Page 78 of Deadly Strain

Like his grandma always said, plan for the worst, hope for the best.

At best, they all got out with no one getting killed or going to jail.

At worst, they all died, and there were way too many possibilities in between. He went back to where Grace was sleeping and put his head back for another power nap. No telling when he’d sleep next.

***

Grace woke feelinglike she’d been run over by a herd of cows. Every muscle group she had ached. Even the insides of her eyelids. She lifted her head and turned to see what was going on.

Sharp was seated a couple of feet away, his head back and eyes closed. His breathing was deep and slow.

Behind her, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

Smoke, Runnel, and Clark sat on the ground in the center of the cavern. At the moment, they were watching her, but it was obvious by how they situated themselves that they were watching the entire space.

Clark caught her gaze and put sleepy hands by his head, then he pointed at her and nodded.

She dearly wished she could follow his suggestion and get some more rest, but her head was too full of the danger they were in, the problems they were facing, and the stacked odds against them.

Her stomach growled. Loud enough that all three men heard it.

Runnel laughed silently, and Clark threw up his hands and motioned her to come over. Smoke just smiled, his white teeth bright against the backdrop of his tanned face and scraggly beard.

Grace pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and crawled over to the three soldiers. They were all grinning at her.

“Stuff it,” she whispered to them.

That just made them laugh. Even silent Smoke. He held out a bottle of water to her and she plopped herself on the ground so she could take it.

Warm water had never tasted so good.

Clark handed her a MRE, which she devoured. The three men watched her like they’d never seen anyone eat before.

“I haven’t eaten a full meal in...” She had to think about it. “Days.”

“You still haven’t,” Runnel said.

Grace rolled her eyes at him. “Funny.” She finished eating without any further commentary from the guys and drank some more water before looking at them, hoping for an update on their situation.

“You should get some more sleep, Doc,” Clark told her. “We might be busy in a few hours.”

Well, that was unhelpful.

The anthrax samples sat only feet away.

They’d been accused of murder and their commander had been murdered.

On top of all of that, a despot masquerading as an army officer was trying to find a way to punish her for something she couldn’t have prevented.

Would he stop if she told him she punished herself daily for it?

Sleep. Ha! She snorted softly. “I’ve got so much adrenaline in my system right now I could power a small town. What’s the poop?”

“Poop?” Clark asked, as if he’d never heard the word.

“You know, the latest, the situation, the status, the sticky wicket, the—”

“Stop,” Smoke said, holding up his palm and shaking his head. He transferred his gaze from her face to Clark’s. “Give her thepoop.”