Joan Undone

Chapter 11

Grace starts trembling when we get inside the van and glide into morning traffic. Justus clutches me to his side.

"Good work," he whispers, and I kiss his cheek, which immediately turns red.

My contacts burn, so I pop them out and put them in the protective case Marie hands me.

"The video feed was excellent," she says. "We'll use these again with whoever enters Strand's headquarters."

"Just wash them first," Nic teases.

Grace is staring, wide-eyed, out the window. A tear trickles down her cheek.

She brushes it away. "It's been so long since I've been outside, free."

Harriet drops Grace and me off at the townhome Strand prepared and then leaves to get Maverick.

We key inside the structure, and I let out a relieved sigh to find that it's cozy inside. Clearly, Lexi delegated the decorating to someone else.

Grace sits on the couch, dazed. Her fingers touch the fabric gently, like she's petting a cat.

"Thank you," she says, her eyes meeting mine. "It will take me some time to adjust, and for the medicines they gave me to be flushed completely out of my system, but already, I feel like I've been made anew."

The door opens with such force that it bangs against the wall as Maverick barrels into the room with Harriet behind him. He leaps into his mother's lap, and her arms encircle him.

As Maverick sobs on her shoulder, and she murmurs quiet, soothing words, I slip away with Harriet, carrying the image of the two of them within me like a warm, glowing candle.

~ ~ ~

Back at the Bunker, a pale woman in her mid-forties with dark hair and a strong jaw is methodically going through our supply cabinets.

"I'm taking inventory," she says without turning around. "Shocking that this hasn't been done earlier."

"We haven't met," I state, my body tense.

In a time of possible spies and people dying on the streets, a stranger in the Bunker is not welcome.

She turns, and I recognize her face.

"I'm so sorry! Ms..."

"Dr. Soph. You may call me Flo," she says.

"Florence Nightingale is one of my heroes," I babble, like a star-struck Evolved girl. "She's the reason I became interested in medicine as a kid."

"I'm sure she would be honored," Flo says, with a wry twist of her lip that makes me realize my mistake.

"I'm sorry. I know you're your own person. But I'm very honored to be studying medicine with you."

Her stern face briefly softens with a smile. "It may ease your mind to know that Joan of Arc was one of my heroes as a girl. So perhaps we are meant to partner together to raise the health and well-being of our Throwback brethren."

"Thank you," I breathe, keeping down my squeal of glee.

"Come with me to the clinic. I want to assess your existing knowledge to know where your tutelage should begin. I also want to collect three to five additional students to learn the medical arts. The time will come when two may not be enough."

In the clinic, together we reorganize the supplies. She also begins training me on how to use the Bone Scan Synthesizer.

Sometime later, Elizabeth steps into the clinic, eyeing the equipment. "I've been pinging your phone for an hour."