The Girl Who Punched Back (Death Fields 2)

“If you’d like more active assignments, talk to him. I’ll do what I can.”

“So you don’t have a trust problem with me, then,” I ask.

She laughs. “If anyone has a trust problem it’s you, Alex.”

“That’s not true!” I shout, but spot the arch of Wyatt’s eyebrow and clamp my mouth shut. “You can’t blame me for having opinions or wanting to know more. We were raised to ask questions.”

“True,” she admits. “But, you’re pretty judgmental about what we’re trying to accomplish here. I know you blame me for the spread of the virus in the first place.” She looks at her hands. “And for what happened to Mom.”

I should cave here. I should, and tell her yes, I do blame her for those things, at least one of them, but I also know she’s the best way to repair the world. I stare at Jane’s chest—at the spot where the bullet tore through my mother’s heart.

“I’m trying to fix what happened while being smart about it,” she says. “We have the opportunity to reshape the world. We can salvage society by making better decisions from here on out—and that begins with the vaccine.”

“What do you mean?”

“You want to know the plan? Why we don’t want Erwin and the military involved?” It’s not a question—it’s a challenge.

“Yes. I want to know.” At least I think I do, something about the tone of her voice makes me nervous.

“We’re an independent group. We have no ties to the government. The bureaucracy is gone and frankly I have no desire to have it back. There is no FDA, no regulation boards or ethics committees mucking up progress. There are no forms for the approvals for grant money and drug trials.”

“Uh, aren’t those things sort of important?”

“In theory, they have their place, but what you don’t know and what I didn’t understand until I climbed the ladder is how corrupt the system is. The push is to give the elite the best medications while the poor and uneducated get nothing. Skyrocketing prices just to line pockets. Lobbyist money filtering through Washington. It’s disgusting, and if I have my way, those days are gone. The old systems are crushed and it is my genuine hope they will never return. We have the vaccine. We will control who receives it.”

“What do you mean? Who do you plan on giving it to, then?” Or, the better question may be, who will she withhold it from?

She glances at her watch, I’m clearly running out of time and she’s tired of giving me answers. “We have a very strategic plan set up. It’s going to be a good thing. We’ll save the world with hard workers, intellectuals, and good people. The best and the brightest will usher us into our new society.” She smiles at me. “People like you, Alex. You can be an important part of the plan, if you’re ready to be a team player.”

“And you have a way to determine who deserves saving?”

She simply smiles.

I glance at Wyatt, who has gone stone-faced. I’m sure none of this is a surprise to him. My sister has delusions of grandeur, but I have little choice but to join her fight—if not god knows what she’ll decide to do with me if I don’t.

My voice sounds unfamiliar when I say, “Your ideas are certainly innovative. I won’t deny that I have some questions but I do think that I’d like to work with you. To be a part of your vision of the future.”

“Our future.” She stands with a smile. “Before we go any further you’ll have to talk to Dad—make sure he approves.”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to Dad.” Definitely. I can tell she’s ready for me to leave but I have one more thing to ask. “Can I ask you something else?”

“You can ask.”

“What’s it like in the rest of the world? I haven’t seen anything beyond my own experience and before that what they showed on TV. Has the virus spread?”

For the first time my sister looks shaken—even if she recovers quickly. “The crisis is worldwide. We have no idea what the population devastation looks like but it’s international. Domestically, I think most areas are like our own. Many infected—small pockets of holdouts. We’re not the only ones trying to rebuild society or even the only ones working on the vaccine. I suspect we are the only ones with a viable antidote at this point. We have no choice but to make this vaccine work.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

To my surprise, she steps forward and pulls me into a hug. “It’s good to have you here. Believe it or not, I was so worried about you.”

“I was worried, too.” About me. About Cole and Chloe. About Wyatt. About surviving.

She releases me and heads back to her desk, already refocused on her paperwork. Wyatt gestures to the door and I follow him, wondering what I’ve gotten myself into. Wondering about the fate of society under my sister’s control.

Chapter 7

I’m walking down the long, cool hallway toward my father’s private lab when Cole emerges from one of the doors.