Page 38 of Creature
But Harry didn’t seem comforted. He peeredworriedly at John’s injuries and tenderly swept the hair fromJohn’s eyes.
“What’s happening here,boy?” Townsend had holstered his gun and marched over. He glareddown at them like an avenging angel.
With another quick touch to John’s forehead,Harry stood, placing himself between Townsend and John. If heremembered his nudity, he seemed unbothered by it. “Don’t touchhim. Don’t you dare hurt him.”
Townsend narrowed his eyes but didn’t argue.Instead he gestured impatiently at the other agents, who put theirguns away. Two of them knelt over Swan’s corpse, while the thirdbegan a walking survey of the lab.
“What are you doing here?”Harry demanded.
“We followed you, ofcourse. Do you think we’d let an untrained kid do an importantmission unsupervised? We’ve been waiting outside for hours,wondering what the hell was going on. We broke in when we heardscreams.” He crossed his arms. “Now you tellmewhat happened here.”
Harry lifted his chin. “Swan drugged me, Ithink. Tied me up on that table. He was going to….” He shuddered.“Torture me. Murder me. Use me for his experiments. John brokeloose from his chains and stopped him. He saved my life.”
“John.” Townsend lookedthoughtful and then seemed to reach a decision. He turned towardthe agents still examining Swan’s body. “Clark! Call in the crew.Have them bag up everything and take it away. Call the PortlandPolice Bureau and let them know they have one fewer problem ontheir hands.” He swiveled back. “You come with me,Lowe.”
“Not withoutJohn.”
“Fine.”
Harry had to help John stand, and then Johnslung an arm over his shoulders so Harry could help him walk out ofthe lab, through the office, and up the stairs. A harried-lookingagent met them there. He handed Harry a coat, but Harry refused tobudge unless John got clothing too. He also demanded a first-aidkit. Townsend waited impatiently while Harry clumsily bandagedJohn’s wounds and helped him into a pair of trousers that hadlikely belonged to Swan.
“You see?” John whisperedto him. “They were watching us. We couldn’t have run.”
Harry answered loudly, clearly wantingTownsend to hear. “I don’t care. The only way they’re getting theirclaws into you is over my dead body.”
“I don’t want you todie.”
“Me either. But dammit,you’re worth whatever I have to do.”
Despite the wounds, despite the uncertaintyas to their fates, John felt warm and happy. Harry found himvaluable. In all his most imaginative fantasies while locked in thecell, John had never hoped for anything so wonderful.
***
They rode in the back of a big car whileTownsend drove. Harry kept an arm wrapped around John as if toinsulate him from bumps in the road. They went only about two milesbefore Townsend stopped in front of what appeared to be an emptystorefront. Although the windows were papered over, new furniturefilled the inside.
Harry and John were allowed to wash up inthe bathroom, and John was relieved to clean Swan’s blood away. Adoctor came to examine Harry and declared him fine, apart from someminor cuts and contusions where he’d struggled against his bonds.It wasn’t necessary for the doctor to look at John’s wounds, whichhad already begun to heal.
Someone had evidently visited Harry’s rentedhouse, since an agent handed them familiar clothing. Anotherbrought Harry a thick sandwich and a bottle of Coke.
John and Harry sat side by side inuncomfortable office chairs while Townsend faced them across a deskand asked Harry question after question, often repeating himself orposing the same query in different ways, as if trying to catchHarry in a lie. But Harry did not lie, not even when he slumpedfrom exhaustion and slurred his words.
Townsend, apparently indefatigable, finallytook pity on him. “Unless you have something else to add, we’redone for now.”
“I don’t have anythingelse.”
“All right. Look, kid, Ineed to tell you something. About that job we talked about with theBureau—”
“I’m not Bureau material.I know.”
Townsend cut his eyes toward John. “It’slike I said before. You’re too soft. A Bureau man has to makeeverything secondary to the mission—and you can’t do that, canyou?”
“Some things are moreimportant than any mission.” Harry took John’s hand.
In the past, when John had simply glanced atTownsend, he assumed him to be an ordinary man—middle-aged,overweight, prone to too much smoking and drinking. But now as hetruly focused, he saw that Townsend was something else entirely.Dangerous. Cunning. And perhaps not entirely human.
Townsend had ignored John up to this point,but now he shifted his attention. “Who came up with your name?”
“I did.”
