Edwards stood beside the matt grey 320 Atlas, an E-Cig held to her lips, one hand pressed sharply onto her hip. The taught lines of her body told Reeves she was upset. The thick plume of smoke was just icing on the cake. They were an hour late and cutting it close to their ward’s sedatives wearing off. A line of stretchers were being loaded onto the airship as they arrived, gathered and tagged by other members in the C.D.C and F.B.I joint taskforce.

Reeves counted at least a dozen kids being loaded onto the herculean carrier plane. They had another six in the back of the armoured truck. It was just a fraction of the affected children in Idaho alone. How many more trips would he have to make? How many more distraught families? He shuddered at the recent memories. The Hill kid had come along fairly peacefully, compared to some of the others. His brother was missing, according to the shared reports, but he’d show up sooner or later. It was harder with the families that had been blindsided. The ones who thought they were normal had the hardest time coming to terms with the news. Reeves guessed that was why his department was involved. If the families thought it was a disease, it would be easier to get their compliance. Follow the Feds and get your cure! If there was a cure… If Kemprex didn’t deliver some results, these kids would likely wind up in a mass grave in Buttfuck Ohio. Too dangerous to live. Too young to understand.

What was he doing here? Reeves ran a hand through his thinning hair. He didn’t sign on to kill kids.

The National Guardsman pulled the ambulance to a stop. Edwards stormed over as soon as she caught sight of them, her eyes almost flashing with rage.

Reeves gave Kippenberger a wry smile. “Told you so.”

“Let’s face the music,” said Kippenberger.

Reeves opened the rear swinging doors and jumped down. Kippenberger followed, his colleague groaning under his breath.

Dr Edwards rounded the ambulance, stopping in front of them, lips thin and hands on hips.

“How?” she growled.

“He slipped his handcuff,” replied Reeves.

Edwards shook her head slowly, her eyes not leaving Reeves. “And you didn’t stop him?”

Reeves bowed his head, unable to look his boss in the eye. “We were both preoccupied with the cargo in the truck. By the time we heard something he was jumping out the back.”

Edwards threw her hands in the air and walked away. “Fuck you two!”

Kippenberger shuffled his feet but remained quiet.

“We’re sorry, Sarah. We fucked up big time,” said Reeves.

Edwards turned back to them, her face a deep crimson. “Shove your apology up your ass. Of all the patients, you had to lose him? I’m no Kurniec, but I can guarantee you, that kid is valuable! He may have been the key to this whole fucking mess! Did you read my notes? He healed himself from literal death! He should be here. But he’s not because he’s at the bottom of a fucking river!”

Kippenberger waited a second until Edwards had definitively finished her rant. “I contacted Ray. He organised the local P.D to deploy a drone to follow the kid. They’re on it. Ray’s been sending back updates. The kid is somewhere in Hatcher Park. Several squad cars and a gyro are in route, last I heard.”

Edwards eased up a bit. She looked at the sky, thinking. “Okay then. We’ll get him on the next run. Tell Ray to keep the kid sedated with whatever they’ve got this time. And no lethal force. We can’t risk losing him. The others need to get to Kurniec’s lab, pronto.”

She turned and walked up the Atlas’s loading ramp. The stretchers had been loaded on board during their conversation.

“Come on. Let’s find this boy,” said Kippenberger.

“And get out of these fucking suits,” responded Reeves.