The Long Road (Surviving the Fall 6)

With sleep eluding him and the reasoning behind it a mystery as well, Rick got up and did the only thing left to him: pacing. Back and forth he went, taking a few steps forward before stopping, turning around and pacing back the other way.

Rick had been pacing for close to an hour when some noises from the hallway attracted his attention. The window to his room was small but there was a thick mesh screen just beneath it that enabled him to hear the approach of anyone outside. After the MPs deposited him and his bag in the room he hadn’t heard anything else—until a person shouted.

“Get your hands off me!” The voice was a woman’s, full of indignation and a level of irritation that made Rick smile.

Jeez, he thought, I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that. Rick strained at the window, looking down both sides of the hall until he finally caught a glimpse of the source of the ongoing noise. A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and wearing jeans and a T-shirt was standing with her back to his room. Two MPs—not those who had brought him to his cell—were in front of her. A thin man who was balding in the back stood next to the woman, though based on his body language he was trying to blend in with the background more than he was trying to engage in the argument.

“Miss.” The word came from one of the MPs and Rick swore he could feel the woman tensing up. “We can’t let you in to see him.”

“What part of your commanding officer said we could don’t you understand?”

“Ma’am,” said the other MP, “we’d need to speak with him directly before—”

“How about a letter from him, signed and dated today?” the woman reached into her back pocket and withdrew a piece of paper. She unfolded it and held it up in front of the MPs. The one who had spoken first took the paper and held it, examining it closely before letting out a deflated sigh.

“I guess… this is signed by the general. So I guess you can see him.”

“And he’s to be let out.”

The MP shook his head. “He’s to be released to the personal recognizance of Dr. Evans.” The MP looked at the thin man standing next to the woman. “You’re okay with this, Dr. Evans?”

“Oh yes.” The man nodded vigorously. “Quite.”

The first MP passed the paper to the second and shrugged. “Everything checks out, then. He’s at the end of the hall. Just keep an eye on him, the both of you. If anything happens the general’s going to have our asses for dinner and yours for dessert.”

The MPs turned around and walked off, leaving the woman and the thin man standing in the hall next to each other. They held a brief whispered conversation before turning to look in the direction of Rick’s room. Rick didn’t recognize the man heading towards him but the face of the woman was extremely familiar. It took Rick a few seconds to place it but once he did his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock.

“Jane?!”

After not having seen Rick for well over a week, Jane grinned wildly at the sight of his face through the small window. She ran to the door and threw open the bolt holding it shut. Rick tugged the door open and stood in shock as he looked Jane over from head to toe. “Are you…” Rick shook his head, wondering if he was dreaming.

“Rick! I can’t believe you made it out here!” Jane ran into the room and embraced him. Rick returned her embrace before holding her at arm’s length to look her over again. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Me too! When they put me on that plane heading east I figured that you were being shipped out to Mount Weather. So much for that, huh? How on earth did you make it out here, anyway?” She grinned as she asked the question before shaking her head. “No, don’t tell me right now. That’s bound to be a story for later.”

Behind her the thin man pushed up his glasses and smiled at the reunion. “So this is the famous ‘Rick,’ eh?”

Rick held out his hand and nodded. “I had no idea I was famous, but I suppose so. Rick Waters.”

“Dr. Michael Evans.” Dr. Evans gave Rick a firm handshake and looked over at Jane who was still grinning from ear to ear as she looked at Rick. “This young lady told me you got her through the hellhole that is Las Vegas. That’s impressive.”

Rick shrugged and looked down at his feet, unsure what to say in the face of the praise. “Nothing much to it. Just doing what needed to be done.”

“Bullshit.” Jane cut in, grinning again. “Rick singlehandedly saved us more times than I care to remember. He took care of me when I got overheated and he didn’t leave me behind even when I slowed him down to a crawl.

Dr. Evans nodded, glanced behind him and took a step forward, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Rumor through the grapevine is that you were supposed to go to Mount Weather. Part of that think tank they put together.”

“That’s what they told me at Nellis, yes.”

“And you declined?”

“Yep.”

Dr. Evans nodded again. “Good.”

“Why is that good?”

Dr. Evans looked out into the hall again as though he expected someone to be listening. “Partly because there are rumors about something bad happening at Mount Weather. Nobody really knows what, though. And partly because if you know enough to be taken