He shook his head. “They’ve got plenty of lotion. They’ll change me back.”
“Sure they will,” said Susan. “They’ll be falling over themselves to rebuild their perfect enforcer, who couldn’t even stop a nineteen-year-old girl from escaping. If all those muscles aren’t helping you do your job, what makes you think they’re going to give them back?” She pointed the lotion bottle straight at his face, staring into his eyes as coldly as she could. “Give me the keys.”
His hand hovered over the gun on his belt. “I’ll kill you.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“You hit me with that stuff and I won’t have anything left to lose; I’ll jump right over this chair and beat you to death with your own legs.”
“Then give me the keys, and it will never come to that.”
He looked at her, waiting, thinking, then unclipped the key ring and tossed it; Susan caught it with her gooey, lotioned hand, almost dropping them as they slid through the ooze.
“Stay there,” she said.
He didn’t move. She backed up to the door, jangling the keys until she found the right one. “Stay there,” she said again.
He stayed, eyes seething with rage. Susan reached to the side, glancing at the door for just half a second, just barely long enough to aim the key, then shoved it in and turned it. The lock clicked open.
“Stay,” she said one more time. She opened the door, slipped into the hall, and pulled it closed behind her. He wouldn’t dare touch the knob, but she locked it anyway, leaving a smear of lotion on the handle.
“One of the girls is escaping!” the thug shouted, his voice a guttural roar. He banged on the wall, and Susan flinched. “Third floor! The blond girl! Somebody stop her!”
“Didn’t think he’d stay quiet,” Susan muttered, and looked around quickly. She didn’t know exactly where the front door was from here—she’d only been out of her room once—but she could hear movement to the right, so she jogged left. There was nothing around the corner but another short row of locked doors.
“She’s down there,” said a voice. She heard footsteps running toward her, raised her lotion bottle to the height of Larry’s face, and squeezed a huge glob of it right as the man rounded the corner. He stumbled back with a scream, clawing at the chemical sting in his eyes, and she jumped past him as he tripped and fell. Another Larry stood at the end of the hall, gun drawn, and Susan stopped short.
“Get down on the ground,” the Larry said.
The thug behind her groaned on the ground, wiping at his face. “She got it right in my eyes! I’m going blind!”
“He’s not just going blind,” said Susan, aiming the bottle. “I’ve left two genetic mutants in my wake so far this morning—you want to be the third?”
“That’s not ReBirth.”
“You want to take that chance? Do they tell you anything about us?” asked Susan, inching forward. “I’m one of the scientists who invented this stuff—I’ve seen firsthand what it can do. But look who I’m talking to—you guys have seen it, too. You’ve even used it, and you’ve seen it used on us. How many men did you start with, and how many of them have been turned into women?”
She could see his eyes flickering over her, glancing at the lotion on one hand and the bottle in the other.
“Arrrgh,” said the man on the floor, crouching on his hands and knees in obvious pain. “Somebody just kill her!”
“You can shoot me, or rush me, or whatever you want to do,” said Susan, “but sooner or later you’re going to have to touch me, and I am covered with this stuff.” She squeezed another blob onto her hand and smeared it across her face and arms. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get out of here—are you willing to do the same to stop me?”
The Larry hesitated, gritting his teeth as he considered the possibilities. He swore and shook his head. “What do you want?”
“Are you crazy?” shouted Locked-Up Larry; he was just behind the door. “Don’t let her go!”
“You already let her go!” Hallway Larry shouted back. “And for the same reason!”
“I’m not going to hurt anyone I don’t have to,” said Susan, “but if I do have to, I’ll make you wish you’d never heard of ReBirth.”
Larry jerked his chin toward the lotion bottle in her hand. “Who is it?”
“Does it matter?”
He watched her, then shook his head and shrugged. “What do you want?”
“Just let me out.” She pointed at the locked door to her old cell. “I’ve got Locked-Up Larry’s keys, and I assume there’s a car out there to go with them. I leave alive, you keep your DNA, everyone’s happy.”
“And you go straight to the police.”
Susan shrugged. “Probably. You’ll still have plenty of time to leave before any of them get here.”
He stared for another moment, then took a step backward. “Get out of here.”
The man on the floor screamed in anger. “You’re not going to let her get away!”
“You’ve already been hit with it,” said Larry, “I haven’t. You’d do exactly the same thing in my place.” He shook his head. “We’re not getting paid enough for this.” He backed away, through the hall and down the stairs, and Susan followed him carefully. He led her to the front door, opened it for her, and stepped back well out of reach as she went through it. She reached for the knob to close it behind her, but he stopped her with a motion of his hand. “Don’t touch anything.” He opened the door, let her out, and closed it behind her.
Susan jogged down the wide, ornate driveway toward the row of parked cars, fumbling with the key ring as she looked for a car remote. People were shouting in the house behind her, but she didn’t dare look back. Her fingers were too slick from lotion, and she dropped the keys; instantly she sank to her knees, discarded the lotion bottle, and used both hands to find the car remote and click the unlock button. A car chirped, but a loud crash from the house nearly drowned it out. Hurry! she shouted at herself, not daring to imagine the fight that must have started inside. She clicked the button again, and again and again and again, following the chirp to a sleek red sports car. She climbed inside, shrieking as a gunshot rang out behind her. She shoved the keys in the ignition, the car roared to life, and she tore out of the driveway like the fires of hell were behind her.
25
Monday, July 2
11:08 P.M.
