Page 52 of Echoes of Danger
A gruff voice replies, “Fine, but make it quick.”
There’s more rustling as the doctor likely pushes through a door.
“Is she asleep or unconscious?” I hear the doctor ask, which causes panic to rise to the surface.
“She’s just asleep,” Steel’s baritone voice says. A sigh throughout the room can be audibly heard as we hear the voice of our brother.
More muffling, as if the phone is being moved around before we hear clearly as the Doc’s voice drops to a barely audible whisper.
“I’ll unlock the door in exactly one hour,” we hear him say. “That’s the only time I can do it. Hopefully, your people will be here by then. I’m going to give you an injection to give her ten minutes beforehand called epinephrine. It will cause her heart to race, but it should give her the boost she needs to get out of here. Get her to a hospital as fast as you can.”
“Where does she get the shot?” we hear Steel’s whispered question.
“Place it firmly against her upper thigh and press the button. Keep it in place until you hear the second click.”
“Let’s go,” someone calls out.
“I’m finished,” the doctor says. “She’s good for the rest of the night. Please, leave them be so she can rest.”
“Knox got back with the address to that land Mark was talking about,” Taylor says. “But it’s not the same place this cell is pinging.”
“How far away is it?” I ask, desperately waiting to hear from Steel on the other end of the phone.
“The Vault is several hours away. It was just another way for Mark to have us look in the wrong direction. The Doc’s phone, however, is less than half an hour,” Taylor says. “You’re not going to believe where they’re located.”
“Where?” I ask.
“Hillcrest Retirement Home,” he answers. “It used to be an old sanitorium where they locked away those deemed crazy.”
“Not completely true,” we hear Steel say.
“Steel, thank fuck,” Ghost sighs. “Are you hurt?”
“Nothing that matters, but Del’s not doing too good,” he whispers. “They tore down Hillcrest Sanitorium years ago. They built the nursing home soon after. I bet there are still rooms underground. But we’re not in a nursing home or underground. I can hear the traffic outside when they open the outer doors and I haven’t seen or heard anyone apart from Paston and his guards.”
“Steel, can you help me sit up?”
“Freckles,” I whisper desperately. “Fuck. I need to get to her.”
“And we will,” King promises. “Just as soon as we pinpoint their location.”
“Steel,” Ghost says, his voice steady but urgent, “can you hear anything else? Doors? People moving?”
“I hear them,” Steel whispers. “They’re talking about moving her soon, but I don’t know where. Paston, the bastard, wants her to be flight-ready by tomorrow.”
“He’s obsessed with her,” Ghost explains. “It’s a long story that I don’t have time to explain. The Doc said there were a handful of armed guards.”
“Yeah,” Steel says. “They change shift about every eight hours or so. It’s almost time.”
“Got it,” Taylor says. “Fuck, this is crazy. Behind the nursing home is a small building that is used as a morgue. It’s the original one they used back when the Sanitorium was still in use. They have to be in there.”
“Might explain why it’s always so fucking cold in here,” Steel says.
“The Doc is going to unlock your door in thirty-five minutes,” Ghost says. “You need to be ready. Did you find the gun he left?”
“Yeah,” Steel answers. “I’ll be ready.”
“What about Freckles?” I ask, not able to voice more than that.