Night's Favour (48 page)

“I know,” said Danny.
 
“I feel —”

“I know,” said John.
 
“I feel it too.
 
But sometimes you need to stretch the truth to help people out.”

“We’re not stretching it,” said Danny.
 
“We’re lying to him.”

“Yeah.”
 
John scuffed his foot in the forest floor.
 
“Don’t sweat it.
 
I’ll tell him it was all my idea.”

“It was!”

“Exactly,” said John.

“Great,” said Danny.
 
“Hurry back.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”
 
John grinned again.

“What question?”

“What are you wearing?”

The line went dead again.
 
John was still grinning as he pocketed the phone.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

The chopper chattered into land on a pad set in a wide clearing, leaves and dust scattering in the downdraft of its rotors.
 
Sam flipped some switches in the cabin, then nodded to Val.
 
“We’re here.”

“Great.”
 
Val swallowed, then opened the door hatch.
 
He stepped out onto the landing pad, breathing in the air.

Same forest.

“We haven’t gone far, have we?”
 
he said.

“What?” said Sam.
 
“No, not far.
 
Just a little distance to make sure we weren’t followed.”

“Fair enough.”
 
Val took in a row of prefab buildings in the distance, then looked up at a larger, central building.
 
It was tall, maybe eight or ten stories high, the entire exterior plated in dark glass.
 
The forest had been cleared in every direction; the central building stood like a giant version of the monolith from
A Space Odyssey
.
 
He whistled.
 
“Nice place.”

“Ms. Morgan spared no expense.”
 
Sam nodded at the larger building.
 
“We’re heading in there.
 
Sorry, it’s a bit of a walk.”

“What is this place?”
 
Val waved his phone.
 
“It’s not on Google Maps.”

“No.”
 
Sam nodded at the phone.
 
“You’ll need to give that to me.”

“Sure.”
 
Val handed it over.
 
“You’d figure something like this was on Google Earth.”

“Google are able to be appropriately incentivised.”

“You paid Google to keep it off the map?”

“Not quite.”
 
Sam grabbed a folder from the helicopter.
 
“One of their executives has a child with a rare condition.
 
There’s an experimental drug that hasn’t passed clinical trials.
 
You know how it is.”

“I guess I do.”
 
Val cleared his throat.
 
“Must be nice to have powerful friends.
 
How do you deal with Bing?”

“We donate to the Gates Foundation.”

“What about Yahoo?”

“No one uses Yahoo.”

“You guys have it all covered.”
 
Val nodded at his phone.
 
“Don’t lose that.
 
I’ll be needing it later.”

Sam gave a half smile.
 
“Later?”

“Don’t sweat it.
 
Lead on.”

“Of course.”
 
Sam lead away from the helicopter pad towards the main building.
 
Val looked up at the building, trying to catch a glimpse of anything.
 
Anyone.
 
The glass tinting was good; he couldn’t make anything out.

“Adalia’s here?”

“Hm?
 
Yes.”
 
Sam held the door open for him, and they walked into a spacious foyer.
 
It was deserted.

“Where is everyone?”

“There’s not many on staff here, Mr. Everard.”
 
Sam led the way to an elevator.
 
“There is only one patient.”

Val looked around the foyer.
 
“One patient?
 
For all this?”

“It’s a very special patient.
 
Ms. Morgan has spared no expense.”

“Do I get to meet your patient?”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
 
The elevator arrived, and Sam swiped his card over the panel.
 
The doors closed silently, and they started to rise.
 
The elevator was slow and smooth, without the usual lurch of motion.

“Man.
 
This elevator’s something.”

“As I said, no expense was spared.”
 
A large display read the number 4, and the elevator stopped.
 
“Here we are.”

“What’s here?”

“Mr. Everard, I appreciate you have questions.
 
I’m going to take you to a… holding facility for the moment, and then Ms. Morgan will speak with you directly.”
 
Sam led the way again, heading down a corridor.
 
The white walls were featureless as they passed closed door after closed door.

“The queen herself?”

A smile tugged at Sam’s face.
 
“I’m sure she would be quite fond of that description.
 
Yes, Ms. Morgan will speak with you.”

“I wouldn’t have thought she would be comfortable with that.”

“Why not?”

“Because —”
 
Val gestured at himself.
 
“Ah.
 
My condition.”

Sam stopped before a door, and passed his card in front of the lock.
 
A light on the door lit green, and it opened with a click.
 
“Ms. Morgan has an established history with confrontation.”

“She’s going to argue with me?”

“If I have this right,”
 
Sam said, “And I’m not sure that I do — well.
 
If I understand Ms. Morgan at all, she believes the best approach to conflict is to be able to make an offer the other party can’t refuse.”

“That sounds very Corleone.”
 
Val pushed the door open to reveal a small room with a bed, table, and large mirror against one wall.

“It’s more of a win-win.
 
If both people get what they want, then it’s an easy sale.”
 
Sam nodded.
 
“Mr. Everard, I’ll leave you here —”

“There’s no signs.”

“I’m sorry?”

“There’s no signs.
 
Usually a hospital has signs.
 
Radiology, shit like that.”

“Ah.
 
There’s no need for them.
 
This is not a typical hospital.
 
People who work here…
 
Well, they know where they’re going and why they’re going there.
 
We like them to think of it like a home away from home.
 
You wouldn’t have signs in your home, would you?”

“I guess not.”

Sam hesitated, then held out his hand.
 
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Everard.”

Val took the handshake.
 
“And you, Sam.
 
Can I make a suggestion?”

“Certainly.”

“Get back in the helicopter and fly out of here.”

Sam looked at his feet.
 
“Why’s that?”

“I don’t think all of us are going to make it out here alive today, Sam.”

Sam nodded at him.
 
“I appreciate the concern, Mr. Everard, but it’s misplaced.
 
Good day to you.”

He closed the door behind him and the lock clicked.
 
Val stared at the door for a moment, then sat down on the bed.
 
“It’s like a gulag,”
 
he said to the empty room.
 
They hadn’t even left him with a TV.

☽ ◇ ☾

Val traced the line on the ceiling with his eyes for the hundredth time.
 
It was hard to see, that line, a slight imperfection of the plaster.
 
He’d had nothing to do but stare at the ceiling for an hour or so.
 
Sam had taken his phone — he couldn’t even play a shitty game.

“Mr. Everard.”
 
The woman’s voice startled him upright.
 
He saw that the mirror had turned into a screen, an older woman — still fit and trim, but showing the marks of time — looking at him, larger than life.
 
It was a head and shoulders anchor shot, like from a newsroom.
 
He recognised the voice straight away.

“Neat trick.”
 
Val got off the bed and walked over to the screen.
 
“I hadn’t noticed it was a monitor, Elsie.”

“Indeed.”
 
Elsie looked him up and down.
 
“You’re —”

“Don’t say it.”
 
Val nodded at the mirror.
 
“You can do better than that.”

She smiled.
 
To Val’s eye, she looked more tired than happy.
 
“Better than what, Mr. Everard?”

“You were about to say that you expected someone taller.”

“I was about to say that you’re looking well, for someone who’s been shot.
 
More than once, if reports are to be believed.
 
I’ve even seen some video.
 
It’s…
 
Well, it’s more than we’ve hoped for.
 
I hope you don’t mind me saying that.”

“You shouldn’t believe everything you see on TV.”
 
Val nodded at the door.
 
“Am I prisoner here?”

“I’m not sure.
 
Are you?”

“Sam locked me in.”

“I think we both know that door’s not going to hold you, if you want to get out.
 
Sam’s locked other people out.”

Val nodded, thinking for a moment.
 
“Where to from here?
 
I’ve done as you’ve asked.
 
I’m here.”

“You’re referring to Adalia.”

“I am.”

“Once we extract the virus —”

“You what?”

“Extract.
 
The virus.”
 
Elsie looked down at something Val couldn’t see.
 
“You carry a very special, very unique pathogen.”

“I don’t really feel sick.
 
I feel better than I ever have.”
 
Val breathed in deep, then let it out.
 
“It’s a funny virus, if that’s what it is.”

“How so?”

“Ok.
 
First.”
 
Val ticked them off on his fingers.
 
“It makes me faster and stronger.”

“Yes.”

“I haven’t finished.
 
Second.”
 
He held two fingers up to the glass.
 
“It makes me hard to kill, in the traditional sense.”

“What do you mean by traditional?”

“You’re a clever lady.
 
You’ve seen the videos, as you say.
 
Three.”
 
Val cleared his throat.
 
“This one’s the killer.
 
It turns me into a monster.”

“Yes.
 
We’re having trouble reconciling that one ourselves.”
 
Elsie tipped her head sideways slightly, studying him.
 
“It doesn’t make sense.”

“You should try it from this side.”

“Hm.
 
Yes.”
 
Elsie smiled the tired smile again.
 
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of time to puzzle through it.
 
Our usual… more scientific approach won’t be useful here.”

“How’s that?
 
You’re the head of big pharma.”

“Our… client is on a tight schedule.”

“Your client is dying.”
 
Val sighed.
 
“That’s what this is about, isn’t it?”

Elsie’s eyes flicked to his face.
 
She was looking for something, Val wasn’t sure what.
 
“Yes.”

“You could have just asked.”
 
Val walked over to the window, staring out at the forest.
 
He nodded to himself.
 
“Figures.”

“What figures?”

“What?
 
Oh.
 
Nothing.”
 
Val turned back to Elsie.
 
“Why didn’t you ask?
 
You’ve —”

No.
 
That memory lives in darkness.

“— killed.
 
People.”
 
He gritted his teeth.
 
“Children.”

“You must understand, Mr. Everard.”
 
Elsie fiddled with her glasses.
 
“The loss of life is something I deeply regret.”

“Hm.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Are you?”
 
Val gestured at the room.
 
“Really sorry.
 
You know, do you regret it?
 
This facility — it speaks of a grand design.
 
It’s not on the Internet, for Christ’s sake.
 
Whatever’s here, it’s important to you.
 
A couple of people, dead?
 
Probably just a rounding error to someone like you.”

Elsie sighed on the screen.
 
“No.”

“It’s not a rounding error?”

“No.
 
You’re right.
 
I don’t regret it.”
 
Elsie looked off to the side at something Val couldn’t see.
 
“It’s possible I’ve lost some perspective through all of this.”

“Perspective?”
 
Val cleared his throat.
 
“It might be more than perspective.”

“I’d do it again, you know.”
 
Elsie looked back at him.
 
“If it works ok — it’ll be worth it.
 
The things we can do with it —”