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I've got a desk job, Hannah.
You also have a ton of stuff to do fast. Pace yourself.
I don't feel like doing it anyway.
Do it for Annie.
Touché.
With his new bandage in place, she put her hands gently over his ears. I
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wasn't trying to be mean, David. I mean it. I know your heart is broken. But
if you wait for that pain to go away before doing what you have to do, it'll
be time to get out of here. He nodded miserably.
You're going to be OK, David, she said. That sounds trite now, but just
knowing you a little makes me certain.
He wasn't so sure, but she was trying to help. I've been thinking, she
added. Uh-
oh. Glad somebody's up to that.
I knew I wanted to be a nurse when I was a veterinarian's aide in high
school.
He raised his eyebrows. I'm expecting some joke about me as a patient.
No jokes. It's just that one of the things our office offered was the
injection of
biochips into pets so they could always be found and identified.
Yeah?
Isn't that what you said the GC is going to do to everybody?
He nodded.
And I'm sort of an expert in that, and now you know it.
Guess I'm still too medicated, Hannah. Spell it out for me.
Aren't they going to need to train people in how to do this and send experts
here and there to supervise it?
He shrugged. Probably, sure. What? It looks like a plum job, a way to see the
world? You want a letter of recommendation?
She sighed. If you weren't hurting, I'd smack you. Give me some credit. You
think
I'd want to teach people how to apply the mark of the beast? Or that I'd want
to watch while they do it? I'm looking for a way we can all get out of here
without making it obvious why we left. You want to be among Carpathia's top
ten most wanted?
No.
No, so you get in there with Viv Ivins and offer the services of your pilots
and even a nurse you know who has some background in this stuff. Get us sent
somewhere to get the ball rolling, whatever. You're the one with the
creativity. I'm just shooting wild here.
No, keep going. I'm sorry. I'm listening now.
You get us all on the same plane, maybe a big expensive one, because the
bigger the lie, the more people want to believe it. Crash it somewhere, like
the middle of an ocean, where it would be more trouble than it's worth to
confirm we're all dead. We hook up with the rest of your friends, but we're
not constantly looking over our shoulders for GC.
I like it.
You're not just saying that?
I wouldn't. It's a stroke of genius.
Well, it's a thought.
A great thought. Let me run it past Mac and Abdullah. They're good at finding
holes in schemes and
I already did. They liked it too.
Anything left for me, or can you keep everybody in the palace healthy and
stitched up and do my job too?
She bit her lip. I was just trying to help.
And you did.
But we both know I can't do your job. Nobody can. So I mean it when I say you
have to channel your grief into productivity and do it for Annie. It's the
only way to make any sense out of this. Mac tells me the Tribulation Force
sees you as second in importance only to Dr. Ben-Judah.
Oh, come on.
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David! Think about it. Look what you've done here. It doesn't have to fizzle
when we all leave if you can figure a way to keep it going from anywhere.
When Buck's phone rang, he assumed it would be Rayford, telling him he and
Albie and Hattie were close. But it was Mac McCullum.
Hey, Mac! he said, holding up a hand to quiet the others. Buck had to sit
when he heard the news. Oh, no. No. That's awful. . . . Oh, man . . . how's
he doing? . . . Tell him we're with him, will you? Buck's face contorted and
he couldn't control his tears. Thanks for letting us know, Mac.
Chloe rushed to him. What, Buck? What's happened?
TEN
Excuse me, Rayford, Hattie said, a hand on each of his shoulders as he
directed the chopper over Chicago toward the Strong Building. Albie was
dozing.
Rayford slipped off one headphone so he could hear her, and she let her hands
slip to the top of his chair. I'm worried about how I'm going to be
received.
Are you joking? I can think of three who will be overjoyed.
I've been terrible to them.
That was before.
But I should apologize. I don't even know where to begin with you. Planting
that stuff about Amanda. Making you all wonder about her.
But you admitted that, Hattie.
I don't remember apologizing for it. That seems so weak compared to what I
did.
I won't say it wasn't an awful time for me, he said. But let's put it
behind us.
You can do that?
Not by myself.
Chloe really lost patience with me.
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