Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome #1)(79)

“All right. I’ve heard a couple of rumblings about folks wanting to separate into two communities, one for Scorpius survivors and one for the uninfected. How serious is it?” Jax asked.

“Not so much yet, because mainly nobody knows who’s been infected and who has not.” Tace shrugged. “That’s a worry for another day, if you ask me.”

Jax nodded. “Agreed. Is that it for your report?”

“No. We have several cases of what my doctors think are just colds, ten still wounded by the Twenty attack, and one pregnancy.”

Jax’s head jerked up. “Who’s pregnant?”

“Jill Sanderson,” Tace replied.

Jax frowned. “Which one is she?”

Tace’s lips turned down. “You should know that, leader. She’s sixteen and helps out with the orphans and the kitchen, very often in the headquarters kitchen right here.”

Jax went still. “Who knocked up a sixteen-year-old girl?”

Tace sighed. “A seventeen-year-old boy.”

“Well, fuck.” Jax scrubbed his whiskered jaw.

Lynne leaned forward, her heart beating faster. “Have either of them been infected with Scorpius?”

“I don’t think so,” Tace said, his gaze sharpening. “Why?”

Lynne swallowed. “We, ah, don’t know of any successful births since Scorpius spread.”

Jax sat back. “What?”

She nodded. “Any pregnant woman who contracted Scorpius died, as far as we could track.” She played idly with a pencil, her temples pounding. “Anybody becoming pregnant after surviving Scorpius lost the baby at some point . . . based on medical reports from all over the world.”

Sami shook her head. “But communications went down so quickly. There might be plenty of pregnant women out there due in a few months.”

Lynne nodded. “I know.” Scorpius had spread only six months before, so it was too early to really know if a recuperated woman could give birth. “The early results didn’t look good.”

Jax breathed out. “So you’re telling me Scorpius may kill us off no matter what.”

“Yes.” Sure, some folks hadn’t been infected, but the bacteria was strong and sturdy and would always be around. “Some of the research into vitamin B focused on successful births, and I’m hoping we find that at Myriad.”

“Your research just became more important than ever.” Jax glanced around. “For now, where are we on condoms?”

“Almost out.” Tace shrugged. “We’re almost out of all medical supplies. Hopefully we’ll find some on this mission.”

Lynne nodded. “We’re going into the heart of Century City, all workplaces and no residences, so it’s possible we’ll find supplies. When the fever hit, it all happened very quickly, and people flocked to their homes. Scavengers and Rippers haven’t been organized, so there are still many places untouched by humans after Scorpius spread.” Hopefully. She cleared her throat, her stomach aching. “Do either of the kids, the ones having the baby, have family here?”

Tace settled back in his chair. “No. Hardly anybody has family here.”

Made sense.

Jax twirled the marker in his hand. “Sami?”

Sami scratched her wrist. “April is doing a good job directing scavenging missions as well as providing some sort of organization for the civilians in Wyatt’s absence. She’s hurting but is throwing herself into action, which I guess helps.”

“She’s healing like the rest of us,” Tace said slowly. “Let’s keep her really busy.”

Sami nodded. “Little Lena is sticking close to her, and since they’ve already bonded, that seems to be helping, too. We’re low on food. Maybe six months’ supply left if we don’t find a way to replenish it.” She played with a chewed-up pencil on the table. “Morale is down. Way down. Wyatt was the counselor, the person everybody went to with problems or issues or just to talk.” She lifted her head, brown eyes burning. “You need to step in with some sort of reassurance.”

Jax blinked. “Reassurance? About what? We have Twenty regrouping now, two more radical groups in L.A. wanting our resources, the Elite Force on my ass, and a group population where some folks haven’t contracted Scorpius and many other people are carriers of it. What the fuck do you want me to tell them?”

“Anything,” Sami whispered, her gaze dropping. “Give them some sort of hope.”

Bewilderment filled Jax’s eyes along with a healthy dose of anger. “Hope about what?”

Lynne’s heart hurt. “If you have no hope, why do you fight so hard?”

Jax switched his powerful gaze to her. “Because there’s something to fight, and those people can’t survive on their own.”

Lynne blinked. If he didn’t know the people, why fight for them?

Jax slipped the marker in his pocket. “Wyatt?”

The room stilled. Pain, nearly palpable, filled the air. Jax cleared his throat. “Sorry. I meant Raze. Report.”

Raze’s stoic expression didn’t twitch. “Ammunitions are way down. We wasted too many rounds fighting Twenty, and the civilians need better training. Fuel is low, and it’s time to send scouts out with screwdrivers and gas cans.”