Authors: Riley Barton
Luna couldn’t agree more. She gripped the edge of her seat and braced her feet against the floor to keep from being thrown out as the boat’s engine roared to life and the small vessel began cutting its way through the waves.
Behind her the towering metal sides of the
Second Wind
faded into the curtain of rain and fog, vanishing like a ghost into the blackness of the night along with its mysterious captain.
Luna chewed her lip in frustration, more curious now then she’d been before. Questions filled her mind along with Mark’s explicit warnings against trying to answer them. He had said multiple times that it was for her own good that she forget everything she’d seen and heard, but why? What was he trying to hide?
The boat hit an especially large wave and Luna winced, fighting back nausea. Curiosity could wait. For the time being she had more pressing matters to attend to. The boat hit another series of waves and she moaned, hastily pulling the breathing device off her face in preparation of what was to come. It was going to be a very,
very
long ride.
Chapter 15
“We’ve got something on scope, sir. It looks like some sort of lifeboat,” the pilot called through the comm. Landers turned to look out the V-244’s domed canopy, surveying the storm-tossed swamp below.
“Roger that. I see it,” he replied, spying the white and neon orange hull through the swamp’s thick gray-green haze. “Take us down as close to that boat as possible.”
“Right, Chief. It looks like there’s a good spot about a half click away. I’ll try and set her down there.”
Landers nodded and switched his suit’s comm frequency to the team link. “All right, men. Strap in and make ready to land. We’ve found our objective. The area appears to be clear of any Swamper activity, but just the same I want all of you to maintain combat-alert readiness. This operation is to be treated as a war zone extraction. Do I make myself clear?”
“All right, everyone, we’re beginning our final approach now,” the pilot said, addressing the chief as well as the men under him.
“Copy that,” Landers replied. He leaned back in his chair as the Stratocruiser began its rapid decent. Half of his mission was officially complete. He’d already overseen the extraction of Tagawa and his team. They had been fairly easy to find and were being flown back to New Denver for medical attention. All that remained now was retrieving Miss McKelly.
The V-244 lurched and settled onto its landing gear. Landers quickly unbuckled his shoulder harness and made his way to the rear passenger hold. Around him the members of his team were unbuckling themselves, gathering up their weapons, and making their way to the rear hatch, which had dropped open into the knee-deep water churning around the chopper’s wheels.
Landers picked up his submachine gun and hurried down the loading ramp, flanked by two of his men. He crouched at the end of the ramp and scanned the eerie swampland around him, paying close attention to his HUD’s infrared and motion tracker readouts.
“Okay, team. Take up delta formation and make for the location I’m uploading to your HUDs. Lieutenant Manning, I want you and your squad to take the right flank. O’Neil, you cover the left. Move out!”
Landers sent the coordinates through the team link and waited until a flashing nav marker appeared on his heads-up display, then he started forward. He could see his team moving out into a roughly triangular formation around him. They would watch his back. Which meant he could focus all his attention on the faint heat signature just under a half mile ahead of him.
He activated his helmet’s optical zoom and zeroed in on the shimmering red and orange image. The image of a single human form kneeling inside the lifeboat’s cabin raced toward him and filled the inside of his visor. He could tell from the shape of the person’s body that it was a woman. The only question: was it Miss McKelly?
Sure, the homing chip was Luna’s, but Landers knew that a chip could be located and removed with ease. And could just as easily be implanted into another person’s body to create a decoy.
He glanced to his right and his left. His team was in position. Cautiously he approached the vessel. Nothing stirred, inside or out. Landers switched on his barrel-mounted LED and swept the area along the boat’s side. Nothing.
It’s too quiet,
he thought, wading into the dark, waist-deep water.
He raised a hand and signaled his men to fan out and surround the boat. Slowly, Landers reached up to the latch and pulled the door open. He waited a moment and then heaved himself up into the lifeboat’s cabin.
“Miss McKelly?” he called out, sweeping the dim interior with his weapon.
“Ugh … Keith?” A voice replied shakily.
Landers turned toward the noise and breathed in a deep sigh of relief. There, crouched in front of a crude toilet was Luna McKelly.
“Miss McKelly? Are you all right?” he asked, hurrying to her side.
She looks terrible
, he couldn’t help thinking as he took in her grubby, bruised appearance.
Luna wiped her mouth and shook her head slowly from side to side. “No … I’m not all right. … I think this is the last time I’ll ever set foot on a boat.”
“Can you walk?”
She nodded and stood up shakily, reaching for a crude breathing apparatus lying beside her. “Yeah, I think so.”
“All right then. Let’s get you out of here.” He slung his weapon over his shoulder and wrapped his arm under her left shoulder to support her.
“All right, team,” he said through the comm once he had situated Luna, “this is Security Chief Landers. I have Miss McKelly, and we’re on our way back to the chopper. Warm up the engines and prepare for immediate departure.”
“Roger that, Chief. What’s her status, over?”
Landers looked over at Luna, noticed the sling supporting her wounded arm and called back, “She has some facial injuries, and her right shoulder appears to be injured, too. Other then that I can’t say for sure. Go ahead and radio the hospital in New Denver. Tell them to stand by for incoming wounded. Landers out.”
He closed the channel and helped Luna to the hatch. In the distance he could see the outline of the chopper. Within an hour they would be home.
Chapter 16
“Hey, Luna! How you doing, girl?”
Luna smiled and put down the book she was reading. “I’m doing great, Bridget. Come on in.”
Bridget grinned broadly from behind a bouquet nearly as big as she was.
“Are those for me?” Luna asked, nodding toward the flowers.
Bridget blushed. “No, these are for Keith.”
Figures.
Luna thought, moodily.
“So, do you have any idea when you’ll be getting out?” Bridget asked, taking a seat next to Luna’s bed.
“They said I should be able to go home today—if my bio-scans are good that is. They’ve been worried about my shoulder. I guess I really did a number on it.”
She glanced down through the gap in her robe at the tape and gauze stuck to her skin, and she wondered for the millionth time that day if she would ever be able to use her arm again.
“ … They operated almost as soon as the chopper landed,” she continued, speaking both to herself and Bridget, “but they say that it’s too early at this point to tell whether or not the surgery worked.”
“Are you scared?”
Luna looked up and nodded, “Yeah. They said I might lose the use of my arm … if the operation failed.”
“Don’t worry, these are good doctors. I’m sure they got you all fixed up,” Bridget said, giving Luna a wavering smile.
“That’s what I keep telling myself.” Luna adjusted her sling. “But … I’m still worried. I mean … I don’t want to have a dead arm for the rest of my life.”
“Oh, don’t worry! Nothing like that will happen! And even if it does, they’ll just chop your arm off and replace it with a prosthetic one.”
“Oh, thanks a lot, Bridget. That’s
really
reassuring.” Luna said, fighting a smile.
“Excuse me, Miss. McKelly?”
A young woman dressed in a white lab coat and scrubs stood expectantly in Luna’s doorway.
“May I come in?” The woman asked, shifting her gaze to Bridget, who quickly stood and headed for the door.
“I’d … better be going,” she said, hefting the massive bouquet. “I’ll call you later. Hope everything works out okay.”
Bridget gave her a quick wave—almost dropping her flowers—then disappeared out into the hallway.
The doctor watched her leave then walked calmly into the room and stopped beside the bed.
“The results from your bio-scans are in,” she said, consulting the holographic data pad in her hand.
“And?” Luna asked, grimacing at how pathetic her voice sounded.
“And … everything looks great. No hemorrhaging. Your lip, ribs, and internal organs are completely healed. The cell-grafts have taken nicely to the Bio-aid treatments. Your shoulder muscles are at 98% regeneration, so if we’re lucky you should regain the full use of your shoulder within a week. But you should still take it easy for a while. You’ll probably be able to take off the sling in a day or so, but you still shouldn’t do anything too strenuous. At least not for a few more days. After that you’ll probably be okay to do whatever you want—except maybe body building classes.”
Luna laughed and smiled. “Thanks, doctor. Um … so can I go home now?”
“I’ve just signed the release papers,” the young woman replied, returning Luna’s smile. “Just be sure to pick up your prescriptions downstairs before you leave.”
“Pick up prescriptions before I leave. Got it,” Luna repeated.
“Do you think you’ll need any help, Ms McKelly?” The doctor asked.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll be able to manage it.”
After the doctor had left the room, she pushed her blankets aside with her good arm and adjusted her robe about her shoulders, before climbing out of bed. She stretched then bent over stiffly and picked up a large duffel bag containing her clothes and some other personal effects from her apartment, which had been delivered to her room courtesy of Mr. Edgard and the Security Agency.
She smiled. They’d even brought her book.
She gathered her clothes and made her way into the bathroom to bathe and to change. A few minutes later she reemerged dried and fully dressed. She went to her bag and
stowed the robe and her other belongings inside it, then slung it over her good shoulder and left the room.
After checking out, Luna wove her way through the hospital’s maze of intertwining corridors until she found her way to the main lobby. She joined the line at the pharmacy and waited impatiently for her turn.
Finally, a clerk decided to open another window and she hurried over, brushing back a stray lock of damp hair as she addressed the pharmacist. “My doctor said I needed to pick up a prescription here before I left.”
“Okay … and what was the name on the prescription?”
“Luna McKelly.”
“All right, Miss McKelly,” The middle-aged man said, bringing her file up on his holo-monitor, “place your hand on the scanner, and I’ll see what I can do for you.”
Luna did as she was told, and then she waited for the pharmacist to return with her prescribed medication.
“Luna? Luna McKelly?”
She turned quickly to see Mr. Edgard striding through the lobby toward her. “Are you getting out of here already?”
“Mr. Edgard!” she stammered, extending her hand. “Wow … Um, yes. Yes, I just got released this morning.”
Mr. Edgard took her hand and shook it gently. “I came to check in on you and my agents. I had no idea any of you would be getting out so soon.”
“I think I’m the only one so far.”
“Excuse me, Miss McKelly,” the pharmacist said, “here’s your prescription.”
“Ah, thank you.” She said reaching for the small paper bag the older man held out to her, “Can you bill it to my account, please?”
She turned her attention back to Edgard. “Sorry about that.”
“Not at all. So I take it you’ll be coming back to work in a week or so?”
She shook her head. “No way! A week is too long for me to sit around doing nothing. I’m coming back in tomorrow morning.”
Edgard raised a white eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s wise? What would your doctor say?”
“She’d say ‘just be sure not to use your arm too much,’” Luna replied, starting toward the door.
“Well, I suppose I can’t argue with that,” Edgard said, holding the door open and following after her. “There was another reason I was coming to see you today. A matter I think you will find most encouraging.”
Luna stopped halfway down the hospital steps, and turned to look up curiously.
“It’s the matter of those samples you and the agents took while out in the swamp.”
“What about the samples?”
Edgard smiled. “They worked, Luna. I had Alex start running diagnostics on the enzyme shortly after you returned. Since then, he’s been synthesizing thousands of viable cure variants every hour on the hour. And we’ve begun animal testing.”
Luna’s jaw dropped. “Animal testing? Already?”
Edgard nodded. “I had planned to host a press conference tomorrow to release our findings in your absence. But seeing as you’re out of the hospital, it appears you can do the honors yourself.”
A press conference?
“Where? When?” She asked, grinning.
“In the main conference hall at the Unitech headquarters building, 3:00 sharp. If we’re lucky, it’ll be on the air in time for the 6:00 news.”
Her smile widened even further. “I’ll be there.”
“Excellent. I’ll be waiting.” Edgard replied, turning back toward the hospital. “Take care of yourself. I’ve got some more business to attend to here.”
“Keith Tagawa?” she asked, and he nodded solemnly.
She lowered her gaze to the pavement. “How … how bad is he? I haven’t seen him since the chopper was hit. I heard something about an alligator, but other than that no one has told me anything.”
“What you heard about the alligator was correct,” Edgard replied. “He was pretty chewed up when they admitted him: he had a punctured lung and some other internal injuries. But the doctors are confident that he’ll make a full recovery. Let me tell you, that man is one exceptionally tough agent to be able to take that much punishment and live.”