[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

"Good," Jordan announced, settling the matter loudly
enough that Tavish jumped. His face was frozen and
expressionless, in a way that his father would have been
proud to see.
He started to shiver. It looked like an overdose. He was
having a diabetic reaction to the sudden excess sugar in his
body.
Tavish tried to take his arm, but Jordan fought him off with
an animalistic fury. Tavish backed off and pointed to the
couch. "Let's sit down, then."
Jordan nodded, but with such severity that it looked silly.
He straightened his jacket again, too meticulously and led
the way into the living area. He sat down, something different
in a room dedicated to boring sameness, from the
prefabricated couch and carpet to the beige, bland walls.
Equally bland curtains were drawn over one wall, but since
the building didn't have any windows, Tavish didn't even try
to open them.
Jordan's skin was too pale, made whiter by the contrast to
his dark curls. Tavish patted him down until he found the
insulin spray any Dose junky carried. It was in his right
pocket, and Jordan, docile as a kitten should such beasts
exist on Midnight, opened his mouth and lifted his tongue for
Tavish to spray beneath.
209
Spaces Escapes
by Angela Fiddler, Jason Edding
Without a nailbed glucose reader, Tavish had no way to
know if the single pump of spray he had administered was
enough. Color returned to Jordan's cheeks, though, and the
shaking stopped. He sank back onto the couch, and closed his
eyes, settling into sleep. He would wake completely parched,
but hopefully with no permanent damage done.
Much like Royal had for him, Tavish went to the fridge and
found a bottle of water for Jordan when he woke. He had put
it in easy reach and had just found which of the two doors
was the bathroom when someone banged on the door,
probably Royal from the angry force behind the blows.
Tavish opened the door, and Royal burst into the main
living area without waiting for an invitation, Tavish's bags in
tow.
"Don't," Royal spat, "ever do that to me again."
"Sorry," Tavish said guiltily. "I had no idea how the
transfer arrangements were going to play out."
"But you certainly did nothing to change it," Royal said. He
stopped dead as he noticed Jordan asleep on Tavish's sofa.
For a moment, he said nothing, but then Royal bent down,
and deliberately took the bottle of water, cracking the lid
open. Tavish said nothing, deciding he owed Royal at least
that much.
"That's a record for you," Royal said, once he'd downed
half the bottle. "Seriously. First pull that took less than six
months. Congratulations."
"It's not like that," Tavish said, not knowing why he was
protesting.
210
Spaces Escapes
by Angela Fiddler, Jason Edding
"Sure, Tavish," Royal said. He looked back to Jordan, and
shrugged. "I wish you the best, for what it's worth."
"Thanks," Tavish said. "Really, thanks."
* * * *
Eventually, Jordan stirred again. Without opening his eyes,
he groped for the new water bottle Tavish had left to replace
the old one. Tavish had no idea how he knew it was there,
but Jordan had gone straight for it. He would have to flop
over and free his other hand if he wanted to unscrew the lid,
so instead he used his teeth to crack open the bottle. He
drank all of it and sat up.
Tavish looked up from the desk. The organism stain was
already up on the wall but the rest of the luggage was still at
the door. The work ups done on the test subjects had been
printed off Patrice spared no expense and he had the data
fanned out in front of him.
"Welcome back," Tavish said when Jordan looked at him.
His eyes looked bleary, but his pupils were right for the
amount of light the room had.
"Thanks." Jordan's voice cracked like a broken egg on the
single word. "And, uh, thanks for the spray, Tavish. I ... owe
you."
"You do," Tavish agreed. Jordan looked down, found the
insulin spray and pocketed it. He stood up, then sat back
down quickly. "You wouldn't happen to have anything for a
headache, Doc, would you?
"You're probably just dehydrated. I could get you more
water, if you'd like."
211
Spaces Escapes
by Angela Fiddler, Jason Edding
Jordan leaned back into the couch. "There is nothing I
wouldn't do for you if you did."
Tavish stood up and left the papers where they were. The
plight of the dying men wasn't going to change in the next
thirty seconds. Or in the next week. It wasn't just a matter of
replacing the lungs. Cloning was expensive, and took time to
cultivate, but it was possible. The organism destroyed them
again. The paperwork showed that all test subjects had been
caught in an early stage and lungs had already been started
for them. All he needed to do was find a cure, a way to...
"Water?" Jordan asked, more plaintive this time. Tavish
shook his head to clear the problem from the here and now.
"Sorry," he said. It was probably the third or fourth time in
the past twenty-four hours he'd apologized. He normally
wasn't so distracted.
"Your face had glazed over," Jordan said. "I would have [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]