Susan Peterson - Emergency Contact

Ryan followed, concern replacing his amusement. Tess might be beautiful, but her confused mental state and the hesitation in her speech worried him. If she was from the center, it would be a relatively easy task to get her back there.

But he couldn’t deny the small tug of regret that pulled at him. He didn’t like the possibility of her being a patient at the center. Patients came to the center because they had a long history of not responding to the more traditional medications and treatments. Most of their families had given up hope of them ever living normal, productive lives, and the patients came because they were desperate to try some of the more experimental, riskier treatments.

The thought of Tess, a vibrant, beautiful young woman, being one of those desperate individuals, unresponsive to other treatments, saddened Ryan.

If there was anything he’d learned over years of practice, it was that the results of experimental treatments benefited future generations, not the people who subjected themselves to it in the here and now. Tess might be a pioneer, but if she was from the center, her prognosis was most likely poor.

Washington, D.C.

“CALL FOR YOU, General Flynn. Line two, sir.”

General Thomas Flynn swallowed his irritation at the interruption and swung his desk chair away from his office window. He reached out and stabbed the intercom key. “I’m busy, Lieutenant. Take a message please.”

“It’s a Dr. Sidney Bloom, sir,” Lieutenant Sanders said, her soft feminine tones drifting musically through the intercom. “He’s somewhat insistent that he speak with you immediately, sir.”

General Flynn ran an impatient hand through the close-cropped iron-gray hair. It never ceased to annoy him that someone in personnel had taken it upon himself to assign him a female aide.

Not that Flynn advertised his prejudice against women in the military. No siree. He wasn’t a fool. He knew what the twenty-first-century army was all about-a dumbing down of the troops and a lowering of standards.

“I’ll take the call, Lieutenant.” Flynn punched the button for line two and picked up the receiver. “Why are you calling me here?” He didn’t bother to keep the anger from seeping into his voice.

“You asked to be kept informed of anything having to do with the project. I didn’t want to wait any longer.” Dr. Sidney Bloom’s cool tones conveyed his lack of intimidation.

Flynn reached down and flicked a switch on the side of the phone, the one that scrambled anything and everything that came through the phone. “What’s the problem? I’d prefer to keep any specifics out of this conversation.”

“My sentiments exactly, General.”

Flynn could hear the bristle of indignation in Bloom’s voice. From his dealings with him, Flynn knew that the doctor wasn’t used to being treated as a flunky. It brought a smile to Flynn’s lips. He couldn’t deny that he took a certain amount of pleasure in doing exactly that. He waited for the doctor to continue.

“Our subject took off last night. She knocked out a guard and escaped the grounds.” Before Flynn could react, Bloom rushed to add, “But we were able to locate her fairly quickly. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get her back here to the center.”

Flynn’s hand tightened so hard on the receiver that his fingers ached. “What do you mean she took off? I thought you had a handle on things down there. She’s supposed to begin her assignment in a week.”

“I realize that, General. Why do you think I insisted on talking to you instead of being put off by your trained seal in the front office.”

Flynn didn’t mind his own bias against his aide, but he didn’t appreciate anyone else making comments. “Lieutenant Sanders was only following my instructions. Why isn’t the subject back at the facility? Has she spoken to anyone?”

“Slow down, General. One question at a time,” Bloom said softly.

Flynn shifted the phone to his other ear and took a deep breath. “Don’t ever tell me what to do, Bloom. We’re paying the bills for your little research facility out there in God’s country. Without us, you’re just another egghead looking for funding.” He paused for a moment to savor the shocked silence on the other end of the phone. Nothing worked better than threatening a greedy research scientist with cutting off his funding. “Now that we’ve got that straight, why don’t you tell me what happened and keep it short.”

“Apparently her accomplice had a car waiting for them. When my men gave chase, they crashed through the perimeter fence.”

“Let me guess-you’re calling because your men screwed things up?”

Silence hummed on the line, but Flynn waited, his impatience building.

“My men were concerned they’d get away,” Bloom said, his voice rising a bit as he tried to explain. “They were forced to shoot the accomplice.”

“He’s dead?”

“Yes.”

Flynn sighed. “I hope you’re calling to tell me that they were able to take our subject back into custody.”

Bloom sucked air. “Unfortunately not. She took off across the field, and in the dark my men were unable to find her.”

“Then at least reassure me that your men were able to sanitize the crash scene before the local authorities arrived.”

Another long pause.

“Well, they had time to wipe the car down,” Bloom said. “But a local farmer must have heard the commotion and came to investigate. They were forced to leave before removing the body.”

A searing heat churned in Flynn’s stomach. “Wonderful. And where is the test subject? Has she been found yet?”

“We know where she is, we just haven’t been able to take her back into custody yet. My men tell me that she’s inside the farmer’s house. Uh, the chief of police is there, too.”

“How cozy. Do we know if she’s been connected to the body or the car?”

“Not yet.” Bloom paused again. “We do, however, have a more serious problem.”

Flynn closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Of course there was a more serious problem. He couldn’t expect anything less. “Please, enlighten me.”

“Reports indicate that the subject doesn’t remember who she is.”

Flynn came up out of his seat, his fist hitting the center of his thick green desk blotter. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He glanced toward the door, concerned his roar might have drifted out through the steel door into the outer office. There was no knock on the door.

“She has amnesia-no memory of who she is or why she’s there. My man says that she has a small cut on her forehead. She might have fallen or hit the dashboard of the car. It’s possible the recent drugs and programming have added to make the injury a little more than a mild concussion.”

“It’s possible? What the hell am I paying you for if it’s not to give me answers, Doctor?” Flynn forced himself to take a deep, cleansing breath. Anger ripped through his veins, heating his face and neck. If he didn’t calm down, he’d have a coronary right here in the office and never live to see the changes he’d worked so hard to bring about.

“Are you still there, General?”

“Of course I’m still here, you idiot,” Flynn snapped. “Where is she now?”

“One of my new doctors-someone not connected to the project-is out at the farmhouse talking to her right now.”

“Are you insane?”

Silence met Flynn’s question.

“Get the unauthorized physician off the case immediately. Tell him you’re taking over. And while we’re on the subject, why the hell do you have someone not connected to the project working at the facility?”

“Ryan Donovan is an old student of mine. A brilliant researcher and clinician. He finally took me up on my offer to leave Boston and come help me with some of my research.”