Page 85 of Hollow State

"Everyone okay?" Gideon asked.

"We're good," Coulter said. "Did you see anyone out there?"

"Couple of guards near the gate." Gideon wiggled out of his pack. "A few more crossing on the far side of the data center."

Darwin inched closer to Wynn and everything else faded into the distance. "How are you feeling?"

"A little nauseous," Wynn said. "Balance is still off. It's a struggle to find certain words, but I'm better."

"Gus, can you rattle off the numbers still in red, please?" Darwin listened carefully to the metrics Gus reported. Many of them had come down and could be considered borderline. Others increased Darwin’s worry.

"Any thoughts on why I responded so differently?" Wynn asked. "I would’ve thought with my injury, the drug would work better."

"It should've," Darwin agreed. "But I didn't get to do a full blood panel on any of you before this. So, there could be a number of things that contributed to this."

"As in, there's something wrong with me?" Wynn asked.

He cupped her face, running his thumb across her cheek. "We have to remember this is an emergency-use drug given only under the direst situations. There's a reason they haven't approved it for any other use. Brea is most likely a one-in-ten million rarity."

"You're not making me feel any better."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. He'd struggled during his residency to find that balance between caring doctor and honest physician. It was a brutal line, and most of the time, especially when the news wasn't good, he failed miserably. "My honest answer is I have no idea until I get you into a proper medical facility and run the correct tests."

"So, you're telling me I'm benched until then."

"Do you honestly think you'd be able to go into battle?"

"No." Wynn leaned into his hand. "But I can sit here and help Zadie with whatever she's doing." Wynn curled her fingers around his wrist. "I need to feel useful."

"We'll need you on comms with Gus." Darwin didn't want Wynn to do anything but rest. However, that wasn't going to happen. They had no idea what they were setting themselves up for, and Zadie had to stay behind. They needed her to run digital interference. That meant Wynn stayed with Zadie. "And you'll need to be her lookout."

"I bet that was really hard for you to say."

"You have no idea." He kissed her temple, pressing his lips against her skin for a long moment, before taking a slow breath. "Gus is watching over you. He'll keep you informed of the metrics, and I need you to be honest with him about any changes in how you feel."

"I will be." She pulled back. "And I need you to be careful. Finch is ruthless. He won't think twice about putting a bullet between your eyes or Gideon's."

"We won't be alone." He tipped her head back and stared into her big blue eyes. He loved this woman more than he'd ever loved anything. "Gus got a hold of Quinn. He and his boss have been able to assemble a team they trust. He's going to be out there, listening, waiting for the right moment. Coulter, Neve, and Scout are going to get what they need from the core of ORACLE with Zadie's help." Darwin pressed his lips over hers. Kisses didn't belong on missions, but Darwin didn't care. "I love you," he whispered.

"Hate to break up the reunion, but we need to get moving." Gideon stood behind Zadie with his hands on her shoulders. "Finch's team is nearly done with the sweep of the main building." He pointed toward the tablet. "Pope, who I guess took over for Isaac, if he's any good at his job, would recommend searching the data center next. I'd rather trip the alarm inside and draw them there."

"Agreed," Coulter said.

"However, before we go, Coulter, Neve, and Scout could use a microdose." Darwin opened the medical kit. "We have to assume Finch's personal guards are dosed."

"I don't mean to question your expertise," Scout said. "But should we be concerned about taking more considering what's happening with Wynn?"

"You should always question medical advice." Darwin had never been the kind of doctor that allowed his ego, and he had one, to get in the way of his patients being in control of their care. "I understand the concern, but the biometrics of everyone else are well within normal ranges. No one is showing any signs of a reaction. If that were the case, I'd be doing something different."

"How long until we hit the flush window?" Coulter rolled his sleeve up.

"Six hours." Darwin took a needle, pulled out the right dose, and gently injected Coulter's arm. "But it could be more than that with microdosing." Darwin dropped the used needle into a small red container, snagged a fresh syringe, and repeated the dose with Neve and Scout. "Gus will let Wynn and Zadie know if any of us get into the red zone."

"Won't do any of us any good when comms are down," Scout said.

"I'll be working on a way to patch into the data center's electronics," Zadie added. "Gideon and I will be able to have some communication that way, but it’ll be limited."

"Sounds like a plan." Coulter moved toward the door. "We good?"