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"Maggie’s starting to get twitchy about being away fro, and I’d rather not be in the city when youparanoid, but if things go wrong, I don’t want Dr Connolly this close to a CDC installation"
"Afraid she’ll run for cover? Pretty sure that ship has sailed"
"Afraid they’ll co my laptop case "Fuck I didn’t even think of that You really think it’s a risk, even after we torched her first ID?"
"It depends on whether she’s here to play decoy and herd us into danger, or whether she really was sent because they’re afraid soed "Any institution large enough to have different depart I don’t think she’s here to stab us in the back, and thatas she’s in Portland--and we’re in danger as long as we’re here with her"
"Da"I bow before your logic Yeah, take Maggie and the Doc and head for Maggie’s place Becks and I willthey don’t shoot us on sight If we haven’t checked in by five o’clock this afternoon…" I paused before finishing "Run Got it?"
"Got it" Alaric stood, picking up his own laptop as he did "Kinda like old tier with eyes open, one hand on the recorder, and one hand on the gun?" I flashed him a quick smile "Exactly like old ti lamely, "Anyway, you and Becks be careful out there today, okay?"
I nodded "Do ie, Becks, and Kelly aiting in the ll Becks cast a thin suys don’t have to conspire against ood plan; I a Mahir every twenty et ho Kelly by the elbow, she said, "Coets hurt"
"Where’s the fun in that?" asked Becks, and turned to lead the way down the hall and out of the hotel
Watching the van drive off with Alaric at the wheel left ely numb, like soain, like this was so the road to learning why George really died I stood frozen in the parking lot, staring after the my throat when I tried to s
"Hey" Becks touched my elbow I turned to face her She raised her eyebrows "Are you okay?"
I o and piss off the CDC?"
"Why, Shaun," she said, flirting her eyelashes coquettishly, "I thought you’d never ask" She turned to head for the bike After a moment’s pause, I followed her
The Portland CDC was located in its own facility, a large, s that could easily have been repurposed as a hospital or e Fro, the sort of place that would make a routine checkup al close enough to see barbed wire topping the fence that circled the entire installation, or the s that the fence itself was electrified Pre-Rising, they would have used a loattage and backed it up with guard dogs
Post-Rising, well, let’s just say they probably cranked things up to lethal levels at the slightest excuse
Becks kept her aruard station It was a save no indication whether it was occupied or automated I held up our IDs, careful to keep both of my hands visible, and said, "Shaun Mason, After the End Times, and Rebecca Atherton, same"
"Please place your identification in the slot," said a uard station, right next to the speaker I dropped our ID cards into the slot, which hissed shut "Please wait"
"Because I was totally planning to zoom off and leave you with our IDs," I ly Becks pinched me on the back of the neck
"Your identification has been confirain, allowingopen "Please proceed onward for blood testing and exa Becks her ID card and hitting the gas The procedure frouard station threatened--sorry, "indicated" We reached a second gate about ten yards onto the ca Kevlar vests and clutching assault rifles There were also blood testing units waiting there, one for each of us We both passed our blood tests, robbing the sentries of the chance to use the weapons they clutched so carefully, and drove on to the third station, where the retinal scanners aiting