Joan Undone

Chapter 41

Maybe my inner demons are quiet that night because I know that I'm doing the best I can with my final days. It makes it easier to accept that tomorrow I'll be dead. By the time I wake up and get ready, the Bunker is nearly empty.

Marie occupies her usual spot by her tablet. "Crew is stirring up trouble. He's keeping the police occupied before he uses his weapon. Harriet and the rest of the team left to put out as many fires as they can."

Nic isn't hovering, so it's time to put the next piece of my plan into place. It's the piece that feels the worst, but if I want to make sure that I can leave tomorrow, it has to be done.

Slipping down the dark tunnels of the Lab, thoughts that have been pushed down inside me poke out. Will Crew torture me before he kills me? Will he really let Justus go, or am I being a fool?

I reach my destination. Harriet's hideaway is dark, but I brought a lighter to light the candles she's wedged into various corners of the rooms so I can see what I'm doing.

It's messier inside than when I was here last. Harriet and Mason have been snuggling up here every night. The blankets are rumpled, not folded neatly, so Mason must have been sleeping when Harriet left this morning.

Mason's worn backpack is tossed into a corner. I seize it, sure that what I'm looking for is inside. All I find is some candy bar wrappers and a couple of physical books Harriet has been bugging him to read. It's an effort not to take them with me to make sure they're treated with care, but I don't want them to guess that I've been here.

I find what I'm looking for in the back pocket of a dirty pair of Mason's pants. Even in the candlelight, I recognize the vial of yellow goo. Every addict carries around one last hit of Amp, and Mason is no different. I slip it into my pocket and race back to the Bunker.

The vial of Amp goes under my pillowcase, where Nic is sure to find it. Do I hope that he caves and gets high so I can escape, or that he resists the pull of his addiction and rises above it?

"Joan!" Marie shouts from the other room.

I step up behind her to see what she's got on her screen, and she zooms in on security camera footage of the Pike Place Market in downtown. A familiar figure hurries in between shops.

"Is that Harriet?" I ask.

"Yes. And look here," Marie says, switching to a different camera in the market. Officer Boer prowls less than a block away. "Harriet has no idea he's there. She's looking for Joseph. He was stirring up trouble near the water."

"Get her out of there."

"She's not answering her phone," Marie says.

I'm racing out of the Bunker before Marie can say anything else. It's quicker to run to the market than to take the van and try to navigate the traffic. It's times like this that I regret selling my motorcycle.

Even at a sprint, it takes twenty minutes to reach the market. My phone is full of messages from Marie, tracking Harriet's location.

I make it to the water and see a lone figure on the sand. Harriet's dark hair is pulled into a neat bun.

"Answer your damn phone!" I shout, my relief and worry mixing and somehow transforming into anger.

Harriet tenses and turns to meet my gaze. "I knew I should have replied to Marie."

"You saw her messages? We need to get you out of here."

"I was trying to draw Boer out," she says. "Officer Davies said that he has been missing for two weeks, ever since E dismissed him from the force. If he attacks me now, he can be arrested and off the streets for good. I'll feel better about fighting Crew knowing that Boer is out of the picture."