“Thanks, Bernice. Did the guard out there say that sometimes you move them?” Walking a necrotic through the facility seemed like a really bad idea.
“Director Navarro set up a lab down here so we’d be closer, but yes, we have to move them from containment to the lab if we want to run any tests.”
“And have there been any incidents.”
Bernice winced. “We’ve had a few.” She pointed to a man in the cell in the far corner. He was wearing the same green lab coat I had on my desk upstairs.
There wasn’t anything left to see here. I was disgusted. Navarro was putting us all at risk by keeping those things in the lab. If just one of them mutated into one of the fast ones, the installation would fall in a matter of moments. There wasn’t time to waste. Slipping the mask off my face, I put it on the rack and stepped back into the hallway. To my chagrin, Tyrell was standing there with a scowl on his face.
As Bernice stepped out, he wiggled his finger in her face. “I thought we all agreed to let Doctor Bowmont rest before we threw her in head first,” he said in a tone that implied Bernice was too stupid to follow simple instructions.
“No, you came in and told us not to say anything.” Bernice looked at me. “It wasn’t an actual discussion.”
“Well, now the only discussion you have to worry about is what kind of severance package you will receive with HR.” Tyrell smiled.
Bernice looked like she was torn between telling him to go screw himself and crying. I knew just how she felt. I’d been fired once after five years of faithful service. They weren’t lying when people tell you excelling at your job isn’t enough. You also have to play politics. I got on the wrong side of a fat mean-spirited manager, and that was it. A smile twitched across my lips as I realized that she worked in Phoenix. Sometimes karma was a real bitch.
“Oh, Bernice won’t be talking with HR, she’s indispensable to the team.” It was time to test just how much pull I had around here.
“That decision is up to the director,” Tyrell snapped, unhappy that the small amount of power he clung to evaporated like water in the desert.
“I’m confident once I relay how important Bernice is to my staff he’ll understand her indiscretion.” I frowned at Tyrell. “Why are you here?”
He looked at Bernice and then back to me. “The director is waiting for you in his office.”
If Tyrell expected me to start running down the hall to jump at Director Navarro’s request, he’d be waiting for the next ice age.
When I didn’t start moving Tyrell’s smile turned cruel. “The director isn’t a patient man.”
It was my turn to smile now. “Then I guess we’ll see how forgiving he is when I tell him you are the one that delayed me.”
“Just get there.” Tyrell spun on his heel and stalked off as if him leaving somehow made him the winner of our little battle.
I flashed Bernice a warm smile. “I always enjoy speaking with the director’s little errand boy.”
Bernice frowned after him, probably thinking about how close she’d come to being tossed out into the cold. “You’re probably the only one.”
“We’ll have to see. I’m sure there is at least one person out there that enjoys ruining his day as much as I do.” I patted Bernice on the shoulder. “Why don’t you head back to the lab, and I’ll get things squared away with the director.”
“After a shower,” Bernice nudged me and then pinched her nose closed with one hand. “You’re almost as bad as those things in there.”
“Amazing what you can get used to,” I called over my shoulder as I headed toward the stairs. It was true, I didn’t even smell myself, and if the stench was as bad as Bernice said, then I needed a shower. Opening the door to the stairs, I wondered if my stuff was still in my room, or if they tossed it when I was reported dead. Only one way to find out. I headed up the stairs in search of my quarters and a warm shower.
Chapter Four
Max Meridious
The white concrete walls slowly faded into much nicer white walls as we continued to move along the hallway. Timmy wasn’t much of a talker. The guy must have still been fuming from having to carry my bag. Frankly the guy got off light. Threatening to shoot Holly around me was normally a quick way into a pine box. At least the silence was preferable to those idiots that blather on and on. It’s like they’d die if they couldn’t keep talking.
I knew we were getting closer to an area used for more than just storage when there started to be pops of color on the walls. That and the cheap yellow bulbs from below had all been replaced with daylight bulbs. It’s crazy, I always thought it can’t be that big of a difference switching from a yellow bulb to a daylight, but now I couldn’t live without them. So, one day I switched out every bulb in my house. I’ve never been happier. In the age of beautiful white light, who would ever use anything else.
The concrete floor was quickly replaced by white tiles. The walls were covered with the same tiles up to waist height. We reached a four way intersection, and Timmy stopped abruptly, dumping my duffel on the ground. He sneered at me for a second before pulling out his phone to check his messages.
He slipped his phone back in his pocket, and met my eyes for the first time since we started walking. “Stay here, Tyrell wants to speak with you.” He said it in a way that didn’t broker any argument.
Timmy marched off down one of the four intersections, and I slumped to the floor against the wall. Why couldn’t anything be easy? All I wanted was a few of those pink pills and a place to sleep. If someone could wrangle some food into the bargain, I might think I’d died and gone to heaven. Instead, I was forced to wait here by some stuck up asshole playing power games. Tyrell better make his visit real short, I’d had about enough of today already.
Tyrell strode down the hallway Timmy had just exited. The heels of his thousand dollar loafers clicked with every step he took. He put his phone away as he approached and then tried to size me up. It couldn’t have been easy. I refused to get off the ground for him and ignored his extended hand.
“Mind telling me why I’m stuck in this hallway instead of being on my way to medical?” Slowly I lumbered back to my feet using the AR to help push myself up. When I was standing I cradled the weapon against my chest like a shield.
“Just making sure you know your place.” His lips tightened into a snarl. “There is a certain way we like to do things around here. Doctor Bowmont is given some small amount of leeway due to her position, but everyone else is expected to fall in line.”
“I’ll get right on that.” This guy was lucky I still had a little of my humanity left. If this conversation had taken place outside instead of in this protected building, I would have killed him without hesitation. If you wanted to survive in this new world, we all had to be pulling the same way. Tyrell would never be on anyone’s side but his own.
He waved his hand, dismissing me like I was an intern at a prestigious law firm. “Medical is down that hallway.” He pointed down one of the four corridors in a way that suggested I was stupid for not knowing which way to go before he did so. “It’s the third door on the right. I trust you can count to three?”
One, deep breath. Two, deep breaths. Three, deep breaths. See, I could count to three. It took me exactly three breaths to stop myself from punching the arrogant little prick right in the face and then kicking him until he couldn’t stand up again. He left the question hanging there like I was going to answer it and confirm for him that I was indeed an idiot. Instead, I just grinned back at him, daring him to push it a little further.
My dad, always one who liked to doll out helpful advice by the armloads, once told me, let people underestimate you, let them think that you're small, that you are insignificant. It’s the giants that get toppled. What he meant by that is stay quiet, stay humble, and work your ass off. One day when you succeed people will think it was a surprise. Oh, where did he come from, but it won’t be a surprise to you because you worked your fucking ass off to get whe
re you are.
So instead of firing back and cementing myself as Tyrell’s enemy, I just ducked down to pick up my bag, and started walking in the direction he pointed. “Thanks for your help,” I choked out, almost unable to say the words.
Tyrell didn’t look up. He already had his phone out again as he stormed back down the same hallway he had come from. Off to ruin someone else’s day, I was sure of it. Watching him go, I knew I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of whatever tirade he was cooking up. I might actually just say fuck it and shoot him. I mean, I’d go for just a flesh wound, which was better than he deserved.
Now that His Smugness was gone, I dropped the tough soldier act and limped my way toward the third door on the right. Maybe now I’d finally get my hands on a few more pills, or maybe even something stronger if I was lucky. Man, when were they going to invent some kind of regeneration tank, like in the movies? I’d love to slip into one of those for a few days and come out feeling like a new man. Instead, I’d be dealing with these injuries for weeks, if not longer.
At least the first days were the worst. After a week or two, everything just kind of goes numb, and sometime after that you wake up one morning feeling fine. It was the next few days I was worried about. Things hadn’t exactly gone our way out there, and I wanted to be prepared in case we had to run off again. Having a few of those pills stowed away would sure make things easier.
At least at the Hilltop I didn’t have to go to the pharmacy. What was with those big drug dispensing companies thinking they can get between a man and his doctor. If they write a script, I want it filled and in the amount that is written on the paper, no questions asked. If you just had surgery or maybe have a condition that requires constant pain management, then why should a corporation be able to tell you how many pills you can have? You want to stop the pill epidemic, do one simple thing, create a universal prescription system and make all US based pharmacies use it. That way if little Sally Jo is going to CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens with scripts from different doctors you can place a call to the doctors writing the prescriptions and find out if they know the client is potentially receiving more medication than they know about. If the patient is running a scam, refuse them. If the doctor tells you it’s ok, give them the pills. Simple as that. CVS shouldn’t get to decide on their own if you get your meds or not.
The third door on the right was clearly labeled medical. Tyrell must have thought I was a real dumbass if I couldn’t find this place, or maybe he just treated everyone like they were a few cards short of a full deck. I wasn’t sure if I should knock or just walk in. I raised my hand to knock on the door and then put it back down. The room beyond was probably just a lobby, at least that had been my experience in other Hilltop Medical Facilities.
Taking a deep breath to calm my jangly nerves, I opened the door. The woman sitting behind the desk looked up, a frown creasing her lips. The downturn of her lips didn’t stop her from being gorgeous. If anything it made her look slightly pouty, and I kinda liked that. I snapped my mouth closed and silently wondered if the Hilltop Initiative had some kind of monopoly on hot doctors. Shaking my head to clear it, I tried to stay focused. Treating someone differently based on their looks was something I tried to avoid. Plenty of good looking vipers out there, and just as many people you’d think of as shit that turned out to be great. Plus, I kind of already had my eye on a certain doctor, and I wasn’t the philandering type.
The woman stood up, her white coat falling around her like a robe. She looked me over for a second and then turned to get something out of a drawer. For a moment I had to wonder what she was reaching for, and I felt my hand drifting down to the grip of my Desert Eagle, but when she turned around all she had in her hands were a couple large trash bags. My fingers relaxed, and I reminded myself not to be so paranoid.
“Time to strip, big boy,” the doctor smiled at me. “I can’t have you tracking mud and whatever the rest of that shit is all over my office.”
There was no getting around it based off the look on her face. I wondered if it was customary for her to make all her clients strip in the main room or if she reserved that pleasure just for me. Slowly I started peeling layers of filthy clothing off. In a few places the blood had dried and the cloth stuck to my skin until I gave it a hard yank. Eventually I was down to my boxers. I started reaching for them when the doctor cut me off.
“You can keep those on, for now.” She bent down and helped me get all of my clothes into the bags. “There’s a shower through that door.” She pointed at a door on my left. “I’ll have some new clothes sent down, and I’ll get these incinerated.” She wrinkled her nose at the two bulky trash bags.
“Will you keep an eye on my duffel?”
The doctor smirked at me. “Honey, if it means that much to you, you can take it with you.” She gently shooed me towards the door. “Just put on the robe when you’re done, and then I’ll get you right to the doctor.”
Ah, so the hottie wasn’t a doctor after all. I didn’t know if that made it better or worse. There certainly were a whole lot of hot secretary jokes coming to mind right now. They’d be funnier if older men and women stopped having affairs with their younger assistants and getting divorced. Nothing says Merry Christmas like presents from your two new families. It’s almost better than being Jewish and getting those eight crazy nights.
The shower didn’t take long to heat up, but the water felt like tiny needles against my skin. Normally I’d be the last one to complain about good water pressure, but right now all I wanted was gentle misting. Despite how much it hurt to move I started scrubbing. I had the feeling I wouldn’t make it past the doorkeeper unless I was completely clean. Not that I wanted to be dirty, but when you’re beaten and bruised, scrubbing crusted blood off your skin hurts.
I felt a little awkward walking out of the bathroom in my hospital johnny with a bag full of guns and ammo slung over my shoulder, but I was determined to rock this new look for as much as it was worth. The receptionist eyed me for a moment, clearly wondering what was in the bag. I shrugged my shoulders, and she stood up, eyes still twinkling with questions.
“Come with me.”
She opened the door, and I followed her into a hallway. She put me into the first room on the right and started taking my vitals. Slowly, she started to move my hospital gown around and poke at my skin. It seemed a tad personal for a prescreening. Shouldn’t the doctor be the only one touching me? Nervously I cleared my throat.
“Calm down hotshot, I’m just checking for bite marks. The doctor won’t see anyone that’s been bitten.” Her eyes held the clinical look of observation, only making me feel a little stupid for doubting her intentions.
“Sounds like a real Samaritan,” I grumbled.
“He has his moments.” She winked at me. “Not all of them are good ones.” Finishing up her exam, she left the room, and a few moments later the doctor came in.
“Dr. Sorrento,” he extended his hand, “pleasure to meet you.”
Wincing, I grasped the man’s hand, I did my best to give it a hardy shake. “Maximus Meridious, but you can just call me Max.”
“Let’s give you a quick once over, Max.” Sorrento leaned in and started probing all of my bruises. I let out a couple sharp hisses of breath and might have cried out a few times, but eventually he stopped the torture he referred to as medicine. “Nothing seems to be broken, but we’ll get some x-rays set up for tomorrow. Until then, take a few of these.” He walked over to the medical cabinet and pulled out a bottle. He shook a few pills free, and then a few more. “Take two of these, and if you can’t fall asleep take another one.”
“Thanks, Doc.” I didn’t ask him for more of the little pink pills, but I did watch where he put the bottle back in the cabinet.
“Bianca will be in with your clothes and room assignment in a few minutes. Try to take it easy for a while, your body needs the rest.” He looked at me, clearly wondering if I’d follow his advice and then extended his hand out for
a goodbye shake.
“I’ll do my best, Doc.” I shook his hand, and he left the room.
As the door closed, I jumped to my feet and headed for the cabinet. Reaching inside, I swiped the bottle of pills the doctor had just put back and tossed them in my bag. With the pills secure, I sat back down and waited for Bianca. The door opened almost immediately, and Bianca stepped in looking around the room. With nothing seeming out of place, she handed me a stack of clothing and a pair of boots.
“I’ve also got your room card. Finish getting dressed and I’ll show you where it is.”
“Thanks, Bianca.” She closed the door behind her, and I started to get dressed. Something about putting on clean clothes just made me feel better. That and sitting around in what amounted to a bathrobe was only cool for Tony Soprano. For the first time, I didn’t find it creepy the Hilltop kept all my measurements on file. The clothes fit perfectly, and after a few hours of sleep I knew I’d feel better.
My stomach growled, and I thought about the last time we’d eaten on the road. It’d been about a day. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep without some food. All the Hilltop facilities I’d been to had a cafeteria. Maybe Bianca could point me in the right direction before escorting me to my room?
With my trusty Desert Eagle on my hip and dressed in clean clothes, I was starting to feel like myself again. The hallway was empty as I exited the exam room. Not wanting to be too much trouble I took the initiative and headed around the corner looking for Bianca’s desk. She was sitting there typing away at the keys as I poked my head around. I felt a sense of relief. Despite the fact I knew we were safe here, I hated the feeling of being alone right now.
I tried to put on a winning smile. “Hey, B, any chance we can swing by the cafeteria before we head to my room? I’m famished.”
Rise of the Necrotics (Book 8): Home Sweet Home Page 3
