Sure, he might be overreacting. But his gut had never failed him, and he didn’t figure it was off target right now, either.
A shadow at his door caught his attention, and he half turned. “Mr. Speaker.”
Bret Atherton strode inside while two agents covered the door. “I was just saying good-bye to Lynne. They fly her out in an hour.”
Deke nodded and gestured toward a chair before crossing to a file cabinet and fetching bourbon and two glasses to pour generously. “I spoke to Lynne an hour ago. She’s strong and stubborn.” He’d met the Speaker a few times throughout the last couple of years, and the guy seemed all right. “The hospital in Maryland is better equipped to care for her, and it’s a short jaunt there for you.”
“I know.” Bret took a chair and accepted a drink. “I just like her closer to me so I can control everything.”
Deke laughed. “That sounds so wrong.”
Bret lifted his gaze and smirked. “Yet you know exactly what I mean.”
“Aye.” Deke grinned because the guy was right. Deke had no intention of allowing Nora out of town until he captured Zach Barter. Guards were now posted throughout the laboratory section of the temporary CDC building. “How’s the president’s daughter? I haven’t had an update since I got back into town.”
“Same.” Bret took a deep drink of the potent liquid. “As the doctors have described it to me, the bacteria attacked her brain and stripped away her humanity.”
“We’ll find a cure,” Deke said.
“Maybe. Lynne’s brain scans are good, though.” Bret sighed. “Although the scientists couldn’t see anything abnormal in Zach Barter’s scans.”
“Maybe the scans aren’t a good way to determine anything,” Deke said.
“They’re not.” Bret shook his head. “Apparently not all brains show a change. Or rather, we don’t have pre-Scorpius scans to study in order to see if there’s a change. Brains differ. Even the brains of psychopaths vary. Some have abnormalities. Some don’t.”
Deke swirled the amber-colored drink in his glass. “Well, I’m hopeful for Lynne. What’s the latest on the infection?”
“At least two thousand are dead and ten times that have been infected. Maybe more. The infection is being spread by Zach and maybe others who’ve survived the fever.” Bret coughed. “I’ve convinced the White House we need to go public.”
“Good.” Deke studied one of the smartest men on the Hill. “Do you think we can still contain the illness?” he asked.
“No.”
Deke’s stomach rioted. “Me either.” The noises from outside grew louder. “Sounds like they’re about to take Lynne.”
Bret nodded and stood. “I already said good-bye, and I can’t go through it again. Call with any updates.” He set down the glass. “We need to secure a copy of the stronger Scorpius strain, the green one that infected Lynne, and send it to the lab up north. Just in case.”
Deke nodded. “I know.” Boy, would Nora be pissed. For now, he had to make good on a promise. He’d talked to Lynne earlier, and she’d asked him for a favor. One he’d grant without question.
If Nora agreed.
Exhaustion weighed down Nora’s limbs and made it difficult to hold back tears. The last several nights, she’d slept alone, when she’d slept, as Deke tried to find Zach. She’d missed him far more than was healthy.
To think on a normal week it’d be her turn to host bunko, and she’d be worrying about what salad to make. But she steeled her shoulders and spoke softly into the speaker set in the wall, her gaze on her friend in the plastic room. “You’ll be okay, Lynnie. The hospital in Maryland is prepared for you, and I’ll be along as soon as I can.”
Even pale and gasping for breath, Lynne Harmony rolled bloodshot eyes. She lay in the hospital bed, not moving, the pallor of her skin lighter than the white blanket covering her rapidly diminishing form. She now needed oxygen to breathe, and the strong antibiotics being pumped into her veins were doing more damage than good. “They’re gonna move me in a minute, and I need a favor from you first.”
“Anything.” Nora slid closer to the plastic. “You’re my best friend.”And you’re dying.Bret had fought tears when he’d left earlier. “I’ll do anything for you.”
Lynne’s lips trembled in a parody of a smile. “Call it a deathbed wish, if you like.”
“You’re not going to die,” Nora snapped out. “Fight this, damn it.”
Lynne’s eyelids fluttered. “I will. Promise. For now, you said anything.”
Nora nodded. “Yes.”
With an obvious struggle, Lynne forced her eyelids open, and her green eyes focused. “I always thought we’d be at each other’s weddings. You know, ugly bridesmaid dresses and all.”
