Jessie flashed Fiona a smile before she sat in one of the rolling office chairs and pulled it up next to Bryant. She hated to see the soldier like this, and she resented General Miller for withholding help. Still, it didn’t help that Kim had disobeyed the general and Bryant had falsified a supply run to help her rather than stay put in Washington.
Bryant used his computer mouse to click the disconnect button on the communication application. He took off his headset and placed it on the desk.
“What did he say?” Jessie asked.
“He’s still not happy I’m helping Kim, but he’s a sensible man, mostly. He said he’s got a crew of infected leaving Washington today. They should arrive in a day or less.”
“They might be too late,” Jessie said. “Burke is out there plotting something bad.”
“Exactly!” Paul Henderson called from the other side of the room. He’d already packed up two computers and some laptops and had moved lab equipment out into a hidden service tunnel on the other side of the server room. “That’s why we need to carry out an organized retreat.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to defend ourselves right here?” Jessie asked.
Bryant shook his head. “The garden hall has some nice choke points I’ll make use of, but I won’t be able to hold them forever. My plan is to fight in the garden hall and retreat into the service tunnel, delaying them as much as possible.”
Jessie nodded, though Bryant noticed something in her expression.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” She rose from her chair, intending to go help Paul, but Bryant snatched her wrist and tugged her down.
“Seriously, what’s wrong?”
“It’s just that I’d planned on making a trip to check on my family today.” Jessie gripped the arm of the chair. “I feel selfish for even thinking it, considering everything going on.”
Bryant nodded. “Kim left to see her family, and you feel cheated.”
“It’s not that at all.” Jessie shook her head. “I wanted Kim to go. She’s got kids, and they’re so far away. With things settled down, I’d hoped to sneak away for a few hours. You know, find a car in town and take a quick drive. But here comes Burke, causing trouble again.”
“You can still go,” Bryant said. “Take Fiona with you.”
Jessie shook her head and gestured to the world above. “I’m not taking her out there again. This is the first stability she’s seen since we got her out of New York.”
“You’re the most stability she’s seen. You’re a rock for her.”
She put her hand to her chest and blinked away a swell of tears. “But I can’t leave you and Paul to fend for yourselves.”
“Don’t make excuses.” Bryant gave her a pointed look. “It could get dangerous around here. If our little retreat plan doesn’t work out, I expect you to take Fiona and run. Take her to your family, and if they’re not alive, find Kim again.”
Nodding, Jessie was encouraged by Bryant’s big picture outlook.
“And if we fend Burke off, I’ll make sure we get to Dayton, first thing.”
“Little help over here,” Paul said before he disappeared through into the server room with two metallic suitcases in his hand—more lab equipment.
“Coming!” Bryant called, getting up from his chair.
She put her hand on the soldier’s chest and pressed him back down. “No, you’ll stay there. I’ll help Paul. You watch Fiona.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a brief salute.
Jessie grinned and gave the soldier a light punch on the arm. “I’m enjoying your pep talks.”
She stepped into the server room as a gust of cool air caressed her cheeks. With all the computer servers creating heat, the facility used a separate cooling system to keep air circulating at all times. She navigated between racks of computing equipment to a door in the back. She’d seen the door before, though she hadn’t expected to find a service tunnel leading away from Paul’s lab.
With her hands on the door frame, Jessie leaned into the service tunnel. “How can I help, Paul?”
Paul stood next to a large motorized cart, taking a mental inventory. He’d already stacked two small computer servers, two monitors, a keyboard, and several laptops on the cart. He’d stacked the two silver cases tight against the computer equipment, leaving seventy-five percent more cart space to fill.
“We need to get some lab equipment,” Paul said, and he gestured for Jessie to follow him back through the server room and central command to the long hallway with all the doors. They walked past their sleeping quarters to the propped open lab door.
Jessie had spent little time in the lab itself, mostly because of her recovery and Paul’s reluctance to allow anyone into his “work area,” though it held many delicate instruments she recognized. The far wall held cold units, burners, and storage cabinets. A long lab table in the center of the room held three high-powered microscopes, specimen containers, and several computer tablets and monitor screens showing data analysis.
“Here, let’s grab some centrifuges first.” Paul gestured to one of the lab tables. The mycologist pulled up a rolling cart, and he and Jessie moved the two centrifuges over.
They added a hematology analyzer, specimen containers, and other blood culture instruments.
“This is good, for now,” Paul said. “We’ll come back for live samples and the B-18 work in progress. My cold storage unit will need to wait until the last minute to move. If the antigen cultures I created die, I’ll have to start all over again.”
Jessie nodded. “Where are those kept?”
“In that small med freezer.” Paul nodded his head to a gray, 1.7 cubic foot specimen freezer resting on the lab counter at the far end of the room.
They wheeled the equipment out into the hallway and parked it inside the control center. Then they hauled everything through the computer server room to the hallway beyond, setting it on the motorized cart.
“Where are we taking all this stuff?” Jessie asked as they went back for a second trip.
“To my house.”
Her brow furrowed. “I thought you lived in your lab.”
Paul waddled along, huffing and puffing the entire way. “I’ve lived down here for months at a time, but I’ve always had a home. The view from my porch is amazing. We should have a cup of tea as soon as we arrive.”
Jessie nodded, though she doubted they’d have time for such trivial things. She doubted they’d have time for anything else but survival.
“Can I have a new book?” Fiona called out as they passed through the control center. She held up the rock concert picture book. “All done!”
She beamed a smile at the girl who leaned over the arm of the chair with Paul’s glasses looking huge on her head. Paul had found the pair in his closet, along with the drone, and he’d removed the lenses for Fiona so the prescription wouldn’t make her go cross-eyed.
“I’m not sure, honey. Paul, do you have any more picture books?”
Paul stopped waddling and made a huffing face at the little girl while he thought about it. He raised his finger. “I have a Grateful Dead concert book in there somewhere,” Paul replied. “You know who the Grateful Dead are?”
Fiona shook her head.
“You wouldn’t have a Dora the Explorer book or something?” Jessie asked, trying to be careful not to offend the older man. “I’ve got nothing against rock bands, but some of them look rough.”
Paul raised his eyebrows and made a pointed gesture. “I’ve got some old cartoons on DVD: Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny. Stuff like that.”
“That’ll work,” Jessie nodded. “Just point to where they are, and I’ll get her set up.”
“I keep all my old DVDs in the closet.” He frowned and looked at the ground. “Actually, I keep everything in there.”
“You should probably clean and organize it,” Jessie laughed.
“My closet is a window into the past.” Paul said with a flourish. “Imagine a hundred years
from now when some treasure seeker stumbles upon this place and looks with wonder upon my primitive video game consoles. Imagine them picking up my LPs and wondering what a Van Halen is.”
“Wait until they get the record player working!” Jessie jested.
Paul laughed from deep in his belly. “Okay, you’re off equipment duty. Go find the kid some cartoons.”
She grinned at the old man before holding out her hand to Fiona. “Come on, girl. I’m about to take you on a trip to Long Ago Land.”
Chapter 20
Kim Shields, somewhere between St. Louis and Kansas City
Kim drove along I-70 at a steady fifty-five miles per hour, the clusters of wrecks troubling her less on the open road than they had in the cities. The night sky settled in over her, the half-moon illuminating the road ahead in a soft, yellow light that threw shadows across her path.
Fungus-laden trees swayed on the sides of the road, though she saw more places where nature had won through. The newly sprouted spring leaves shed clumps of mycelium like cobwebs, and grasses continued to sprout up without the disease.
As it grew darker, she ordered AMI to turn on the bus’s headlamps. With a glance at the GPS, she spotted her dot somewhere between St. Louis and Kansas City. Indianapolis had nearly ruined her plans for getting home, and she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. So, she’d used alternate routes to bypass St. Louis and avoid any traps that waited for her.
The farther she traveled from the safety of Yellow Springs, Kim realized the precariousness of her situation. The smallest interruption might crush her plans or throw her off course, and that’s why she refused to think of things in absolutes. She could only keep her eyes on the road and stay sharp to react to any eventuality.
“I’m just flying by the seat of my pants,” she sang with a country twang as the road slipped by beneath her.
AMI’s soothing tone filled the cabin. “You have an incoming call from Lieutenant Colonel Bryant.”
“Patch him through,” she said.
“Kim?”
“Hello, Bryant.” Kim grinned. “It’s good to hear your voice. I had some trouble back in Indianapolis.”
“Sorry.” The soldier sounded disappointed. “Was it rogue military?”
“Bingo,” she replied. “How did you know?”
“I caught wind through the military channels.”
“They call themselves the Colony, and they have traps setup everywhere, some of them elaborate.” She told Bryant how the soldiers, Eagle and Spider Web, had tracked her through the city. He groaned when she got to the part where they’d tried to lure her in with the wounded mother and little girl act. She recalled how the young man, Randy Tucker, had warned her about the trap.
“I’d hug Randy if I could find him,” Kim said.
“You and me both,” Bryant added, the tone of his voice filled with relief. “I’ll keep an ear out for him. It’s good to know you’re safe.”
“Is that all you wanted?” A sideways grin formed on her lips. “Or you just missed me?”
Bryant chuckled. “I have some news that might interest you. We found where Burke’s been lurking and why he held off from attacking us.”
“Tell me.”
“He was waiting on reinforcements,” Bryant said. “Four of them flew in on a chopper this morning.”
Kim narrowed her eyes. “It makes sense with Richtman wounded, and if these new people are half as ruthless as he is, you’re in for a rough ride.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Bryant said. “It’s nothing we can’t handle.”
“It makes me wonder though,” Kim frowned. “Where did he get them? Was he lying about still having lab facilities around the country? Back in Washington, he told us Durant-Monroe Chemicals lost everything.”
“All I know is that the new people flew in from the south, and they’re heavily armed.”
“How did you spy on them?”
Bryant gave a half laugh. “Paul had a drone in his closet. We got it airborne and have been keeping watch on them the past few days.”
“Nice work,” Kim said. “But be careful.”
“We’ll be fine,” the soldier said with a note of finality. “That’s not why I called. There’s something else.”
She edged forward in her seat, letting her hands slip to the bottom of the wheel as she drove. The expressway grew more congested, and she wove between a series of deadly wrecks with practiced ease, barely glancing at the moldy bodies trapped in the wreckage. “Okay, but if it’s bad news, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Not bad news. I’m pretty sure you’ll like this.”
Tilting her head curiously, Kim pressed the soldier. “Go ahead. Don’t keep me waiting.”
Bryant explained. “A few days after things went south, the military appropriated the 911 number for military personnel and survivors out in the field.”
“Satellite phones only, right?”
“Considering cellular services are down, yes. The military redirected the number to a help desk who normally provides directions to the nearest unit or secure facility. To date, they’ve rescued around five thousand people.”
“That’s amazing news,” Kim said, “but what does that have to do with me?”
“Some guy named Bishop reached the desk in Florida, and he was looking for you.”
Her chest raised with a gasp before she got control of her surging emotions. She let her breath out slowly. “Did he say he was okay? Tell me they stayed in Ft. Collins.”
“They didn’t say,” Bryant said.
Her hopes fell in the blink of an eye, then the soldier lifted them with his next sentence.
“Just call him yourself. I’ve got his number.”
“He must have found a satellite phone,” Kim said with a rushed breath. “Give me the number.”
“Already sent,” Bryant said with a warm chuckle. “I’ll let you go so you can call him. Good luck.”
She drove another quarter of a mile before she slowed the bus to a stop on the side of the road. She stood and stepped into the lounge area where she dropped into one of the bucket seats.
“AMI, add the number Bryant sent as ‘Bishop’ in my contact list. Then call it, please.”
“I’ve added the number to your contact list. Calling now.”
She listened as the line made strange noises filtering through the military satellite service in search of Bishop’s phone. The ring tones chimed inside the cabin, and the tension in Kim’s stomach clenched and settled. She hardly believed her husband was a phone call away after two weeks separated. What if it was a mistake and he didn’t answer? What if the man wasn’t her husband?
“Hello?” The voice on the other end of the line held a note of anticipation. Although the man’s deep voice left no doubt as to its owner.
“Bishop? It’s Kim.”
“Kim...” Something caught the rest of Bishop’s words before they made it past his lips. She waited while he found his voice. “Is it really you?”
“It’s me. I’m here. Oh, wow...” She laughed as tears streamed down her face. “It’s so good to hear your voice. I’m sorry I lost touch with you. Dr. Flannery and I got caught up in our work and then the phone services died.”
“It’s the longest late work night you’ve ever had,” Bishop replied, half laughing.
“I guess so,” she smiled. “Did you put a plate for me in the microwave?”
“I did, but Trevor ate it. That boy’s stomach is bottomless.”
She laughed and wiped her sleeve across her nose. “I can’t wait to give that kid a hug.”
“They miss you so much, baby. I miss you, too. Where are you?”
Kim raised up to the edge of her seat and gazed out the front window. “I’m somewhere on I-70 west. I’m on my way to pick up you and the kids.”
“You’re where? I mean, that’s amazing. It’s great! I-70, really?”
Laughing, her hopes rose. “It’s true. I’m on my way, only eleven hours from
Ft. Collins. How are you and the kids?”
“We’re all fine. Well, I got bit by a dog.”
“Bit by a dog?” Kim’s eyes widened with worry. “Is it bad? Do you need medical attention?”
“He bit my hand through my coveralls, that’s all.” Bishop assured her. “I quarantined myself to the basement to keep the kids safe. So far, I don’t see any signs of mold infection.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kim stated. “I’ve got a serum to slow down the infection, and we’re on the verge of a cure.”
“That’s such great news, honey.” Bishop’s voice overflowed with pride. “That’s my girl. I knew you could do it.”
She remembered the last expression on Tom’s face before he died. “We worked hard on it and made a lot of sacrifices.”
“And it will pay off,” Bishop said, firmly. “You’ll save a lot of people.”
Kim took a deep breath and reveled in the simple act of talking to her husband. She’d forgotten how confident they were together. “You guys must have sealed up the house well.”
“Thanks to you, we did. We never would have survived without that list of things you gave me.”
Bishop related his story to Kim about how he and the kids had gone through dozens of tubes of caulk and air filters to seal out the spores. He included the trip to the Colorado State football stadium where they’d hoped to contact her only to have a spore cloud wash over the city and throw everything into chaos.
Her breath caught in her throat as her husband told how he’d fought his way through the crowd, keeping people from ripping off the kids’ masks and exposing them to the infection.
“That’s my guy.” She shook her head. “I knew I married a defensive end for a reason.”
Bishop chuckled deeply and continued with his story. He told about his troubles with Francis that started when the man demanded Bishop let his family into the Shields’s home.
“Oh, that guy. He was always such an—”
“Ass,” he concluded for her. “It gets worse.”
He continued with his discovery of the man’s wife and kids in the upstairs bedroom.
Spore Series | Book 3 | Fight Page 12
