Page 37 of Agent's Integrity

I laughed and nodded. “I’ll try not to hurt you.” Mindful of her stitches, I carefully lifted her up and carried her into the closest bedroom. I set her down on the bed and gently pulled the blanket over her. She still looked pale, but she was already looking stronger. “Stay in bed. Rest.”

“What about those men? What are you going to do?” She didn’t try to move, though she looked ready to jump up at a moment’s notice.

“Don’t worry about them. They’re gone for now, and we have a little time before they come up with a plan. They’ve still got to traverse their way back to wherever their ship is. Andy is working on the sensors and then we’ll be looking for a way off-planet. Okay?”

She gave me a mulish look. “I don’t like being injured and stuck here.”

“I know, but you aren’t strong enough. Gather your strength and rest, so you’ll be able to help when the time comes.”

I was sure she would argue, but after a long moment she simply nodded. “Okay.”

Feeling a little less worried about her, I smiled and impulsively kissed her forehead. “We’ll check in on you soon.”

She looked like she was fighting off sleep before I even left the room. I hoped she would sleep, and I hoped she would be okay. Even though the wound was stitched, cleaned, and bandaged, I wasn’t sure it was enough. I wasn’t a medical professional, and having limited knowledge of field medicine didn’t make me one either.

Worrying wasn’t going to help with anything, so I tried to set it aside. I headed to the cockpit where Andy sat with all four sensors on his lap, adjusting them. “How’s it coming?”

Andy didn’t look up from his work. “I am almost finished. There is one more to reprogram after this one.”

“Good.” At least he was fast.

“How is Agent Carter?”

“Resting, hopefully. That wound is not good.”

Andy paused to look at me. “A medical professional should tend to her injury. The sooner we leave this planet, the sooner we can get her the proper medical attention she requires.”

His calmness helped me feel a little better. “She can make it until then, right?”

For several seconds, he said nothing, and I realized he was calculating the probability in his mind. “She has a fair chance if she remains inert and does not attempt anything strenuous. Would you like an exact estimation of her chances?”

“No,” I answered quickly. I didn’t think I could stomach the idea of giving her survival an actual percentage.

Andy simply went back to work on the final sensor. I closed my eyes and breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm down and find my center.Right now, she’s okay. Right now, I need to focus on doing everything in my power to get us off-planet so she can get some help. That was my priority.

“You are injured.”

I opened my eyes and stared at Andy, not comprehending what he was saying. I didn’t think I was injured. Then I remembered the laser catching my ear and touched it gently. Blood was running down my neck. Now that I thought about it, I realized the ear was burning. I got up and found a mirror. I had to clean off the blood before I could see the wound. It looked like I was missing a small chunk from the side, but it could have been much worse. I bandaged it and popped a few painkillers before returning to the cockpit.

After a few more minutes, Andy stood up and held out the last sensor to me. “They are ready.”

“Excellent.” I took the sensor from him and reached for the other three. “Then these need to go back outside.”

He nodded. “Yes. Preferably in a high place close by. Perhaps on the hill above the cave. Set each one up facing north, south, east, and west, with the head tilted at a forty-five degree angle towards the sky. That should elicit optimal coverage.”

I nodded and then turned to one of the storage cabinets and pulled out a communications earpiece. The range wasn’t going to be good, but I hoped that if I only went a few hundred feet they would still work. I handed one to Andy. “Listen, I’m going to go set these up and then stand watch. I want you to monitor the sensors constantly until we find a safe path out of here. Alert me immediately. I want you to check on Julia, often. Try not to disturb her but monitor her health. If she starts getting worse, let me know. Okay?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

Satisfied, I took the sensors and headed for the door. I pulled my goggles back over my eyes and lifted my bandana up again. I shoved the earpiece in and then opened the door.Time to go back out into the unforgiving wasteland.

There were no signs of Julia’s pursuers as I surveyed the vicinity from the mouth of the cave. That was a good sign, I supposed. I hefted the sensors against my shoulder and struck out, searching for a way up the hill. It took a few minutes, but I was able to pick out a steep path. The wind had died down a little, which made it easier. Once I reached the apex, I paused to catch my breath. Looking around carefully, I scanned what parts of the land I could see, but there were too many dunes to see very far. I couldn’t see any immediate threats, so I went about erecting the sensors.

I tapped my earpiece. “Andy?”

After a few seconds, I heard the android’s voice crackle in my ear. “Yes?”

“Just testing to see if this would work.” There was some interference, but not enough to render the device unusable. It would work well enough if I didn’t wander too far.

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