“You don’t want to do this, Captain,” said Reid.
He stepped back and shrugged. “I’m not a captain anymore.”
Joe walked over to the helicopter, entered it, and did something that caused the big motor to whine to life. Then he climbed out, crossed to the wall near the door they’d entered, and pressed a big red button. Immediately the massive hangar doors began rolling sideways, letting the hot afternoon air spill in, bringing with it the stink of zombie flesh.
While Joe did all this, Colonel Reid stood exactly where she was. She said nothing and did nothing.
The ranger came back to the table. “Once we’re airborne,” he said, “we’ll radio you with the coordinates. Just in case. Maybe once you see where we’re going, you’ll understand.”
Reid’s face was wooden.
Joe paused. “I know what you’re dealing with, Jane. And you know that I’m doing the right thing.”
Her lips curled slowly back to reveal small, hard teeth. “I hope you die out there,” she snarled.
Joe sighed and walked away. Benny felt sad. That was exactly what Morgie Mitchell had said to him before they’d left him behind in Mountainside. Even now Benny didn’t think the colonel meant those words, any more than Morgie had. Sometimes you can be so hurt, so sad, and so confused that the only words you can force out are hateful ones.
Benny started to turn, but paused as Lilah pointed a finger at Reid. “Take care of Chong.”
“Louis Chong is a patient in this facility,” said Reid. “Don’t insult me.”
Lilah shook her head. “It’s not an insult. It’s a threat. I thought that was clear.”
She turned and walked toward the helicopter.
It occurred to Benny that this had all been going on a long time without any of Reid’s soldiers interfering. That didn’t seem right.
“Colonel?” he asked, keeping his voice neutral. “Where are the soldiers? Where’s everyone else?”
He expected a sharp answer or at least some sarcastic remark. Instead he saw sadness flood into her eyes. Her shoulders sagged for a moment, as if some tremendous weight pressed down on them.
But she did not answer Benny’s question.
60
THEY CLIMBED INTO THE HELICOPTER, and Joe buckled everyone into a seat. Grimm threw himself onto the deck with a loud clank of armor. Only Riot remained standing.
“You need to buckle up, girl,” said Joe.
But she shook her head. “I ain’t going. I don’t like to leave Eve here alone. Little bird’s been hurting something bad, and I want to keep an eye on her.”
No one could argue with that. Lilah did something that surprised Benny. The stern, detached Lost Girl reached over and took Riot’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. For a fierce moment Riot clutched that hand like it was a lifeline. Lilah bent and kissed Riot’s hand. There was no romance in it, just a connection on a wordless, human level. A conversation through action rather than words.
It stirred Benny’s heart. Since Chong got sick, Lilah had become almost a nonperson. Cold, incredibly remote, and harsh. Could she be thawing? Or was Eve too powerful a reminder of Annie?
Benny said, “Give Evie a kiss from me.”
Riot gave him a sad little smile. “She liked those balloons.”
“It was nice to see her smile.”
That changed Riot’s expression, but she turned away to hide whatever was in her eyes. At the door she paused.
“Y’all come back safe and sound, hear?”
Then she stepped outside, and they could hear her crunching steps as she ran back to the bridge.
“Balloons?” asked Joe.