His voice broke as he failed to get out the word “gone.”
“Until we have something definitive, I’m not going to give up,” Alex answered as he returned his hands to his keyboard.
“I just think maybe you need to prepare.”
“I’m not preparing. I’m not going to accept that she’s–”
Sebastian’s jangling phone interrupted his words. He stared down at it, the name on the display sending his heart monitor’s beeping higher.
With trembling hands, Sebastian swiped to accept the call, toggling it onto speakerphone. “Ava?”
Time seemed to stand still as Alex waited to hear her voice.
“Yeah, and Doc,” she answered. “I assume you caught some of what happened on the pearl cam.”
“We saw most of what happened, then nothing. And then the plane exploded.”
“Avs?” Alex called, his voice hoarse.
“Alex,” she answered, the relief in her voice clear. “Babe, how are you feeling?”
“Uh, fine, yeah, my flu is really nothing compared to your plane crash, so…how are you feeling?”
“A little banged up,” she answered. “But both of us are okay. The pilot, copilot and flight attendant weren’t so lucky.”
“Ava,” Sebastian answered, “stay near that plane. I’m going to send someone to get you.”
“No,” she answered. “We need to get to that facility and find the cure.”
“Ava, you were just in a plane crash,” Alex said, shaking his head. “Stay where you are.”
“Alex, you have a deadly flu. I am not going to sit by an inferno in the middle of the jungle and do nothing while all of those people’s lives are on the line, including yours.”
“Babe, I can beat this. Some of the others may not be so lucky, but I can survive. I know I can, okay? I feel okay right now.”
“Not to be a pain,” Kyle interjected, “but the adrenaline likely coursing through your system is probably masking how bad you really feel.”
“Thank you, Doc, for that assessment. I don’t care. I can survive. I need Ava back home,” he said, his heart still beating far too fast for his taste.
“Alex is right,” Sebastian said.
“Too bad. We’re going to the facility. We don’t have the passes anymore, but we’re going to do our best to get in. Alex, can you send coordinates to my phone so I can follow the GPS?”
He sat stunned for a moment, uncertain of what to do. Ifhe sent them, she’d definitely go to the pharmaceutical lab, but if he didn’t…well, she’d still go. With his help, she’d just get there faster. Plus, they’d have an easier time to evacuate them there.
“Yes. I can do that. And I can still provide tech support for you to gain entry to both the facility and any labs you need.”
“Awesome, babe, thanks.”
Sebastian shook his head. “No, he can’t. Ava, this is stupid. Do you even have the badges?”
“Negative,” she answered. “We didn’t have time to get those before we left the plane. You’re lucky I have my phone.”
“Then you can’t get inside–”
“Look, Shadow, the way we look, we couldn’t waltz through the front door even with the badge, okay? We’ll have to improvise. We are so close to getting this. Just make sure we can get out, okay? We’re going to need an evac.”
“Ava, you’re not hurt at all, right?” Alex asked, holding his breath as he waited for an answer. He’d assumed given her call that both her and Doc were well enough to continue to the facility, but maybe that wasn’t the case. What if she was hurt and trying to complete this as her last act.
