Of course they didn’t, but Quirk didn’t need to know that, so Ronnie solemnly nodded.
He gulped, then yelped, grabbing at his other arm. “Ouch!” Quirk yelled at Zach.
The ploy had worked perfectly. She’d spent the last five minutes convincing Quirk that she was the danger—only to have Zach come in from the other side with the vaccine at the last moment. Her syringe didn’t even have any of the precious vaccine in it.
“Totally uncalled for,” Quirk mumbled as he inspected the tiny pinprick. “Don’t I get a bandage or something?”
“Better buckle up,” the pilot said as he pointed to a lighthouse on the horizon. At least something on the island still worked, indicating the facilities still had power. Score one for the Plague Busters.
Ronnie strapped into her seat watching the vague outline of the island came into view. The pilot banked as they flew over the narrow finger of the island. That wasn’t where they were headed, though. It was to the broader stretch of the island, where the laboratories were positioned. As they descended, Ronnie noted the gray and blue buildings. Although, it was eerie. Not a person or animal moved. However, given the weather, she seriously doubted that anyone would be running around—with or without the plague.
Smoothly the pilot brought the seaplane around, landing on the surging waves, drawing them up alongside the small pier.
Zach cocked his gun.
Yeah. They still weren’t done with those yet.
* * *
Zach urged the trio between the two main buildings. Protected from the rain, Quirk pulled out his palmtop.
“This is the entrance closest to the conference room,” he reported.
Quirk shouldn’t have known that. After 9/11, the island had come under Homeland Security jurisdiction. The plans to the laboratories were locked behind one of the highest security clearances you could get. This was Quirk, after all, so it came as no great surprise that the hacker was in the know.
Zach checked the door handle. The metal turned easily under his palm. Not good. Or at least not good for any hope of finding survivors. He looked at Ronnie as she frowned. What else could they do but investigate? Opening the door, they crept along the empty hallway. Blood smeared the walls and pooled on the tile.
“Aren’t you glad we poked you?” Ronnie asked Quirk.
The young man simply checked his lymph nodes as they turned a corner. Several bloated bodies littered the floor. Quirk clutched Zach’s arm. Under any other circumstances, Zach would have pushed him away, but seeing this? Zach was giving Quirk a pass.
They made it to the stairs. Just one floor up. Taking each step carefully, Zach led the way. Only the echo of their footsteps marked their passage. No other noise met them. Making sure the others were behind him, Zach jerked open the door to the second floor.
No bodies. Not even any blood. That gave him hope that maybe someone was still alive to help. If there wasn’t? They didn’t have enough fuel to make it to the CDC headquarters in Atlanta. And the rest of the level four laboratories simply didn’t have the facilities to produce vaccine in the massive quantities they needed.
“It should be that one,” Quirk whispered as he pointed to the conference room.
Hoping for the best but prepared for the worst, Zach made for the door.
* * *
Amanda held Jennifer’s hand. It lay slack under her fingers. The woman still breathed, but that was about as much as they could ask of her. Despite all the medication pumped into her body, Jennifer was dying.
Coughing and spitting up blood, Amanda wasn’t far behind. The glands in her throat had nearly cut off her breathing, and the pain in her joints? At least, Jennifer didn’t feel the pain anymore.
Devlin sat in the opposite corner, still holding the gauze against his head wound.
How many hours had passed since Quirk’s last communication? Was his team all dead, like Amanda’s colleagues?
The CIA liaison’s head jerked up. “What was that?”
She had no idea. Just then, the door burst open. A man with a gun rushed in. “Hands up!”
Only Devlin didn’t comply. Instead, he pulled out his own weapon. “Who the hell are you?”
“The cavalry. Now, drop it.”
Devlin’s jaw tensed. “Not before you do.”
The two men aimed at one another as a woman edged into the room.
“Guys, we are on the same side,” she said surveying the scene. “Right?”
The men, however, did not lower their weapons. Another, skinnier, man burst in. “Or for goodness’ sake! We have lives to save.”
The skinny man strode right over to Amanda as Devlin pointed to the armed man.
“Dr. Rolph, I presume?”
“Quirk?” Amanda asked tentatively.
“Um,” the man said, twirling around. “In the middle of the Black Death, a man this well dressed? Who else would it be than Quirk?”
For some reason, Amanda jumped up. Pustules and all, she hugged him.
“Let’s watch the wool,” Quirk said gently, moving her back. He handed her a small, plastic box holding dozens of small vials.
Amanda was afraid to let herself believe that it was true. Could the vaccine—and even more importantly, the antisera—really be at her fingertips? She turned to ask Quirk if it really could be happening, but the slight man sat down hard next to Jennifer.
“Is she even…?”
Then Jennifer took in a rattled breath.
“Yes, but not for long,” Amanda commented as she opened a syringe and pulled out an aliquot of the antisera. In theory, she should run multiple tests to check for the purity of the sample, its biochemical composition, and run several animal tests to be certain of the serum’s efficacy. However, in this world ravaged by the Black Death, none of that mattered.
For Jennifer, for everyone, the Hidden Hand’s immunological concoction had better work.
“What are you doing?” Devlin asked from across the room. “You can’t just –”
“Watch me,” Amanda answered as she pushed the needle into Jennifer’s vein and slowly injected the antisera.
“Wait. Don’t you have to give it to her in her belly?” Quirk asked.
“No, but I do have to go slow. I can’t risk an allergic reaction.”
Quirk glanced over his shoulder, giving the other woman quite the glare. The woman just shrugged.
Amanda finished pushing the antisera. “Now, we are just going to have to wait and see.”
* * *
Ronnie stepped between the two men. “See? Logical and reasonable behavior by the doctor. Let’s take notes.”
She really did not want to end up getting shot by some upstart agent of the CIA, HHS, DHS, or whatever branch of government he worked for. Zach moved to the side, keeping his gun aimed. He really wasn’t exactly helping to defuse the tension in the room.
“Devlin,” the doctor pleaded, “this is Special Agent Hunt and…”
“The Robin Hood hacker,” Ronnie finished for Amanda.
The man’s eyes flickered from Zach, to her, and then back again. “You are both wanted fugitives, then.”
“Only because my ex-partner jumped over to the dark side,” Zach growled.
“Yeah,” Ronnie added. “He’s still a little bitter about that, so Devlin, why don’t you lower your weapon so we can discuss how we are going to manufacture and distribute the cure to the weaponized Black Death.”
Devlin scoffed, which seemed odd, given the fact that the guy was outnumbered three to one. Well, Quirk was a little preoccupied, so more like two to one. If only she had her magnetic disc.
“I don’t know what world you and your boyfriend live in…” Ronnie knew that Devlin meant that as insult, but she kind of liked the ring to it. “But I’m not going to drop anything until I have proof.”
“Her pulse is getting stronger,” Amanda said from the sick woman’s bedside. “The serum is stabilizing her.”
“I said proof,” Devlin emphasized, t
ightening his finger around the trigger. Then he swatted his neck. “What the—?” he said, and then listed sideways.
Ronnie turned to find Quirk holding a tiny blow dart.
* * *
“Ugh,” Quirk sighed as Zach took the gun from Devlin and helped him to a chair. Heteros.”
“I’d totally forgotten about the micro-dart tube,” Ronnie admitted.
“Yep,” Quirk beamed. “Small enough to fit in your pocket, yet powerful enough to knock out an elephant, or a douche, whichever comes first.”
The Fentanyl and Valium combination seemed to do the trick as Devlin swayed.
“She’s opening her eyes,” Amanda said.
Slipping the patent-pending blow dart into his pocket, Quirk sat next to Jennifer. Her eyelids were beyond puffy, and forget about dark circles. There were dark lakes under her eyes. But she was alive, proving that the Hidden Hand could get something right. The antidote.
“Slacker,” he teased Jennifer. The tiniest grin answered him. “What, cat got your tongue? Or, you know, submandibular lymph nodes?”
“No,” Amanda said next to him. “Don’t you know?”
“Know what?” Quirk asked as Jennifer tried to bring her hand up.
“Jennifer’s mute.”
Quirk shook his head. “Um, darling, I have never seen a woman talk more.”
“Text more,” Amanda corrected. “If she has to communicate, she normally signs.”
Weak, Jennifer brought her hand up and made a series of figures.
“What did she say?” Quirk asked.
Amanda chuckled. “Jennifer said, ‘Leave it to the assistants to save the day.’ ”
“Um, yeah, duh,” Quirk answered.
Okay, there was tangible proof the world would be right again.
* * *
Zach tucked Devlin’s gun into the back of his belt. Even loopy, Zach didn’t trust the guy. Turning, he found Ronnie watching Quirk, Jennifer, and Amanda. Tears glistened in her eyes.
“It’s really working?” he asked.
Looking like she was trying to shrug off the moisture in her eyes, Ronnie nodded. “We should have enough to get as many of the scientists as possible healed to start wide-spread production.”
“You did it, Ronnie,” Zach took her hand. “You saved the world.”
She swung her head to the side, kicking at the floor. “I think I preferred it when my contributions were anonymous.”
“Really?” Zach questioned, pulling her closer. “You liked it better when we were just two voices on the line?”
“Okay, maybe that is an upside,” she grinned that grin he had always imagine when they were on the phone. Now to see it? To experience it? Yes, all of the hell of the past few days became completely and utterly worth it.
He wrapped his arms around the lower part of her back. Zach searched her face looking for signs of whether Ronnie was ready. How long had they both waited for this moment? They had both risked everything for it. Zach leaned in but she put a hand on his chest.
“I know,” he said. “Not the right time.”
* * *
“Oh, no,” Ronnie said, grabbing his shirt, bringing them only inches apart. “I think it’s the perfect time.”
She closed her eyes as their lips met. Searing heat burned, warming her body through and through. Zach’s kiss somehow managed to be gentle, and yet commanded her to give herself to him. And she did. Like no other man, Ronnie gave him every ounce of her love packed into this one kiss.
It was the most perfect moment in her life, until…
She felt a cold, hard metal handcuff snap onto her wrist.
Zach backed a step. “I am so sorry.”
It truly looked like he meant it. Just like she did.
“No, I’m the one who is sorry,” Ronnie said as she pulled out a little black box from her pocket and aimed it at the man she loved more than life itself.
The fibrillator did its job only too effectively. Zach dropped the other cuff and clutched his chest.
“Okay, that’s our cue to leave,” Quirk announced, rushing to her side and urging her to the door. “Exit stage left.”
How could she leave Zach as he fell to the floor, twitching and gasping for air?
“Amanda, would you mind terribly defibrillating him for us?” Quirk requested. “It would be spectacular.” Quirk was no longer content to just urge her to the door. He shoved her through it and into the hallway.
Ronnie balked, though. Could she go through with this?
Quirk jangled the metal bracelet on her arm. “You see this? This was Zach doing what he does best. What he thought was best. Now we’ve got to do our thing.”
How come their thing was running—always running away?
“This is who we are,” Quirk reminded her.
Ronnie heard the whine of the defibrillator paddles and then the loud zap of the discharge. Then the paddles whined again. What if they didn’t work? What if she killed Zach?
“Don’t be afraid to go to 300 on that thing,” Quirk yelled over his shoulder to Amanda as he pushed Ronnie down the hall. The paddles zapped again. “Move it!”
With a sad realization, Ronnie knew that Quirk was right. What was done was done. They were international fugitives. If they were caught, there would be no escape.
She had just saved the world; now it was time to save herself.
With a silent prayer to the angels who had been watching over them, Ronnie hauled ass for the exit.
EPILOGUE
El Paso FBI Field Office
Two Weeks Later
Zach rubbed his sternum. His heart still hurt. Whether it was from the fibrillation or watching Ronnie run away, he wasn’t sure.
He looked back at his desk—something else he was going to have to say good-bye to. It was weird to think that he’d been halfway around the world and back, hunting down the Hidden Hand’s leadership, only to return to El Paso.
However, he wasn’t staying for long. Just enough time to get his house packed up and then head to Quantico. Sure, they had scooped up some of the Hidden Hand’s lieutenants in the field, but the real brains and financial backing of the cult? They were still at large. As it turned out, Lino had been nothing more than a page of sorts, running errands for the Hidden Hand. Until they tracked down the true power brokers, another bioweapon attack loomed on the horizon.
And no one was better suited to finding the bastards than Zach. He funneled every ounce of frustration into making the Hidden Hand pay for his loss.
Jamming the last of his personal belongings into a satchel, Zach took a look around the room. Too few desks were filled. Too many were left empty. Besides Ronnie, Zach had lost so many fellow agents. Either from Lino’s savage attack or the plague, most of the men he worked with were lost forever.
Perhaps it was best that he was moving on. Way too many memories were here. Like Grant and his stupid smirk. That was one bastard he was not going to miss.
He headed to the exit when Danner came out of his office. “Hunt, can I have a word?”
Zach sighed as he followed Danner. He’d hoped to get out of there without any awkward good-byes. Zach had let the upper brass take care of his transfer. Nothing personal against Danner. It was just that the last time he saw his supervisor, he was holding a gun to his head.
Fortunately, Danner didn’t ask Zach to sit down, nor did he seat himself. “On the behalf of all the men who survived that night, I just wanted to thank you.”
“No worries,” Zach answered, pointing his feet to the door. Most of what happened after that night was classified. Extremely classified.
“And…” Danner’s lips pursed, and then relaxed. “I am sorry that I didn’t trust you more.”
Zach chuckled. “No, sir. You had every right to doubt me. I was carrying on an off-the-books relationship with a known felon.”
“Still,” his supervisor said, far more reflective than Zach had ever seen him, “I wish it could have turned out better for you.”
Cheeks burning, Zach shook his head, the ache in his chest throbbing. “Nope. I pretty much got exactly what I should have expected.”
“Well, then,” Danner said awkwardly, “I guess I just wanted to say that you will be missed.”
His supervisor put his hand out. Before Zach could take it, Warp burst into the office. “Sorry to interrupt, but are we taking our own cars or driving with the vans?”
“The moving company is taking care of everything, Warp.” Zach replied. “We are flying to Virginia later tonight.”
“Oh!” the techie said hitting his forehead. “Should have read the entire memo. Okay, we’ll go pack our motherboards.”
As they watched the techie’s lanky frame rush from view, Danner chuckled. “Him or should I say, ‘them’? Probably not gonna miss them.”
Zach understood why. Warp had one of the most grating personalities in the world. However, Zach knew what they were up against in the Hidden Hand. He witnessed firsthand the extremely complex electronic security they employed. If he couldn’t have Ronnie—and it still felt like a kick in the gut to admit that he couldn’t have her—he was going to need the second best in the world, and unfortunately that came in a package bundled full of neuroses named Warp.
“I should get going,” Zach said as he made his way to the door.
“Take care,” Danner replied with a curt wave.
Taking care was about the last thing on Zach’s mind as he got into the rental car. His own car was probably stripped down to the chassis somewhere in Mexico. So strange how something like that didn’t bug him at all anymore. What a shift in priorities.
He gunned the engine and pulled out into a nearly deserted street. People were still leery about going outside and resuming their normal lives. A normal life? Zach seriously doubted any of them would get back to “normal” any time soon.
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