Page 66 of Master
"We have a plan," Clara beamed. "First step, we head to Buck’s farm and bring back as many sweet potato vines as possible."
“Um.” Buck’s hold on his wife tightened. “You two are welcome to my truck, or anything else I own for that matter, but if you don’t mind… I’d rather not leave Lula.”
I smiled in agreement. If I stood in his shoes, a fleet of Alliance warships couldn’t drag me from Clara’s side.
Chapter 15
Clara
It took me two days of working nearly around the clock to extract enough DMNT from the hundreds of plants Tarook and I harvested from Buck's farm. With Mei's lab setup, using the steam distillation method of gleaning the plant's essential chemicals was relatively easy. Making sure the DMNT spiked in the plants just before passing the biomass through the pressured steam proved difficult. I tried the clipping method used in botany experiments, but that process didn't prove successful. Luckily, Buck found me a handful of little black dots he calledalien aphids,and the vines practically spit DMNT into the air.
Unfortunately, DMNT, in its natural state, sent me on a coughing jag, necessitating I wear a mask. I'd sworn never to wear a mask again, having to wear one practically 24/7 during the pandemic due to Curtis' compromised immune system. But if this wasn't a scenario that needed an exception, there wasn't one.
Tarook found canisters of hydrogen in Bartholomeus' store that worked perfectly as a carrier gas. Watching him work, I realized his job as weapons master entailed much morethan knowing about guns and ammo. He possessed the skill of a master chemist, measuring and combining the components perfectly to make sure the hydrogen didn't render the DMNT ineffective. Between us, we made six canisters of aerosol cure. They weren’t large canisters, each about the size of a scuba tank, but with everyone sequestered in the gym, it should be enough.
Buck reluctantly left Lula's side to help when we moved the base of operations to the gymnasium at the north end of the village. After helping shore up the windows and doorways to make everything as airtight as possible, he and Tarook carried the canisters to the rafters, where they rigged the gas to deploy through the ventilation system.
I stayed behind, lost in nostalgia. The building was a perfect replica of my elementary school gymnasium, right down to the polyurethane hardwood floor. We'd retracted the bleachers to make room for all the villagers. The scorekeeper's table we left as it stood on the sidelines. The microphone and portable speaker might come in handy if—please God—our cure worked.
"All done," Tarook announced, following Buck down the steep concrete stairs from the upper level.
"It was easier than I expected," Buck smiled faintly. It was the most relaxed I'd seen him in days. He'd been so sweet caring for Lula. More than once, watching them brought me a pang of heartache, remembering all the times I'd cared for Curtis in much the same way—simple things, like feeding her or combing her hair.
Tarook took care of me, too. He sauntered directly to my side, hand curving around my waist as he quickly kissed my lips.I loved this ease between us—there's no denying the feelings any longer. I didn't even want to try to pretend that I didn't crave the feel of his hands on my skin and the taste of his kiss. In the past two days, he'd made sure I ate and rested—snippets of time spent sleeping in each other's arms, too exhausted for anything else.
"Thank you for your help, Buck." Tarook acknowledged, clapping the human male on the shoulder.
Buck showed gratitude with a curt nod. "What's next?"
Now came the hard part.
"We need to get all the infected inside the gym." I sighed, still not sure how to accomplish the task.
"I rigged the canisters to deploy remotely from my comm once everyone is in the building." Tarook indicated the black iWatch-looking thing he wore on his left wrist.
"How do we get them here?" Buck rubbed his chin. "Mei, Bartholomeus, and Lula are easy, but what about everyone else?"
The deep sigh that raised Tarook's chest broke my heart a little. I knew how much he hated making himself master of the villagers. We had no other choice. I laid my hand on his bicep, giving a comforting stroke.
"The villagers will respond to the sound of my voice." He put it as politically correct as possible. "Since we sent everyone home, we'll have to go house to house and direct them to come here."
"That will take forever. And what if we miss somebody?" Buck grumbled, propping on the edge of the scorekeeper's table. He wanted Lula cured as soon as possible.
"What else can we do?" Tarook shrugged.
Buck made a defeated sound, drawing my gaze, but my attention snagged elsewhere.
"Tarook, people will respond to the sound of your voice alone, right?"
"Yes." The golden eyes narrowed curiously but with a flicker of pain. "My father never laid eyes on the male that commanded his death. Why?"
My fingertips trailed along his jawline. Tarook caught my hand, pressing his lips to my palm.
"What if there was a way to put your voice on a loudspeaker? That way, we could move through the village without taking time to go from house to house."
Tarook's full, kissable lips twisted as he considered. "It would work if we could make my voice loud enough without distortion."
"I've got an idea."
