Quaranteam - AU Ch. 05

After looking thoughtful for a moment, the old man let out a grim laugh. "I'm gonna have to answer some of those inevitable questions m'self when my missus finds out." He fixed Rayne and Trish with a speculative gaze. "The two of you are...'bonded', was it?"

When they nodded, he grinned. "Can I speak freely?" Another nod.

"You're both youngsters, so I don't doubt that yer goin through what they call the 'newlywed phase'." His grin widened as Trish and Ray blushed. "But there'll come a time in yer life, Dr. Valiant, when your missus will start to take her wifely duties with a little less enthusiasm and more as a burden of love. It happens. Just don't take it to mean they love ya any less. At least your missus...missusses? Misses? Bugger it, I don't know what the word is, but at least yer partners can share that load." He laughed at his own words, and Trish let out a chuckle and fixed her gaze on Rayne.

"Well, there's enough variety in the house that Ray here won't be starved for choice, and we won't get to the point where we're being asked so often it becomes a burden." Trish's gaze sharpened, becoming somewhat predatory as she continued. "I rather think he's going to be the one feeling burdened. Any number of women, and just one of him."

She punctuated her words with a feral smile and burst into laughter along with Karstaedt at Rayne's expression.

Karstaedt had relaxed a bit, and his original good cheer was coming through. "Well, looks like this one's got you all figured out as it is, Doctor. You're in for a wild ride, I reckon."

Rayne's smile couldn't have been more genuine. "It gets wilder than this? Alright. Bring it on."

--

"Hasumi, Stella, the others should be just about done with their inspection. Are you close to wrapping up here?" Simone was leaning in, her eyes taking in, but not comprehending the formulae on the screen in front of her charge. The others in the room barely looked up as the lithe soldier turned back to face the rest of the room. Unlike Trish, Simone held her rifle more loosely, but she was no less alert. They really didn't expect any trouble here, but Simone wasn't going to be caught flat-footed.

Hasumi nodded and sighed in relief as she hit the last few keystrokes. "Done. A couple of seconds to process and then we run the test batch. We'll stick around for that one and if it's all good, we'll go and let these guys do their jobs."

Stella indicated her own assent, still typing away on her laptop. Her work wouldn't start until after that test batch was ready, but she was killing time by looking into the virus again. "Let's call Ray and see if we can get some delivery here."

Rayne's voice came from the doorway and they both turned to see him walk in, followed by Trish and the plant's manager. "No need to call, Stel. We're right here, and lunch sounds like a good idea. Would you care to join us, Mr. Karstaedt?"

The older man gave the group a smile and nodded as they turned and left the room.

"If ya don't mind having an old geezer like me around, then by all means. Reckon we should either go back to my office or use one of the meeting rooms. Then maybe you'll be willing to tell me more about yer family. I haven't met any of yer other partners, right?"

Simone grinned at the older man and gestured to the four women. "Actually, you have. Everyone here is a part of Team Valiant."

Karstaedt's eyebrows climbed almost to his hairline as he gave Rayne an appraising look. "Well damn Doc, you sure have excellent taste in women. A real bevy of beauties."

Rayne smiled, his expression turning playful. "All of whom should normally be considered highly intelligent, except when it comes to having chosen me. I hardly deserve them, but I'm very happy they did." He pointed at each of them in turn, laughing at their growing anger. "And now, they're all stuck with the likes of me. So, I can only say that I'm the winner here."

Karstaedt laughed. "So it'd seem."

--

Lunch wasn't extravagant. A simple meal from one of Melbourne's many take-out places and some light conversation. It was after lunch that the real fun began. Stella and Hasumi took only a few minutes to confirm that the serum was working as advertised, so Trish had made a call. Within an hour, a task force had arrived, ready to bring everyone in the facility onboard. Karstaedt had been astounded at the speed, but Ray explained that time was of the essence, and they weren't taking the risk of something leaking because they delayed it and accidentally said something in earshot of someone else.

The plant workers were confused, but after a brief explanation, they all signed the documentation. They were not, however, prepared for the revelations afterwards. They had hundreds of questions, and much of the afternoon was lost in answering. People were understandably angry, but when they were informed as to how long Australia had known about the solution, they began to calm down.

"We need you to understand that your silence right now is imperative." Ray stood before the assembled crowd, watching carefully as he spoke. "As you've been told, we're here to manufacture the serum. We've told you the restrictions, and we've told you the intended timeline. We can't have people breaking down hospital doors to get to a vaccine that isn't actually available in enough quantity to help everyone. It would cause chaos. Riots. Deaths from this pandemic that are now almost preventable."

"What about all those children? The teenagers. Did they die because whoever made this was slow? Did we lose an entire generation to someone's ineptitude?" The voice from the crowd wasn't loud, but in the utter silence it carried and dug its way into Ray's heart. It was something he'd looked into, and he'd not liked the answer.

"No. As it turns out, DuoHalo was utterly lethal to anyone in that age bracket...as is the serum. In the same way it is not able to be given directly to men, it is also not able to be administered to those within that specific age bracket. Even if we'd had the serum from the very beginning, those individuals were beyond our ability to save. We're still trying. We're still making every effort to understand the serum and make changes, to limit the...eccentricity of it."

"What about those children who are going to enter puberty? What happens to them?" That same voice, now choked with emotion, came back.

"There's some good news there. They're safe. Any child currently alive is most likely already immune to DuoHalo and will carry that immunity with them throughout their life. They will not need the serum, though it won't hurt them if administered in the appropriate manner. We have all felt the effects of this pandemic. Some more than others." Rayne paused, having found the man in the crowd who had spoken. He met the man's gaze, not surprised in the least to see the tears streaming down his face. "Sir, I'm sorry for your loss. I don't know who, but I also don't know how to say it any better than that. But believe me when I say that I know words simply aren't adequate. But we have hope. Those that are young are safe. Those unborn, from what I know, are safe as well. After vaccination, the protection extends to them and they will be born immune. That's something we will test extensively once we have the opportunity, but what we know is from the reports we have been given. We will bounce back from this tragedy. I understand that it might be a cold comfort, but it's what I have...It's the legacy I have to live by."

The man stared back at him, expression shifting between despair and understanding for a few moments, before he nodded and sobbed; heavy, wracking sobs that carried the utter weight of his grief. Ray could only watch as the man broke down, his heart twisting at the sight. Others, too, were teary-eyed, and it was all he could do to close out his speech without collapsing into tears himself. He briefly had a vision of another young woman, wailing three names; her husband and children's names, as she curled into herself on the cold ground. A letter, delivered to his condo later. The emptiness that followed.

"I...I want everyone here to remember that we're doing this to protect our homes. Our futures. Please keep this quiet for now. Remember that we're not hiding the vaccine in order to gatekeep it. We're keeping it quiet until we have enough ready that everyone can be given it in a timely manner. So, we can maximise our coverage while minimising collateral damage. Thank you, for what you're doing. You are among the front line of those fighting to keep Australia safe and put her back together. With your help, we can prevent any more senseless loss of life. We've suffered long enough for a mistake that wasn't ours. T-Thank you."

It was too much.

Ray couldn't take it anymore and strode off the platform, pausing only long enough to tell the girls to get him when they were ready to go home. He locked himself into a bathroom stall and just stared at the wall until Trish knocked on the door to let him know they were ready to go. He got up to follow, but his mind was far, far away.

--

Saegusa Residence, Richmond, Victoria, Australia - October 26, 2020 - 5:30 PM AEDT

--

"How's he doing?" Simone spoke up as Stella returned to the kitchen table where the others were sitting. They had returned from the lab a little over an hour ago, but Rayne had just asked Hasumi to use the study and had locked himself in.

"I can hear him. I think he's talking to some of his friends, but I can't tell what about." Stella looked back at the others and felt a sense of calm come over her. She'd only known Simone and Trish for a few days, but they were wonderful girls and treated her so well. As for Hasumi, well, she adored Sumi. She was wonderful and friendly and Stella knew she adored Ray. And in all their years as friends, she'd never pushed the boundaries. Never treated Stella as an obstacle. They'd become friends and close friends, at that.

It was like an epiphany. These girls won't hurt me. They're in the same position as I am. It was almost like the realisation broke something free in her head, because the headache that had been building began to dissipate.

"Girls, thank you. I know I've been difficult, what with my insecurities. It's strange. I look at all of you, and before, I would have seen a group of beautiful women that I'd be scared would take Ray away from me...but right now...I can't feel any of that fear. I look at you and see friends. Sisters. Simone, you said it earlier, we're all his, and I think I'm really ok with that now."

Simone laughed and gave Stella a beaming smile before kissing the other woman on the cheek as Stella sat. "His sluts, yeah, babe. And you're his Chief slut. First slut? Sluttiest among equals? Damn, those all sound terrible. I vote we figure out something to call you, but that can wait."

Hasumi smiled and said nothing, simply standing up and embracing Stella. Trish smiled and let her gaze flicker back towards the hallway. "We're in this together. I don't want to throw the 'L' word around so readily, but he's really easy to like, as are all of you, so that word is getting closer and closer to the tip of my tongue. But right now, I'm worried about him. That Q and A from before really rattled his cage, but I don't have enough background to understand the specifics of why."

Stella fixed her gaze on the table as she searched for the right words. "I suppose...I need to talk about what set him off. Though in saying that, I only know about half of it."

--

When they had returned home, Rayne immediately shut himself away in Hasumi's study. The question about losing children had hit close to home. Naturally, he didn't have any children of his own, nor any nieces or nephews...yet. But one of his best friends, another friend from his school days, had.

Stefano R. Scarpelli, "Scrappy", to his mates, had been one of the nerds. Though he was a couple of years older, he and Ray had done the same STEM units, and Ray had requested a tutor as some concepts had been eluding him. The tutor turned out to be Scrappy, and they'd gotten along like a house on fire after that first meeting. Within a week, they were fast friends. Once he had been introduced to Ray's other friends, it was as if he'd always been there.

It had actually been Ray that had encouraged Scrappy to ask out his classmate, Jenny; the woman who would eventually become his wife. They'd married right out of high school, but they'd been one of those couples you just knew were going to work out. The presence of the toddlers didn't hurt things at all, either. Twins. Pregnancy at sixteen had certainly been an accident, but a happy accident and Scrappy and Jenny had been more than ready to take responsibility. Their parents, though not altogether pleased, had approved of Scrappy's willingness to do the right thing. They had, however, insisted that the couple do their degrees, and both sets of parents had helped with the twins until that point. Scrappy had achieved his dreams, becoming an aeronautical engineer, and Jenny had landed a job as a forensic accountant.

For twelve and a half years, it had been a fairytale marriage. At least, until March 2020.

Jenny had been away for work in Sydney and had learned that things were going to be locked down, so she'd hastened home. It was a little under two weeks later that she'd begun to feel ill. Jenny isolated herself, but the damage was done. Scrappy and the kids could only watch as his wife; the children's mother, wasted away, her internal organs succumbing one by one.

It was barely two days after their mother's hospitalisation that the elder of the twins collapsed. Her younger brother followed only minutes later, and Scrappy panicked. When their mother had become sick, he had started to do some real research on the plague. While what he'd learned hadn't been sunshine and roses, he had been hopeful when he'd learned Jenny was likely to survive. Then he'd come across the words that threatened to send him into a tailspin.

Kill Zone.

When his daughter started coughing uncontrollably, he knew instantly what had happened to his children and rushed back to the hospital. The doctors had taken just one look before their expressions had shut down and the children had been taken to an isolation ward in the ICU, leaving Scrappy with nothing but despair and solitude.

Ray had been at the sidelines, in constant contact with his friend, but unable to do much to help directly. The restrictions and Scrappy's own refusals saw him kept at arm's length. Ray did what he could though, sending food and organising supplies, but when he heard next to nothing from his friend for nearly a full day, he called it in.

Ray would have given anything to have been wrong. To have just called in a false alarm.

The hospital called him the next day. Rayne was beyond horrified to learn that his friend and the children had succumbed to DuoHalo overnight. As it turned out, Scrappy had been hiding his deterioration, outwardly displaying strength for the sake of his family. He had known he was doomed, though, and had left instructions with the hospital that Rayne was to be informed immediately, though his wife was only to be told once she recovered. His wife hadn't seen him in person in several days since she was in an isolation ward herself.

Protecting her from the knowledge while she convalesced was a sensible course of action. When he'd called Jenny to check in, he'd been trying his best to keep the news from leaking into his expression. He'd told her that Scrappy and the kids were resting. It had been a busy weekend, preparing this and that for when she was released. All of it was true...to a point. Ray had been busy, organising the burial. It was done, as medical professionals had insisted on cremation immediately, and Ray had no choice in the matter. He had subsequently buried them in their family plot. The house had been cleaned, challenging as that was wearing a hazard suit. He truly thought he'd had at least some measure of success. He was just dreading telling her the truth.

Jenny, it turned out, was a better actress than he would ever be, as she gave him a small smile and said she was looking forward to seeing her family. Rayne suspected nothing, but the smile unnerved him. She had just been moved to a regular room, though she was still several days from being released.

His fears were once again founded when the hospital called him at 2AM, panicked that she'd disappeared.

Rayne knew where she'd be. There was only one place she'd go.

He ran through the graveyard, the light mist making it just aggravating enough that he had to slow down to not slip on the cobble path. Still, he could hear her wails. The heart-rending sobs of a broken woman from his destination. As he reached the grave, he had a sinking suspicion and knew it was too late. He'd told the hospital to send an ambulance, but they'd never make it in time. Jenny had heard him coming, but never turned as she spoke.

"Thank you for taking care of them, Ray. Stefano and the kids loved you. If you have any messages for them, let me know. I'm going to meet them now. Like I said, I've been looking forward to seeing my family."

"Jen, don't do this. This isn't right. None of them would want this for you. Please stop." Rayne approached slowly, trying not to set her off, but her head whipped around and there was true madness in her eyes. There was a scent in the air that was somewhat out of place. Familiar, but alien nevertheless.

"No, Ray. This is my fault. I brought death home with me. Brought it to my children. Brought it to the love of my life. It was me!" She screamed the last word, her hands moving erratically, though he couldn't see them clearly from his angle. The scent grew stronger, and Ray thought it was metal, but dismissed it. There was plenty of it around. Brass statues, grave plates and the like. The misting rain was messing with his sense of smell.

"Jenny, it isn't your fault. You couldn't know you had it. You had no idea. None of us did. Scrappy wouldn't want this for you. He'd never blame you."

Her wails reached fever pitch again as she cried. "Stefano is gone, Rayne! My children are gone! Maria and Max are gone! I brought it with me! I lived because they died! I...paid for my life with their blood! Now I have to share mine with them." She seemed to have a moment of clarity, meeting his gaze with her own desperate stare, but it passed and her eyes returned to their unfocused state and she looked through him once more. "You...you need to fix this. Help...children... Help... parents... not suffer. Find... a cure... Promise... me... You... can't... give up... I... I'm... coming, my... darlings..."

Her eyes began to glaze over and Ray circled around her, getting closer. What he saw nearly made him throw up. The metallic smell made sense now. Blood. Blood in quantities that only belonged in a body or a blood bank. He really was too late. He had no idea what kind of painkillers Jen must have been on, because the sight he was seeing should have been painful beyond words.

The grieving woman had slashed both her wrists.

She'd clearly stolen a scalpel from the hospital, because it was discarded, glinting in the light of his flashlight. No, what really caught his eye was the growing puddle of blood gushing from the woman in front of him. She'd slashed herself open, her lifeblood spilling out onto the ground before the grave. How she hadn't slipped into shock already was beyond his comprehension.

The woman let out one final wail, crying out her family's names, curling up on the cold ground, her body going still. An image that would haunt him forever.

"Oh God. Jen!" He heard others making their way in his direction and raised his voice screaming for help.