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I bit ets funnier when you’re waiting to find out whether you’re in"tinkle" would have been hysterical under the best of conditions This was, after all, a wo froot a lot of downloads that day, even with the modesty filters in place "Well, last time ent to a CDC office, they were--hell with it, he won’t mind if I show you, and it’ll be faster this way" I stood, sliding my phone back intoher best to look e a decent job I would have believed it if I’d been watching the scene through a security feed, and if I hadn’t known her so well "It’ll only taketwitchy while ait" I hesitated, looking at the door So in a way that was so weird that I couldn’t figure out what it was It was like waking up one ed color--impossible, and hence invisible, at least for a little while
Look at the light, advised George
The light above the door--the light that should have been green, signaling that the standard security features were active, and that the door would open after a successful blood test had been run--was glowing a strong and steady yellow I nodded toward it, watching as Becks followed the direction of the gesture She went pale A green light ht means a lockdown: Either there’s live viral material in the rooht outside the rooht, the probleht… I wasn’t sure what a yellow light could possibly"this door has not been properly locked"
Ignoring the testing panel waiting for rasped the doorknob Nothing shocked or stungThe door swung just as gently inward There was no hydraulic hiss; the hydraulics were not engaged
"I don’t think there’s a place anywhere on this planet where that’s a good thing," said Becks, reaching under her jacket to rest her hand against the grip of her pistol "Suggestions?"
"I suggest we go and find Director Swenson, let hi some kind of security proble You’re going to have to wait for that tinkle"
"I can hold it," said Becks gravely
"Good"
We left the white-on-white confines of the conference rooh There was no one in sight in either direction, ht be the last two people on Earth
Soht," Ithe safety Becks was looking atto George or to her I gestured down the hall in the direction we’d coo this way But I’ll bet you a dollar our good director went the other way"
"Then that’s the e’re going," said Becks, turning to scan the hall ahead of us "Looks clear fro, keeping al for me to be armed anywhere I want to be, since I’ve passed my tests and I keep my licenses up-to-date at all tiood idea for anyone, be he blogger, God, or the president of the United States, to go around waving a gun in a governive theet real unpleasant real fast after that happens
The not-rightness of the situation became more and more apparent as alked We passed labs, break rooms, and more of the one-s into roons, and even the bathrooms What we didn’t pass was anyone who de around the building unescorted Near as I could tell, the Portland CDC had been quietly and effectively deserted All we needed was a creepy minor-key soundtrack to reinforce the idea that this was a bad situation George waited silently inside ht distract h
"We should be catching up to the director soon, assu he hasn’t taken a turn we ency exit somewhere in this place"
"Pessiood at it" We kept walking, Becks trailing about three feet behindevery few steps to sweep the corridor If anything caun it down before it caught up "Hey, did you ever see those fked-up first-person shooter ga? The ones with the zos and creepy old houses and shit?"
"Shut up, Shaun"
"That’s what this feels like One big h to be in it" A reassuring exit sign ht above it was a steady, reassuring green I started to think that maybe there was an innocent explanation for all this, like a broken circuit somewhere that had required a quick, quiet evacuation of the unsecured areas The directorto come back for us