Hollow Scars

It wasn’t very difficult to locate the facility on the outskirts of town. All Scarlett really had to do was walk in the opposite direction that nearly every pedestrian was traveling in. Apparently no one wanted to be near the place, as though it were cursed or infected by some plague. They weren’t entirely wrong about that, Scarlett guessed.

A river ran through the town, winding this way and that with the occasional bridge built over it for crossing of both pedestrians and vehicles alike. There was a facility in the center of town where the water was used to harness electricity. Scarlett peered into the river as she crossed a bridge in the business district and got a sickening feeling in her stomach. Several people had stopped to fill buckets with water before walking away.

While she had no proof to back it up, Scarlett somehow knew that the water flowing through the river was the primary source of whatever illness the townspeople had been infected with. It was the perfect way to contaminate a small but industrious town. People wouldn’t question the water source they’d been using for years. Habitually unwrapping one of the many cough drops in her pocket, Scarlett popped it into her mouth and continued walking past the river. The air was thick with humidity as dark clouds crept in from the South. A warm breeze was just enough to make Scarlett shiver despite the summer weather. Would the rain be contaminated as well? She didn’t want to linger long enough to find out.

The business district was nearly abandoned at the late hour, so Scarlett didn’t have to deal with the evening traffic. Those heading home late from the office were rushing past her as everyone else had done since she’d arrived; with their arms crossed or faces hidden to avoid conversing with a stranger. Maybe a symptom of the illness was paranoia. There was certainly enough of that in every person she’d encountered minus Eva and her son. Once at the far end of the main road that ran through the small business district, Scarlett scanned the area, her hands in her pockets and didn’t initially find the facility as she had hoped. She’d expected it to be right at the end of town, but that would’ve been too easy. Backtracking toward the nearest crossing of the river, Scarlett decided to follow the water until its end in the same area. If her suspicions were correct, MedCo would want their facility located at the easily possible dumping point so they could measure the levels of contamination in the river without arousing suspicion.

Her idea paid off and the river led her to exactly where she had suspected it would. Only Scarlett didn’t find the facility alight with activity as she had expected to. Instead the factory looked abandoned and condemned. The windows were boarded over and there was absolutely no sign of anyone within the place, at least that she could see from afar. Still, Scarlett didn’t trust that it was abandoned. MedCo probably had it under surveillance just as they had everywhere else she’d searched so far. Marcia and Mikhail were almost as paranoid as Scarlett was.

Even if it wasn’t the case, Scarlett would take precautions. Reaching beneath her jacket, she withdrew her handgun, checked the clip to make sure it was loaded and then slowly searched the factory’s perimeter. Once she was sure there was no one outside waiting for her to show up so they could throw a black bag over her head and take her away, Scarlett felt safe enough to find an entry point. Coughing again, she slipped another cough drop into her mouth before continuing on.

She noted that the river right along the side of the facility as she had suspected, making it the perfect Petri dish for MedCo’s unsavory human experiments. Pulling the surgical mask back over her mouth, she searched for a way into the building other than through the obvious front door. Catching a scent of something foul on the wind, Scarlett covered her face with her palm and gagged on the smell of something burning.

“Smoke?” Scarlett cleared her throat and walked closer to the river so that she could search for the source of the smoke. Sure enough there was a cloud of black smoke coming from something on top of the building. Heart beating faster when she realized that someone had to have set something ablaze to create smoke and was likely now inside the facility, Scarlett stopped searching the building so hard for a neat entrance and instead looked for a place where she could get a leg up and scale the side of the building to the roof.

When she’d searched the outside of the building she’d noticed multiple pipes draining from the gutters, but only recalled one that was near a fire escape on the second floor. Backtracking behind the building near the surrounding chain link fence, Scarlett stared at the pipe curiously, her hands on her hips as she considered climbing up. Tugging on the metal brackets holding it against the wall, she tested the strength of the pipe and found it sturdy enough. The fire escape ladder was a good three feet away from the rain gutters, but Scarlett had confidence she could make the jump. Holstering her gun, Scarlett then dug through her bag until she found her black gloves and put them on.

Scarlett was generally over confident about the things she did until she failed at them and was forced to reconsider. Deciding this was as good a chance as any, Scarlett cracked her knuckles and then used began pull herself up along the drain pipe. Feet flat against the wall she climbed along the gutters quickly to avoid over thinking her task. The gutters groaned and creaked, threatening to snap away from where they hung on the building but Scarlett persisted. As she got closer to the ladder on the second floor the gutters started to give. Her weight was too much for it. Gutters were only designed to hold water and sometimes leaves, definitely not people.

Bracing herself one last time against the pipe as it groaned threateningly, she leapt toward the ladder and grabbed onto the protective metallic casing surrounding it but her hands instantly slipped and lost their grip and she fell.

“Son of a bitch!” Cursing, Scarlett grabbed desperately onto the bottom rung of the ladder and was relieved when she caught and her grip didn’t slip even if her shoulder instantly throbbed in annoyance from the way it tugged uncomfortably. As she managed to get her other hand on the ladder it shifted and slid down from its locked position, descending toward the ground accompanied by the clatter of metal grinding against metal.

“So much for stealth.” Scarlett exhaled deeply but hurried up the ladder even though it hadn’t finished descending yet. As it crashed into place, Scarlett was already near the top of the ladder and planning her way to the roof. Looking back toward the gutter she’d leapt from, it seemed like the only option she had left. She hoped that it had enough strength left to give her the final boost onto the building. Considering she’d only weakened the pipes down below she felt optimistic. With the side of the building parallel to her about three feet away, just as the gutter had been Scarlett decided to jump and hopefully use that momentum against the wall to push herself up and climb onto the roof with the aid of the gutter.

Balancing one foot on the top of the ladder and the other against the window frame, Scarlett braced herself momentarily then leapt the distance across the gap and caught onto the edge of the roof above the gutters. Feet flat against the wall, she climbed along it step by step until her full weight was on top of the building safely.

Instantly she got to her feet and aimed her gun in front of her, retrieving it from the holster underneath her jacket which was finally making her sweat. It wasn’t exactly ideal to wear a jacket, even a light one, during the summer anywhere in the world but it provided the space she needed to hide her weapons and other tools while still leaving them easily accessible. Heart racing, Scarlett hurried across the roof of the facility, checked the entrance from the roof and found it locked as she had expected.

Running past the steel door, checking around corners carefully with her gun pointed toward the ground she found no one else on the roof except for her. The smoke was billowing out of a chimney on the opposite end of the building. Whoever had set the fire was likely inside the building. Feeling safe to finally catch her breath, Scarlett hunched over with her hand on her knee and coughed after pulling the surgical mask away from her mouth, trying to get rid of the awful cling in her throat exacerbated by both the physical effort of scaling the side of the building and the smoke gathering in the air. Walking away from the stench, Scarlett couldn’t seem to stop coughing now that she’d begun. The ache in her chest had only gotten worse as she continued to exert herself physically. Not like that would stop her or anything, but she couldn’t help but kick herself at the same time for pushing too hard.

Walking away from the smoke, Scarlett discarded the idea of going into the building through the door on the roof. By the time she managed to break through the lock, she would have alerted anyone else in the building of exactly where she was and cornered herself at the same time. No, she’d search the edge of the building for a window that would provide easier access. Spitting some kind of terrible discolored phlegm off the side of the building, Scarlett searched for a window that would be easier to break through than the one that she’d used to scale the building.

Her search paid off, even if it looked like another dangerous experience on the side of the building. Holstering her gun again, Scarlett sat on the edge of the roof and then turned around and carefully hung off the side, bracing her feet flat against the wall as she had before. Beneath her was another fire escape ladder, but this one had a proper platform. It was a good ten feet below the roof, but if Scarlett could get just a bit closer before she dropped then she would avoid breaking any bones made fragile in the last few weeks and breaking the platform if it wasn’t as sturdy as she had hoped.

Unable to find a way to drop the extra two feet she wanted to before falling, Scarlett instead decided to aim for the railing and hope she could catch the top of the window sill and regain her balance before she fell and hurt herself. Letting go of the side of the roof, she dropped and slid her hands purposely against the wall, just so she would have the ability to grab hold in case she started to drift away from it. Just as she had planned she grabbed onto the top of the window sill as she got close enough.

Her knees buckled as her feet hit the railing on the side of the fire escape balcony. Instead of standing upright as she had hoped, her sore fingers slipped off of the window frame and she fell face first onto the fire escape. Thankfully she managed to rest her arms in front of her before her face slammed into the grating but it felt like every joint in her body had locked up and begun to tremble from the force of her fall.

Still, despite her discomfort, Scarlett jumped to her feet and shook out her limbs to regain the proper use of her joints. Physical damage could always be dealt with after the job was done. That had always been how she’d handled it in the past and it had gotten her this far without dying so she didn’t feel the need to change strategies halfway through.

“Maybe I should look into parkour.” There was that sense of humor to ease her tension again, though she partially wasn’t kidding.

Trying the window first to see if she could trick it open at the hinges, Scarlett pouted when she found it wouldn’t give. Either it’d been locked or disuse had rendered it stuck over time. Slipping off her coat, Scarlett held it against the glass of the window and then bashed her elbow against the glass. It cracked upon the first hit and broke upon the second.

Using the coat she broke away the remaining shards of broken glass until she had created a big enough hole to crawl through. Breaking the glass wasn’t exactly stealthy, but if whoever was in the building had heard any of the other awful sounds she’d made and hadn’t come after her yet then they were an idiot. Once the quiet had been disturbed in an irreparable way then Scarlett didn’t see the point in remaining stealthy. Louder was generally faster and if they were already after her and she didn’t see the mortal danger staring her in the face then she didn’t see the harm in making noise. If anything, an intruder would be on the opposite side of the building where she’d slid the fire escape out of place accidentally.

Slipping her coat back on once she’d shaken the broken glass out of it, Scarlett manipulated her way through the broken window and into the dark room. Gun back in hand, Scarlett flipped a switch on the side of the Tesla powered glove and a small glow of light emitted from a glass piece she’d added to it on the trip to Madrid. With the flashlight attached to her it would be much easier for her to get things done and she wouldn’t have to give up a hand that she could be using in self defense.

Much to her surprise the rooms weren’t filled with smoke as she had suspected after seeing the billowing cloud from the chimney. Whatever burn was taking place within the facility was controlled. Hurrying out of the office she’d broken into, Scarlett checked around the doorway and down the hall for intruders, kicking in each door as she did so that she could make sure no one was hiding within any of the offices and she wouldn’t later be ambushed.

There were several rooms filled with laboratory equipment, chemicals overturned on tables, and weird tools Scarlett had never seen before strewn about the floor but she decided that whatever was burning within the building was more important than what she’d find in any of the abandoned rooms. Usually what was discarded and left behind was far less interesting than what was being destroyed.

Scarlett hurried down the main staircase and into the lobby once she’d checked the second floor and found no intruders and continued toward the smell of smoke. Running and ignoring the tightness that worsened in her chest, she found the source of the terrible burning smell at last. After opening the door to the large room at the end of the lobby, Scarlett was actually startled into place. The room was filled with hospital beds, half of which were covered in brownish dried blood. Several were broken in odd places and fabric restraints were hanging off of at least four of them. A split second later she shook out of her state of awe and ran back into the main room in search of a fire extinguisher. Before she could examine what was being burned she’d have to obviously put out the fire. Her gloves were a lot of things, but fireproof wasn’t one of them.

Whoever had set the fire was nowhere in the building that Scarlett had seen so she holstered her gun in favor of breaking the safety glass protecting the fire extinguisher near the entrance to the lobby. Extinguisher in hand, Scarlett ran back into the room and toward the controlled burn at the far end of it where there were stacks and stacks of file folders mostly destroyed and curling up into ashes.

Aiming the nozzle at the burn, Scarlett sprayed the foam onto the fire until the flames dissipated and the room was filled completely with smoke of the aftermath. Discarding the extinguisher to the side, Scarlett cracked open several windows to air out the room. The second window she opened she stuck her head out of and pulled away the surgical mask from her neck where she felt it constricting tightly and breathed in the fresh air greedily. Her lungs were aching from lack of oxygen and illness.

Once the soreness and her chest started to subside, Scarlett leaned back into the room and coughed again instantly but couldn’t stop her investigation simply because she had a terrible cling in her chest. Back toward the mess of charred and now foamy folders, Scarlett knelt down and began searching for any paper that could’ve been salvaged. Thankfully the bottom of the pile was only partially burnt so she was able to recover an entire stack of folders about three inches high.

Sitting on the ground next to the pile but away from the smoldering char, Scarlett opened the first folder which half fell apart when from the fire it’d been under. Discarding the folder and keeping the remaining papers inside of it, she flipped through the pages of lab reports and saw very little of interest at first look.

Glancing back at the rest of the room again, Scarlett knew something horrible had happened there. Something had been so terrible that it had forced the facility to be shut down and abandoned in a hurry. Someone had likely only returned to set the fire so that Scarlett wouldn’t be able to find anything in her search before they came to do a proper job of disposing of the village the way they had done in Senegal. Clean ups took time, time that Scarlett hadn’t given them.

Some of the beds were overturned while others looked pristine and untouched. Feeling uncomfortable and paranoid of what had been done within the room, Scarlett put the surgical mask back on despite how she couldn’t stop coughing every few moments. It was better to breathe in her own sickness than whatever had prompted someone to bleed all over their sheets or become so irrational that they had to be strapped down.

Turning her attention back to the papers in her lap, Scarlett scanned through them before taking out her cell phone and starting to snap images of them for later use as she had done many times before. The more evidence she gathered against MedCo the better and she knew there would be no way for her to skim through all of it while sitting in the room. Despite the fact that whoever had begun the fire had long since abandoned ship, Scarlett knew that it was a very big warning sign that someone had been there at all.

It meant that they knew Scarlett was in Madrid and were trying to cover their tracks. At some point they’d come for her as they always did and she had every intention of being long gone and looking for Tony so she could catch a late dinner with him before that happened. Catching the time on her phone and seeing it was fifteen minutes to midnight, Scarlett realized it would be a very late dinner.

MedCo was calling themselves something different at this place, likely since the name MedCo was now associated with what had happened in South Africa. Their facility had been destroyed under suspicious circumstances, so MedCo was no longer a safe and honest name. Now it seemed they were traveling under the alias IPDS which stood for International Pharmaceutical Delivery Services. Making a mental note of this name and to do the research on it when she got her hands on a computer, Scarlett continued through the files.

Most of them seemed to be case files, lab reports on anonymous patients who were listed only by numbers and gender, not by name. The pieces were falling into place on the chess board in Scarlett’s mind. She’d theorized for a long time that MedCo had been performing experiments but now the three different locations made sense. They were test groups, set up just like an experiment in a laboratory but instead of using lab rats they were using unsuspecting people in different areas of the world. Perhaps Turkey was the control group and she’d saved herself from a colossal waste of time by heading there.

Finally Scarlett reached the end of the patient files and set them aside and found instead a list of tests and their results desired and the actual results obtained. There was a catalog on the left of what was administered to patients and how frequently and how the patient had reacted. The list terrified Scarlett and she felt her stomach become queasy. There was a directory of various strains of different diseases, everything from Malaria to Small Pox that were being enhanced, altered and mixed together to create super germs.

Most of the patient tests had ended in death and no resulting vaccine that would cure them of what terrible bug had been administered. Shoving those particular papers into her bag, Scarlett considered what she knew. What was MedCo’s ultimate goal? It sounded like they had global political ambitions if they were trying to create super enhanced viruses. Being the only company able to cure the diseases they spread around the world and offer relief to an epidemic of massive proportions would give them terrible power.

It wasn’t the first time illness had been used in a militant way and Scarlett was positive that it wouldn’t be the last time. Hell, she wasn’t even surprised that MedCo was doing such terrible things, but it still left her feeling disconcerted.

Browsing through folders, Scarlett read on to find notes on experiments that attempted to enhance the human psyche and physique. Was MedCo trying to create a super soldier of sorts? There had been many attempts in the years past that had been partially successful and Scarlett had always considered that some secret agency was keeping those projects under wraps even in the United States, but having such technology in the hands of people like Mikhail and Marcia was the worst possible scenario. They were smarter than the average villains. It wasn’t like they were in it simply for the power to be gained.

That was where most villains tended to falter in their genius. Their hunger for power was so great they cut corners and would do anything to achieve the fastest result. MedCo had been working on this stuff for years, and she was sure they wouldn’t mind spending a few more years if it meant they got the desired results.

But it seemed every attempt at creating a super soldier had been a failure, according to the notes, and had done nothing but provided their test subjects with new and terrible ailments that had no reverse. The tests had been done over time, administering the serum slowly in their food or via injection. Initially strength and intelligence had been boosted but eventually begun to deteriorate as their lungs rotted away, mimicking the signs of a respiratory infection. The symptoms had only gotten worse from there and Scarlett felt her hands trembling with fear.

She couldn’t consider the fact that maybe she’d been infected, not until she was somewhere safe. It was too much for her to deal with and she it wasn’t safe to panic.

Flipping through the remaining files, Scarlett stopped and stared in awe at the last in the pile. The familiar S.H.I.E.L.D. logo with the regal looking bird adorned the front of the folder along with the glittering red words that alerted the reader that whatever was inside was Top Secret. What were S.H.I.E.L.D. files doing in a MedCo facility?

That terrified Scarlett more than anything she’d discovered thus far and successfully distracted her from the notion of her possible contamination. What if S.H.I.E.L.D. had once been in cahoots with MedCo and now the two were working together to create super soldiers and superior germs? It would explain how they’d managed to stay under international terror organizations radar for so long. What better cover was there than receiving assistance from one of the leading organizations in terror prevention?

The date on the files had been from twenty years prior, so Scarlett felt a sense of relief. It was more likely that the files had been stolen, not given to them by S.H.I.E.L.D. MedCo had gotten their hands on Stark Industries files at one time so it didn’t surprise her that they had managed to weasel their way into S.H.I.E.L.D.’s computer systems. This brought a smirk to her lips. There was definitely no security system better than Jarvis and what was provided at Stark Industries, so it was probably a cakewalk getting into S.H.I.E.L.D.’s computers after accessing Tony’s systems if they’d even gotten into his private ones.

Starting to feel like the walls were closing in on her, Scarlett’s coughing only became worse but she needed to get through the remaining files. Her heart was pounding in her ears loudly, even if someone had been sneaking up on her she likely wouldn’t have heard it at all. Cursing under her breath, she browsed through the S.H.I.E.L.D. file despite the increasing tremor in her hands.

The files listed information about a series of tests on a subject labeled SAMP #566A3G. Scanning over the files and deciding to leave them in the fire and possibly set them ablaze again so that if anyone came searching after her they wouldn’t see what she actually discovered. The notes on the subject in the folder had mentioned that S.H.I.E.L.D. had suspected that the key to the super soldier serum that had been destroyed after its only successful use during World War II was in the subject’s blood.

Multiple painless sounding experiments had been done against the subject’s will under the guise of physical exams and while the results had been remarkable there had been no connections to the super soldier serum or the abilities that had been exhibited by Captain Steve Rogers. Scarlett’s fingers brushed over the familiar sounding name and she furrowed her brow in thought.

“Captain America? Really? A super soldier, huh? I thought he only did those campy movies.” Scoffing, Scarlett continued through the paperwork. The subject’s lab results were remarkable, showing a DNA strand that Scarlett had never seen before. She was a little rusty on her biology considering she hadn’t bothered with it in years, but she knew enough to see that the DNA in their subject was definitely not human. It would make sense if S.H.I.E.L.D. had their hands on some non-human entity that they would consider their blood could perhaps produce some sort of viral enhancement.

“What, did Robert Ludlum write this or something?” Sighing, Scarlett closed the file and then set it back in the pile of smoking charred paper. Thankfully whoever had started the fire earlier had left a box of fireplace matches nearby. Once sure she’d gathered all her things, Scarlett got to her feet and nearly fell back down when she realized she’d been severely trembling from head to toe. Turning to look at the hospital beds again, Scarlett wondered if maybe she’d been slipped something while she’d been held captive by MedCo. Was she another glorified experiment? Could that be why she was so sick? How was she supposed to fight off something that would inevitably eat away at her system and leave her a bleeding tortured shell of what she one was?

Realizing she hadn’t been breathing until the world started to spin around her, Scarlett tried to breathe in deeply but instead coughed. The dizziness from lack of oxygen persisted and she quickly moved across the room to retrieve the matches she’d spied on the window sill. Lighting one of them finally after breaking the first two with shaking hands she tossed them all into the fire she’d started and then walked out into the lobby. With the original intention of heading back up the stairs and out the window she’d come in from, Scarlett abandoned the idea and headed instead out the front doors.

Every nerve in her body was telling her to get the hell out of the facility and she didn’t have the peace of mind to argue.

What did it matter if someone saw her when she was having a panic attack anyway? Chest tight and limbs starting to lock up again like they had on the balcony, Scarlett hurried around the side of the building and toward the river until her knees gave out. About to use the water nearby to splash on her face to try and calm herself down after the horrific memories of what had happened to her when she’d last had a panic attack while working with Tony, she cursed when she realized that the water was likely contaminated and she couldn’t use it.

Instead she scooted away from it and pulled her knees close to her chest and tried to take long deep breaths. It was much harder than it sounded, her whole body quivering with nerves and her chest already constricted by the phlegm from whatever terrible illness she’d contracted. Coughing again, she covered her mouth and swore, closing her eyes tightly. Was it possible that the terrible food she’d been given by MedCo while being held captive to work on robot limbs had been tainted with some sort of super soldier serum? It clearly wasn’t a disease they’d been trying to give her, seeing as she’d only started showing symptoms recently.

This calmed Scarlett considerably. The files had shown results within the first forty eight hours of injection or consumption. There would have been no time for MedCo to experiment on Scarlett. She hadn’t gotten any stronger or smarter while she’d been there. She’d simply been the same resourceful little shit she’d always been. Then again, when she’d been with Tony her whole world had turned upside down and she’d practically grown into a different woman with a completely new agenda.

But she doubted that had anything to do with any experiments done on her without her knowledge. Falling in love and becoming sentimental would be just about the weirdest side effect in history. Managing at last to take deep breaths without gagging or trembling Scarlett’s head started to clear at last.

It didn’t make sense for her to be infected with anything. Given the onset of her symptoms, someone close to her would’ve had to have administered the dose consistently. The only person she’d spent an extended period of time around in that timeframe had been Tony and she knew and trusted that he would never do anything to intentionally put her in harm’s way. This was another tactic of her paranoid mind to try and sabotage the happiness that she’d found with Tony Stark even if it was the most confusing happiness she’d ever felt before in her life.

Still, it didn’t mean that her sickness was a mere coincidence. She’d have to start keeping a journal of her symptoms and how they worsened or lessened over time. With the notes she’d managed to get copies of within the abandoned building, Scarlett would have something to compare them to so that she could properly assess her situation and weigh her risks. Now that she’d logically pulled apart the boggled thoughts that had made her head swim, she was feeling better if not still a little unsettled and shaky.

Slowly getting to her feet, Scarlett dusted herself off and examined her scraped and sore hands. As she began to collect herself and make sure she hadn’t dropped anything in her panic she heard footsteps in the dirt behind her. Instantly grabbing her gun from the holster underneath her jacket, she turned and aimed her weapon at the sound.

“You have pointed that thing at me way more times than is healthy in a relationship.” Tony held up his hands defensively, having been expecting her to aim her weapon at him considering he’d snuck up on her.

“If you keep creeping up on me like that you’re going to end up getting shot.” Scarlett holstered the gun and exhaled deeply, slumping her shoulders and running her trembling hands through the hair that had escaped how she’d had it pulled back and out of her face.

“You do know that it’s not healthy at all in a relationship for one of us to end up at gunpoint even once, right?” Tony joked, a smile on his face. Scarlett looked off and he could feel the tension in the air. Something had happened while they’d been apart and Tony didn’t like the feel of it. Scarlett was pale and she was something he’d only ever seen her once before.

Scarlett was scared.

“What?” Scarlett waved her hand when Tony simply stood staring at her. “I know this is like beating a dead horse now, but it’s not safe for you here. You’ve really got to get out of here. I won’t be far behind you this time, it’s not like before. I just need you to get out of the way and to somewhere safe.”

“You know you can’t keep doing this, right?” Tony spit out the words before he’d actually considered what he was saying.

“Doing what? And why not? Are you going to punish me?” Scarlett batted her eyelashes playfully, attempting again to ease the tension with humor and also distract Tony from whatever serious conversation he wanted to have. “Besides, you’re the one who shouldn’t be here, not me.”

“Doing what? Seriously? Running yourself ragged until you can’t function in pursuit of a company that’s practically a ghost? Tell me, did you find anything in there or was it the same bullshit we’re always running into?” Tony continued before Scarlett could object and inform him that she actually did find something. “Of course not, because they’re doing this to you on purpose and the only one who doesn’t see that is you.”

“Of course I see it, why do you think I came here? I was trying to cut them to the chase.” Scarlett shook her head in objection.

“You’re physically exhausted and mentally drained! You need to see a doctor and get some rest and then spend a week in bed with me!” Tony added on the last bit like it was necessary and Scarlett couldn’t help but laugh, even if she was scared that Tony was in such close proximity to the water that was practically killing the people of the town nearby.

“I know I am, Tony. I’m not stupid! Didn’t you get my note? I was hoping we could catch dinner…” Scarlett nodded toward the streets leading away from the town hoping that she could get him to go back to Madrid even if it meant she had to jump ship early. But what about the nice people who had helped her? What about her car on the other side of town?

“Dinner? It’s one in the morning, Scarlett.”

“I didn’t say it was the best idea, just what I had been hoping.” Scarlett furrowed her brow. “What has gotten into you? Why are you so serious?”

“Because I’m scared, Scarlett!” Tony grabbed her by the shoulders throwing off her balance. “What happens the next time you run off and I don’t catch up in time and find you dead? What am I supposed to do then?”

“Tony you can’t be here.” Scarlett spoke quietly after a minute to contemplate his words. Was he really that scared that she couldn’t take care of herself? Their fears were so similar to the other’s Scarlett was actually partially amused by the fact that they were both fighting so hard for something they both wanted and that was to keep the other safe and yet both being so stubborn about it.

“Why the hell not? You keep telling me that I can’t be with you but you have yet to give me one damn good reason!” Tony shouted in frustration.

“Because…” Scarlett turned to look back at the river flowing innocently behind her. It was terrifying to think of something that was usually so benign could cause something so terrible to happen.

“Yeah, spit it out!” Tony shook her and Scarlett wobbled, her head practically rattling from the motion. Placing a hand on her head to steady her, Tony furrowed his brow in confusion.

“You can’t be here because this is a biohazard zone.” Scarlett spoke calmly and offered a knowing smile.

“What?” Tony spat out dumbly, his mouth hanging open in awe. That was certainly not what he had expected her to say.

“MedCo has been using this facility to taint the water and the townsfolk are dying off one by one. I checked at their local hospital and found some records inside of the facility proving it.” Scarlett nodded her head resolutely. “If we don’t get out of here soon, we’re going to be in the same boat and I’m not sure there’s a cure.”

The look of panic on Tony’s face would’ve been hilarious if it hadn’t been completely genuine. Now Tony understood why Scarlett was so terrified when he’d approached. If what she had said was true then there was a distinct possibility that they were both ill and an even greater possibility that Scarlett was already infected.

No wonder she hadn’t let being sick stop her.

“Great, so maybe now you’ll actually listen to me.” Scarlett placed both hands on either side of his neck and looked at him seriously. “You’ve got to get out of here.”