After the food, things start quietening down, I am absolutely shattered, to say the least—as, by the looks of it, most of us are. That’s all apart from Emily who is still so excited to see Josh. She sits with him and keeps talking to him even as his eyes start to close.
I sit down against the wall next to where Catherine was sitting, in the hope, she will come and sit next to me; she sees me looking at her and she does come over to my side.
“You look so tired, Andy,” she whispers.
“I’m drained, I don’t think I’ll be awake for much longer.”
“There is no need for you to be; we are all safe here, get some sleep.”
I smile at her. “Okay.”
She smiles back and then leans in and kisses my lips for a second or two. My eyes close and my head goes back, resting against the wall. Catherine takes my hand in hers and her head rests on my shoulder. The talking fades around me and I drift off to sleep.
Epilogue
“Captain Richards.”
“Captain Richards.” I hear my name again.
For a second, I’m not sure where I am. My eyes open and the bright light makes me squint, my vision blurred. I look around our cage to see who is calling me, but everyone is asleep.
“Captain Richards, Sir.”
The female voice is coming from outside the cage, and my head turns to see one of the medical staff standing the other side of the wire.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“04:30, Sir, I have Colonel Reed on the phone for you in the office, Sir.”
“Aren’t I in quarantine?”
“Your bloodwork was prioritised under the Colonel’s orders, Sir; you are clear of the virus. Can you come with me please, Sir?”
The guard is already unlocking the cage door.
Catherine starts to move beside me, “What’s going on?” She asks.
“I have a phone call apparently, from Colonel Reed.”
“Okay,” she says, sleepily.
“I’ll be back,” I tell her.
“Okay.”
The guard opens the door as I get up and all I can think is:
Here we go again!
To Be Continued
CAPITAL FALLING 2 - DENIAL
Chapter 1
In a rage, Molly slams her hand down on the door handle and pushes the office door open with a force she barely knew she possessed. She immediately releases the handle, letting the heavy door fly inwards, and it does fly, through 180° until it inevitably crashes into the closest object behind it.
Doctor Rees’s bicycle absorbs the majority of the door’s kinetic energy; some is transferred to the wall against which the bike was balanced, but the bike absorbs the most. The bike turns that energy into sound in the form of a loud crash, and into motion, by twisting and falling from its perch on the wall and back against the door, pushing it back towards Molly.
The bike ends up in a heap on the floor with its front wheel jutting out from behind the door and sticking up into the air, its spokes clicking as it revolves—as if they would continue for eternity.
The door is now half-closed again with the bloody bike stuck behind it, but that doesn’t deter Molly. She again forces the door open further by shoulder-barging both the door and the bike as far as she can, back into the wall.
“This whole operation is totally unacceptable,” Molly barks, her rage undiminished following her fight with the door and the bike. “We were assured these outside contractors would be fully trained professionals, but they are a bunch of clowns, amateurs, I am sure some of them are fresh out of school!”
Stephen Rees springs back in his leather chair as his head whips up from the pile of documents on his desk, a pile he is struggling to get through. His eyes were just starting to glaze over but the sudden crash and resulting commotion from Molly bursting through the door has shocked him out of his near slumber.
“How can you agree with this!” Molly barks again, red-faced.
“By all means come in, Lieutenant, but you will stand to attention when you address me.” Major Doctor Stephen Rees demands from behind his desk, now wide awake.
“Yes Sir,” Molly says, immediately standing rigidly to attention in reflex as some of the wind is taken out of her sails.
“Please continue,” the Major tells Molly, who is red in the face and looks like steam might be about to burst from her ears.
“Sir, we cannot let this continue. These people clearly don’t know what they are doing or what they are dealing with. They are not taking nearly enough care disassembling the equipment and moving it, and we are about to start preparing the cold storage assemblies ready for transport. I don’t need to tell you what the result could be if even one of those is damaged and containment is lost! This should be a military operation, Sir,” Molly finishes.
“I understand your concern, Lieutenant, but we have our orders and I expect you and your team to carry them out, to oversee and ensure the safety of this operation.”
“Sir, I can’t.” The Major cuts her off.
“Molly,” the Major says calmingly, “I totally understand what you are saying and I’ll be honest with you; I completely agree. I had a long video call with the General and his assistant at 0630 and told him the same, but the General didn’t agree and gave me a direct order to continue with the operation and get it complete with the resources allocated. Now we both know it’s wrong and that the budget shouldn’t outweigh the safety but I’m afraid it does, so let’s get this done with what we have. Once complete, at least it will mean those vials will be either destroyed or stored in the new facility
