A Heaven for Toasters

CHAPTER 23: Doctor

Friday, May 6, 2117, 2:16 a.m.

A series of soft beeps woke me up from a light sleep. I silently peeled off my sleeping bag and sat up straight, all of my senses heightened. The hairs at the back of my neck were standing in attention. I drank in the night air, heavy with the forest's scents: pine, thyme, oregano.

I tapped my temple. "Night vision."

Night turned into day. I scanned the woods. Nothing. I closed my eyes and listened. At first, all I could hear was my breathing. I waited. An owl hooted from a branch up in the tree under which I had been sleeping. From afar, a dog's faint barks could be heard. I opened my eyes again. The moon cast its silver light, filtered through pine needles and leaves. If I strained my ears, I could hear waves crashing against the rocks.

After two weeks of sleeping in the woods, I was well acquainted with the sounds of Hydra's nature and the comings and goings of its night creatures. This was the second time the proximity alert I had set up to let me know if someone was coming had woken me up tonight.

After several minutes of inaction, I let myself relax. Just another night creature. I was about to return to my sleeping bag when I heard the rustling of leaves. I pressed myself against the tree trunk and held my breath.

A long shadow fell on the footpath ahead. From my vantage point, carefully selected to make sure I had an unobstructed, yet discreet, view of the entire area, I saw the silhouette of a man approach. He was scuttling about like he was worried someone might see him.

When he passed before me, a smile crept onto my face. Gotcha.

He made his way toward the rectangular building that sat at the top of the hill, unaware of my eyes following his every move.

Captain had insisted that the sensors he had set around the water tank, the island's main supply of fresh water, were enough to discourage anyone from trying anything. I begged to differ. Sensors could be tricked. And the false positives would make anyone monitoring them from the safety of the precinct careless.

So, I had insisted he let me spend as long as I wanted here. Until now, I had Leo with me. But tonight, he was spending the night at the lab. After his near death at the Manor, they were further proofing him against EMP-pulses.

I touched my temple and connected with him. He was lying on a bed, technicians in white lab coats hovering all around him. "Mika?"

"He's here," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Call Captain. Get backup."

He was already jumping out of bed, dismissing the technicians with his hand, before I could finish my sentence. "On it."

I took a couple of deep breaths to steady my nerves. Remembering my fight with clone-Xhristina, I decided not to take any chances. I pressed my temple. "Armor." As my metasuit strengthened, I drew my handgun and took a step out of the shadows and into the footpath.

"Doctor Morgan," I yelled. "You're under arrest for the murder of Sergeant Morgan. Put your hands over your head and slowly turn around." I fixed my gun on him, my finger itching to pull the trigger.

He froze for a second, then raised his hands behind his head and turned around to face me. "Detective," he said, his voice dripping vitriol. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

"Sorry, Doctor. I was there when you shot Sergeant. The man I saw was cold. Calculating. I just didn't buy the accident. You caused the zoomer to crash by using the Stingray Sergeant stole from the precinct." I pointed with my gun to the ground. "On your knees."

"How did you find me?"

"You were days away from testing your bioweapon. You have an ego the size of a small sun. There's no way you'd give up on your goal of destroying humanity. Then, I remembered something one of your clones said. The toxin has to be ingested the first time. The easiest way to do this is by tampering with the island's water supply." I nodded toward the plastic tank. "This is where the desalinated water ends up for distribution. The entire island gets its water from this tank. All I had to do was bug the place and wait."