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  When Dr. Brant calls Elliot, my heart sinks. After he’s done trashing us, no one will believe a word we say. I almost wish I hadn’t gone back for him.

  A smile twists across Dr. Brant’s lips. “Elliot, can you please give the council you’re account of the incident.”

  Elliot loudly clears his throat and looks at each of the council members. A bead of sweat rolls down his forehead, and I wonder if he’s nervous. “None of what happened was Brett’s or Ryan’s fault. In fact, they warned me that I was being reckless. I was too proud and stubborn to listen. I endangered my team and almost got myself killed.”

  I gasp and everyone behind me loudly voices disbelief. The chairman repeatedly bangs his gavel before everyone finally quiets.

  Elliot wipes a shaky sleeve across his forehead. “Brett and Ryan have been unfairly blamed. I was jealous of everything their team accomplished in such a short amount of time before they got caught in the flood. When they returned, I felt threatened and did everything I could to make them look bad. They had every reason to leave me for dead, but they chose to disobey the rules and came back for me. They rescued me and managed to make an incredible discovery. They should be praised, not punished for their actions.”

  A strained silence fills the room. Elliot’s testimony is not what anyone expected. Dr. Brant furrows her forehead and purses her lips. As much as I’ve grown to dislike her, I share her confusion. Elliot’s admission is completely out of character. I guess his near death experience affected him more than anyone realized. I’m as grateful as I am surprised.

  Ryan squeezes my hand. I see my own feelings of hope reflected in his eyes. Because of Elliot, we stand a chance of keeping our jobs. I may not spend the rest of my life washing dishes after all. The chairman dismisses Elliot, and Dr. Brant calls up Gabriella. One by one, each member of Elliot’s team and our team takes the stand. Everyone except Cam praises our actions, but the worse Cam says is that we seem stuck up.

  Even if the council doesn’t reinstate us, I’m overwhelmingly grateful to everyone that has supported us. At least the council’s decision will be based on the truth.

  Finally, Ryan and I are the only people left who haven’t testified. The chairman dismisses Cam from the stand and faces Ryan and me. “Unless you want to add or dispute anything, I think we have all the facts. I don’t think it’s necessary to hear you reiterate what’s in your written accounts.”

  The councilman’s request is odd, but I don’t see how arguing with him will benefit us. I quickly glance through my copy of the reports. “No, the written accounts are accurate,” I admit. “But if I can, I’d like to say something.”

  The chairman motions for me to continue.

  “Ryan and I understand that rules are made to keep everyone safe. We didn’t haphazardly disregard the exposure and quarantine rules. We couldn’t just leave a team member out there, regardless if he was alive or dead. So, we broke the rules, but we took steps to ensure we didn’t endanger anyone other than ourselves. I hope you rule in our favor, but please don’t ask me to apologize. I can’t say I’m sorry for my actions, because in the end I know I did what was right.”

  The chairman brings his hands together in front of his face, his fingers forming a triangle. Tapping his fingertips together, he looks down at us and says, “Ryan, do you have anything to add?”

  “No. Thank you. I think Brett’s words pretty much sum up my feelings.”

  “Very well.” The chairman stands and seems impatient to leave. “Everyone is dismissed. We will apprise you of our decision.” He leaves the room without so much as a glance in our direction. I have no idea if that’s a bad or good sign.

  Ryan releases a long, deep sigh. “Well, there’s nothing to do now but wait.” placing a hand on the small of my back, he guides me toward the door.

  Elliot blocks our path. “I meant what I said up there. I’ve been a total jerk when neither of you did anything to deserve it.”

  Ryan holds out his hand. “Thanks. You did what was right in the end.”

  Elliot claps Ryan’s hand. “I just hope everything works out now.”

  Kelly squeezes her way past us. I hastily excuse myself and rush after her. “What you said about the kisses, was that just for the sake of the hearing?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Kelly stares at me with an amused expression. “If I tell you, we’re even, got it?” I nod vigorously. “You may be a pathetic bitch, but you’ve got yourself a seriously sweet and standup guy. Lucky for you I’m not into that type anymore.” Kelly flips her hair which smacks me in the face as she leaves.

  Chapter 20

  The field managers and the chairman take their time deciding. Almost a week passes before we receive notice to appear at the chairman’s office. Oddly, his office is located in the warehouse area, a scarily short distance from “the warehouse” that Dean brought me. When I walk inside the chairman’s warehouse, I discover the exterior may be plain, ugly brick and concrete, but the interior is ornately decorated.

  A soldier greets us at the main entrance and leads us to a large waiting area just outside of the chairman’s office. The secretary announces our arrival, but lets us wait, and keep waiting. Fifteen minutes past my scheduled appointment time, the secretary announces that the chairman is ready to receive me. I push open the large mahogany doors and walk into a plush office decorated in shades of red and gold. I wonder if he intentionally kept us waiting to exert some control.

  The chairman stands and gestures to a chair in front of his desk. “Please sit down, Miss Bradbury.” I now notice the chairman’s towering height. The man’s easily in his late forties, but still looks like he works out every chance he gets. His overall expression is friendly, but the hard edge to his eyes makes me uneasy.

  He waits until I’m seated before he sits. He crosses his arms on his desk and leans forward. “Officially, the field managers and I cannot condone any rule breaking, regardless of the intentions behind it. However, we can appreciate the overall positive outcome of the situation and offer leniency.”

  A knock on the door interrupts us. A soldier walks in after the chairman tells him to enter. He stands in front of the desk, hands clasped behind his back and eyes fixed straight ahead, but something about him gives me the sense that he’s nervous.

  “Mr. Chairman, I was sent to pick up a book.” There’s a tremble in the soldier’s voice.

  The chairman opens a desk draw and tosses a book onto the desk, A Tale of Two Cities. The soldier wordlessly picks it up and hurries out of the office. I think it’s odd that the chairman can’t be bothered to return his own books to the library.

  I want to give the chairman all my attention, but my eyes fix on a small, wooden statue on the bookshelf behind him. The figure is an eagle, with the head of a lion, preparing for flight. A dead snake dangles from its talons. I’ve seen the figure before on the coins from the warehouse. Before my internal edit stops me I blurt, “You’re the one making the coins.”

  His eyes narrow and I know I’ve said too much though his voice feigns innocence. “I beg your pardon,” he says.

  I can’t take back my accusation, so I try to redirect the blame. “I’m sorry. I misspoke. I’ve seen some coins with that symbol carved on them. Whoever made them must have gotten the idea for it from your statue.” I point over his shoulder. His cold expression scares me.

  “Hmm,” he muses. “I was prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt, but apparently you’re more involved in the base’s black-market than I thought. I can’t allow you to retake charge of your team like I planned. In fact, I’m not even sure I should allow you off the base anymore.”

  “What? No! You can’t do that.” I stand up and shout at the chairman, but his expression doesn’t waver. I slink back into my chair and softly plead, “Please, don’t ban me from the field. I’m not and would never be involved with the black-market. I promise.”

  “Your promises mean little.” He quickly bangs the keys of his computer. H
e turns the screen to face me and sits back, watching me. My breath catches in my throat when I see my drunken self cradled in Dean’s arms as he guides me across the base. A smug expression creeps into his face as the color drains from mine. “Still, I have faith that people can both learn and change. As of now, Ryan is the team lead, but I’ll allow you to remain on the team, providing you avoid all contact with anyone and anything involved with the black-market. In fact, don’t even mention its existence to anyone. If asked, your pattern of risky behavior is what cost you your job. Understand?” The chairman’s icy cold tone sends a shiver up my spine.

  I nod. I understand perfectly. A Tale of Two Cities must be this week’s book for the 1-3-5-7 password to get into the warehouse. The chairman is the driving force behind the coins and the black market. What I don’t understand exactly is why. He already controls the entire base; what could he possibly gain from creating and controlling a black market? Is he so power-hungry that he has to control everything? Probably. He’s taking my lead away just to prove that he can and will take the rest of my job if I don’t cooperate.

  The chairman shakes my hand and clasps my shoulder as if he didn’t just threaten and blackmail me. “Well, it’s nice to have all that settled and behind us. Do me a favor, on your way out, send in Ryan,” he orders and turns away. I scowl at the back of his head, but bite my tongue and leave before I can say anything stupid that will cost me even more. By the time I reach the lobby, my eyes are red with tears and my throat is thick with emotion.

  Ryan jumps up when I return. “He fired you?”

  I shake my head. “I lost team lead, permanently.”

  Ryan’s eyes widen. “Don’t tell me he’s letting Elliot keep it.”

  “No, he’s giving it to you.” I release a flood of tears. I’m happy Ryan is team lead. I never wanted the position in the first place, and all I really wanted was my team back together. It doesn’t matter which one of us leads it. What really bothers me is how easily the chairman took the position away and how powerless I am to do anything about it.

  “Hey, it’s gonna be all right.” He pulls me against his chest. “I won’t take the lead. He’ll have no choice but to give it back to you, you’ll see.”

  I step back and wipe my face on my sleeve. “No. Please don’t. You’ll just make things worse. I know you’ll make a great team lead.”

  “Not if it means taking it from you.”

  I look around for cameras. I don’t see any, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. To get that shot of Dean and me, the cameras must be hidden in the trees and who knows where else. I shake my head. “Don’t argue with him. You won’t change his mind and you could cost yourself the lead position. Neither of us wants Elliot as the lead again. Just go in and cooperate. He’s waiting for you.”

  Ryan sighs and enters the office. Time slows to a crawl as I wait with my ear pressed up against the door. The secretary gives me a scandalous glare, but I ignore her. I can’t hear a word they’re saying through the thick mahogany, but periodically I hear raised voices. Apparently, Ryan decided against taking my advice. My stomach tightens in a knot. I’ve given up any hope of ever leaving the base again when Ryan emerges, ashen faced.

  He blinks, totally confused. “Just what went on between the two of you? I tried to tell him he was making a mistake keeping you from the team lead, and he told me you were lucky he was even allowing you to remain on the team. Then he threatened to kick you off the team if I even mentioned your name again.”

  I want to tell Ryan the truth about what happened, but not here. I’ll have to wait until we’re off base and away from any cameras. “The councilman didn’t appreciate my risk-taking behaviors, and he likes being argued with even less,” I say.

  “Well he’s an idiot if he can’t see how great you are.” His words say he believes my explanation, but his eyes tell a different story. He doesn’t believe me, at least not completely, but at least he doesn’t pry for a better explanation.

  Jake and Molly are disappointed for me, but they’re happy for Ryan and relieved to have our team back together, more or less. Elliot’s team will remain together, but they’re on probation and will remain under Ryan’s supervision until Dr. Brant decides otherwise and selects a new team lead. I know Dr. Brant couldn’t have come up with the arrangement, and I imagine the look on her face when the chairman informs her of his decision.

  Ryan’s first team lead action is to arrange for Dean and Gregg to get reassigned to our team. Next, he returns everyone to their proper labs. Jennifer and Gabriella are disappointed, but they hope it won’t be as bad as when Elliot was in charge. They claim he used to be a nice guy before Dr. Brant singled him out as her favorite. Previously, he always second guessed himself and worried about what his teammates thought of him.

  That night we celebrate by having a slumber party of sorts. We gather in the living quarters with several of Andi’s sleeping bags and plenty of food. Then we watch what has to be the worst zombie movie ever.

  “Ooooh look, that one has Brett’s bedhead hair,” Molly squeals. I snatch a carrot off a plate and throw it at her. She easily dodges it and throws a celery stick at me. I bat it away, but then something hits my head. I reach up and pull a cheese puff from my hair, and eye Dean and his suspiciously innocent face. When a pepperoni slaps the side of my face, I don’t bother to discover the culprit. I gather my supplies and dive into the food fight which doesn’t end until a slice of pizza slaps Ryan in the face and slowly slides down, leaving a saucy trail behind it. I lightly snicker, but then someone else joins in, and soon we’re all rolling on the floor in fits of hysterical laughter.

  Screw the chairman and his control freak power-hungry ways. I have my team back and that’s all that matters.

  Chapter 21

  The chairman made it clear to Ryan that he wanted our team to continue our study and exploration of the beehive. By the time we make it back into the field, the bees have completely repaired the visible damage to the hill. Ryan decides against reentering through the already weakened hill and chancing another cave in. Besides, the hill is too close to where we know young larva are growing—a cold gust of air could kill them.

  Molly and Gabriella’s skills come in handy. They use ground-penetrating radar to seek out the best point of entry, which is another spot near the river. The cave system is only a few feet below ground there. We drill a small hole, drop in a small camera, and confirm that we’re not invading a nursery area.

  Then Ryan enlists Andi, Jeremy, and their robots. We want to avoid further injuries, so we’ll use the robots to map out the area before anyone enters. Andi and Jeremy are happy to help, but they realize we’ll need the robots for more than a day or two. They spend the morning showing everyone how to navigate the robots, even Elliot.

  Elliot surprises all of us. Instead of regressing into insecurities, he’s become a whole new person. He’s confident, eager to listen and learn. When I take a private moment to compliment him, he admits that he’s relieved not to be the team lead anymore. The job held too much pressure, and he’s happy to just focus on his job as team member. I’m still not happy about why I lost my lead, but I understand his point.

  I stand back and watch everyone work. Without anyone barking orders, the two teams work well together. Soon, everyone seems familiar with the robots’ controls. Andi hands her control to Gabriella and steps away after giving Jeremy a quick peck on the cheek. I can barely suppress my surprise or delight. I’d hoped the two of them would end up together, but to see it happen feels too good to be true. Of course, that’s not what I say to her.

  “When…how…why didn’t you say anything?” I stutter.

  She blushes. “There wasn’t anything to share until recently.”

  “It’s about time.” I tightly hug her.

  “Hey, Andi, we can’t get the camera to pan left,” Elliot calls.

  Andi runs over to help, but I continue on my walk, enjoying the last bit of warm sun before winter completely s
ettles in. I walk to the edge of the cliff. The soft earth under my feet mixes with gravel and then changes to rock. I make sure I’m not too close to the edge, close my eyes, and take a deep breath. All the scents of the forest mingle on the cool breeze that caresses my face with the mist from a nearby waterfall. I listen to the soft roar of the water which is not loud enough to drown out the sounds of the forest animals. Their combined sounds are a symphony to me. I open my eyes and watch the mist from the waterfall create multiple rainbows that dance in every direction. The cliff here is higher than most points along the river, and I can see for miles in every direction, each sight as breathtaking as the next. I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to be. I think about everything that brought me to this spot. I can’t regret any of the decisions I’ve made because in the end they brought me here, where every fiber of my being tells me I’m home. Gravel crunches behind me, and I turn to see Andi.

  “A view like this is enough to make me wish I was a field scientist instead of an inventor.”

  I laugh knowing just how close I came to never seeing this view. “I’m sure I can think of other reasons to bring you out into the field with me.”

  “I just may take you up on that offer.” There’s a longing in her voice that makes me believe she will.

  “Bitch.” A low hiss makes Andi and I turn to see Jennifer’s face, wild with rage. “I’ve been such a fool trying to figure out what I did wrong, when all along it was you. You’ve been scheming and plotting a way to steal him. I bet you made every excuse possible to keep him at work with you. I never stood a chance.”