As fast as my feet would carry me, my pulse crashing in my ears, I made my way out of the building and down the alleyway toward the clamoring crowd. My mind spun with warring thoughts. Will had gotten himself into this mess, and it certainly wasn’t up to me to help him out of it. But I couldn’t risk leaving him to tell them everything he knew, and I couldn’t leave him to the brutality of the Interrogators—no matter how mad I was at him for his betrayal. Hopefully, I had time to sort out just how I was going to free the lying snake before that guy Graves took him apart piece by piece trying to get to me.
I pushed my way through the crowd, heading toward my first order of business—acquiring Sam’s medicine—the reason I had come to this stupid city. I shook off the sense of dread I had at leaving Will in the hands of those monsters for one minute longer than was absolutely necessary, but Sam’s medicine was my biggest priority. Sam had trained me for all kinds of situations, but breaking someone out of an Industry facility hadn’t been one of them. Adapt, improvise, and overcome. Right.
Checking street signs and orienting myself to the city map I’d memorized, I broke out of the crushing formation of people and quickened my pace as I crossed Broadway, cut through Tricentennial Park, and turned down a small side street. The Guardians would be looking for me, and I needed to stay off the grid. I pulled my hat low over my forehead and buttoned up Sam’s plaid shirt, despite the sweat that dripped down my neck. If I stayed in alleyways, side streets, and parks, I’d make it across town unnoticed. I needed to get to the medical offices before they closed.
I passed by an old church, its bells ringing out the ten o’clock hour. A distant pull called for me to go inside. Prayer didn’t seem like such a bad idea at the moment, but there was no time, and God hadn’t been too quick about answering when I’d called on Him in the past. I forged on and crossed the city as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Thanks to Sam’s Network connections and their intelligence on the city, I managed to avoid street cams, government buildings, and Guardian posts.
When I finally reached the office of Doctor Francis Cohen, I was out of breath and soaking wet with sweat. A starched looking young woman with too much makeup, extremely long fingernails, and straight hair pulled severely back into a long pony tail announced my arrival and pointed me toward the doctor’s office. “He can see you now.” She forced an expression that tried for pleasant and failed.
A short, balding man with a paunchy midsection set a coffee cup down and stood up from a chair as I entered. “Miss Carmichael? Please sit down. Can I get you anything?”
“I’d rather stand, Sir. Can we get right to business? I’m kind of in a hurry.” I didn’t mean to be rude, but I had no time for a social call. I wanted to keep moving and I needed to get back to camp and check in with Rudy. I hated to have to ask him to help me with my “Will problem,” but I had no idea what to do next. “Do you have the medicine that Miss McKinley ordered?” I asked.
The doctor cleared his throat and glanced around nervously. “Oh, well…of course. Doctor Stone explained the situation. Do you have payment?”
I’d hated that we had to go through Doctor Stone. He didn’t seem to appreciate my “meddling,” or my “practicing medicine without a license.” He even called me a witch to my face after I’d healed one of his patients right before his eyes. If he’d done us a favor, it was only at Nora’s request. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the heavy bag of coins. He held out his hand his expression stern as he extended a palm. I hesitated and then slapped the bag into his hand, regretting it as soon as I saw the gleam in his eyes when he opened the bag and peered inside.
A smile consumed the doctor’s face as he went to a locked medicine cabinet, typed in a four digit code on a keypad, and a door slid back. He grabbed a metal tube as long as my forearm. “The dosing instructions are inside. There is enough Syntoxin to last for a two month cycle of treatment…” His voice trailed off and I heard a commotion out in the waiting room. I pushed back the blinds, my eyes going wide. A spike of adrenaline surged to my gut. Two Guardians turned toward the office, their legs moving mechanically and their stunners at the ready.
“You reported me?” I asked, glaring at the doctor who looked only slightly shame faced.
“The government offers a substantial incentive for assistance in capturing EVO’s…if I didn’t report you and I got caught…you can’t just come in here and expect…”
I didn’t wait for him to finish. I dashed toward the window. It was a ten-foot drop to a hedge of blooming rhododendron below. Without hesitation, I pushed the window open and started to climb out the narrow opening. Oh hell! The doctor had both my coins and the medicine. But it was too late to turn back. The door to the office swung open and the two robotic guards burst in, their stunners lit up red and pointing my way.
Barely dodging the blast of an electrical laser that would have curled my hair and singed my butt, I flung myself over the ledge and dropped onto the spikey blossoms, grunting as I rolled onto the ground with a jarring thud. Ignoring the sting of scratches on my face and arms, I grabbed my hat and ran while the mechanical voices from the window above commanded me to “Cease and desist.” I darted around the next building and tore a path through the crowded streets, breathing heavy and unable to think clearly. I ran as fast and as far as I could, taking turns and disappearing into and out of the swarms of people. My mind spun with possible scenarios.
I had to get back to the camp and get help from Rudy. But if I involved him, I’d be asking him to stick his neck out for me yet again. He thought he owed his wife’s life to me after I’d healed her cancer. He felt bad I couldn’t do the same for Sam, but he’d done enough for me.
I slowed my footsteps and checked over my shoulder, taking a moment to tune in to danger. Sensing nothing but the frenetic energy of people milling past in the stifling heat, I reoriented myself and let my racing heart slow down. Aside from wanting to protect Rudy, my pride wasn’t about to allow me to admit my utter failure. I couldn’t ask him to help me. Not when I’d screwed up the one important task I’d been given. Now I had lost the coins, had no cure for Sam,
and Will’s life was in my hands. A nearby tower clock struck noon. I was running out of time.