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Inside were vials filled with clear liquid. Seven of them.
“How …” Bryn’s voice failed her.
“Where do you think I got the shot to give you? I made sure I was the one Harte tapped to pull it from the supply. They had two boxes out on the cart, since they were assembly-lining the staff. I grabbed one. We’ll need to pick up syringes—that’s all. Oh, and just in case …” Pansy handed her a gold-edged Pharmadene ID. “Irene Harte’s. It probably won’t work, but just in case you ever wanted a souvenir, that’s probably the best you can get. Manny won’t let me keep it. He’ll assume it’s bugged. ”
“Is it?”
“Not anymore. ” Pansy gave her a cheery smile.
“I’d kiss you if I could get up,” Bryn said. “God, thank you. ”
“No charge. Well, no extra charge. Joe’s already paying me. ”
“Paying you …”
“I don’t come cheap, sweetie,” Pansy said. “Manny doesn’t like it when I leave him all alone. He’s got another batch of inhibitor ready, by the way, so when you take me home, you can get your booster on that, too. ”
A week. A whole luxurious week of life, guaranteed right there.
And what about after that? But for the first time, Bryn felt the tight fist of anxiety in her chest ease, just a little, and as Fideli and Pansy spoke in low, quiet tones, and Fideli pulled the van out to drive on, she finally surrendered to her need to rest.
When they finally arrived at Manny Glickman’s lab, hours later, it was chaos. Even Pansy seemed shocked when, as she helped Bryn in the big fire door, she ran into a giant pallet of neatly stacked boxes. “Great,” she said, staring at them. “Just great. ”
“What’s going on?” Fideli asked, from behind them.
“Get in and stay right here,” Pansy said. “Whatever happens, don’t go all Rambo on me, all right?”
That didn’t sound good. Neither did the tension in Pansy’s voice. Edging around the boxes, Bryn saw why; the place was crowded with boxes stacked everywhere. No more lab equipment; it was all packed. Big machines were crated and secured, ready for transport. The curtains at the back of the big room were open, and more pallets of boxes were stacked there.
“Freeze!” a magnified voice said from overhead, and Bryn looked up sharply to see a figure above them on a narrow catwalk. It was almost obscured by the lights, and she squinted and just barely made out Manny Glickman’s form up there.
He worked the action on a pump shotgun, and the crisp chunk-chunk sound made them all obey. Even Fideli. Bryn raised her hands in surrender.
“Jesus, Manny, it’s me. ” Pansy sighed. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Moving,” he said. “You were supposed to be back four hours ago. ”
“I told you it wasn’t guaranteed, baby. ”
“Four hours ago. ”
“You didn’t pack all this in the last four hours. ”
Manny was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Are you vouching for them, Pansy?”
“Of course I am, or I wouldn’t have brought them up here, would I?” Her voice was gentle, but as Bryn glanced at her, she saw that Pansy was worried. “It’s all right. Trust me. Her tracker’s gone, and we weren’t followed. ”
“I thought about blowing up the van,” Manny said. “You know that, don’t you? You didn’t come in the right car. You said you’d be in a red sedan. ”
“Pansy, what the hell …?” Fideli murmured. She shushed him.
“We had to improvise. Things were crazy. But we got out, and everything’s fine, and I brought you a present. ” She held up a single vial of Returné. “Enough to run tests on for months. ”
It was a shiny treat, but Manny failed to take the bait. “Make them sit down on the floor, right now. Hands behind their heads. ”
“Manny—”
“Now!” His shout rattled the rafters. Pansy sighed and turned to Bryn and Joe.
