Page 108 of Edge of Danger

She shrugged. “Something like that. Do you have a working walk-in refrigerator?”

“Yeah. The kitchens are on the main back-up generator.”

“Perfect. If we could get some warm coats and be shown to a frig, we’ll get out of your hair,” Piper said smoothly, taking a cue from Ian’s good cop routine. He’d said once, a lifetime ago, that she should learn how to use her gender as an asset and not fight against it. He was right. A little flirting and batting of her eyelashes, and the security guy led them to a fur coat store in the shopping arcade, let them have their pick of two expensive coats, and then led them through the huge kitchens into a walk-in refrigerator.

“Phone’s on the wall. Light switch here. You need anything; let us know.”

Ian piped up. “If someone could bring us bottles of water every few hours, and maybe a porta-potty, we’ll see you in a day or so. And thanks for everything.”

“No. Thank you. If this works, the hotel will owe you big. How do you feel about a free suite for life?”

First, they had to make sure they both lived long enough to take the guy up on his offer. The heavy, insulated door swung shut behind them. She turned to Ian, whose breath hung in the air in great, white puffs.

“Ironic that, after nearly roasting to death, now we get to flirt with freezing to death,” she murmured.

“Let’s just hope this works,” Ian replied. “I’ve got stuff to do and places to go.”

Only time would tell. They found a pile of insulation blankets like trucks used to help keep food cold and made a bed on the floor for themselves. It smelled like raw meat, but she didn’t care. Thishadto work.

“We can take turns sleeping,” she told Ian. “That way we won’t die of hypothermia in our sleep. You go first. I’m feeling pretty good.”

Which was to say, he was the one possibly dying from the virus.

About four hours had passed when the head security guy personally brought them food and pitcher of water. He also announced, “The CDC thinks this ionized silver stuff will kill the virus. Turns out the city had a bunch of it in a warehouse…left over from the anthrax scares after 9/11. The plan was to put it in the water supply back then, too, as a mass inoculant against anthrax. They’ve treated the city’s water supply and are directing everyone to drink a gallon of tap water every day.”

Ian grinned. “If it doesn’t work, at least we’ll all die with our kidneys in perfect working order.”

Piper was humbled by his optimism and positive outlook. Even when things had looked bleakest in the desert, he’d nevergiven up hope. She darned well wasn’t going to give up on him, now.

The security man reported that everyone in the hotel was camping in a ballroom so the cooled air could be concentrated in that one spot, decontaminating the air they all breathed. It was cramped, and people were cranky, but they were all cooperating fully with the understanding that this was the best way to avoid dying.

The clock on the cell phone the security man left them on one visit to drop off more water crawled slowly toward the twenty-four hour mark. Piper was convinced the thing was running at half speed.

On his visit at the sixteen-hour mark, the security guy said that the CDC had a message for them. Their protocol showed early signs of working. Piper allowed her hope to grow a little bit more. And Ian actually smiled at her from time to time.

After twenty-four hours, when the freezer door opened, the security guy was not standing there. Instead, a doctor stood there. He drew blood from Ian and told them it would be tested for the killer virus. He said he would return as soon as he had the results, but he warned them it would take several hours. And he added that the two of them were rock stars outside their icy prison. They were being credited with saving thousands of lives.

She and Ian held hands inside the pocket of her coat for a long time after the doctor’s visit. The seconds ticked by in silence in the stainless steel cube that had become their entire world. If they were incredibly lucky, it was the incubator for their new lives. If not, it would be their tomb.

And so, they waited.

Piper was asleep when the door opened the next time. Ian touched her cheek and murmured, “Wake up, baby. We’ve got company.”

She sat up, blinking sleepily until she saw the white lab coat. This was it. The moment when they would find out if Ian lived or died. His fingers found hers in the faux mink margins of her sleeve and clutched her hand tightly. She squeezed back every bit as nervously.

“Good news, Agent McCloud. You are free of the virus. If you would like to leave this refrigerator and join the rest of the guests in the ballroom, you may feel free to do so. The CDC has decided to keep everyone in cool environments for seven days, just to be safe, but I’m confident you don’tt need this extreme cold any longer.”

“How many victims have there been?” she asked soberly.

The doctor waxed serious. “We’ve had fifteen fatalities so far. Sadly, I estimate another thirty or so patients will succumb. The good news is that, after last year’s Ebola scare, we’ve got enough trained health care workers and portable isolation units to contain this outbreak. Had the virus not been vulnerable to ionized silver, and had we not discovered that fact so quickly, the fatalities could have been much, much worse.”

Piper flung herself into Ian’s embrace. Even through their thick coats, he squeezed the stuffing out of her with the strength and relief of his embrace. She said a silent prayer of thanks that Yusef Abahdi had loved his daughter enough to build in a way to protect her, and unwittingly, to save them all.

“Ready to get out of here?” Ian murmured.

“Absolutely,” she answered fervently.

The hotel’s security man stood behind the doctor in the doorway. “That thing you asked about, Agent McCloud?”

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