What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

Langston Hughes

R E N E G A D E

Prologue

Undone

DEBS SICKBAY: 2006 Washington D.C.

Scud, Janet, and Doc stood agape as the line on Lucy's monitor flat lined; while Amy, tears streaming down her face screamed. This wasn't happening. This is all a bad dream and when I wake up, Lucy will be beside me smiling her sweet smile. Amy chanted that over and over to herself, desperately deluding, anything to grasp at some ray of hope. Anything that would make her Lucy wake up, smile and crack one of her famous tongue in cheek jokes about bad hospital food or sadistic vampire phlebotomists.

Amy watched the attendants in the room unhook Lucy from the monitors. They were dressed in sea green scrubs and tennis shoes, white rubber gloves and slip covers on their shoes, faces partially obscured by the sterile white surgical masks covering their faces. They went about their tasks quickly. Death was an infectious monster that stole your soul when you weren't looking. No one likes to be around after the grim reaper has visited. Family members were usually the only ones remaining in the room, but as Lucy's family had departed this world several years ago, her corpse, slowly growing colder with each passing second, was attended by strangers pulling the white hospital sheet up over her face.

Why oh why couldn't Doc save her?

Oh my God …

I failed her what am I going to do now?

JICON … JICON … a genetically engineered virus …

Unspoken thoughts floated up towards the ceiling like vapors pressing against the windows of tear-filled eyes, a pressure cooker overfilled with questions demanding answers. Not a word was spoken among the four, but a silent agreement was reached. Amy tried to walk into Lucy's room, but an attendant was at the door and would not allow Amy to enter. Amy slammed her fists against the door desperately trying to force the door open. Wild now with grief and rage, Amy threw her whole body against the door. Unseen by Amy, an attendant pressed a call button and when Petrie's voice answered, the attendant informed her of the pressing situation developing outside the room and Petrie calmly assured them that it would be quelled shortly. The attendants resumed their task to sterilize the room and prepare the body for moving.

Lisa from Interpol approached, seemingly from out of nowhere. Amy didn't notice, she was still trying to get inside Lucy's room. Lisa spoke, "Amy, you can't go in there. The room's contaminated."

Amy turned from the door to face her, anger in her eyes and answered, "Do you really think I care about that right now?" She paused to control herself, her whole foundation shaking, failing her. "I want to be with her. I should be with her."

"Amy," she tried to speak in a soothing tone, one eye focusing on Amy, the other looking past her through the window at the attendant behind Amy, waiting for the signal.

"Why did you let her die?" Amy's voice shook making her sound like a little girl. "Why couldn't you save her?" Amy's voice raised higher as the needle the attendant silently slipped into her neck sunk in and Amy crumpled instantly, the strong attendant catching her so she wouldn't fall to the ground. Doc and Scud started toward her, looking at Lisa with shocked expressions on their faces.

Lisa answered their unuttered question. "It's a sedative to calm her. Do I have to do the same to you, or will you follow me quietly?" Scud, Doc, and Janet nodded assent. A gurney was wheeled in and Amy was placed on it. Silently they followed Lisa to another section of the sickbay.

Scud read the sign posted above the door aloud. "Quarantine Level 4 … what the hell?"

Lisa ran her ID card through a slot that was built into the door frame. The light changed from red to green and a loud beep sounded. Attendants dressed in full body suits approached the group. Scud, Doc, and Janet were gently lead inside the corridor.

Lisa spoke. "You need to put these on." An attendant pressed surgical gowns into each set of hands. "We will need blood and urine samples…"

Doc interrupted her, "You're running tests on us. Have we been infected?"

"We won't know until we've tested your samples."

"But there isn't a cure-oh my God, Scud, are we gonna die?" Janet looked at Scud, eyes wide, face full of horror and worry. Her heart was pounding.

"Gotta go at some point." Was all Scud said in reply to Janet's panicked questions, his face downcast, mind still numbed by all that had happened to them over the course of the day.

Lisa said to Doc in a business like tone, from one colleague to another, "We will need to know all the people you've come into contact with since treating Lucy."

"None. I live alone. My wife died several years ago." He paused then added, "I took blood samples from Lucy. They will need to be disposed of according to biohazard regulations."

Lisa nodded. "That has already been accomplished."

Doc looked shocked. "You've been to my lab?" Lisa nodded her head in acknowledgement. A look of concern passed over Doc's face. He started to say something, stopped and then started again before deciding to remain silent.

Lisa looked at him. "Something on your mind?"

"No."

"Okay then, the techs will be with you shortly. Please continue to be cooperative." Lisa vanished into thin air. Doc looked at Scud and Janet.

"She does that, Doc. It's normal." Janet said. Doc nodded.

Ms. Petrie was on the phone when her computer dinged announcing a new email message. She opened the message, read it quickly and smiled.

"Yes, the situation has been contained. The clean up crew has been dispatched. There are no witnesses. Security has been contained." There was a pause as she listened, head cocked to one side. "Yes … uh-huh…well I'm sorry you feel that way, but it was what had to be done… They will be made to not only understand, but comply… Yes … you're welcome… I'll put a team on that immediately…" Phipps walked into the office and waited for Petrie to finish her call. "He just walked in… I'll tell him. Yes … Goodbye."

Phipps sat down in the chair directly across from Ms. Petrie's desk. He cleared his throat before speaking. "I got the lab results from the tests we ran. They are not infected, but they have the antigen resistance to the virus."

"Yes. I have their results in front of me now Phipps. We are fortunate that the virus didn't mutate otherwise we'd have an outbreak situation that makes that movie look like child's play." Ms. Petrie paused, thinking. "We have to keep them here Phipps. They know about the virus. It is a breach of national security."

Phipps remained silent. "I'd like to talk with them."

Petrie answered. "Go right ahead."

"I wasn't asking permission."

"Lucy's imbecile doctor, what was his name?"

"Doc."

"How original" Petrie deadpanned. "He didn't know what he was dealing with or how unstable that virus is. He could have made it mutate into an airborne virus."

"We got lucky."

"Luck had nothing to do with it Phipps. Heads are going to roll over this. The antidote Amy retrieved, has it been analyzed?" Phipps nodded and silently handed over the lab analysis sheet. Ms. Petrie looked it over. "They were told that it was a placebo, correct?"
Phipps nodded. "Yes."

"According to this," Petrie held up the sheet and pointed to the specific paragraph in reference. "The antidote would have mutated the virus making the cure we have obsolete. Where is Rene being held? She must be interrogated. Damn that her network was destroyed, but smart, too …" Petrie was thinking aloud. Phipps knew this from years of working together and he kept his mouth shut. A decision was made. "I'm calling in Sector Eight. They are better equipped to handle this. We have to wipe the slate clean."

A look of alarm crossed Phipps' face. Ms. Petrie saw it and answered with a raised eyebrow of her own.

"Why is Amy still out Scud?" Janet asked. A droll look aimed at Doc prodded him to answer.

"They must have given her a long acting drug. They wanted to keep her out for a while." Doc paused. He walked over to where his jacket was hanging and reached inside the interior pocket. He brought out a syringe and a small bottle of clear liquid. He prepared the needle. "This will counteract what they gave her."

"Do you regularly keep a stash of whatever that is you're injecting her with on hand Doc?" Janet's voice was slightly peeved. She had had enough of this day, this treatment.

Doc said, "We don't have much time. We need to get out of here." Scud caught on to what Doc was implying. He tried the door. It was locked. They were trapped for the moment.

Lisa appeared from out of nowhere again. "I had hoped that you all would cooperate. It would have made things much easier on you." Attendants came in through the door and grabbed Janet, forcibly separating her from the group. Separate attendants seized Doc and Scud. Scud saw the tiny camera above the door that had been camouflaged to look like a light. They had been under observation the entire time. The room was probably bugged too. He thought.

Rene Escondido sat in the uncomfortably cold interrogation room her face devoid of expressing any emotion whatsoever. Her hands were handcuffed behind her back. Her legs were chained to the chair. She could do little more than move her head up or down side to side. She was still dressed all in the black she was wearing when the DEBS had apprehended her. She had a dull ache in the back of her head. A residual from Amy's bashing her head onto the ground hours ago. She could feel the dried blood caked to her hair. She felt a little dizzy. That bitch, Amy, has probably given me a concussion.

She knew the reason why the DEBS had been ordered to bring her in alive. The men that had left 15 minutes ago after unsuccessfully trying to get the information out of her had scraped their chairs across the floor. Intimidation, threats, would not work. Rene would never willingly surrender the information they wanted. She had the means at her disposal presently to ensure that. She smiled an evil cold smile, face set, piercing blue eyes staring forward, focused on the door, waiting for what would come next.

She awoke with a dry mouth and looked around. Where am I?

The men from Sector Eight were dressed in suits. They reminded Petrie of the alien hunters in the movie Men In Black. The tall one that looked like a young Clint Eastwood was getting briefed on the previous attempts to get information from Rene Escondido. He said little, his expression cold steel. He had heard enough. He opened the door to Rene's room. A pair of piercing blue eyes greeted him, watched his every move silently. He sat in a chair across from Rene and said nothing.

They stared at each other like two alpha males searching for a weakness. Rene met his eyes unafraid, boldly even. She would not be intimidated.

"Rene, I'm only going to ask this once. I never repeat a question. If you refuse to answer, you leave me little choice; the result will not be pleasant."

Rene looked at him unimpressed. Deliberately she cast her gaze around the room a bored expression on her face. "I'll save you the effort." A popping sound emanated from inside her mouth. Rene's body jerked in painful convulsions. Her eyes never lost contact with his. Her mouth foamed. The cyanide capsule implanted in her molar cap had been easy to break sending the fast acting poison through her body. While the last strength of living quickly left her body she smiled an evil smile face frozen in that macabre maniacal expression.

He left the room and encountered a very irate Ms. Petrie.

"Just what do you think you've done here?" He was silent. "Answer me!"

He looked at her. "I don't answer to you." He turned away and walked down the hallway leaving a very steamed Petrie in his wake. Who the hell do these Sector Eight guys think they are anyway?

Her head was throbbing, a squeezing sensation that threatened to pop her eyes out of her skull. Ugh, man what did I drink last night that is treating me so cruelly right now? She tried to sit up but undulating waves of nausea set her back down into the prone position. She opened one eye a dry irritating movement and the light in the room was blinding even though the room was dimly lit. Immediately she closed her eyes and tried to remember.

The door opened.

She could feel someone watching her but she couldn't see who it was. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but the respirator prevented speaking. She grabbed at the tube. A pair of hands stopped her.

"Shh. That has to stay in for now." It was a masculine voice that was so soft it had musical qualities to it, soothing. She calmed down. She heard the clicking sound of buttons being pressed. Her nose felt dry and sore. She tried to wipe it and again was stopped. There was some sort of tubing lodged there. "That's your feeding tube. It has to remain in as well for a few more days. We had to reconstruct your stomach, but we'll talk more on this later when you're feeling up to it." She felt a prick in her arm. "This will help with the pain and will make you sleep." As she drifted off to sleep she could hear the faint beeping sounds of her heart rate on the monitor serenading her.

Amy sat up. She noticed a bandage on her arm. She looked around the room she was in. Where are Scud, Doc and Janet? Lucy! I've got to find Lucy! Her door opened and Phipps entered. Before Phipps could greet Amy she walked quickly over to him and asked, "Where's Lucy? What have you done with her? Where are Scud, Janet and Doc?"

"Amy calm down. I need to tell you something important." Amy looked at him expectantly. "Ms. Petrie is on her way to see you. Before you talk to her you should know that we could have saved Lucy." Amy's eyes bulged incredulously in shock. "It was not my decision. When Ms. Petrie comes to see you, you must accept what she offers you. There is no alternative."

"You lied to me." Amy began, her temper flaring with each successive word coming out of her mouth. "What in the hell makes you think I will accept anything you or Ms. Petrie says?"

"I am in your corner. When you and Lucy left the country after Endgame I hoped never to see the two of you again. I wanted you to be happy, Amy. I didn't want to see another tragedy strike. I lost my family to the DEBS. It was a choice for me. I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I see how this place chews people up and spits them out. We're all expendable here." Amy looked down at the floor considering what she'd just been told. "Didn't you ever wonder why I visited you before Endgame? I knew what you were going to do. You were going to lie to everyone in that room reading that speech Max wrote. I wanted to prepare you for that, to make sure that you would really be okay with your decision. I knew that you would have to lie to yourself for the rest of your life, Amy, because that is what I have had to do. It's a decision that robs your soul and once you've surrendered it, there's no getting it back." Amy looked at Phipps. She looked like a deer that had been caught in the headlights out on a country road before being plowed into by an oncoming car, and it was how she felt. Phipps continued. "You have the leverage Amy, the upper hand in all this. Petrie needs you. We ran tests on all of you. Only your blood came back with the antigen resistance to JICON." Phipps quickly added to Amy's unspoken question, "The others aren't infected. We've tested them and they are safe. They are being processed right now."

"Processed, what does that mean exactly?" Phipps was expecting that question.

"They are getting treated so that they will forget JICON and all the events that have happened over the past few months." Amy's face slowly registered comprehension igniting an incredulous expression. He answered her unspoken question. "They will be brainwashed and relocated as will you if you do not follow my lead." Phipps was getting ready to explain what to do when Ms. Petrie and Lisa entered the room. Phipps cleared his throat.

"Hello Amy" Lisa began. "Ms. Petrie and I are here to ask you for your help." Amy looked directly into Lisa's blue eyes which were focused on her intently an almost searching expression conveyed in them.

"What do you need exactly?"

"Information mostly and some more blood samples." A technician appeared magically out of the air dressed in a white lab coat. She quickly took six test tubes of blood from Amy. While the technician was working, Ms. Petrie spoke.

"As you know, Amy, Rene Escondido is in custody with us. Her computer network at Camp Holy Spirit was completely destroyed. We have sent a team back to the area to salvage whatever can be found of her computers." Ms. Petrie paused and looked at Amy then continued. "We need you to help us with interrogation."

Amy looked at both women for a moment before she responded. "I'll do whatever I can, but I'd like an answer first to an important question I have. Why did you let Lucy die?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Lisa answered. "Amy, the 'cure' you brought back wasn't a cure. It was a placebo, sugar water, it wouldn't have saved her."

"Surely you are familiar with JICON. This isn't the first time you've dealt with the virus."

Ms. Petrie broke in. "Amy, JICON is a top secret biological weapon. Wars of the future will not be fought with guns and tanks. It will be with biological weapons, plagues that once unleashed will ravage populations all over the world."

"There must be a cure somewhere. You don't open a Pandora's box without first protecting yourself."

"Very true, Amy." Phipps began. "But with biological weapons, the cures can become obsolete when the virus mutates."

Ms. Petrie added. "You don't fight this kind of warfare like they did during the cold war. You do not let them amass an arsenal of weaponry in the first place."

"Amy," Lisa began. "We need you on a special team. Your talents would be best utilized in Section 8."

"What is Section 8?"

"A specially trained covert group, they go in to the areas where these weapons are being created and destroy them." Amy looked at Phipps. His eyes were intent. This is what he wants me to agree to. She thought. How is this better than the alternative? She wondered.