“No. Just said it was a blond guy who looked like a movie star from the fifties.”
Shit. Zach Barter.
After dropping by the lab to discover the experiments were still running, Nora was frisked by a Secret Service agent and then escorted through another hallway to find Lynne. A man stood outside a plastic bubble, his gaze on Lynne, lying inside the bubble and all alone. The last round of tests had been conducted, and the CDC health workers had gone to decontaminate and find some answers.
The extra security made sense, but Secret Service?
Lynne sat up in her hospital bed, pale and wan, her chest glowing a bright blue. “Nora, meet Bret Atherton.”
Nora stood up straighter. Aha. The man now second in line to the presidency. “Mr. Speaker.”
Bret Atherton half turned, deep blue eyes twinkling. “Bret.”
“Okay.” Tight and trim, he stood to about six-two with thick blond hair and worried eyes. Even with tension cutting lines into the sides of his mouth, charisma flowed from him. She had the oddest urge to study pheromones. “What’s the news?” she asked.
“None of it good,” he said, turning back to face Lynne. “The country is in unrest, and as soon as the truth gets out, the stock market will plummet. We have foreign enemies gearing up to make attacks because they think we’re weak, and they don’t even know the details about Scorpius yet, although their spies have been pretty effective.” He sighed. “Although at the moment, I’m more worried about Sweetcakes.”
Nora blinked. Once and then again. “Sweetcakes?”
He grinned. “She hates that.”
Yes, Lynne would hate being called that. Nora eyed her friend. “If you two need a moment, I can come back.”
“No,” Bret said. “I have to get back to work and figure out if we should make an announcement to the American public yet or not. The White House is against it at this point.” His gaze darkened as he studied Lynne. “If you need anything, you call me. I mean it.”
Lynne nodded. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Bret turned and nodded at Nora. “It was nice to meet you, Dr. Medina.”
“You too,” Nora said. “For the record, I think it’s time to announce.”
He nodded. “Me too.”
She waited until he and his guards had cleared the door and had time to walk down the hallway. “What the fuck is with the blue?” she asked through a speaker set into the wall, at a loss for any other words.
Lynne nodded and glanced down. “I know, right?” Her voice emerged weak, and the monitor to her left recorded a slowed heart rate. “The altered bacteria and experimental antibiotic did something freaky weird to me.”
Nora tried to smile. “I don’t think ‘freaky weird’ sounds very scientific.”
Lynne sighed and leaned back against the pillows. Sweat dotted her brow from the high fever. “It’s all we’ve got. So far, the tests show a ramped-up bacteria that’s attacking my cells. If it keeps going like this, I’ll be in a coma within a day or so.”
Tears pricked the back of Nora’s eyes, but she kept her voice calm. “You’ll be fine. We’ll figure this out.” Guilt threatened to swamp her. “I’m so sorry, Lynne.”
Lynne glanced her way and rolled her eyes. “Knock that shit off,” she said. “Seriously. Your shy assistant, Zach? Who would’ve thought it?”
Nora half chuckled. “Not me.” The idea was too crazy to believe. “Anyway, I’m sorry.”
Lynne glanced down at her chest, glowing a bright blue under the hospital gown. “I should’ve destroyed the green strain the second I saw its power. I thought maybe we could use it to contain the illness somehow.”
“I was there,” Nora said softly.
Lynne shut her eyes. “I know. Any news on poor Zach?”
Nora bit her lip, her chest aching. “Four attacks that we know of right now.” Two rapes and the other two assaults, both with an exchange of bodily fluids. The lunatic was trying to infect people. The idea that the man she’d known and trusted for months was capable of rape nauseated her. Deke, the Metro Police, and the FBI were dropping a net on D.C. in the hopes of catching him. If he got out, somehow made it to another city, things could get bad. Really bad.
Lynne opened her bloodshot eyes. “Let’s hope they find him soon.” She rubbed her lips with a pale hand.
Nora nodded. “They will. So Bret came to see you.”
