FOR ONE OF THE FEW TIMES IN HIS LIFE, CALVIN GEAUX defied the rules. As he darted through the crowd, dozens of hospital personnel yelled at him to turn around and go the other way. He just put his head down and kept going. Once inside the lobby, he found it was even more chaotic than outside. Some of the patients being evacuated were no doubt seriously ill or injured. It was a carefully coordinated dance to get everyone out as quickly and as safely as possible.

Just past the information desk, Calvin spied a police officer helping an orderly push a large, heavy gurney.

“Officer! I need to report a crime!” Calvin said.

“Kind of busy right now, kid,” the officer replied.

“It’s Dr. Catalyst! He’s here at the hospital. My name is Calvin Geaux, my mom is —”

The police officer was actually a Dade County sheriff’s deputy. His nameplate said SGT. J. D. ARTH. He was medium height, his black hair lined with streaks of gray. And he was concentrating on the task at hand — not paying attention to Calvin.

“Catalyst? You mean that joker from down in the Glades? The one that’s been all over the news? What would he be doing at South Miami Hospital?” The officer never looked at Calvin as he spoke, his attention focused on the crowd and the patient he was assisting.

“Right now he’s trying to kidnap my friend Emmet. Look, my mom is Dr. Geaux. Dr. Rosalita Geaux. She’s the head of the governor’s Dr. Catalyst task force. She’s in surgery. We were attacked by one of Dr. Catalyst’s newest genetically enhanced creatures tonight.”

“Listen, kid, we’ve got an emergency here. Why don’t you call it in and if we can get a spare person down here we’ll take your statement, and —”

Calvin didn’t wait for him to finish. He dodged through and around another group of evacuating patients and dashed toward the elevators. Now he was certain Dr. Catalyst was behind the fire. It was the perfect cover.

“Hey, kid!” the deputy shouted. “Get back here; you need to get out!”

All Calvin could think to do was to make his way back to the OR waiting room to find Nurse Hernandez, if he could. She would believe him, and at least find help. Emmet didn’t have much time. Dr. Catalyst had planned this perfectly. No matter how convincing Emmet was, he’d never get anyone to believe that he wasn’t just trying to evade the police.

There were two orderlies watching the elevators, making sure they were being used exclusively for patients who could not walk. Calvin tried to get on one when the door opened, but one of the orderlies put out his hand.

“No way, kid. Patients only on the elevators. You need to exit the hospital.”

Calvin was beyond the point of listening to the authorities. Instead of leaving as he’d been instructed, he raced to the nearby stairway. It was also crowded with a crush of descending patients and staff. Calvin dodged his way through and around them as he made his way up toward the OR waiting room. It took him much longer than he’d hoped, and with each second ticking by, he grew more worried about Emmet. He finally reached the floor and burst into the hallway, running to the waiting room.

It was empty.

He wondered if perhaps they had already evacuated his mom, Uncle Yaha, and Dr. Doyle because they were high-priority patients. There might not be anyone here to help him. The alarm was still blaring loudly, giving him a headache.

There was a desk in the corner of the waiting room, and behind it were doors leading to the surgical units. Calvin approached the desk. Each door had a small window in it, but he saw no one moving about. And he certainly couldn’t hear anyone.

“Hello?” he shouted as loud as he could. His voice was drowned out by the alarm.

“Calvin?”

He jumped and spun around to find Lieutenant Stukaczowski standing there.

“Oh, geez,” Calvin said, suddenly realizing how out of breath he was. He’d been running on adrenaline the whole time. Now that Stuke’s dad was here, he felt an enormous sense of relief. But they still had to find Emmet.

“Where’s Emmet, Calvin?”

“He … There was a fire. We had to leave. The nurse said they would transport our parents to another hospital. And then when we got outside, there was a policeman, and he said you had radioed ahead for him to take us to the hospital because of the fire. Emmet thought something was wrong, and then right before we got in the car, Emmet asked him if Sergeant Stukaczowski really wanted us to leave before he got here. And the cop said yes. That’s when Emmet must have known he was a fake cop, because you’re a lieutenant.”

“That Emmet is a smart kid. Was it the same guy you saw in the school?”

“I don’t know. He had blond hair instead of black and a mustache. But he could have been wearing a disguise, I guess.”

“What kind of uniform was he wearing? What did the car look like?”

“It was a Florida City uniform. The car said Florida City, but that’s all I know.”

“Where is Emmet now?”

“That’s just it. I tried to run back into the hospital for help. The cop … Dr. Catalyst was chasing me. With all the people rushing out, I was having a hard time getting in. He was closing in on me, when Emmet smarted off at him and made him stop for a second. It gave me enough time to get into the crowd and get away. But I think he took off after Emmet.”

“Okay,” Lieutenant Stukaczowski said. “You did really well. Right now, my wife, my son, Riley, and Raeburn are waiting in the car downstairs. Your parents have been transported to Miami General.”

“But what about Emmet?”

“We’re going to find him. My guess is Emmet is still on foot and somewhere in the area. But if Dr. Catalyst is using a real FCPD car, it will have a transponder in it. We’ll be able to track him. Even if he managed to catch Emmet, we can follow them.”

“But what if he’s using a fake car?” Calvin asked.

“We’re going to set up a perimeter with roadblocks. I’m betting on Emmet. I’m betting he’s stayed away from Dr. Catalyst long enough for you to get help.”

“You have to find him, Lieutenant Stukaczowski. This is all my fault. All of it. And now … even when … he knew it was my fault, he still tried to save my life.” For the first time he could remember in a long time, Calvin felt tears forming in his eyes.

“Calvin, you listen to me. This is not your fault. None of it. Most of what we know about this creep we got from the two of you. You’re two of the most amazing kids I’ve ever seen. So stop blaming yourself.” He put his arm around Calvin’s shoulders. “Now come on, we’ve got to get you to your parents, and I’ve got a perp to catch.”

“You’ve got to find Emmet, sir. You’ve got to.”

“Don’t worry, Calvin. We will,” he said.

As they headed back down the stairs, Lieutenant Stukaczowski pulled his cell phone from his pocket and started issuing orders.

The manhunt was on.