“And best case scenario, I starve to death.” He shook his head. “Just give me a gun and we can both pray that I won’t need it.”
Vicky swallowed hard then gave him a slight nod. She disappeared into her office and returned a moment later with a .380; he squinted at the small pistol. “Danny gave this to me when he first got back. He wanted me to keep it at all times.” She shrugged slightly as she handed it to him. “I kept it in my desk drawer. Hoped I’d never need it.”
He shrugged. “I’ll keep that hope alive for ya.” Coop slipped the gun under his blanket and gave her a solemn smile. “You better get ready. If it gets bad, they’re gonna need you.”
She gave him a quick kiss then disappeared into the triage room. Coop watched her go then gripped the pistol firmly. He had an almost straight line shot to the glass door of the infirmary. “Bring it you bastards.”
“You check the left, I’ll check the right.” Broussard waved his new best friend to the other side of the ship.
“Port.”
“Excuse me?”
“There’s the bow,” he pointed ahead. “Left is port on a boat.” The guard sighed then pointed to the opposite side. “That’s starboard.”
Broussard gave him a wide grin. “That’s good to know.” He turned and waded through the shadows and operating machinery. “If you see him, call to me.”
He’d only gotten a few steps into the shadows when a hand pulled him back. “What are you doing down here?”
He nearly yipped when he was tugged back but Broussard kept his wits about him. “Why are you down here?” His voice a hoarse whisper.
“I saw the cop and his team of bruisers marching toward your stateroom and figured they were on a mission. Tell me I’m wrong?” Kevin had smeared black grease across his face in an attempt to blend with the darkness.
Broussard shook his head. “You aren’t wrong. They’re convinced that they have evidence that you were involved in that sailor’s death.”
Kevin sighed heavily and shook his head. “Probably figured out that the little squirrelly fucker had been in my room before.”
Broussard’s eyes widened and he gave him a curious look. “He had?”
Kevin shrugged. “Apparently we had sex.” He gave the older researcher a deadpan stare. “Not that I remember it.”
“Wait…what?” Broussard stepped back and had to force himself to whisper. “You had sex with him?”
“That’s what he said.” Kevin glanced over Broussard’s shoulder. “But like I told you, I don’t remember it.”
“How do you have…were you drunk?”
“Nope.” He looked squarely in the other man’s eyes. “Blacked out.”
“Blacked out? Really?” Broussard rubbed at the stubble of his chin. “Is there any chance that you could have hurt him and not remember?”
Kevin shrugged again. “I suppose. It wouldn’t be the first time I blacked out.”
Broussard stepped back and shook his head. “This isn’t good.” He glanced toward the end of the compartment then back to Kevin. “You need to stay hidden.”
“No shit?” Kevin stepped back into the shadows. “Your guard…”
Broussard glanced down the compartment and saw the man coming toward him. “I checked all down this side. Anything on your side?”
The guard shook his head. “Nope.”
“Is there another space we could check?”
The guard pointed over Broussard’s shoulder. “Next one over. Not as many hiding places, but it’s possible.”
“Onward then.” He fell into step behind the guard and fought the urge to look back to Dr. McAlester. “Let’s pray we find him before they do.”
Carol tried not to watch her newfound friend through the corner of her eye, but she found it difficult to concentrate on other things as Kelly milled about the small lab. She watched her create a bed on the opposite sofa in the breakroom, but all the while, she was making a mental note of anything and everything that could possibly be used as a weapon. Either by Kelly or on her.
“What are you working on?”
Carol nearly jumped as she measured out the growth media. For a moment she chastised herself for not knowing exactly where the other woman was and allowing herself to be startled.
“I’m working on some cultures.” She gave her a weak smile. “I’m testing other methods for transmitting the cure.” She stood tall and stretched her lower back. “It was a lot easier to do thing when Dr. Broussard was here with me.”
“Did he get killed?”
Carol shook her head as she picked up the pipettes and prepared to wash them. “The military came and ‘retrieved’ him.” She sighed as she slipped the glassware into the soapy water. “We both were working on the project aboard a ship and figured out a way to escape while…well, that part doesn’t matter. What does matter is they came and got him and pretty much left me here to fend for myself.”
“That sucks.” Kelly took a bite from a cracker and sat opposite of the workbench. “I bet you wish you were back on that boat right about now, huh?”
Carol shrugged. “I can get better visuals on the effects from here.” She gave her a weak smile. “Besides, I wouldn’t have met you.”
“Right.” Kelly slipped off the stool and leaned on the counter. “Because everybody wants to be friends with a bloodthirsty cannibal, right?”
Carol sighed and set down the beaker she had been scrubbing. “I told you—”
“And then I told you that I enjoyed it.” She popped the rest of the cracker into her mouth and chewed slowly. “I know it won’t make you feel any better, but I don’t have those urges anymore.” She looked up at Carol and for just a moment, her eyes declared that she was lying.
Carol nodded. “I’m glad.” She picked up the beaker again and shoved the bottle brush inside. “I can’t imagine what you and the others went through, but I know it was literally kill or be killed.” She rinsed the beaker then set it on the wire