Sally's Secret

Chapter 26

The next day, Maria finally walked around the room without help. Not without rest breaks and not quickly by any stretch of the imagination, but her strength was returning. She was no longer coughing up blood and Dr. Harrison said the virus counts were on the decline instead of increasing. Evidently, her immune system was doing its job and killing the little buggers.

Sally called Virgil and asked how he was holding up, then she asked Virgil to hand the comms unit to Maria. Her holo-image hovered over the disk-shaped compact. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"I'm doing better, Sally, thanks for asking. Looks like I'm going to make it." She looked away to do her coughing, but at least she could manage several sentences at a time without interruption.

"Of course you are! Just a matter of time now. Tell me the truth now, dear. How would it affect you if International Rescue borrowed Virgil for a little while?"

Maria snuck a look at him and winked, taking a second to recognise that her cheek pain was barely noticeable with the movement. "I suppose if it's only a borrow, I can muddle through on my own. I do want him back in one piece though."

Sally grinned. "I think that can be arranged. Virgil," Maria angled the comms his direction when she heard Sally address him, "Alan and Scott are out in Thunderbird 3 and Gordon's out in Thunderbird 4. Kayo is picking you up in Thunderbird 2. She'll be there in fifteen."

"She's already in the sky?" Virgil asked. Evidently Tracy Island was more than fifteen minutes away.

"Yes. She would go on without you if Maria hadn't given her okay. Are you fit to fly?"

"F.A.B."

"She'll meet you out front by that big beck-top sign. Tracy Island out." Sally's image disappeared and the comms went dark. 'BEKTOP' was the Cyrillic rendering of Vektor, which Maria knew now, but it had taken her a while to figure out after seeing it on the red biosafety suits and some of the equipment.

Virgil stood and took Maria's hand. "This is an experiment. If you have any kind of relapse while I'm gone, then you're going to be stuck with me 24/7 until they let you out of here."

She smiled at him. "You really shouldn't threaten me with rewards, or we'd both be here forever. Go on, go save the world. I'll force down some more borscht and take a nap."

"Finish the whole bowl and I'll sing to you when I get back."

"You're getting the hang of that threat and reward thing now." She eyed the nearly-full bowl of beet soup, her face twisting up with aversion. She reminded herself yet again to avoid medical facilities in Russia after this.

Virgil did his sweet kiss transfer ritual, this time with a whispered, "I love you" which she echoed back to him. He left his portable comms with her and disappeared out the door.

He returned a little over two hours later, looking invigorated. Maria could see the neckline of his uniform under the biosafety suit through the clear plastic visor. "So I'm guessing you dropped Kayo off and not the other way around," Maria said, making sure not to sound disappointed or judgmental about it.

He nodded. "Thunderbird 2 is parked outside. I'm on call from here, but only if no one else can handle it."

"Sounds fair to me. I actually thought you'd be longer." She eyed the half-full soup bowl with a disappointed sigh. "I didn't finish the borscht." She'd been forcing down the icky beet taste a little at a time. Had she known she was doomed to lose the challenge, she wouldn't have bothered at all.

"How about a trade then?" He pulled one of the Tracy family's silicone zippy envelopes from his pocket. He placed it in her hand and she felt the warmth inside. It had already been reheated, probably in the cafeteria on his way in. The scent of her own breakfast burrito recipe wafted up to her nose and she felt her taste buds jump for joy in excited anticipation.