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“The pain of separation for us is too great. Once the binding of love is established, it is for life, and if there’s any prolonged separation, there is a chance it can become a physical health issue.” (Verbal history of Avitorians, handed down by Georgeo to a group of youngsters.)
“What’s with the security guard in the hallway?” The male nurse asked while picking up the clipboard from the end of Carina’s bed.
“Doctor said it was extra measures to make sure nothing interrupted Carina’s sleep tonight.” The female intern replied. “There’s a big examination tomorrow and Suzanne wants her as well rested as possible.”
“Well rested?” he chuckled. “She’s so well rested she almost died on us yesterday.”
“Actually, she was awake for a few hours today. I really think the L-Dopa with the extra hydration helped.”
“Ah, that’s good.” The male nurse continued to examine the charts on the clipboard.
Carina slept soundly oblivious of the feeding tube, oxygen cannula in her nose, and the straps around her hands, chest, legs, and ankles. He hung the clipboard at the end of the bed and checked the monitors. “Everything looks good. I’m sure the doctor will be pleased with her status.” He checked his watch. “I have a break in another hour. I’m dying for some coffee.” He sat down at a desk with a computer at the side of the room. “Maybe we can both go grab some in a bit. As long as we stay away from the astro-physics building. There’s a bunch of firetrucks and police over there. Something about a hazmat spill.”
***
Georgeo slowly descended from the low clouds to the end of the dirt road in the woods. Leif was already there, still wet from his flight from the university.
“You pulled the fire alarm?” Georgeo asked.
Leif wasn’t sure if he was going to get scolded or praised. “It hit me at the spur of the moment. I had to get one of the doctor’s goons off of my tail. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it out.”
Georgeo pondered for a moment and shook his head in approval. “Good thinking. The extra diversion will help.” He pulled off his stuffed backpack, unzipped the top of it, and pulled out a plastic bag full of fireworks and another bag with a mason jar. “Take a look.”
Leif pulled out his phone, lit up the display, and aimed it at the contents in Georgeo’s hands. The mason jar was full of liquid and had a smaller glass container inside with some chunks of metal. “What’s that?”
“An extra distraction. I was pretty good at chemistry as a kid.” Georgeo chuckled. “The small container has sodium. I drop this into a trash dumpster, causing the glass to break, the sodium mixes with the water, and a nice fire breaks out.”
“Awesome.”
“But, I have something special.” George reached into the backpack and pulled out some black clothing and handed it to Leif. “Here, I want you to wear this.”
“I already have dark clothing.”
“This is special. There’s only one of these and its mine, but for tonight, I want you to wear it. It goes on under your clothes.”
“I have to strip and put this on?”
“How else do you expect to get it on under your clothes?” Georgeo asked as seriously as he could. “It’ll be a little tight since I’m shorter than you. It will keep you warm in the winter skies and cool in the summer. It is infrared resistant, reflects microwaves, and makes you more invisible to The Eighteenth’s equipment.”
“What about you? Don’t you need this?”
“They’re going to be looking for you. I’ll create the diversion and draw them off, but if there’s a chance they focus on you, these will protect you. This way, you get in, and get Carina out.”
Leif nodded and added, “Okay, then. Stealth underwear.” He pulled off his jacket, shirt, and jeans, and put on the special clothing. The bottoms clung to his legs like yoga pants, but was silky and smooth. They went on easily. The top was the same except it had a hoodie that fit over his head like a scuba suit. It was a little tight under his arms, but it seemed to expand a little with his body heat. Georgeo handed him a pair of matching socks, which pulled up to just under his knees, and a pair of gloves - textured on the palms and fingertips, and smooth on the back. Even though he had been wet and sweaty from the flight and adrenaline, he could feel the fabric pulling the moisture away from his skin. “You’ve worn this?”
“Multiple times. I’ll fill you in someday.” Georgeo waited while Leif finished putting on the rest of his clothes.
“Nice. I can hardly tell the difference.” Leif added.
“Where are we going?” Georgeo asked.
Leif could feel Georgeo trying his best to hide his anxiety. He pulled up a graphic map on his phone, and put it into 3D satellite mode - showing the university campus as a 3D model. “Here’s the view of the entire campus.” He showed Georgeo and zoomed in to where only a few buildings next to the water were visible. He pointed. “This is the Marine Sciences building. The doctor’s boat is parked right next to it. Carina is somewhere in the building. This...” He zoomed out slightly and pointed. “Is the Astro-Physics building, where the firetrucks and police are going to be. It’s only a couple blocks away.”
“May I?” Georgeo asked while reaching for Leif’s phone. He scrolled around a little and zoomed in on a different building. “What building is this?”
“That’s the Harris Hydraulics Lab.”
“Okay. I see a dumpster in the parking lot there. I’ll hover over the doctor’s boat for a minute, long enough for them to pick me up on their infrared. I’ll head over here...” He pointed to the dumpster. “And drop the sodium jar. Wait out over the water until you see the dumpster in flames. By that time all their attention should be in my direction. That’ll buy you time to get to the building, get in, and find Carina. Get the girl and get out!”
Leif pondered over the plan for a few moments. “What if I run into complications in the building?”
“Didn’t you have complications in the physics building?”
“Yeah, I guess I did.”
“You figured it out. I have no doubt you’ll figure it out again.” Georgeo handed the phone back to Leif. “You ready?”
Leif took a deep breath, blew it out, and shook his hands a few times. “Yes. I’m ready.”
***
Leif hovered barely below the cloud layer, a couple hundred feet above the waters of Portage Bay. He could sense and hear some activity behind him, in the floating houses and neighborhood of North Broadway. He figured it was around midnight, but didn’t dare check his phone. The light would easily give him away if anyone happened to look his direction. Normally, with the chill in the air and the dampness of the clouds, he would either be shivering or weighted down by his heavy coat. With the special underclothes provided by Georgeo he felt warm, dry, and comfortable. He now understood why Georgeo had given them to him to wear. He looked for Georgeo, but couldn’t see him from this distance. His heart was pounding with anxiety and anticipation. He could see the Harris Hydraulics Lab building to the right of the Marine Sciences building. Georgeo would be hovering somewhere above it. He looked toward Dr. Corellis yacht. It was lit up on the inside, but he couldn’t tell if anyone was out on the back deck or in the upper cabin. “Come on Georgeo,” he whispered to himself.
Georgeo descended toward the roof of the Marine Sciences building. There were lights shining from under the roofline down toward the dock of the building and Dr. Corellis yacht. He descended further till he was barely above the roof. Two men came out from the cabin of the yacht and pointed in his direction. They shielded their eyes from the bright lights and pointed slightly to the right of his position. “Heh. Can’t see me, aye?” He chuckled to himself. One of the men looked down at a device he was holding while the other man ran back inside the cabin. The man with the device walked toward the gangplank leading to the dock, while looking down at his device. The second man came running back out with a large and fat looking rifle. Dr. Corellis stepped out onto the deck and pointed toward the dock. No doubt directing their next move.
Georgeo flew back up toward the cloud layer and leveled out just below it. He headed over to above the next building and looked for the trash dumpster in the parking lot. It was always hard to judge his angle when trying to drop something to an exact location, so he swooped down till he was around fifty feet above the dumpster. Unfortunately, he didn’t count on the lids of the dumpster being closed. He looked toward the dock and saw the two men heading his direction, but they were at least a good football field away. He dropped down next to the dumpster, pulled one of the lids up, flipping it open, and accelerated back up into the air.
The two men reached the street between the buildings. Dr. Corellis was standing on the dock, looking in Georgeo’s direction. She had one hand above her eyes, trying to block out lights from the buildings and she had one hand to her ear - talking on a cell phone. Georgeo hoped she thought he was Leif. He pulled the jar out of his jacket pocket and dropped it into the dumpster.
Leif saw a flash of light followed by smoke from the parking lot of the Harris Hydraulics Lab. His heart beat heavily in his chest with the realization it had begun. There was no turning back now. “Alright. Just wait for it.” He whispered to himself. The distant column of smoke ascended into the air, lit up from the sodium and water fire below. The minutes of watching the smoke and fire grow seemed like an hour. He was getting anxious. A distant siren from a firetruck sounded and Leif knew it was time. He ascended up into the cloud cover and flew toward the Marine Sciences building.
Closing his eyes and reaching out with his senses, he tried to determine the exact location of where he needed to be. The flow of electricity through the flood lights of the building and the streetlights was almost overwhelming. He dulled his senses enough to get a better sense of the layout. There was another strong electrical source coming from the yacht and something one of two men were holding as they ran toward Georgeo and the growing heat source from burning dumpster.
Leif stopped over the top of the building and slowly lowered himself while hanging upside down. He stopped as his head peeked through the bottom of the clouds. He could see the two men running toward the building across the street. One of them was holding the large rifle and was pointing it toward Georgeo.
Georgeo could sense Leif hovering over the top of the Marine Sciences building. He continued to hover around a hundred feet over the top of the dumpster. The wind blowing in from the Sound was carrying the smoke from the fire to the east. He grinned at the men approaching. “This should make things interesting.” He whispered to himself as he pulled a couple strands of firecrackers from his jacket pocket and dropped them into the burning dumpster. “Bulls eye!” Georgeo stated as he watched the strands hit the center of the fire. He ascended up into the base of the clouds as the firecrackers started firing off.
Leif could hear the sounds of gunfire coming from the direction of the burning dumpster and he smiled at the thought of Georgeo dropping the firecrackers into the fire. He saw the two men who had been running toward Georgeo drop to the street surface and cover their heads. The plan was working - all attention was being directed on Georgeo and the burning dumpster.
Leif scanned the roof of the Marine Sciences building and didn't see any vents big enough for him to get into the building. He descended and flew to the west side of the building, further away from Georgeo, and between the dock and the front of the building. Various windows stretched along the side of the second floor of the building. The echoes of men shouting, firecrackers, and sirens from approaching firetrucks and police bounced around the buildings as Leif tugged on one of the windows. Not wanting to waste any precious time, he drifted back a few feet, covered his head with his arms, and flew feet first through the window. Glass shattered and the wooden framed splintered. He fell to the floor sliding and slammed into the opposing wall and book shelf. The shelves collapsed, sending their contents cascading noisily to the floor.
“So much for a quiet entry,” he remarked while shielding his head.
He stood and paused at the room door for a moment to listen for the footsteps of security guards. It was hard to hear anything with all the commotion going on outside. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses. There was a lot of equipment in the building churning electricity. I need to focus. Covering his ears and kneeling down on the floor, he forced his mind to shut out the harsh intensity of the electrical wires and equipment in the building. The power within lifeforms was softer, gentler, and living. Below, animals, fish. More floors below. I gotta get downstairs.
He stood and slowly opened the door. Satisfied no one was there, he ran through the hallway to a small lobby with an elevator, and a door to the stairs. Pausing for a few seconds, he took a deep breath, and blew it out slowly. He pressed the button for the elevator, as a possible distraction, and headed for the stairwell. Instead of running down the stairs he floated down and to the first floor door. He placed an ear to the door and listened while reaching out with his senses. Tanks full of fish and plants. No one there.
Quickly peeking through a small, square window in the door, he could see the water tanks, surrounded by equipment, and steel racks loaded with tools. A sign on a side door read ‘Lockers’, which peaked Leif’s interest. He slowly opened the door and quickly floated into the locker room. After checking a few of the lockers he came across a white lab coat with a name tag clipped to the upper pocket, showing ‘C.Anders’. The lab coat was slightly large for Leif. It’ll do. He grabbed a clipboard off a small corner table and dug some printed reports out of a trash can, straightened the wrinkles out of them and clipped them down. “Perfect.”
Leif took a quick glance out the locker room door to make sure it was clear and he stepped back into the stairwell. He floated down to the next level. The door leading out of the stairwell lead to a long hallway ending at a series of boat docks and walkways over water. Netting stretched across the fiberglass tanks, separating different species of fish, octopus, and crabs. Leif could see lights reflecting off the white hull of the doctor’s yacht at the end of one of the walkways. He turned and headed back through the hallway to the stairwell.
The stairs continued down for three more levels before revealing another door leading to a long hallway. Leif slowly opened the door and drifted past an elevator door. The walls of the hallway were networked with various pipes, cables, and wires running the length of the hallway. Leif followed the path but drifted slightly above the concrete floor, completely silent. He stopped before the hallway terminated and listened/sensed for anyone in the area. A single person in the hallway, stationary, and maybe sitting down. Past him Leif could sense two more standing in a room and someone laying prone. His heart leaped with the expectation it could be Carina. He chanced taking a quick peek around the corner. There was a security guard sitting at the end of the hallway examining his phone.
Leif took a deep breath, blew it out, and lowered himself to the floor. He walked around the corner and toward the security guard, hoping his lab coat and clipboard would indicate he was supposed to be there. The guard stood up and quickly put his phone in his pocket.
Leif decided a good offense would be the best approach. “What are you doing?”
“Um, just checking my text messages.” The guard responded.
Leif tried to sound as authoritative as possible. “You do understand Dr. Corellis wants the utmost of vigilance for protecting the patient, yes?”
“Of course.” The guard responded while looking defensive about being dressed down by someone in a lab coat. “Can I help you?” he asked.
“Just here to do some measurements before the big experiment tomorrow.” Leif responded while looking down at his clipboard.
“Ah, of course.” The security guard pushed open the door behind him and pointed for Leif to enter.
Surprised the guard gave in so easily, Leif responded. “Well, make sure you stay on your toes. There are a lot of distractions going on outside and the doctor is going to expect nothing but the best from all of us.”
“Yes, of course.” The guard replied.
Leif stepped into the room and paused while the door slowly closed behind him. Wow, I can’t believe how easy that was. The room was just a plain laboratory with shelves and equipment in racks on the walls. There were three stainless steel doors at the opposite wall, which looked like doors to walk-in refrigerators. There were no other doors except for the one he just came through. He ran one hand through his hair while pondering what to do next. Voices from behind one of the doors startled him and he quickly flew to the side of a tall computer equipment rack, shielding him from the view of the three doors, but not from the main door to the hallway.
The steel door closest to him opened with the hiss of an air tight seal being released. A man and a woman in hospital scrubs stepped out while talking. “Do you think she’ll be ready for the implants tomorrow?” The woman asked.
“She certainly seems more stable now,” the man replied as they stepped across the room toward the exit door.
Leif quietly slid backward, trying to keep himself from being seen if they turned around.
The man continued while reaching for the door handle. “The ringers drip should be done by the time we get back. We’ll do another snapshot of vitals and call to update the doctor.” He pulled the door open and allowed the woman to step through first.
The security guard in the hallway looked toward the man as he held the door open. Leif’s heart jumped with the realization he could easily be seen by the guard. The man followed the woman through the door and greeted the security guard. Leif held his breath as the door slowly closed behind them. He shivered from the adrenaline rush with the click of the door. Not wasting any time, he hovered to the steel door and opened it with another hiss. Another steel door stood about six feet in front of him. He quickly reached for it, but it wouldn’t open. There was no scanner pad next to it or a lock. He started to panic as he heard the door close behind him and a flow of cool air washed over him from above. A red LED readout next to the door showed a countdown starting from twenty and stepping down every second. Leif took a deep breath and tried to calm down till the counter reached zero. The door in front of him beeped. He grabbed the handle and pulled the door open with a hiss.
The room was bathed in red light except for a dim white light above the bed with Carina. Leif gasped in relief as he saw her - tears welling up in his eyes. “Carina,” he lightly whispered as he stepped to the side of the bed and grasped her hand. It was warm to the touch, but she didn’t respond. He scanned the monitors and equipment at the head of her bed. Past the equipment he noticed a glass room with a large vertical cylinder. He gave her hand another squeeze and whispered in her ear. “Carina. It’s me, Leif.” She didn’t respond. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly tapped out a text message to Georgeo.
Found her. Below MSB. Guard in hall.
He shoved the phone back in his pocket and scanned the restraining straps around Carina. No locks, just buckles. He glanced back over to the glass room. The tall metal cylinder with a window at the top and a small digital display caught his eyes again. He had to give it a quick look. He hovered over to the glass of the room and stared at the cylinder. Through the small glass window of the cylinder, he could see the face of a girl, with long, limp hair off to the sides. Her eyes were closed and her skin had a pale bluish tint to it. He could hear equipment running in the room and figured it was some type of cryonics chamber. Below the window was a steel tag with the name of the girl - Angela.
Leif’s mind raced with the possibilities. Aunt Angela? He tugged at the door, but it was locked. “Ahhhgg!” He shouted at the door as he gave it another yank, without success. He flew back to Carina’s side and patted her on the face. “Carina, wake up. Come on. Wake up!” She didn’t respond. He released the buckles on the restraints and gently removed the IV to the fluids bag, the oxygen cannula in her nose, and the feeding tube down her mouth, while trying to be careful with the adhesive tape holding everything down. Tears fell down his cheeks as he raced to get her free from the equipment while trying to be gentile enough to not hurt her.
He rubbed her arms and her feet, hoping to get her blood circulating better. “Carina, wake up babe. It’s me Leif. We’ve got to go. We have to get out of here.” Stepping back up to the head of the bed, he gently stroked her cheeks and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Carina. I’m going to carry you.” He placed one arm under her knees and another arm behind her shoulders, lifted gently and used his hand to steady her head. He lifted up slightly off of the floor and glided over to the steel door. Using his left hand, under her knees, he reached for the door handle, turned it, and pushed the door open. Standing in the middle of the chamber, he waited for the door behind him to close, and for the stream of air to wash over them. “Come on, come on.”
The cool air flowed over them both as Carina let out a small moan. Leif waited for the red numbers to reach zero. He pulled her face up toward his and he whispered, “Carina. It’s okay. I’ve got you now. We’re getting out of here.”
The LED counter reached zero and Leif pushed on the door with one foot. He glided out through the door and paused for a moment while staring at the exit toward the hallway. The guard. He slowly drifted to the door, not sure how he was going to handle the guard while holding Carina. As he reached for the door handle something slammed against the other side of the door with a loud thump, startling Leif. He leapt back away from the door as it shook from another loud thump. The door opened and Georgeo gazed into the room while straddling the floored security guard, who was groaning and clutching his ribs. A can of pepper spray rolled down the hallway and the guard’s cellphone was scattered into various pieces on the floor.
“Georgeo!” Leif exclaimed. “What did you...”
“It’s just a couple ribs. It’s what he gets for texting while on duty.” Georgeo stated while holding the door open and signaling for Leif to hurry. “We need to go. It’s getting busy outside.”
Leif drifted through the door and followed Georgeo over the guard and down the hallway. He stopped half way down the hallway. “Georgeo.”
Georgeo turned. “What? We really don’t have much time.”
“It’s Angela. They have aunt Angela. She’s in a cryo tube, back there.”
“Are you sure?” Georgeo asked while checking over his shoulder.
“I saw the name tag. It’s her.” Leif stated in frustration.
Georgeo paused for a few seconds and gazed down at the floor. “Okay. Noted, but for now, we get you both out of here.” He turned and drifted to the corner of the hallway and signaled Leif to follow. “We’re clear to the next level.”
They drifted up the three flights of stairs and stopped at the landing leading to a hallway and another flight of stairs. Georgeo looked up at the next flight of stairs and put his hand out to stop Leif and Carina. “It’s not good. People are coming down.” He turned to face Leif. “We have to split up. You’ve got to get out with her.” He pointed down the hallway. “Head out past the yacht and then up. You’re wearing the suit. They can’t stop you. Meet me at the trail.”
“What about...”
“No time Leif. Just go. Now!”
Leif increased his hold on Carina and flew down the hallway. He quickly peered through the window in the door, opened it, and hovered through to the area with the water tanks and catwalks suspended over the water. One of the catwalks led to an opening under the dock, next to the yacht belonging to Doctor Corellis. He really didn’t want to get any closer to the doctor, but he didn’t have much choice if he wanted to escape. The weight of Carina was starting to wear on his arms. No time to hesitate. He flew over the catwalk and stopped where it ended. He could hear voices echoing off the side of the yacht from the dock above. A distant sound of motors and spraying water reminded him of the fire Georgeo set in the trash dumpster at the next building. The water and the sky past the yacht was dark. He knew he would stick out against the night with the white lab coat, but he wasn’t about to let go of Carina. “Hold on Carina. Here we go.” He whispered and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Mustering up all his strength, Leif flew off the end of the catwalk and past the yacht. He kept low to the water and circled around behind the starboard side of the boat, trying to keep the yacht between him and the people on the dock. He could hear shouts of people in the distance. He increased his speed and stayed barely above the surface of the water of Portage Bay. Once he reached the middle, he stopped, rotated around, and could see spot lights from the cabin of the yacht sweeping his direction. He looked up and rocketed into the sky as quickly as he could. It seemed like forever before he reached the safety of the cloud layer. The cool, damp mist of the cloud felt refreshing and it calmed his nerves. He held Carina as close as he could as he gained altitude and headed for Tiger Mountain. He gently kissed her on the forehead. “You’re safe now, Carina.”
Droplets from the cloud mist gathered on Carina’s skin and soaked her hair. She gasped a deep breath of the cold, night air, and slowly opened her eyes. She was barely able to let out a whisper. “Leif?”