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"Awesome," I said, and stepped past her into the room I stopped dead just past the threshold, too stunned to speak
George ducked in behind me After a few startled seconds, she said, "Reet hurt"
"You and ora’s ht look like the ones you’d find at any other upscale hospital, but the patient rooie’s was anything to go by The walls were painted a warm amber, and there was actual carpet on the floor--easy-clean industrial carpet, sure, but a world of luxury away froht was a flat-screen display that flickered periodically between iie was lying in thebed with a wine red comforter and more pillows than anyone needs, sick or not She was too pale, especially for her An IV was connected to her left arm, and there were sensor patches on her collarbones, but apart fro to one side of the bed; Becks was standing near the wall They both turned to look at us
There was a ie were awake and mobile, this is doubtless the point where she would leap to her feet, announce hoorried she’d been, and run to eive ht to asking what the bloody hell we’re iven How is she?"
"The bullet went clean through That’s about the only good thing I can say about it" Becks didn’t look at Maggie as she spoke She didn’t really look at us, either; her gaze was fixed on the wall, preventing anything uncoans were daed, and her liver was nicked She lost a lot of blood"
"But she didn’t amplify," I said
"No She’s going to be fine They’re transfusing her with scrubbed plas as much of the viral load out of her bloodstream as they can, but she never started to aie ca that line, and she can’t be moved" Mahir dropped his head into his hands, voice muffled as he said, "She can’t be moved, and you can’t stay here This is a disaster"
"No, it’s not," I said For a e who only existed in lanced to the George as standing besideand as lost as the rest of us, and the ie can’t be ora would never let anything happen to her, and she wasn’t involved with the actual break-in at the CDC, so it’s not like she can be accused of anything itives," said Becks
"Crience--she should never have left the van," said Mahir
"Being a journalist," said George The rest of us turned to her, startled She shook her head, expression grim "I read as much of the last year’s site archive as I could before we left to get shot at Whoever’s running this game, they don’t like journalists, and they’re not discrier"
"She’s right," whispered Maggie
Mahir raised his head Becks whipped around to face the bed Maggie’s eyes were still closed, but there was a tension in her that hadn’t been there e entered the room, a tension that spoke of consciousness
"You know… they’re targeting the bloggers," whispered Maggie Every word seeed out of her "Martial law in Florida Arrests all over the country They’re… hiding so"
"Hey Hey Don’t try to talk, honey You need to save your strength" Becksat the three of them, I felt suddenly left out, like they had fore touched my elboith one hand, the sort of quick, subtle contact that had always been the limit we allowed ourselves in public, and I realized they’d formed their unit because they understood--probably before I did--that they were never really going to be a part ofto be a haunted house The only difference was that now host wore flesh and held me when I needed her Somehow, that made it better… but it didn’t stop the realization froled to open her eyes, ain "Shaun, you have to… you have to take Georgia and go Go back to Dr Abbey She’ll know another way to hide you"
"What about you?" I asked
The ghost of a s to lie here until I can feel e to call hty"
Mahir actually laughed "Well, that’ll certainly cos in our favor"
"You have to stay with her," said Becks
"What?" Mahir twisted to face her, eyes narrowing "I don’t believe I heard you correctly"