Silent Night

THIRTY SIX

The sealed door had saved them from the virus but now they were trapped. Inside the freezer, it was unbelievably cold. It was designed to hold and preserve chemical liquids, not living human bodies. The adrenaline was starting to pass, their heartbeats slowing and both Archer and Maddy’s bodies were starting to react to the freezing temperature. They were shivering hard. They’d pulled their collars up, folded their arms and closed their fists, trying to preserve any warmth their bodies created and protect their fingers from frostbite. But the cold was unremitting. It made the temperature out on the street seem almost tropical.

Archer had pulled his cell phone, taking utmost care not to nudge the door and break the seal, the only thing protecting them from the virus. Beside him, Maddy looked out of the glass door into the lab.

‘Anything?’ she asked.

He cursed. ‘Nothing. There’s no signal.’ He moved the phone around the freezer as much as he could, taking care not to hit the door and keeping his eyes on the display. No bars. No service. ‘Shit.’

He tucked the phone back into his pocket and wrapped himself up, trying to retain his body heat.

‘So what now?’ Maddy asked.

‘We wait until someone finds us.’

‘How long could that take?’

Archer didn’t respond. He was looking through the glass at the toxic yellow air.

‘Someone set this up.’

‘How did they know we’d be in here?’

‘The receiver was a bug. I’ve seen them before. When you entered the code on the keypad to get in, it set off the countdown. When it ended, the bug shattered the glass.’

‘Who would do something like that?’

‘I don’t know. But they wanted to kill whoever came in here next. That’s why they took the suits.’

He looked at her beside him.

‘All the documents are gone. The computer’s been wiped. Your father and Dr Tibbs are dead. Dr Glover is missing. They were about to kill Dr Kruger before we showed up.’

‘They’re killing anyone who knew about the virus,’ Maddy finished.

Archer nodded. ‘It must have been one of Rourke and Sway’s people. They knew only you and Kruger have access to the lab. They figured both or either one of you would be the next people to come in here.’

Maddy didn’t reply.

Shivering, Archer lifted his arm carefully over her.

He felt her tense.

‘Relax. I’m not making a move. We need body heat.’

He felt her stay rigid for a moment. Then she slowly relaxed and leaned into him, the two of them shivering together.

Waiting.



Downtown, the rest of the detail was still gathered outside Tonic East. The CSU had been able to work out from the trajectory of the bullet that the shot had come from a newly opened apartment building south and west of the bar on Lexington Avenue. They were over there now, trying to find the exact window from where the shot had been fired, but the rifleman had thought of everything. He hadn’t left any evidence behind, certainly not a cartridge or a rifle, and nobody inside the building had seen anyone suspicious. There was a chance that he was still hiding out somewhere inside so ESU were working their way up each floor, clearing each apartment which was slow, painstaking and disruptive work.

Sway had been released, much to Shepherd’s annoyance. He’d wanted to keep him in custody but Faison was calling the shots and told Shepherd that he needed to let him go. He’d said that Sway could lead them to Rourke but Shepherd wasn’t convinced. The man now knew for a fact that the NYPD had been tailing him. Catching him with the virus now was going to take some work. Furious, Shepherd had watched Sway walking away, his handcuffs taken off and a smirk on his face. He’d willed him to hail a cab in front of him so he could catch the plates but Sway had walked around the corner and disappeared out of sight.

Standing with Jorgensen and Josh, Shepherd shook his head at the memory. Things were not going well. Marquez approached the three men, tucking her cell phone back into her pocket.

‘The three boys who jumped Archer are on their way to the station.’

‘Are they saying anything?’ Josh asked.

‘Not a word. But at least that’s three of them off the street tonight.’

‘Peterson’s back under at the camp,’ Shepherd told them. ‘Hendricks and Faison are in place. We’re heading over there to join them.’

‘What about the shooter?’ Jorgensen asked, nodding at the apartment building where the shot had come from.

‘The virus is our concern. CSU and ESU will handle this.’ Shepherd paused, then looked around. ‘Wait a minute. Where the hell is Archer?’

‘He went back up to Flood Microbiology, sir,’ Josh said. ‘He wanted to take a quick look around.’

Shepherd checked his watch. ‘We’re going to the campsite now. That’s our next best lead. Marquez and Jorgensen, you’ll ride with me. Josh, go pick him up, then follow us.’

The team nodded, separating, and Josh pulled his cell phone. He dialled Archer’s number.

But he couldn’t get through.



At that moment Sway was crossing the Hudson River in a taxi, headed for Kearny Medical in New Jersey where Bobby would be packing up the canisters. They needed to get out of the State. The pigs had been onto him in a flash and although they couldn’t pin the shooting on him, they weren’t as dumb as they looked.

It was only a matter of time before one of them caught on and realised what had happened.

*

Inside the freezer, Archer and Maddy had slumped down in the cabinet. He had his arm around her, her head in his shoulder, both of them trembling hard from the cold as icy air continued to blast relentlessly into the cabinet. It was well below freezing and it was starting to take its toll.

‘I’m so cold,’ she whispered slowly, shaking. Archer rubbed her arm slowly with his right hand, trying to generate some warmth as best he could.

‘Someone will find us. Just hang on.’

Silence.

They both looked outside. The laboratory air still had that yellow haze, laden with the virus.

‘Thank you,’ she said quietly, trembling.

‘For what.’

‘For saving my life. For a while, anyway.’

Pause. Each moment of conversation was followed by longer moments of silence.

‘Dad said we were going to die. He was right.’

‘We’re not going to die. Someone will find us.’

‘Who?’

‘Someone.’

Pause.

She nestled her head into his chest, mist coming out every time they both exhaled.

Archer didn’t tell her, but he was worried.



Downtown, still outside Tonic East, Josh withdrew his phone from his ear and looked down at the screen, confused. Just as she was climbing into a car with Jorgensen and Shepherd, Marquez noticed Josh’s hesitation and paused. She stepped out, slamming the door and turned to Shepherd, who was firing the engine.

‘I’ll ride with Josh.’

Shepherd nodded, pulling off the handbrake and the Ford moved off. Marquez walked over to Josh, who was trying to make the call again.

‘Everything OK?’

‘I can’t get through to Archer.’

Marquez noticed the tone in his voice.

‘I’ll drive,’ she said.