Chương 149

Louis sat on the curb, looking north. A band of gray was beginning to show above the horizon.

"I'm exhausted." Gladice yawned.

"I'm going to nap if this asshole doctor doesn't show soon."

"Stay awake," Savannah said.

"We ain't safe yet."

"I'm awake. I'm just saying."

"Then don't say it." Savannah looked over her shoulder.

"Where the hell this doctor at?"

"He said an hour," Donya said.

"It has been an hour and a half."

"Maybe he got lost," Willa said.

"I don't know how he will find us."

"He has our location," Donya said.

"He will come."

"I hope you're right." Angelique shifted her weight.

"I could sleep for a week." Cherish lay with her head in Louis's lap. She was already asleep, breathing softly. He stroked her hair and watched the road. Maeve sat on the opposite curb with her elbows on her knees.

"Tired?" Louis asked. Maeve nodded.

"Yeah. I haven't slept much these past few days."

"Last time I slept well was in Charleston," Gladice said, leaning her head against Louis's shoulder.

"So you did work with the Toll dogs," Maeve said.

"More like they shook us down, then gave us a nice room and fed us," Savannah said. Gladice laughed.

"Yeah, the bed was nice."

"I wish I could have that bed now," Angelique said.

"You and me both," Savannah said. Cherish stirred in Louis's lap. He stopped stroking her hair. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Louis?"

"Yes?"

"Is the doctor here yet?"

"Not yet," he said.

"What will your father do when we get there?" He looked at her.

"You mean when we reach the embassy?"

"Yes."

"He will protect us. All of us." He kept his voice low.

"And we will go home." Cherish sat up.

"Do you miss your home?" Louis looked north toward the distant lights.

"Yes."

"I miss mine too," Cherish said.

"Even though I know I can't go back." He took her hand.

"You'll have a new home. With us." Cherish squeezed his hand. Maeve looked over at them.

"Your father is the Supreme President of the Dominion," Maeve said.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means he's in charge of the whole country," Louis said.

"He decides the laws, he commands the military, and he runs the government."

"He sounds like a king."

"More like an emperor, if you ask me," Willa said.

"We call him Caesar of the 21st century."

"I've heard of that name," Maeve said.

"In the old books. Caesar. He was a dictator."

"A good dictator is better than a bad one," Angelique said.

"Constantine is a good one."

"How do you know that?" Maeve asked.

"Did you vote for him?"

"No one votes in the Dominion," Angelique said.

"But he's good to me and my family. And he's good to Louis. That's enough for me." Maeve shook her head.

"It's a strange world you live in."

"You're part of it now," Gladice said. Maeve looked down at her hands.

"I don't know if I can be."

"You can," Donya said, her voice soft but firm.

"Allah gave you a second chance. You should take it." Maeve looked at her.

"I'm not a Muslim."

"Allah doesn't care about labels," Donya said.

"He cares about what's in your heart."

"What if there's nothing in my heart?" Maeve asked. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"There is," Cherish said.

"I can see it. You're brave. And you're kind, even if you try to hide it." Maeve looked away.

"I've done things you don't know about."

"We've all done things," Savannah said.

"That doesn't define us."

"What defines us then?" Maeve asked.

"Ourselves," Louis said.

"We get to choose who we are."

"Easy for you to say," Maeve said.

"You are the son of the Supreme President. You can choose anything."

"You can too," Louis said.

"Especially now." Savannah raised a hand.

"Got movement." A large white emergency vehicle approached along the highway. It had a truck chassis, a broad box body, and storage compartments along both sides. Antennas and emergency lights lined the roof. Louis could not see through the windshield.

"That must be him," Willa said.

"Might be a trap," Savannah said. Louis stood.

"One way to find out." He stepped into the road and waved. The vehicle slowed, left the highway, and stopped near him. The driver's door opened. A lean man in dark medical trousers and a gray jacket climbed down. A hospital ID badge was clipped to his jacket pocket. He looked about fifty, with close-cut black hair streaked with gray.

"Donya? Dr. Al Madani's daughter?" Donya stepped forward.

"Yes." He hurried to her and took her by the shoulders. He checked her face and hands, then looked over her clothes for blood.

"Your father is losing his mind," he said quietly.

"Thank you for coming, Dr. Rahman."

"Elias." He released her and looked over the group. He noticed the blood on Maeve's face, then stopped when he saw Louis.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Louis stepped forward.

"Are you here to help us?" Elias stared at him.

"You are Louis Collins."

"Yes."

"You can't be serious. We're on a highway in a radiation zone, and I'm picking up the son of the Dominion President?"

"Yes."

"I was told to pick up Donya and her friends. But I did not expect this."

"Does it matter?" Angelique asked.

"Can you help us?"

"And Angelique Bourbon too? This is insane." Savannah moved forward.

"We ain't got time for this, Doc. Can you get us through that checkpoint or not?"

"Okay. Here's what we do." Elias opened the rear doors and climbed in.

"Follow me." They climbed in after him. A narrow central aisle led from the rear doors to a small treatment station behind the cab. Four stretcher beds lined each wall in two stacked pairs. Fluorescent strips lit the compartment. Chest and leg straps lay across each stretcher. Overhead compartments held folded blankets, oxygen masks, and sealed medical packs.

"Here's what we are," he said.

"We are a restricted-zone medical response transport carrying suspected contamination and inhalation exposure cases from the southern exclusion fringe to Columbus decontamination intake." He pointed left, then right.

"Eight patients. Four on each side. Lie down, straps over the chest and legs, and pretend you have radiation sickness. I will drive you through the checkpoint and drop you off in downtown Columbus. Then you're on your own. Is that clear?" Cherish hesitated.

"What if they ask questions?"

"I will handle the questions. Keep your mouths shut." Elias checked the stretcher straps.

"Your clothes are covered in dirt and blood. Act like you are dying. That's all."

"Let's do it," Savannah said.

"I'm tired of standing." They took their places on the stretchers. Louis climbed onto an upper stretcher on the left. He pulled the sheet over himself and winced as he settled onto the thin mattress. He fastened the straps across his chest and legs without tightening them. Angelique climbed onto the stretcher below him. He heard the metal frame creak as she settled into place.

"This is ridiculous." Her voice came through the rack in muffled irritation.

"Shut up and lie still," Gladice said from the other side.

"We are patients now." Elias checked the oxygen masks stored above the stretchers, then closed the rear doors. Light came on above the interior door, then went out. The vehicle started, and the engine noise filled the compartment. The suspension groaned as they turned onto the highway.

"You sure this will work?" Savannah asked.

"He said he would handle it," Willa said.

"He better," Savannah said.

"I'm scared," Cherish whispered.

"It will be okay," Donya said.

"Just breathe."

"I'm going to nap," Gladice said.

"Wake me if they shoot at us." Louis stared at the ceiling and felt the stretcher frame vibrate beneath him. His pulse quickened. He turned his head and saw Cherish on a stretcher across the aisle. She looked back at him from beneath the sheet. She nodded once, and he nodded back. The vehicle slowed. Rahman spoke through the intercom.

"Checkpoint in one minute. Masks down. Eyes closed if you cannot control your face. Don't talk." They took the oxygen masks from the compartments above the stretchers and secured them over their faces. The elastic straps scratched Louis's skin, and the mask smelled of old plastic. His breath warmed the inside of it. He lowered his eyelids until only a narrow slit remained. A voice came from outside.

"Back so soon?" Rahman answered from the cab.

"Another insured scavenger crew from the southern fringe. We're taking them straight to Columbus intake."

"Any new hot spots down there?"

"Just the usual. But they went to the Portsmouth site looking for scrap metal."

"Stupid." The guard was silent for a moment.

"Alright. Your paperwork checks out. Let's see the patients. Open the back."

"No," Rahman snapped.

"These patients have suspected inhalation exposure and external particulate contamination from an unverified site in the Black Zone. Open the rear without containment in place, and you risk contaminating the checkpoint."

"Then how am I supposed to verify the patient count?"

"Visually. Through the sealed inspection windows." Rahman leaned toward the guard.

"And if you don't know the protocol, call your supervisor and ask why you're ordering a restricted medical transport opened without containment." Footsteps moved along the side of the vehicle. The guard's voice returned from beside the rear compartment, quieter now.

"I count eight."

"Good."

"Proceed." The vehicle moved again. The tires rolled onto smoother pavement. Louis opened his eyes and saw the checkpoint lights through the inspection window as they left them behind. He lowered the mask and took a full breath. Angelique and the others lowered theirs.

"Okay," Rahman said over the intercom.

"We are clear." Louis loosened the straps but remained on the stretcher.

"How far to Columbus?"

"About forty minutes."

"Then what?"

"Then I get you to an alley downtown. After that, I don't know and don't care."

"Thank you," Louis said.

"Don't thank me," Rahman answered.

"Dr. Al Madani saved my career once. This is a debt. Nothing more." Louis lay still and watched the ceiling. He tried to stay awake but soon fell asleep. When he woke, the vehicle had stopped. For a moment, he did not know why they had stopped. Angelique shook his shoulder.

"Louis. Wake up." He raised himself on one elbow too quickly, and his head swam. The rear doors stood open. Gray morning light reached the compartment between the tall buildings on either side of the alley. Rahman stood outside the rear doors with his jacket zipped to the throat and his mouth drawn tight.

"Out," he said.

"Quickly." They climbed down one by one into the alley.

"You have money?" he asked.

"Yes," Donya said.

"Good." He glanced at the street beyond the alley.

"You will survive if you're smart. The Alliance has cameras everywhere. Move like you belong here. Don't draw attention."

"Thank you," Donya said.

"Don't thank me." He looked at Louis.

"And you. If anyone asks, I never saw you."

"Understood." Rahman closed the rear doors, walked around to the cab, and climbed in. He drove away without another word. They remained in the alley, exhausted and filthy but safely inside Columbus. Traffic passed at the end of the alley.

"Civilization," Gladice said.

"Finally."