“I’m surprised none of your people have brought it up. I can’t be the only person to wonder.”
“I’m sure you’re not, but unlike you, a civilian, my men must follow orders. They don’t ask questions. So, again, I must insist that you keep this conversation between us.”
Jack nodded. “My lips are sealed. It isn’t my place. I’m not a member of your team and I’m grateful to have a place here with you.”
He might inform Zaun, just to tell someone, but then again he might not. Zaun wasn’t a member of Doc’s team and he had no one he’d want to communicate with. But Zaun could be a loose cannon, and Jack didn’t want the guy mouthing off, telling any of the guards what Jack and him had talked about. So as much as he wanted to, Jack needed to keep the information to himself.
“Well, Jack,” Reynolds said, “I’m glad you’re back safe and sound with us.”
“Me too. And thanks for giving me the tools to get it done.”
“Not a problem.”
Jack stood, the doctor doing the same. They shook hands.
“Think I’ll head back to my room. I’m beat.”
Reynolds was looking at Jack again, as if studying him. A grin formed on the man’s face.
“Everything all right, Doc?”
The man turned away. “Aside from my numerous failed attempts at finding a cure and the fact that the city is in total ruin, millions dead?” He laughed. “I’m fine.”
Jack frowned. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Reynolds walked to the door. “I know. I’m sorry too. Sorry I wasn’t more diligent with my security. Sorry for the loss of your wife. This whole mess is my fault. It was my project that got so many killed.”
Jack felt a tinge of anger bloom inside him at hearing the man say Jess’ name. It was ultimately Reynolds’ fault that his wife was dead. If the man had deliberately killed her, Jack wouldn’t hesitate to end his life. Screw finding a cure, he would let someone else worry about that. But Jack knew better; knew that Reynolds hadn’t set out to kill anyone, and was only sanctioned by the military, the same military that kept America safe, to perform a task. And Jack actually thought the idea sounded like a good one. Micro-robotic machines that could aid in a person’s recovery. If the doctor had figured out a way to make them work, it could have meant huge changes in the way injuries were treated. Now, with the city dead, the cost far outweighed any benefits.
Jack said goodnight and left the room. Something clearly wasn’t right with the doctor. The man’s words spoke of regret, of emotion, but to Jack, the guy had no real sentiment behind them, like a bad actor reciting lines.
Chapter 15
Zaun was fast asleep when Jack went to check on his friend. Using pen and paper, he left a note on the desk, telling his sword-wielding buddy to come to his room when he woke up.
By ten p.m. Zaun still hadn’t shown, and Jack decided not to wait up for him. The two would catch up tomorrow. The man apparently needed his shut-eye.
Jack decided to hit the hay himself when a knock came at his door. Dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, he went over to the door and opened it, surprised to see Kevin Myers standing there.
“What’s up, Kevin? Everything all right?”
The guy looked visibly shaken. “Can I come in?”
Jack was tired-his bed calling him-but the kid looked like he really needed someone to talk to. Figuring he would put the guy’s mind at ease after a few minutes, he told him to come in.
He shut the door behind Kevin, then sat on his bed. The kid remained standing. “Have a seat,” he said, motioning to the chair in front of the desk.
Kevin began pacing back and forth, obviously upset about something.
“Talk to me,” Jack said.
“I found something out.” The kid continued pacing. “Some really bad stuff.”
“Okay,” Jack said, thinking the poor kid had heard awful news about a family member or something to that effect. Then it hit him: “Are they going to nuke the city?”
“No. God no. Nothing like that.”
Jack let out a breath, feeling his body relax.
“Kevin,” he said, “ why don’t you sit down and talk to me. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
The kid shook his head and continued to pace, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. He finally stopped, and faced Jack. “They were testing the bots on people, Jack. On fucking people. Homeless people. Taking them off the streets, promising them money and a quick stay in the lab. But it was all a lie.”
When Jack was initially told about the bot program, it hadn’t occurred to him who or what the test subjects were. He had assumed lab animals, rats and whatnot. But people? He supposed after the bots were tested on animals, the results being positive, that people, volunteers, would be next to be tested on. It made sense, and was after all what the pharmaceutical companies did.
“You’re saying they’re using people against their will?”
“Yes. Torturing and killing them in the process. Now, with the city the way it is, their supply is low. Maybe even gone for all I know.”
“There are people here, besides the employees? Civilians?”
“You remember that locked door we talked about earlier, the one by Reynolds’ office?”
“C-wing. Yeah.”
“That’s where the people were kept and experimented on. C-wing is filled with labs and rooms; rooms where they keep the subjects locked up. There were over thirty homeless people in there at one point. But now…” T he kid shook his head. “Now they might all be dead.”
“And you’re sure about this?”
“Of course I’m sure. Doc Reynolds has been torturing them. Infecting them, seeing how long they last, pumping them full of fluids, nutrients, then shocking them to kill the things before starting all over. But most of them die after a few times, too weakened to continue, their bodies giving out.”
“Who told you this?”
“One of the guards. A guy named Devon. After a night of cards and heavy drinking, we went back to his room. We talked about our families. He kept drinking. I asked him about that locked door, where it went. He laughed, then told me everything. How Dr. Reynolds was taking homeless people and locking them up, experimenting on them, like something out of a horror movie. He said he had no idea if there were any left alive, and the only reason he sent you out was in the hope you’d bring back more people. People for him to experiment on.
“The next day, I thought I’d be called into Reynolds’ office for a chat, as I’m not supposed to know about what’s really going on, but never was. Devon said nothing to me about it again. I think he was so drunk he must have blacked out. Doesn’t remember telling me about it. He was so hung-over the next day he could barely stand without wanting to puke.”
Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Dr. Reynolds was a monster. A modern Frankenstein. No wonder the man had been acting strange earlier.
Kevin was pacing again, like a Bengal tiger at the zoo.
“All right,” Jack said. “Calm down. Take a seat and we’ll figure this out.”
The kid stopped, looked Jack in the eyes. He laughed coldly, then said, “You don’t get it. He’s run out of people, and hasn’t gotten the bots to work properly yet.”
“So?”
“So he needs subjects. You and your friend are next.”
Jack felt as if he had been slapped. A lump formed in his throat that he tried unsuccessfully to swallow.