After the Cure, Deirdre Gould [the beach read TXT] 📗

think you aren't capable or that I'll be any better at this. I just care about you, and I think we should go together.” Sevita smiled and Nella hugged her.

“I know. I just don't see a way around it.”

“Just think about it until after court. I will too. We'll figure something out.”

Frank was strangely silent and it made Nella nervous. What was he waiting to say?

“Well,” said Sevita, “I guess I'd better go then. Before Chris thinks I ran off after you. I'll see you both on Monday morning.”

After Sevita had gone, Nella expected Frank to continue trying to persuade her to get the military involved, but he didn't. He just started putting groceries away.

“Is this your way of fighting with me?” she asked after a moment. Frank laughed.

“Why would I fight with you? You're right, we have to find Dr. Schneider no matter what. And if we start a panic by letting the authorities know, or worse, as you've said, nothing good will happen. So it's up to us. Us, Nella, not you. You think you'll wear me down, but you won't. I said you weren't going to go by yourself and I meant it. Even more now. I just have to figure out how to go with you.” Frank shrugged his shoulders, “So what's the use of fighting about it?”

“Am I the only one who thinks this whole thing is some kind of set up? How is it that the only people who know about the bacterium are conveniently locked up or otherwise distracted, not for a few days, but for years- think about it, years Frank. Yet when the scavenging teams finally reach that sector, only a few months ago, the only thing missing out of a very resource rich lab is that one strain? Not only that, but we happen to find out about the disease only weeks before the military is scheduled to start Cure sweeps of that area. How long has Dr. Pazzo sat on this information? Why did he only tell us now, right before his trial?”

“I'm sure he wanted to find people he could trust. What else could he possibly gain from waiting?”

“Maybe he was hoping to trade for leniency. Or maybe he just wants Dr. Schneider to get what he thinks she deserves. And now the trial will proceed without any prosecution of her, unless we find her, and fast. Or maybe, he's just making a desperate play for time and he thought saving it until the last minute would get you killed, causing a postponement until they could replace you.” Nella saw something open up in Frank's face, like an idea flickering over his skin. She didn't like it. “It's a trap, Frank. I just don't know for sure who set it.” She crossed her arms over her chest as if they were a shield.

“Maybe,” he said, and curled his arms around her, “If it is, I'll have you to protect me.”

“I was being serious.”

“So was I. Even scavengers don't go into Infected areas alone, and they are trained for this. It would be foolish if either of us tried to.”

They were quiet, standing in her tiny, sunny kitchen, wrapped in each other. She wished the day would stretch out, longer and longer, hold its breath. She wished they could freeze like a photograph because she couldn't see a brighter moment coming down the line. But Frank stepped back and let her go.

“I have to go get my opening statement notes,” he said, “I need to make some changes before Monday.”

“Are you coming back?” she asked, not certain what exactly she meant.

Frank looked surprised. “I'd like to, Nella, but I’ve a lot to finish by tomorrow. Maybe it's better if I just pick you up in the morning,” he looked nervous as he picked up his bag, “will you be angry?”

Nella laughed and shook her head. He kissed her again in the doorway, the warm afternoon sliding down around them. “Next time I'm not sleeping on the couch,” he said smiling. She closed the door slowly behind him, still floating like a dust mote in the golden sun.

 

Court

Nella sat on the cold cement steps in her best suit. The gauze on her hand had been replaced by a single bandaid. She tried not to scratch it. She had spent the night rereading her notes on Robert Pazzo and Ann Connelly while trying not to worry about what would happen after court. She had a nervous headache and the raucous calls of returning birds made it worse. After the human population of the City had plummeted, the bird population exploded. They filled the silent world almost the same way that television and radio had filled it before. Nella tried to block it out, but it occasionally poked through, drowning her thoughts in competing songs. She was too restless to wait for Frank inside and too nervous to contemplate being late. She jumped up as his car rounded the corner and pulled up in front of the building. He got out, not realizing she was already waiting for him. His suit was perfect and Nella wondered for a moment how he managed to find it, as gaunt and tall as he was. But then he was next to her, his face cheerful and relaxed. How did she ever think he was ugly? Perhaps it wasn't his face, but the covering of guilt he threw over himself every time he was self conscious that did it. The thought flitted through her brain so quickly she only understood a part of it.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes, let's go,” she picked up the heavy hiking pack next to her, trying not to wrinkle her jacket. She was surprised that he didn't say anything about it, but just opened the large trunk for her. Then she saw a similar pack already lying on one side.

“Frank,” she said turning toward him, “You can't-”

He pulled the pack gently from her shoulder and laid it in the trunk and looked at her. “It'll be alright,” was all that he said and then closed the trunk and walked back toward the driver's seat.

“Are you nervous?” he asked in a bright tone.

“Aren't you?” She slid into the passenger side and smoothed her suit so that her fingers wouldn't tap and dance along her knee.

“Yes, but I'm ready for this whole thing to move forward.”

They rode the few minutes to the courthouse in comfortable silence. Nella was relieved to see her car already in the lot next to Sevita's camera van. It meant both Christine and Sevita were already there. She brushed her skirt down as she stood next to Frank's car and straightened her cuffs.

“You look fine,” Frank said without her asking. He curled one hand around hers and she looked up at him. “It's going to be alright Nella, just trust me.” Then he let her go and they walked separately toward the courthouse steps as if they didn't know one another.

Nella drew a quick whistling breath through her teeth when she saw the number of people in the auditorium. They had expected many spectators, converting an old concert hall into a courtroom, but Nella wondered who was left outside, making what was left of the world run. Not only was every seat filled, but people were packed into the aisles as well. If someone really wanted to, she thought, they could take out the rest of humanity right now. With, say, another bacteria. She felt her heart thud as if it were being dropped down a flight of stairs. She scanned the hall as well as she could, not even knowing what she was looking for. Eventually the bailiff, a cranky looking older woman, came to find her.

“Are you Dr. Rider?” the bailiff asked.

“Yes, I'm sorry, were you looking for me?”

“I've got a seat set aside for you away from the mob up here. It will make it easier when you need to testify. Follow me.”

Nella followed the willowy woman who knifed her way through the crowd. Nella struggled to squeeze through gently. She was pleased to see that she was close to Sevita and only a little way in front of Christine and the large black cameras. It made her less nervous to know that her friends were nearby. If something is going to happen, the bitter part of her brain added, at least we'll all go together. Nella tried to shut the thought out, looking for Frank at the defense table below her. She could see Mr. Grant looking sleek and wearing a self-satisfied smile. She wished Frank didn't have to sit next to him. Ann was already sitting next to Grant, obviously unsedated, but Wells and Johnson were both behind her and they kept her from harming herself and seemed to be consoling her. Dr. Pazzo was crouching in his seat, a grim gargoyle surveying everything around him. Nella felt the skin on her neck prickle again and she looked quickly away from him. Frank's seat was empty. He wasn't near the Judges' bench either. Nella looked over toward the prosecution. A few aides were sitting there, already taking notes on nothing. But Ms. Jacobsen, the lead prosecutor, was nowhere to be seen. Nella leaned over toward Sevita.

“Has the prosecutor arrived yet?” she whispered.

“Yes, everyone is here.”

“Where are they?”

Sevita shrugged, “It looked like Frank and Ms. Jacobsen were taken to the judges' chambers before you sat down.”

“Why not Mr. Grant?”

Sevita shook her head. “I've no idea. No one has made any announcements.”

Frustrated and anxious Nella sat back in her seat. She started to scan the court again fretfully, but then she zeroed in on Pazzo. For some reason her gut told her he knew more about what had happened, what might happen, than anyone else in the court did. She paid attention to who he looked at, his expressions, even his reactions to Ann and Mr. Grant beside him. The crowd was a wave of warmth behind her. It was so foreign to hear so many voices at once that Nella had a hard time concentrating. She followed threads of talk until they disappeared into the tangle of noise again and then she'd refocus on Pazzo and the empty chair beside him.

At last there was a snowy pop as the microphones were switched on and the crowd sat down immediately. They leaned forward, craning and silent, a flock of starving birds hovering over the killing floor. Nella felt mildly sick. Judge Hawkins, the head justice, walked up to the central microphone. “I would like to request that Dr. Rider and Ms. Das come to the judges' chambers please,” he said without sitting down. He held up his hands as the crowd rustled and sighed in a great wave. “Folks, we'll be starting as soon as possible.” Judge Hawkins turned around and left the court room, his robe trailing rumour and panic behind him. Nella got up and shot Sevita a nervous glance. Sevita just shrugged. They followed the slim, cranky