“Time to do what?”
“Investigate some more. We’ll only be able to help if we know what they’re going to do. If they’re sending in a virus, we need to know how they plan to deliver it.”
“I don’t think it’s a virus.”
“Why not?”
“That woman was surprised to find out that Dr. Harvey was coming here.”
“Who is that?” Aerin furrows her brow and tilts her head.
“He’s the man responsible for the first plague.” I sit back and pull my knees to my chest. “Dr. Emanuel Harvey is an infectious disease expert. He has access to the remains from the disease center before the Great Eruption. He used one of the viruses from those remains to infect the Naught populations south of the capital years ago. I’m surprised to hear he’s still in business. I swear, the man was in his seventies before I left.”
“You know him?”
“I’ve met him a couple of times, but I don’t really know him.”
“But you would r
ecognize him?”
“Sure.”
“Maybe we can strike first.”
“What does that mean?”
“If he’s supposed to arrive soon, and he’s coming from the capital, we should be able to figure out what road he’s on. If we ambushed him on the road, we could stop him from releasing another virus.”
“Ambush him? Do you have an army in the area I don’t know about?”
“Well, no, but you and I could—”
“We could what? Attack him on the road and kill him? He’ll be traveling with guards. If he’s coming with my father, it will be a lot of guards. We’d never get that close to him. Even if we did, we wouldn’t make it out alive.”
“We could follow them for a while. At some point, they’ll stop and rest. If we just knew their movements, you could sneak inside their camp.”
“You want me to just kill him in his sleep?” I narrow my eyes at her as my skin warms. “Is that who you think I am?”
“No, I…” Aerin closes her eyes and inhales deeply. “I’m sorry. I realize how that sounds. I was only thinking out loud, but you’re right. Aside from being implausible, I can’t ask you to do that. But how else do we stop him?”
“I don’t know. You’re definitely right about one thing—we need more investigation. That part might be easier done while they’re in transit versus once they get to the mountain complex.”
“I think this day has worn me out,” Aerin says. “I’m obviously not thinking clearly. Maybe in the morning we’ll be able to figure something out.”
“So, sleep on it.”
“Yeah.”
I take a good look at our surroundings. The shaft where we exited the mountain is nearby and offers a bit of shelter but no more comfort than sleeping on the ground. I wish I had gone back to Ava’s tent and retrieved the sleeping roll Layshell made for me though it isn’t big enough for two, and I’m sure I’d just offer it to Aerin anyway.
As I stretch out on the ground, Aerin reaches out and runs her fingers over my arm.
“So, we’re still okay?” Aerin asks quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“You and me.” She runs her fingers over my knuckles. “Are we okay?”