Listen (Muted Trilogy Book 2) (24 page)

She fought a silent groan, trying and failing to stall her train of thought. If she and Jack were to be recaptured, maybe they could find a way to make sure the cure was used as soon as it was ready, either by giving the scientists what they wanted in their study or by finding a way to break out again and figuring out how to activate it themselves.

Jemma’s stomach churned.

Trapped.

If the senator wasn’t willing or able to help, as good a person as he seemed to be, as much as he seemed to live to help people, then what hope did they have of finding other outside help?

“Jemma?” Jack’s hand was on her shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut.

“One second. I’m trying to talk myself out of a horrible idea.” If they were recaptured, security would be tighter. Escaping a second time would be harder, if not impossible. She shook her head again. This wasn’t a choice she had to make alone. “The papers mentioned a cure, partially finished. We’re not doing any good out here, unless one of you has any further suggestions?” She waited, watching Jack’s mouth pull downward as he seemed to figure out the direction she was heading. “But if we let ourselves get recaptured, then we at least have a shot at figuring out whether the cure is finished, and at getting the cure out there if and when it
is
ready.”

“I don’t like it,” sent Jack.

“Do you think I do? What’s our alternative, Jack? Live on the run until we die? Until the rest of the world does? I’m open to suggestions, here.”

“I have one,” sent Myles. “I mean, actually, I agree, I think it’s a good plan. Easy enough for me to say when I’m not the one who has to carry it out. That being said, I can continue to keep an eye on things out here, as best I can without getting caught. But if you’re trying to maximize your chances of finding a cure, I think it’s actually better if you try to get into two separate facilities.”

Jemma closed her eyes against the immediate, instinctive,
NO!
that was her gut reaction to that suggestion, and she tried to think it through. He was right. She’d seen a list of the different laboratories. Splitting up would give them a better chance at finding a functional cure and getting it out there. But being back in a lab and away from Jack would mean she’d be unable to Talk to him. She’d not only be trapped; she’d be alone.

“No,” sent Jack, taking her hand. His eyes were flashing at Myles, and she tried sending him a calming wave of emotion, but her own emotions were unsteady enough that she wasn’t sure whether it worked.

“Do you really think they’d let you be together this time, anyway?” sent Myles. “You escaped together. If you do this, even if they don’t automatically put one of you in a different facility, they’re never going to put you in the same room. They’re not going to risk it.”

“They don’t know we can Talk from different areas of the lab. They might not take the right precautions,” sent Jack. “We’ve got a better chance at this together.”

“They didn’t like you,” sent Jemma, in nearly a whisper. “Whether we end up back near home or in a different facility, they’re going to figure out who we are, if they don’t know from the beginning. And they didn’t like you. You started out fighting, and you didn’t cooperate until I asked you to. I think if we go back together, they’re going to take it out on you.” She turned her head to look at him. “I’m not going to take it very well if that happens.”

“You think it’ll be better if I’m somewhere else?”

“It might be, yes. If I go back home, and you go to a new place. They’ll have the notes, they’ll know who you are, but they won’t have both of us. They won’t have the anger, and they won’t be trying to keep us apart.”

“That’s because we’ll already
be
apart.” Jack’s jaw tightened and relaxed. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m open to ideas that don’t involve our being captured again,” she sent, appreciating Myles’s continued silence. “But if we’re going that route, as much as I hate it, yes, I think we should split up.”

Jack was quiet for several seconds. “Let’s think it through first. At least for tonight. Can we do that?”

Jemma nodded, and Myles’s phone buzzed. “We’ve got just tonight to really think it through,” he sent. “I’m needed back in D.C. by tomorrow evening. If we’re doing this, I can take one of you with me when I leave.”

TWENTY-SIX

Side Effects

“I don’t feel like I can help with this decision since I’m not the one risking myself,” sent Myles, “and I need to start packing, so I’ll let you two talk. If there’s anything I can do…” He gestured, almost a wave, in their direction, then left the room, shoulders slumped.

“What else is in here?” sent Jack, his mental tone low as he worked through the papers. Jemma moved close enough to look over his shoulder, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs.

“Way too much, really. Nothing that should’ve ever been left where anyone could find it.”

Jack nodded and continued reading as Jemma reread, confirming the information. She felt him tense at several of the same pieces of information she’d lingered over, and when he reached the part about death being likely, she felt him send a surge of denial. “You want to go back into a lab that was willing to continue testing you when they knew it might kill you?”

“If there were a way for us to stop that from happening otherwise? No.” Jemma’s tone was firm, and Jack turned to look at her while she Talked. “If they’d continued to test me after I was passed out? No. But Jack, doing this, it puts us closer to people who know how to save me, closer to a cure, not farther, which is where we’ll be if we keep running. And if they’re waiting for enough information before they release the cure, and I was giving them the most information? Then the best way to speed things up is for me to go back, even if we can’t find a way to release the cure ourselves.” Jack shook his head and went back to reading, flipping to the page that listed the testing facilities. Jemma reached over to point. “Here, look. Where we were being held, it’s one of the few facilities that are working on a cure alongside testing subjects.”

“Lucky.” Jack’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

Jemma ignored him. “It looks like they tried to spread them out. There’s the one on the Gulf Coast, one on the east coast, which I’m sure Myles knew before he suggested one of us come with him tomorrow, and one on the west coast. It looks like they had one near the Canadian border but closed it, along with a handful of others that weren’t researching cures,” she finished, pointing at several marked as permanently closed.

“The budget problems they mentioned, maybe,” Jack suggested.

“That’s something that isn’t addressed as much in here,” sent Jemma. “This definitely feels like it was written by one of the scientists, or a group of them, not by some military officer or government official. Someone who has a lot more first-hand knowledge of what's going on in the labs.”

“So, what, can we trust the information in it?”

“It fits what we know, right?”

“It does.” He set down the papers and leaned back, closing his eyes and reaching for Jemma’s hand. “You’re really sure enough this is our best option that you’re willing to go back to the lab with that sadistic piece of—”

“Yes, I am,” Jemma interrupted, watching Jack. He was keeping his tone neutral, his emotions detached. He was rubbing his thumb along hers, back and forth, the pressure from the tip of his thumb suggesting the action was more to remind himself that she was there than an absent gesture. “Jack, look at me.” He opened his eyes, turning his head toward her, his brown eyes just inches away. “You were the one who said we could get through anything, right?”

“Together.
Together
was a big part of that, Jemma. I know we can still do what we need to alone, okay? But we’re better as a team.” He shook his head again, without breaking eye contact. “We’ll keep our connection going as long as we can. It’s gotten stronger, I think, and who knows? Maybe we’ll still be able to Talk once we get to the labs.”

She squeezed his hand. “So we’re doing this?”

His mouth twitched in what looked like an attempt to smile. “Yeah.”

“We don’t exactly need to go pack, do we?”

This time, his lips did pull up to one side. “No, I suppose that’s one benefit to traveling light.”

Before she could study the impulse, Jemma leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Jack, the hug awkward thanks to their placement on the couch, knees knocking into thighs, arms locking together. Jack pulled her onto his lap to get a better grip, giving her a moment to pull away before he hid his face in the crook of her neck, his arms pulling her tight against him.

“I’ll miss you,” she sent. There was no way to know, really, how long it might be this time before she would see him again, how long it would be before she’d be free again, before she’d see her family. If all went well, though, then by the time they were out, everything should be back to normal, and everything would have been worth it.

Right?

“Same.” They stayed like that for several minutes, until Jack sent a wave of mild amusement. Jemma pulled back far enough to look at him, eyebrows raised, her hands resting on his shoulders, his at her waist. “One bit of information that got confirmed in that paperwork wasn’t all bad.” He grinned. “We really might be naturally telepathic, without any help. We just didn’t know it.”

“That is kinda cool, I’ll admit,” agreed Jemma. Myles walked back into the room, glancing at them and averting his eyes. Jack’s grip tightened for a moment before he released her, and Jemma shifted back to his side, letting her arm rest against his. He laced their fingers together, and they looked at Myles, waiting for him to speak.

“If one of you is coming with me,” he sent, finally, “I need to make travel arrangements. Or, rather, I need to make them if I’m going alone. If I’m taking someone, we’ll go by car. Won’t need your ID, that way.”

“Bit of a drive, isn’t it?” asked Jack.

“Twelve hours. We’ll need to leave first thing in the morning.” He looked between the two of them. “Is, I mean, are you…”

“I’ll be coming with you,” sent Jack.

Myles nodded. “And Jemma?”

“I’ll be going back home,” she sent.

“I think,” Myles started, running a hand through his hair, “it’s probably best to let yourself be caught. Going directly to the facility would be a bit suspicious, but if you happen to be somewhere they find you, that might work.”

Jemma nodded agreement, then hesitated. “I’m not sure how I’m getting back. Do I need to do the train thing again?”

Myles shook his head. “I have a second car you can borrow. Nothing fancy, but it’ll work. Just make sure you aren’t anywhere near it when you let yourself get caught, okay? I don’t want my name mixed up in this.”

“That’s fine,” she agreed. “I appreciate the loan.”

“I’ll make sure the tank is full. That should be enough to get you there. Do you have some money in case something comes up?”

“You should take the cash,” sent Jack. “I’ll be with Myles until we get there.”

“It might take longer for you to get caught, though,” she sent. “They shouldn’t be looking for you so far from home.”

“She has a point,” sent Myles, turning to pace. “How do we get you caught without making it obvious you were trying?”

“Public library,” sent Jack. “Public library, borrowed computer, unprotected search. Something stupid and obvious on a public forum. They’ve never shown any interest in my computer skills. I don’t think they’d look too hard at catching me that way. At least not immediately.”

“Right then.” Myles rubbed his hands together. “The least I can do is offer you dinner. Local pizza place is used to me ordering extras and wouldn’t think anything of me ordering enough for three. What sounds good?”

“Before we do that,” Jack sent, “there’s something else.” Jemma looked at him, then at Myles, who shifted, waiting. “We understand that you don’t want to risk yourself, but you’re letting us do it, instead. Keeping an eye and an ear out is great, and we can’t thank you enough for the monetary help.”

“But?” The senator’s tone was laced with apprehension.

“But I’m not okay with agreeing to all but walk back in there and just be left in those places indefinitely. I want to know that you’re doing whatever you can out here to help us, and that if we don’t make it back out eventually, you’ll do whatever it takes, even if it means going public, to get us out of their hands.”

Jemma rubbed her arm. Myles’s attempt at lightening the mood had been completely shoved aside by Jack’s request, and the two men stared at each other. His request was reasonable, though, and it made her feel a lot better about proceeding.

“Okay,” sent the senator, finally, and some of the tension in the room faded. “How long, then, if I don’t hear from either of you? Another month? How long are we talking about, here?”

Closing her eyes, Jemma tried to imagine having to cope with the facility and the people in it for another month. Judging by Dr. Harris’s and Josh’s reactions, they’d only just started to see progress before she and Jack had left, so any shorter felt like a gamble. A month, though, had been long enough for her to collapse once; how many more times would she be signing on for if she agreed to a second, especially without Jack’s connection as an occasional buffer?