The Immortalists (25 page)

Burt Seeger took a few more steps forward, shielded his eyes from the rising sun, and examined the rolling rural highway. It probably never got much traffic, but at this time of morning, it was nothing more than an empty black ribbon cutting through grass and scrub.

The stillness and silence were comforting in that anyone approaching would be obvious, but nerve-racking in that their presence was as obvious as the proverbial sore thumb.

He turned east and paused, watching Susie trudge along in her stocking cap and Flintstones parka. A pair of oversized sunglasses perched precariously on her nose, serving the dual purpose of disguising her tragically memorable features and keeping the glare down as she continued her search of the bushes.

It was good to see her out of the musty RV and in the sunshine where children belonged. She slept more and more as the weeks went on, and she got dead still when she did. It was probably nothing more than the deep sleep that was one of the many wonders of youth, but it scared the hell out of him. He was up no less than ten times a night checking on her.

“How’re you coming along?” he called.

She looked up from the ground and shook her head. “I’ve found four rusty cans and a dirty old pack of cigarettes.”

“You might be getting a little far from the road. Come back in a little and stay sharp. It’s a contest, you know. Who’s going to find it first?”

“What are you going to give me if I win?”

“I don’t know. What are you going to give me if
I
win?”

“You’re not gonna!” she said, adjusting her trajectory and nudging a particularly dense bush with her toe.

They’d been about a hundred and fifty miles away when he’d gotten a call from Richard that lasted probably less than ten seconds—just a rough location, what to look for, and instructions on how to contact him when they found it. Seeger wondered if there would be anyone to contact, though. Richard sounded like he had one foot in the grave and the other on a sheet of ice.

He started forward again, walking in a zigzag pattern five feet wide, focusing tired eyes on the ground. While it was true that he still hadn’t figured out how to get Susie’s medication and he was just one old man pitted against what looked like an army of mercenaries and intelligence operatives, he believed Andreas Xander to be no different than the men they were running from. And, as it turned out, Richard felt the same way. The young scientist wasn’t as naïve as he seemed.

But it was more than that. Seeger just didn’t want to give her up. The life he’d led before seemed so distant now—the purposeless days, the loneliness. He didn’t want to go back to that. Ever.

“Gross!”

He turned and spotted Susie fifty feet away, using a stick to poke at something on the ground.

“What is it?” he said, running toward her as best his leg would allow. “Did you find something?”

She nodded, the disgust etched into her ancient face. “I think this is where Dad threw up.”

“Great job!” Seeger said, dropping to his knees and feeling around in the grass. “I knew those eagle eyes of yours would come in handy.”

“Does this mean we’re going to live with Mom and Dad now? That’s what you said, right? That we’re going to go stay with them?”

“I’m not sure; we’ll have to talk to your father.”

“But you said—”

“I know what I said, Susie, but what we need to do now is keep looking, OK?”

Her lower lip quivered for a moment, but then she eased herself to her knees and began digging around in the shrub next to him.

Less than fifteen seconds passed before she came up with a small glass vial. “Is this it?”

Seeger grabbed it and stared down at the sun filtering through the cloudy fluid inside. He put a hand out and helped Susie to her feet. “You beat me. You win the grand prize! But first, let’s get the heck out of here.”

They hurried back to the RV, and she locked the door behind them as he dialed his cell and started the engine.

When the hospital receptionist answered, he gave the fictitious name Richard had told him to use. A moment later he was connected.

“Hello?”

“You sound better,” Seeger said. “What—”

“Did you get it?”

Richard’s voice was weak, but the mix of emotions was still clearly audible. Relief. Fear. Uncertainty.

“Yeah. What’s in it? Is it what I think it is?” Seeger said, speaking quietly. Susie had slipped into bed and appeared to be asleep already.

“I hope so.”

“What do you mean, you—”

“Do you still have syringes?”

“A few. Richard, what—”

“I want you to inject Susie with the contents of the vial.”

“You just told me that you’re not sure what it is.”

“We don’t have time to argue, Burt. I’ve got four of Xander’s men sitting right outside my door.”

“Bullshit. You’re asking me to shoot something into her that you’re not sure about? How much? What’s it going to do?”

“All of it. And I don’t know.”

Seeger lowered his voice even further. “What the hell do you mean, you don’t know? What if it kills her?”

Silence.

“Jesus Christ, Richard. I’m not going to do it. I—”

“There’s no choice, Burt. You’ve been with her long enough now. Long enough to see what’s happening.”

“Do you understand what you’re asking me to do? You’re not the one with the needle. You’re not the one who would have to stand here and watch her…” He couldn’t finish the sentence.

“This is my decision, Burt. If something happens to her, it’s my fault, not yours.”

“I can’t believe you did this to yourself. You’re usually so careful.”

Carly dabbed a cool cloth on his forehead as he sank deeper into the pillows. The hospital had released him that morning to an ambulance that had brought him back to Xander’s compound in a motorcade that now appeared to include air support.

“Richard? Are you in there? Are you OK?”

He forced a weak smile. In a way, he’d never been happier to see anyone in his life. But in another way he was terrified—of her, of being back in the luxurious prison Xander had created for them. Of what he’d done.

He squeezed her hand with what little strength he’d regained. “I’m just a little tired and sore. I’ll be fine.”

“Come on. I know you. It’s more than just—”

He put a finger to her mouth and pulled her close enough that the listening devices they assumed covered the room couldn’t pick up his voice. “We need to talk.”

“What’s going on? You’re starting to—”

The phone on the nightstand began to ring, and he nearly knocked her off the bed grabbing for it.

“Hello?”

“I called when I got into town like you said. But someone I didn’t recognize picked up.”

Burt Seeger’s voice, following the script they’d created on what Richard prayed had been an untapped hospital line.

“I had an accident at the lab and had to go to the hospital. I’m OK now, though. You can bring her in.”

As planned, there was a long silence over the phone. Richard slid off the bed and hobbled to the window as his wife looked on. The fear was so deeply etched in her face that he had to turn away, gazing out over the well-lit property and the security people patrolling it.

“I’m not so sure,” Seeger said finally.

“What?”

“How do I know you haven’t been compromised?”

“Look, I’m at Xander’s house right now. We can send some of his people to meet—”

“How would I know they’re his people? How would I know they weren’t the men who came to my house to kill me?”

“We don’t have time to screw around,” Richard said, affecting just a touch of anger. “Susie needs her medications, and you’re telling me you can’t get them. Would I be asking you to bring her if it wasn’t safe?”

“No offense, Doc, but you don’t seem all that tough to me. A few bamboo shoots under your nails and who knows what they could get you to say.”

“Goddamnit, she’s my daughter! You’re going to do whatever the hell I tell you.”

Carly came up beside him, fear now turning to terror. He shot her a reassuring glance, but she barely noticed.

“Here’s what I’m going to do,” Seeger said. “I’m going to get me and Susie to a safe distance, and then I’m gonna call you back. At that point, we can figure out how you’re going to convince me everything’s OK.”

“No way. We—”

“The plan’s not negotiable, Doc. That’s the way it’s going to be.”

Richard let out a long, frustrated breath that sounded surprisingly convincing. “If anything happens to her…” He let his voice fade for a moment. “How is she?”

“Not so good. She’s sick—running a fever a little over a hundred and one.”

That wasn’t on the script, and Richard felt his mouth go dry. He tried to tell himself that it was to be expected—that her immune system was attacking the serum’s carrier germs—but it didn’t help.

“I put her in a cool shower, and I’m giving her aspirin,” Seeger said. “That seems to be controlling it. For now.”

“If you have
any
reason to think she’s getting worse, you call me immediately. Any time day or night. Do you understand? Or I’ll come out there and track you down myself.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

The line went dead, and Richard stared down at the phone in his hand.

“What’s going on?” Carly whispered. “What’s wrong?”

He turned on the television, and they stood directly in front of the speakers, letting the sound mask their conversation.

“I have something to say to you. But I need to you stay calm and speak very quietly.”

“What?” she said, terror now becoming to panic. “Is something wrong with Susie? Where is—”

“Just listen to me, OK? You need to be quiet and listen.”

She took a deep breath and nodded.

“I poisoned myself on purpose to get out of the lab. I stole the serum and left it by the side of the road for Burt.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He injected Susie with it.”

She blinked a few times, obviously having a hard time processing what she’d heard. “You figured out how it works? Already? Oh my God, is it going to—”

A brief shake of his head silenced her.

“I was never going to figure it out, Carly. And in another week, whatever’s in that vial would have deteriorated to the point of being unusable.”

“What do you mean, ‘whatever’s in that vial’? You don’t know what you gave our daughter?”

He didn’t answer, just standing there watching the blood drain from his wife’s face.

“Tell me!” she said, the volume of her voice rising dangerously. “Is that what you did? Is it?”

“There was no choice, Carly—”

“But you said that that vial could be anything. It could be incomplete or a thousand doses. It could have been left there on purpose so Xander would find it. What if that’s what they did? What if they left it there? What if it’s…”

Her eyes seemed to lose focus, and he reached for her, thinking for a moment she was going to pass out. Instead, she jerked back and pushed him away. “You didn’t say anything. You didn’t ask me. That se—”

He clamped a hand over her mouth, but she wasn’t going to be so easily silenced. A hard shove almost toppled him in his weakened state, but he kept his grip on her and managed to spin her onto the bed, landing his superior weight on top of her.

“Carly—” he said as she tried to squirm out from beneath him.

After a few seconds, she resigned herself to the fact that she couldn’t escape and went still, turning her head to stare at the wall.

“What about her?” she said when he removed his hand. “Did you ask her?”

In a way, he was he was glad she wouldn’t look at him. The betrayal and horror in her eyes made it hard for him to breathe. He’d gambled everything—his wife, his daughter. In the end, maybe even his own sanity.

The sound of a hand on the doorknob was quickly followed by the door to the room being thrown open. Richard pushed himself off his wife and struggled to his feet, grabbing hold of a piece of furniture to help him support his weight. “What the hell’s going on? What do you want?”

“Come with us,” one of the men who entered said.

“I just got out of the hospital,” Richard said, trying to buy time. Had they heard? Did they have video cameras that allowed them to read lips?

The lead guard strode across the room and grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the door. His companion took a similar hold of Carly, but she didn’t seem to notice as she was dragged from the bed and into the hallway.

Richard hadn’t known this wing of the house even existed. Based on the length of the stairs they’d just descended, the endless corridor they were walking down was deep underground—cut off from everything above. No sound got through, and the air had a stale, recycled feel to it.

He glanced back at the men following them and at Carly, whose daze had deepened to a state bordering on catatonia. He knew what she was going through—that her soul was being consumed by the same thing his had been for so long: visions of the day Susie wasn’t with them anymore.

They passed through a set of doors at the end of the hallway and found themselves in what could have been the intensive care unit at the Mayo Clinic. The walls were an unblemished white, the equipment was state-of-the-art, and everything smelled vaguely of antiseptic. There was one important difference, though. Everything was centered on one bed.

The security guards took up positions on either side of the door as he and Carly continued unbidden toward the facility’s lone patient. When they got within ten feet, Xander flicked a hand at the man taking his blood pressure, and he scurried from the room.

“You both look like shit.”

Richard was too nervous to respond, and Carly gave no indication that she’d even heard.

The pillow propped behind the old man was the only thing keeping him upright, and his normal pallor had become a near translucence, as though he was starting to disappear. Next to him, a heart monitor beeped out an alarmingly erratic rhythm.

“My doctor tells me that I’ve had another cardiac episode. He says it was minor, but we both know that nothing at my age is minor. The next one isn’t far off, and it’ll most likely kill me.”

He moved a bruised arm with difficulty, pointing to a shelf next to the bed. Richard hadn’t noticed the metal box, but immediately recognized it.

“I want you to give me the serum.”

“What?” Richard said. “No.”

“I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”

Richard felt his mouth go dry as he grasped for excuses. “I… it could kill you. We don’t even know what it is.”

Not exactly true. It was saline with a few inert additives to make it match the appearance of Mason’s concoction.

“Yeah, it might kill me. But I figure not taking it will
definitely
kill me.”

“What about our daughter?” Carly said, suddenly coming back to life. Her voice sounded strangely far away. “What about all the other people it could help?”

Her words cut both ways, though Richard couldn’t discern whether it was intentional. His logic had been exactly the same as Xander’s when he’d decided to give Susie the serum. He’d never even considered the other children or the rest of the world when the moment came.

“I spent millions getting my hands on that goddamn vial,” Xander said. “And I gave your husband every chance to study it. But he’s gotten nowhere. Your daughter and all those other people are going to die because
he
failed. Not because I did.”

“You’ve had your life,” Carly said. “What makes you think you deserve another one?”

Xander’s chapped lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, and he motioned to one of the men standing by the door.

“I hoped we could keep this civil, but I guess I didn’t really expect it.” The guard stopped a few feet away and aimed a gun at Carly’s head.

“Wait!” Richard said. Carly didn’t react at all. She just stared down in disgust at the dying man in front of her.

“Wait for what, Richard? Everything that happens from now on is up to you. It always was.”

“You win, Andreas. Tell him to lower the gun.”

Xander nodded, and the man returned to his position near the entrance.

Richard tore the wrapper off a syringe and opened the box, carefully sucking the useless fluid from the vial.

“I assume you understand the precarious situation you’re in,” Xander said, closing his eyes when the needle penetrated, trying to feel inviolable laws of nature being reversed inside his withered body. “The world thinks you’re dead. And the few people out there who know the truth are committed to making the world right.”

“Your point?” Richard said, disposing of the syringe and pressing a cotton ball against Xander’s shoulder.

“My point is that if I ever thought my health wasn’t your primary concern, you wouldn’t be much use to me, would you? I mean, there would be no reason for me not to have my people march you right out our front gate. No money, no transportation, no identification. Just the clothes on your back. How long do you think you’d last?”

“What happens if I do everything I can but you still die?”

“The exact same thing. So, for your own sake, I’d suggest you don’t let that happen.”