Getting out of the city had been too easy. That made Bill nervous.
Seeing the city illuminated by the double blue moons, he struggled to control his nerves. He would wait as long as necessary for Laura to show. But after ten minutes of forced patience, even Gunnar was getting antsy.
‘We need to move. We can’t stay here,’ he said.
Gunnar was right. Their mission had been to rescue Ben, and he was safe. Once Harvey found out Bill had taken him, he would come looking for them.
Going against his gnawing need to see Laura, he ordered the car to return to the hospital. He clicked his seatbelt in place as it drove off.
The farther away from New Tokyo and Harvey they got, the more tension released in Bill’s tight shoulders. He pulled out the communication stone and sent a message to Stephen.
‘We got out,’ was all he said.
‘What now?’ asked Ben from the back seat.
Bill turned round partially. ‘You doing okay?’
The teen nodded and rubbed his wrists. ‘They didn’t hurt me.’
Bill pointed to a red mark on Ben’s face.
‘Except for that.’ He shrugged. ‘Marcus slapped me, but not very hard. He’s lost his edge since coming to Exilon 5.’
‘We should be safe at the hospital. It’s the only place I’m sure Harvey won’t check twice.’
Gunnar said, ‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Because Harvey’s after Jameson’s data and it’s all gone.’
The car pulled up to the open gates of the military hospital. The place looked as deserted as when they’d left it.
‘This place isn’t a stronghold for Harvey,’ Bill said. ‘There’s no power here, unlike at Base Station One.’ He released his seatbelt. ‘And we have an escape tunnel if we need it.’
They got out and entered the open-plan hospital. Along the walls were beds, each one separated by a set of baby-blue curtains. What staff had been there were gone. The area was dark and quiet.
‘No power?’ asked Ben.
Bill looked around. The backup supply must have run out. ‘Not anymore.’ He glanced at Ben and pointed to a bed. ‘Sit. You’re still weak.’
To Gunnar, he said, ‘You and I need to secure this place.’
While Ben made himself comfortable on the nearest bed, Bill and Gunnar rummaged through the supplies inside the mobile cabinets, dotted around the space. Behind a fully curtained area at one end of the room, Bill found a kitchen area with a food replicator on one of the counters. Before it, a small, round table and four chairs. Gunnar returned with rope.
‘What do they need this for?’ He dangled it in the air.
Bill shrugged. He couldn’t think why.
‘They used it to tie the Indigenes down when they went through the reversal treatment,’ said Ben. He stood at the curtain. ‘Isobel told me that.’
Isobel was the Indigene Bill had tortured once, after her reversal treatment. She had returned to Earth to be of help to Jenny and Greyson, both of whom had been trying to liberate the people there from the criminal factions.
Bill dragged a couple of chairs to the main doors. He wedged them beneath the handles, while Gunnar looped the rope in and around to secure everything.
‘Do you think the others—Stephen, Laura—are okay?’ Ben asked, sitting back down on the bed.
‘I don’t know, but they know how to look after themselves.’ Bill hoped they were okay.
Gunnar said, ‘Hetty and the others were keeping an eye out for them. I’m sure they found them, brought them to safety.’
The communication stone felt warm in Bill’s pocket. He pulled it out fast and pressed it to his ear. The message was faint, but it was from Stephen.
‘We’re with Hetty. The way out is teeming with renegades. We’re safe for now. Don’t worry about us. We’ll find another way out.’
He breathed out a sigh of relief. ‘Thank God. They’re safe.’
‘What now, Bill?’ said Gunnar. ‘We can’t stay in here, not while Jameson is in danger.’
It was the best idea he had right now. ‘We’ll move when I have a plan.’
He eyed the empty bed next to Ben. It was looking rather inviting.
Ben looked up at him. ‘What does Harvey want anyway?’
‘Dr Jameson. Why? No clue.’ Bill ambled over to the bed, feeling bone tired.
The adrenaline had left his body. His stomach rumbled hard. Gunnar, who had barely stopped all day, paced the area in front of the beds.
‘Who was watching you?’ Bill asked the teen.
‘Marcus.’
‘None of the other guards?’ Ben shook his head. ‘Did anyone quiz you?’
‘No. Harvey came in and out of the hangar, but he didn’t show any interest in me. Marcus asked me questions, but I got the impression he hadn’t a clue what was going on, either.’
Bill smirked. ‘That must have pissed him off.’
Ben grazed the red mark on his face. ‘It did.’ He looked around. ‘I’m starving.’
‘There’s a food replicator over there. The machines run off their own supply. In case of a loss of power.’
Gunnar said, ‘Handy.’
The three of them returned to the kitchen area. The Swede sat at the table while Ben punched numbers into the machine.
Gunnar said, ‘We eat, then what?’
‘Worst case, we sleep here for the night. It’s why I came here. If we need to return, we also have a way back inside New London.’
‘What good would that do? Without help, we’ll never fight off Harvey’s renegades.’
Bill sighed. ‘I know.’
It was all he had right now.
The stone heated up a second time. He pulled it out and pressed it to his ear. The message was from Laura.
‘Bill, it’s Laura. Don’t come back here. Emile may have used us to get you out.’
He growled and shoved the stone into his pocket.
Both Gunnar and Ben said, ‘What?’
‘Emile tricked us.’
‘Tricked, how?’ said Gunnar.
He slumped against the counter. ‘I don’t know. He wanted us to get out safely. The others weren’t as lucky. It’s possible him turning up at District Three was planned.’
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. ‘Getting Ben out was way too easy. Shit.’ He tugged on his hair. ‘Why didn’t I see this was a fucking setup?’
The Swede cursed. ‘I knew there was something off about that pair. His wife, mate—whatever she is—was too quiet.’
‘Yeah, she doesn’t say much at the best of times.’
Ben gathered up plates of food and set them on the table. He sat down and started to eat.
‘We can’t stay here now,’ said Bill. ‘Harvey may have had us followed.’
A disappointed Ben looked up, food halfway to his mouth. ‘Can I at least eat something?’
Gunnar said, ‘We should stay put until we can figure this out. In here is better than out there right now. They also don’t know about the tunnel.’
At least that was something. Harvey would never have locked Jameson up in the lab had he known about it.
Bill quizzed Ben more. ‘Did you overhear anything about what Harvey might be up to?’
He shook his head. ‘I was locked up the whole time, except when I needed to go to the bathroom. You really think they know where we are?’
‘Probably.’
The teen chewed on a piece of meat. ‘So why haven’t they come for us yet?’
‘Because they still don’t have Jameson.’
‘Neither do we,’ said Gunnar. ‘He’s with the Conditioned.’
A burst of anger filled his chest at his stupidity. He kicked the nearest chair away, startling both Ben and Gunnar. ‘Harvey still wants Jameson. And now the Conditioned want something in return for his safekeeping. How did I mess this up?’
‘We don’t know it is messed up,’ said Gunnar. ‘Are you certain the Conditioned won’t help us?’
‘They haven’t before. Jameson used them. They’re probably only keeping him alive because I promised them something.’ Bill blew out a hard breath.
‘Why don’t we ask them?’ asked Ben. ‘If I learned anything on Earth, it was never to make assumptions.’
Gunnar shrugged. ‘It’s worth a shot, Bill. We’re fighting for their world too.’