Free Joe Pitt 2 - No Dominion by Charlie Huston Page B

else.
    --The Vyrus can't survive outside a living body.
    The Count stays focused on what he's doing, inserting the needle of one of the sterile
     syringes into the IV valve on the hose.
    --If you say so.
    --The Vyrus dies outside a human host.
    Poncho and Pigtails are sitting on either side of PJs, who is reclining on the remaining
     beanbag. She has her sleeve rolled up and Poncho is swabbing her arm as Pigtails holds a
     piece of rubber surgical tubing at the ready.
    The Count draws the corrupted blood from the hose into the syringe.
    --So?
    --The Vyrus is alive in that.
    He pulls the syringe free, holds it upright and gently taps an air bubble to the top.
    --That's kind of the point.
    He presses slightly on the plunger and blood squirts out of the needle and dribbles down
     its length. He takes a cotton ball from the coffee tray and wipes the dribble away.
    The dribble emits a thick stink of Vyrus. PJs moans in response, her eyes fixed on the
     needle as The Count kneels between her spread legs.
    --OK, baby?
    She nods, breath short.
    He puts the tip of his index finger to the tip of her upturned nose.
    --Here we go.
    Pigtails ties off PJs' arm with the tubing and slaps a vein to the surface. It's a nice
     dark vein, thick and purple under her pale skin. He braces the vein with his thumb and
     slides the needle in.
    A bead of PJs' own blood rises to the surface of her skin. She squeals softly from the
     back of her throat. The Count presses the plunger, forcing the poison into her vein.
     Poncho holds PJs' head between her hands. The syringe empty, the Count draws it free,
     places a cotton ball over the hole in PJs' arm, and releases the tubing. Instantly, PJs
     jerks. Pigtails leans over her and grabs hold of both her arms. The Count places the used
     syringe back on the coffee tray and wraps his fingers around her legs just below the
     knees. PJs shivers, her mouth goes wide, the sound in her throat grows louder. She starts
     to tremor and the three of them hold her limbs and head firmly as she shakes. The sound
     rises in pitch, peaks, stops, her eyes roll back in her head and her muscles go limp. The
     Count and Pigtails release her and Poncho strokes her cheek and kisses her brow.
    Pigtails claps.
    --Now me!
    --How does it work?
    --Really, really well.
    --Not what I meant.
    --I know.
    The girls have all had theirs, Pigtails shaking only the slightest bit and Poncho not at
     all. The three of them are sprawled on the thick, white synthetic fur rug next to the
     couch. An occasional moan comes from their lips, a muscle twitching here or there, as they
     stare blindly at the ceiling.
    The Count goes from one to the other, checking their pulses. Satisfied, he looks at me.
    --What do you know about blood?
    --It tastes good.
    He starts stripping the paper from the last syringe.
    --What do you know about the Vyrus?
    --It tastes bad.
    He rolls up his sleeve.
    --Yeah, that's what I hear. OK, so I'm pre-med, yeah? But that doesn't really mean shit.
     All it means is that pops is a doctor and he and moms want me to be a doctor and I scored
     well on my SATs and went to the right prep school and got into Columbia and declared
     myself a biology major and I'm taking the classes I'm supposed to. But that doesn't mean
     I'm very good at it or anything.
    --I'll take your word for it.
    --You should, bro, you should. So, I got what you said. I heard the same thing, the Vyrus
     can't survive outside a body.
    He picks up the IV bag, still more than half full.
    --But here it is.
    He holds the bag close to his nose, an expression on his face like a man smelling a piece
     of really stinky cheese.
    --And it's alive in there.
    --How?
    --Don't know. But it doesn't last.
    He fits the needle to the valve.
    --We get the stuff and we need to hit it right away. When the Vyrus in there dies, it's
     over. So you do the math, process of elimination and all, and you know where the high
     lives. It lives in the Vyrus.
    He draws