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“That capsule contained a biological weapon and now we’ve all been exposed. You came to save me and now we all might die.”
“Might?” Sol said. “I’ll take those odds.”
“Peter,” Aaron said. “Could you take over here?” Peter moved across the room and took Aaron’s place so he could join Sydney. He put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her to the side, speaking low. “Can you make a cure?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do. I can’t — ” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “I haven’t been able to figure it out.”
“When I call the CDC, I’ll get them to set us up at your lab. We can wait there with you. Help you however we can.”
“It doesn’t matter where we are. I’ve tried everything I could think of already. I was at the point where I needed to start over and we don’t have that kind of time.”
“How much time do we have?”
“Maybe a day or two. Maybe less. I don’t know.” The calm resolve she had for her own death when facing Leo’s gun was gone now, looking into Aaron’s eyes and remembering how much she cared about him. She didn’t want him to die.
“All I need you to do is try.”
“I’m … sorry. I’m so sorry. But I can’t do it.”
Aaron shrugged. “Well, maybe I’ll give it a try.”
“What?”
“Just because you think it’s too hard doesn’t mean I can’t do it.”
Sydney cried and laughed at the same time. “Is this where I’m supposed to grab the screwdriver out of your hand?”
“I know. I’m manipulating you into helping.”
“And this isn’t a bike plate we’re talking about.”
“I know, but what if we pretend it is?” He took her hand and squeezed it. “Will you at least try? For me?”
She looked around the room at the people whose lives were in her hands.
“Hey,” Aaron said, pulling her attention back to him. “Don’t take the enormity of this on board. Let God worry about that. You just do what you can. Okay? Whether we live or die is up to him. All he needs from you is to use the talent he gave you. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”
“Great. I’ll call the CDC and get us locked down in your lab and get the other guys taken somewhere secure.”
“You’ve been trying to fix this for months and you’ve gotten nowhere,” Myles said. “Pallon told me all about it. And now you think you can save us all?”
Sydney smiled. “Not me. God.”
* * *
It was a slow process getting the team over to the lab, and Sydney was eager to get started, but when she walked through the door she stopped when she noticed the internal window. The broken glass was gone, but the window looked like a gaping hole.
Aaron put a hand on her arm. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m good. Everyone, please make yourselves as comfortable as you can.”
Bec sidled up next to her as she settled at her computer. “I don’t mean to distract you, but can I ask what side effects we can expect?”
“If the modeling is correct, you’ll feel great at first. Your thinking will sharpen. You’ll have more energy. But that’s when your body will begin to attack itself.” She leaned back from her computer and addressed the room.
“Can I have everyone’s attention for a second? I didn’t say it before. But thank you for coming to my rescue. And I’m sorry for what happened. Bec and Sol. I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have gotten caught up in all of this. You should be getting married.”
