Ch. 11 – Death is Not the Worst of Evils
x
Sitting before the panel at the power plant, Danny tried to figure out what each of the buttons and dials before him did. Not that he planned to mess with them, but the knowledge might come in useful – after all, the plan did not involve eviscerating half of Baltimore by causing an overload of the furnaces. Besides, he needed some way of keeping his mind off the topic that it kept returning to over and over again.
Kara.
Danny knew the odds and, objectively, the odds were damn good that Kara was fine. Pissed off, most likely scared, a prisoner, but fine. As Jeter had pointed out the night before, there was plenty of incentive for Granderson and Norris to keep the crew who survived the initial takeover alive. After all, they were the only people on the planet with the virus swimming around their veins. That had to be useful somehow. Upon meeting up with Captain Chandler, his family, and Burk, the group spent most of the night strategizing and each of them – including Jed Chandler, a former army man who had provided some much needed intel on the state of the world around them – had concurred. The Nathan James crew had information that Granderson needed about the cure. Killing them would serve no purpose.
No matter how he rationalized it, though, Danny couldn't shake his feeling of dread, or stop the pit that formed in his stomach each time he thought about Kara, convinced that something was horribly wrong.
Pulling a worn coin out of his vest pocket, Danny held it tightly in his fist. He had given Frankie the Indian head penny two years ago as a good luck charm. While the gift had been a joke, that hadn't stopped Frankie from carrying the penny on every mission that followed, often flippantly pulling it from his pocket before doing something reckless. When packing up Frankie's belongings in Gitmo, Danny had found the coin – and realized Frankie must have forgotten to take it onto the cruise ship.
Danny knew that believing in a lucky coin was foolish, a silly superstition but...he couldn't help but wonder about that last day, that last mission. Did Frankie leave the coin behind on purpose? Or was Frankie's forgetfulness a sign that his mind wasn't on the task at hand – a sign that Danny missed? Either way, the coin now served as a constant reminder of what a single mistake, a slight misstep, a momentary lapse of concentration could cost.
A life.
Three times the radio crackled with the agreed signal, the sudden (although expected) sound startling Danny after hours of silence. Sliding the coin back in his pocket, Danny raised his gun. If all went as planned, in a couple of hours he would be back on the Nathan James, back with Kara, back with the only people that mattered anymore. But for now he needed to push her away, lock her out, and focus on the task at hand.
Or else he would end up like Frankie.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The first time the monitor flickered, Kara thought it was the sheen of tears covering her eyes that caused the distortion in the picture. But then it happened again. The doctor paused in his task, the needle hovering dangerously close to the dancing fetus, scowling at one of the guards. "Find out what's going on."
But just as the needle began descending again, the room went completely dark, no windows or natural light to provide the tiniest break in the inky darkness, and Kara knew without any doubt that this was it. The opening she had prayed for.
The doctor let out an enraged shout as he yanked the needle out from Kara's stomach. "Get the lights! We're going to finish this."
Yanking on her wrists got her nowhere, so Kara did the only other thing she could think of. Stretching her fingertips as far as possible, Kara hit warm flesh, drawing the nurse's attention just as the emergency lights flickered on. The woman's tormented gaze skimmed over Kara to the three men huddled in the corner searching for the equipment. Kara looked as well, all hope disappearing as the doctor began turning towards them, only to feel the slid of the straps holding her right hand give way as a cool, metal cylinder was pushed into her hand. Kara knew what it was without looking.
The needle.
From the corner of her eyes Kara could see the nurse retreating against the wall, her terror and panic obvious, and Kara wondered just how horrible the outside world must be for this woman to willingly work for a man who was so clearly lacking any morals – and wondered whether he was the exception or the rule here at Avocet. Kara knew that she would have only one shot, could only pick one man to aim for, and her choice was obvious. She would simply have to hope that taking out the doctor created enough confusion for her to free herself and evade the guards.
Thankfully as the doctor returned his attention was on the lights and ultrasound machine, rather than his missing nurse or Kara. Taking as deep a breath as she could through her gag, Kara counted down from fifty as she waited for him to lean over her, presumably to gather his equipment, before she lunged, slamming the needle into his chest with all of her strength.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Running out of ammo!"
As Danny tore down the power plant corridor, he fought against the fear that blossomed in his chest. Not fear of dying – not exactly. He didn't want to die, of course, but he had long ago accepted that he was unlikely to die an old man in his bed. No, this fear was different. Right now he was less afraid of dying than he was of dying too early, of blowing the most important mission of his life.
Not holding the power plant long enough.
Not drawing enough men away from the James.
Not giving the crew enough time to retake the ship.
There were only three of them – three men against hundreds – but every second that he and Burk and the CO bought the Nathan James might make the difference.
Might determine whether Kara and their child survived.
Danny knew that Kara was no easy mark. She was a smart woman, a skilled tactician, and a hell of a shot. But she had never served on the front lines, never killed a person face-to-face. If Benz or Berchem or Smith were still alive, or if Tex or Burk were on the ship, he would have taken comfort in knowing that they would protect her in his absence. But Frankie and Jason and Steven were dead, Burk was at Avocet, and Tex was gone, unknowingly leaving them to their fate – leaving Kara to take care of herself.
As he tore across the roof to the building, stopping only to throw his last grenade, Danny prayed that he had done enough to give Kara – to give the James – the help they needed to escape Granderson's clutches.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kara barely noticed the shrill scream that sounded in her ears as the needle slashed through the doctor's flesh and muscle. As he flailed backwards, she was already freeing her left hand and then reaching down to free her feet before rolling from the bench, while the guard struggled to hold up the man she had just attacked. Before Kara could decide whether to make a dash for the door, though, it was thrown open.
"Get away from the girl!"
It took Kara's frantic mind a moment to recognize the voice, which was swiftly followed by two tight shot patterns, but once she did a sob broke from her throat and she yanked out her gag. "Don't hurt her! She's with me."
"Kara!" Rachel's voice was horrified. "Oh my god, you're bleeding! What did he do, Kara?"
Tex slammed the door, kicking each of the men lying on the floor to make certain they were dead before moving to Kara's side as Rachel wiped away the blood with a cloth provided by the nurse, who Tex viewed suspiciously.
"He…" Kara took a deep breath. "He just used a needle. He said he might let us survive. I didn't believe him, of course, but the needle never touched the baby."
Realizing that she was babbling, Kara forced herself to stop talking. Rachel's voice turned clinical as she gently poked Kara's stomach, drawing a groan. "You could see?"
"Yes, he needed the monitor," Kara explained.
"What the holy hell were you people doing?" Tex demanded, turning on the nurse who shrank back into the shadows.
"I don't..I don't know! He said to be here. I didn't know…"
But Tex wasn't done. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
As the woman continued to sob, Kara grabbed Tex's arm. "I need to get out of here. Please."
"I don't know if you should be moving right now," Rachel interrupted with noticeable concern. "This is a lot of blood for one needle, Kara. There may be internal damage."
"Not sure that's a good plan, Doc. We've left a trail of bodies leading straight here. Someone's bound to find us," Tex replied.
"We need to go," Kara said firmly, tucking in her shirt to hide the blood, hoping that it was only the doctor's careless manner that was responsible for the blood and faint bruising already appearing on Kara's pale skin. Turning towards the woman who had given her this chance, Kara spoke. "Thank you."
The woman nodded, evidently too scared of Tex to open her mouth.
"Let's roll before the cavalry arrives then," Tex whispered, sliding open the door. On the way out Kara stopped to pick up the guard's weapons, unwilling to wander these halls unarmed. As she bent over, a sharp shooting pain ran through her. Biting down on her lip to stop from crying out, Kara followed Rachel and Tex as best she could, tears leaked from her eyes despite her efforts to stem them. Only weeks ago she had practically prayed for a miscarriage, believing that it would be better to have the choice taken away from her, to not need to deal with all of the decisions and changes that having a child would require her to make. But against all odds, the baby had survived and Kara had put aside her doubts and fears and embraced the idea of motherhood, only to be once again faced with a decision that wasn't a decision.
Because staying here meant death for all of them.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I found Doctor Scott at the tunnel entrance. She's secure. She was with Lieutenant Foster."
Danny froze at the Master Chief's words, certain he must have misheard. Why would Kara be here with Doctor Scott rather than on the ship? "Kara?"
The Master Chief's only response was a grave stare – one which was less than reassuring – but before Danny could ask the questions thundering through his head, Alisha's groan drew everyone's attention. Carlton adjusted his hold on the woman. "Just hang on, baby girl. We're getting you back to the ship."
But Alisha pulled away, continuing to sob. "No, I can't go back! I can't!"
Danny looked to the Master Chief, uncertain of how to proceed. The man nodded to Carlton. "I got it from here. You're clear. We'll at least get you to Doctor Scott."
Fortunately the trip to the entrance of the tunnel was short, or else Danny might have abandoned Alisha to the Master Chief, his feeling of wrongness returning with a vengeance at the Master Chief's words. When they finally made it to the end of the tunnel, relief flooded Danny as he spotted Kara sitting next to Doctor Scott, head tipped back against the wall as though she were resting. But that relief turned to horror as a closer look revealed the large reddish stain on Kara's coveralls, one only partially covered by the hand resting on her stomach, a stain that Danny would have recognized anywhere.
Blood.