by Ramona Finn
“What do you think I can do?”
Jarid leaned closer, a smile dancing on his lips. “We’re finally ready to move against Sledge and stage a coup within the company. But, first, we need a cure for New Zero. I’m hoping you can help us.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Doesn’t BioPure already have a cure?” I tugged at my coat, not realizing that the mic was still there. My fingers brushed against it and I tried to make it appear as if I was fixing my hair.
“That’s what they want everyone to think.”
A small gasp escaped my mouth. “Jarid, they have my scans! That was what they needed. I can’t help any more than they already forced me to. What is going on over there?”
Jarid sat back against the bench, twining his fingers together. “That’s the thing. They don’t have the right scans. When you—when we were taken into the lab at VaxWell, my mother…” His lip curled, and then he continued, “What she did to you wasn’t right. But with you fighting back and resisting the scan before it finished, BioPure doesn’t have what it needs to cure New Zero. There was enough to develop the virus and the initial cure. But we discovered that New Zero has mutated. Those in the government are treating their families and themselves to prevent memory loss. But, currently, there’s no cure. It’s out of control. They know it, and it’s the perfect time for us to strike.”
“What are you saying, Jarid?”
“We need a new scan from you.”
Someone’s voice crackled through the earpiece. I wasn’t sure, but it had sounded like a curse.
“We, as in BioPure? N-no,” I stammered. Was he serious? Going back to another corporation for a voluntary scan and submitting myself to them so they could control their citizens? Not a chance.
“It’s not really BioPure. We have our own plan.” Jarid cleared his throat. “There’s panic in the upper echelons of BioPure and a lot of unrest. A lot of people think Sledge has gone too far this time.”
“This time? Both Zeros were and are horrific.”
“I know. That’s what’s causing the issue. They believe that Sledge released a weapon he couldn’t control, and it’s boomeranging back on them.”
“No kidding.”
Syeth’s voice sounded in my head. “Keep him talking.”
Once again, I was stuck between these two brothers.
Although Jarid didn’t need any prodding from me to keep him talking. He spoke quickly now, as if he had held in this information for weeks. Maybe he had. “So far, Sledge has kept control of the company by promising all of his managers that he’s the only one who can cure the disease. He’s convinced them that they need him to fight the war against the rebels and cure New Zero just like he found a cure for old Zero. It’s why there haven’t been any other competing labs. He has control over all the facilities. But if we can get our hands on a cure without him, the coup’s faction thinks we can wrest control of the company from him. Once we make peace with the rebels and turn BioPure back into a company again, we can restore civilian government control.”
Jarid’s ideas sounded like a dream. My heart fluttered at the thought of us regaining control of our own lives and starting anew after curing everyone of New Zero.
But I wasn’t the naive girl he’d met in New Manhattan. I had to think everything through before giving myself over to BioPure, even if the people there were on the resistance’s side. The plan sounded wonderful, but it was quite a promise. Other than Jarid reaching out to me, I had no proof that there were others in that megalithic, evil corporation who wanted to make things better. And now he was asking me to take him on his word.
“I don’t know, Jarid. This seems too far-fetched. How do I know that they have our best interests in mind? It’s fine if you trust them, but how can I do the same without proof?”
“You have no reason to trust me,” Jarid said. “Hell, I wasn’t even sure you’d come out today. This meeting was a miracle. But you’re smart, and I knew you’d need proof. Let’s start with the cure.”
“What about it?”
Jarid stood so suddenly, I glanced at Syeth’s position to make sure he wouldn’t think I was in danger. Jarid clasped his hands in front of him, rubbing them together vigorously. “Someone high up—way high up—who’s right next to Sledge has started working with us. We have a dedicated team of researchers who are willing to put finding the cure ahead of loyalty to BioPure. In the last six months, I’ve found so many others who believe that Sledge will monopolize the cure and use it to maintain power if they find it in a BioPure lab.”
“This isn’t helping your case in getting me into that lab.”
“Hear me out.” His words flowed faster. “The techs are ready to defect with copies of BioPure’s research. My contact has been secretly diverting lab equipment to a neutral site to get it ready for them to use.”
“Then what do you need me for?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial that was the length of my pinkie. Amber liquid swirled inside.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It couldn’t be.
“My contact gave me this sample of what they have. It’s a treatment that doesn’t just stop New Zero, but reverses its effects. But it’s only temporary. We’re so close, Lora.”
My fingers twitched, aching to snatch the vial from his hand. If it did what he said it did, then there was hope—even without John. As much as it pained me to think of doing this without my father, what choice did we have other than using the vial in front of me? If it worked.
“Right now, to be effectively treated by it, a person would have to get regular injections for the rest of their life.” Jarid moved until he stood inches from me, holding the vial between two fingers. “I’ve seen it work. This is for you. Test it yourself. Use half the contents and inject it in an adult, and keep the remaining for your researchers to study. Lora, we have BioPure’s research, the equipment, and the personnel to make the cure, but we need you.”
I took it and cradled it in my hands. I thought of my parents and seeing them recognize me. If Mom was coherent again, she could try to help where John had left off. But Jarid was right. BioPure would be able to produce the cure faster if they had one more piece. Me.
“They need your brain to give us the blueprint to map the neural pathways that lead to our memories. Once they have that, the next step is the cure. Think of it, Lora, a complete reversal.”
A wave of chills moved through me. John had told me that so many times before. If this neutral lab had BioPure scanning equipment, though, they’d be able to get the scans they needed faster than our destroyed lab ever could, even with John there.
I rolled the vial over in my hands. Working with BioPure was the last thing I wanted to do.
Once again, Isra’s harsh warning not to trust Jarid tugged at me. She had said he’d tried to contact me before. How long had he had this temporary cure, and yet she’d kept it away from me? Or was she right in thinking that we couldn’t trust him? Did she think it was a trap, too? VaxWell and BioPure had always been the enemies, but John and my mother had come from their labs, too. Some people wanted to do good, and maybe this was another group I could trust.
I stood still, needing a minute as Jarid waited for an answer from me. I shoved the vial in my pocket, resisting the urge to check to make sure it wasn’t all a dream.
Turning in the opposite direction of Syeth and his watchful stare, I considered the loss of treatment within the rebel community. Between the lab working with barely functioning equipment and the treatment lost after the raid, there wasn’t much hope for my parents and all those affected by New Zero other than what was inside my pocket.
I sighed, knowing I needed to see if it worked before I could make any decision. “If this hurts anyone, Syeth and I will never speak to you again.”
Jarid nodded as though he’d expected that. He reached out and touched my arm, but even his nearness quickened the pace of my heart. I hated how he made me react that way. For a momen
t, I recalled us going on dates together in New Manhattan. He had to be the same person that I’d trusted all those months ago.
He captured me in his unblinking stare. “It won’t. Once we do the scans and complete the cure, it’s going to save them all.”
“You understand that I need to see if it works first.”
“Yes,” he said, glancing over my shoulder at the city behind me.
“If it works, I’ll be in touch.”
“I didn’t expect any less from you. But here…” He reached inside his pocket again and retrieved a gray cell phone. “This device is secure. No one in BioPure is aware that I have this, and they’re unable to access it. There’s only one number saved in the contacts. Call me after it works.”
I placed the cell in my other pocket, not wanting to disturb the vial. I couldn’t help the hope blooming in my chest at the idea of moving forward with the plan as John had intended. He was unreachable for now, but I could continue his work in this way in his honor.
“Goodbye, Lora,” Jarid said, and he turned away from me.
I watched him disappear into the trees before walking to the pavilion alone. The team would sweep the area, making sure he was gone and that Jarid hadn’t been followed to the meeting. Only then would they retrieve me so that we could head back to the base.
The first stop on my list was the hospital. I wasn’t waiting a moment longer to see if Jarid was telling the truth and if there was hope for the cure. Only then would I submit myself to the scans, and not a moment sooner.
On the way back home, Albrecht debriefed me about the conversation. I told him repeatedly that Jarid had seemed like his usual self. Though, I wasn’t sure if I was fooling myself. Jarid had seemed more refined and happier than I’d seen him before… but that didn’t mean he was a spy for the other side. But whether it was his alter-ego within the company or this was who Jarid truly was, all that mattered was if we could trust him.
When we reached the center of town, the other Unpaired broke away to return to their bunker while Syeth and I headed for the hospital.
The horizon hid half the sun. The day had gone by so quickly, and I wanted to get to the hospital before the workers started getting the residents to bed.
My feet couldn’t take me there fast enough. I regularly checked my pocket, still concealing the vial, to make sure that it was still there. By the time we reached the front lawn of the hospital, I was sprinting toward the front door.
“Wait,” Syeth said.
We were inches from the door and my mind was a whir with the possibilities of finding a cure, or at least, in the interim, manufacturing more of the contents of the vial to help our loved ones.
“I want to make sure this is the right thing to do.” He sighed, swiping a hand over his mouth. “This is important, and I would never want to get in the way of helping your family. But we have to be sure.”
I understood the risks. If Jarid wasn’t on our side and whatever was inside the vial hurt my father or mother, there would be no going back with him. Syeth understood the weight of the decision, and so did I. “He’s telling the truth. He wouldn’t have done this otherwise. He has nothing to lose. They need me.” I believed in my words, in Jarid’s truth.
Syeth released my arm and nodded.
I pulled open the door. The heat inside the building warmed my cheeks. My heart thumped in my chest in time with the steps I took to the basement level.
“Have you decided which of your parents to test it on yet?” Syeth asked.
“My father.” The decision had been all I’d thought about on the way back from the park. Choosing between my parents had been like choosing between my heart or my brain. I needed both of them to live. So, I’d used logic instead of my emotions.
Dad had been getting progressively worse even before BioPure had decimated our warehouse. If Jarid claimed they were close to a cure, then he was the one to test this formula on. If Dad came back to me, even a little, then we could move forward with helping Jarid’s cause. Meanwhile, I told myself that there was no way anyone in BioPure would dare defy the corporation unless they had leverage.
I touched the outside of my pocket again. This vial was the leverage, and I had never hoped for anything in the world to work as much as I did the liquid inside.
When we reached the intersection between the hallways leading to both my parents’ rooms, I hesitated for a moment. The choice had seemed so easy when I’d been outside and had logic in mind. But with both of them so close, I second-guessed myself.
But not for long. I couldn’t wait.
Taking a deep breath, I charged down the hallway toward Dad’s room. The guard opened the door before we got there, holding it open for us.
Slipping by, I passed Dad’s closed door and went to the nurse’s station. An older nurse sat at the desk, thumbing over her tablet. It had all of the information on each of the patients. She must have been a night shift nurse since I hadn’t seen her before.
“Can I help you?” she asked without looking up.
“My father, Finn Flannigan…”
Her head snapped up. “Oh, yes. I heard you were coming.”
I glanced at Syeth, and he gave me a slight shrug. Maybe the team had given the hospital a heads-up that we would arrive soon? No doubt, they wanted to see if the cure worked, as well.
“We have a treatment from the lab that we want to test on my father.” The lie had come to me so quickly, I almost felt bad for speaking it.
“Okay, what do you need?” She rounded the desk, heading toward a locked closet, and opened it.
I paused, having never given anyone an injection before. I felt momentarily helpless. Pulling the vial from my pocket, I held it up. “We need to give him half of this. An injection, that is.”
The nurse nodded her head, already pulling supplies out. “We’ll need a syringe and alcohol wipes. Have you ever given anyone a shot before?”
“No.” I hadn’t thought this through.
She slipped on latex gloves. “He’s worse today, I’m afraid. This treatment comes at the perfect time.”
A lump lodged in my throat. I hoped the serum was what I needed from Jarid and that it would help Dad. Then, we could help everyone. Tingles skittered over my skin, forcing all of the hairs on my arms to stand. This moment seemed important, and it was moving by much too quickly.
The three of us went to Dad’s room. I knocked on the door and waited for his response.
Nothing.
I knocked harder, and a muffled voice said, “Come in.”
Inside, Dad was curled up on his chair with a green blanket covering more than half his body. He had the same book in his hand as always. But the furrow in his eyebrows hit me harder than him rereading that story.
“Hello,” Dad said, glancing between us. “Are you here to give me medication?”
As we neared, I noticed his pallor had changed. His eyes were teary, yet determined—as if he was trying to be brave for strangers. The lines of his forehead creased deeper than I’d ever seen.
“Yes, we’re here to give you medication,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
His lips pressed together in a hard line. “I didn’t know I was sick. My memory isn’t what it used to be.”
“It’s okay, Finn,” Syeth said. “This will only take a minute.”
I handed the nurse the vial before turning around to face Dad. Behind us, she prepped the syringe, loading in what I hoped was enough serum to make a difference. I had no idea how to inject someone with medication, and I wasn’t going to screw it up. Besides, John was the one who knew how to do all of this. Thinking of him made my throat clench.
The nurse stepped forward as Dad rolled up his sleeve, exposing the vein in the crook of his arm. It seemed more of a habit than any symptom of his willingness to allow someone to poke holes in him. It wasn’t the hope I was looking for, but at least he wasn’t gone for good. The thought that going without such treatment might make that happen made this event
even more important than I had initially conceived.
The nurse gently cleaned Dad’s arm around the bulging vein. It was slightly bruised, but he didn’t even flinch when she plunged the needle inside.
The amber liquid filled Dad’s vein before the nurse gently pulled out the needle. She placed the syringe on the table and snapped off her gloves before gathering her supplies and leaving the room.
I stared at Dad, waiting for the treatment to work. Or not work. I shook away the negativity. Jarid hadn’t said how long it would take. Should I have asked him? The very idea of having this treatment at our disposal even after John’s capture was a godsend. I chided myself for not getting the full details.
That was until Dad shook his head and blinked a few times. The fogginess in his eyes cleared away as if it were only a cloud moving away from the shining sun.
He looked at me. Really looked at me… and took a deep breath.
His hands reached up to me, and his lips quivered. “Oh, Lora. It’s you.”
Chapter Fifteen
The next morning, I sat on my bed recalling the amazing transformation in Dad, which had happened the day before. His lucidity had lasted for about two hours. It was the longest I had visited him while he’d had a full memory since we arrived in Chicago. We’d talked about everything that was going on, including the raid and John’s capture. We’d briefly mentioned the treatment, too, but not where we had received it from.
It was better to keep our cover with Jarid in any space the Unpaired occupied. Visions of a pissed-off Isra filled my mind; that’s what we’d face if Dad ever accidentally told a nurse or a patient about us working with Jarid and testing out a trial of a New Zero cure outside of our lab.