Flowertown

by S. G. Redling

  She put her forehead against his. “Manifesto?”

  “It's all starting to make sense now. I never thought of the vaccine. All this crazy shit we found when Porter hacked the system.”

  “Oh, you mean the wacko drugs? Making me flip out? Too late, I guess.”

  Guy pulled away. “It's too late to use you, but they've got to have others in place. People who fit their profiles.”

  “Whose profiles?”

  “Byrd, Tabor, and Marcum,” Guy said. “The psych team.”

  “The BTM scale.” Ellie rubbed her eyes, trying to remember what Olivia had told her. “Tabor was the doctor who tipped the locals off to what was going on. Told them about Horizon. Apparently he wasn't comfortable with what they were doing.”

  “Which would explain why Dr. Tabor is dead. He's the only one we have an ID on. Rumor is Marcum is already out. But we've read their files, their data. Porter went deeper and read some of their older work. These guys are wack jobs. Byrd has a complete agenda for orchestrating a massive disaster; he's written books on it. His works are what tipped us off to the Horizon plan, that psychotropic drugs were being used. It seemed impossible that Feno would try to put one of his plans into action, but that was before we found dozens of packets of C-4 buried in civilian buildings.”

  “But if you can find all the explosives, they can't blow the place up. If word gets out that they've planted the bombs—”

  “If word gets out. If we get out. We only know about the explosives in the buildings.” Guy stared up at the sky. “There's a total communication blackout with the outside until nine this morning when the press conference gets set up. We know about Horizon, but we don't know how many people they're planning on using. We don't know how many Hs there are or if that's the only weapon. You didn't read this guy's stuff, Ellie. These are sick people, and if Feno plans on implementing even a fraction of what he proposes, we've got a real problem.”

  Ellie put her hands over her face, trying to collect her thoughts. “Look, they've got a limited pool of people to choose from, right? We know they're planning on pinning the violence on me and the other Hs. I saw the newscast. It looks like I'm the prime suspect. You've read this Dr. Byrd's stuff. What else does he need for his event?”

  Guy ticked them off on his fingers. “He says to maximize the effect of a disaster, you need three things: victims, heroes, and villains. He also says to really seal the deal and cement the effect, you need irony.”

  “Irony? Who is this guy, my high school English teacher?”

  “Hardly. Part of his irony is that the majority of your characters be dead and your villains be misinformed. Those were his words, not mine. We wrote this stuff off as insanity, but if someone in Feno is setting off these bombs, it’s going to be hard to find many survivors.”

  “But misinformed how? What does he mean by misinformed?”

  “It was so crazy, Ellie, I didn’t pay that much attention,” Guy said. “He said you could manipulate certain types, put them where you needed them, make them believe anything to create any effect you wanted. He had profiles of who makes good villains—prone to rage, antisocial, substance abuse.”

  “Shit, did he put my picture in there too?”

  “That wasn’t all. There was another type—paranoid, gullible, obsessive. He said they made good visible targets, were easily coerced to make grand gestures and could be used—”

  “Oh my God.” Ellie sat up straight. “Paranoid, gullible, and obsessive? Guy, they’re going to use Bing. I’ve got to get to the care center.”

  She was halfway over the edge of the building before Guy caught her. He grabbed her arm and let it slip through his hands as she dropped onto a dumpster below. She heard him swear as he followed to the dumpster and then to the street, keeping step with her as she ran. How could she have been so stupid? Bing was totally paranoid and obsessed with Rachel. He’d do anything to keep her safe. Of course Feno would use him to trigger some kind of incident, or trip a bomb or something. Why else had they been allowed to just stroll out of the Feno compound?

  “You can’t just charge into the care center.” Guy pulled her back, slowing her down. “Look.” Ahead they could see three Feno trucks parked before the care center. The power hadn’t gone out on this block, and light flooded the streets where the doors were held open. “If you go running in there during a raid, you’re going to be detained, I assure you.”

  “What are we going to do? I’ve got to get in there.”

  Guy watched the guards evacuating the building. “You’re under arrest.”

  “What?”

  “Give me your hands.” She pulled her hands away, but Guy was faster. “If you’re already in my custody, they can’t take you.” He pulled a zip-tie restraint from his belt and wrapped it around her wrists loosely.

  “Don’t bind my hands.”

  “You can get them out. Just keep them together. Oh, and try to look pissed.”

  She flipped her middle finger at him as he led her up the steps to the care center. Uniformed workers and patients filed out in crowded lines, hurried by Feno guards. Guy pushed through the throng, jerking Ellie along by the elbow. A young guard with a face full of freckles jumped to attention.

  “Mr. Roman, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

  Guy pushed Ellie to the side. “Everything under control?”

  “Yes sir. We’re moving the personnel to the auditorium. Medical has been set up for the patients, but there’s nobody critical. Um,” he looked down the crowded hallway toward the treatment rooms, “the other team is here too. At the nurses’ station.”

  Guy nodded and clapped the young man on the shoulder. “Good work.” He pulled Ellie along, shouldering through the people making their way out. Ellie tried to keep up.

  “What other team?”

  “This is an evacuation. If there’s another team, they’re arresting people.”

  “Guy, that’s where Bing and Rachel were headed, down past the nurses’ station. That’s where the records were kept.” At the end of the hallway, where it branched off to the treatment rooms in which Rachel had received her detox, two armed guards stood ready. Guy dragged Ellie along, but when he went to move between them, one of the guards held out his arm.

  “Sir, I can’t let you go through there.”

  Guy turned on the guard with a sharp look. “You can and you will.”

  “Sorry, sir.” The guard was much taller than Guy, but seemed cowed. “I have orders.”

  “Yeah, I gave them.” He pulled Ellie between them. “Don’t let anyone pass.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Ellie caught up to Guy as he ducked his head into the first room. “Aren’t you a bad motherfucker? One word from you and they jump.”

  “One word from whoever’s running this raid and we’re screwed. Hide in here.” Ellie tried to protest, but he pushed her into an empty room and pulled the door almost closed. She could hear voices down the hallway barking orders. “No matter what happens, you stay in here.” He whispered through the crack in the door. “If anything happens, get out and head to the north med center. My team is there.”

  “Where are you going?”

  He ignored her and headed down the hall. She heard a woman swear loudly and the sound of something metal clattering to the floor. In a few moments, soldiers headed Ellie’s way dragging several nurses in handcuffs along with them. Ellie withdrew farther into the room as she watched the procession. One of the nurses was bleeding, another fought the guards without success. Ellie tried to see through the throng of soldiers to find out if Rachel or Bing were in the group but couldn’t tell. A loud stream of obscenities echoed up the hallway and Ellie saw Olivia being shoved along in cuffs. She twisted in the grip of her guard, wresting herself free of his grasp, but before she could run, the guard slammed the butt of his machine gun into her back, sending her sprawling across the floor, her shoulder slamming into the wall just outside of Ellie’s door.

  Ellie crouc
hed down, hating the sound of Olivia’s body hitting so hard. Before the guard could haul her to her feet, Olivia looked up directly into Ellie’s shadowed face. Her eyes widened in recognition, and as she was lifted bodily, she flicked her gaze over her shoulder and mouthed one word: Bing. Ellie ducked back into the shadows, forcing herself to remain silent as she saw Rachel being carried out unconscious behind Olivia. More guards moved through as a voice at the end of the hallway called out.

  “This section is clear, sir.”

  “All right, move out.” Guy spoke in a calm voice, not looking into the room where he knew she hid.

  “Sir,” the guard stood before Guy, “I have orders to clear the area.”

  “It’s clear.”

  “My orders said to be the last person out of the area. That includes you, sir.”

  Guy nodded, his face dark, and walked down the hall. As he passed, his eyes flickered toward Ellie’s hideaway but his face showed nothing. The guard walked behind him, gun held at the ready, pulling doors closed as he went. His hand was inches from Ellie’s face as he pulled her door closed as well.

  She waited in the dark until she could hear nothing. It was hard to tell if everyone was gone; her heart banged in her chest so loud she was certain someone else could hear it. Finally, summoning all her courage, she turned the knob and eased the door open. The lights were off in the hallway, but a glow of lamplight shone from somewhere behind the nurses’ station. Olivia had mouthed Bing’s name. Maybe that meant that Bing had made it back here, that he had somehow managed to avoid capture. She had to find him.

  Crouching low and staying close to the wall, Ellie hurried down the hall and ducked behind the high desk of the nurses’ station. The light came from a file room behind a large cabinet, and she crept as quietly as she could to the doorway. Pulling the gun from her waistband, Ellie peered through the crack. She couldn’t see anything except a tall shelf of medical supplies. Ducking low, Ellie gripped the door and pushed it open. She crept along with it, hoping to stay low enough to go unseen by anyone who might be inside.

  As the room came into view, she saw file cabinets and an old metal desk. Before she could move toward them, she heard a keyboard clicking. Freezing behind the door, Ellie held her breath until she heard Bing swear softly.

  “Son of a bitch, hurry up.”

  “Bing?” Ellie stuck her head around the door, and Bing jumped where he stood.

  “Ellie?” His face was pale with shock.

  She pushed the door closed behind her and hurried to the desk. “What are you doing?” She kept her voice a whisper. “How did you get back here? They’ve arrested everybody.”

  “I know.” Bing stared at her as if she had just dropped from the sky. “How did you get back here?”

  “I snuck in with Guy. I hid.”

  “Shit, Guy is here?” His eyes moved wildly about the room.

  “No, they made him leave. What are you doing?” She looked at the cable running from the computer tower to a small plastic box the size of a deck of cards.

  Bing blew out a deep breath. “I broke into the medical mainframe. Rachel covered for me so I could sneak back here. I’m downloading medical records onto an external drive. How did you know I was back here?”

  “Olivia told me. When they were dragging her out she told me to find you.”

  Bing stared at her. “What did she say exactly?”

  Ellie made a sound of exasperation. “She didn’t really have time to get into it, Bing. She was being dragged out by Feno goons. She looked back here and said ‘Bing.’”

  He shook his head and looked back to the computer. “You really need to start paying more attention to details, Ellie. I don’t think she was telling you to save me. I think she was warning you.” He moved the computer mouse and clicked on more files.

  “What? Warning me about what?”

  Before he could answer, they heard footsteps, and Ellie spun around. Mr. Carpenter stood in the doorway. Ellie raised the gun and stepped in front of Bing. “Don’t move.” She hoped he couldn’t see her tremble.

  Carpenter raised his hands, his eyes wide. He looked from her to Bing. “We had a report of a breach in the mainframe. I should have known it would be you.”

  Ellie took a step closer, keeping the gun level. “Yeah, well, you knew you couldn’t trust me. Bing, are the files loaded?” She risked a look over her shoulder as he unplugged the drive and slipped it into his pocket.

  “Yep, all the evidence we need to make sure Feno keeps up their end of the bargain.”

  “What do you mean?” Ellie looked at him and then spun around as Carpenter lowered his hands. “Stay where you are!”

  “No.” Carpenter leaned against the doorframe and smiled at Bing. “The convoy is ready whenever you are, Dr. Byrd.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Ellie knew she had misheard him. She kept the gun trained on Carpenter despite the whooshing sensation of impossibility flooding over her. She looked to Bing as she always did, for answers, for a reality check, and he smiled at her. Turning to Carpenter, he tipped his head in her direction.

  “See that expression, Carpenter? We call that ‘fracturing of reality.’”

  “It’s very interesting, Doctor.”

  “It never gets old, no matter how many times I see it.”

  “Bing?” Her voice caught in her throat.

  “Yes?” He smiled at her again, a calm and patient smile, then turned back to Carpenter. “Are we still exiting through the east gate?”

  “Yes sir. You know, they’ve noticed the file download. They’re not going to let you leave with that external drive.”

  “You don’t think so?” Bing drew his brows together. “Why don’t I tell them you did it? After all, you do owe me for the bruises on my face. Overplayed your role a bit.” Carpenter’s mouth opened in surprise, and Bing looked back at Ellie. “I think that’s only fair, don’t you?”

  Without waiting for the answer, he reached out to the gun in her hand. She jerked it away, but he gripped the hand around the weapon. He didn’t try to take it from her; rather, he wrapped his hands over hers and twisted it to one side. Three quick squeezes of the trigger and Carpenter fell back into the hallway. Bing released her hands, and Ellie nearly dropped the gun from her trembling fingers. She heard a sound like a panting animal, and she knew the sounds came from her throat.

  Her arms shook badly and her shoulders ached as she raised the gun at Bing. She wanted to scream at him, to demand answers, but her throat failed her and she could only gasp at air that would not go into her lungs. Bing glanced back at the computer and then at her. He saw the weapon and her struggle to form words and he laughed.

  “Don’t even bother, Ellie. You’re not going to shoot me.” He pulled out the chair to sit and then stopped. “Trust me. I spent four years making sure you can’t raise a hand to me. Don’t believe me? Go on. Pull the trigger.” He stepped closer to her and grinned. “Do it. Kill me.”

  Ellie blinked hard, her focus failing as she stared into the face of her best friend. Her fingers burned on the weapon and her muscles trembled with the effort, but her body would not obey the command her brain screamed. Bing. Bing. Bing. One word pounded through her brain, obscuring all logic and thought. She gritted her teeth, hearing her breath whistling.

  “See? Four years of smoking you up with the right combo of meds and you’re quite the docile pet. You’re going to hyperventilate if you keep gasping like that. Not that it matters.”

  She forced a word out. “Why?”

  Bing laughed again. “Why? Could you be a little more specific? You mean, why did I offer my services to Feno? That’s easy. An assload of cash. And proof that my theories on psychological manipulation worked.” He slapped his forehead in comic despair. “Oh, man, I thought you had me on that. I thought for sure even you weren’t so fucking stupid that you would miss it.” Ellie only blinked, struggling to understand the words he was saying.

  He grabbed her by the shou
lders, the gun pressing against his chest, forgotten. “The book? In my room? You had it in your hands—The Divisible Flock. I wrote that. It’s my fucking masterpiece. It got me kicked out of Stanford on an ethics violation, but do you think I give a shit about that now?” Ellie drew her body in tight as he shook her. “It got published and got me invited to Feno to fix their little problem. And you had it in your hands and still couldn’t figure it out.” He pushed her away and she staggered backward, still drawn into herself.

  He turned back and leaned over to bang on the keyboard. “For the love of God, how long does it take to launch a virus?” A few more keystrokes and he drummed his fingers on the desk. “You can put that gun down, Ellie. You’re not going to use it. On me, at least. Save your strength. You’ve got a long night ahead of you.”

  Ellie raised the backs of her hands to her face, the gun pointing toward the ceiling. She couldn’t understand how she was still on her feet or why the ceiling hadn’t come down or why the walls weren’t melting. All she could hear was a blurry roar, and her mouth tasted like copper. She heard Bing approach her, and she didn’t resist when he lowered her hands. She heard herself sob when his thumb gently wiped at the tears she couldn’t feel on her cheeks.

  “Oh, Ellie.” His voice and his eyes were soft. “You’re such an authority whore.”

  Her throat tore as she whispered through her tears. “Please don’t do this.”

  “No? How about I do this?” He brought his arm around in a hard backhand across her face, slamming Ellie into the file cabinet. She cried out as she hit the metal, and Bing let out a loud sigh. “Oh, God, I have wanted to do that for so long. You have no idea.”

  Ellie’s stomach cramped and she bent forward, gasping. Bing leaned down to look into her face.