stuff against him. Or else he’ll think I’m just setting it up to give me leverage to bolt. For now, Melvin, nobody else can know about this—at least not until we know more ourselves. It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. Can you sneak me out of here, the way you did Angie?”
“What about our work? Orion? Our experiments?”
Griff rubbed at his eyes.
“What experiments are we going to continue, Melvin?” he asked, his voice cracking. “The ones that aren’t working? The ones that never had a chance to work? I was on this job for years at Columbia, then here before they arrested me. Find a way to keep WRX3883 from killing people—that was my original assignment. And I failed. A lot of scientists fail. That’s just the way it is. We fail and we fail until one day we shift gears and change direction and something works. So now, I’m being asked to do in a week or two what I couldn’t accomplish in years. You tell me what I’m leaving?”
“We could lose a lot of time. It could be the end of the line for the people in the Capitol.”
“I’m telling you, Melvin, it’s the end of the line already. I’ve done everything I can think of. If this J. R. Davis really did survive his WRX infection, then we might have something. We might have that change of direction.”
Forbush sat pensively for a while, then said, “I don’t believe we should take the chance of trying to sneak you out in the trunk.”
“Why not?”
“I think Angie and I were lucky. Now that we actually did it, I would bet eight out of ten times we’d be caught.”
“Maybe they were under orders to let her go so she could be followed.”
“Now that you mention it, that seems possible. I lied to the guards about a critical experiment being in jeopardy unless I got to town for some supplies we didn’t have, so they might have been in a rush. Plus, I do asthma attacks well because I actually have it. The guard was rummaging through the glove compartment for my inhaler when Angie slipped into the trunk.”
“So the trunk isn’t going to work. What else?”
“What about the exhaust system?”
Griff saw the possibilities immediately.
“How many of the ventilation ducts have surface access outside the wire?”
“Only one,” Forbush said. “We have a dedicated single-pass air exhaust discharge for the Kitchen ventilation system that pumps HEPA-filtered air to the surface. It was intentionally installed far from occupied buildings and the other air intake vents. It’s interlocked with the other subsurface supply and exhaust fans to prevent positive pressurization in the Kitchen labs.”
“How wide is that vent shaft?”
“Big enough to fit you inside, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“But not a heck of a lot bigger in diameter than that. Plus, from what I recall, after it leaves the Kitchen, the duct makes a pretty intense vertical rise. There are not many sharp bends in ductwork, or long horizontal runs, because those put a lot of strain on the exhaust fans. On the plus side, the discharge is well outside the perimeter of the base.”
“So nobody would see me exit?”
“Not even if they were using searchlights.”
“How do I get in?”
“First, you have to be suited, so that’s going to make the work harder.”
“What tools do I need?”
“A screwdriver and ratchet should do it. You’ll have to remove the pre-filters first, then the HEPA filter from its housing, clear the bags from the safety and cinching straps and such, the blower too. Piece of cake.”
“That’s some cake. Is the exhaust system alarmed?”
“It is, but I can shut that down.”
“How long will it take me from the Kitchen to the surface?”
Forbush pondered the question.
“Twenty minutes, I would guess. You’re going to have to shimmy your way to the top. That will be the hard part. Keep your hands and feet pressed to the sides of the duct and inch your way up.”
“Sounds tough.”
“If you slip, you’ll fall like you were on one of those giant water chutes. You could twist an ankle or break a bone when you hit bottom, in which case you’d never get back up to the safety grate.”
“You don’t sound very optimistic.”
“That depends on how well you kept yourself in shape in that cell. Give yourself thirty minutes instead of the twenty I said. There’s a ladder bolted into the duct at the far end. That should help.”
Griff checked his watch.
“I have a couple of things I want to finish in the lab. I’ll be ready to go at two this afternoon—no, make it three thirty. It’ll be almost dark then. If it takes me longer than we think, I don’t want you waiting around in the dark in the middle of noplace. Can I just climb out at the other end?”
“The safety grate is heavy. You won’t be able to push it off without a winch pulling from the other side.”
“Do we have one of those?”
“In the machine shop, I think. I should be able to attach it to the trailer hitch on my Taurus.”
“Then it’s settled,” Griff said. “Meet me at four o’clock by the grate.”
The intercom system buzzed its shrill alarm. It was loud enough to be heard even inside spacesuits and it happened whenever somebody surface-side wanted to speak to someone below. All of the phones subsurface had an instant push-button connection to the topside communication post.
“Rhodes here,” Griff said into the phone’s receiver.
“Rhodes, it’s Sergeant Stafford. How’s it going down there?”
“Let’s just say that if this were easy, everybody would be doing it.”
“Not me,” the soldier replied. “I’ve already seen what that virus can do. Listen, an unexpected surprise visitor just flew in. He wants to meet with you right away.”
“Who is it?” Griff asked, rolling his eyes at Forbush. “I’m really busy.”
“It’s the guy who, unless you can deliver, is now just a few heartbeats away from the presidency—Homeland Security Secretary Paul Rappaport—our designated survivor.”
CHAPTER 49
The tension evident in Bethany Townsend’s expression made Ellis uneasy. There was a look of concern about the president’s physician that the speaker simply did not understand or trust. Did Townsend know about her sneaking into the Senate Chamber? Could she be aware of her role in the murder of Archibald Jakes? If so, why was Townsend the one confronting her, and not Allaire. Something did not add up, and Ellis was never in the mood for surprises.
Even more disturbing was that Townsend had come accompanied by Henry Tilden. At the physician’s request, they had convened at the rostrum where their conversation would not easily be overheard. Given that Ellis had clearly declared her continuing enmity for Allaire and her belief that he was lying to everybody and using the situation for his personal and political gain, the visit from his personal doctor was unsettling. As soon as possible, Ellis vowed, she would have to take control of the situation. Tilden was a dimwit, but Townsend was sharp, and given their limited contact over the years, something of an unknown commodity.
“We have a serious situation,” Townsend began.
“That seems rather obvious, Doctor,” Ellis said. “So I trust you are not here to rehash old business.”
“I do have new concerns, Madam Speaker,” Townsend replied. “And they revolve around President
