44. Chapter 44
Chapter forty-four
Alex
Alex sat by the bed where Danyal lay, holding his hand tightly as he watched the heart rate and breathing monitors drop with each moment. It had been five days, and still no update from Veronica. Lost in thought, Alex didn’t hear Galen enter the bedroom behind him with a tray, bringing Alex breakfast.
“Alex,” said Galen.
Alex jumped, startled by Galen’s approach. “Shit, Galen. Give a guy some warning before you sneak up on him in his bedroom.”
Galen said he thought all the noise in the kitchen would warn Alex he was coming down the hall. He begged Alex to eat since he hadn’t left Danyal’s side for five days.
“I’m not hungry; besides, I thought you’d never cook me breakfast again.”
“Didn’t cook, so keeping my promise. Got ya pancakes and the butter pecan syrup ya like.”
Galen and Alex jumped as Alex’s cell phone vibrated on the nightstand. Galen leaned forward to read the caller ID. “Alex, it’s Veronica. Answer it!”
Alex took a deep breath as he picked up the phone and placed it on speaker.
“Hello,” he said in a quivering voice.
“Alex, I have a serum Danyal must receive at once. I’ll give you all the details when I arrive; this is probably our only chance,” said Veronica.
“Should we come to ya?” asked Galen.
“No,” said Veronica, “it would waste too much precious time moving Danyal. I’m fixin’ to head to you in two minutes as soon as the security detail clears a path.”
“Please, hurry.” Alex hung up the phone and turned to Galen. “You heard that? I’m not hallucinating?”
“Yu’re not hallucinating!” yelled Galen. “Finally gettin’ a fuckin’ break!” Alex hugged Galen and began to sob.
“Let it out,” said Galen. “Not like I’m wearing a new shirt that can’t be dry-cleaned.”
“Screw you,” said Alex as he cried and laughed simultaneously. “Now I’m wiping my snot on your shirt.”
“If it helps,” said Galen, “but sending ya the bill.”
Alex stood up and looked at Galen. “Have I thanked you for everything you’ve done to help me get to this point? I wouldn’t be getting Danyal back without you.”
“Easy there, mate. Let’s not jinx anything.”
“I forgot, you’re superstitious,” said Alex.
“Cautious, not superstitious. Luck keeps biting us in the arse. Best not to tempt her. Mass General isn’t far away. Saturday morning traffic should be light. What do we need to do to prepare?” asked Galen.
“We should call Ryo so they’re ready to assist.”
Alex and Galen both turned, surprised, as they heard the elevator arrive on the penthouse floor.
“That was too fast,” said Galen. “Going to go check who arrived. Ya need to stay here in the bedroom.”
“Galen, we’re going down the hall together.”
Galen nodded. Walking down the hall and turning the corner, the sight of Ryo standing by the elevator gave Alex a sense of relief.
“That was fast, Ryo. Were you on the elevator when Galen texted?”
Ryo turned toward Alex, and the disturbed look on his face stopped Alex in his tracks.
“The situation at Mass General has changed,” said Ryo.
“Spit it out, Ryo,” said Galen. “Don’t keep us in the dark.”
Ryo shot Galen an angry look as he said, “As of ten minutes ago, Mass General had a potential biohazard exposure and was placed on total lockdown.”
Alex turned to punch the wall and put his right fist through the bricks. “Where’s Veronica?”
Ryo said he wasn’t sure. All communication in and out of the building was in the hands of federal authorities.
Alex frantically pulled out his phone and tried to call Veronica. “Fuck, no cell service available. We’ve got to get there, Ryo.”
“No,” said Ryo, “I can’t risk you entering an unknown situation that could be a trap, especially not with the authorities and news cameras watching. PGC is now on lockdown until this is over.”
Alex said Ryo couldn’t stop him from leaving. “Danyal is dying and won’t make it much longer. I’ll take down every wall in the building or jump off the balcony if needed.”
Ryo placed his right hand on his hip near his service weapon.
“That’s how you want to play this, Ryo?” asked Alex.
“No, but I’ll use the force necessary to stop you. This could be another trap, and I can’t risk you being injured or captured.”
“So ya think ya can just enter the home of a god and pull a gun?” said Galen.
“I don’t have to stop the god; I only need to stop you, Galen. He won’t risk your safety or go anywhere if you are injured.”
“Ryo,” said Alex calmly, “please remove your hand from your weapon.”
“No.”
“Answer this question for me…is this stunt worth losing your job or family for?”
“Are you threatening my family, Alex? You sound increasingly like a loose cannon. Perhaps Bruno is right.”
“I wonder if they would understand losing you for making such a bad decision. I won’t ask again––remove your hand from your weapon.”
“No.”
Alex snapped his fingers, and Ryo flew up against the brick wall, surrounded by an aura of pink energy that held him about three feet off the ground.
“Alex, don’t hurt him!” yelled Galen.
“What happens now is solely up to him,” said Alex as he stepped closer to speak to Ryo. “I may not be able to control or affect you directly with my abilities, but I can cause plenty of damage using the environment around you. Right now, I’m slowing your breathing and blood flow to your brain by constricting the bulletproof vest around your chest. Either you can get it under control, or I won’t stop until you lose consciousness. Yes, or no.”
Ryo nodded his head yes.
“I’ll release you, but don’t you dare threaten me or Galen again,” said Alex as he released Ryo, who landed on his feet before falling forward to his stomach.
“He’s stalling,” said Galen.
“I know,” said Alex. “Do you still have the gas masks and weapons from the field mission?”
“Yah. What’re ya planning, Alex?”
“Get the masks from our gear, and I’ll show you.”
Galen rushed down the hall and returned with three gas masks and two pistols.
Alex turned to Ryo, still kneeling on the floor, trying to catch his breath.
“I’ll give you a choice, Ryo. You can stay and keep Danyal safe or come with us.”
“You’d trust me with Danyal after I threatened Galen?”
“Yes,” said Alex. “It was a misguided attempt to protect me and the company. I don’t need to read your soul. You’re a good soldier who wants all of us to make it out of this alive.”
“Shit,” said Ryo. “Go before I change my mind.”
“What’s the play?” said Galen.
“Put on your gas mask and put your arms around me.”
“What?”
“Put your arms around me and hold on tight. We’re teleporting.”
Alex could see the fear in Galen’s eyes through the gas mask. “Here we go.”
“Alex!”
Alex opened his eyes as he and Galen crashed on a cold, hard linoleum floor.
“Made it!” yelled Galen.
“You doubted me?” said Alex.
“Yah, ya don’t have control over teleportation.”
“If I let my fight-or-flight reflex kick in during life-or-death situations, I can harness the ability.”
“How will we find Veronica?” asked Galen.
“She’s down the hall to the left; I can feel her.”
“Ya can feel her?” asked Galen.
“I shared some of my energy when we were in the penthouse earlier in the week. It serves as a beacon. We need to move.”
Alex rushed down the hall with Galen behind him until they stopped at two secured large doors. Alex drew back his fist to hit the doors, but stopped when he heard Veronica cry out.
“Alex! Don’t open the doors; I’m OK,” yelled Veronica as she looked at Alex through the window of the safety doors.
“How do I get you and the serum out?” asked Alex.
Veronica said she was in a hermetically sealed negative pressure room that didn’t circulate any air from outside, which kept her safe from the biohazard contagion in the air.
“Is Charlotte OK?”
Veronica nodded yes, saying she left early this morning and made it home. “Alex, you need to find Bruno.”
“We’ll deal with Bruno when this is over,” said Alex through his gas mask.
“No,” said Veronica as she shook her head, “you need to stop Bruno. He came to the lab and wanted to see my research. When I refused, several men with assault rifles threatened us. I’m so sorry, Alex. He ran off with the antidote.”
“How long ago did this happen?” asked Galen.
“About eight minutes ago. Bruno and the armed men headed down the hall toward the back of the hospital. One more thing––Zoe was in the building and went after them.”
“Galen,” demanded Alex, “take my hand. We’re going after Bruno.”
“How?” asked Galen.
“I put the same energy on him recently when we shook hands. I can feel him now. He’s moving fast. We need to go.”
Alex opened his eyes and shielded them from the sun as he and Galen materialized on the hospital roof. Alex looked instinctively at the Mass General helicopter about a hundred yards away from the roof of the building. Alex reached up with his hands as if pulling a rope to drag the helicopter back.
“Alex!” yelled Galen, “ya have to stop.”
“Bruno is on the helicopter, Galen. If he gets away, we may not find him again.”
“Stop!” yelled Galen again as he grabbed Alex’s arm. “The helicopter is struggling against ya. If it crashes, the serum is gone. There will be massive damage and civilian casualties in the streets below. Please stop. Find another way.”
Alex released his telekinetic grip on the helicopter as a hail of bullets from the aircraft flew past him and Galen. Alex watched through his tears as Bruno and his only hope to save Danyal sped away from the city skyline and toward the harbor, before disappearing over the horizon.
“I won’t give up,” yelled Alex. He closed his eyes and disappeared.
Alex reappeared on the roof within seconds, holding Bruno by his jacket. He walked Bruno to the edge of the building and dangled him over the side. “If you want to fucking live, Bruno, you’ll hand over the antidote.”
“I can’t,” yelled Bruno, “you fool, what’ve you done? It’s still on the helicopter.”
Alex held Bruno further out over the side of the building. “You’ve condemned Danyal to death. I hope you see his face as you hit the ground.”
“Stop!” yelled Bruno. “I know where SOE are headed, and I’ll tell you, but only if you help me.”
“You miserable piece of shit. Why would I help you?”
“Because you won’t only condemn me to death––you’ll kill your sister too. Nyssa is alive but must receive a full dose of ichor to survive.”
“Alex, please,” yelled Galen, “bring Bruno back from the edge!”
“He poisoned Danyal and Hoko, nearly killed you, and tried to kill me––why does he deserve mercy?”
“He doesn’t. Would move heaven and earth to save my sister. Don’t stoop to his level. Yu’re not a murderer.”
Alex paused before turning and throwing Bruno back onto the roof, where he skidded across the surface. Alex dropped to his knees and let out a primal scream which shook the building.
Galen turned and knelt to comfort Alex, but stopped as he registered the horrific scene behind them. He ran and picked up the lifeless body lying in a pool of blood in front of the entrance to the roof. “Zoe!” yelled Galen. “Please open yur eyes, please! Alex, help!”
Alex stood and ran to Galen, holding Zoe’s body.
“She’s not responding, Alex. Has a gunshot wound to the chest. Please! Please heal her!”
Alex closed his eyes to concentrate and touched Zoe’s heart. He focused on directing life energy into her body, as he had when Galen was injured. Alex opened his eyes and shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Galen. She’s gone.”
Galen held Zoe’s body close to his chest as he wailed uncontrollably, while Alex held Galen tighter than he ever had before.