Calley's hand hovered protectively near Karina's arm as they wandered through the school gymnasium, searching for somewhere to get a little rest. She had seen enough shady characters inside the building to know that she and Karina would be sleeping in shifts. The gym was already full of people, some trying to sleep on worn-out cots, while others were whooping and hollering like they were taking part in a giant sleep-over. Annoyance flickered through Calley's mind several times as she and Karina slipped through rows of cots.
Why do disasters bring out the worst in some people? They can't even show respect to the ones who've lost everything.
Looking through the crowds, it was easy to tell the difference between the true victims and the people who were only taking refuge at the school because they didn't have electricity at home.
Sure, it's all fun and games for them, Calley thought bitterly, and cast a glance at Karina. I hate this. I hate that we're stuck out here, but even more, I hate that we don't know anything. She has to be worried sick about Olivia. If I knew the first place to start, I wouldn't have minded walking all night to find the guys.
Calley noticed an empty cot ahead of her, tucked out of the way in a corner. She immediately pulled Karina aside with her to investigate. The bed looked like it had been a cast-off, probably because one of the legs was on the verge of breaking.
I might still be able to do something with it...
Calley dropped her dance bag on the floor, and searched out the white medical tape she used when she occasionally needed to wrap her feet.
"What are you doing?" Karina appeared confused as Calley got down on her knees.
"If I reinforce the leg, this cot will probably be usable."
Karina nodded, but then shuddered slightly. "Do you think they'll keep the lights on all night?"
"I don't know, Karina."
"I'm actually not very tired," the bronze-haired woman wheedled.
"You're going to get some sleep, Karina, we both are. Just not at the same time. Give me couple of minutes to work on the cot, and hopefully it will hold out the night for us."
Karina nodded again, and Calley saw her steal another wide glance at the gymnasium. "I'm with you. I don't want either of us being asleep at the same time."
Calley focused on her task with precise intensity, and tested some weight on the end of the cot before motioning to Karina. "Go ahead and lie down. I'll take the first watch."
"Why should you?"
Calley smiled. "I'm the reason we're stuck in this place, aren't I?"
"You say stuck like it's a bad thing. If I was out here alone, I'd probably still be wandering the streets like a complete idiot."
"You're not an idiot, Kari." Calley reverted to Raphael's often-used nickname for the woman. "Why are you so quick to condemn yourself?"
Karina snorted. "That's a loaded question, Calley. I'm not sure we have long enough for me to answer it."
Her response sounded light, but Calley sensed that she really didn't want to discuss it any further. She watched while Karina slipped out of her long-sleeved shirt into the tank top she was wearing underneath. She rolled her shirt up on the cot, and laid her head against it like a small pillow. As Calley settled down on the floor, Karina cast a lingering glance in her direction.
"Do you...do you really think that they're okay, Calley?"
The young woman leaned forward to make sure that Karina could see her eyes. "The guys are alive, Karina, and I'm sure Olivia is too. I would know if they weren't. I'm certain I'd feel it."
Karina's muscles relaxed almost imperceptibly, and Calley sighed to herself.
My intuition hasn't let me down before, God, please don't let it start now.
"Are you tired, Calley? I don't mind staying up."
Calley forced a smile. "I'm fine. Go ahead and get some sleep. We're going to need the energy for tomorrow."
Karina sat up on her elbows. "Are you wanting to try and move on?"
"I don't know. I think we're going to have to decide that based on the conditions we're facing. I heard someone saying that the shelter is supposed to receive supplies sometime tonight. If they don't, we'll have to search out food and water on our own."
"I don't want to just sit around waiting for something to happen."
Calley shook her head. "The cell-phone towers can't stay down forever. I'm sure the officials are working like crazy to get the signal and the phone lines restored. Let's try and stay positive, okay?"
"Okay." Karina released a deep breath. "Don't let me sleep more than four hours, all right?"
"Yep. I'll keep an eye on things."
As Karina dropped off to sleep, Calley backed closer to the wall. On an impulse she reached into her bag again, and came out with a jacket. She stuffed the material behind her neck, and rested her head against the wall. Calley fingered the phone in her pocket, even though she knew it wouldn't do her any good right now.
She'd done her best to maintain a good outlook, and had started putting on an even stronger front once they were forced to deal with a seedier neighborhood. Calley didn't want Karina to know how much the atmosphere really bothered her.
I know what these idiots are capable of, and that's under normal circumstances. Add in the madness of the earthquake on top of it, and it's like throwing gasoline on flames.
Calley was grateful that they were a little bit separated from the rest of the noise in the gym, but knew that it could also lead to being singled out. Still, Karina's deep breathing comforted her.
I'm glad she can rest. We could have a long way to go on foot tomorrow. It's so hard to know what the right thing to do is.
The longer she stayed in the relaxed position, the more tired she felt.
Nope, can't let go yet, she chided herself. Rule number one on the streets - keep one eye open at all times, especially if you're not in your own territory. She couldn't help wondering where everyone else was sleeping tonight. They're safe. The guys are smart; they'd know where to go. We're the ones who got caught unaware in some godforsaken hood. It's only for one night, though. We'll be okay.
Katherine looked at Greg expectantly as the man hopped behind the wheel of his Jeep. She was irritated at how long it had taken to find a gap through which they could get into cordoned off building, but at least the task was finished.
"Boy, you can take the woman out of the action, but you can't take the action out of the woman," he teased.
Kat waved the comment off. "Did you expect it to be impossible, Heffernan? It's an apartment building, not Fort Knox."
"You still made it look awful easy."
"I've stayed active with a thriving baby, and you've sat behind a desk. What do you expect, Partner?" she asked impishly.
"I've done more than sit behind a desk, James," he protested. "A lot more actually."
"Then it shouldn't have taken us over an hour to get in." She flashed him a familiar-feeling smirk, before the severity of the situation set back in. "Can you try the scanner out please?"
"Let me get a little more light in here, and I'll fire it up."
The innocuous-looking machine of Donatello's design was capable of doing more things than Katherine understood. She knew that its primary focus was on medical functions, but it also contained a special brand of tracking technology that was centered around the implanted beacons that everyone used. Greg had some experience tracking with the scanner, but he was the first to admit that the medical jargon it could communicate was over his head.
Katherine watched silently as he scanned through screens on the device, her nerves feeling on edge while she waited for him to locate everyone. A couple of minutes had passed when Greg exhaled softly.
"I've got Luke. I'm picking up his signal several blocks from where the building went down. At least you know he probably wasn't in there at the time of the quake. I wish I could get some sign of Reina for you."
"We should have gotten her an implant already," Kat muttered. "I just never thought we could need it this soon."
Greg offered the scanner to her. "The program we need is already open. Do you want to get a fix on the other signals while I drive? All you have to do is click on the corresponding beacon for each person you're looking for."
Katherine took the machine with a swallow. "Where are we going first, Greg?"
"I'd say that finding your husband and baby girl is at the top of the list...then we'll decide where we go from there."
The woman stared down at the scanner for a few seconds, contemplating. "This device can't tell us how all of them are physically, can it?"
Greg shook his head regretfully. "Donny has designed two different types of chips. Most of us have the simple version, which is nothing more than a normal beacon to transmit our coordinates. The other chip is quite a bit more complicated, because of all the medical data it's designed to record. As of right now only the turtles and the girls have the complex version, as well as Marcus. He got his upgraded because of that field trip to the Congo."
Katherine listened to his explanation patiently while she stared at the numbers on the screen that he'd so easily interpreted. "When did you get so smart, Greg?"
"I've always been this smart; you just don't like to admit it out loud."
"There's a darn good reason for that, Heffernan." Katherine almost smiled again in spite of herself.
Melding back into partnership with the sandy-haired man felt incredibly natural, almost as if she'd never been gone. As the sobering reality of the lives at stake washed over her again, however, it felt like anything but business as usual.
It's not the same, she reminded herself. I've changed. My family's changed.
She cast another glance at the scanner, but a second thought distracted her. "How are you on gas?"
"I'm all right, for now. I filled up my tank this morning. That's one impulse I'm glad I followed through on."
It was nearly three in the morning by the time they got close to the intersection from which Luke's signal was transmitting. They were within five blocks of their goal, and it was definitely going to be easier going on foot. She'd noticed that Greg's eyes were heavy as they got out of the car, but the man didn't appear to be interested in slowing down.
As they started toward the intersection, Katherine felt energized, renewed by the hope of finding Luke and Reina soon. Greg kept pace with her for the most part, but nearly walked into her back when she stopped suddenly, at the sight of the white tents stretched across the road like a miniature village.
"Oh, wow." Greg panted behind her.
"It's probably some kind of Triage," Kat said tightly. "There's a chance that he's working here, rather than being treated. But I don't know how long he could keep that up, without knowing what's going on with everyone else."
"C'mon, Partner," Greg encouraged her. "It's not much further. All those questions will be answered."
The man appeared to have a sudden surge in energy too, and he kept pace with her much more easily as she picked up speed. On the edge of the tents Katherine hesitated for a few seconds, not certain of the best direction in which to go.
"Excuse me-" Katherine stretched a hand to reach the first "official" looking person that she saw. "I'm looking for a couple of people, and I think they're here. Can you tell me what the procedure is? Where should we start searching for them?"
The older man showed them through the closest tent and walked them to a table that was surrounded by crates.
"This is pretty rudimentary, but this is where people are being checked in. If you're looking for information, this is where you should start," the stranger told them.
"Thanks," Kat said quickly, and the syllable hardly left her tongue before she darted toward the table. "Excuse me," she called to a dark-haired woman bearing a hand-written name tag identifying her as Benita. "Can you help me? I'm trying to find my husband and my little girl. He's a doctor; he could be helping with the effort."
"What's his name?"
"Luke Barrows."
The woman began scanning through two different clipboards on the table-top, and shook her head a few seconds later. "If he's working, he didn't sign in."
"Would you check your patient registry then?" Katherine's voice felt tighter.
Benita sighed. "It can hardly pass for that, but we have had ID on most of the patients that came in today. Let me search for his name, and see what the file comes up with."
The woman reached for a crate this time, and began flipping through folders for what felt like an eternity to Katherine. Benita abandoned it after a little while, and cast a hesitant look at another crate under the table. She reached for that one more slowly, her very manner making Kat nervous, though she didn't know why.
Benita pulled the crate on top of the table and began sifting through folders once more. Katherine didn't miss the way she flinched almost immediately.
"Lucas Caleb Barrows?" Benita asked.
"Yes, that's him."
The woman looked down at the folder in her hands, and she crossed around the front of the table. "Mrs. Barrows, would you like to sit down with me?"
"No, I would like to find my husband and my baby," Kat said doggedly.
"C'mon, James," Greg urged her. "Let's just do what she wants."
Katherine allowed him to pull her in the direction of a couple of chairs, but then refused to sit. "Tell me what's going on!" she demanded. "I want to see my husband!"
"Mrs. Barrows, I'm so sorry. Your husband was involved in an explosion before he arrived here. The log indicates that he passed away earlier this evening, from complications due to his injuries."