Outer Banks by Anson Barber

security. I have a guard on the inside who reports back information, but he’s unwilling to get involved beyond that. He attempted to tell her I was trying to get her out, but both times she’s attacked him. Not that she would believe him if he did get the chance to explain.”
    â€œWhy’s that?”
    â€œShe doesn’t know I’m alive. I lived in LA, but I was visiting a…friend in Palm Springs the evening of the first attack. My wife was home, however. She’s gone.”
    â€œI see.” I didn’t need sleep to read between those lines.
    â€œI tried to find Emery after the war. I thought she was dead as well, but by the time I found out she had survived as one of the infected it was too late. She was already detained.”
    â€œDid she turn herself in?” Some had. They thought they would be first in line for the cure. Others got tricked, picked up when they showed up at a clinic for blood.
    â€œYes, I believe so.”
    â€œHow did she end up detained at the Outer Banks facility?” There was a private resort in the Keys for the rich and famous Haunts. Surely Mr. Limo here could have got her a great place.
    â€œHer fiancé, Trevor convinced her it would be easier to find a cure working at OBX. That’s why she turned herself in. She was going to work at the cure from inside, while he was going to work at it on the outside. She had made some headway, but then the military got anxious about the infected working on something this important and she was pushed out into general population. Trevor lost contact with her and didn’t know what to do. He just gave up. He doesn’t believe she should be removed, however. He wants to do the right thing, but he doesn’t understand the right thing is different for a father.”
    â€œI’m not a father either,” I pointed out.
    â€œWhat about the right thing for the greater good? Forget that she’s my daughter. What if I told you she had the potential to save everyone if she were given the resources? Resources I can provide. Would you consider it?”
    â€œBut she is your daughter and your opinion is biased.”
    â€œPlease.” He wasn’t even close to giving up.
    â€œLook. I know someone who works at the lab at the Outer Banks facility. I could talk to her and maybe she could find your daughter and let her help—” He was already shaking his head at my compromise.
    â€œThey won’t allow it, no matter how qualified she is. Security concerns. That’s why I haven’t had her moved to Hatteras or drawn any extra attention to her. It would only make it harder for her to get out. Emmie needs the lab I’ve set up in California.”
    I walked over to the window, needing a moment if I had any hope of refusing him.
    â€œHave you ever heard of Zentricol?” he asked.
    â€œIt’s a medicine.” I knew that much.
    â€œYes. It’s a medicine used for the cure of heart defects in babies.” That would explain why I didn’t know more about it. “Emmie designed it. Her work has already saved countless lives. How many people will die if she’s kept from this, Mr. McAllister? What if you could have prevented it, but you didn’t because she was related to me?”
    This was the biggest guilt trip I’d had in a while. I sighed and rubbed my hand across my forehead.
    For the greater good? One small female could come out of quarantine to save the rest? Could she do it? Could I risk it? I thought it over for a long minute. Then I realized I was way too tired for thinking that long, and went with my gut.
    â€œA few conditions,” I finally said.
    â€œName it.”
    â€œI stay on site to guard her while she’s out. She gets three months. If she doesn’t come up with something, she goes back and you try to get her clearance through proper channels again.”
    â€œAgreed,” he said immediately, making me think he