or twenty thousand pints here. She'd never seen so much blood. Sky was looking at nothing less than life for thousands of people.
“This blood is supposed to be shipped to hospitals along the West Coast, stockpiled for the lottery this winter. Those are what the official orders say. However, the blood is being diverted overseas to Eastern Europe and Asia for private sales.”
Sky shook her head. “That's impossible. American blood can't leave America. Those are the rules and blood stocks have so many checks and balances to make sure not even a pint is misplaced.”
His mouth turned down. “Don't be naïve. There's always a way to fix things. We were trying to discover which officers in the Bay Area Home Guard Post 51 are taking payoffs in order to fiddle the weights and measures. This operation, this raid of yours, messes with months of work.”
“This isn't my raid,” Sky said scornfully. “In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a General. I'm not even an officer. And now the blood will go where it's supposed to. That's good, isn't it?” Part of her realized having a conversation while zip-tied by some kind of assassin in super-tech body armor who had just shot somebody dead right in front of her was very strange. Yet another part of her was able to stay calm and not freak out. Yay for training.
He pulled her back against the railing of the ramp and let go of her arm. Still facing her with the gun, he used his other hand to shut the heavy metal door and throw the electronic locks. “No, that's not good. How simple are you? If by some chance those blundering Home Guard idiots discover their way in here, this whole operation will be in jeopardy. Damn it to hell and back.”
Taking a wicked-looking knife from a sheath strapped to his leg; Sky tensed. She should do something clever. Kick out his legs from under him or something, But then what? With her hands tied, he'd be on her in a flash. She was a teenage soldier-in-training, not a superhero.
Reversing the blade, he was suddenly right next to her. Again the spicy smell reached out to wrap itself around her senses. The suit must somehow be porous and 'breathe'. Otherwise, he'd suffocate. That was his smell under extreme stress, she realized. He was tense. Maybe as frightened as she was.
With the merest flick, he sliced through the zip tie, freeing her hands.
“You have to go. Now. I don't know if your people will find their way here or not. I'm hoping not. Get back down the hall. Don't say anything, especially not about the stolen blood. You have to understand. Our operation is completely covert. This treason goes very high up. Anyone you tell will be in danger. I'm not trying to trick you. The world is a topsy-turvy place since the plagues. There are good people doing bad things and a few bad people trying to do good things.”
“Which one are you?”
He handed over her sidearm, saying nothing.
Her fingers had fallen asleep and it wasn't easy to holster the handgun. He picked up her weapon and waited until she could manage to grab it, then retrieved her helmet.
Taking her by the arm, he roughly steered her back to the hidden door. “Go!”
She turned to see him watching her walk away. Should she have done an awesome move like in a movie and shot him? Raised the cry. Bring her unit? He shut the massive door, pushing it flush once again with the wall.
The man could have easily killed her. The executive type had wanted to. Didn't that prove he was telling the truth? She was still pondering that as she made her way back to Chase.
Chapter 7
Blood Loss
She'd only been gone a few minutes though it felt like hours. Chase had finished throwing up for now and with her help, climbed to his feet. He couldn't put any weight on his left leg. She decided they should move back in the wrecked hallway since that was where rescuers would come first.
As it turned out, they didn't have to wait for the Guard to dig them out. Now that the dust had settled, Sky's
“This blood is supposed to be shipped to hospitals along the West Coast, stockpiled for the lottery this winter. Those are what the official orders say. However, the blood is being diverted overseas to Eastern Europe and Asia for private sales.”
Sky shook her head. “That's impossible. American blood can't leave America. Those are the rules and blood stocks have so many checks and balances to make sure not even a pint is misplaced.”
His mouth turned down. “Don't be naïve. There's always a way to fix things. We were trying to discover which officers in the Bay Area Home Guard Post 51 are taking payoffs in order to fiddle the weights and measures. This operation, this raid of yours, messes with months of work.”
“This isn't my raid,” Sky said scornfully. “In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a General. I'm not even an officer. And now the blood will go where it's supposed to. That's good, isn't it?” Part of her realized having a conversation while zip-tied by some kind of assassin in super-tech body armor who had just shot somebody dead right in front of her was very strange. Yet another part of her was able to stay calm and not freak out. Yay for training.
He pulled her back against the railing of the ramp and let go of her arm. Still facing her with the gun, he used his other hand to shut the heavy metal door and throw the electronic locks. “No, that's not good. How simple are you? If by some chance those blundering Home Guard idiots discover their way in here, this whole operation will be in jeopardy. Damn it to hell and back.”
Taking a wicked-looking knife from a sheath strapped to his leg; Sky tensed. She should do something clever. Kick out his legs from under him or something, But then what? With her hands tied, he'd be on her in a flash. She was a teenage soldier-in-training, not a superhero.
Reversing the blade, he was suddenly right next to her. Again the spicy smell reached out to wrap itself around her senses. The suit must somehow be porous and 'breathe'. Otherwise, he'd suffocate. That was his smell under extreme stress, she realized. He was tense. Maybe as frightened as she was.
With the merest flick, he sliced through the zip tie, freeing her hands.
“You have to go. Now. I don't know if your people will find their way here or not. I'm hoping not. Get back down the hall. Don't say anything, especially not about the stolen blood. You have to understand. Our operation is completely covert. This treason goes very high up. Anyone you tell will be in danger. I'm not trying to trick you. The world is a topsy-turvy place since the plagues. There are good people doing bad things and a few bad people trying to do good things.”
“Which one are you?”
He handed over her sidearm, saying nothing.
Her fingers had fallen asleep and it wasn't easy to holster the handgun. He picked up her weapon and waited until she could manage to grab it, then retrieved her helmet.
Taking her by the arm, he roughly steered her back to the hidden door. “Go!”
She turned to see him watching her walk away. Should she have done an awesome move like in a movie and shot him? Raised the cry. Bring her unit? He shut the massive door, pushing it flush once again with the wall.
The man could have easily killed her. The executive type had wanted to. Didn't that prove he was telling the truth? She was still pondering that as she made her way back to Chase.
Chapter 7
Blood Loss
She'd only been gone a few minutes though it felt like hours. Chase had finished throwing up for now and with her help, climbed to his feet. He couldn't put any weight on his left leg. She decided they should move back in the wrecked hallway since that was where rescuers would come first.
As it turned out, they didn't have to wait for the Guard to dig them out. Now that the dust had settled, Sky's
Similar Books
