Fifteen minutes later, Crusher was worried that whatever Marta was working on wouldn’t be done in time for them to make it to the airport and catch their flight.
The scientist was so occupied with her work that she seemed to lose track of everything else around her. He’d seen her intensity when running through the jungle, but this was completely different. All her concentration was on saving lives through the things she could do with DNA manipulation.
But time was up. They had to get to the airport or miss their flight. “Marta, we need to leave now,” Crusher said.
She swept her fingers across the keys, paused, pressed the enter key and sat back. “Done. I created a different flaw in the binding protein and wiped clean all traces of my entry into the system.” She pushed the chair back and stood.
Priya stood as well and wrapped her arms around Marta. “You’re an amazing scientist and even more of an amazing woman. I'm glad you’re my friend.” She leaned back. “Don’t let it be so long before I see you again.”
Marta’s eyes swam with unshed tears. “You’re a good friend, Priya, and every bit as smart as I am—and more beautiful.” She laughed, hugged her friend again and shifted her gaze to Crusher. “I’m ready.”
Crusher could admire people who trusted and respected each other’s abilities. He found it similar to the trust and respect he had for his team members and their skills in combat, intelligence and concern for doing what was right—the reasons the SOS team had left the government and gone independent.
Priya drove them back to the airport, dropping them off at the departure gate.
Marta held her friend’s hands. “When I get past this disaster, I want to know more about what you’re working on. Perhaps I can help.”
“I’d love any help you can give me,” Priya said and waved goodbye.
The next hurdle was to get past Mexican security with their fake passports. Marta studied her phony name and murmured it to herself several times before approaching the security checkpoint. They sailed through with the Agentes Federales de Migración, who barely looked at their passports before stamping a page and sending them on their way.
Onboard the aircraft, Crusher sat beside Marta, holding her hand for the three and a half hours it took to fly from Mexico City to Miami. The closer they got to Miami, the longer he wished the flight would take. Being with Marta these past few days had changed his world, and he wasn’t sure he wanted it to change back.
When the pilot came on the intercom, announcing their descent into the Miami airport, Marta’s fingers tightened around Crusher’s.
“What happens from here?” she asked.
His world would change, yet again.
“Once on the ground, we’ll coordinate with my boss, Royce Fontaine, and the State Department guy, Devon Marsh, and let them know we’ve arrived.” He stared out the window as the runway rushed up to greet the plane.
“What if Devon Marsh doesn’t take me to a lab where I can work on an antiviral or vaccination to slow or stop the spread of this virus? What if he doesn’t understand the devastation it could cause to the entire world?”
Crusher squeezed her hand gently. “Then call me. I’ll get you where you need to go.”
“I don’t have your number,” she said.
“Right.” He asked the flight attendant for a pen. When she brought one to him, he wrote the burner phone’s number on a napkin and handed it to her.
She stared down at the number and then held out her hand for the pen.
He smiled as she wrote the number near the scabs on the inside of her wrist, close enough that the ink appeared to blend with the scabs. “In case I lose the paper,” she said and handed the pen to the flight attendant as she passed, collecting trash.
When the plane came to a stop, the seatbelt sign blinked off, and they slowly filed out of the plane into the terminal.
After they made it past customs and border control, Crusher reluctantly pulled out his burner phone and called Swede, placing the phone on speaker and turning the volume down so only he and Marta would hear.
“Did you make it to Miami?” Swede asked.
Crusher stared across at Marta. “Yes, sir.”
“With the asset?” Swede asked.
The asset. Crusher had started this journey thinking of the scientist as nothing more than an asset he had to extract. Now, she seemed like so much more. But he couldn’t let emotions cloud his mission completion. “Yes. Dr. Hale is on speaker with me.”
Her brow dipped slightly at the formality in his voice.
“I have Royce on the call now,” Swede said.
