Chapter 6
Chapter Six
That evening they had a date with Les and Devora for dinner at the military commissary.
Devora had wangled a pass for Tamsyn to be able to join them on a one time basis and the six of them, counting the toddler, took over a big picnic table in the small outside eating area, under a row of drooping, dusty trees.
Les busied himself helping Jenny navigate her dinner, slicing up the beef and swirling gravy onto the mashed potatoes.
There was a small side dish of a sweet tuber.
Devora leaned over the table and spoke in a low voice.
“I went digging into the databases today. I was determined to see if I could find out anything more about Sandy’s disappearance.
” She swallowed hard. “First I checked out the database of people who’d requested to leave and there were a couple dozen.
Security had made notes about the time the gate was opened and what happened to the refugees.
A lot of it wasn’t pretty, to say the least. It’s nearly impossible to get out of Glastine and get past the infected.
No Sandy though. I broadened my search parameters and found her file.
There were detailed notations about her blood test which flew right over my head—maybe they’d have made sense to you, doc—a few commendations from the daycare and then the file was closed out with a big ‘RF’.
No sign of a request to leave, no notes from Security about letting her out the gate or what happened when she went.
Nothing. So I sorted for anyone else with the ‘RF’ designation. ”
“And?” Jeff asked while Melly sat in awe of Devora’s bravery.
“Since this camp opened there have been literally hundreds of people—men, women and worst of all, children—whose records end with only the ‘RF’ designator.”
They sat in silence for a few moments. Jenny was singing a song to her stuffed animal and the incongruity of the sweet child’s voice and the grim possibilities for what happened to all the missing people struck Melly hard.
“Yeah,” Devora said softly after sipping her fruit drink meditatively.
“I kinda had to take a minute or two to process it once I realized the scope of the situation. And then my supervisor came rushing in, yelling for me to stop whatever I was doing because some alarm was going off in her office and she didn’t want the General coming to check up on her operation. ”
“Lords of Space,” Melly said. “What did you do? You must have been terrified.”
Devora made a wavy hand gesture but didn’t seem worried.
“I shut down my desktop unit. I’d created a simple program to delete all traces of what I’d been doing when I ventured outside my assigned duties weeks ago, just in case.
When I first got here and they gave me access, I was trying to help them become better organized and as I said before my boss loved all the new reports I could generate for her.
But I crossed a few lines innocently enough then and got warned, so I’m sure what happened today won’t be treated any differently.
She’d asked me to run numbers cross referencing the blood types, infirmary records and the food served in the various commissaries so I was creating new folders and pathways anyhow. ”
“What an odd area of research for people running a refugee camp,” Melly said.
“We all get weighed once a month,” Devora added.
“You haven’t been here long enough but in a couple of weeks you’ll see.
Supposedly it’s to make sure the meals are nutritious enough to sustain good health.
” She shrugged. “Seems odd, I know but it literally only takes a second to do—they set up the scales at the entrance to the commissaries. There’s never any feedback although one of my assignments is to create a reporting tool to cross reference a bunch of things.
I guess they’ve been keeping the record by hand and eyeballing the numbers but no real analysis. ”
“You should be careful,” Jeff said. “The camp authorities might be better at monitoring what goes on than you think.”
“I got my answer, at least as far as Sandy goes. It’s a dead end beyond this point.” Devora took Jenny by the hands and set off for the nearest bathroom as the child was adamant she needed to go.
What do you think? Melly asked Jeff.
RF could mean the research facility up north the general’s girlfriend runs, he replied, handing her the rolls. Or it could mean running free or rainbows forever for all we know. I assume the worst though. And I don’t like that they’re hiding the fact people are being sent there.
Or the point there’s no further communication from anyone who’s gone. Melly shuddered and Les gave her a curious glance. “Getting chilly out,” she said, rubbing her arms and feeling foolish. Can we tell him the truth about why we’re here?
No need to know. Jeff’s reply was crisp.
Melly’s reaction was all the residents needed to know what Devora had learned but what good would it do to cause a panic in the camp?
And if General Quantike and his team were engaged in nefarious activities, there’d be suppression of the unsettling news and she and Jeff and Tamsyn would be in deep trouble.
She decided to have another discussion with Jeff later about whether they could leave yet.
It seemed to her they’d learned all they were going to here at Glastine and the next step would be to locate the research facility.
As it happened, however, Jeff and Les were called away by Captain Briskinn to help process a new group of refugees which had commed they were on their way to the gates.
By the time her husband returned to their cramped quarters she was sound asleep and barely woke up to give him a kiss before rolling over, punching her pillow and going back to her unsettled dreams.
In the morning they ate a quick breakfast at the military commissary, including generous cups of synthcaff, and parted with a hug and a kiss. “I want to talk later,” Melly said, adding via the com, About us leaving. I want to get out of here—I’m apprehensive about lingering and pushing our luck.
“All right,” Jeff said. No argument from me. Another day or two perhaps. There are a few loose ends I want to check out but nothing major.
“We’re pushing our luck,” she said out loud.
A passerby gave her a quizzical look and she bit her lip. Jeff always stressed how important operations security was but she was at the end of her tether when it came to being a spy inside Glastine. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to get out while the getting was good.
“My luck has been good ever since the day I met you, doc,” Jeff said with a grin, gathering her into another hug. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” Giving him s kiss on the cheek she checked the time on her handheld and squawked. “I’m going to be late and Dr. Sharpton abhors tardiness. Gotta run.”
“He’s not going to fire you,” Jeff said, clearly amused at how frazzled she sounded. “It’s not like there are any other doctors around to take your place.”
“It’s like being an intern again,” she said ruefully. “He barely lets me handle my own case load. He’s micromanaging and when he isn’t his damn nurses are watching me like hawks. If it wasn’t for Tamsyn I’d probably blow up and cause an unfortunate incident.”
“Tell me all about it tonight,” he replied, squeezing her hand. “Feel free to vent.” I’ll work on our exfil strategy, I promise. Two days maximum.
“I will.” With a smile, Melly headed for the medical building at a fast walk.
And yes, please prioritize our escape plan!
She had no idea how they were going to get out but she had confidence in Jeff and his team.
Arriving at the medical facility she was in a good mood, contemplating the end of her stressful time as a resident of Glastine.
And at least she had been able to do some good while here, taking care of patients.
When she walked inside she found the nurses huddled in a circle, talking intently.
They broke apart as she closed the door, each woman going in a different direction, guiltily, mot meeting her eyes.
While the behavior was certainly odd, she’d found the staff to be quite standoffish in general so she didn’t worry about it.
The next strange occurrence was running into Dr. Sharpton in the hallway, whistling an upbeat tune and practically smiling.
“You’re certainly in a good mood,” she said.
He waved a data cube. “Got excellent news from the research facility. Yes indeed they’re very happy with us this morning.”
She watched him walk toward his office and wished she’d been able to find out more about the research facility and what was going on there.
From what Devora had said last night people were being sent there but for what purpose?
Was progress being made on solving the Western Flu crisis?
She hoped so but the whole thing had ominous overtones in her mind.
After stopping in her cubbyhole office to get her jacket, she went to check on their single overnight patient, Frawkins, and there the day took a turn.
Frawkins is dead, she sent to Jeff an hour or so later. She was shaking, in her office with the door closed. No one seems upset about it. He shouldn’t have died—his injuries from the fall were serious but not life threatening, not when he was under medical surveillance.
How did he die?
His heart stopped as best I can tell. They’ve already placed him in the morgue here and I guess we’re waiting for the general to decide what to do with the body. He didn’t have any family in the camp.
Be careful today. This smells like a murder to me. Jeff’s tone was harsh. Don’t ask questions and tell Tamsyn to walk softly too. I’d com her but she doesn’t do well with it yet. I’m moving up our exfil schedule.
All right. Keep me posted. Love you.