following. Lam saw his chance and ran for the door. Stupid kid. Curtis stepped in front of him and whipped the butt of the rifle across the technician’s head. The kid’s glasses arched across the room as he went down, slapping against the floor to stay still.
Brennan slammed the door of the cupboard. “There are no cards in here. I’m almost impressed.” She walked over to Lam’s prone body and roughly yanked the lanyard over his head. The kid’s head cracked against the floor as she pulled it free. “I’ll take this one. Garret, Curtis; check the guards for passes and then get down to the front doors. Let the others in and then search the building. Your hand okay?”
Curtis nodded, flexing his fingers. “I’ll live.”
“Off you go, then.”
The two grunts left, leaving us with the unconscious technician.
“What about him?” asked Fenton.
Brennan picked up a plastic bag of spare lanyards from the floor. They must have tumbled from the bookcase. “Tie him up. We’ll need someone to show us how everything works. Beck, you go to N-2. Same thing. Open the doors, but be careful—you’ll have company, by the sounds of it.”
“What do you want me to do with them?”
“Round them up, but don’t stand for any nonsense. We can always give them a choice...”
Fenton looked up from where he was tying Lam’s podgy wrists together. “To stay?”
“If they’re scientists, they could be useful. Besides, I want to understand what they’ve been doing here. We need to know the place is safe.”
This was my chance to join the conversation again. “We should check out that ward, in Neighbourhood Three. I’m no medic, but I might be able to see what they’ve been up to.”
“You read my mind. I’ll come with you. Fenton, you too.”
Joy of joys.
“Is he secure?” Brennan asked.
Fenton stood up to admire his handiwork. The kid’s wrists and ankles were bound together, the knots more impressive that I would have given old rat-face credit for. Just to lower my opinion of him again, Fenton gave Lam an unnecessary boot in the side. “He’ll be fine until we get back.”
“Let’s do this, then.”
We turned to leave, and the walkie-talkie on the desk beneath the screens crackled into life. The voice that followed caused by heart to not so much miss a beat as explode in my chest.
“ Control, this is Dr Tomas. Lam, come in. ”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CURE
“L AM ? L AM, ARE you there?”
There was no answer. Did that mean that Neighbourhood One had fallen to the raiders, or that Lam had done a runner? Either was possible, but I couldn’t worry about it now. All that was important was getting the kids down to the bunker.
They were huddled in the corridor between the dorms now, all wide eyes and clasped hands. I’d never had a maternal bone in my body, but my heart went out to them. How could we expect them to cope with all this? We’d had drills, of course, but they never seemed real. Of course they didn’t, locked up in our base, playing games.
No one was playing now.
“Nothing?” asked Eckstein.
I shook my head. “He’s not answering.”
“Do you have a security monitor on this floor?”
Allison pointed down the corridor. “In the far lab, beyond the dorms. There’s a side office.”
“I’ll check,” Eckstein said, clutching his side as he limped away from us. “You get the last kid.”
I bit my lip. Of all the labs, I didn’t want anyone going in there. Something else I didn’t have time to worry about. I turned back to the children, giving them what I hoped was an encouraging look.
“You stay here with Dr Harwood. I’ll fetch Ruth.”
“Yes, Dr Tomas,” they chorused, as one. It was unsettling.
“We’ll be okay, won’t we?” Allison said to them, Dawn cuddling into her side. Of all the subjects, she had been the most scared, barely saying a word since I’d coaxed her out of her room.
I glanced through the window as I walked to Ruth’s door.
Brennan slammed the door of the cupboard. “There are no cards in here. I’m almost impressed.” She walked over to Lam’s prone body and roughly yanked the lanyard over his head. The kid’s head cracked against the floor as she pulled it free. “I’ll take this one. Garret, Curtis; check the guards for passes and then get down to the front doors. Let the others in and then search the building. Your hand okay?”
Curtis nodded, flexing his fingers. “I’ll live.”
“Off you go, then.”
The two grunts left, leaving us with the unconscious technician.
“What about him?” asked Fenton.
Brennan picked up a plastic bag of spare lanyards from the floor. They must have tumbled from the bookcase. “Tie him up. We’ll need someone to show us how everything works. Beck, you go to N-2. Same thing. Open the doors, but be careful—you’ll have company, by the sounds of it.”
“What do you want me to do with them?”
“Round them up, but don’t stand for any nonsense. We can always give them a choice...”
Fenton looked up from where he was tying Lam’s podgy wrists together. “To stay?”
“If they’re scientists, they could be useful. Besides, I want to understand what they’ve been doing here. We need to know the place is safe.”
This was my chance to join the conversation again. “We should check out that ward, in Neighbourhood Three. I’m no medic, but I might be able to see what they’ve been up to.”
“You read my mind. I’ll come with you. Fenton, you too.”
Joy of joys.
“Is he secure?” Brennan asked.
Fenton stood up to admire his handiwork. The kid’s wrists and ankles were bound together, the knots more impressive that I would have given old rat-face credit for. Just to lower my opinion of him again, Fenton gave Lam an unnecessary boot in the side. “He’ll be fine until we get back.”
“Let’s do this, then.”
We turned to leave, and the walkie-talkie on the desk beneath the screens crackled into life. The voice that followed caused by heart to not so much miss a beat as explode in my chest.
“ Control, this is Dr Tomas. Lam, come in. ”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CURE
“L AM ? L AM, ARE you there?”
There was no answer. Did that mean that Neighbourhood One had fallen to the raiders, or that Lam had done a runner? Either was possible, but I couldn’t worry about it now. All that was important was getting the kids down to the bunker.
They were huddled in the corridor between the dorms now, all wide eyes and clasped hands. I’d never had a maternal bone in my body, but my heart went out to them. How could we expect them to cope with all this? We’d had drills, of course, but they never seemed real. Of course they didn’t, locked up in our base, playing games.
No one was playing now.
“Nothing?” asked Eckstein.
I shook my head. “He’s not answering.”
“Do you have a security monitor on this floor?”
Allison pointed down the corridor. “In the far lab, beyond the dorms. There’s a side office.”
“I’ll check,” Eckstein said, clutching his side as he limped away from us. “You get the last kid.”
I bit my lip. Of all the labs, I didn’t want anyone going in there. Something else I didn’t have time to worry about. I turned back to the children, giving them what I hoped was an encouraging look.
“You stay here with Dr Harwood. I’ll fetch Ruth.”
“Yes, Dr Tomas,” they chorused, as one. It was unsettling.
“We’ll be okay, won’t we?” Allison said to them, Dawn cuddling into her side. Of all the subjects, she had been the most scared, barely saying a word since I’d coaxed her out of her room.
I glanced through the window as I walked to Ruth’s door.
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