Chapter 29 - No Rest for the Weary
Lee's head spun. He'd hit the wall, literally and figuratively. Unconsciousness would be a relief from the events of the past two days. Instead he had messages waiting: the admiral, Chip, Roger. Three people for whom Lee would lay down his life. He already had. Couldn't they all wait until morning? No, Roger would be guilt wracked about Lee nearly dying in his car. Lee called him.
"Are you really okay? What the hell happened out there?"
"I'm scraped up, sore, stiff and tired, but I'll live. Maybe. If I can get a few hours of sleep."
"Sorry. This is all my fault."
"Probably."
"Hey, not intentionally."
"The way to hell is paved with good intentions."
"Yeah, I've got a better view of that now."
"Rog, I'm going to crash soon. Keep . . . keep an eye on Rachael."
Lee fell into the bed. A weary Roger tried to figure out what his friend had meant. He decided it couldn't be literal, since Rachael was under lock, key and guard. Then again, she had escaped earlier in the day. No. Security was tighter now. He'd follow up with Lee in the morning.
Lee fell into bed, too exhausted to tend to the hunger and thirst that also plagued him. Dead to the world, a recurring dream kept piercing his slumber. That damn ringing again. Lee reached out toward the bedside table. The phone fell to the floor. Its incessant ringing stopped. "Later!" Lee moaned.
Lee slept the sleep of the dead after that. He awoke with a startle at 3:30 a.m.. He heard nothing, but felt as though someone was in the room. Lee reached for Roger's gun on the bedside table. A hand pressed down hard on his. "Leave it be, Curly."
"Red?"
"Yes."
"What are you doing here?"
"I . . . I don't know." Rachael sank into a sit on the bed next to Lee.
Lee rose up and switched on the light. "You don't know why you came to see me or why you are here at all?"
"Both."
"How'd you get out?"
"Picked the lock with some metal fragments."
"From what?"
"I can't remember."
"Red, you do know you got out earlier today?"
"I knew the room was different."
"How'd you get past the master-at-arms?"
"Knocked him out. Kind of had that déjà vu feeling."
"It happened once earlier today."
"Shit."
"What's this Dr. Paulino doing to you?"
Rachael shrugged.
"Tell me."
"Whatever Johnson tells him to do?"
"Did he tell you to come to me?"
"I can't remember."
"Come here," Lee said. He wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly spooned against him.
Rachael shook for a few minutes before she fell asleep in Lee's arms. At five a.m., Rachael rolled over. Lee felt an arm on him and startled. Rachael kissed his cheek. Lee debated whether to react. Rachael was such a puzzle. She kissed him again, this time on the mouth.
"Morning," Lee said. "Sweet as this is, I'm not sure this is such a good idea."
Rachael pouted.
"Last night you couldn't remember why you came here."
"Because it was safe."
"That's me, safe. Okay. Safe from what?"
Rachael shrugged then leaned in to kiss him again.
Lee kissed her back. He let her lead the way forward after that, concerned about her unpredictability and not wanting to be any kind of aggressor given her recent past. Minutes later, Rachael rolled off to Lee's side. "Nice way to blow ballast, sailor." She leaned in to kiss Lee.
"I told you I was unsinkable." Lee kissed her back. They nuzzled and fell back to sleep. At 5:50, Lee felt Rachael stir. He watched with one eye squinting as she got up and got dressed. "Where you heading, Red?"
"Back."
"Back where."
"To where I was."
"Why?"
"I'm supposed to. Gotta hurry." Rachael ran out the door.
Lee shook his head. A few minutes later after Lee had called him, Roger came in through the door Rachael left ajar. "You okay, Lee?"
"Fine."
"Right, fine. How many stitches?"
"Just a handful. Less than a couple of handfuls."
"Restless night?" Roger noticed the disheveled bed. He sat down on the edge. He picked up a stray hair.
"You hiding company somewhere?"
"No."
"Either you had some or housekeeping should be fired."
"Rachael showed up in the middle of the night. She just left."
"Then what are you doing in bed? We've got to find her. If she gets off base, she'll be in deep shit."
"She isn't going off base."
"You know this how?"
"She told me."
"You believed her?"
"Yes."
"Why would you believe her?"
"This Dr. Paulino character is experimenting with her, putting her through some sort of conditioning trials."
"How do you know this?"
"I pulled her file at the Medical Center last night. I had a hunch and then when she turned up here, acted the way she did, and no alarms or calls about her escaping came, I was certain about it. That, plus when she left I spotted a tail on her."
"Why did she come to you and not me?"
"You tell me, Roger. She was supposed to go some place safe. Are you no longer safe for Rachael?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"