The Cure, стр. 36
‘She’s here to help save the world Hod and she needs your help,’ said Mendez.
‘Is he drunk?’ quizzed Chuck.
Mendez held his hand up and moved it from side to side ‘maybe a little. He flies better that way.’
‘You’re going to let him fly you back to the base?’ said Logan.
‘Do we have a choice?’ said Tallulah, as Logan passed her a vial with half the toxin in it.
Hod smiled at them both.
They climbed into the small military fighter plane, Hod now wearing a Viking helmet in the front of the cockpit and a nervous looking Tallulah in the back. ‘wait,’ said the Professor. He took a step closer to the airplane and looked at Tallulah ‘Your family name. Wanikiy. You know what it means?’
‘Yes. It means Savior,’ she replied.
‘Your father once thought that it was prophecy that he would cure all the illness in the world. He was right. But it wasn’t because of a name. It was because he thought he was above everyone else and it backfired. Maybe that prophecy was true, but it wasn’t for him,’ he smiled, took her hand, kissed it and waved goodbye.
‘So, Savior,’ said Hod ‘are you ready for the ride of your life?’
‘What were you in prison for?’ Tallulah shouted through to the cockpit.
‘Drug smuggling for the cartels. Would’ve got away with it though, but I ran out of fuel above a military airbase. Weeeeeeee, bang,’ he mimicked a plane falling from the sky.
The others watched on as Hod attempted to start the plane, then again, then again.
‘Third times a charm,’ he winked, barely able to look out the window.
The plane stuttered and stumbled along the makeshift runway and straining the wheels lifted off the ground and gradually began to climb up and up. Then she was gone.
‘Professor. It’s time,’ said Logan.
The group retreated back into the prison and to the Professor’s laboratory which doubled as the infirmary. As they entered, they knew then why the professor had been skeptical about an antidote. The laboratory was mainly full of plants and looked nothing like the high-tech labs back at the base.
The sole reason for this laboratory had been to look at ways of self-sustainability and ways that they could fuel the prison and find new and different ways to grow food. What wasn’t there to help long-term growth of the prison was day to day medicine to treat minor illnesses from before The Cure. The team looked at each other concerned and both the Professor and Mendez picked up on it straight away.
‘I’m sorry Logan. I’m not sure what you were expecting. This is a prison,’ said the Professor.
‘I know Sir. It’s fine. I knew it was a long shot.’
‘Give me the rest of the Toxin and let me see what I can do,’ he said.
An hour passed and all the group were spaced around the laboratory listening to the Professor clatter around with test tubes and other laboratory kit, but no shouts of Eureka. Nobody spoke and most had their head in their hands.
‘Is there anything we can do to help,’ said Xander, who had run out of cigarettes and had moved on to prison rollups that he’d scrounged off inmates.
‘No son, sorry, no luck and no ideas of what he has used. Whatever he has put in this it is diluted so much that it’s almost impossible to split into separate chemicals,’ said the Professor.
‘Just keep trying Professor. You’re our only hope,’ said Scott.
The professor looked over the top of his glasses ‘aren’t you the ray of sunshine?’ he laughed.
***************
Meanwhile Hod was giving Tallulah a running commentary of everything they passed over, but she couldn’t hear a word. The flight would take about four hours and she now had to work out how she would get back into the base without being seen and into the communications room. She had a plan, but it would be costly and right now with tears in her eyes she couldn’t think about it. She wiped them away and gritted her teeth, sat up straight and listened to the half blind dwarf flying the plane.
***************
Logan had been trying to get hold of Danny for a couple of hours with no luck. The radio crackled and spluttered but nothing from his brother. Jay had given them a heads up, but it wasn’t looking good on all fronts. The Professor was out of his depth without the necessary equipment and with Tallulah gone hope was fading fast. The radio crackled and a voice spoke.
‘Lo….Lo….over,’ came the voice.
‘Danny. Is that you, over?’
Lo…. Logan? Logan,’ came Danny’s voice.
‘Danny, can you hear me? Over.’
‘Thank goodness, I’ve been trying to get hold of you Logan. McGregor….Over.’
‘Yes Danny, we know. Jay told us. Goldsmith sent Zack after us and McGregor after you. Over.’
‘Are you all ok Logan? Did you find the Professor? Is Tallulah ok? Over.’
‘We have the professor, he’s alive. He’s working on an antidote, but it doesn’t look good. Over.’
‘And Tallulah? Over.’
Logan paused.
‘She’s fine Danny, she’s helping the Professor. Over,’ he lied.
‘Good good. I think McGregor is dead. I’m at the reservoir and at the vault. Over.’
‘Jay says that they are sending the toxin now. They are already on their way. You have maybe a day and a half if we’re lucky. You need to set those explosives. Over.’
‘OK Bro, I’m on it. How long do I give it until I blow it? Over.’
‘Leave it until you hear from me or the second one of those soldiers come walking through that door. Then get out. Over.’
‘I hear you. I’ll be in touch. Love you man. Over and out.’
‘Love you