The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20

by Jacqueline Druga

  Danny swallowed. “Eight minutes.”

  “Eight minutes!” Elliott’s cool was limited and strained. “They were in scope for eight minutes and we were not warned at all? How could this happen? Mark?”

  “I wasn’t paying attention.”

  “You weren’t . . .” Elliott tried to regain his composure. “Three men are dead. Many are injured. It is your job to watch . . .”

  “It’s not your job to correct me!” Mark stood enraged and faced off Elliott. “Who the hell do you think you are coming in here and getting . . .?”

  “Sit your ass down!!” Elliott blasted, silencing Mark. “Don’t stand off to me again! Is that clear! It is my job to ensure my men are safe. It is my job to ensure the safety of this community. It is your job to aid in those tasks. If you cannot do your job, then you, sir, should not have this job. Do not for one second question the words and actions of others when you . . . you had the warning at your fingertips and you failed to deliver it. Three men are dead. That is three too many.” After another glare, Elliott turned around to see Joe standing in the open doorway. He took a breath, gave a quick snap to attention, and then walked by Joe out the door.

  “Elliott,” Joe called out as he stepped from Tracking and closed the door. “Wait.”

  Elliott stopped and turned around and stood nearly at attention. “Mr. Slagel, sir.”

  “About what happened in there.”

  Elliott nodded. “Perhaps my words were strong, but their meaning . . .”

  “No,” Joe stopped him and walked to him. “I’m not questioning your words. I heard it all. I want to know your recommendation for punishment.”

  “None, sir.”

  “None?” Joe questioned. “He screwed up. He didn’t pay attention. You told him three men are dead.”

  “Exactly,” Elliott stated. “He’ll have that on his mind. Any reprimand we give will pale in comparison to the burden he will carry over that.”

  “Good enough. Thank you.” Joe nodded then saw Elliott just standing there as if waiting. Just as Joe was about to question, he realized who he was dealing with. “That . . . that will be all, son.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Elliott gave a nod of acknowledgment, pivoted a turn, and walked off.

  “Christ.” Joe tossed his head and went into Tracking for answers of his own.

  ^^^^

  Johnny checked the hallway to make sure no one was coming. He sneaked back into Exam Room One where Bev sat. “I only have a minute. Dr. Dean will go back to the lab soon.”

  “So it didn’t work?”

  “Not completely, I don’t think,” Johnny shrugged. “I called George. He said his people told him it has to be on him at least ten seconds. Dean fuckin flung it off in one.”

  “Damn it.” Bev shook her head.

  “Yeah, but I have a plan. I’ll get his little ass. This little attack is perfect too. It’ll work for us.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ll let you know later, right now . . .” Johnny backed up to the door. “I have to take care of that tape. Stay put for a minute then leave.”

  “O.K.” Bev waved with a giggle.

  Johnny, slightly rolling his eyes, walked out of the examining room, turned left, and quickly headed to the lab. As soon as he entered, he closed the door, figuring he’d hear someone come in. He raced to the drawer where Dean tossed the tape and opened it. Johnny saw the box of cassette tapes, but he didn’t see his unlabeled one. “Shit.” Johnny rummaged through the drawer “Where the fuck’s my tape?” Not seeing it, he slammed the drawer shut. “Fuckin Danny! He’s got to jump on every job.” Johnny held up his hands and calmed himself. “All right, not a problem. I have another.” He knew his time was limited and it was stupid to waste it on a tape that if anyone listened to wouldn’t comprehend anyhow so he hurried, while the lab was empty, and gathered what he needed for his ‘Dean’ plan--part two.

  ^^^^

  “It’s empty,” Robbie stated as he tossed a clipboard onto Joe’s desk “Jess said the camp is cleaned out.”

  Frank threw his hands in the air.

  “I know,” Joe told Frank then looked at Robbie. “They were there yesterday. Didn’t you estimate a hundred?”

  “Yep.” Robbie said. “There are always a hundred. No matter how many hit us, no matter how many we take out, there’s always a hundred, continuously fed from their base. But that was yesterday at six in the evening. Today, they are gone.”

  “So they left in the night,” Joe stated. “Typical. So the next step is . . .”

  “Done,” Robbie stated. “Page two. Jess’s coordinates. He scaled around and found nothing.”

  “That’s a large moving camp.” Joe shook his head as he viewed the readout on the clipboard. “They’d move slowly. So . . . where the hell did they go and why can’t we spot them?”

  ^^^^

  “All work and no play . . .” Jess said softly as he entered the lab where Ellen worked at the far counter. “Makes Ellen . . .”

  Ellen turned around. “A dull girl?”

  “Miserable.” Jess moved to her.

  “Thanks,” Ellen grumbled. “You look tired.

  “I am a little.”

  “What brings you here?”

  “I thought I’d walk you home,” Jess suggested.

  “I can’t. I have four patients that I want to monitor for a while.”

  “Who has the kids? Dean?” Jess asked.

  “No. He’s working too. Josh is holding the fort. No.” Ellen held up a finger. “Don’t cringe. He’ll do fine. He and Denny are writing songs. They’re fine, but thanks for stopping to see if I wanted an escort.”

  “Actually I had an ulterior motive.”

  “Which is?”

  “I know it was heavy on your mind. How did things go with Elliott and the news today?”

  Ellen immediately turned her back and resumed working.

  “Ellen?” Jess moved closer. “Please tell me you told him.”

  Ellen pretended she didn’t hear.

  “Ellen, he has to know. He has the right to know.”

  “We can’t . . .” Ellen’s voice cracked. “We can’t do anything for him so why tell him?”

  “Why? He just should . . . know. You better tell Elliott before someone else does.”

  “Tell me what?” Elliott interrupted with curiosity as he walked in the lab.

  Ellen snarled at Jess. “Asshole.” She clenched her jaws.

  Mouthing the words, ‘tell him’, Jess laid his hand on her cheek and backed up. “I heard you did good today, Elliott.”

  “Thanks,” Elliott nodded.

  “I’ll leave you two to talk.” Jess moved to the door. “El, should I shut this?”

  Folding her arms, Ellen nodded. She forced a smile. “So, uh, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be sleeping.”

  “I’m on my way,” Elliott answered. “I wanted to tell you I’d be at Robbie’s. The children are all home now and . . . you don’t mind do you?”

  “No. No, I understand. Please get some rest in peace . . .”Ellen’s eyes widened. “I mean, sleep in peace.”

  Elliott chuckled. “You seem nervous. What did you want to tell me?”

  “Um . . . I heard you did an excellent job today. I’m very proud of you.”

  “Thanks, but I just did my job. But that’s not it, is it?”

  “No.”

  Elliott waited. “You want to break our date?”

  “God, I wish that was it. I mean. No!” She shook her head. “I don’t want to break our date and I don’t wish that was what I had to tell you. I wish what I had to tell you was so minuscule.”

  “Bad news,” Elliott nodded.

  “Do you want to go somewhere else and talk?”

  “No, here will be fine.”

  “Maybe now is not a good time, you know with you going to get some sleep and . . .”

  “Ellen, talk.”

  Ellen took a deep breath. “Come in the back. W
e have a little table and chairs back there.” Ellen led him to the back room, stopped, hurried to the center counter, grabbed a folder, and proceeded into the back room. “Have a seat.” She pointed to a chair. When Elliott sat down so did she.

  Elliott rubbed his hands together. “What’s going on?”

  Ellen closed her eyes and scratched her head. She looked at Elliott’s folder then to Elliott. “O.K.” She spoke calmly, “The human body is very complex. It’s made up of multitudes of different cells, each with a different job to make our bodies function correctly.” Ellen paused to inhale deeply. “We all have red blood cells and white blood cells. The white blood cells’ primary job is to fight off infection. White blood cells increase at times of infection, causing the production of more white blood cells. Sometimes infection doesn’t have to be there for the cells to increase. Are you following me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Whatever the case, when there’s a large increase, the body can’t always keep up with this production. It starts spitting out immature cells called blasts. They begin to take over, increasing the number of white blood cells we can count. Therefore becoming . . .”

  “Leukemic,” Elliott said.

  “Yes.”

  A small swallow preceded Elliott’s calm look. “I’m taking it that you aren’t giving me a medical lesson because you feel I would be a good doctor.”

  “No.” Ellen shook her head.

  “Then tell me.”

  “Elliott.”

  “Ellen, tell me.”

  “Your blood has become leukemic. We believe it began in the clavicle lymph node region . . .”

  “Hodgkin’s.”

  “Yes.”

  Elliott nodded. “And where is the progress of the illness now?”

  “In the blood.”

  “Glands?”

  “Starting.”

  Elliott nodded.

  “We are so limited with an illness of this nature. This is the first case we. . .”

  “The test Dean ran yesterday wasn’t for a donor program, was it?”

  “No.” Ellen shook her head. “It was a small tissue biopsy. The gland he took from, usually would tell us the progression, if any, in the glands. The more progressed it is there, the more chance it has spread throughout the glands. The less . . . the better. Your readings say the infection of the glands have just began.”

  “How long have you known?” Elliott asked.

  “Dean confirmed it last night. We have suspected for a little while.”

  “We had coffee this morning. Why didn’t you tell me?” Elliott waited for an answer. “Jess was telling you that you had to tell me. Ellen? Were you not going to tell me?”

  Ellen just shook her head.

  “Excuse me.” Elliott stood up.

  “Elliott.” Ellen reached for his arm. “I’m sorry. I . . .”

  “What?” Elliott asked with a snap. “You were going to withhold this valuable information from me. This is my body. My life! I placed my trust in you Ellen as a doctor and as my friend. Do you know how difficult that is to do? You’re a woman. I’ve not found a woman I can trust since before the plague. I thought you were different.”

  “I am.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell me.”

  “You have to understand I didn’t know what we could do for you.”

  Elliott nearly gasped. “And you took it upon yourself to give up my fight for me?”

  “Elliott you weren’t sick. You weren’t showing any symptoms.”

  “And you thought if I knew I would immediately start to show these symptoms?” He shook his head. “I have news for you, Ellen, I still won’t show those symptoms, knowledge or not. I don’t go down easy and I certainly will not go down without a fight. But I need to know what I am fighting. I will fight this. I cannot believe you of all people would take this approach. You say I am the first case of this kind? Why in the world would you want to bury it instead of using it to stop it from happening to someone else?”

  “Elliott,” Ellen pleaded his name.

  “I have to go. Excuse me.” Elliott turned and walked from the back room.

  “Elliott, wait.” Ellen raced after him. “Please.” Emotionally, she reached for his arm, “Elliott.”

  “Ellen.” He stopped walking and said her name sternly as he turned around. “I have to leave.”

  “But . . .”

  “I don’t want to talk right now. Please don’t chase me or beckon me to talk to you. You’re better than that and it’s degrading. I don’t want to see you degraded at my expense or anger. Please.” He stared for a moment at her then turned with an edge and walked to the door. As he flung it open, Dean was getting ready to walk in.

  Aside from feeling the hostility of the opening door, Dean almost felt the force of Elliott’s body. “Whoa. Elliott.”

  “Dr. Hayes.” Elliott stopped and took on an official tone. “The other Dr. Hayes . . .”

  Dean’s eyes shifted into the lab when Elliott called her that. And just as he thought, Ellen’s head dropped.

  “. . . has told me of my illness. I would like you, sir, to take whatever liberties with me as you see fit in fighting this illness. Test, medications, treatments, whatever. I will be as much help as you need. Perhaps together, we can benefit others.”

  “Elliott, listen. We’re basically starting from scratch. We . . .”

  Elliott smiled gently. “If you, sir, can beat the plague that wiped out the world, surely you can control this illness. I put my faith in you.” Giving a firm squeeze to Dean’s arm, Elliott turned and walked off.

  ‘Ellen told him’ was the only thing that barreled through Dean’s mind as he walked slowly into the lab. Elliott was the one battling a life threatening illness and Ellen looked as if she were the one who was told she was dying. “El,” he called her name softly. “Did you want to talk?”

  “What’s there to talk about? Elliott?” Ellen shook her head. “I blew it. As a doctor and as a friend, I blew it, and right now I can’t handle it. Excuse me.” She sniffed once, short and hard, picked up the folders off the counter and whisked past Dean.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  “El.” Dean walked into the lab. “I’m heading home. Wanna walk with me?”

  Ellen shook her head as she sat at the counter. “I’m monitoring an infection in one of my patients. I just want to be here if I need to change their medication.”

  “O.K. If you need me. . .”

  “Thanks.” Ellen said then watched Dean walk away. “Dean?”

  “Yeah?” He stopped at the door.

  “Your work.” She pointed to a stack of folders.

  “Shit. Thanks.” Dean hurried back, grabbed the stack, swept them up, and walked out. He didn’t notice the test results that fell on the floor.

  “He’s coming.” Johnny whispered as he flew around from the side of the Clinic.

  Bev stood by the glass doors as Johnny backed up against the wall. “What if someone sees you?”

  “Who? We’ll claim he’s drunk and the guard’s way back in the living section now so . . .”

  “Here he comes.” Bev smiled as the glass door opened.

  Dean walked straight down the steps. “Excuse me.”

  Bev blocked his way. “Hi, Dean. I want to talk to you.”

  “Bev, I really don’t want to talk . . .” Dean shuddered. He felt the sharp pain hit the back of his neck in the form of a pinch, but before he could turn around, everything spun. His arms dropped and so did his folders. Then Dean began to fall forward into Bev.

  Getting up to get something to drink, Ellen saw the results lying on the floor. She lifted them. “Maybe I can catch him.” She hurried from the lab.

  Bev strained as Dean leaned into her tall body with head against her. “I’m pregnant. I . . . . can’t hold . . . him up.”

  Johnny was hunched out of sight by the wall, collecting all the papers Dean dropped.. “I have to pick these up. One more second.”

  Ro
lling her eyes, Bev secured her arms around a passed out Dean.

  In her stride down the main corridor to the front door, Ellen stopped. Though they were still a small distance from her, Ellen could clearly see Dean in Bev’s arms. Shaking her head in disgust and forgetting about giving him those results, she returned to the lab.

  ^^^^

  “Christ.” Joe cringed in the darkness as he followed behind Frank. “ I understand Robbie going, Frank. Dan is a little iffy. Jess should be here, so I understand you not wanting to put a man who’s worked all day up there. Johnny . . .”

  Frank stopped walking. He pointed to his watch and drastically looked around.

  “Yeah, he’s coming. He said he had to do something. He should be here. Besides, he still has time. Lift off isn’t for a half hour.”

  Frank nodded and moved on.

  “But you,” Joe said as they approached the hanger, “You’re not talking, Frank. We can’t chance radio silence if something happens.”

  Again, Frank stopped. He turned around with a grin and pointed to his temple.

  “You have a bright idea about that?”

  Frank nodded.

  “Tell me.”

  “Hey Joe!” Henry called out as he walked from the hanger.

  Frank pointed to Henry.

  “Henry is your bright idea?” Joe laughed.

  Henry scoffed. “Joe. I’m gonna be Frank’s radio communication.”

  Joe laughed. “Henry, you’re going up in the air with Frank?”

  “Yes.”

  “At night?”

  “Yes,” Henry stated.

  Again, Joe laughed. “You do know he doesn’t fly well as it is.”

  “Joe,” Henry snickered. “I find that hard to believe. He’s Frank. He can fly.”

  “Ask him,” Joe indicated to Frank.

  “You can fly well?” Henry asked, wanting reassurance even though he firmly believed in Frank’s ability to do it all. “Right, Frank?”

  At first it was an innocent thinking look that hit Frank, then he just shook his head and went into the hanger.