"An agenda?" Roark snapped. "What kind of agenda kills off half the population of the world?"
"Maybe they did have an agenda," Frankie said, "but it got out of hand. They couldn't possibly have meant to kill so many people."
"If that's true, then why wasn't this stuff given out before so many people died?" Roark asked. "They've had this shit for twelve years, Frankie. You didn't have to get sick."
"They didn't single me out, Roark," Frankie insisted. "I was just one of the unlucky ones."
"Didn't they?" Roark snapped. "Someone stuck you with something that made you sick, and the authorities never caught whoever did it." He punched the air with the clipboard. "Someone did this on purpose, Frankie. Someone made you sick on purpose. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I'm not sure I do," Frankie replied, "because it sounds like you're saying the government purposely infected people then withheld the cure."
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
Well, shit.
Chapter Eleven
"Did you come across any paperwork, Sawyer?" Roark asked. "Any files? Anything that had to do with the lab?"
Sawyer pointed back the way they came. "There's a bunch of offices down the hallway. You might find something in there." He cocked his head, frowning. "Why? What are you hoping to find?"
Roark's jaw clenched with the man's anger. "Anything that will tell us what these assholes were up to."
Sawyer's eyebrows lifted. "You actually think they'd just leave that shit lying around?"
"I think that they believed they were untouchable up here in their little government bunker. They never expected mechs from outer space to drop in on their little secret project. That definitely wasn't part of their plan."
"I think I'm more worried about what their plan was," Frankie said, "than the mechs."
Sawyer understood where Frankie was coming from, but he still felt the mechs were a bigger threat. Those who had survived the purge had been inoculated. There was no way to inoculate someone against a mech.
"Sawyer, I'm going to go check out those offices. Why don't you take everyone back down to the bunker and get them something to eat? I know we could all do with a bit of rest before we decide what we're going to do next."
Sawyer glanced toward Stefan, who hadn't moved more than a step from his side. He knew what he'd like to be doing next, or rather, who. He wrapped an arm around Stefan and pulled him close. "Hungry?"
Stefan grinned. "Starving, actually."
"I'm sure there's something in the cafeteria that you haven't had in a while."
"Cafeteria?"
Sawyer shrugged. "There is an actual cafeteria, but I was referring to the little area I have set up down in the bunker." He glanced up at the others. "There's a lot of empty rooms down there. You can pretty much choose whichever one you want to rest for the night, but I'd suggest one close to the main room in case we need to make a quick exit."
"Do you think we might need to?" Dahl asked.
"Always be prepare for the unexpected." Sawyer lifted his mechanical arm as he glanced down at it. "I learned that lesson the hard way."
"Yeah, I guess you did."
Sawyer didn't have it in him at the moment to smile at Dahl, so he just nodded, then looked at the two men standing behind him. "Sam, Butler, you two haven't had a lot to say. Something on your minds?"
"Twinkies," both men said at the same time.
"Okay." That brought a smile to Sawyer's lips. "Twinkies it is."
Sawyer reached down and grabbed Stefan's hand then led everyone back the way they'd come. It was weird being able to show his affection for Stefan in front of everyone. Weird, but good. It had been a long time since he'd been able to hold Stefan's hand without worrying someone would catch them.
When they reached the bunker, Sawyer pointed to one of the tables. "Go ahead and sit down. I'll get the Twinkies."
