Page 18 of Resolution
“We’ve been looking for you, Captain Pearson,” the general said smoothly, not ruffled at all. “You were supposed to have been briefed earlier but the timing was flawed.” He shot Briskinn a glance. “Dr. Jericho received an offer no ambitious young doctor would refuse—she was given a chance to join the staff at the research facility in the north and in fact she departed this afternoon on the truck we had going there.”
Even though he’d been expecting and dreading this very answer, Jeff’s heart stuttered. Clenching his jaw, he said, “Melly wouldn’t leave without talking to me first.”
“There was no time, captain.” The general was patient. “It’s an incredible opportunity to be on the cutting edge of the research that might save Randal Four. I’m sure she was so excited?—”
“Save the bullshit.” Jeff kept his weapon trained on the general. “My wife wouldn’t leave without talking it over with me.”
“Maybe you don’t know her as well as you thought you did,” Briskinn said insultingly. “Dr. Sharpton assured us she was thrilled to go.”
“Like I’d believe anything that old fart said.” Jeff eyed both men. “All right, send me to the research facility too. I’m sure the place can use another trained man on their security team. You don’t even have to use one of your trucks. Give me the directions, let me out the gate and I’ll get there on my own.”
“Access to the research facility is strictly limited and on a need to know basis only,” Quantike said. “You haven’t been requested, she was. End of story. Now we can forget this unfortunate incident, Captain Pearson, if you holster the weapon and return to your apartment. Maybe a day or two off from duty to calm down. Surely you can appreciate the necessity of Dr. Jericho’s assignment for the greater good of the remaining uninfected on this planet. She can help resolve this ongoing crisis. We all have to make sacrifices?—”
The tight control Jeff had over himself and his emotions snapped. In all his years of missions he’d never broken, never given way to impulsive action, but the general’s sanctimonious words were the last straw. He launched himself over the desk and pistol whipped the man with his blaster, before slamming it into his holster, putting his hands around Quantike’s neck and choking him mercilessly. He was only dimly aware of Briskinn fleeing the room, yelling for help and when three soldiers rushed into the office, attempting to subdue him and pull him off the general. Jeff shifted into full combat mode, allowing Quantike to fall gasping to the floor and fighting the trio of guards. A tiny corner of his mind whispered he’d become a berserker and this wasn’t going to help him find Melly but he was so terrified for her safety and angry at himself and the Glastine authorities for putting her in harm’s way, that he continued to do battle as more men piled into the room.
Eventually, despite his lethal skills, Jeff was overwhelmed and someone got in a clear shot, stunning him multiple times until he collapsed onto the floor. As he was losing consciousness, Briskinn came over to kick him in the ribs, swearing. “All you had to do was be a team player, Pearson.”
* * *
The cell was small, cold and smelled of mold. Jeff groaned and rubbed his forehead gingerly as he came awake. When he tried to sit up, his ribs protested and he remembered Briskinn’s assault after he was safely neutralized. Not my finest moment, he admitted ruefully, berserker fires cold and dead. I should have said yes, sir, thank you, sir for kidnapping my wife, gotten the hell out of there and made a clean escape.
Moving gingerly he investigated the cell but aside from a bucket in the corner and the wooden slab of a bed, there was nothing. He’d been stripped of his weapons and the barred door required an old-fashioned key. Jeff had nothing to use to pick the lock. There was no window. He supposed the facility had been a small sheriff substation when Glastine was a fairgrounds, not meant to hold a man like him but right now he couldn’t see a way out. Pacing to the hard bed, he sat. There didn’t seem to be any vids in the cell.
Cody?
Yes, boss? Are you okay?
I’ll live. They kidnapped Melly. Did you put a drone tail on the truck which left the camp yesterday?
I did but I also found the location of the research facility in one of the databases I hacked. No problem, we can follow her but first we gotta bust you out of there. Say the word and we’ll attack. You know those force fields can’t stand up to what we have on board. And I’m working on hacking the central controls. Tell me where you are in the damn camp and we’ll get there.
Jeff shook his head. You rupture those force fields and the infected will swarm in here. I can’t condemn hundreds of innocent people to die just to get myself out of a jam I should have been smart enough to avoid. I let my emotions get the better of me. I never should have brought Melly in here and exposed her to the risks.
Doc knew the risks and she volunteered, Cody reminded him. My wife’s working on a plan to break you out of jail.
Tamsyn? Jeff considered what the rancher might have up her sleeve but she wasn’t trained military personnel so he was wary.
Yeah. Stay frosty and wait for developments.
Jeff leaned his head against the wall and took a few deep breaths, testing the limits of his painful ribs. He didn’t think any were broken, which was a relief. He certainly didn’t want any medical care from Dr. Sharpton. The idea made him chuckle. He wondered what Quantike would do to him now. I should have killed him when I had the chance. Whatever’s going on here at Glastine is bad news for the refugees.
There was a noise in the corridor. Jeff stepped to the bars and craned to see but his field of vision from the vantage point of the cell was narrow. A moment later Les McDaniel came into view, holding a blaster and a ring of old-fashioned keys.
“Here to get you out, captain,” he said, moving rapidly to the lock. “We don’t have much time.”
Jeff stepped back to give him room and the door soon swung open with a rusty creaking. Happy to be out of the cell, Jeff hastened across the threshold and accepted the blaster Les handed him from the holster at his hip. Then his rescuer handed him an even more valuable gift—one of the alien bracelets.
“I took out the desk sergeant and the guard,” Les said as he led Jeff down the corridor. “They were both from Quantike’s originals so they were braceleted.” He raised his arm and Jeff caught a glimpse of a bracelet on his wrist. “Figured we could use these.”
Jeff clamped his onto his arm. “Smart thinking. I hope these devices work as well as the one Frawkins had.” He stepped over the unconscious guard, sprawled at the entrance to the cell block. Another soldier was lying on the floor next to the desk. “Good work.”
“Neither of them suspected me. I said I was sent here to supplement the guard force. They both know me so they had no suspicions.” As he opened the door to the outside, Les added, “I’ve been keeping my nose clean since we got here, acting like I want to get soldier of the month honors, brown nosing, playing my part so if and when Devora and I ever did get a chance to escape, I’d be the last man Command would expect to be a rebel.”
“Probably a wise strategy to adopt,” Jeff agreed. “I was doing a similar act, until they kidnapped my wife.”
Now they were outside in the cool pre-dawn air and running, keeping to the shadows.
“What’s the plan?” Jeff asked. On the move with Les McDaniel, he sent to Cody.
