The Immortality Virus

by Christine Amsden

  “Mmm.”

  “He couldn’t have come here after us,” Grace said. “Why would he do that? He had us in Iowa. Why would he let us go and then come after us here? It has to be a coincidence.”

  “Either way, the city’s under attack. We can’t leave.”

  As if to emphasize the point, the ground shook.

  “They’ve been throwing energy weapons at the city shields for a couple of hours now,” Alex said.

  That would make things more difficult, but she couldn’t quit. Not now. If Edgers took the city, there might never be another chance. “I have to go.”

  “Where? Do you have any idea where to look next?”

  “Yes.”

  Alex arched an eyebrow.

  “Medicorp,” Grace said. “I think Matt Stanton knows more than he’s been saying.”

  “If you find my grandfather, will you turn him over to them?”

  Something about the way he’d said that made her hesitate in answering. She thought she would have said, “Yes, definitely,” but the words got stuck in her throat. Maybe it was the “turn him over” part. She hadn’t thought of it that way. Medicorp wanted to find someone who could help them–someone on the run who may not know people needed him. Someone she hadn’t thought of before as anyone’s grandfather, but only as an echo in an old diary.

  The diary. The diary was incomplete. Ethan had known about entries made later, while Jordan was on the run from the law. Matt had to know about them too, which meant he was keeping things from her. Probably a lot of things. When had Jordan finished his virus? When had it been released? How had Mr. Stanton really come by that diary?

  “Grace?” Alex asked. “I don’t trust Stanton. Or Medicorp.”

  “Neither do I, but they’re the ones with the resources to put the world to right again.”

  The room shook again.

  “The cops think Matt killed his father,” Grace said. She didn’t know why she said it; maybe she was as unsure of Mr. Stanton as Alex. She’d tried to convince herself it didn’t matter whether or not he’d killed his father, but maybe it did. If he was willing to kill his own father, then why not her when this was all over? She had trouble believing Sam would be involved with someone like that, but then again she hadn’t known the man in decades.

  “Do you think he did?” Alex asked.

  “I’m supposed to find out.” That wasn’t true. She was supposed to find proof. There was a difference. Briefly, she told him about Captain Flint’s ultimatum.

  “You’ve got enemies on all sides, don’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How are you going to find out if he killed his father?” Alex asked.

  She needed to confront him. She already knew he was lying about the diary but...but why had he lied about the diary? What was on the rest of that diary he was so afraid to let her hear? Evidence?

  “I have to go to Medicorp,” Grace said again. “They owe me an explanation.” She reached with her right arm to pull back the covers but only had a stump to brush them aside. She stared at the stump for a minute before adding, “They owe me a hand, too. Medicorp has some of the best prosthetics in the world.”

  Chapter 24

  Alex had bought some clothes for Grace while she slept. It was a nice thought, although he had underestimated her size and the pants rode up uncomfortably. At least she managed to button them.

  “My ex-wife used to lie about her dress size,” Alex said. “She’d get offended if I bought her the right size.”

  “She must have looked silly walking around in clothes that were too small,” Grace said as she tugged at the shirt to loosen it up around her bicep.

  “I think she exchanged them the next day.”

  Grace just shook her head. “For the record, I have a twenty-six inch waist and thirty-six inch hips and like clothes that fit.”

  Alex grinned. “You think I might need that information, then?”

  He was trying to trip her, but it wasn’t going to work this time. She couldn’t let him reel her into a serious relationship. Here, off the farm and away from the constant fear, she could think clearly.

  She lifted her gaze to his and looked into his bright green eyes shining in silent laughter, but she couldn’t remember what she had been about to say.

  He leaned forward, his lips slightly parted. She stood still, watching him draw close. Her lips parted slightly, almost of their own volition.

  Then the clouds in her mind parted and she stepped to the side, causing him to miss entirely. Served him right.

  “I deserved that,” Alex said. He straightened and added, “Next time.”

  “There won’t be a next time.” But she wasn’t as sure as she would have been two weeks ago.

  * * *

  St. Luke’s was not very far from the Medicorp building. Grace didn’t even have to take the rail, which was good since the city was in a state of chaos. Above, she could see the periodic flashes as energy bursts hit the city shields. Some of the bursts caused the ground to shake.

  Hundreds of fighters dotted the sky, some defending and some attacking, though Grace had no idea which were which. She noticed the recruiters rounding up “volunteers” from the city’s street population to use as ground troops. This left the streets almost walkable. A couple of recruiters approached Grace in a threatening way as she neared Medicorp, but one look at her bandaged hand made them turn away to find healthier prey.

  Sam met Grace in the lobby of Medicorp. He enfolded her in an embrace the moment they drew close, a confusing and not entirely welcomed contact. She did not return the embrace, though her heart still quickened as she drew away.

  Sam leaned back and studied her, his eyes lingering on her face and then falling slowly downward. “Your hand! God, what happened?”

  “Nothing I care to discuss in public,” Grace said. “I need to see Matt.”

  “I’m supposed to take you up.” Sam flagged the receptionist, who let them into Matt’s private elevator. As soon as the doors closed, he pressed her again. “What happened?”

  “I’ve been to hell and back and I think Matt’s to blame. He’s left a lot out of this story of his.”

  “Matt’s kind of upset with you,” Sam said. “He says you let the story out and that’s why Edgers is attacking the city. He says we’re not the only ones looking for Jordan now.”

  “Do you believe everything Matt says?” He hadn’t been that trusting when she’d known him. She hoped he still retained that sense of skepticism.

  “I, er.” He faltered. “I believe the important things.”

  “I don’t even believe that.”

  “Look,” Sam said, “I know whatever happened out there, you did the best you could. I believe in you, Grace. I’d love to know what happened. Maybe I can help.”

  He stepped closer. Grace forced herself to step back, a more difficult move than she would have expected. What was the matter with her? Why did she enjoy the crestfallen look on Sam’s face as she stepped away?

  The elevator stopped and the doors opened onto the thirtieth floor lobby.

  “Mr. Stanton will see you now,” Lucas said as soon as he saw them. That couldn’t be a good sign.

  Sam started to follow her in but Lucas held a hand out. “Mr. Stanton only wants to see Grace right now.”

  Grace didn’t even turn back. She pushed open the door to Matt’s office and readied herself for an argument.

  Matt stood at the window again, staring out at the city below. He turned when she entered, a half-strained smile on his face. “Grace! How lovely to see you alive.”

  “Save it.” Grace held up her right arm. “I want a prosthetic.”

  “Of course.”

  Grace had an argument waiting on her tongue but had to bite it off. Matt’s easy acceptance completely flummoxed her.

  A genuine smile touched Matt’s lips. “You were injured making inquiries on my behalf. If you are to make more inquiries, I imagine it would help if you had both hands.”r />
  “It’s useful, yes.” This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t come to me straight away with an injury like that,” Matt said.

  “Well, first I was busy escaping from a windowless cell, then I was too busy hiding from pursuers, then I was too busy escaping from a plantation... After that, it kind of got fuzzy. I hadn’t slept in three days, you see.”

  “Ah, well,” Matt said dismissively, “we can deal with all of that later. I see you’ve had some basic treatment for your wound, but the sooner my doctors take a look at it, the better. Sam will show you downstairs.”

  He turned back to the window–a clear dismissal. She stared at his back for a few seconds before turning to go.

  It occurred to her as she left that he might have been blowing her off by trying to appease her. Well, the tactic wouldn’t work. She’d get her answers from him, but first she’d take advantage of the best medical care in the Midwest.

  * * *

  As it turned out, the wound was infected and she needed more blood and fluid before they could operate. IVs pumped essential fluids into her veins for hours while Grace caught up on some sleep. Not the most restful sleep, with needles sticking her in the arms and medical staff constantly coming and going, but sleep.

  In the end, Dr. Blake had to remove her entire arm below the elbow, but he assured her the new, state-of-the-art prosthetic would work as well as her hand had, once she got used to it.

  He spent most of the afternoon fine tuning and customizing the prosthetic. Grace had to admit that by the time he pronounced them “finished,” her new prosthetic looked and felt almost exactly like a normal arm. She could feel sensations such as hot, cold, and pain. She could move it at will. The robotic fingers obeyed her thoughts.

  Yet it still felt foreign. Perhaps that feeling would go away in time. At least she had a hand now.

  “I’ll need to see Matt again,” Grace told Sam as Dr. Blake began reciting instructions to her for the fifth time...she may feel phantom pains for a few days...spend some time practicing with it every day until it felt as natural as using her real hand...call him immediately if she felt any dizziness, nausea, vomiting, or coughing up blood...rate of rejection was about five percent...

  “Matt may have gone home for the evening,” Sam said. “I’m sure he’ll talk to you when you have some progress to report on the case.”

  “How does he know I haven’t made progress now?”

  “Have you?” Sam asked.

  Grace almost said no but changed her mind. “Yes. I’ve discovered where I can get answers.”

  “Matt’s told you everything he knows,” Sam said.

  “Bull.” Grace stood up and followed Sam from the recovery room. “Also, I don’t believe he’s gone home yet. He’s not that kind of man. He’s here and I will get in to see him or there’s nothing more for me to investigate on this case.”

  “You can’t mean that.” Sam studied her eyes. Grace didn’t turn away. “All right, I’ll go talk to him.

  He left her in the twenty-first floor waiting room for almost fifteen minutes. When he returned, he had a scowl on his face. “Let’s go. He’ll see you, but he’s not happy.”

  Fine. She didn’t need him happy. She needed him honest. And pissing him off might be the only way to do that.

  She prepared herself to shoo Sam away, but he didn’t even try to go into Matt’s office with her. She didn’t need him there to encourage her, hold her hand, or tell her how wonderful Matt was. This was between Matt and herself, and that’s how they would deal.

  “This is highly unusual,” Matt said without preamble as she walked through the door. “I’d offer you a drink, but I don’t expect you to stay long.”

  “I don’t want to stay long,” Grace said.

  “Have a seat,” Matt offered.

  Grace shook her head. She would not be forced into a sitting position while he lorded over her. Not this time. “Do you know what I’ve been through for the past week?”

  “Yes,” Matt said. “I’ve had agents and spies following you this entire time. I’ve made quite an investment in you and I wanted you to have backup.”

  “Backup?” Grace asked. “Where was this backup while I was chained in a cell being tortured? Where were they when I lost my hand?”

  “Getting caught in the middle of a war,” Matt said. “Or didn’t you notice? You haven’t been as discreet as I would have hoped. Edgers took a strangely powerful interest in that farm and now his troops are closing in around Kansas City. Now, why would Edgers be so interested in Kansas City? Every military strategist from here to California agrees it wasn’t his best move. The governor may be playing this down, but he’s worried and clueless. I have a clue–which makes me even more worried.”

  “William Edgers had me in Iowa. He let me go.”

  “A brilliant move,” Matt said. “I would have done the same. Ethan Lacklin could learn a few things from Edgers.”

  As if to emphasize the point, the earth shook again. Grace saw the flash of the shield through Matt’s open window. “He can take the city, can’t he?”

  “Given time and determination, both of which he has.”

  Grace swallowed. “Then we have to find Jordan before he gets inside.”

  “I imagine he’s already got agents tailing you within the city walls, so we have to do more than that. We’ve got to get Jordan somewhere Edgers can’t find him.”

  “What do you think he wants with Jordan?” The real question, of course, was whether Mr. Edgers was natural life or not.

  “I’d rather not find out,” Matt said. “So, you’ve got your hand. It’s time to get back to work.”

  It was meant to be a dismissal, but Grace shook her head. “You’ve been holding back on me since the beginning. I’m not sure about the details or I wouldn’t be here, but for starters, there was more on the original copy of that diary than you let me listen to.”

  “That’s a bold assertion.”

  “It’s true. Ethan knew it too, as if I shouldn’t have been able to work it out for myself. Jordan couldn’t have finished the virus and released it before he went on the run. He didn’t have time.”

  “Sometimes scientific experiments take time. Sometimes they happen quickly.” Matt waved a hand. “Who knows what happened?”

  “I do. And so does Ethan. He had the cabin his father was hiding out in bugged. He expected I would know about those journal entries, too.”

  Matt didn’t respond. He licked his lips. There was no doubt about it; he was definitely uneasy. The signs weren’t overt, but in a lot of little ways he wasn’t behaving as he had at their first meeting. The air of confidence had gone.

  Grace decided to take advantage of the perceived weakness and lay it down. “Ethan Lacklin knew what his father did and I think you knew he knew.”

  Matt waved a hand at her.

  “You warned me off Ethan, don’t you remember? Not directly, but by laying the suggestion that I visit Alex instead. Usually, the fewer generations you skip, the better information you’ll find. But you knew seeing Ethan was a bad idea. I thought maybe it was just his vocal pro-change beliefs.”

  “We’re all vocally pro-change, my dear. It’s suicidal not to be.”

  “But someone knew before I left this city that Jordan was here, alive, and possibly a threat. Someone started putting troops around the city. Ethan was waiting for someone to go poking around after his father. He had his son on alert and had him hold me.”

  Matt shifted a bit. “I suppose it’s possible, but I really wouldn’t have expected Jordan to contact his younger son. He hated him.”

  That much was evident. Grace paused to reorganize her thoughts. Finally, she said, “Look, I’ve been thinking about this and there are a few things that don’t add up. First, Ethan let slip to me–because he assumed I already knew–that there are more entries in that diary I haven’t read. Jordan Lacklin was recording them after the killing spree at Medico
rp. He was staying at some cabin. Now, this brings to mind two interesting questions. First, I had been under the impression that Jordan left that diary at Medicorp after the shootings. He didn’t. So I’d like to know where and how you got it. Second, I want to know where the rest of it is.”

  Matt stared at her without giving anything away. He did not even speak.

  “For that matter, I’d love to know why you didn’t tell me about the rest of it before. I accept this might not happen. You’re a man with many secrets. But I won’t continue this investigation without the rest of the diary.”

  “What else does Ethan know about this?” Matt asked.

  “He knows a lot. I don’t think he knows exactly where his father is, but he knows you’re the one who sent me and he made credible threats against you and your employees.”

  “I see.”

  They sat there in silence for a minute, Matt staring at Grace while Grace stared out the window, thinking hard. She’d laid it all out in front of him. He hadn’t even denied the existence of more of the diary, yet he didn’t want to give it to her. Why? That was always the important question, the first one she should have asked herself. What would make him hold something like that back? What would cause him to then set her up for failure? Maybe he hadn’t realized Ethan knew or what he would do if he did, but he had still left out valuable information.

  Maybe it incriminated him in some way. She didn’t see how. Jordan had made those diary entries a long time ago, well before the man sitting before her had any idea who he was or why he was important.

  Or maybe it wasn’t direct incrimination. Maybe it was circumstantial, but powerful enough to convict given the bloodlust The Establishment had for him now. What if they spelled out some kind of motive for him to kill his father?

  Grace looked back at Matt, whose gaze had not wavered for a minute.

  “Fine,” Grace said. “I’m off the case.”

  “You may find that very uncomfortable,” Matt said.

  “Do you honestly think discomfort could scare me after what I’ve been through?” Grace lifted her prosthetic hand, although she realized as soon as she did that the quality of the arm made this a feeble demonstration. “Look, I told you my success rate was fifty-fifty. Well, I’m done. I’ve looked and could not find Jordan Lacklin. If there is some new information, I can reconsider my decision to close the case.”