"I really can't do more than guess," Ellen replied, "but I think it could be lots, especially on the West Coast, where pediatricians' offices will be open three hours later than the ones on the East Coast. Thanks to the President's publicity people, the papers are calling today's injection The Shot Heard Round the World. The public and the pediatricians just love vaccines. Omnivax is the most eagerly awaited advance in immunizations in decades, but it's been made clear that even though tens of thousands of doses have been shipped to offices and clinics around the country, administering it to patients won't be legal until after Lynette Marquand and Secretary Bolton have had their worldwide TV photo op. So… What? Maybe a few thousand doses by the end of the day? Maybe more. Who knows?"
"With a three percent prion infection rate."
“Or more.”
"Or more," Matt echoed.
He peered up at the hole high on the rock wall and made his decision.
"My Harley's at my Uncle Hal's place. I can probably get you to D.C. on time, but I don't want to leave before I see Nikki. We've been through too much together."
"I understand, but please, let's get going as soon as you can."
"We will."
"And Matt, I apologize for getting so wrapped up in my issues just now. I'm sorry about your uncle. I really am."
"Thanks. Me, too. Lewis, can you wait a little before setting off those charges?"
"Ain't no place we got ta be. We don' 'specially need Lyle, neither. He kin drahve ya ta yer bike."
"Great. Lewis, tell me something. How on earth did you guys get your guns out so fast?"
Grinning broadly, Lewis pulled up the sleeve of his jacket, revealing an arrangement of leather straps and springs.
"Ma brother Frank, thar, invented this here gizmo a couple a year ago an' built one fer each a us. We ain't really got ta use 'em, but we put 'em on taday 'cause we jes don' truss Bass Vernon much. An' the older we git, the more careful we git. That rot, Frank?"
"Thassit."
"So that's why you guys were looking at each other like you had a secret."
"We knowed somethin' they dint, thet's fer sure," Lewis said. "The moment Grimes tol' his boy thar ta git our guns an' dint jes pull the trigger, we knowed he 'uz a dead man, providin' Frank's gizmo worked the way it's s'pose ta."
"And did it ever. Ellen, I'll be right back. We'll make it. My uncle's place isn't too far from here. His girlfriend is away, but I know where he keeps a spare key."
"Good, because there's someone I need to call."
"I'll be back."
Matt was halfway up the head-wall when he heard Nikki's voice.
"Hey, sailor, come up here and get your Red Cross advanced swimmer's badge."
Looking about as grungy and disheveled as a person could, she sat perched on a slab to one side of the rent Lewis had made in the massive wall. Matt hustled to her side and kissed her unabashedly.
"I knew you'd make it," she said. "I just knew it."
"You did not."
"Okay, I didn't. But you made it just the same, and that's what counts."
"How's your ankle?"
"Better now than it was a few minutes ago. You know any decent orthopedists?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. How many people are still alive down there?"
"Believe it or not, a)} the ones that were alive when you Mt."
"Even Fred?"
"He's actually a little better. I did a trach on Colin."
"Incredible. You dun need no steenking OR."
Nikki looked down at the three bodies sprawled in blood amid the stones and dust.
"Did you do that?" she asked.
"In my mind I did, especially Grimes. But I didn't even get a shot off."
"I never trusted that Vinny."
"I know. Listen, it's almost noon. Let me help you down. I've got to get Ellen to D.C."
"Oh, yes, that first shot is due this afternoon. Hurry. I can get down myself."
"You can let me help you."
It was a slow, awkward descent. When they finally reached the bottom, Matt carried her to a safe spot in the tunnel and set her down. Even beneath the bandage he had applied, he could feel the enormous swelling in her ankle. He kissed her hand, then her neck, and finally her lips.
"You think you might like to, I don't know, hang with me after I get back?"
"Only if you promise me we get to do something really, really dull."
"I promise."
They kissed once more before he headed back to Ellen. As he passed Grimes's bullet-riddled body, he paused.
"See, I told you there was proof," he said.
CHAPTER 36
Clearly pleased with the responsibility Lewis had bestowed on him, Lyle Slocumb hopped up behind the wheel of the old Ford pickup. Matt saw Ellen mulling over how best to negotiate the gearshift protruding up from the floorboards and saved her the maneuvering by taking the center seat.
"I could have handled it," she said, sliding in beside him.
"Hey, after watching what you did with that rock, I would say you can handle just about anything. I just figured since me and Lyle have known each other from when I was a boy, he might enjoy rubbing elbows with me."
"Yer nuts," Lyle said.
"Yes, and don't you ever forget it."
As they pulled away, Matt looked back toward the mountain, feeling an odd mix of horror, relief, and foolishness. True, there was a toxic waste dump just as he'd suspected. Soon the mine owners were going to be exposed for the callous, unscrupulous profit-mongers they were, and the cave would be cleaned out. But his narrow-mindedness regarding the mine owners and the cause of the Belinda syndrome had kept him from the truth and had, to some degree, cost lives — most notably for him, his godfather's. He also knew that there was going to be trouble for Lewis and his brothers. The Slocumbs had become legendary for their mysterious, hermitlike existence. Now, unless a way could be found to dissociate them from the carnage in the tunnel, there was going to be publicity, inquisitions, and scrutiny, and probably weapons charges as well.
Inwardly, he shrugged. He had done what he thought was right and had tried his best. That was the way he had been taught to live his life. There was nothing more he could ask of himself. But there was also no hiding the fact that his exuberance about the mine had almost enabled Grimes and his Lasaject cronies to pull off their lethal deception. Over time, he would have to deal with the way he had handled matters, perhaps with Nikki's help. For the moment, though, it was essential to focus on other things. All that mattered right now was beating the clock to Washington, and placing Ellen in a position to stop the initial injection of Omnivax and all subsequent injections as well.
Three percent.
The figure reverberated in his mind. Three percent of tens of thousands — biological time bombs with an untreatable, communicable disease that had no diagnostic test and didn't manifest itself for a decade or more.
Three percent.
"It'll be close, but we'll make it before that first shot is given," he pledged.
"Not if we try too hard and end up as roadkill."
"Okay, okay. I'll introduce myself to the speed limit. Have you ever been on a motorcycle?"
"Once."
"And?"
"I've been around for a long time, Doctor. Over those years, there have been plenty of motorcycling opportunities. Doesn't my saying 'once' tell you anything?"
Matt grinned.
"You'll love my bike, Ellen. I promise. Lyle, make the next left. My uncle's road is about three miles from here."
"Ya got it," Lyle said.
Studying the man — thinning gray hair, aquiline nose, weathered skin, engaging, toothless smile — Matt wondered if Lyle, or any of the brothers, for that matter, had ever had a driver's license. They were certainly a strange lot, but they also seemed to be living lives that were quite fulfilled on many levels. And now, once again, Matt owed them his life. Becoming their friend was certainly an unmerited gift of that bicycle ride to their house so many years ago.