Page 12 of Birds of a Feather

Though neither word formed a complete sentence, Lyla thought she understood the meaning well enough based off of Gabby’s tone. “Worms don’t usually flop, do they?” Gabby shook her head. “What the hell do you think it was?”

This time Gabby shrugged her shoulders. “Need. Tell Stone. Or security.”

Lyla took that to mean Gabby agreed that she needed to tell Agent Stone or campus security what she saw. It could be nothing, but it could mean the safety of Gabby—or others. Lyla briefly met Agent Stone when she first was rescued. He seemed nice enough. But he seemed kind of busy tracking. Maybe security could track the worm—or whatever it was—on the cameras.

“You coming?” Lyla asked Gabby as she stood up to leave and headed to the door, rolling her IV bag behind her. “We can’t let Dr. Grimm get you.”

Gabby looked cautiously at the door and bit her lip. Lyla could tell that the idea of leaving her room was unnerving.

“I’ll be right by your side,” she promised. “And I’ll do all the talking.”

Hesitantly, Gabby stood. “Okay.”

Lyla smiled. She led the way, feeling like she would have skipped if her cautious friend hadn’t been walking so slowly. She offered her hand to hold, and Gabby took it, lacing her fingers thorough hers. The nurses and doctors buzzed about down the hallway, weaving in and out of rooms. Some wore scrubs, others white lab coats; all of them looked busy. Not wanting to bother them, Lyla stopped at the nearest nurses’ station, where a man with red, curly hair stopped his typing on the computer long enough to glance up at Lyla.

“Can I help you?” The smile he offered didn’t quite reach his eyes, and Lyla could see he was stressed but still trying to be pleasant.

“Do you know if Agent Stone or the security guards are still around?”

“I haven’t seen them in a little bit. Sorry.”

Lyla did her best not to be disappointed or impatient. She couldn’t imagine the stress of working here. Though, in her opinion, it was far more stressful to be one of the patients. “Can we go find them?”

The nurse shook his head. “No one is allowed to leave the hospital wing without permission.”

Lyla bit her lip in a mix of frustration and worry. “But it’s really important.”

He sighed. “Even if you had permission to wander the campus, there’s no telling where Agent Stone is. He was hot on the trail of a scent when he walked past. The best I can do is send an email for you and he’ll get back to you when he can. I think all of security is doing a sweep of the perimeter.”

“Can’t wait.” Gabby spoke up, to Lyla’s surprise. She turned away from the nurse to look at her friend, who had a look of determination she’d yet to see on her face.

Lyla turned back to the nurse to elaborate. “Gabby and I have something important to tell them. It’s about the same thingGabby has talked to Agent Stone about—the break-in to her room. I think.” She glanced behind her at Gabby, and Gabby nodded.

“Okay, all right, one sec.” The nurse picked up his phone, looking at his computer screen before punching in an extension. After a few moments, he hung up and tried another set of numbers. After another minute, he put the receiver back in its cradle. “Agent Stone didn’t answer his office phone, and the directory doesn’t have his cell phone. I can send an email to let him know you need to talk to him urgently. I can message security as well. They didn’t answer there when I called either. They must be still out of the office checking the perimeter and left their walkie-talkies on the charger… again.”

“What about ASS Agent Sparks? She was working my case.” She briefly met the fiery ASS agent once and immediately liked her.

He clicked around on his computer. “She’s not in the directory. Is she on staff here?”

“Oh.” Lyla felt herself deflate. “No, I guess she’s not.” She blushed, remembering they were at a FUC facility and Agent Sparks worked for ASS. How could she forget such a detail after her run-in with Agent Lee earlier?

The nurse nodded sympathetically. “I’ll mention in the email that you’re looking for her too. Maybe Agent Stone knows how to get ahold of her. There, I just sent it. They’ll be down to talk to you when they can.”

“But—"

“I understand that this is important to you two, but that’s the best I can do for now while they are busy. As soon as they’re free, they'll touch base with you.” The nurse’s eyes softened with understanding.

Lyla bit her lip, holding back additional sass. The nurse was right. Even if it felt like an emergency to them, it didn’t mean they had immediate access to the agents.

“Are either of you in immediate trouble? I can page security to come up and talk to you now. One of them will have to briefly stop their check of the perimeter though.”

“No,” Gabby piped up again. “Stone. Please.”

The nurse nodded.

Lyla looked back at Gabby. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She said it with enough certainty that Lyla didn’t argue.

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