Greg Cox - A Touch of Fever

Bring me down-pronto!” Myka couldn’t wait for Pete to touch down on terra firma again. Leaving her partner behind, she sprinted across the carnival. “Out of the way!” she shouted, waving her badge above her head. “Coming through!” Startled civilians cleared a path for her. A photographic memory helped her navigate the carnival’s confusing twists and turns as she remembered the route back to the parking lot.

Her arms pistoned at her sides, and she silently thanked every minute she had spent jogging along the Warehouse’s never-ending catwalks.

Nadia might be younger than she was, but Myka doubted that she was faster. This wasn’t the first time she’d pursued someone on foot. If she hurried, maybe there was still a chance to catch Nadia before she escaped with the glove. Watching intently for the other woman, Myka missed the fallen snow cone lying in her way. Her foot slipped on the spilled ice, wrenching her ankle. “Damn!” she cursed, recovering her balance before hitting the dirt. Her ankle stung like blazes, but she couldn’t afford to favor it. She kept on running, albeit with a painful limp. Every step jabbed her like a red-hot knife. Where was a healer now that she needed one? Myka spotted the exit ahead. A carnie stood by the gate, stamping the wrists of customers who might want to return later. Beyond the exit, a grassy field had been converted into an ad hoc parking lot. Cars and trucks were lined up in rows. Glowing headlights heralded new arrivals and departures. But where was Nadia?

Deprived of Pete’s bird’s-eye view, Myka didn’t see the healer right away, but then she spotted the younger woman racing toward the exit, on the other side of a spinning carousel. Painted wooden horses galloped between Myka and her quarry, creating a strobe-like view of the healer. Nadia still had a decent head start on her. Myka realized there was no way she was going to intercept Nadia. Unless… She jumped onto the moving merry-go-round and grabbed onto the back of a mock wooden sleigh to keep from being thrown from the ride. A pair of passengers yelped in surprise, but Myka ignored them. She let the carousel carry her halfway around until she was in front of the exit, then jumped directly into Nadia’s path. The impact sent throbbing spasms through her ankle, but she managed to stick the landing without falling over. Yay me, she thought. “End of the line!” she barked at Nadia, who froze before her like a bronzed bad guy. Myka aimed the Tesla at the wide-eyed healer. The aching ankle added a definite edge to her voice. “It’s over, Nadia. Give me the glove.” The agent’s ambush had obviously taken Nadia by surprise. She looked around anxiously, unsure of what to do. “Please.” She guarded her gloved hand with her left, holding it close. “I just want to help people.” “I know.” Myka’s voice softened somewhat. She limped toward the girl.

“Believe it or not, so do I.” Nadia backed away fearfully, her eyes glued to the muzzle of the Tesla. Chances were, the weapon needed more time to recharge after zapping the snake, but Nadia didn’t know that.

“No, you don’t understand. I can’t give it up. I can’t. ” The carnie at the gate lumbered toward them. “Hey, what’s going on? This lady bothering you, Nadia?” “Don’t even think about it,” Myka growled, turning the gun in his direction. She’d had enough carnie solidarity tonight, thank you very much. “Stay out of this.” The pivoting motion twisted her injured ankle. Myka winced. “What’s the matter?” Nadia asked. She stepped forward meekly, like she was finally ready to surrender. A concerned look came over her face. “Are you hurt?” “It’s nothing.” Myka appreciated the girl’s improved attitude. She hoped she could get some aspirin soon, after she had the elusive glove in custody. “Just my ankle.” “Let me help.” Too late Myka realized what the healer intended. Nadia reached out and placed her gloved right hand on the agent’s wrist. “Wait!” Myka blurted. “Don’t-” Bright blue sparks ignited where the glove touched her. An electric shock jolted Myka’s nervous system, surging from her wrist to her wounded ankle.

Her body convulsed. Her eyes rolled backward until only the whites were visible. The whole world dissolved into static. Myka crumpled to the ground. “Myka!” Pete found her sprawled near the exit. Rushing to her side, he feared the worst until his voice roused her. She sat up clumsily, looking woozy and disorientated. Wide brown eyes blinked rapidly before focusing on her partner. “Pete? Wh-what happened?” For a moment he wondered if she had accidentally zapped herself with the Tesla, but no, that didn’t make sense. She’d still be out cold.

Something else must have knocked her for a loop. Like maybe Nadia’s glove? Pete recalled the way her “patients” had collapsed before.

“Don’t look now,” he told her, “but I think you got healed. With extreme prejudice.” Myka looked down at her ankle, which she wiggled experimentally. Pete could see the pieces coming together in her mind.

“Nadia!” she blurted, snapping back to business. “She’s getting away.”

She gestured urgently toward the exit. “You’ve got to go after her!”

Pete hesitated, reluctant to abandon his partner. “Are you sure?” “I’m just a little dizzy,” she assured him. “Go!” Taking her at her word, he ran through the exit into the parking lot. Rows of stationary vehicles obstructed his view while he searched for Nadia. His earlier sympathy for the distressed young healer was eroding fast. She had decked his partner, sort of. That made this personal. He took off down the center corridor, figuring that was her most likely escape route.

Did Nadia have a car parked here? Probably not, he figured; this lot was for the paying customers. Which meant that hopefully she was still on foot. A young couple approached the carnival from the outer reaches of the parking lot. Pete ran up to them. “Excuse me, folks. Have you seen a runaway Egyptian priestess?” “You mean that hot chick in the white robe? She went that way,” the guy volunteered, before casting a nervous glance at his date, who appeared less than amused by his powers of observation. He gulped. “Er, not that I really noticed…” “Thanks!” Pete left the poor guy to dig himself out of whatever hole he was in. “Good luck, dude.” Heading off the way the man had indicated, he cut through a line of parked cars to reach an open corridor one row over. His efforts were rewarded by the sight of Nadia herself at the far end of the fence. A barbed-wire fence cut off the parking lot from an adjacent pasture, blocking her escape. She paused, visibly uncertain which way to go next. “Nadia!” Pete sprinted toward her. He made a mental note not to let her lay hands on him until he took that glove off her. He had a touch of heartburn at the moment, probably from that chili dog he had munched on the way here, but nothing that needed healing that badly. “Stay right where you are, okay? We don’t want any more trouble.” She spun around. Pete noticed that she was sweating and out of breath. Her face was flushed. Perhaps she hadn’t recovered from healing all those people yet? No wonder she hadn’t been able to shake their tail. She looked like she was at the end of her rope. Pete hoped there was no more flight in her. He was anxious to get back to Myka and make she sure she was okay. “You don’t need to run anymore.” He walked toward her in what he hoped was a nonthreatening manner. “We’re the good guys. Really we are.” The roar of a powerful V-twin engine drowned out his words. A motorcycle zoomed past Pete, then braked in front of Nadia. “Hop on!” Jim Doherty shouted. The determined knife thrower must have gotten out from beneath the sideshow tent. “Hurry!” Nadia didn’t need to be asked twice. She jumped onto the chopper behind her boyfriend and threw her arms around his waist. He wore a leather jacket over his spangled costume. No helmet protected his skull. He shot Pete a dirty look.