VIRGINIA SAT near Ray, still clad in his robe, as she watched him search his updated files for a new job to assign her. The robe was warm enough, but she felt only half-clad wearing it. She was still waiting for a layer or two of her new clothes to dry out.
"Would you like to work on a field job this time?" Ray asked.
Virginia shrugged. "What would I do?"
"Well, wearing that fancy coat of yours, you'd have no problem handing out free samples at the district Food-Mart," Ray said, smiling at the prospect.
"Free samples of what?" Virginia asked.
"Does it matter?"
"People will just end up going to the hospital and disappearing," she said, her voice flat. "I don't want to be responsible for anyone else going through that."
"I can assure that won't be happening for much longer."
Virginia shook her head, hoping he might elaborate. When he said nothing, she finally asked, needing to confirm her suspicion: "You're planning a mass release?"
"We have no choice. We have to do this now, before Corporate has enough HD-1a to do the same," Ray said, the resolve clear in his unwavering voice. "Our most recent intelligence suggests a Corporate strike could occur as early as by the end of the week. We have to act before they do."
He explained to Virginia that he had assigned workers to seed hospital and shuttle garage air ducts, some to infect school hallways, and others working the outskirts of all the tunnels, handing HD-1-tainted cards and jewelry to anyone with non-deviant eyes.
Virginia glanced at the computer screen, surprised at how vast and organized his operation actually was. How one man could pull together such complicated logistics with just that little hand-held computer and a synch port was beyond her. It seemed he truly did have the means to succeed in pulling off the quadroplex-wide endeavor. From what she had seen on the Corporate Internet, however, the deviant's attempt really did need to be made either immediately or not at all.
"Are you in or out? I need to update my computers," Ray said, finishing up with the rest of the assignments.
"I'm in," Virginia said, although she still was not exactly sure how dirty she wanted to get her hands.
"Are you positive?" he asked, sensing the hesitation in her voice. "I can put you on a job that starts tomorrow."
"Positive," Virginia said, still trying to convince herself. "I'm going to go check on my clothes."
She quietly walked out, into Ray's room, going to the side of the tub and feeling the different articles for dampness. She decided to wait for them to finish drying in the solitude of the quiet cave, away from Ray, his computers, and his men. She needed to take a breather, if only for a short while, to calm her nerves and find the strength to continue.
"Hello? Are you decent?" Mary called from the other side of the tunnel.
Virginia turned, making sure the robe fully covered her. "Yes."
Mary hurried in. "Virginia?"
"Yes?"
Mary hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your husband is looking for you. I ran into him today at the market."
Virginia felt her body go weak, and for a moment, she thought she might pass out. Dizzy and distraught, she began to cry. "Is he still there?"
"He said he would meet you there this evening," Mary said.
"George is looking for me?" Virginia cried, still in shock over the news.
Mary nodded. "I can take you to him."
"You can't go back to your old life," Ray said, having listened in on the women and decided it was finally time to step in. He held a glitter-covered business card up between two fingers. "You can, however, bring your family into the new." He walked up to Virginia and offered it to her.
Virginia stared at the card, afraid to touch it.
"The dust doesn't do anything to us," Ray said, shifting the card to his other hand and licking a layer of blue glitter from one of his fingers. He held it out again, and Virginia hesitantly took it into her shaky hand.
"It's completely safe?" Virginia asked.
"Completely." Ray gathered Virginia's half-dried clothes and dropped them in her arms. "Mary will escort you." He motioned to Mary, moving toward the tunnel.
Mary nodded then followed Ray out to his office.
Virginia quickly put on her clothes, ignoring the large wet spots. She slipped on her boots, and then grabbed her hat and jacket on her way to the tunnel, tucking the business card in one of the pockets. She moved quietly as she neared the cave mouth, realizing that Ray and Mary were whispering.
"I just want you to keep an eye on her for me," Ray said. "Make sure there aren't any last-minute changes of heart."
"Does that mean I'm on the clock?"
Ray chuckled lightly. "Of course."
Virginia quietly entered the cave, and Ray and Mary both went silent. Virginia gave them both a strained smile, feigning ignorance of their brief exchange. She brushed at the wet spots in her clothes, pretending to be distracted. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?" she asked.
Ray smiled. "Nothing at all."
"Ready?" Mary asked her, smiling and taking a deep breath.
Virginia nodded.
Ray gave Virginia a friendly pat on the back. "You're doing the right thing."
Virginia nodded again. Without another word, she followed Mary out through the cave and began down the hidden trail that led to the market.