She shook her head. “Why did you have to come back?”
“I’m not here for you, Donna. I just want to keep Patricia safe.” He pulled her tighter to his side and finally looked up at his ex-wife. “I won’t be trying to convince you to take me back. I promise.”
She eyed the pair warily and slowly shook her head. “I’ll hold you to that.” She turned and marched away, leaving Trevor and Patricia standing alone.
“You okay?” Hatcher asked.
Trevor slowly nodded. “When I saw her again, it brought back everything I heard her say when we first got to your warehouse.” He shook his head, his eyes reddening again. “I never forced her to be with me, Mr. Hatcher.”
“Just Hatcher.” He patted the man’s shoulder. “I wish I had words for…”
Trevor shook his head. “We’ll be okay, won’t we Peanut?” He gave the child a lopsided smile and she smiled back. He suddenly brightened. “It seems like most of the folks came out to see her.”
Hatcher nodded. “Anybody say anything less than welcoming?”
“Not really. Most questions were about how I found her or if she’s ever been aggressive.” He shrugged. “What you’d expect, I reckon.”
Hatcher nodded. “For now, keep her close.” He glanced at the few who watched the pair intently. “Let people get used to her.” He shook his head as he stared at the red-eyed girl. “I can’t believe I let them talk me into this.”
Trevor snorted. “You and me both.” He bent low and eyed Patricia. “Do you want to take a nap now? Have you had enough excitement?”
She blinked at him blankly.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He stood and picked her up. “She usually sleeps during the day. It’s just easier.”
“I understand.” Hatcher walked him to the rear gate and pulled it open for him. “If you need anything, just let us know.”
“That skinny fellow with the glasses said they would run us a water hose to the camper.” He shifted Patricia in his arms and nodded toward Stanton. “If we’re gonna stay parked out there for a while, I think maybe we should look into a way to deal with the black water.”
“I’ll mention it to Will, but if I know him, he’s already got something in the works.”
Trevor held his hand out and Hatcher shook it. “Thanks again, Mr. Hatcher. We appreciate it.”
Hatcher watched as the man carried the little girl into the camper then pulled the door shut. He tried not to question his sanity as he turned back to the courtyard.
“How long before you’ll know anything?” Kevin asked as he pulled his petri dishes from the incubator.
Broussard shrugged. “It could be days. It could be weeks.” He looked up and met his gaze. “It could be never.”
Kevin sighed and switched out the samples. “Cross your fingers.”
Broussard gave him a confused look. “Why?”
Kevin paused and shot him a grin. “It’s a ‘good luck’ thing. You know, cross your fingers and hope?”
Broussard shook his head. “There is no luck involved here. Either the science is sound or it is not.”
Kevin thought maybe a change of subject matter. “How is Dr. Chaplain doing?”
“She is resting.” Broussard stacked the files and placed them into the cabinet. “She sat with me in the monitoring room until the drone had to return to refuel.” He sighed and sat down heavily. “I wish I could be close to the application sight.”
“Wouldn’t that be risky?” Kevin asked.
“Of course. But I would really like to observe while the subjects undergo…”
“The cure?”
Broussard shook his head. “I am hesitant to call it that. Not yet.”
“But you’d still prefer to observe. That’s understandable. This is your baby.” Kevin paused and turned to him. “Imagine that. If this works, you’ll be known as the man who saved the human race.”
Broussard snorted and shook his head. “I did not work alone. And a lot of my research was based on the work of those who came before me.”
“Still, that’s not a title I’d turn down if I were you.” He closed the door to the incubator and sat across from him. “Imagine decades from now, kids will be going to Andre Broussard High School. There will be statues of you all over the place.” He shot him a crooked grin. “Unless you’d rather not take the credit. If that’s the case, I’ll gladly volunteer.”
Broussard laughed and slowly came to his feet. “Be my guest. I’m sure that the McAlester School of Science would sound…” he trailed off, his mind connecting dots.
“What’s wrong?”
“Sound.” Broussard snapped his fingers. “Where is the generator that was used with Dr. Carpenter?”
Kevin shook his head. “I have no idea. Probably still aboard the Kauffman somewhere on the bottom of the ocean.”
“I must speak with the yeoman.” He pushed away from the table and pulled the door open.
“Wait, what’s the deal?”
Broussard paused and eyed the man. “They keep to the buildings during the day; we are hoping that the cure gets to them via air currents. But we can attract them into clusters with the sound generator. We could treat large numbers of infected with only a fraction of the solution.”
Kevin nodded as he realized the ramifications. “We could potentially treat every city in a matter of days.”
“Depending on the resources available to the government, yes.” He pushed out the door and Kevin watched him disappear into the hallway.
“Good luck. I’ve got my fingers crossed for ya.”
Simon’s eyes fluttered open and he groaned as he pushed himself over. “Son of a…my head hurts.” He rolled over and sat up, pushing himself closer to the wall and leaning on it.
He held his head in his hands and concentrated on breathing. “Bastard doped me.” He lifted his head and squinted at the sunlight pouring through the window. He lifted his arm and tried to focus on the watch on his wrist. “Shit.”
He rolled to his side and carefully came to his feet. “I gotta find them.” He pulled the pistol from the back of his waistband and ejected the magazine.
