The Seventh Seed

by Allison Maruska

  Walking down Constitution Avenue, Javier peered down every side street, hustling by the ones that looked especially dangerous. While some rioters were likely still celebrating the collapse of LifeFarm’s headquarters, Javier suspected that many were caught up in the chaos.

  He picked up speed as they checked street after street, dragging Sam along after a few blocks. They got closer to one where something was burning—where were the firetrucks? When they reached that street, Javier froze. Rioters celebrated around a burning SUV—Jonah’s SUV—like college students around a bonfire on homecoming night.

  “Dammit!” Jonah pushed his way to the front of the group and threw his hands up.

  Javier climbed a half-wall edging a property, getting as much of a bird’s-eye view as he could. “I can’t see Charlie.”

  “He’s probably surrounded or lying on the street,” Sam said.

  “Or,” Damien added, “he’s still in the car.”

  Javier’s stomach lurched. I hope they knocked him out first. “We should figure out how to get closer. If he’s in there he might need our help.”

  “Not while that mob is there.” Jonah crossed his arms. “Let’s find a place to hide out before those assholes see us.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Charlie crawled away from the bush he’d hidden behind while the rioters finished off Jonah’s SUV. They’d moved on, leaving a shell of the vehicle behind.

  Grabbing a retaining wall and struggling to his feet, he assessed his injuries: his nose was likely broken, maybe a few ribs were too. He spat a blood clot onto the ground.

  He needed to get to a hospital.

  Alone in the darkness, he limped to the smoldering wreck. Where were Javier and the others? They wouldn’t likely want to help him after he ditched them.

  Of course, they were all stranded now. They’d do better if they worked together in figuring out how to leave. Maybe they’d take pity on him and Mattson and help anyway.

  After a long, painful breath, he limped back to Constitution Avenue.

  ****

  Javier’s feet dragged as they reached the bus station. Walking on streets free of rioters required more than a few detours, but having a destination made the trek more bearable. Their ride to Roanoke with a stop in Richmond wouldn’t leave until the next morning—they had seven hours to evade rioters and the authorities.

  The station was a run-down reminder of how Javier got around when he was in college. The only places to sit were plastic chairs connected by a black bar, as if anyone would want to steal such fine pieces of furniture. Two vending machines sat against the wall—a paper with the words OUT OF ORDER was taped on one of them. Javier’s stomach growled. An overhead fluorescent light flickered enough to give anyone a headache. Maybe the smartest thing to do while they waited was sleep.

  Javier and Sam settled on the chairs and leaned against each other, trying to doze. He gave up after a few minutes—how could he sleep? They might have toppled a global power, and here they were, sitting at a bus station. He didn’t know how Liz fared with the Grays or how Mattson was doing with his injury.

  After offering to stay awake so Damien could sleep, Javier watched the news broadcast, muted but closed captioned, on the TV mounted in the corner.

  ****

  Liz and Kristen made their way back to the parking garage where the Grays had left their cars. If Kyle were here, he and Liz would use his car and figure out where to go together. Jonah had told her everyone would rendezvous back at the cabin in Virginia, but she didn’t see much point in doing that. She had her husband back, and she’d become skilled at flying under the radar. They didn’t need the cabin to be safe from any fallout LifeFarm might bring.

  That was before he’d been hauled off in an ambulance, though. She cursed at herself for forgetting to get his key fob from him before he left the scene. Not only was his car stuck here, her purse was safely ensconced within it.

  She fell into the passenger seat of Kristen’s car. “Where are you guys going after this?”

  “Back to our lives.” Kristen started the engine. “No one back home knows why we left.”

  “But you were a mole, right? You’ll just go back to being a cop—or whatever you were?”

  Kristen laughed. “I worked for Homeland Security. And I still do. Most of what I did was legit.” She backed out of the space. “Where should I take you? I’m heading to the airport. I’m guessing you don’t have a ticket anywhere.”

  Liz pursed her lips. “Any idea which hospital they would have taken Kyle to?”

  “Let’s see.” Kristen pushed buttons on the dash GPS. “Want to go to the closest one? I don’t have time to drive around to a bunch of them, I’m afraid. I hate to leave you alone when he’s hurt.”

  “The closest one is fine. I’ll figure it out.” Liz kept her anticipation of not competing for Kyle’s attention to herself. The Grays had completed their mission, at least for now.

  Ten minutes later, Kristen dropped Liz off on the steps of a hospital, half of which was closed off for construction—or covered by huge tarps, at least. Maybe that part had deteriorated beyond repair.

  Liz wandered into the emergency department, which was surprisingly empty given the hospital’s proximity to the scene of an explosion. She approached a grumpy-looking man sitting behind bullet-proof glass. He looked up, his face asking what on Earth she could possibly want that was so important he had to lift his head.

  “I’m looking for someone who was in the LifeFarm explosion. He would have arrived in an ambulance.”

  “Name?”

  Would Kyle have given his real name? She gave it a shot.

  Grumpy checked a monitor in front of him. “No one here by that name. Might have gone to another hospital.”

  Liz slumped. “Okay. Thanks anyway.” She considered giving Mattson’s name, but not knowing his last name would be suspicious. As she stepped away, she had another thought and returned to the window. “How about Travis Carson? Can you see if he’s here? Or Travis James?”

  With an eye-roll, Grumpy checked the monitor. “Travis James is a patient here.” He hit a buzzer, swinging a door next to his station wide open. She walked through it and under a metal detector.

  Grumpy watched her over a counter, unprotected by bullet-proof glass on this side. He pointed. “Sit in one of those chairs against the wall down there. Someone will come get you.”

  Hope filled Liz’s chest as she headed down the hall. Kyle had used their son’s first and middle name to get in—he must have known she’d think of it.

  Or maybe Travis was here himself, and he was using that as his last name.

  Sitting in the chair with the least-stained cushion, she shook off the possibility. Travis didn’t speak to her anymore, but it wasn’t so bad that he’d get rid of the name they shared.

  Would he?

  What if he had? She’d be brought to see him, not Kyle.

  She buried the anxiety. If she ended up facing Travis, she would handle it. Somehow.

  As she settled into the chair, she rested her head against the wall. Images from the day flashed in her mind, and she focused on the few seconds she’d seen Travis. If only he’d seen her—would he have realized what he’d missed?

  The minutes became an hour, then two, then more. As Liz fought her eyes’ begging for sleep, a heavyset woman wearing scrubs approached. “Ma’am? You’re here for Travis James?”

  Instantly awake, Liz nodded.

  “Come this way.” The woman didn’t wait for Liz to move before walking away.

  “How is he?”

  No answer.

  The woman led Liz to the third floor and down a long hall, to a room with an exhausted-looking security guard stationed outside it. She addressed the guard. “This is the visitor.”

  Looking down his nose at Liz, the guard cleared his throat. “What is your business with Mr. James?”

  “He’s family.”

  “You have ID?”

  “No. My
purse was in the building when it blew.”

  The guard scowled. “Come here.” He headed into the room.

  The only light came from a small fixture mounted to the wall over the bed. Kyle lay there, both legs casted. He appeared to be asleep. An empty chair was next to the bed.

  While relieved to see Kyle, a small part of her lost hope—she wouldn’t see her son.

  “The local police are coming for him as soon as the docs clear him. Leave the door open. You have fifteen minutes.” The guard stepped towards the door.

  “But he’s asleep.”

  “Fifteen minutes.” He returned to the hall.

  A lump formed in Liz’s throat. Kyle had said he’d suffered injuries to his legs in the war, injuries she hadn’t known about, before LifeFarm shipped him to the facility in Missouri. Now here he was, in that condition, only this time she knew he was alive.

  She would have let him sleep, but fifteen minutes would pass too quickly. “Kyle?” Her voice shook. She reached out and squeezed his hand then leaned over, kissing him gently on his forehead.

  He stirred.

  “Kyle. It’s Liz.”

  His eyes fluttered open. “Hey.” He offered a weak smile.

  Wanting to be strong, she fought back her tears and glanced at his legs. “What did they say?”

  “They’re broken but I’ll live. How’s the kid?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “They were more worried about him than me.”

  A pang of guilt hit her—she hadn’t given Mattson much thought after the ambulance left. She’d been more concerned with her own family. But not Kyle. He’d always worried more about others than himself—it’s why she fell in love with him all those years ago. It was also why he stayed hidden away so long.

  She settled on the edge of his bed, keeping his hand in hers as her love for him, a familiar yet somehow distant feeling, awakened. “I’ll find out where he is, but the guard only gave me fifteen minutes with you.”

  “Yeah.” Kyle brushed her finger with his thumb. “He said I’m going to be arrested.”

  “Do you know the charge?”

  “I’m guessing it has something to do with shooting inside LifeFarm’s building before they blew it up. Or threatening them. Who knows.”

  “You think they blew it up?”

  “Pretty sure that’s why the alarm went off just before.”

  He said the words so casually she almost laughed. “Why would they do that, though? Destroy a whole building?”

  “They have a lot to hide.”

  The image of Travis running through the vault hit her again. “I have to tell you something.” She debated with herself—would this news cause him unnecessary stress? It’s not like they’d be able to find their son.

  “What?”

  “I . . . I saw Travis in the LifeFarm building.”

  “What?” He stared, as if weighing her words against what was possible. “Are you serious?” He lifted himself onto his elbows and winced before lying back down.

  She nodded. “It was only for a few seconds.”

  “Are you sure it was him?”

  Another nod. Admitting she was so close was too difficult to say aloud.

  “We have to find him.”

  “How?”

  “There has to be a way. Can we call them?”

  As tears pooled in her eyes, she laughed at the absurdity. “Call LifeFarm and ask for our son.”

  “Yeah. Why not?”

  “Kyle . . .” She sighed. “He hasn’t talked to me in years.”

  “So? Can you really let this go without doing anything? What if he saw me on the news? He could be looking for us.”

  She moved to the chair, staring at Kyle’s bandaged legs. Could he be right?

  A sob caught in her throat. “No. I can’t.” She rested her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. “I can’t hope like that anymore.”

  “Liz?”

  She looked up.

  “I can.”

  ****

  Fighting his heavy eyelids, Javier read the crawl on the bottom of the screen. Hundreds of rioters had been arrested. Dozens of cars and a few buildings burned. And a mob—a mob—that had stormed the Capitol Building had dissipated after authorities were called to deal with the riots.

  No mention of the LifeFarm explosion or of anything happening in New York, including Kyle’s message. At least, not yet. He’d watched the same five stories cycle through for the past several hours. Of course, LifeFarm wouldn’t want coverage of Kyle hijacking the networks to get out. Letting everyone know their headquarters was gone would be even worse. For their own image, they had to bury the story.

  As the sunrise brightened the eastern sky, an announcement came over the intercom, waking up anyone who’d managed to sleep. Three buses, including the one heading to Richmond, were now boarding.

  Twenty minutes later, Javier sat next to Sam on the half-full bus pulling onto the street. On to Richmond then back to the cabin.

  A passenger behind him coughed.

  And back to finishing the vaccine.

  Javier put his arm against the window and rested his head on it, closing his eyes. He let his mind wander, alternating between what they’d done the night before and what still needed to be done.

  “Is that Charlie?” Sam’s voice pulled Javier out of his doze.

  He squinted out the window. “Where?”

  She pointed at the battered man sitting on the sidewalk against a stone wall outside the Capitol Building. His eyes were closed.

  In the seats in front of them, Jonah pulled himself over Damien and into the aisle, where he rushed to the front of the bus and leaned over the driver’s shoulder. “Stop. We need to get that man.”

  “No can do.” The driver glanced in the mirror. “There was rioting last night. Didn’t you hear?”

  “No kidding. That man is hurt and he’s with us. Can you just give me one minute to get him?”

  The driver’s eyes shifted, and he pulled the bus to the side of the road. “One minute.”

  Jonah hopped out.

  ****

  Squeaking brakes pulled Charlie out of his shallow sleep, reminding him of his throbbing head. A Greyhound bus was parked in the bike lane a dozen yards up—that’s not the kind of bus that would stop anywhere. The doors opened, and Charlie held his breath when Jonah emerged and rushed towards him. Shit. He gasped, wincing at the pain in his ribs. Sitting here until someone noticed he needed medical attention had been a bust.

  “What the hell, man?” Jonah held his arms out, as if gesturing to his surroundings. “You stole my car!” His face reddened.

  “Hey.” Keeping his place on the sidewalk, Charlie held his hands up in surrender. “The LifeFarm building blew up. I didn’t know how long you’d be and I needed to get to my nephew to make sure he’s okay.”

  “You were gonna take it to New York? Without us?” Putting his hands on his hips, Jonah turned away, glaring across the street.

  Anxiety knotted Charlie’s stomach, but he couldn’t tell if it was from guilt after taking Jonah’s car or from not being able to get to Mattson.

  “Come on.” Jonah grabbed Charlie’s arm and pulled him up.

  “Ow! Watch it.” Pain radiated from the wound in his hip and ribs as Jonah forced him to the bus’s door. His nose felt at least three times bigger than normal. He could only imagine how it looked.

  “Liz and Kyle are watching after Mattson. You’re coming back to Virginia with us. If you want to figure out how to get to New York then, fine. But you’re sure as hell not staying here.” Jonah boarded first, pointing to the driver. “Pay the man.” He headed down the aisle, not looking back to make sure Charlie obeyed.

  Charlie collapsed into the seat behind the driver after handing him the few bills he had on him, promising to pay the rest when they reached Richmond. The driver scowled but complied.

  Richmond. That was the opposite direction he needed to go, but what choice did he have? H
is wallet and phone were back in the jail in Phoenix. Once he reached Richmond, he could convince Javier or someone to give him a loan. Or he could call Annie and have her wire him some money.

  Shit. Annie. How could he tell her what happened to Mattson?

  Gritting his teeth, Charlie stared out the windshield.

  ****

  The guard returned to Kyle’s room, stopping just inside the doorway and focusing on Liz. “Time’s up.”

  “Already?” She checked the clock. “I still have three minutes.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Liz considered arguing, but if she wanted any prayer of visiting again, she had to stay on these guys’ good side. She stood and squeezed Kyle’s hand. “I’ll check back when I can. Do you have your car key?”

  He nodded then looked up. “It was in my pants pocket. I don’t know what the paramedics did with them.”

  “The nurses are holding your personal items. They’ll give them to the police when you’re arrested,” the guard said.

  Liz slumped. “Even if he gives me permission to take them?”

  He nodded.

  Great. She buried her aggravation and headed for the door.

  The guard followed her into the hall, where he pointed to a stairwell. “Go down that way. Check out with the emergency department receptionist on your way out.”

  “Wait.” She put her hand on his arm. “There’s another young man here I know. Can I see him too?”

  “No. Visitors are supposed to be announced.”

  “Kyle—I mean, Travis didn’t announce that I was here ahead of time. I had to find him.”

  The guard tilted his head. “What’s his name?”

  “Travis. I got him confused with someone else.” Crap. She kept her focus on him. Better to not look nervous, right? “You know how it is with big families.”

  “Sure.” The guard glanced into the room. “He wouldn’t have a reason to hide his identity, would he?”

  Her exhaustion and irritation came to a head. “You said he’s being arrested.” She headed towards the stairwell. “Have the cops figure it out.”

  She winced as the door slammed behind her. That last bit of snark probably cost her any chance of getting back here, and there was no way she’d be able to get to Mattson now.