opponents.”
“But you’d have to kill the bulls and you don’t kill animals.”
“I’d sing them to sleep.”
They talked through the night and into the next day. Angie was working on an article for
By the time she had gathered her notes and prepared for the drive back to the airport in Miami, he had given her enough material for a whole series. In between scribbling page after page in her remarkably illegible shorthand, she had managed to clean the galley, change the sheets, catch a fish, clean it, and poach it, accompanied by the contents of what seemed like a bunch of near-empty boxes, and a melange of refrigerator leftovers.
“Why have you stayed away from the lab for so long?” she asked, packing her briefcase.
“Too dangerous. Them viruses never forget. Like elephants.”
“Come on, Griff. I’m serious. People need you. Science needs you.”
“Do you need me?”
“Dammit, Griff, don’t make this difficult. I love the memories of what we had. I don’t want to have to shut them out.”
“Sorry.”
“You can get back to your research. I know you can do it. Why can’t you see how much you have to offer to the world?”
“I don’t know. I guess nearly dying has a way of getting inside a man. Every day while I was in Africa I felt as if I were totally prepared for the inevitable. I guess I wasn’t.”
“You weren’t meant to spend your life this way. If you need help, then dammit, go and get it. Take meds if you have to. But don’t deprive us all of what you have inside you—especially your fearlessness.”
Griff thought about her visit every day after she left. He had promised to call her and let her know what was happening, but he never did. Still, the moment she stepped off his boat and drove away, he had sensed something inside him begin to change.
“I’ll take that backpack, Angie,” Griff said.
The pack, filled with blood-collection gear, was light, but the decreased mobility of the biosuit made it cumbersome to tote. Angie followed him through Emancipation Hall, with the soldiers close behind. Aliens on the move. As they walked, Griff did his best to explain the circumstances leading up to this moment, especially the nine horrific months he spent in solitary confinement for what was clearly a frame-up.
Her proximity to him was distracting, even more so when she shared that not long after she left him on the Keys, she had finally accepted that she wasn’t in love with her fiance and had broken off their engagement.
“So, what’s happened since then?”
“Not that much. I’ve become a paragon of serial monogamy. But I remain eternally optimistic, just like always.”
Griff’s pulse accelerated as they neared Statuary Hall. He became determined to share his feelings with her … as soon as the time was right.
Along the wall to their left, racks of comfortable clothing, probably from local department stores, were being sorted by Capitol police in preparation for distribution.
“Angie, it’s not going to be a pretty sight in there. People are very anxious. Some of them are already getting ill. Earlier a group of them charged at me and tore one of my protectors’ suits. Just stay focused and move ahead steadily. If people try and get near you, we’ll stop them.”
If she heard him, she did not respond. The moment they came through the archway bordered by the statues of Jefferson and Washington, she fell off the pace and stopped just inside the expansive room.
“Angie, don’t get distracted now!” Griff whispered urgently. “Keep moving. Dammit, keep moving!”
But Angie remained where she was, surveying the frightening, pathetic scene. She took in the people sprawled out upon the floor, and those slumped over with their backs leaning up against the wall. Then she knelt down beside one particularly distressed woman. The woman, in her forties and probably quite pretty, was wearing a black evening dress that had been torn in places against the oppressive body heat in the hall. Her hair was disheveled, and makeup was smeared across her face. The large amethyst brooch that had held her neckline together had come open. Her back was pressed to the wall, and she was sobbing uncontrollably.
Seemingly without thought for herself, Angie knelt down, wiped the woman’s makeup and perspiration away with a piece of cloth, smoothed her hair, and then, to Griff’s horror, dexterously refastened the brooch.
“We’re here to do what we can to help,” Angie said softly.
The woman regained an ort of composure.
“I’m frightened,” she sobbed.
“I know. I know. You’re going to be okay. What’s your name?”
“Emily. Emily Wells. My husband’s a congressman from Utah. First term. He was ill tonight and gave me his ticket.”
“Well, why not try and do what you can to help some of the others, Emily. It will make the time pass more quickly. I’m Angela Fletcher, from
“Th … thanks.”
Angie helped Emily Wells to her feet and guided her over to where several others were dispensing rations.
Griff saw that some of those approaching them from the left were among the group who had come at him earlier. Quickly he led Angie away, but not before she could reassuringly pat several people on the shoulder and help one older, disoriented man find a bottle of water. The soldier whose biosuit had been torn moved in and helped control the angry, frustrated crowd.
“You’re doing fine, ma’am,” he said to Angie, in response to her unasked question about him.
“Remember what I said,” Griff implored her as they retreated from the hall. “Don’t get distracted.”
“There are so many of them.”
“That’s only one of three rooms. We’re going to do everything we can to help them, Ange, but you won’t be able to help anybody if they tear your suit like they did to that poor soldier back there. Now, let’s go see Allaire.”
“What did you tell him that got him to bring me in?”
They were led into the waiting area by the Hard Room.
“I told him that you were here as a neutral party to document my movements. Our deal is that even if I don’t come up with anything, he’ll pardon me provided you report that I tried my best.”
“I’m not exactly a neutral party, Dr. Rhodes. Does he know about us? Our past, I mean.”
“No. I just told him that our paths had crossed before and that you have the knowledge and awareness I need, in addition to a public approval rating that is probably higher than his.”
“So he doesn’t know a thing?”
Griff glanced over at the soldiers and felt confident they were too far away to overhear them.
“Nope. Believe me, he’s got more important things to worry about.”
At that moment the Hard Room wall glided open and President Allaire stepped out. He looked worn.
“Miss Fletcher, my pleasure,” he said, extending his hand and then introducing her to Gary Salitas. “I’ve very much enjoyed your work over the years—especially as an M.D. and something of a science nerd.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Are you still seeing that insurance lobbyist? Collins, right? Bill Collins?”
Angie paled at the notion that the president would know such personal details of her life.
“We stopped—um—dating several months ago. How did you—?”
“Your friend Dr. Rhodes, there, became a person of interest to our government when he started working on a top-secret virology project. Then, nine months ago, when he was videotaped stealing canisters of the virus that was eventually to get us into this mess, he became a person of what we call
