Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course.
~ William Shakespeare
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Jenna remembered a time when she would be staying up late and cramming for her exams, while the city below her seemed all but interested in keeping down the noise. Now, the city was dead quiet, so much so you could hear a pin drop.
"You know earlier, when I compared this to COD," she said, "I was wrong, this is more like 28 Days Later,"
"We're almost there, just a couple more blocks," he said.
They passed an open road, with only one or two dusty cars left in the middle of the road. Jenna looked down the horizon, spotting the scattered lip balm cases and sunglasses discarded along the concrete. There was a bakery store front staring back at her, empty and abandoned. Something flickered in the glass reflection, and she suddenly stopped. She hadn't imagined it, right?
"Jenna! Let's go!" Jake called after her. Jenna put a skip in her step and jogged to catch up with Jake.
"Hey, not everybody would go to the shelter, right?" she asked.
"That's what the district wide sweep was for," he replied.
"Is it possible that some people may have eluded your sweep?"
"... Maybe. Why?"
Jenna looked back at the abandoned road, "... I'm paranoid," she simply replied.
They continued walking, but then they heard a distinct and familiar zipping noise. It wasn't a motorcycle, but it wasn't a bike either. Jake had heard that sound, but he couldn't place where.
"Jake?" Jenna whimpered meekly. On instinct, he took her hand and started down a different street.
"We're going the long way," he said.
"And what's the long way?"
"There's a dog park a few blocks away, cuts right across Haisham's Lane,"
"Yes, because clearly, an open field is the best place to be right now," she scowled. He rolled his eyes.
"Could you just pretend to listen to what I say and actually do it too?" he asked her.
"I don't know, you want to let go of my hand?" she quipped back. Jake looked down in surprise, seeing his gloved hand covering hers. He pulled away quickly.
"Just an instinct," he replied. They suddenly heard a thick crackle, and Jenna jumped to Jake's side.
"Yeah? Well, this is my instinct,"
They quickened their pace, but the zipping noises only got louder and louder the more they progressed. Jake kept looking behind him while pushing Jenna forward, and his other hand was placed firmly over the holster of his gun. The park came into view, and they just barely made it twenty feet in before they heard... music? Rock music.
"Is that... Green Day?" Jenna asked. Jake took a few steps towards the noise, and soon enough, he saw three dark figures rocketing towards them; literally speeding down the road on skate boards and roller blades, treating it like a skate arena. This was a sickening deja vu.
He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the street, "Jenna! Run!" he said. Jenna just stood in place, trying to get a look at just what was going on, "Now!" Jake snapped at her.
Jenna turned to run, but she barely made it when another skateboarder zipped passed her, trying to make a grab for her bag. The other two ran circles around them, cussing and whooping as they kept trying to grab for Jenna's bag.
"Jake!" she pressed her back against his, "Do something!"
Jake kept trying to aim, but every time he focused, they'd disappear to another angle. It was like a sick game of Catch-Me-If-You-Can, only this time, he had Green Day throwing off his concentration.
Jenna yelped as they tried to grab her bag again. The men just laughed and continued to taunt Jake. Jake was just about ready to fire shots in every direction, but then... there she was again. Everything fell into a slow-state as Katie stood there. She held her hand up, nodding encouragingly to Jake. Then she made a fist, and on instinct, Jake fired. The bullet fired through Katie's abdomen, and it pierced one of the roller blader's in his hip. The blader was thrown off his skates and landed head first into a sand patch, kicking up dirt and dust as he rolled across the concrete and grass.
The was when the chaos stopped. The other two grabbed their friend, not bothering to grab their skates as they just made a beeline out of there.
"Get lost!" Jake shouted after them, suddenly feeling his trigger finger twitch against the gun. Jenna's eyes were wide open as she watched them disappear. She felt relieved, but at the same time, she was shaking in her sneakers from fright.
"Jeez. Nice shot," she breathed out.
"Thanks. You okay?"
"I've had better encounters with boys, not going to lie,"
Jake holstered his gun and turned back to Jenna, who seemed to have gotten three shades paler since ten minutes ago. Something else was bugging her.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked her again.
"Yeah," she nodded, "I... um... I just have a thing with guns," she replied, "Not a big believer in the second amendment,"
Jake took a deep breath to control his heavy breathing, then patted her shoulder, "Hey. You can trust me with mine," he said.
"No, believe me. I'm glad you have yours," she said, "You think they were Kralj's guys?"
"No,"
"How come?"
He pulled his helmet off and ran his gloved hand through his sweaty hair, "We'd already be dead,"
Jenna scowled back, "That's comforting," she muttered, "What did they want, then?"
"Cheap thrills," he clipped his helmet to his vest and started walking again, "Come on, it's not far now,"
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The shelter was actually a large storage unit that had been converted into a temporary emergency hotel. Officers armed with rifles were positioned at every entrance; they reminded Jenna of the guards at Buckingham Palace; with little shift in movement and hardly ever blinking. They stopped Jake when they approached.
"ID, officer?" one of them asked. Jake scowled back.
"Danny, it's me. We had drinks the other night," he said.
"I'm just following orders -- Jake," he stammered back. Jenna rolled her eyes and nudged Jake's arm.
"Just show him your badge," she said.
Jake scowled as he pulled out his credentials and gave them to Danny. Danny gave them a good looking-over before he nodded in satisfaction and returned them. Then he looked at Jenna.
"She with you?" he asked.
"Yeah. This is Jenna, she's..."
"A trainee," she piped up, "An undercover trainee,"
"She's harmless" Jake nodded, "Believe me,"
Danny nodded to his partner, and they let them through. Danny's partner gave Jenna the side eye as she passed, but Jenna just ignored him.
The hallways were dimly light by flickering coiling lights, and everything else was concrete and steel. Another officer sat at a desk behind a chain-link fence, staring dully at his computer.
"Hey, Will," Jake approached the desk. Will looked up and his face brightened.
"Hey Jake! What're you doing here?" he asked, "Did you get demoted to desk duty too?"
"No, actually. I'm looking for Dr. Larritate. Stephen Larritate?"
Will sighed heavily and nodded, "Dr. Know-It-All is up in the hospital unit. Third floor,"
Jake nodded and forced a smile, "Thanks Will, see you later,"
The elevator was out of order, so they were forced to go up the stairs. But to do that, they had to cross the first main floor. Each individual storage unit housed at least two families, some with small kids, some with older people. The insides were wide open for all to see, crammed with blankets and personal belongings that took up way too much space. They paced a unit with a mother cradling her crying baby, the poor thing was probably starving. Jake chose to numb himself to it all; sure, it was sad, but it wasn't as bad as the cordon.
But Jenna was appalled.
The people were crammed into the units like zoo animals, each person looking more miserable than the next. She didn't like this place, not one bit.
"This is disgusting," she said, "They have to be crammed in like that?"
"Slater and Carter are trying to negotiate some deals with East Coast Storage. Hopefully, if they agree, we can free up some space," he replied.
"It's like a sick version of The Scorch Trials," Jenna said, "You ever watch that first seen? When baby Thomas was dragged away from his mother?"
Jake huffed, "You watch too much TV,"
Two long flights of stairs later, they entered the hospital wing of the shelter. Now Jake was starting to have PTSD; people were laying up in beds, either connected to an IV or wrapped in a cast. Some patients were crying, some others were crying over the patients. Jenna really didn't like it here.
"I don't like this place," she whispered. Jake looked down at her, then that time, he intentionally grabbed her hand and gave her a squeeze.
"It's okay, I promise," he replied. Jenna took a deep breath and they continued through the ward.
They found Dr. Larritate attending to a patient with his left leg in a thick cast, while the patient seemed to be fast asleep as the nurse withdrew a needle from his arm.
"He's sedated,"
"Thank you, Irene," he nodded.
"Dr. Larritate?" Jake approached, "You have a moment?" he asked.
"We're doing bandage changes right now," Irene replied.
"It's alright, Irene. This will only take a moment,"
"Maybe not," Jenna said, "Depends on what you have to say,"
Jake turned and glared at Jenna, giving her a look that said 'would you shut up?' She put her hands up in defense.
"Sorry,"
"Not a problem," he stripped off his white gloves and grabbed his sweater, "Anybody afraid of heights?"
A few moments later, the three of them stood on the roof of the warehouse. Jenna marveled at the view from above; she could just about see her own neighborhood. Jake stood next to Dr. Larritate just about at the ledge, while the doctor lit up a cigarette.
"That stuff will kill you, doc," he said.
"It's just water vapor, Officer," he replied, "E-cigs. Quite the lifesaver. You should try it some time,"
"I don't smoke, but thanks for the offer," he replied. Larritate looked over at Jenna, who seemed to have stars in her eyes for the view.
"Enjoying the view?" he asked, "The ideal place to have ten minutes of peace and consolidation is always a rooftop, wouldn't you two agree?"
"I think I can see my neighborhood from here," she replied. Larritate smiled and sauntered over.
"If you look a little father down, you'll see that large skyscraper in the distance," he said.
"I see it," she said.
"That's my apartment, top floor," he smiled proudly.
"I guess medicine pays pretty well, then?" Jake asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe. But saving lives is the ultimate reward to my job," he replied, "I hope you beg my pardon, Miss, but you don't look like a cop,"
"I'm not," she replied.
"Ms. Desmond's a... associate," Jake said.
"First undercover job," Jenna beamed, lying right through her teeth. But luckily, the doctor bought it.
"Right. What can I do for Atlanta's finest?" he asked.
Jake pulled out his phone, "Dr. Larritate, do you recognize this man?" he showed him the photo of Demir on the medical examiner's table. Larritate raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes, that's Rayhan Demir. Well, he was, I suppose," he replied, "What happened to him?"
"Too much exposure to radiation," Jenna replied.
"I see. What does any of this have to do with me?" he asked.
"What was Mr. Demir seeing you for?" Jake asked.
"Shortness of breath. My first conclusion was that he'd had a case of SCA," he replied.
"What's SCA?" Jake asked.
"Sickle cell anemia," Jenna replied. Larritate was impressed.
"Very good, Ms. Desmond," he said.
"Did he have this... cell thing?" Jake asked.
"Sickle cell anemia, you mean? No. I ran a sample of his blood, but he never returned for the results," he replied.
"What was it?" Jenna asked.
"Long term exposure to cyanide. Small doses over a prolonged period of time, I'd say three to six months worth," he replied.
"How did Mr. Demir pay for his appointments?" Jake asked.
"I never received a payment directly from him, but about a month ago, I received a check for a thousand dollars, made out from Milo Brothers' Textiles and Tiles," he replied.
"That's it? You never asked Demir about Milo Brothers?" he asked.
"I never got the chance. I just wrote him a prescription for bronchodilators and sent him on his way. Just last week, he wrote me an email asking for a second prescription,"
"And he never disclosed what he did for a living?" Jenna asked.
"He told me he was unemployed," he said. Jake was puzzled.
"And you bought that? He's unemployed but a textile company is sending you a check for his medical bill?" he asked.
"That's what I asked him, in my reply to his email. But he never responded... now I know why," he shivered.
"Do you still happen to have that check?"
"Irene probably does, she handles all my payments," he replied.
Jenna raised her eyebrows. "Your nurse is also your accountant?" she asked.
"It's hard to find good laborers these days. Tell me though, do you know anything about books?" he asked her.
"As if,"
Jake scowled, glaring at the back of Larritate's head as he continued to talk with Jenna. But he forced a smile and cleared his throat, "Well, we appreciate your cooperation, doctor. Thank you," he said.
"Anything I can do to help. This city's been through enough turmoil,"
"Someone clearly disagrees," Jenna groaned.
Jake motioned for Jenna to follow him, and they left the doctor to his e-cig. Before they reached the door, though, Dr. Larritate called them back.
"If you need anything else, you know where to find me," he smiled and winked at Jenna. Jenna smiled back politely and followed Jake off the roof.
"Well, that was all but helpful," she said.
"We got a name though, Milo Textiles and Tiles," Jake said.
"Mile Brothers. You going to give them a call?" she asked.
"Nope,"
"Why not?"
"Because Mile Brothers went bankrupt six years ago," Jenna stopped mid step on the stairs.
"You serious?" she asked.
"Yep. Building was condemned and torn down," he replied.
"Funny how Larritate just happened to leave that detail out," she said, "What are you thinking?"
"Cover front. We need that check,"
"Why?"
"Every check book comes with a printed serial number, codes that only bank tellers can recognize. We find the bank that sent the check, we'll probably find out who sent it to Larritate,"
Jenna cocked her head to the side as she followed, "You think he's hiding something?"
"I think he knows more than he'd leading on,"
They reached the ground floor, and Jake -- trying to emanate a gentleman -- held the door open for Jenna, "Ladies first,"
Jenna gave him a lazy smile in return and stepped through, "I'll call Lex, he'll get someone to pick up Larritate's invoices from his office,"
"But the phones are down," Jenna said. Jake then stopped in the middle of the floor, and he thought back to last night when he talked to Lex... on his cell phone. The satellite was working then. He took out his phone again, surprised and ill-nerved to see he had full bars.
"Not anymore," he replied. Jenna looked back, now donning a look of horror on her face.
"So long as the satellite's working..."
"There's going to be another big bang,"
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In minutes, Jake had called Lex, explaining the entire situation while trying to maintain his breath. The sirens were already blaring outside, and the shelter was being locked down. People were being shoved into different units -- not even their own -- and the lockers were shut tight. Two officers then escorted a man through the halls, who looked like he was going to a Halloween party as a dirty marshmallow.
"What's happening?" Jenna asked.
"Bomb squad is being dispatched,"
"They think this place is a target?"
"Most civilians literally crammed into the one space. I got to go," he slid his helmet back on and headed for the door.
"Wait!" she chased after him, "Where are you going?"
"I have to help them. If we don't act fast, there's going to be another hole in the ground, maybe bigger than the last with more casualties," he explained as quickly as possible.
"What do I do?" she asked.
"You're stay. I don't give a damn if you don't like it here, I'll feel better knowing exactly where you are," he replied.
"Jake-!"
"Look, Jenna! I don't want to argue with you right now!" he exclaimed.
"I'm not arguing!" she snapped back, "I'm just... be careful, okay?"
Jake nodded, "I will. You too,"
Lex was already outside with other officers, giving them their directives, while Dr. Tate was setting up a computer and... a robot? No, it was a drone, it had to be.
"What is this?" he asked. Tate lifted up the drone to show the underbelly.
"Radiation-seeking camera, wirelessly connected to the computer, which will tell us where the largest concentrations lie within the district," he replied, "And you're going to fly it,"
"What?" Jake wasn't sure he'd heard him right.
"I need you to fly the drone while I study the map. I'll be able to pick off what's hot and what isn't," he replied. Jake scowled and shook his head.
"You have got to be kidding me," but did he really have a choice? "Give me the remote,"
He was handed a black device that was relative in size to Quentin's pencil case for school, "You can practice if you like; just while I set up the program,"
Jake pressed a button, and the drone immediately began to fly. Once he got comfortable, he was able to maneuver it with ease. He wouldn't admit it, but this was actually pretty fun.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, Jacob, but where's your girlfriend?" Tate suddenly asked. Jake whipped his head around.
"Excuse me?"
"Ms. Desmond. Where'd she run off to?" he asked. Jake relaxed a little bit and continued to practice.
"Jenna is safe inside the warehouse," he replied simply. Tate didn't press on further, instead, he pressed a few more buttons, and his computer beeped.
"We're online. Whenever you're ready, Jacob,"
Jake rolled a dial forward, and the drone was immediately on its way into the sky. On the computer, Tate was only seeing blue and white structures from the drone's bird's eye view, only looking for red.
"Jake, try a little over to your right," he instructed. Jake shifted the dial and the drone continued to maneuver about. Then Tate spotted it, he had to adjust his glasses just to be sure, but he saw it.
"I have a location!" he announced. Lex and Slater ran over straight away.
"Where?" Slater asked.
"Rooney's Department Store on Wilcox Drive," he replied.
"That's only a few blocks from here," Jake said. Lex grabbed hold of his radio.
"All units, report to Wilcox Drive for 10-45. Repeat, 10-45 on Wilcos Drive, Rooney's Department Store,"
"She's all yours, Lieutenant," Jake put the controller into Slater's hand and took off running with Lex. Slater was surprised, but then he rolled his eyes and took control of the drone.
"Alrighty, then,"
As they ran, Jake suddenly had a differing thought, "Wait a minute, doesn't a transit line run underneath Rooney's?" he asked. Lex huffed at the thought, more out of breath from running.
"There's a line underneath Plaza Square too," he said.
"Sons of bitches,"
They turned the corner, but just as they did, the ground leveled, and there was another flash bang of bright, fiery yellow. Jake and Lex hit the ground, just as the flames billowed outwards and collided with the outside. The noise had reverberated over the sleeping city as efficiently as a thunder clap. Out of this shock, Jake felt himself crouched amid a mass of terrible sensations: the fearful blow of the explosion, the noise of glass, the hoarse howl of people, the rushing of men, the sudden gulf, the awful gulfing whirlpool of horror around him.