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A
Prosecutors were there to put the accused, i
Most simply wanted to win.
The sound of metal sliding into metal blasted her musings with the jarring force of a shotgun being racked. She switched off the flashlight and, trailing her fingers along the wall, moved rapidly to where the hall branched, leading into the Visitors Center’s main room.
Stealth being impossible in full winter regalia, A
The only way to unlock it was with a key from the outside.
Switching off her light, A
Putting her back against the door, she stared down the dark hallway. The V.C. was built in the modern style: the windows didn’t open. Climate was controlled even in the “wilderness,” the vagaries of weather and the human need for fresh air shut out by glass and technology. Minutes before, she’d wanted to be in the building. Now, because someone – not wog or weird but a human, someone with a key and opposable thumbs – decided to imprison her there, she wanted out.
Bob Menechi
Flashlight on, stealth forgotten, A
In the ladies’ bathroom above the sinks she found a window that could be louvered out from the bottom, creating an opening ten inches high and thirty-six long. She shucked off her parka and boots, and the cold bit into her with sharp teeth. Standing on a sink, she dropped the clothes and flashlight and followed them out of the window, eeling through headfirst. The drop was more than man-high, but snow had drifted against the building.
A
Ru
The housing area was still, the bunkhouse dark. Slowing to a walk, she turned off her light and let her breath return to closer to normal. Entering by the side door to Katherine’s kitchen/lab, she stood a moment and listened. Peace prevailed.
Dressing in the snowdrift, A
“Robin?” A
Fear that she had let the biotech sleep before she should have took over and A
“What the hell is going on?”
It was Adam. At least somebody was responding.
“Robin,” A
“Here, let me.” Adam was beside her, wearing boxer shorts and wool socks. He slammed his shoulder into the door and the lock gave way. A blast of cold air met them. A
The window over Robin’s bed was wide open.
Robin was gone.
25
A
“Robin!” A
“Robin!” A
Ridley and Jonah crowded into the room, Jonah blinking behind wire-rimmed glasses and Ridley, hair loose and clad only in long-john bottoms. Both wore headlamps. They were so accustomed to the electric curfew, they do
“Where’s Bob?” she demanded. Jonah and Ridley looked at each other in almost-comic confusion. “Adam, was Bob in his bed when you got up?” A
“I fell asleep on the couch,” he replied. “But he should be. After the third time you told him to go away, he went to bed.”
“Check and see if he’s there.”
“I’m going to fire up the generator,” Jonah a
“Yeah, thanks,” Ridley said vaguely.
A
“Where’s Robin? What’s the deal?” Ridley asked. Anger focused his words and, A
She gave him an overview of what she’d found in the V.C., up to and including the condom. She did not mention that she’d been incarcerated there. Instinct told her to save that revelation for another time.
“And you think the condom was Bob’s,” Ridley said.
“It wasn’t mine.”
Lights came on, startling her so badly she dropped her flashlight. Adam was standing in the doorway, his headlamp turned off. A