Lethal Injection
Page 16
“You OK?” Ian whispered.
Nikolina bobbed her head up and down, knowing her voice would choke if she spoke. She hadn’t experienced this type of emotion in so many years. The whole thing had shaken her to her core and taken her off guard.
Ian tenderly grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her to a stop, staring down at her. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and attempted to look away, but his gaze held her.
“Tell me.” The gentleness in his voice and his deep blue eyes revealed genuine concern for her. He kept a loose grip on her arm. “Seriously. Are you all right?”
She sniffled. “I’m OK. You have to understand, this has all been new for me, that’s all.” She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “But we better get back.”
Ian nodded and put his arm around her and squeezed her to him, kissing the top of her head as they picked up their pace. “I’m gonna fix this. I promise.”
She swallowed rapidly and licked her lips with cautious hope, her breath temporarily bottling up in her chest along with a kind of explosion happening in her heart.
CHAPTER twelve
Earth
Malaki Pederson walked swiftly down the hallway headed to his lab, slurping his coffee so loud his executive secretary’s head shot up when he strode by her office.
“Good stuff there, huh, Mr. Pederson?” Leah yelled as he marched away.
“You know it.” Malaki chuckled and took another gulp. The coffee practically burned his throat, but nothing tasted better than hot, black coffee in the early morning hours when just arriving to his lab. Not many people were here this early besides him, Leah, and of course, Jonathan, his partner.
Jonathan Sampson joined The Circle when Ian Mitchell vanished into “mad man” status a while back. It had been almost three years since he’d seen Ian. Malaki always knew it would be a long process and had always felt certain they’d succeed, but as the days, weeks, months, and years inched along, Malaki’s hope of ever hearing from or seeing him again dwindled. Not completely. But it was difficult to believe their plan could succeed when there were so many obstacles in the way. Not for Malaki. Sure, he had to keep up his ruse, and keep in contact with the mother of the real Knockshine man—the one who got away—and he had to do his part to lie about Ian’s whereabouts, but Ian faced a near impossible task.
“Oh, Mr. Pederson,” Leah called from behind him. “I forgot to tell you.”
Malaki stopped and turned around as Leah strode towards him.
“What?” Malaki took another sip of coffee.
“Mr. Price wants to see you as soon as you can.” Leah’s eyebrows pulled in. “Last night he stopped by my office searching for you. I thought you were in your lab, but you weren’t. He seemed kind of stressed out, like it was really urgent. You better contact him right away.”
Malaki rolled his eyes. “Everything’s urgent with him lately, but very well. I’ll get in touch with him as soon as I can.”
Tomorrow. Or the next day.
“Great, thanks.” Leah turned on her heel, her brown hair whipping in the air around her, and headed back to her office.
What the devil did Price want from him now? Ever since Ian went “mad,” Price had become paranoid, especially this last year, so afraid that Ian would spill the truth about D.R.O.P. About Reathran.
The use of memroth instead of regular electricity was growing on Earth, and the last thing Price wanted was for people to discover how and where they got it and the risk they all ran by having it in their cars and homes. Not that Price admitted it was a risk. Malaki and Ian had gently attempted to tell him time and time again, but he always brushed them aside, seeming to only see dollar signs in the gem. The money and authority they would acquire, as memroth became the sole source of power on Earth, was his only goal, all he talked about.
But Malaki couldn’t press it with Price; otherwise, he’d be killed.
Like Elijah.
Malaki arrived at the first door where his eyes were scanned and stepped through into the lab portion of the building, which had the look and feel of a hospital with wide, white corridors. It was the complete opposite feeling of the building he’d just stepped out of. He approached the door to the laboratory, where his retinas were checked again, and the door clicked open.
“Morning.” Jonathan Sampson looked up at Malaki. Jonathan always arrived a good hour before Malaki every morning, and he was already busily working and putting together vial after vial of liquid memroth. They received the memroth in thousands of pounds of bags of segments, and they would liquidize it and with that, create the pods that would provide renewable energy for all.
But this job was getting to be too much for them. They couldn’t expect to do it just the two of them forever. They needed help, but so far, no one in The Circle was willing to bring anyone else into their group. Ten was the magic number, and Price said it was staying at ten. They’d find ways to produce the pods more efficiently, he’d said. They’d make a way. “If you’re brilliant enough to create this power to begin with, you’ll be able to create a way to produce more in a record number of time. You’ll do it.”
Malaki shook his head. “Morning. How’s it going?”
“So far so good.” Jonathan pushed his glasses up a bit and slipped off his rubber gloves. “I’ve gotten pretty far. We should be able to get a lot done by the end of the day.”
“Good. Good.” Malaki strode past Jonathan. “I’m gonna hit my office for a bit, then I’ll be back to join you.”
Jonathan nodded and went back to work.
Malaki strode to the opposite end of the lab to his office. Inside, he pressed a large memroth pod, and the lights turned on. Having hung up his coat, he set his cup of coffee on his paper-strewn desk. He sat and pulled open the bottom right-hand drawer. The same thing he’d done every morning since Ian’s lethal injection.
His small recording device sat inside his desk drawer, dark and quiet. This device was linked to his radio back home, recording any message that would come through so he would never miss it. The frequency he’d been waiting to hear from Ian on was silent all the time, so if it recorded anything, it had to be from Ian. He hoped to be home when and if the message came through, but he was so rarely home, he had to have this recording device.
He picked up the device today, and his jaw dropped. It lit up green. He jerked his head back and a heavy feeling plunged into his gut. “What? W-what is th-this? What?” He’d heard nothing when he was at home before he left for work, so this must have come through on his drive this morning. He’d been looking at this device and seeing nothing for so long that the green lights blaring at him now was too much.
“What?” He did a double take and jumped up, gripping the device in both of his hands, staring at it, reality sinking into his bones. Then he set it on his desk and grabbed at the sides of his head, falling back into his chair. He pressed the button to play what had been recorded and squeezed his eyes shut as he listened:
− − . − … −
− − . − … −
− − . − … −
QST
QST
QST
(“Calling all radio amateurs”)
(“Calling all radio amateurs”)
(“Calling all radio amateurs”)
− − .− .−. … −
− − .− .−. … −
− − .− .−. … −
QRV
QRV
QRV
(“Are you ready?”)
(“Are you ready?”)
(“Are you ready?”)
−.−. − − .−
−.−. − − .−
−.−. − − .−
CQ
CQ
CQ
(“calling”)
(“calling”)
(“calling”)
. − − − − − − . − − . − −
E0NQT
(Malaki)
− . . .
DE
(from)
. − . − − − − − . − − . − . . − − .
R0PDG
(Ian)
“Oh my god!” Malaki put the device back in his drawer, slamming it shut. He leapt up and twisted around to make sure Jonathan wasn’t rushing into his office. He wasn’t. “Oh my god!” he repeated as quiet as he could. He tipped his head back and danced in place momentarily.
“Yes, yes, yes, Ian, I am ready! I can’t believe you’re there, you’re OK, you’ve remembered! I can’t believe it. I can’t believe this is happening!” He thrust his fist toward the ceiling, then took several deep calming breaths.
This was it. Ian had accomplished his task. Now, Malaki had to do his.
“Jonathan.” Malaki fought to contain his excitement when he stepped back into the lab. “Leah mentioned when I arrived this morning that Price needs to see me, so before I dive into work, I think I better take care of that. Are you all right on your own for a bit this morning?” Normally, Malaki couldn’t stand these random meetings with Price, but Malaki thanked God Price wanted to see him today. It was the perfect excuse to get out of work. There was no way he could focus on anything besides hearing from Ian and doing what he had to do next.
“No problem. I’ll just keep on going with the beginnings of these cycles. I’ll be here when you get back.” Jonathan stopped what he was doing and stared at Malaki. “Hope it’s an OK meeting.”
Malaki shrugged. “You know Price.” He strode to the door.
“I know. That’s what I mean.” Jonathan gave him a small wave, and Malaki left the laboratory.
“I’ll telephone Price later. First, I have to get to the spacecraft landing,” Malaki whispered to himself.
After his eyes were scanned, he entered the offices corridor and headed directly to Leah’s.
“Leah, I’m heading out for a bit this morning.” He clutched her door. “I should be back after lunch sometime. You can buzz me for anything important. Otherwise, take a message.”
“Will do.” Leah barely looked up from her computer. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks.” Malaki jogged through the maze-like hallways until he reached the steps that took him to the parking lot. He sprinted to his truck, pressed his memroth pod, and took off. He checked his watch. Not even seven thirty yet. It would take about an hour, but Benjamin and Lawrence, the two who oversaw the spacecraft landing, would be awake and working by the time he got there.
Malaki rehearsed what he would say. “I’ve decided it’s time to send out old Waitforit, guys. We always told you there’d be a right time for it, and this is it.”
“Waitforit” was the name he and Ian had given the spacecraft that was destined to go up to Reathran once Ian contacted Malaki. Benjamin and Lawrence had just laughed at the name. “Why do you call it that?” they’d asked.
“Because this is a special aircraft. Been here since the time of Ian’s grandfather.” Malaki patted his hand on Waitforit in front of him. “In fact, Ian’s grandfather even piloted this thing once or twice to Reathran. She’s old but runs great. Especially since we’ve had the thing completely overhauled. We’re just saving it for the right time to use it again. We’ll know when it’s here.”
Benjamin and Lawrence would roll their eyes. “Whatever.” And they’d continue doing their everyday job of handling all the current spacecraft, of which there were few. There were only two spacecraft they used to deliver prisoners to Reathran. The most senior keepers flew them, and Benjamin and Lawrence communicated with them every time they returned for a pick up. Benjamin and Lawrence were pilots by trade—two of the best in the world—and they also serviced all the spacecraft.
Malaki swallowed more coffee and drove up a steep hill, toward the spacecraft landing. There were some high-up government officials who knew about it, but they assumed it was a private airport for their personal jets and had no idea it was mainly for spacecraft departing with death row prisoners. Several small airplanes, private jets for Circle members, parked around the runways to keep up the charade of airport, and because many times, they did need to fly here or there, Benjamin or Lawrence as pilots.
Deeper and deeper into the mountains Malaki’s Chevrolet Colorado climbed. Low music hummed from his speakers. More volume would require too much power and Malaki having to renew his memroth pods. The pods for use in vehicles didn’t last as long if you played a lot of music, especially if you played that music loud. One of the downfalls he and Ian… er, Jonathan, had been working on. Renewed pods made Malaki cringe, because they seemed fresh with massive amounts of radioactivity smothering him.
After the hour-long drive, Malaki approached the spacecraft landing, which was, of course, barricaded. He drove his truck to the gate and stepped out, pressing a six-digit code into the panel, then held still for a retina scan.
“Malaki, what brings us the pleasure of this visit?” Benjamin’s voice echoed out of the speaker.
“I have my reasons. I’ll tell you when I get in there.” Malaki laughed when he spoke.
“Haha, I’m sure you will.” The barricade buzzed, and Malaki got back in his truck. The moment he drove inside, the barricade slid shut.
He inched his way to Benjamin and Lawrence’s building. They had their own houses in the seclusion of the mountains, not far from the landing, and neither man was married: their sacrifice for The Circle and the secrecy and security of this spacecraft landing. Without it, there would be no Death Row Outpost.
Malaki parked his truck and jogged to the large, glass front doors. After his eyes were scanned again, the doors slid open, and Malaki trotted up the steps to their offices.
“Malaki, this is a surprise!” Lawrence, age fifty-nine, approached him, holding his hand out. His longer, gray hair looked windblown as usual, and he gave Ian a firm handshake. “We don’t have any flights set for today. Is there some change we need to know about?”
Malaki slammed his hands together in one loud clap. “As a matter of fact, there is.”
Next, Benjamin appeared and shook Malaki’s hand. “What’s this I hear?”
“It’s time to start Waitforit, guys. Time to send her up.”
****
Reathran
The next night at mealtime, Ian sat with Levi, like always, but sent longing glances toward Nikolina. A memory came back to him the night before, and he was dying to share it with her.
“Any other memories coming back to ya?” Levi chewed what looked like a rubbery piece of bread.
Ian shook his head and dropped his fork on the tray. “Some. They don’t all make complete sense though,” he lied. “Once things start coming together and making sense, I’ll fill you in. For now, I just learn as they unravel in my mind.” Ian assumed Levi knew he was innocent, but they’d never spoken about it or confirmed it, and at this point, Ian didn’t think he would.
“Still can’t believe we can speak freely in this room. I think you were right when you said that.” Levi’s eyes darted around. “Ever since you told me that, I’ve said a bunch of stuff in here that should have gotten me in trouble, but nothing ever happens.”
“Didn’t believe me, huh? Maybe you would have believed Jack. Sure miss him.”
“Damn it that we had to lose Jack when he knew so much. What else did he know? Did he tell you anything else?” Levi scrubbed his hand over his face, his dreadlocks in their usual ponytail.
Ian shrugged. “He told me a few different things, but nothing I want to get into now. There’s not enough time.”
“You could always write it down, ya know? I’ll get rid of it soon as I’m done reading it.”
Ian nodded. “That’s true. I’ll think about it. If the words come to me swiftly, I’ll write some things down.” Ian threw Levi a fake smile. Something about him asking to write things down seemed risky and a knot dropped in his stomach. He decided that moment to tread carefully with Levi.
“I’m done here.” Ian wiped his hands on his napkin then plopped it on his tra
y and picked the whole thing up. “See you later.”
“Yeah, see ya.” Levi continued eating.
Ian strode by Nikolina and David and smiled at her, hoping he could silently communicate to her. He needed to speak with her. And it could only happen here in this room, but he wanted to get away from Levi.
“Hi Ian,” she said, and the keeper stared at her.
“Hi.” Ian dropped his tray where the rest of the trays were and took slow steps toward the doorway, hoping she’d catch up to him. He finally reached the door and turned around. She still sat with David. Ian swore under his breath and headed back to his cell.
Once there, he lay on his hardened, narrow bed, his arm behind his head.
Back door. “It’s not like there’s a back door here,” the keeper had said the night before. And that’s when Ian remembered. There was a back door. Not in the cave, but to that room underneath the common room.
He had to get there, and soon. He needed to get the vials that would get the readings at the disposal site. Going through the doorway in the common room would never work for him. It was too obvious; he’d be found out right away. But the back door now…
He was certain there was a small staircase heading down into the ground with a door at the bottom—he remembered it from the map—and that door would take Ian into that surveillance room. He had to get there.
****
The next day, after Ian met his quota, he headed to the drop-off zone.
“Wait up!”
Ian swung around at the sound of Nikolina’s voice and slowed.
“I thought you were going to wait for me last night.” She fell in step next to him, and they pushed their carts loaded with large rocks of memroth to their destination up ahead.
“I know, but I had to get out of there.” He mouthed the words: “Tell you later.”
She nodded. “Well, I’ll see you tonight then. Wait for me this time.”