“And imply that word of his cure will spread quickly if he entrusts the USB to us.”
“Exactly. He’ll be more reluctant to kill people who promise to sing his praises to the world. That might be enough of a temptation to outweigh his doubts.”
They shared a look. In the dim light, Clare hoped Dorran wouldn’t notice the fear she was trying to hide behind confidence. The plan was weak, but they didn’t have any alternatives. It was their only card to play.
Too much depended on factors outside their control. How paranoid Ezra truly was. Whether he still had enough morals to shy away from killing innocents. How desperate he felt. Clare tried for a shaky smile, and the smile she received in return was just as unsteady.
Dorran said, “As long as we can get out of the tower, we can get to the river or onto the rural roads, and we should be all right.”
Clare nodded. “We can do it. We can make him think we’re his allies.”
“And until then, we stay close together, yes?”
“Yes.”
He kissed her lightly. “Try to get some rest. I’ll keep guard.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Clare slept fitfully. In her dreams, she repeatedly saw Ezra’s face, bathed in the red light, grinning up at her. She woke sweaty and shaking, only to be lulled back to sleep by Dorran’s gentle whispers as his fingers ran through her hair. He stayed sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the door. The second time Clare woke she offered to take over the watch, but he just kissed her and told her to go back to sleep.
The storm raged through the night, and by the time dawn came, it hadn’t abated. The clock on the wall told her it was eight in the morning, and Clare felt less groggy. If not for that, she would have believed it was still deep night.
“Good morning,” Dorran murmured as she sat up. He was crouched by one of the drawers but slid it closed and returned to sit next to Clare on the bed. Dark shadows clung around his eyes, and he looked leaner than the day before, but he smiled at her.
Clare brushed hair away from her face as she blinked at the room. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I was looking for anything we might use to defend ourselves.” His shoulders rose and dropped in a weary shrug. “This room has nothing sharper than a pencil and nothing heavier than a book.”
Ezra probably hid any weapons before he started his broadcast. Clare dropped her legs over the edge of the bed to sit at Dorran’s side. “We’ll have to go out soon, won’t we?”
“If we don’t want to seem suspicious, yes.” Dorran was quiet for a second then said, “He came past the room four times last night. He stopped just outside the door but didn’t try to come in. I would be surprised if he slept at all.”
For a moment, they stayed on the edge of the bed, staring at the thin door separating them from the rest of the facility. Then Clare inhaled and straightened her back. “It’s only going to be worse if we put it off.”
“Mm.” Dorran picked up the lab coat Clare had worn the day before and held it out to her.
They dressed quickly. Clare tied her hair back and checked herself in the room’s mirror. She looked pale. She hoped Ezra wouldn’t notice.
As they approached the door, Dorran took her hand and whispered, “Stay near me as much as possible.”
The hallway was empty. Clare couldn’t stop herself from glancing towards the stairs to their left. The storm was muffled in the hallway, but she could still feel the reverberations through her bones and sense the building swaying under her feet.
Dorran used his ID to unlock the work area’s door. Clare held on to Dorran with one hand and clenched the other into a fist as the door swung open. They stepped through, and she blinked in the sudden light.
“Good morning, good morning!” Ezra sat at his desk, his hair messy and his grin wide. One hand rested over the laptop’s keys, obviously interrupted in the middle of typing. The desk was littered with empty energy drink cans. He tilted his head a little as he watched them. “I hope you had a good night’s sleep. Except for that little excursion, ha!”
“Yes.” Clare made herself smile. She’d expected Ezra to be quiet or suspicious of her, the way he’d appeared the night before. Instead, he was almost bouncing with cheerfulness. In some ways, it was even more unnerving. “Um, sorry for waking you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” He waved away her apology. “I was already up. Though I’ll say you gave me quite a fright, appearing on the stairs like that. I’m almost done here. Why don’t you get some breakfast? I went and found more apples for you, Clare, so you won’t have to go scurrying over the building anymore.”
Clare looked towards the seating area. A small pile of apples had been arranged into a pyramid shape beside the previous day’s stack of chips and chocolate. She did her best to look enthused. “That’s really kind, thank you.”
Ezra returned to his laptop, his fingers moving at a blinding speed as he built code. Clare exchanged a look with Dorran. He lifted his eyebrows. She gave a small nod, and they approached the food.
Clare’s throat was tight and her stomach upset, but she still ate. They couldn’t afford to raise suspicion. As far as Ezra was concerned, it was a normal morning.
The heater was already on, and Clare sat near it as she worked her way through an apple. She barely tasted it. Dorran ate as well and positioned himself carefully to keep Ezra in his peripheral vision without making it obvious he was watching. Ezra didn’t so much as lift his head from the laptop.
Clare threw away her core, and Dorran passed her another apple. “Eat,” he murmured, bending close to make sure the man at the desk wouldn’t hear. “You may need the energy.”
She was sick of both apples and nuts by the time she was full. She downed a bottle of water and tried to relax. That was impossible as long as Ezra was in the same room. Still, though, he didn’t look up from the computer, and Clare didn’t dare interrupt him. She felt awkward just sitting there and turned towards the bookcase. She picked up a novel indiscriminately—a well-worn thriller—and opened it to a random page. She stared at it without reading.
Is he faking? Or does he genuinely not suspect? Maybe he’s telling the truth; maybe he seemed off last night because I startled him. Is it possible he isn’t worried about what’s in the lab?
That seemed impossible, but on the other hand, Ezra seemed completely relaxed. He would either need to be an exceptional actor… or his nonchalance was genuine.
A chair creaked, and Clare flinched. Ezra leaned back at his desk, arms reached high as he stretched his back. He sagged back down with a hearty sigh then unplugged something from the laptop as he stood.
The familiar smile greeted them as he sauntered towards the chairs. Clare knew if she was going to establish trust, this was the time to do it. She put the book aside and leaned forward, affecting friendliness. “Dorran and I were talking about our plans for when we leave here. We know a group of survivors less than an hour away; we thought we’d stop by there and see if any of them would take the data to Evandale.”
Ezra dropped into a chair opposite and pulled one leg up underneath himself. “That sounds great. Did you meet many people before you reached the tower?”