“When?”
“Tonight.”
Davis doesn’t reply. He trusts me. I trust him. We’re brothers out here and I know he’ll go if I ask him to. But they need to understand what we’re taking on. We clean up quietly. By the time he’s out of the shower I’m dressed in baggy fatigues and walking out the locker room door. I tell him to meet me in the lounge and to bring the others.
There’s something I must do before I meet with my team, and I walk out of the bunkers and down to the infirmary. I pass two soldiers guarding the door. They scramble to attention when they see me, saluting like I’m their superior. In theory I probably am, but we don’t have official rankings here. At least, I don’t. I nod anyway and the door is unlocked from the inside. One whole section has been cleared for inoculations.
I walk down the hallway, past a few rooms with moderately ill people. Sickness hit the base over the winter. The flu, colds, a few cases of strep. We’re less likely to bring in a person with the ETR infection these days than someone with lice or nutritional deficiencies. If we can help them they come here. If we can’t, the Crisis takes another soul.
At the end of the hall I come to an office door and rap on the glass window twice with my knuckles. I enter the room and find Dr. Ramsey working next to a battery powered lantern, taking notes.
“Ah, Wyatt,” he says looking up at me. “How are you today?” His glasses reflect the light. They’re new—the old ones were broken in the fight with Chloe. Jude and I found racks and racks of prescription glasses in Walmart outside of Tifton and
brought them to the base strapped to the back of his motorcycle. Dr. Ramsey got first pick.
“I’m good, sir. Survived my latest mission.”
“That’s about all we can ask for these days.” He leans back in his chair and points to the one across the desk for me to take. “What can I do for you?”
I sit in the cracked leather chair and rub my hands on my knees. “I have some news. About your daughters—they’re alive and together.”
Hope sparks in his eyes and he leans across the desk. “At the Fort?”
“No, they’ve escaped and were headed north—somewhere Jane had connections. She’s no longer Director of the Fort. Seems there was a coup and Chloe has taken over.”
“I suppose that explains what happened at the Vaccine Center and the increase in Hybrids. Jane no longer had control of them.”
“Exactly.”
“And you trust Cole?”
“I think he’s giving me solid information.”
“Any chance it’s a trap?” he asks me.
I exhale and stare at the lantern. “Possibly, but—”
“You’re going after my daughter.” His eyes hold mine. A father knows, I guess.
“Yes, to warn her of the impending battle.”
“To warn her.”
I swallow and nod. I’ve never spoken to a woman’s father like this—even vaguely discussing my intentions. “I made a promise to keep her safe at the beginning of this Crisis and deliver her to you and the Director. Turns out she doesn’t need me to fight her battles. She’s strong as hell, but that doesn’t alter my personal mission. Circumstances may have changed but that basic promise hasn’t wavered over time.”
“You’re a good man, Mr. Faraday, in a day and age where good men are definitely not the norm.” The declaration means more to me than it should. “Tell my daughters hello when you see them. Tell them that I love them and if God is willing, I’ll see them again.”
“Thank you, Sir.” I stand. “And I will. I’ll get to them and I will let them know.”
I leave the room and I hope Erwin can keep Dr. Ramsey keep alive long enough to see his daughters once more.
*
“The Hybrids are coming,” I say to my team—my friends. They’re squeaky clean, with damp hair smelling of shampoo and soap. “And they won’t stop until we’re dead.”
“We kicked their asses today,” Jude says. His eyes are still charged with adrenaline from the fight. “We can take them.”
“No,” I shake my head. “No, we can’t. That’s what I learned from Cole today.”