He shrugged slightly. “Well, yes and no.”
“It can’t be both, pal. You can’t be a little pregnant, so what is it?”
“It’s complicated.”
She did her best to give him a menacing smile. “Enlighten me.”
He had to bite his lower lip to keep from smiling. “It’s a long story, but the short version is, I was under cover and infiltrated the gang. When the virus was unleashed and civilization went to shit, I was trapped. As I told your guy Henry out there, there is safety in numbers, so I stayed with them.”
She leaned back in her chair and studied him. “You’re sticking to the story that you’re a cop?”
He nodded.
“And when did you go through the Academy?”
“I went through originally back in ’09. I was fresh out of college and thought I could make a difference.”
“Who was the—”
Squirrel raised his voice to cut her off. “It doesn’t matter, deputy.” He paused and glared at her. “What does matter is that I found your two knuckleheads out there in a matter of minutes. Me. By myself.” He gave her a moment for the statement to soak in. “Now imagine that whole group searching this area. Nearly fifty men strong. How long do you think it will take them to track you down?”
She visibly paled, but did her best to retain her composure. She sat back and studied the man. “Your point?”
“My point?” He gave her a surprised look. “These guys are ruthless. They’re blindly allegiant to Simon and whatever he says, they will do. If he tells them to strap a bomb to their chest and charge the gates, they will do exactly that.” He sat back and shook his head. “I have no idea how many you are here, but unless you have a regiment of Marines hiding in the back, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you are offering your help?”
He slumped in his chair and shook his head at her in disbelief. “I came here, surrendered my weapon, allowed you to handcuff me and drag me in here for this sorry excuse for interrogation, and you think I have an ulterior motive?” He nodded vigorously. “Sure. Why not. What might that be? Allow myself to be captured…for what?” He leaned forward and nearly screamed at her, “Don’t you get it? I’m here to try to save you people!”
“From your people.” Her voice was soft but accusing.
“Fine. Yes. From my people. Even though they aren’t really my people, from your point of view, they absolutely are my people.” He leaned back in the chair and lowered his voice, his eyes suddenly softer. “I don’t blame you for being cautious. But I’m trying to tell you, they are coming, and they will find you. Unless we take steps to hide this place, make it blend in…something. They will find you. They will destroy you, and they will take anything and everything of value.” His face suddenly turned sad, and his voice was barely a whisper as he concluded, “Anything they don’t think is of value, they will kill or destroy.”
Candy nodded slightly and her voice cracked when she spoke. “And I’m supposed to believe that even though you are part of this group, you are the good guy and you want to help?”
He hung his head and sighed. “Yeah.”
She stood and he didn’t look up. He heard the door open and she muttered something to whoever was outside. When she came back in, she placed the notepad back on the table and he felt hands behind him unlock the cuffs. He pulled his hands to his front and rubbed at his wrists without looking up.
She slid the notepad in front of him with a pen. “I want the names of the people you were with.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know most of them. They were underlings. Worker bees. Simon is the one you have to be careful of. He’s the lunatic running the asylum.”
“Then tell me everything you know about him.”
He opened his mouth to speak when she pushed the notepad in front of him again. “People tend to write slower than they think. It gives them time to include things that they might not think to the first time.”
He glanced at her, then nodded. “Got it.”
He pulled the notepad closer and picked up the pen. “Do you just want to know about the man himself or the crimes that I personally witnessed?”
“Start at the beginning. From when you were approached to go undercover.” She stood and reached for the knob. “I’ll bring you some coffee if you like.”
He smiled to himself. “Got any doughnuts to go with it?”
She nodded. “I think we can find something.”
He watched her walk away and for a moment he wasn’t sure if she were testing him or seriously wanted the information she asked for. Regardless, he would give her exactly what she wanted.
Vivian went from test subject to test subject, charting their vitals and noting any changes in their condition. She paid particular attention to the second subject. His temperature had come down considerably and was close to normal. The red in his sclera was turning to brown, and she couldn’t be sure if it was his natural eye color or if the blood that had been pumped there was decomposing. What would cause the hemoglobin to break down?
She stood back and tried to note any other physical changes that were noteworthy. She stretched her back and laid the chart down long enough to try to stretch her neck. She had spent so long studying the subjects she wasn’t sure if it was day or night.
“Coffee?”
She turned and saw Charles holding two cups of the steaming liquid. She gave a quick sigh of relief and peeled her gloves off. Pulling her mask down, she inhaled the dark nectar and smiled. “Thank you. This is exactly what I need.”
He handed her an apple. “I’d hide it if I were you. I think it’s the
