Page 100 of Edge of Danger

“So…what?” Ian asked. “We cram everybody in Las Vegas into a hotel, turn the a/c up full blast, and have them drink gallons of silver-treated water?”

Their stares met as comprehension exploded in their brains at the same instant. She spoke first. “That’s why the PHP had to knock out all the power in the city. To prevent people fromhanging out in cold buildings that slow or stop the airborne virus. Take out all the cooling in a desert city in August, and the virus can run wild.”

Ian’s voice was grim. “This El Noor bastard went looking for some patsy who could be convinced to knock out all the power in Las Vegas and came up with you father and his Luddite cronies.”

They stared at each other in grim satisfaction at having solved the mystery. Two separate attacks from two entirely separate sources, originating outside Las Vegas, but crossing paths like a giant X right on top of the city. Combined, the attacks stood to kill tens or hundreds of thousands of people.

“It’s a nightmare scenario,” she murmured.

“We’vegotto get word out to someone to get power back and try the silver thing,” Ian bit out.

They would find a way. They had to. Theyhadto get word to the authorities to restore cooling to someplace in Las Vegas at all costs and get everybody in the city into the cold air immediately. Everybody’s lives depended on it.

As the sun began to set, they caught its full glare in their eyes, and she eventually resorted to hanging on to Ian’s belt and letting him lead her blind for stretches of up to several minutes in length.

“Hah,” he announced. “This way.”

“Have we reached civilization?” she asked hopefully, screwing her eyes shut against the blinding sun.

“Nope. But I spotted a broad-leafed yucca. I know a trick.” In a few seconds, he had broken two long, flat, leathery leaves about two inches wide and several feet long from the succulent. Using his knife, he made six-inch long slits in each leaf. He tied one of the leaves over her eyes like a blindfold. “Try that.”

The narrow slit let in just enough detail for her to see out but blocked most of the sunlight.

“Eskimo sunglasses,” he explained. “They use pieces of wood with carved slits to knock down glare off the ice, but the principle is the same.”

“Cool. Thanks,” she replied. She was getting short enough on breath that even speaking a few words was difficult.

“You’re doing great,” he muttered. “Another mile or two, we may spot a ranch or something.” Apparently, he didn’t have spare energy for talking, either.

Another hour saw the sun finally dip below the horizon. The pounding of her headache reduced from jackhammers to mere sledgehammers in her skull as the bright light and killer heat finally broke.

“There’s no food in the pack,” Ian said apologetically. “We can forage for something edible if you need it.”

“How far to town?” she asked, weighing the options.

“Don’t know. Couple miles, maybe.”

That didn’t sound too bad, now that the heat had dropped twenty degrees. Amazing the difference between 120 degrees in the sun and 100 degrees at twilight. She felt almost reborn. “I’m not worried about food. Time is the enemy right now. I say we walk another few hours. If we don’t bump into any buildings or roads, then we can make camp, set up a water collector, and think about food and shelter then.”

Ian nodded. He didn’t look like he wanted to stop any more than she did. Their information was vital. They had to share their guess about how to stop the killer virus.

She feared that the time would come when his superior stamina and strength would leave her in the dust. Then, they would have some hard choices to make. But in the mean time, she planned to do everything in her power to keep up with him and keep going.

When her steps flagged, the idea of being separated from Ian was enough to inject new energy into her exhausted muscles.She wasnotgoing to lose him. Not after they’d only just found each other.

20

Under normal circumstances Ian would put this shitty day right up there at the top of his list of days in his life that had purely sucked. Except for one thing. Piper’d said she loved him. And damned if she hadn’t sounded like she’d meant, it, too.

The idea had distracted him enough that he’d actually been able to forget the terrible deadline they were working under for a few minutes at a time. He was even able to forget the throbbing pain in his shoulder from time to time. Which was saying something. The joint hurt like a bitch.

They were in big trouble. With no sign of water anywhere, they would survive maybe one more day in this blistering heat before one or both of them collapsed. And then they were done for. His only hope was to put on an everything’s-fine face, pray for a miracle, and do his best to keep Piper in a positive frame of mind.

Ideally, they would walk all night and rest all day tomorrow. But time and that damned virus were against them. If they stopped before it cooled down too much tonight, they could set up a condensation collector with their tarp and gather a few ounces of water for themselves. And right now, every drop counted.

He marched Piper onward until he estimated it was about midnight. Then, he veered toward a long ridge of red volcanic rock he’d been paralleling for hours. It should be riddled with caves, which would provide a little shelter against the night cold still to come. Piper following, uncomplaining, but stumbling more often than before. Brave girl.

It didn’t take long to find an overhang with some scrub bushes in front of it. And tonight, he wasn’t picky about where they stopped. They just needed a small space in which to trap their body heat. Piper went to work piling rocks and brush up to mostly enclose the crevice while he dug a water pit with his bare hands and a flat rock he used like a spade. They spread their precious plastic tarp over the empty pit after centering an old tin can he’d found earlier underneath the tarp. He poked the center of the tarp down to a point so condensation that formed overnight on the underside of it would run down the plastic and drip into the can. Hopefully by morning they’d have a few swallows of water apiece.

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