Page 80 of Jude

“Not a problem exactly,” said Octavia. “My channel links are in my van. I didn’t bring them with me in my hurry to leave. I’ve keep the contact information off-line to protect people’s identities, just in case my system was ever hacked.”

Jude twisted his mouth. The van wasn’t far from their base. “We could collect them. If Heath and Danni think your connections are of value, it will be worth the risk.”

“They are,” said Octavia. “They’re good people. They won’t let us down.”

“And we won’t let them down.” Jude cupped Octavia’s face in his hands and kissed her.

The alert outside Jude’s door pinged.

Pressing another quick kiss to Octavia’s lips, Jude walked over and opened the door.

Heath nodded a greeting. His gaze drifted past Jude, and a smile tugged at his lips when he saw Octavia. “How are you both doing?”

“The serum is doing its job,” said Jude. “I can barely feel my ribs.”

Octavia joined him by the door and tucked an arm around his waist. “I’m also feeling better.”

“That’s good to know,” said Heath. “Kade’s got everything he can from the message we recorded from the State.”

“We’ve got a plan as well,” said Octavia. “I’ve got contacts on the outside. We can use them to spread a warning about this vaccine. We can stop the State before they get any of it out.”

Heath nodded. “That’s just what we need. Can they be relied upon?”

“I trust them completely,” said Octavia.

“According to the messages we’ve decoded, the State have been running trials of this vaccine in isolated communities.”

Jude scowled. “Checking how effective it is without raising alarm among everyone else.”

“That’s what we’re thinking,” said Heath. “The mass rollout of the vaccine happens in forty-eight hours, so we’ll need all the help we can get.”

“My contacts will help,” said Octavia.

“We’re leaving the base in an hour,” said Heath.

“So soon?” A stricken look crossed Octavia’s face.

“What’s the problem?”

“We need to get to Octavia’s van to access the contact information,” said Jude.

“Can you get to your van and back in that time?” asked Heath.

Jude shook his head. “We’ll be cutting it fine. And Octavia is still recovering. She’s not fit to be on this mission.”

“I am.”

“No. You said you’d help from here. I don’t want you in danger.”

She tilted her head. “Things change. I need to help you. And I feel so much better. I can do this.”

From the stubborn look in her eyes, Jude knew he wouldn’t win this argument. When they had the time, he was going to get Octavia to understand the meaning of downtime.

“We can coordinate when we’re on the road,” said Octavia. “If we go to the van now, I’ll contact everyone and let them know what’s going on.”

“In the meantime, we’ll head to the vaccine site and shut it down,” said Heath. “You meet us there.”

Jude shoved down his concern about taking Octavia into this. She was made of strong stuff; she’d proven that already.