Like me, Natalie was convinced that, in addition to being New York’s best medical examiner, Dr. H was also the Prime Omega. And after what we’d just been through, she knew we needed to go straight to the top. She called him from the cab and said we were coming in.
The final proof he was who we suspected: He didn’t try to stop us.
We walked into the building, and if ever I could have used one of Jamaican Bob’s corny jokes to break the tension, this was the time. But he must have sensed something serious was going on. Instead of a joke, all we got was a faint smile as he told us, “Dr. Hidalgo is expecting you.”
The closest I got to a laugh was right before we walked into the lab. Natalie and I each swiped some vanilla under our noses and offered it to the boys. They looked at us like we were aliens.
“I think we’ll be fine,” Alex assured us.
“Yeah,” Grayson added smugly. “It’s not the first time we’ve ever been in a lab.”
It was, however, the first time they’d ever been in the morgue. Within thirty seconds, they were begging for some extract. Natalie and I shared a smile.
It was the last time she smiled at me for quite a while.
More than anywhere else, the key moments of my life occurred within the walls of the lab at the New York City morgue. This is where my mother and I created a bond that made the rest of my family call me Mini-Mom. And when her death turned my world upside down, this was where I started to rebuild my soul. More recently, it was where Natalie and I formed the first true friendship of my life. And even more recently than that, it was where I came into my own as an Omega in a battle with three killer zombies.
Amazingly, in a room everyone else associates with death, my memories of the morgue were everything but. They were all vibrant and very much alive.
That’s because “dead” is the only word to describe the expression on Dr. Hidalgo’s face as Natalie detailed what had happened between us and Marek Driggs. She recounted the entire chain of events, and the revelation about my mother’s death and the threats he made against us and our families.
When she was done, I told him the story of my solo visit to Dead City. About how I crashed the flatline party and escaped with Liberty in the aqueduct. I even admitted that I had visited the Alpha Bakery without any imminent need.
I didn’t want any more secrets. By the time I was done, I couldn’t look any of them in the eye.
“Well,” Dr. H said, digesting the weight of what we’d just shared. “I am so relieved you all are safe. And I appreciate the honesty in what you’ve told me.”
He hesitated for a moment.
“You have told me everything, haven’t you?”
All eyes turned to me.
“Yes, sir,” I said, barely able to get it out.
As the Prime-O, Dr. H held all the power. He didn’t need to confer or consult with anyone. He didn’t even need time to mull it over. He was judge and jury, and wasted no time before giving us his verdict.
“First, for the three of you,” he said to the others. “You broke one of our most important rules by going into Dead City without notifying me. The primary purpose of this rule is to keep you from winding up in a dangerous situation exactly like the one you found yourselves in. You should all know better. You did it to protect your teammate in very unusual circumstances, and while that counts for something, there must be consequences.”
Alex flinched.
“This team will be inactive until further notice, while we determine the extent of your exposure and danger,” Dr. H continued. “I hope you will use this time to consider the seriousness of what you’ve done. You are not to engage in any activities as an Omega Team . . . with one exception.”
The “exception” caught Natalie by surprise. “What’s that?” she asked.
Dr. Hidalgo took a quick breath, looked at me, and then back at her. “You can get together at the school or at Grayson’s house in Brooklyn to discuss candidates to replace Molly.”
The word hit me in the gut worse than any punch from a zombie ever could.
“Replace?” I asked weakly.
Dr. H turned to me, and I saw a tear running down his cheek. The only other time I had seen him cry was at my mother’s funeral. I knew this was killing him.
“Molly, you’re family to me,” he said, shaking his head. “But you’ve shown such bad judgment. You’ve risked your life and the lives of your teammates. You simply cannot be an Omega. At least, not now. Maybe next year or the year after that. If I think you’re ready, I’ll let the teams looking for new members know. But until then, you’re out.”
I was devastated. But I knew he was right. I had to take responsibility for what I’d done.
“Do you understand the consequences of your actions?”
I tried to speak, but all I could do was nod.
Much to my surprise, another voice spoke out for me.
“I’m sorry, but I find that unacceptable.”
It was Natalie.
My surprise was nothing compared to Dr. Hidalgo’s. He was downright angry.
“I beg your pardon?”
“With all due respect, I find your decision unacceptable.” Her voice was cracking a little, but she didn’t back down. “I know you have been very close to Molly and her family for a long time. I think the emotions of that connection might be affecting your decision.”
Dr. H gritted his teeth and tried to maintain his composure.
“I assure you that they are not,” he said.
“Even so, as the captain of this team, I believe I have the right to appeal any ruling to a review board of past Omegas. And that is what I would like to do.”
I actually remembered this from one of my training sessions with Grayson. But he had made it sound like it was a technicality, not something that ever happened.
“Do you dispute any of what you and Molly have told me here?” Dr. Hidalgo asked her.
“No,” she said.
“Then what do you plan on telling the review board that you think will make a difference?”
I can guarantee you that no friend in my entire life will ever stand up for me as much as Natalie did at this very moment.
“First of all,” she began, “I will tell them that Molly is the sole reason why the Book of Secrets is not in the hands of the undead. That if it were not for her quick thinking and fast action, the lives of every Omega, past and present, would be in danger.”
I looked over to her, but she avoided eye contact with me. She kept a laser focus on Dr. H.
“I will tell them that the reason she was able to do this is because she is the most naturally gifted Omega that any of the three of us has ever seen. And that because of this natural ability, she completed her training in record time. I should have realized this speed cut into important lessons that would have better prepared her judgment and adherence to the rules. I didn’t realize that she wasn’t ready, and as her leader, I should have.”
I watched Dr. Hidalgo as his face turned from angry to something else harder to define. He wasn’t agreeing with her, but he was listening.
“Most important, I will tell them that up until now, this Omega Team has had an impeccable record and a one-hundred-percent success rate. I feel confident in saying that by any standard, this team is elite. And we have absolutely no interest in finding a replacement. Molly’s our fourth. There’s no one else we’d want.”
“Don’t you think you should talk to your other teammates before you make such a claim?” he asked her.
Natalie didn’t even glance at Alex or Grayson. “I don’t need to. I know what they’d say.”
Even if she wasn’t going to, Dr. Hidalgo looked to the two of them. They nodded their agreement without hesitation. All three were putting their reputations behind me. I didn’t deserve it, but I was beyond grateful.
The room fell silent in the way that only the morgue can be as Dr. Hidalgo thought about this. Once he’d considered it, he looked at her.
“Okay,” he said, nodding. “You’re correct. You do have the right to appeal my decision to the review board. I will tell you that no panel has ever overridden the ruling of the Prime-O. And I see no reason why they’d do it this time. But you obviously feel passionate about this, and I respect that.”
I smiled and turned to Natalie, but she still wouldn’t make eye contact with me. She was mad, and she had every right to be.
“I will pass along your request,” he said, “once my successor has been chosen.”
“Your successor?” Natalie asked.
“The identity of the Prime-O must be a secret,” he explained. “That is no longer the case. My last order will be to put eyes on you and your families. And more important, I will put them on Marek.”
“That’s going to be hard,” I said. “I don’t think he comes up to the surface much.”
He flashed a tight-lipped smile. “Molly, you’re not the only Omega with natural gifts.”
“I’m sorry, Dr. H. I didn’t mean anything—”
He silenced me with an upturned hand. Then he addressed us all.
“Until further notice, this Omega Team is dissolved.”