Chapter 5
Five took a few minutes to stretch out in the lobby as Sam finished looking over some paperwork, Janine pointing out important parts. Louise leaned against the wall, examining her fingernails.
“Ready?” Sam asked. Five looked up.
“You’re worried.”
“Yeah.”
“I can tell because you’ve got a little frown line right here.” She ran her finger down the little line between his eyebrows. She gave it a kiss. “I’ll be fine. I promise. I shook off all the rust yesterday. I got a pass from Maxine. It’s all going to be okay. But I love you for caring.”
“I’ll be right in your ear the whole time.”
“I know.”
“I love you, too. Be safe.” Janine cleared her throat loudly.
“If you two could please be ready, we are already at least 2 minutes behind.” Five and Sam gave each other a quick hug. Sam headed to the comms room with Janine while Louise and Five took the elevator up.
The air was fresh. Janine and Sam were in her ear. Louise was keeping pace easily next to her. Five took a deep breath. It was all okay.
It was easily 45 minutes of running and light banter before Five and Louise began to approach their target location.
“Okay, guys. You’re officially out of my sight. I haven’t got access to cameras that far from Noah. We’re definitely heading toward the airport. You don’t get hotels that ugly anywhere else. The sort where they hold the International Telephone Sanitizers Conference, and the only place to eat for miles is Ye Olde British Alehouse built in 1976. You’re sure this is where we’re supposed to be?”
“I think so. As long as Tom got the encryption right.”
“I have every confidence in my brother’s abilities. In that area, anyway.”
“And it’s a good idea to meet up with a group of possibly homicidal conspiracy nuts?”
“If they’ve heard those Ministry broadcasts, they’re probably wondering the same.” Louise chuckled.
“Except those aren’t true. Not even a little bit! I’ve never, ever had a goatee.” Five dissolved into laughter.
Demons and Darkness was supposed to have started ten minutes ago. Five, Maxine, Jody, and Paula sat in the rec room at Abel, dragging out small talk, anxious to get started. Simon was at the table, too, claiming he didn’t want to play. Yet he showed up every time they met. He even had his own “non-playable” character, Gregarious the Ghost, who would offer advice and premonitions.
“Okay. Where’s Sam? I’m going to hide his whole chocolate stash if he doesn’t…” Jody was interrupted when the door flew open. Five’s eyes were first drawn to the billowing cape, and then to Sam’s face. On his chin was a badly drawn goatee.
“It is I! The Evil-” A chorus of exclamations came from the table.
“Blimey.”
“Well, there’s a thing.”
“Oh. My. God.”
“You absolutely cannot pull off a goatee.” Jody shook her head.
“Sam.” Five giggled. “Oh…oh dear.” He took a seat next to her. She whispered, “I kind of like it. You look dangerous.” Sam huffed a small, embarrassed laugh and held her hand while Maxine began the game.
“Hey.” Sam continued in her ear, interrupting the memory. “I know what you’re thinking, Five. And I know what face you’re making. That was one time and it was drawn on with pen.”
“Well, I liked it. Have you ever thought of bringing it back?”
“I mean, I can-”
“Sigrid has gone through extreme lengths to eradicate Netrophil, including using Runner Five to try to kill one of their agents. If you recall, she was eaten by a zombie with Five. Please remember the seriousness of this mission. Whatever Netrophil has to say, we need to hear it.” Janine firmly redirected the conversation.
“Right. And…oh. That sounds like zombies nearby.”
“About a dozen, coming out of the big Marriot. We’re going to run. Looks like a nice steep incline to the airport. Woo! Love sprinting uphill, don’t you, Five!”
Comms were silent except for Five and Louise breathing heavily, working their way up the hill.
“Whew! Made it. Ah, this is better. Five and I outran the zoms and nipped in through the basement entrance of this car park. I love these places.”
“Oh.” Sam sounded like he was shrugging. “I didn’t know you were so fond of concrete and the smell of wee.”
“Airport car parks are different. They’re where the fun starts! You and your mates rock up packed into someone's motor, already three beers down, ready to neck a dozen more as soon as you touch down. Holiday spirit! It’s what airports are all about.”
“I don’t think you and me went on the same sort of holiday, Lousie.” Sam snorted. “Okay. I have a map. Can you find level C43? That leads directly to terminal two.”
Pop.
Crack.
Gunshots.
“What was that?” Sam said, panicked.
“Soldiers, I think. Caught a flash of camo. They were hiding behind a rusted SUV. Bugger! They must have followed us.”
“Or this invitation was a trap.” Janine said, her voice somehow both stoic and worried.
“That’s not a comforting thought.” Sam sighed.
“No.”
More gunshots.
Five felt it graze her arm but she refused to look at it. The sting was sharp, hot. She closed her eyes. Owen. The sound. The heat. The blood.He's deadhesdead.God, not now Five. Please. Not now.
“-all right, Five? Five?” Louise’s voice was coming into focus. Five looked at her arm. Just a small nick.
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m okay. Jesus. That was close.” The sound of Louise next to her, the sight of nothing more than a small cut, the feel of the concrete under her feet, the smell of dirt. It grounded her enough for now.
“-down the stairway.” Janine was finishing instructions. Five stayed close to Louise and ran right with her. “The walls will shield you. Level C43, wasn’t it, Mr. Yao? That’s ten flights up. Five, Miss Bailey, keep your heads down and hurry.”
And hurry they did. Five concentrated on nothing but her own breath and Louise’s footsteps.
“Oh! That’s…that's weird. Hm.” Sam said.
“What?” Five asked, worried.
“No. Not bad. Just…weird. Someone just patched me into the airport security cams. The feed just popped up on my screen, like someone’s broadcasting it.”
“Netrophil?” Louise offered.
“Maybe. Hmm. They’d have to know a lot about our systems, which is…worrying.”
“If it is Netrophil, they’ve done it for a reason. What are you seeing?”
“Uh. Well….okay. You’re going to want to avoid the departures hall. Looks like a lot of people were trying to get out of the country on Z Day. Safest to detour through duty free. Oooh. Five. Pick me up a giant Toblerone while you’re at it!” Five smiled instinctively.
A dog barked.
A dog?
Woof. Arf arf.
Louise and Five looked at each other.
“What the hell?” Louise looked around.
“What the actual fuck?” Five thought for a minute. “I swear I know that bark.” She tilted her head. The bark came again.
No.
That’s impossible.
All barks sound the same.
Don’t they?
Louise was talking. Five wasn’t listening. She followed the barking.
“Oooh, I see it. Janine, is it just me or do you recognize that dog?” She vaguely registered Sam’s question as she rounded a corner. Five caught a white tail disappearing around the side of a neck pillow kiosk.
“Bonnie.” She whispered.
“You seriously want us to follow a dog?” Louise whined.
“That’s not just any dog.” Five breathed.
When she was lost and running all night, nearly locked out of Abel, she came home exhausted, afraid, hurting. She was spending that night in the hospital. Evan brought Bonnie in. “I always loan Bonnie out to injured runners. She’s a wonderful therapy dog.” Bonnie curled up by her side and offered comfort. When she came back after losing Archie. When she was laid up with a turned ankle. Bonnie was there. Any time she wasn’t by Evan’s side, she was helping another Abel resident. When Eugene couldn’t find Jack. When Sam was released from quarantine after being bitten by zombies and left for dead. Bonnie never left the side of the person who was hurting.
Five took off running, following the fluffy tail around the corner.
“Bonnie!” Five called. “Bonnie? Is that you, girl?”
“Wait,” Louise breathed, trying to keep up. “You know this dog?” She lowered her voice to continue under her breath. “Of course the people of Abel know a dog. Why wouldn’t they have a dog best friend?”
Five ignored her and kept running until she stopped short, her sneakers screeching on the floor.
“Oh my God.” she breathed.
“Good girl, Bonnie.” Five was surprised to feel tears prick at the sides of her eyes when she heard that voice. The deep drawl of an old friend, long suspected to be gone. “There’s a clever girl.” Bonnie circled around Five’s legs and Five rewarded her with pats on the head and side. She looked up and her eyes found Evan’s. She had a sudden urge to envelope him in a hug, but truthfully he always intimidated her a bit. She held herself back and hugged Bonnie instead. “Hello Janine. I hope you don’t mind me piggybacking on your radio signal, Sam, but I had to make sure your runners made it through alive.”
“Runner Seven! But you’re…you’re on a Caribbean island, where you flew after you…after…you abandoned us.” Five was well practiced in reading Sam’s emotion from his voice, but she wasn’t able to this time.
“Did you, Mister Deaubl? Or had you more urgent matters to attend to?” Janine asked. There was no mistaking the emotion in her voice. She was proud.
“Very good, Janine. Yes. I am - I was working with Netrophil. Well, more than working with. I run it.”
“So you’re…” Louise started, and fell silent. Five, Evan, Louise, and Bonnie looked back where the runners had come from.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, but that’s our cue. Follow me!”
They ran. As they ran, Evan explained to Janine what his work with Netrophil had been. They lost the zombies and slowed down. Evan continued his story but Five couldn’t concentrate. Between Louise making eyes at her, probably some suggestive gesture about Evan’s body (to be fair, he still was in exceptional shape), and Bonnie continuing to sniff her in a friendly greeting, Five couldn’t seem to quiet her brain. Sam’s voice in her ear snapped her into reality.
“I just switched you to a private channel for a minute. Holy crap, Five. Can you believe it?”
“It’s wild.” Five whispered, eliciting a faint crooked smile from Evan. He absolutely knew Sam was talking to her. Evan wasn’t one to miss a trick.
“I don’t know how I feel about this. I’m so glad to have him back but…it’s just a surprise. Oh, shoot. Janine is getting annoyed. I should pay attention.” There was a faint click and she heard Evan’s voice beside her and in her ear.
“Sigrid has killed us all one by one. Or tortured us until we tell her what we know. I myself was Sigrid’s captive for a while. I was fortunate enough to escape but the rest of my people weren’t so lucky.”
It was quiet for a minute until Evan guided the runners down a short flight of stairs.
“Here we are. Here’s the rest of Netrophil.” Evan opened the door. Five and Louise gasped.
“There are two people in the room.” Sam whispered.
“Yes. Sigrid has been very thorough. They are wearing masks to protect their identities. For years, Netrophil has been hiding a Viking object that Sigrid is desperate to get hold of. Den, Juliet?” Evan addressed the masked people. “It’s time to go.”
Five and Louise followed Evan and his friends? Coworkers? Bonnie followed Evan closely.
Gunshots rang out through the tunnels.
Den and Juliet went down one tunnel, making noise, drawing off the guards.
Evan, Five, and Louise went down another.
Five’s thoughts were racing.
Evan.
Evan is back.
Working with Netrophil.
I still don’t understand who the hell Netrophil is.And at this point I’m too afraid to ask.
Evan. The last time I saw him he was asking me to get on a plane with him.
She had imagined it. For a split second, she thought about taking his hand. Saying yes. Running to the Caribbean and never looking back. But Sam. She couldn’t do that to Sam.
But every now and then, she dreamed about it. When things got tough. When friends died. When she was sad and there was a cold spot where Bonnie should be, curled up next to her for comfort and warmth.
She imagined what might have been if she’d gotten on that plane. Flown to the Carribean. Sun and sand, every day a vacation. Evan protecting her. Bonnie steadfast and loyal.
Looks like I wouldn’t have been getting much of a vacation if I had gone. Five snorted. Nobody heard.
They had just crawled out of the tunnel through a trap door.
“You might want to cover your ears.” Evan said. They all ducked.
There was a tremendous explosion.
“Holy shit.”
“What the fuck?”
“Bloody hell. The whole runway’s collapsed.” Louise shook her head in disbelief.
“It may have taken my last two people but it took all of Sigrid’s soldiers, too. Only a small down payment on the lives she owes me, but it’s a start.” A look crossed Evan’s face, one that Five hadn’t seen in a long time. Revenge, but also deep sadness. “I knew Sigrid would catch up with us. I needed to buy a little more time. I’ll be joining Den and Juliet soon, but I have more to do. Let’s head back to your base and I’ll fill you in off comms. Five, care to lead the way?” Five nodded.
The way he had just alluded to his certain death with such calmness and resolve was chilling. She shook it off and changed direction to head to Noah.
It was one of the longest, most uncomfortable elevator rides down to the lobby of the base. Louise kept tapping Five on the arm, but Five knew Evan wouldn’t enjoy being gawked at or fawned over, so she kept her eyes forward and a hand on Bonnie’s head. Evan looked uncharacteristically sullen, his mouth drawn and his eyes focused on the floor.
Shortly before the doors opened, he glanced over at Five.
“Is that…is that instrumental Duran Duran playing?”
“Sam.” Five smiled.
“Of course.” For the first time since seeing him again, she saw his shoulders and his face relax. “Of course he would.”
Five grabbed Evan’s hand and squeezed it as the doors opened. It wasn’t a gesture she normally would have made, but he was clearly not the same Evan that left on that plane. He squeezed it back.
When the doors opened, Bonnie bolted out.
“Bonnie! What-” Evan began, but soon recognizd what was happeing. Sam had been standing there, ready to greet the runners, and Bonnie must have sensed or smelled him on the other side of the doors. She had bounded right to him and knocked him over, licking his face.
“I’ve had appreciative runners greet me before but, ummm….” Sam’s voice was muffled under the weight of the dog. “I missed you, girl, but please get off me! Help, Five!”
Five was laughing but offered Sam a hand.
“Someone really missed you!”
“Yes. And I missed her. But her greeting didn’t have to be so…wet.”
“I, for one, love a wet greeting.” Louise chimed in, immediately illiciting an uncomfortable silence. “On that note, I’ll see myself out. Another great mission, team!” Louise waved and bounced down the hall.
“Mister Deaubl.” Janine approached them from around the corner.
“Janine. Let’s go chat. I assume you have an office?”
“I do. Right this way.”
She led Evan away, leaving Sam, Five, and Bonnie alone in the lobby.
“He seems…different.” Five mused.
“Quiet.” Sam thought for a minute. “Here we were thinking he was living a life of luxury on a private island somewhere and he was really…well. We were wrong.” Five pulled Sam in for a hug.
“I don’t even know where to start with my feelings at the moment.”
“Is that because you love him and always regret not getting on that plane?” Sam tilted his head back to give her a wink.
“You know, that’s exactly it. And now that he’s here, well…maybe we’ll just run away together.”
“What does he have that I don’t?” Sam pouted dramatically.
“Bonnie.”
“Crap. I can’t compete with that. It’s been nice knowing you.” He pushed away from her and Five chucked.
“Come here, knucklehead.” She grabbed his hand. “Let’s go. I absolutely want to be there when Jody runs into Evan. Man, she was so pissed when he left.”
Evan was in Janine’s office until dinner. Maxine and Paula were in the kitchen preparing dinner while Sara sat in a makeshift high chair with a wad of something that looked like Spam balled up in her fist. Jody and Peter were sitting at the table, arguing over who got to the table first. Apparently, the last one was to be a rotten egg so it was very important to determine the winner. Sam gave Sara a kiss on the top of her head and sat with Five. There were others at Noah, but the seven of them had always had dinner together. The table was so small at Noah that the residents often ate in shifts. Sometimes Janine would join them. Which is why Five asked the group at large,
“Do you think Evan will be joining us with Janine?”
Jody growled. Maxine and Paula looked excited for the gossip. Of course word had already gotten around the base, but until now it was only whispers. Peter groaned and said,
“Oh, great. That guy again.”
Every single set of eyes snapped to Peter. Five felt a warmth spread over her. He knows Evan. Of course he does. She felt herself start to grin.
“What’s that, Peter? Do you know Evan?” Five prodded. Peter cleared his throat nervously.
“What? Don’t be silly. I just know of him. It’s hard not to. You know. He was a … well known guy.”
One by one, the whispers about Evan started up again. But not with Five. She could not take her eyes off of Peter. I know your secret.
Five was jolted from her trance when Janine walked in, followed closely by Evan.
“Please do not pretend to be surprised. I know how you all talk. Let’s make room so Evan can rejoin our team.” There was a shuffling of chairs around the table as most everyone greeted Evan. Jody’s greeting was just short of friendly, but it was clear that seeing him in person was defrosting her grudge.
Evan looked at her from the cockpit of the plane. Bonnie was circling the empty seat, trying to get comfortable. Runner Seven. Head of Runners. Full of swagger and confidence. “...there’s really only room for two in this plane, and I’m not going to Abel.” He had his gun trained on Sara and his eyes set on Five. “I’m going to my private island in the Caribbean.” The engine roared in Five’s ears. Evan’s jaw was set. His hand outstretched. “Me, Bonnie, and you, Runner Five. If you want to get out of here, to a place with no zombies, you’re welcome to join me. So you’ve got a choice. Either run up that gangplank, or run out of the way.” She never knew what he really expected her to do. But she chose Sara.
The Evan standing in front of her was not the same. His face was drawn, eyes tired. All confidence gone. Swagger replaced by sadness. Five swallowed a lump forming in her throat. The past few years had not been kind to Seven.
“I guess the only one of us you wouldn't know would be Peter.” Five announced. “This is Peter, er, Necropolis. We found him in the wild and he followed us home.”
“That is not what…” Peter began. Evan scrunched up his face in thought.
“Peter?” He interrupted.
“Yes?”
“Peter. Yeah.” Evan shook his head. “Okay. If you say so.”
Five grinned.