak. The second reason was what kept her hyperaware of everything around her. She didn’t just work for the CDC. Her parents, both of whom worked for the NSA, expected her to look for patterns in behavior in the people she worked with that might indicate current or future threats to public safety.

  The CDC had already had one rogue former employee release a bioengineered measles strain into the population. And information still seemed to be getting out. Staff assignments, movements, and lab reports should not be making it outside the organization.

  With his hand in a lot of different departments, Henry had been one of the first CDC employees she’d looked at, but everything she’d seen and heard told her he was one of the good guys. Still…even the best of men were sometimes led astray.

  A sour taste flooded her mouth at the thought he was in any way connected to the FAFO.

  “I’m going to need the latest numbers on the measles outbreak for a meeting tomorrow,” he said to her. “Could you work on that for me?”

  “Sure.” She tried to smile but decided just to nod instead. “A one-page summary?”

  “Yeah, that’s perfect.” He walked away, and she managed to tear her gaze off him and head toward her own workspace, the knot at the bottom of her stomach twisting tighter and tighter.

  Chapter Two

  Tuesday, May 7, 6:32 a.m.

  Ruby stopped the Jeep she was driving to let her brother, Nate, get out.

  “Don’t forget to eat lunch,” she said to him.

  He lifted his head so he could make eye contact with her. “What?”

  “Eat lunch,” she said again.

  He flashed a smile at her. “I will.” He got out, waved, then wandered into the nondescript building where he worked
.

  “No, you won’t,” Ruby muttered to herself. He’d forgotten to eat the last three days in a row. Some people had selective hearing—her brother had a selective memory. If he didn’t think it was important, he didn’t remember it.

  She sighed and pulled away from the curb. The drive to her own workplace, CDC headquarters, would take forty minutes. She’d better get going before she was late.

  For once, traffic wasn’t all that bad, no real slowdowns at all. She’d have been happy, except for the sedan that seemed insistent on tailgating her. If that weren’t bad enough, a truck had swung into her lane in front of her then slowed down, forcing her to slow as well.

  She switched lanes, but the two vehicles following her boxed her in, slowing her even more. Stomach tightening, she took another look at the two vehicles. She couldn’t remember cutting anyone off, so what the hell?

  The car behind her connected with her bumper. Not a collision, more of a nudge, like the driver had deliberately tried to push her into the vehicle in front of her.

  What an asshole. She hated assholes.

  Was this some kind of stupid stunt, or was the FAFO hoping to run a CDC employee off the road? That wasn’t really their style—they usually blew things up. But if they wanted a fresh source of information about the CDC’s activities or security protocols, or a hostage to use as leverage to get that information…maybe it wasn’t so crazy.

  They didn’t know whom they were dealing with.

  She narrowed her eyes at the car behind her. Dude, you’re playing tag with the wrong vehicle. Her Jeep was in no way normal. Her brother had modified it, turning it into almost a tank. Steel roll bar, steel bull bars on the front and back of the chassis. The engine wasn’t a slouch, either. Nate had named it Frankenjeep.

  She stood on the brakes.

  The car behind her ran into her as she expected, but unlike her Jeep, it didn’t have the steel frame to keep it the same shape. The car’s hood crumpled, along with the fenders. A loud pop echoed as one of the tires exploded.

  Ha. He wasn’t going to be messing with her anymore.

  Ruby stomped on the gas and rammed into the back of the truck in front of her. A truck that had backed up almost as soon as she’d stopped.

  The driver probably thought a Jeep wouldn’t have the horsepower to push his vehicle out of the way, and he’d have been right if her ride had been in any way normal. He didn’t know her brother worked for Mars Mission Labs putting rockets into outer space. Juicing up her Jeep had been a fun hobby project for him.

  Still, it took a couple of seconds before the Frankenjeep managed to push the larger truck onto the shoulder of the road and up a cement Jersey barrier, leaving it hung up and unable to move.

  Surprise.

  She shifted gears to back up, but the car she thought she’d disabled rammed into the back of her again, blocking her escape.

  Ruby glanced in her rearview mirror and bared her teeth. Oh, it’s on, asshole.

  She reversed, spinning her tires to push the car back. She gained a half a foot then moved forward those few inches so she could gain a bit of momentum and push the car back another foot.

  The driver’s side door opened, and a man stepped out. Dressed in khaki pants and shirt, his clothing was completely unremarkable. Large mirrored sunglasses made it hard to categorize his features, though his hair was dark and cut short.

  Her attention was centered on the gun in his hand. He raised it, aiming at her. The son of a bitch was going to shoot her in the back.

  She yanked the steering wheel to one side so her steel bumpers clipped the car’s door, smacking it into the asshole. His arm was pushed up, the gun went off, and he was slammed into the side of his vehicle. He went down.

  She wrenched her steering wheel in the opposite direction and managed to push the truck up the barrier a little farther, enough to give her the space she needed to escape.

  As she floored the gas pedal and passed the truck, something clanged off the Jeep. Another gunshot?

  Holy shit, these guys weren’t fooling around.

  Success bubbled up into a laugh as she drove. A couple of miles down the road the laughter had burned itself out, leaving her hand shaking with unused adrenaline. Pulling over wasn’t an option—who knew who else would pull over with her? She grabbed her phone and, after a couple of tries, managed to hit the right buttons to call Henry’s cell phone. The last thing she did before dropping the device was put it in speaker mode so she could use both hands to drive.

  “Ruby?” Henry’s normal grumpy bass held a questioning note.

  “S-someone just tr-tried to run me off the road.” Why wasn’t her tongue working? She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, either.

  “Where are you right now?” His voice was sharp, and in the background, sounds told her he was moving—a door opening and closing, rapid footsteps, and other indistinct voices.

  There was her exit. “Not far from the office. Ten minutes.”

  “Do you need immediate assistance? Are you being pursued?”

  “No. I put both vehicles out of commission.”

  “Is your car damaged? Are you hurt? Should you be driving?” His questions echoed. He’d entered a large enclosed space. The parking garage?

  “It’s fine.” She checked her mirrors and let out a deep breath. That felt so good she did it again. “No one looks like they’re following me.” She let out a dusky laugh. “Five more minutes and I’ll be there.”

  “Let me know where you park.” It was an order.

  “Okay.” Someone besides her should check the Jeep for damage.

  She was never so glad to pull up to the gated parking garage as today. The guard checked her ID, then waved her in. She drove into the parking garage, where Henry was watching her from the side. She stopped and let him in, but not until he examined the front of the Jeep.

  “Are you sure you’re not injured?” he asked as soon as he opened the passenger door.

  She shook her head. “At least, I don’t think so.”

  He pressed his lips together in a flat line. “Park.” He hopped in and shut the door.

  As soon as she did, he reached over and curved a hand around her neck so he could bring her closer. “Let’s try this again.” His voice was low, full of something akin to menace, no less intense, but gentler. “Are you injured?”

  She stared into his eyes only inches from her own and found she’d forgotten how to breathe. He was close enough to make her want more than just his hand on her neck.

  “No,” she whispered and patted the steering wheel. “Frankenjeep is tough.”

  He examined her carefully then let her go and sat back slightly. “What happened?”

  “I was on the interstate when a car and a truck boxed me in and forced me to slow down. They tried to make me pull over and I got scared, so I stepped on the brakes. The car behind hit me hard. The one in front backed up so I couldn’t move. I stepped on the gas and pushed it out of my way and drove off.” She paused to suck in a breath. “Then I called you.”

  He absorbed that. “Frankenjeep?”

  “My brother rebuilt it. It’s more of a tank that only pretends it’s a Jeep. Solid steel frame and bumpers.”

  “It has the power to move another vehicle?”

  “He put a ridiculous engine in it. I don’t usually drive it, but my car is at the mechanic’s.”

  He waited…to see if she had more to say? His gaze left hers after a few seconds, roaming her again.

  “Steel bumpers, huh?” He slid out the door and moved to look at the back of the Jeep.

  Ruby joined him. The bumper wasn’t dented, but there was a collection of paint-filled scrapes on it.

  He strode to the front. Same thing there. He stared at it for several seconds then pulled out his phone, made a call, and said, “I’ve got something I want yo
u to see in the staff garage.” He paused to check the parking stall number. He relayed it, then he ended the call.

  “Who’s coming?” Ruby asked. Now that she was here and safe, she was feeling a little light-headed—not that she would tell Henry that. He’d have her in medical in a second. No, all she needed was a cup of coffee and something to eat.

  “DS,” he said. He met her gaze and she sucked in a breath. His eyes were all but incandescent with rage.

  “While we wait for him, I want you to think very carefully about what happened.”

  She opened her mouth to complain she’d already told him about it, but he didn’t give her a chance to talk.

  “You’re going to tell us all the details you didn’t give me a few minutes ago.” His face was grim. “How many people were in each vehicle, make and model, weapons visible, every little thing.”

  “But—”

  “Close your eyes and focus on it. Please?”

  He seemed so serious and furious, all she could do was nod and do as he asked.

  She’d never heard him say “please” before—not like that.

  She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the sound of someone walking toward them had her eyes opening.

  DS looked from her to Henry and back again. “Having a staff meeting?”

  “What we had was an attempted kidnapping,” Henry said with a nod in Ruby’s direction.

  “What?” DS jerked and stared at her. “Just now?”

  “On my way to work,” Ruby agreed. Then she recalled the entire incident, including several details she didn’t think she knew—that each vehicle had one occupant each and that the vehicles both had stickers from a rental company on them.

  After she was finished, DS said, “I’ll look into it.” He gave Henry a funny look then met her gaze. “You okay?”

  “Yes, s…yes.” He wasn’t fond of her usual honorific. She tried to smile. “Could use a cup of coffee, though.”

  Henry grunted. “Fine,” he said as if she’d asked a question. “I’m following you home tonight.”