Midnight Squad: The Grim (55 page)

           
We double-checked our equipment. I hugged my sisters, and
we were about to leave when Niki stormed up. “I’m coming with you!” I tried to
stop her. She glared at me and hissed, “I’m a better shot than you are, and I’m
not leaving my little Pudding Pop to fight those…things alone!”

           
“That’s my Passion Flower!” Danika cheered. These two
were already becoming inseparable. I tried to complain, but Dad stepped in,
“I’m not happy about her going either, but she’s a grown woman, and she really
is a better shot than you. You might need her sniping skills.” Mom was pissed,
but there was no stopping Niki. So we gave in and she ran and got a few changes
of clothes. We finally pulled out just as the moon was rising. It was going to
be a long drive.

           
The drive took forever. Penny, Katy, Danika, and Alhambra
took turns driving. The rest of us sat in the back and had the mind-numbing
task of building the mines, the smoke bombs, and the pipe bombs. Janine watched
Alhambra like a hawk, and by the time we finally reached Boston Janine had
gathered every piece of Ally’s necklace. The Jinn had tried to sneak pieces to
every person we ran into along the way. Each time Janine snuck up and stole the
piece of necklace back, and each time it happened I got more nervous. We still
didn’t know what Alhambra’s plan was, but it certainly couldn’t be good.

           
We arrived in Boston and found a cheap hotel room. It was
Wednesday, and that meant that DD should be at the hospital. I drove over to
the hospital alone. One person wouldn’t rouse suspicions. The girls kept
working on the equipment. Driving was dangerous. Since Eisen had begun
overthrowing the government, everything went to hell. There was rioting in the
streets, and it was as if everyone had suddenly gone insane. Looting was
rampant, and there was almost no police force.

           
I arrived at the hospital and then asked the help desk
for the Dinkly room. It was a bit of a calculated risk, but considering we were
in a hospital it seemed like a smart guess. The receptionist directed me to the
fifth floor and gave me a room number.

           
I made my way up to the fifth floor and slipped into room
532. Machines attached themselves to a pale, thin, older woman. She was in bad
shape. It was obvious to anybody looking that this woman wasn’t long for the
world. I felt bad standing there. I was just standing over her when I saw her
eyes slowly flutter, and then she looked up at me, “Are you my doctor?” I shook
my head and walked around to a seat beside her. Then I sat down. I would have
talked to her, but she looked exhausted. Even breathing was almost too much for
her. Therefore, I just sat and watched over her.

           
She was a woman in her mid to late forties. I glanced at
her chart.
Stephanie Dinkly.
It was like looking at an
older, emaciated version of DD. I tried to read what I could of the chart.
There were a lot of words I couldn’t pronounce, some words I didn’t understand,
and even a few words I wasn’t sure I could spell even looking right at them. One
thing I did understand though, she was dying of cancer. It all made sense now.

           
DD had said she didn’t have any money, and it must have
all been sent here for medical bills. DD had to stay loyal to Elizabeth, or the
funds would cut off. I could only imagine what I’d do to help my mother.
Sitting there, watching DD’s mother fight for every second of life, I made a
decision. At that moment, I knew DD wasn’t my enemy. She was just a young,
desperate woman trying to save her mother.

           
“Who are you?” DD’s mom’s ragged words brought me out of
my thoughts. Her eyes were nervous. I guess having some strange man sitting in
your room staring off blankly might be a little creepy. I cleared my throat and
said, “I’m Joseph, I’m a friend of your daughter DD.”

           
“You’re her friend?” She asked weakly.

           
“I am.”

           
“What kind of friend?” Even on her deathbed, DD’s mom was
trying to look out for her daughter. She reminded me of my mom. I smiled and
said, “I’m a very good friend. I care a lot about her.” The funny thing was that
I was just going to say that to make her feel good, but halfway through I
realized that I meant every word. We were good friends, and it was only
circumstances forcing us to be on opposite sides. I leaned in, “Is there
anything I can do for you?”

           
“Water.
Can you also open the
blinds? The nurses keep it so dark in here. The only time there’s any light is
when DD comes with my girls.” Her words were so weak and faint that I barely
heard them. I poured her some water, and then helped her sip it. Once she was
done, I opened the blinds. Light poured into the room. The walls were pastel
blue; Stephanie’s blanket was a dingy colored green. Light bounced off a
picture that showed Stephanie with her four daughters. DD was the oldest.

           
“Is there anything else I can do?” I asked nervously. I
didn’t want to make her talk too much. She looked like she could go at anytime.

           
Stephanie coughed and then whispered, “Could you read to
me? My eyes just don’t focus that well anymore.” She gestured to the drawer
beside her bed. I reached in and pulled out a bible. Stephanie’s voice was just
barely audible, “I never tried reading that book when I was younger, but after
I was diagnosed it was the only thing besides my children that give me any
comfort. I don’t know if any of it is true, but I hope it is.”

           
I felt my throat tighten, and I fought back a few tears
for the woman. “Oh it’s real. I promise you that it’s real, and if you believe
and have faith then he’ll have a place for you. He’s not the type of man that’d
lie about that kind of stuff.”

           
“You sound like you know him personally. I wish I had
your faith.” Stephanie winced and hit a button for more painkillers. I nearly
told her the complete truth right then and there, but luckily, common sense
stepped in. I told her about as much as I could without sounding street rat
crazy. When I finished, Stephanie looked happy and peaceful. I asked her where
she wanted me to start, and she said, “Can you read me John?” I turned the
pages to the first chapter of John and began.

I
heard someone clear her throat. It was a nurse. “Excuse me, but Stephanie’s
family is here. We only allow four guests at a time in a room so do you mind?”
I nodded. The nurse smiled and slipped outside.
DD,
and her three sisters filed in. DD’s eyes were as big as saucers. She was
terrified. I walked over and reached out to her. She winced when I touched her.
It was as if she expected me to attack her right there. I pulled her in a hug
and whispered, “I’m sorry about your mom. Take all the time you need, but
afterwards we need to talk.” I was about to step outside the room when
Stephanie gasped and then said, “Joseph? Please take care of my daughter. DD
had to grow up too quickly. She’s been taking care of all of us for years now,
but when I’m gone, someone is going to have to take care of her. Can you do
that please? I know it’s a lot to ask.”

           
I smiled, “No, I’d be happy to. DD is a good friend. I
promise that I’ll watch after her. Now I need to get out of here before that
crazy old bat of a nurse comes in and drags me out.” Stephanie laughed, and her
whole body relaxed. I could tell she wasn’t going to last much longer. I
slipped outside and found a phone. After calling the girls and getting them up
to speed, I went back and sat down. I waited for DD to come out, and I knew
when she did it she’d need a shoulder to cry on. Three hours later, it was all
over.
Rest in peace Stephanie.

           
I stood by DD throughout it all. It was another three
hours before we could leave the hospital. We worked together to handle the
paperwork and the preparations. I helped any way I could. It was late that
night when we left the hospital. I followed DD in the van. We took her sisters
home to an Aunt’s house. Then after DD kissed and hugged her sisters, she got
into the van with me and we drove off. Her face locked in grim determination.

           
“Thank you for not hurting my mother, and for being so
good with my sisters. I’ll try not to scream.” DD’s eyes were watering. She
still thought I might hurt her, or worse kill her. The messed up part was that
she was so thankful to me for today that she was actually going to let me do
whatever I wanted without any fight. I pulled the car into an alley. “Get out.”

           
We both got out of the van and I led her in front of the
headlights. Her lower lip was trembling, and she was already starting to lose
it. I wrapped my arms around her and just held her. “It’s okay. You did what
you had to. I’m not blaming you for caring about your mom. I can only guess
what I’d have done in your shoes.” DD broke down right there. I held her until
morning while she just cried. When she finally stopped, she kissed me on the
cheek and said, “Thank you.” I nodded and hugged her again, trying to ignore
the snot bubbles.

           
 
I finally let her
go and said, “We need you. You know how bad it’s getting out there. You’re the
only person that knows how it all works. I’m not asking you to fight. I just
need all the information you can give me about what’s going on, and any
additional help would be appreciated.” DD took a deep breath, “Yeah, I’ll help.
Just get me a computer.”

           
We got back in the van and headed over to the hotel. DD
and I tried to catch up. She finally said, “You know, when I saw you in Mom’s
hospital room. I was afraid. I didn’t know what you were going to do to us. I
should have known better.” I shook my head and handed DD a bag from the back
seat.

           
“What’s this?” She said.

           
“Open it.”

           
DD unzipped it and her eyes got wide. Inside were knives,
a drill, a blowtorch, some jumper cables, and duct tape. “I was going to do
whatever I had to. Then I met your mom. After that I put everything together,
and I just couldn’t do anything to you then.” DD was white as a sheet. She
pulled out a pair of rusty pliers, “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but
what would you do with these?”

           
“I’d have used them to pull out your fingernails,
toenails, and teeth.”

           
DD shoved her head out the window and I heard her
retching and vomiting. I pulled over so she could finish throwing up. Once she
finished I handed her a piece of gum. DD chewed and said, “I’m glad you decided
not to torture me.”

           
“So am I. It’d have made looking after you kind of
difficult, and I keep my promises.” I grinned.

           
We drove a few more blocks while I filled DD in on
everything. When I got to Alhambra DD listened carefully. After a few minutes
DD said, “I think I know what she’s up to.” That got my attention. I waited
patiently while DD collected her thoughts. Finally, she said, “You know the
General is trying to kill her to make Elizabeth his new mate.” I nodded, and she
continued, “Well I overheard him talking with Elizabeth. Well he was yelling
really. If he kills Alhambra then he can take her power back and give it to
someone else, but if Alhambra kills him then it would create a power vacuum.
Alhambra’s soul, her very life would be sucked into the void in order to fill
that space. I might be wrong but it sounds like she’s planning to use those
pieces of the necklace as a way to siphon other people’s souls into the void to
keep her here. Then afterwards she’d have a direct line to all that power. It
would make her unstoppable.”

           
I swallowed hard, “Well…shit. Do you have any ideas?”

           
“That necklace is the key. I think if you destroy the
necklace when it’s trying to fill the void then my best guess is that it would
destroy her, but that’s only a guess. I’m no expert on magic.”

           
We got back to the hotel. I can’t say that there wasn’t a
lot of tension. After DD told them why she was helping Elizabeth then things
seemed to smooth out a bit, but it was clear that it’d be awhile before
everything was good again between us all. I handed her Niki’s computer. DD used
it to pull up schematics on the clones. She then pulled up a map and showed us
everything she could remember.

           
Eisen and Elizabeth were operating out of a secure
science facility. It was six stories tall. There was a pay parking lot on the
south of the building. A large library bordered on the east. A ten-story hotel
was on the west, and the entrance to the facility was on the north. We made our
plans. Danika was going to lob pipe bombs and smoke bombs into the facility
from the library. Niki was going to snipe from the hotel. I wouldn’t agree to
let her join us until she agreed that she would only fire on either Elizabeth
or Eisen. The last thing I needed was her squeezing off rounds from a hunting
rifle and drawing unnecessary attention from the synthetics. DD was going to
stay with Niki and use her computer skills to give us intelligence.