The Cure, стр. 10

Tallulah was a rose on the base. Against the grey and green military colors, she was a light beyond light. Olive skin and beautiful features she was a young lady, but as fierce as her mother had been. She could easily pass as a pageant queen but get her in the combat ring and she’d be just as happy kicking seven bells out of the boys. Something the boys would gleefully do just to spend time with the five-foot one firecracker.

She stood with her back to the wall listening to the conversation, the blood draining from her face with each word that came out of Logan’s mouth. She swung round into the opening of the door and the boys both jumped. She couldn’t even speak. First, she looked at Danny who just scowled and looked away and then Logan who stood, took her arm, and sat her down on the bed next to him. ‘Water?’ he said and poured her a glass. Her mouth was as dry as the desert. ‘How much did you hear Tals?’ he said. ‘Enough,’ she replied.

’So, what do we do?’ said Logan ‘We’re all in this now, whether we like it or not.’

‘Break it down for us Logan,’ said Danny ‘Explain in detail exactly what is going to happen, when and where. We need to know everything. We also need to bring more people on board that we can trust with this information. There is no way we can stop this alone.’

‘Wait,’ said Tallulah. ‘Whose idea was this?’ Logan froze just long enough for her to know the answer. ‘My dad?’

‘You have to understand Tals, they think what they are doing is right.’

‘By murdering millions? By taking away people’s choice? Their dignity?’ she replied.

‘How are they going to do it?’ Danny interrupted.

‘Tallulah’s father has created an undiluted toxin which when introduced to water will poison anyone who drinks it. There is a water reservoir in Nebraska that pumps water into forty three of the fifty states like a water highway that serves those states and maintains a constant and current flow to the larger cities in those states. It was set up years ago to ensure that should we have a natural disaster one thing we would always have is water. Much like the electricity system it is run by artificial intelligence and acts as a main hub. They have already manufactured forty gallons of the toxin which by my understanding would be enough to kill the entire planet ten times over. They plan to send a small army to the water reservoir sometime within the next fortnight and introduce it to the water system. If that happens then millions will be dead within a week.’

‘Goddamn,’ said Danny. ‘Goddamn them. It’s too late then. How can we stop them?’

The three of them sat in silence looking at the floor, waiting for each other to speak. The same feelings that Logan had had were now filling the room and the thought that someone in a room hundreds of feet below the ground could make a decision that would kill millions of people left a nasty taste in their mouths. More so that their respective fathers were the ones responsible.

‘Wait a minute,’ said Tallulah. ‘My father used to speak about a man he used to work with. Brittle. Professor Clarence Brittle. He was a genius. The only man my father ever admitted was cleverer than him.’

‘How does that help us? He’s not on the base and if he was what could he even do?’ said Danny.

‘An antidote. What we need is something that can stop the effects of the toxin.’

Logan pondered this ‘but say we could find this Professor Brittle. Say he is even alive. We have no way of knowing whether he could create an antidote and no way of getting an antidote mass produced and to all the affected cities. My father is ready to put this into practice now. Today.’

‘It’s a long shot I know, but do you have any other ideas?’ Tallulah looked despondent.

Danny shook his head and walked across the room ‘we don’t,’ he paused ‘this professor you heard your father speak of. If he is as clever as you say he is then he could make an antidote. At this time no-one knows we know what is happening, so we can work with that. But we must start now. Logan, you have access to satellite imaging, so first and foremost you need to establish the Professor is alive. If he is alive, is he even in the country. If he isn’t then we’re screwed. Tallulah, you need to try and distract your father and delay them putting this plan into practice at any cost. Whatever it takes, time is of the essence. We can’t do this alone and we can’t let any of the adults on the base know what we are planning in case they try to stop us. I am going to get together a team of kids I trust and lead them to find this Professor and bring back an antidote.’

‘Hold on Danny. You’ve no military training. If you can even get off this base without anyone knowing, you’ll get yourself killed,’ replied Logan ‘Besides which I have an idea and I think you’re going to like it.’

The three of them sat planning all night, whether it be logistics of whether the Professor was alive, who would lead the team and most importantly who they could trust. Tallulah pondered the many ways she could delay the toxin being transported to the water reservoir. Bearing in mind it was time sensitive to start reducing the population the toxin would be well guarded.

Danny would oversee Logan’s contingency plan, whilst Logan would take a team to the location of the Professor. But as they already discussed, there was