The Ninth Day Read online

  “Drive,” Emma said. As if reading her thoughts, the ambulance horn gave a loud shriek. ”They want you to move. Do it. We’re getting the hell out of here.”

  Oz shook his head. “I’m done. I’m not going anywhere. I told you.”

  Emma yanked open her door, jumped out, and slammed it closed as hard as she could. The car rocked with the force. The ambulance horn shrieked again and she picked up a stone from the shoulder of the road and threw it at the vehicle. It hit the ambulance with a satisfying bang. Carlos flipped her the bird. She stormed to the ambulance’s driver’s side and pulled the door open.

  “We need to get him to a hospital. Now,” she said to a stone-faced Mono.

  “No,” he said.

  “Show me your hands,” Emma said.

  Mono looked confused. “Why?”

  “Show them to me!” she said again. Carlos gave Mono a concerned look. He rattled off a sentence in Spanish. Mono put his hands up in the air. Emma grabbed them and bent them toward her. She analyzed them. Checking the skin color and looking for any sign of forming sores. Mono watched her, a serious expression on his face.

  “I didn’t touch the shipment,” he said after a few seconds.

  Emma looked up at him. “Neither did Oz. Not once. It’s spreading, but maybe not by contact.”

  Mono pulled his hands back into the cabin. “You don’t know that. The gringo must have touched it.”

  Emma shook her head. “Never. And if he has it, we’re next. We need to get to a hospital. All of us.”

  Mono’s face took on a stubborn expression. “No hospitals. They ask too many questions.”

  “What if you get sores? Then can we go to a hospital?”

  Mono shook his head. “No. Not then. They ask questions, I end up in jail. I end up in jail, La Valle’s men on the inside put a knife in my ribs. No hospital. Ever.”

  Emma wanted to punch the man in his face. If she didn’t need his cooperation so badly, she would have.

  Then it came to her. “We go to a lab.”

  Mono shook his head. “There are no more. Tico’s was the only one.”

  “I mean a real lab. Where are we?” Mono’s lips formed into a thin line.

  “Mono, come on! Where are we? I need to know what labs are in the area.”

  “We’re somewhere in the middle. Why?”

  Emma was surprised at how far they’d come in such a short time. She thought of the available labs in the Midwest, and couldn’t think of one.

  “Do you have access to the Internet?” she asked. Mono nodded.

  “Type in ‘pharmaceutical companies’ on a search. Limit them to the Midwest if you can, but if not, just give me a list.”

  Mono spoke to Carlos, who nodded and began pressing the keys on his phone.

  “You can’t go in. La Valle will kill me if you tip off some lab that you’re a hostage,” Mono said.

  “I’m not going to go there in the daytime.”

  Mono frowned. “Why not? If one is close we can be there shortly.”

  “Reputable labs won’t just let anyone stroll in and use their facilities. They can usually only be accessed by a coded passkey and are protected by security.”

  Mono gave her a dubious look. “How do you know this?”

  “My company makes high-end cosmetics. The formulations are exclusive and proprietary. They, and the recipes for making them, are what keeps the company afloat, and they protect their trade secrets very carefully.”

  “Eh! Carlos hit Mono on his shoulder before passing his phone to Emma. She was impressed. He had managed to produce a list of pharmaceutical companies, from small to massive, in the Midwest.

  “This is excellent,” Emma said. Carlos nodded at her.

  “Let me see,” Mono said. He reached for the phone and took a long look at the list.

  He pointed to one on the screen. “We can be there in three hours. But it’s famous. Even I know that name. Their security must be very tight.” The lab Mono mentioned was a world-class facility. Emma had no doubt security was tight, but she also had no doubt how to get in.

  “Let me talk to Oz,” she said.

  A noise came from behind them. A quick glance showed her that the Chevy was back. It drove slowly past and pulled in front of the Escalade. She jogged back to Oz.

  “Move over. I’m driving.”

  “Don’t touch the wheel. You could get it.” Oz pulled his tee shirt up and used it to wipe the steering wheel and shift. His face was set as he slid over the center console and settled into the passenger seat. Once he was in, she hit the gas. The SUV started out.

  “We’re going to a lab. A world-class facility. It’s only three hours away. I’m going to figure this thing out.”

  Oz shifted in his seat. “Mono agreed to this?”

  Emma nodded. “He did.”

  “Why not a hospital?”

  “Because Mono wouldn’t agree to that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Hospitals ask too many questions.”

  Oz snorted. “And labs don’t? They’re not just going to let you stroll in and get access to their equipment. They’re going to want to know what you need.”

  “I’m not going to tell them.”

  “So how are you going to get access?”

  “We’re going to break in.”

  Before Oz could answer the back door opened and Mono slid in, taking his usual position behind them.

  Chapter 23

  Emma drove within three blocks of the facility and killed the engine. It was six in the evening, and the lab’s parking lot was emptying out. Car after car passed them, the inhabitants barely glancing their way as they hurried home. Most talked on their phone, some appeared to be texting, and none seemed interested in the Escalade.

  Carlos had driven the ambulance in a different direction earlier, with the Chevy following, leaving Mono to guard them in the Escalade.

  “Where’s he going?” Emma had asked.

  “He has a job to do,” Mono said. His phone rang periodically, and though Emma didn’t understand the conversation, it appeared as though it was Carlos.

  “What’s he doing?” Emma asked.

  “You’ll see,” Mono replied with a sly look on his face.

  That had been three hours ago. Now the ambulance pulled up behind them. Carlos jumped down from the cabin and sauntered up to Emma’s window. When she rolled it down he waved her out.

  “You go and look,” Mono said. Oz moved to open his door. Mono waved him off. “Not you. You stay here. Just her.” Emma stepped out and followed Mono to the back of the ambulance. He swung open the door.

  A man and woman lay tied up on the floor of the cabin. Their wild eyes telegraphed their fear. Next to them lay a bag of adult diapers and a variety of tools, along with a sawed-off broomstick. Emma kept her face perfectly still. She would not show fear in front of Carlos. If she did, he would kill her.

  “What’s going on here?” she said.

  “They’re members of a rival gang. We got them, and we play with them. When we are done, they will tell us everything: where they keep their stash, what cops they employ. He picked up the diapers. “They will need these after we start.” Emma fisted her hands so tight that her nails dug into her palms. The feeling kept her focused, kept her from attacking Mono right then and there.

  “How does this concern me?” Emma said. She was relieved at how cool her voice sounded.

  Mono leaned into her, his skinny, pockmarked face radiating evil. “Because how far we go depends on you. You don’t come back here, alone, within three hours of entering that lab, then after we torture them, we kill them.”

  The female hostage groaned and closed her eyes.

  “I thought you were coming with me to be sure nothing happens.”

  Mono nodded. “This is extra protection. And if you mess up, once we are done with these two, we find you and begin on you. You understand?”

  Emma understood all too well. “I’m not going to tip anyon
e off. I’m going to use the lab, then leave.”

  Mono slammed the doors shut again. “That’s right.”

  Emma kept her stone-faced demeanor the entire way to the SUV. It was only when she returned to the driver’s seat that she let her fear show. Mono and Carlos were outside, stretching their legs and smoking a cigarette. Oz glanced at her.

  “What the hell did he say? You look pale. Are you going to be sick?”

  Emma shook her head. “They have two hostages in the ambulance. Rival gang members. If we do anything to tip off the authorities, they’ll kill them.”

  Oz inhaled a huge breath. “They’ll probably kill them anyway. You know that.”

  Emma shook her head. “I don’t think so. The cartel kidnaps, but returns their victims after a payment. They only kill when they don’t get paid. I don’t want these people’s deaths on my head.”

  “He said they were rival cartel gang members. Why would you care?”

  Emma pictured the woman’s eyes as she listened to Carlos, and the way she closed them when he said he would kill them.

  “I just don’t want it to be on my head. Okay? Someone dies here, it’d better be Carlos or Mono or the rest of La Valle’s losers.”

  But Oz persisted. “If they’re cartel members they’re just as bad. The world would be better off without them. I think we should call the authorities the minute we can. Maybe they can catch Carlos before he does anything to them. I understand that you’ve never killed anyone before, but—”

  “—I have killed before.” Emma switched on the ignition and gave the horn a slight tap to notify Mono that she wanted to leave. When she was done she looked at Oz. He stared at her in surprise.

  “You’re not serious, are you?” he said. Emma sighed.

  ”I’ve completed a mission for a contract security organization called Darkview. I still take some work from them when they require my expertise. During the course of one mission, I came under attack and was forced to defend myself.” Mono was walking back to join them, flicking a cigarette onto the ground as he did. Oz still stared at her, incredulity in his eyes. Emma felt compelled to explain her actions. “Even though I’ve killed in self-defense, that doesn’t mean I’ll allow Carlos to kill those two. I have no idea if what he tells me is true. What if they’re not cartel members, but innocent hostages? What then?” Emma shook her head. “I’ll do my best to get us out of this mess. If I kill anyone, it’s going to be Carlos, Raoul, Mono, or La Valle. Not those two in the ambulance.”

  The door opened and Mono crawled in. Emma pulled away from the curb, glad to have something to do that kept her eyes on the road and away from Oz’s horrified stare. She headed to the outskirts of the pharmaceutical campus. A chain-link fence ten feet high surrounded the compound, but that was all. It didn’t appear to be electrified, nor was it topped with razor wire. The fence seemed more for show than security. An access road encircled the campus. She circled the campus and then turned onto the main driveway.

  A sprawling two-story building with green reflective windows and extensive lawns lit with spotlights loomed in front of her. A granite block engraved with the word MEDICANT sat at the end of the drive leading up to the front door. She turned into the lane. The driveway ended in a horseshoe curve. She entered the curve and stopped directly in front of the entrance. Killed the engine and soaked in the silence. Two men stood on flagstone pavers under a portico, talking to each other. The first wore the dark blue uniform favored by rent-a-cops the world over. The second, a pin-striped suit. In front of Emma the horseshoe branched off onto another path that curved around the main building to the back. A gate blocked it.

  “What do we do now?” Oz said.

  The pin-stripe-suited man strolled by and gave a slightly curious glance at the Escalade, but continued toward the parking lot. The security guard stood his ground, looking at them.

  “Now I go ask a question,” Emma said. She jumped out of the car and walked toward the security guard, careful to plaster a smile on her face as she did. He responded to the sight of her with a neutral, professional nod.

  “Hello!” Emma said. “We’re looking for the lab facility. I’m a chemist and am supposed to meet one of the scientists.” The guard, a man of perhaps thirty or thirty-five with sandy hair and a doughy face that matched his rounded waistline, nodded again.

  “These are the corporate offices. You want the large cinder-block building in the back. Just follow that branch until you see it. You can’t miss it. Huge sign in front says ‘Lab.’ But you’re a little late, aren’t you?” He checked his watch. “It’s almost seven o’clock, and everyone’s gone by now.”

  Emma gave him what she hoped was a rueful smile. “I am late. But my boss said that the scientist here, I forget his name, always works late, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

  The guard broke into a smile. “Must be John Raynor. Guy works like a dog. I keep telling him he needs to take a day off, but he don’t listen to me.”

  Emma smiled. “That must be him. I’ll head down there.”

  The guard walked over to the gate, flipped a switch, and the gate rose. She crawled back into the car.

  “The lab’s in the back. Let’s go,” she said.

  She waved at the guard as she passed through, and he gave her a congenial nod in return.

  “There’s a scientist working late. I’m not surprised. There’s always one. This one’s named John Raynor.”

  Oz gave her a worried look. “What are we going to do with him?”

  “Avoid him completely if possible.”

  It was full dark, but solar lamps lined the road on both sides, illuminating their way. Emma slowed for a frog that hopped across the path.

  The lab building was a rectangular structure made out of cinder blocks and with the same green tinted windows of the corporate center. A large, white sign with brass lettering said LAB, just as the guard had promised. Several parking spots, two specially marked “GUEST” and two with a disabled sign, were lined up perpendicular to the front.

  “Time to go,” Emma said.

  “I’m coming with you,” Oz said.

  “We all go,” Mono said.

  Emma shook her head at them both. “Neither of you can. You’re not dressed appropriately. You won’t get past the security desk.”

  “I go, or you don’t,” Mono said.

  Emma tried one more time to dissuade him. “They’ll never let you past. How would you explain your clothing?” She indicated Mono’s faded jeans and gray tee shirt. Oz’s ensemble was not much different. He was in the same battered jeans he wore when she first met him, and his tee shirt bore the graphic of an English underground rock band. The casual attire, when added to his long hair, made him appear to be exactly what he was, a slightly disreputable roadie making his way through town.

  Emma’s clothes were in far better shape, although still not appropriate, but she’d been working in labs since college and felt at home there. She was counting on her familiarity with them to allow her to play off the security desk.

  “I go, or you don’t,” Mono repeated.

  “Listen, I saw an entrance with a ramp on that side of the building.” Emma pointed to her left. Let me work my way past the guards and I’ll head over there and let you in. Deal?”

  Mono thought for a moment.

  “Come on, Mono, you know they won’t let the two of us in, we look like drug dealers,” Oz said.

  Mono laughed. After a moment, Oz did too. Emma thought it was forced on Oz’s part, but he gave it his best shot.

  Mono pointed the gun at her. “Remember, you tip them off, and Carlos starts.”

  Emma just nodded.

  Mono jerked the gun to Oz, who gave her a worried look and climbed out of the car. Emma waited until they disappeared around the corner, then took a deep breath. She stepped into the cool evening. Crickets chirped all around her and a soft breeze blew through the trees. She looked up. Stars filled the sky. It was as if nothing bad had happened, would hap
pen, or could happen. How wrong the universe was.

  Chapter 24

  “I need to see John Raynor,” Emma said to the female security guard behind the reception desk.

  “You’ll need a pass. Can I tell him your name?” The guard wore a name tag that said SULLIVAN.

  “Emma Caldridge of Pure Chemistry, Miami, Florida.” The guard walked to the back of the desk and picked up the phone. Emma heard the woman talk as a low murmuring. She couldn’t make out the words. The guard turned to her.

  “He says he’s sorry, but he thinks you have the wrong person. He wasn’t expecting anyone tonight.”

  Emma smiled. “Tell him I do have the wrong person. Seems as though the right one has left for the day. I was hoping to talk to him so that tomorrow he could distribute some information that another team needs. I’m just passing through. This is my only chance.”

  The guard relayed Emma’s response. After a moment, the guard put the phone down and typed on a keyboard. She walked over to Emma with a printed name tag.

  “Go through those doors and down the hallway. He’s working in Lab Four.”

  “Thanks!” Emma said brightly. She stuck the badge on her shirt and walked to the glass partition doors that led to a hallway in the back of the lobby. “Here?” she pointed to the partition.

  “After I buzz you through go to the next set of doors.”

  The buzzing sound of the glass doors made Emma jump. Get hold of yourself, she thought. Her heart was racing and her palms were getting sweaty. She slowed her pace and swung through the first set of doors, headed to the second. When she passed through those, she entered a long, wide hallway with doors on either side. To her immediate left was another hall. At the end of that, she saw the doors marked EXIT.

  She jogged to it and pushed the bar. A beeping noise indicated that the door was breached. She pushed the metal panel wide and found Oz and Mono standing before her. Oz looked as nervous as hell, but Mono appeared excited. To Emma he looked like the loose cannon that he was. She waved them into the hall.

  “Let’s go. I suspect that the beep you heard was the security system notifying the guards that the door was opened.”