Chapter Fifty-Seven Faith

They had been there less than half an hour when they found it.

When they had entered the office, Hammond had pressed Faith into a chair, whilst Susie and Danforth had turned the office upside down. With no regard for Sanders' property, the two women had ripped open cupboards, rifled through drawers and tipped out the contents of several filing cabinets.

When they hadn't immediately found what they wanted, Danforth had morphed into a feral animal. A terrified Susie had become ever more inventive, running her hands underneath the desk, knocking on walls, and even pulling up the carpet to find Sanders' hiding place. Eventually, she had started pulling pictures off the walls.

The great Chancellor Danforth had been hunkered on the office floor, skimming document after document. Desperation leaked from her every pore as she hunted for references to the fertility trials.

Had her own situation not been so grave, Faith would have laughed.

But when Susie let out a cry of triumph, she felt like crying. Behind an oversized painting of the BellaLab building that hung behind the desk, the medic had found a hidden alcove.

Danforth sprang to her feet. Crossing the room in seconds, she stretched her hand up to the empty space. Faith cringed as a smile of triumph came over her face.

"There's something here," she whispered, relief in every syllable.

When her hand emerged, it was clutching a large, leather-bound wallet.

"Bellator Fertility Trials, 2119," she read. "This has to be it!"

Flinging it open, she started reading the first page. But a moment later, the colour drained from her face. She beckoned Susie over.

"What is this?" She jabbed a finger at the text.

Susie had retreated to the opposite side of the room since the wallet's discovery. With trepidation, she crept forward.

"Let me see." She leaned over Danforth's shoulder. "Oh. It looks like it's written in some sort of… code."

"Code?" Danforth paled. "You can work out what it means, though. Right?"

Susie took the file with shaking fingers. "Let's see…" her forehead puckered as she pored over the symbols on the first page. "I think…" She turned to Danforth. "That is, I'm pretty sure I could figure it out… given a little time."

Danforth clenched her hands into fists. "We don't have time."

The room descended into silence. Moments went by. Eventually, Danforth inhaled noisily.

"Alright." She nodded, as though making a decision. "We'll take the folder with us." She walked towards the door. "Let's go and get started on Faith. As long as we have a successful subject, we can work on the methodology later."

The decision made, they set off for their final destination. Faith re-entered the lift, Hammond's ever-present hand on her shoulder. Had she imagined the presence in the lobby? What if her exhausted, desperate imagination had conjured the movement up as a source of comfort?

The eighth floor housed many different labs, but Danforth and Susie marched past them all. Hammond and Faith followed the pair, who didn't stop until they reached a door at the very end of the hallway. Faith read the sign with growing dread: Innovative Research Department: No Unauthorised Admittance.

This was it.

Danforth had showed no signs of letting Faith out of her sight, and Faith hadn't dared to waste the contents of the syringe with three potential guardians around. But the situation was getting desperate. Once they were inside the lab, there would be no more chances to escape.

Faith glanced at her wardens. She was confident she could overpower Susie, and Danforth was distracted. Hammond was her greatest threat. The one she had to take out, if she had any hope of success. As Danforth held her wristclip up to the laboratory door pad, Faith slipped her free hand into the pocket of her gown. It closed around her makeshift weapon.

Waiting until Danforth and Susie had moved inside, Faith twisted her body sharply to the left. She had been compliant for so long that the move came as a surprise to Hammond. For a split second, the Lieutenant relaxed her hold.

Faith struck out. Bringing the syringe to the woman's neck, she pressed it into the flesh as hard as she could. Hammond cried out, her hands grasping at her neck.

"What did you do?" she hissed.

With her remaining strength, Faith pushed the plunger on the syringe all the way to the hilt. Not waiting to see what happened next, she abandoned her makeshift weapon and took off down the hallway.

She hadn't gotten far when she heard thundering feet behind her. A familiar hand closed on her shoulder. Faith strained forwards, desperate to keep moving, but Hammond's grip was vice-like. With a last burst of strength, Faith surged forward.

And then, suddenly, she was falling.

She hit the ground hard. Winded, it took her several moments to recover. When she did, she sat back on her knees and turned to look back at the guard.

"Did you think this would stop me?" Hammond held up the syringe. "Hardly." Letting it fall to the ground, she crushed it with her boot. "Let's get this over with then."

Hammond hauled Faith to her feet and half-dragged, half-carried her along the hallway. Faith let it happen. Her final desperate attempt at gaining freedom had failed.

They reached the lab. Why hadn"t Danforth come looking for them? Eager to get the experiment started, the chancellor had expected Hammond and Faith to be right behind her.

A similar thought seemed to strike Hammond. Pushing Faith in front of her, she eased the door open with caution.

And then it was clear what had held Danforth up. She was seated on a chair in the centre of the laboratory. Madeleine stood behind her, a gun trained on her head.

Faith took in the rest of the room. Susie cowered in one corner. Beside her, armed to the teeth, stood Diane. And on the other side of the lab, stood two more familiar faces. Ruth.

And Noah.

Hammond reacted before anyone had a chance to speak. Hauling Faith up against her, she reached for the gun in her belt. "I presume this is what you came here for?"

She jammed her gun against Faith's forehead so hard that she cried out. Noah took a step forward, his face a mask of horror.

"Don't come any closer." Hammond ground out. "Unless you want your little friend dead."

Noah stopped, his face pale. Holding up his hands in surrender, he backed away.

"Alright," Madeleine spoke for the first time since they had entered. "Seems we have ourselves a bit of a stand-off. How do you suggest we proceed?"