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“You’re not one of them?”
“I’m not even sure who them is right now. ”
Ziegler looked confused now. And scared. “You—you’re not with that psychopath Jane?”
“Definitely not,” Bryn said. “But you’ve definitely got my interest, Doctor. Please, go on. ”
“Your friend needs attention. ”
“Then do it. There’s a suture kit right there, and Betadine here in the first aid kit on the seat. But talk while you work. We may not have long. ”
The doctor didn’t fuss about it; with Riley’s silent help, he opened the suture kit, gloved up and threaded the needle, then washed Joe’s arm slash with Betadine before he began the handiwork. “Sorry about the pain,” he said. “No local. ”
“It’s cool,” Joe said. “One thing I love about docs—they might slice you up, but they sew you back together afterward. ”
“You’ve lost a fairly significant amount of blood. You’ll want to rest. ”
“Does that really look likely to you?” Bryn said, and got silence in response. “Doctor, we got your name from decrypted Fountain Group materials. What is it exactly that has you involved with them?”
“Research,” he said, and wiped his forehead with his sleeve, then continued to stitch. Bryn tried to hold the truck steady, and Riley focused a flashlight on Joe’s arm as the doctor worked. “I’ve been involved in the program for years. But I got out. ”
“Let’s get specific,” Bryn said. “Tell me about the Fountain Group. Names, places, details. ”
“I can’t,” he said. “They’ll kill me. They’ll kill my family. They’ll kill everyone I ever met. ”
Riley must have recovered enough to speak, because she said, “Too late, Doctor. They’ll know we have you, and that makes you toxic already. ” Her voice had a hideous hoarseness to it, and that leant a scary conviction to her words. “It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it? That’s why you were hiding out at the free clinic. I can’t imagine it’s your usual digs. ”
He shuddered and avoided her stare, preferring to talk to Joe’s surgical fix, apparently. “I was out of work. Fountain Group recruited me for a new program. ”
“And exactly what were you doing?”
“Research!”
“Don’t be a dick, Doc,” Joe said. “You know what she’s asking you. ”
“I’m not answering any more of your questions,” Ziegler said, and tied off his stitches—which, from Bryn’s seat up front, looked surprisingly expert. “Just let me out. ”
“No,” Riley said, and the word was as rough as gravel in a blender. She didn’t look in a forgiving mood, and as blood-drenched as she was, she looked more dead than alive. “You’re telling us everything you know. One way or another. So just say it now, and save yourself the pain. ”
Bryn was almost sure that was an empty threat, but it didn’t sound that way, and Ziegler seemed to take it very seriously. Riley took the rest of the suture kit away from him, and he folded his hands in his lap and looked scared and miserable.
Too bad. Bryn couldn’t summon up much sympathy.
“My name isn’t Ziegler,” he said softly. “It’s Calvin Thorpe. I was in charge of the Revival team at Pharmadene Pharmaceuticals before I—before things went wrong and I left. ”
“Left,” Bryn said. “You mean ran. They didn’t let anyone leave alive if they could help it. ”
He nodded, eyes still fixed on his gloved hands. “Someone helped me out. A friend inside the company. He—helped me fake my death. I changed my name and tried to find work, but Fountain Group found me first. I didn’t want to do it anymore. I didn’t want to have anything to do with the filthy process of bringing back those abominations. ” He hesitated, and then said in an unconvinced voice, “No offense. ”
“None taken,” Bryn said in the same tone. “You’re a specialist in reviving the dead during the administration of the nanite drug—do I have that right?”
“I administer the drugs, measure the results, do the follow-ups. I was the first to raise the issue of . . . maladjustments. ”
“What kind of maladjustments?”
“Like that psychopath Jane,” he said. “I nearly succeeded in killing her. If they’d let me finish my work, I would have done it. ”
Bryn braked and steered the truck to the curb, because her heart had started racing, and she was no longer sure she had the attention span for driving while talking. “Killed her,” she repeated. “You mean, before she took on the upgrades?”
