“I remember…” His eyes took on a far off look, and he seemed no longer to see her. “I remember we were working out a lot. We came into Virginia to…to test the serum. And Eddie…he lost it after about a month. Wildchild just went nuts.”
His eyes then regained their focus and he looked at her with a horrified expression. “It’s happening to me too, isn’t it? I’m losing it like Eddie did. And… Oh my God… Oh my God—I shot Darren! I can’t believe… Please—for the love of God, Billie—please tell me I didn’t kill him.”
She shook her head. “No, buddy, you didn’t,” she assured him with a smile. “You shot him in the shoulder—he’s lost a lot of blood, but he’s going to be all right. The Spin Doctor will live to tell another tall tale.”
Tears fell from his eyes in rivulets and he seemed to sag even closer to the ground. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Darren…” he sobbed.
“It’s okay, Wayne,” Billie tried to assure him. She hated seeing the man their team had looked up to as a leader and mentor reduced to little more than a blubbering mess, his strength of will and his sanity decimated by chemicals she knew deep down he hadn’t really wanted to take. But like any good father, he had done something he didn’t want to because what he did want was to provide for his children.
With the living proof right in front of her displaying what IQ-56 was capable of in all its horrible glory, Billie began to understand why Gabe had gotten so angry. He had inferred she was placing blame on the Professor when such was not her intention at all. No, Wayne was not responsible for what had happened today, but she couldn’t help thinking if only he hadn’t said yes to Wainright…
But then, if Wainright had only picked some other team for his little project, Wayne would never have put into the position to say yes or no in the first place.
“I’m sorry to you too, Billie,” Wayne said then, lifting his eyes in a pleading gaze. “I didn’t mean what I said. You’re not a traitor—you’re here. You came back because the team needed you. That means you still care about us right? You’re still one of us?”
Billie threw her arms around him and held him tightly to her. “I will always be one of you, Wayne. And I more than care about you—I love you. You and the guys are family.”
Then she sat back on her heels, looked him in the eyes, and said, “Semper fidelis, Professor.”
Wayne nodded slowly. Though his eyes still seemed just this side of manic, for the moment he appeared to be in control of himself. Billie stood then, and with a nod to John, they each took an arm in hand and helped Wayne to his feet.
Making their way back to the cabin took time. It took a lot of coaxing on Billie’s part, more convincing Wayne that everything was going to be all right—that his children were safe, that Darren was going to live, that Gabe was doing fine. He noticed her tension when she spoke of Gabe, and when he asked her about it, she could only say that he’d said something that upset her and that she’d punched him in return. Wayne then said that if they let him out of the handcuffs when they got back, he’d punch Gabe too. Billie laughed and said she was satisfied with having given him a split lip.
“I’ve been wondering something,” John spoke up as they were reaching the Upper Gorge. “You guys call each other by your codenames a lot, and you told me why Wayne’s called Professor. I know why you’re called She-Devil from your service record, that it’s due in part to your being the team’s marksman. But what about the other three?”
“Thunderhead brings the rain,” Wayne told him.
John looked around him and raised an eyebrow at Billie, so she elaborated. “Gabe is the team’s ordinance specialist. In the military there’s a saying: Bring the rain. It’s a reference to raining bombs down on a target and basically a fancy way of giving the order to blow shit up.”
“Oh yeah. I remember a guy saying that in the first Transformers movie just before the jets dropped the first round of bombs on Scorpinok,” John said.
“So, being that blowing shit up was his specialty—and ‘thunderhead’ is another name for the kinds of rain clouds that produce thunder—Gabe got the name Thunderhead as a sort of in-joke,” Billie went on. “Eddie was called Wildchild because he was our team brawler, always the first of us to get physical and the best at taking a bad guy down with his hands.”
“I bet I know how Darren got the name Spin Doctor—he’s a fast talker, am I right?” John queried.
“He isn’t just a fast talker, man!” Wayne said brightly. “He can get the most skeptical motherfucker to believe he shits gold, that’s how good he is!”
Billie laughed. “He’s right. Darren’s proclivity for paltering is legendary in the Recon units—half a dozen or more team leaders wanted him on their squads, but we’re the lucky ones who got him. His smooth-talking got us out of more than one sticky situation in the past.”
Before she knew it, they were back in the center of the lodge grounds. Guests were milling about, and anyone paying them attention stared openly at the way she and John were escorting Wayne like he was a prisoner—no doubt they all looked a little worse for wear, each of them having gotten pretty much soaked in the creek. The ogling eyes made Wayne nervous and fidgety, and she rubbed his back in the hope of keeping him calm as they turned down the path that would lead to A-frame #6.
Gabe was stepping out the front door as they approached the cabin, though seeing the condition each of them were in brought him up short. His eyes swung back and forth between Billie and Wayne, lingering on the former. Billie felt her hackles rise as she remembered his words to John, but she knew she had to put her anger aside. Right now, they had to concentrate on getting Wayne and Darren back to the safe house in Virginia, so they could be seen by a doctor.
“Hey there, Professor,” Gabe said slowly. “I see the She-Devil kicked your ass—again. How’s it feel to be taken down by a girl?”
“Fuck you, Thunderhead,” Wayne retorted. “Besides, from what I heard I’m not the only one she knocked around today. What the fuck did you say to her that she had to give you a split lip for?”
Gabe’s eyes flicked to her, and she only stared. “I, uh, said something I shouldn’t have,” he said after a moment.
“Damn straight you shouldn’t have, kid,” Wayne snapped. “She’s our sister, Gabriel. She’s our family. Doesn’t matter where she’s been or what she’s done, she came back for us because we’re her family. Better fucking keep that in mind, Major, next time you decide to put your head up your ass.”
Swallowing, Gabe nodded once. “Yes, sir.”
He then looked to Billie. “I really am sorry for being such an ignorant prick. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Billie knew she should just accept his apology and let it go. She knew why he had been angry—even understood it. But that didn’t excuse his cruelty.
“You were out of line,” she told him. “What you said was completely uncalled for.”
Gabe nodded. “I know it was.”
“I’m also not the only one you should be apologizing to,” Billie added. “John is here because his help was requested, and because he is my friend. You insulted him as much as you did me.”
He looked as if he didn’t want to admit she was right, but nevertheless turned his eyes to John and said, “I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
“Don’t worry about it,” John replied. “It’s been a rough couple of days for all of us. Only a matter of time before someone lost their cool.”
“Okay, now that we’ve kissed and made up, will you please take me in to see Darren?” Wayne said then. “I want to make sure Spin is all right. I’m… I’m feeling that twitchy feeling again—I think if I see him, I’ll feel better.”
“Of course, Wayne,” Billie said, taking him by the arm again and leading him into the cabin.
Darren was still laid out on the couch, and still looked pale. But his color had improved since her departure and he’d woken up. There was a half-empty glass of water on the floor within easy reach, and Billie n
oted that Gabe hadn’t been idle in their absence: the mess caused by Darren and Wayne’s scuffle had been mostly cleaned up. The only remnants she could see were the broken window, a pile of broken furniture, and the bloodstains.
Wayne pulled away from her to drop to his knees beside the couch. He lowered his head so that his brow touched Darren’s, and said in a voice thick with emotion, “I’m so sorry, man. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was the demons, Spin. The demons in my head—they’re still in there, I can hear them…”
Darren brought his right hand up to cradle the side of Wayne’s head. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Colonel. I know you weren’t yourself.”
Wayne began to sob. “The demons…” he moaned. “They’re still… I can still hear them.” He sat back and looked up at the three standing around the couch. “They’re clawing at the door. I keep… It’s so hard to keep the voices from taking over. You don’t understand how hard it is, even now.”
“Professor, look at me,” Darren said, waiting until he had done so to place his hand on Wayne’s shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze. “You are going to be all right. Gabe and Billie and me? We’re going to help you through this. You are not alone, brother.”
Langley had never looked so good.
After making a call to get the cabin cleaned up, John, Billie, and Gabe got Wayne and Darren into the Explorer. Wayne they secured in the third-row seat, where he would be joined by Gabe in case he started having another episode. For everyone’s safety, it was agreed that he should remain handcuffed. Darren laid as comfortably as possible on his right side on the middle seat. Billie, of course, took the front passenger seat as he climbed in behind the wheel.
Checking the gas gauge as he put the key into the ignition, he said, “I think we’ve actually got enough fuel to drive straight through to the safe house if we don’t stop. What do you say?”
Billie nodded. “Sounds like a plan,” she said.
“Probably a good idea,” Gabe agreed from the back seat.
“What safe house?” Darren asked.
“John has arranged for you three to be taken to a CIA safe house, Spin,” Billie replied as he was turning the car around to head away from the cabin. “We have some reasons to suspect that Wainright isn’t completely above board, and so I asked him to arrange a safe location away from the general’s prying eyes. You’ll be seen by a doctor there.”
“What reasons?” Wayne asked. “The general trip your bullshit radar, She-Devil?”
She looked back over her shoulder at him. “Indeed he did. To be honest, I’m surprised he didn’t trip yours, Professor, but I know why you said yes.”
“My kids need me, Billie,” he said. “I know they’re not in danger from demons, though God knows my head is still full of those. God, it’s awful… My head hurts so much…”
Wayne shook his head as though to clear it. “Regardless of what’s real and what’s not, they need me. Will and Jenna need their father a hell of a lot more than they need that whore of a mother of theirs.”
“Don’t you worry, Wayne,” Gabe told him. “We’re going to take care of the kids too.”
John looked to Billie and asked in a low voice, “Are you going to tell them about Eddie?”
“They deserve to know, but Wayne’s in bad shape,” she murmured in reply. “I don’t want him to have another episode while we’re in the car.”
He nodded. “Agreed. At the safe house, then?”
Billie nodded, and for the next six hours they were silent…for the most part. Wayne’s “demons” began to haunt him again about halfway through the trip and he’d gotten restless. His ranting woke Darren, who’d fallen asleep again, and it took assurances from him, Gabe, and Billie to once again settle their haunted brother. John hoped they wouldn’t need to restrain him at the safe house. He wondered if not being free to move around might also be contributing to the man’s problem, and thought maybe the doctor could give him a sedative or something to keep him calm so it wouldn’t be necessary.
The familiar sights of Langley loomed on the horizon sooner than it seemed possible, but despite the still-murky days ahead figuring out what, if anything, they could do about Wainright, John was happy to be back. Part of it was because it was home. And part was because Billie seemed so much more relaxed than she had been when they left yesterday. He imagined that the trip to Hocking Hills had been rather cathartic for her, and hoped that she was finally going to be able to heal and move on with her life.
No, that didn’t sound like a self-serving thought at all, you jackass, his conscience said snidely. Snorting slightly, he wished his snarky inner voice were a real person so he could tell it precisely where to go. While he had begrudgingly admitted that he was attracted to Billie and would like to pursue something with her, he had accepted that she wasn’t ready for a relationship. It sucked for him, having had a taste of the woman within, but it was what it was. She needed time to regain her footing in the “real” world without any interference from him. Perhaps, like Gabe, he needed to admit total defeat and move on himself.
He took George Washington Memorial Parkway and got off at the Chain Bridge Road exit, then turned onto Crest Lane and backtracked to the safe house’s address. John had dialed Rex as soon as they hit the city limits in order to give a brief report on the two soldiers’ conditions as well as confirm that the security team and the doctor would be there. Rex assured him that help was ready and waiting.
That was his only piece of good news.
SIXTEEN
Bad news, as always, was immediately following. Rex had been unable to locate Dr. Hernandez or any of his research on IQ-56. All calls to General Wainright’s office had not been returned. He then admitted that all the run-around was beginning to leave a bad taste in his mouth, and that Billie had probably been right to keep finding her friends under wraps for the time being. When John had asked if ICE had paid him a visit, Rex surprised him by saying no, that he’d heard nothing from ICE or the upper echelons of the CIA. Perhaps, he’d said, it was because he’d been a good boy and backed off as soon as he’d gotten his first warning.
“Then it looks like we’re going to have to stop being good to get to the bottom of this,” John had said. “I’ll get back to you.”
When they pulled into the driveway of the safe house, John stopped and showed his ID to the guard who had stepped in front of the car. The man nodded and waved them up, and he pulled forward to turn and park behind the house. As he and Billie were helping Darren out of the car, a woman in a white coat came out.
“Now I see why I was pulled from my rounds at the hospital,” the brunette said. “Let’s get him inside so I can have a look at him—he was shot, is that right?”
Billie nodded. “A through-and-through to the left shoulder. This is Major Darren Peck, Doctor. He’s also got a laceration to the left temple and I believe he suffered a concussion,” she said as they walked Darren up the steps and into the house behind her. “I stitched him up, but I imagine you’ll want to undo my work and put in your own sutures.”
“What did you use?” the doctor asked.
“Plain dental floss.”
The woman actually grinned behind her glasses. “Haven’t heard of that one in a long time. If your ties are still tight and there’s no sign of infection, I see no reason to take the floss out at this time. It would put undue stress on my patient to unstitch and re-stitch his wounds.”
“We have a second patient for you, though I’m not entirely certain what you’re going to be able to do for him,” John said.
The doctor pointed to a chair at the dining table. “Sit him here so I can take a look at him,” she said. “Rex told me about the other guy—some sort of psychotic episode, right?”
“I’m not crazy, Doctor,” Wayne himself replied as he and Gabe stepped inside. The security man from outside came last, carrying the three soldiers’ duffle bags. After setting them inside the door, he turned around
and walked back outside.
Her eyes flicked to Gabe, who introduced himself and then Wayne. She looked at the latter squarely. “I didn’t say you were, Colonel. But the fact that you went UA, shot a man whom you call your friend in the shoulder after putting his head through a window, and are presently standing before me in handcuffs says that there is something very wrong with you. As soon as I take a look at your friend, I’m going to take a blood sample from all three of you, see if I can’t get a handle on this IQ…whatever the fuck it’s called.”
Wayne stared at her for a moment and then nodded. “I hope you can make them go away,” he said at last.
“Them?” she returned.
“The voices, Doc. The demon voices,” he told her. “It’s not so bad now, but they’re still there, still trying to convince me that what ain’t real is real.”
“I’m going to do my best to help you, Marine, but you have to help me too,” she told him. “And right now, I need you to take a seat and wait your turn.”
Nodding, Wayne moved around her and sat at the end of the table. John noted that a second security man, an agent he’d worked with before on safe house detail, stood in the doorway to the living room. He turned his attention back to the doctor, who was shining a pen light in Darren’s eyes. She then directed him to follow her finger, which he did, then with Billie’s help removed Darren’s borrowed t-shirt.
“Say, what’s your name, Doc?” Darren asked.
“Dr. Stone,” she replied.
“Don’tcha got a first name?”
Dr. Stone only grinned as she took care peeling the bandage off the front of his shoulder, then removed the one on the back. Darren continued trying to get her to tell him her name, at one point prompting her to tell him to guess. So as she declared Billie’s stitching to be in good shape, cleaned and redressed his shoulder with items from the open first aid kit on the table, then removed the bandage on his head and did the same, he went through every female name he could think of.
Two Evils Page 23
