Redaction: Dark Hope Part III

by Linda Andrews

“Well, well, a pretty boy.” Dirk chuckled. If Jake didn’t already have a hottie, he’d suspect the lawyer’s sexual leanings. He scanned the man’s bio. Ivy League college. Fourth-generation American. A preacher who was the son of preacher. They could use that to their advantage. Closing the file, Dirk hit reply. “Will interview him ASAP.”

  After this election, Doctor Spanner would be glad to be fired.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Audra labored for breath. Twelve caverns to the mines. Five levels above the school playground. Five times around the spiral ramps. Her thighs burned, her chest heaved and perspiration stung her eyes, but she was nearly there. Digging her fingers into the stitch in her side, she loped down the hall.

  Nearly to Eddie.

  She choked on a sob, felt the grief ball up in her throat. He was okay. He had to be. Please God. She stumbled around the bend. The tunnel opened into a soaring rock bubble. Head-sized boulders marked a curving path to the tan tent in the center. A blue planet with a red ring surrounded the word NASA on the double doors.

  Herbs spilled over the tops of fifty-five gallon fuel drums. Clay pots, coffee cans and a rusted claw-footed tub held more greenery. Near a toilet sprouting rosemary from its bowl, a woman with a red cloth signifying medical aid tied around her arm held an umbrella over a man in a wheelchair. Slouched down, he didn’t even look up as he sucked on his tube of oxygen. A ring of salt and pepper hair ruled him out as Eddie.

  “Do you need help?” The woman shouted across the room.

  “I’m…okay.” Audra waved her arm and stumbled toward the doors. Eddie had to be inside. Lord love a duck. If that man was outside, how bad were the patients inside the NASA medical module?

  The woman nodded and crouched next to the man.

  Audra lurched for the door. Her hand trembled before it collided with the clammy metal. She sucked in air. Okay. She’d made it. She needed to be calm. Eddie would be upset if he saw her upset. Pulling a square of linen from her sleeve, she blew her nose.

  He was okay. He had to be okay.

  She twisted the knob and pulled. The door resisted at first, then opened with a soft pop. Good gravy! It sounded as if she’d broken the seal on a jar of pickles. She stared at the emblem on the door as she eased inside. Space pickles. She giggled. Eddie was packed in space pickles. She shook herself. Now was not the time for hysteria.

  She grabbed the next door handle and pulled. A red light glowed overhead. Oh, for goodness sake. First, they said Eddie was in one infirmary then another. If Mrs. Rodriguez hadn’t called, she’d still be on the other side of the cave system. Now they were keeping them apart with protocol. She didn’t think so. Turning around, she yanked the first door closed. The light switched to green when it clicked shut.

  Finally, she opened the next door and strode inside. The scent of blood mixed with the pervasive scent of disinfectant hit her with a vengeance. Wading deeper into the round room, she scanned the six beds radiating like spokes.

  A woman lay on the first bed. Red stained the bandage wrapped around her head.

  Another slept on her side on the second bed.

  Dressed in a bright pink muumuu and a khaki apron tied around her ample waist, a nurse wrapped a man’s arm in plaster gauze.

  The fourth bed was empty.

  A man without a shirt snored in the fifth bed.

  By the last one, a soldier in Army fatigues sealed a gash on a woman’s arm with butterfly bandages. Paper wrappers, swabs and a red needle container littered the bed tray near his elbow.

  Beyond the patients, a glowing light hung above a second set of doors. Surgery. In use. Audra bit her lip, tasted the iron in her blood. Oh Eddie, why couldn’t you have stayed safe?

  Paper crinkled. The Army man ripped open a large bandage and eased it over the gash. “I know it’s nearly impossible here, but try to keep it dry for the next couple of days.”

  “Gee, nurse, why not ask to turn all this water into wine instead?”

  The Army man laughed. “Well, if that happens, I think we’ll all be a little happier with our lot, won’t we?”

  Her attention skittered to a nurse who continued to wrap the man’s wrist. She smoothed her hair. Okay, Audra, screw your courage to the sticking point and ask about Eddie. He has to be here somewhere. She ignored the surgery. Shaking the trembling from her fingers, she approached the soldier. “Excuse me.”

  Stripping off his bloody gloves, the first aid instructor, Johnson turned to her. Concern puckered the skin between his eyes. Dropping the gloves, he stepped around her and slid a chair toward her. “You need to sit down.”

  “No, I—” When the seat hit the back of her knees, her legs buckled. Her landing knocked her teeth together.

  Blunt fingers wrapped around her wrist and settled into the soft spot where her artery pulsed. His mouth moved as he stared at the sweeping hand of his watch.

  “I’m fine. Really. I—”

  “Your heart is racing. Your skin is pale.” He laid his palm against her forehead. “You’re warm and sweating.”

  A lady did not sweat. Batting away his hand, she ducked his touch. “I ran here from the school. That’s why I’m perspiring, Nurse.”

  “Medic.” He dipped down and pulled up a satchel with a red cross on it.

  “What?”

  “I’m a medic, not a nurse.” Setting the bag on the table, he flipped open the top and peered inside. “How many students are hurt and what is the nature of their injuries?”

  She blinked. “Ten, but we’ve tended them. Scrapes and bruises mostly.”

  Johnson frowned. “If no one is hurt, then why did you run here?”

  “My…” She groped in her head for the word. Boyfriend didn’t even begin to describe what Eddie meant to her. Oh, Lord, please let him be okay. “Eddie Buchanan was working in the electrolysis room that exploded. Where is he?”

  Lacing her fingers together, she held them in her lap. White dotted her knuckles.

  “He hasn’t been brought in yet.”

  Black edged her vision. Not in yet. Not in yet? It’d been an hour since the lights had gone out. That was more than enough time to bring him here unless… The food she’d eaten at lunch rose in her throat. She pressed the heel of her hand against her mouth.

  Eddie was dead.

  “Easy now.” A hand cupped her scalp and pushed her head between her legs. “Take deep steadying breaths.”

  She dragged air in then shoved it out. Her waistband cut into her stomach. Christ Almighty, what was she to do? How could she tell her mom? How could she tell the others?

  Johnson checked her pulse. “I want to give you something to calm you, okay?”

  She nodded then shook her head. Tears leaked from her eyes, dripped to the floor. She’d made it rain inside the infirmary.

  “It’s just a mild sedative.”

  “I don’t want it.” She wanted Eddie. His arms around her. His teasing about the way she placed her napkin on her lap.

  “Are you pregnant?”

  “What?” She bolted upright; her hand dropped to her flat stomach. Could Tina be right? Could the antibiotics have interfered with her birth control pills. Her fingers spasmed. Could she be carrying Eddie’s baby? Wanting and fear warred within her.

  “Pregnant?” Johnson pitched his voice low but the woman in the nearby bed leaned closer. “I take it you and Eddie are intimately acquainted.”

  Heat flooded her body and she stared at the floor. Merciful heavens! Was nothing private anymore. “I’m on the pill. The, um, Cipro doesn’t interfere with that, does it?”

  Hope lifted the last words.

  “Sorry. It’s a different class of antibiotics.”

  Audra sagged in her chair. Well, crap. She’d blown her chance and now… Now, all she’d have left were memories. Eddie was too full of life to become a bittersweet memory.

  “You sure about the sedative?”

  She nodded.

  “Okay.” He straightened. “But I want you to remain in th
at chair until he comes in. I don’t think he needs to find his woman on the floor after surviving an explosion.”

  Audra blinked, processed his words, once, twice. On the third, they penetrated her grief. “Eddie’s alive?”

  “Bruised and—”

  “How could you!” She jumped out of her seat and raised her hands. Red tinged the infirmary. She’d strangle him, wrap her fingers around his throat and squeeze the life right out of him. “I thought Eddie was dead!”

  “Whoa!” Johnson stepped back and flashed his palms at her. “I never said he was dead.”

  “You said they hadn’t brought him up yet!” She advanced as he retreated. There wasn’t far for the man to go. “That’s the same as saying—”

  “Is there a problem here, Johnson?” A man’s bark pierced her rage.

  “Sir.” He stopped mid-salute. “I just tried to explain that the injured hadn’t been brought up.”

  “Audra.” A featherlight touch skimmed her shoulder.

  She turned her head and groaned. Great, she’d gone all crazy-loco in front of the two head honchos. Nice way to prove she was a responsible teacher.

  Doctor Mavis Spanner stood next to her, offering her comfort. “Eddie and Papa Rose remained on site until the situation could be assessed. They are bruised but otherwise in good health. I promise.”

  “That’s right.” The Marine Corps general polished his glasses. “They should be up in a bit.”

  “Thank you.” Audra sank onto her chair and grabbed Doctor Spanner’s hand before it could fall to her side. “Thank you. I was so worried.”

  “Hysterical, more like it,” the medic whispered.

  Mavis squeezed her hand. “I understand. It’s hard to be level-headed when those we love are at risk or behaving stupidly.”

  Doctor Spanner glared at the general from the corner of her eyes.

  He polished his lenses a little faster.

  Wow! Something was going on there. Could the rumors be true? Could the Sergeant-Major have left Doctor Spanner?

  With an eye roll, she turned her attention back to Audra. “Any problems with the school or students?”

  “No.” Releasing the other woman’s hand, she waved away the question. What was a little radiation fear compared to what the doctor was going through. Running the free world, dealing with exploding machines and solving impossible problems then losing her boyfriend on top of it.

  If she ever met the Sergeant-Major in a dark tunnel, she might just give him a karate chop in the solar plexus. A symbolic blow for women everywhere that had been dumped by weak men.

  Doctor Spanner rubbed her forehead. “Audra, I’m used to being protected from too much information by those who should know better.” She jerked her head in Lister’s direction. “Please, if there’s an issue, tell me about it.”

  Audra’s skin itched. Darn it, she’d done nothing to feel guilty about. “It’s nothing really.”

  Mavis arched an eyebrow.

  Busted. “Okay, you know last night’s movie about the giant ants?”

  “Of course.” The doctor’s lips twitched and the skin around her eyes smoothed out. “Radiation makes things supersized, right?”

  “Yes.” Audra tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced at the door. “I just thought maybe if you could explain how radiation works, then we could teach the kids and they wouldn’t panic every time they see a cricket.”

  “I think that’s a fine idea. Maybe we can find you a video camera, show everyone what’s going on in our little cave system. Highlight what everyone is doing to keep us safe and alive.”

  Safe and alive. Music to her ears. The outer door hinges squeaked. The red light above the door blinked on. Was it Eddie? She set her hand over her chest, felt the thump of her heart against her palm. A dark silhouette moved across the milk glass embedded in the door.

  Mavis’s voice faded to white noise.

  Please be Eddie. Please. Please.

  The light turned green. The door opened.

  Eddie’s sleeve appeared.

  Audra shoved the chair aside and leapt to the door. He’s here. He was safe.

  And, come hell or high water, she was going to make sure he never did anything dangerous again.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You see that, Lister.” Mavis smiled at Eddie and Audra’s embrace. At least someone was living the dream. She glared at the Marine. The man was responsible for ruining her own happily ever after. She knew it, could smell it on him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t prove it. Not yet. But her time would come. Soon.

  She’d discover David was ordered to leave her.

  She sniffed. Damn it. Now her eyes were watering. She never cried. Perhaps she was she allergic to the plants outside. Or she was sick. She smoothed her jacket. She couldn’t be sick. Not now. Dirk and his band of merry electioneers would use it to prove her unfit to lead.

  Lister set his readers on top of his gray buzz cut. “Very touching. Although if they don’t break that clinch soon, I might have to get out the hose.”

  He was being deliberately obtuse. Gad, who would have thought she’d miss the good old days of running for her life. He hadn’t prevaricated then. Or tried to protect her from the ugly truth.

  Did he think she was dying and just suffering through her lame duck administration?

  “I meant about solving the problem of misinformation about radiation. If I know what’s wrong, I can figure out a way to fix it or identify someone who can.” Mavis jabbed him in the gut with her elbow.

  Hint. Hint. Tell me what you said that convinced David he had to leave.

  “I hardly see how reviving investigative journalism is a good thing.” Lister nodded to the medic, Johnson.

  Her fingers twitched. She stuffed them in her pockets before she grabbed the nearest table and pounded her head against it. Beating herself senseless was bound to be more effective than talking to the general. Okay, she was smart. She could figure something out.

  “It’s perfect, actually. By having Audra do a few programs, we’ll fight Dirk’s disinformation campaign with real information. And show everyone how far we’ve come. Give them hope for a better future.”

  One with level-headed people in charge. Which meant she had to figure out why she was tired all the time. Fortunately, the explosion had provided her with an excuse to visit the infirmary without raising too many questions.

  “Mr. Johnson.” She smiled at the medic before encompassing the handful of people in the round room. “We seem to have gotten off lightly if this is all the injured.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Johnson grinned back at her while raking wrappers into a garbage bin. “Pretty much minor injuries all around. Of course, there’s far more hurt than came to the infirmary.”

  Except they had one dead. But one dead was lucky as long as you weren’t the one. It could have been so many more. Still could. They didn’t have any mining engineers to tell them if the explosions had weakened the mountain.

  Adjusting the ice pack on her bandaged arm, the woman on the bed behind Johnson winced. “Your idea to make everyone learn first aid and have emergency stations in evacuation points certainly paid off, Doc.”

  Mavis eased closer, caught the whiff of wet animal fur. The woman had to be one of the animal handlers. “Ordinary people are always the first responders on a scene. Since those first few minutes are crucial, it helps if everyone knows what to do. We didn’t lose any livestock, did we?”

  “Just a chicken.” Pain bleached the skin around the woman’s lips and she eyed her arm. “But that’s normal since we were moving them from one pasture to another. I imagine your niece and her boyfriend will have found it by now.”

  One animal going missing wasn’t a new thing. The hair on Mavis’s neck rose. But a chicken going missing on the day Dirk Benedict called for elections, that bore looking at closer.

  Lister scratched his chin and eyed the phone hanging on the wall.

  Apparently, she wasn’t the only one to think
so. But who was he going to call with his security officer out on a special mission? Robertson, of course. David’s man would remain faithful to the uniform.

  Johnson eased the woman back against the pillows. “Relax, Mrs. Bancroft. You’ve lost a bit of blood.”

  Mrs. Bancroft wiggled into a comfortable spot. “Just so you know Doc, all of us in the animal farm think this election business is just plain stupid. You’re our leader. End of story.”

  “I appreciate that.” Mavis patted her hand. Almost everyone she’d met on her way here had said the same thing. Almost everyone. An undercurrent of animosity ran through the mountain. “Rest now.”

  She scooted to the side as Eddie and Audra limped toward the empty bed across the room. Johnson and the nurse in the hot pink muumuu rushed to their side.

  Lister brushed her shoulder. His vein throbbed in his temple. “I don’t like this chicken business. Benedict’s action resulted in the eat chicken and die rule, now he calls for elections on the same day as one bird goes missing.”

  Pitching her voice low, she boxed him against the wall. Time to take off the satin gloves. “You mean I’m strong enough to worry about fowl but not about the explosion?”

  He looked past her. “I don’t know what you mean, Doc.”

  “Don’t bullshit me.” She drilled his shoulder with her index finger. “You haven’t given me an update in the last two weeks.”

  His mouth fell open before he snapped it closed. “I have nothing to report.”

  “You’re beginning to sound like a scratched record. If I am going to lead effectively, I can’t have you keeping stuff from me.”

  Lister’s blue eyes locked with hers. “I thought security was my job. Or has exhaustion pushed you into paranoia and you want to rescind the position and do everything yourself?”

  Air rushed past her lips. Dammit. This was about her health. “I’m—”

  “Fine. Yeah, got that.” He gripped her elbows, lifted her to her toes. “You’re burning the candle at both ends. Have been for months. You don’t eat and constantly look on the verge of throwing up or passing out. If you keep this up, it won’t matter if Dirk and his flunky-monkeys win the election. You’re going to break and be out anyway.”