Ed Villein's Arc

Chapter 5 of 12

Ed drives past his old property line and keeps going another two miles before he turns onto a dirt track that leads to an abandoned barn. The building sits at the edge of what used to be the Morrison place, empty for six years now since the bank took it. He parks behind the structure where the truck can't be seen from the road. The barn still has three walls standing and enough roof to keep the rain off. He carries in the metal case he bought from a medical supply store in the next county over, paying cash and giving a fake name. Inside are syringes marked in milliliters and glass tubes with rubber stoppers. He sets up on a workbench made from an old door laid across rusted equipment. From his truck he brings a plastic jug of water and a metal basin he found at a yard sale. He fills the basin and sets it on the concrete base of what used to be a wash station, the kind farmers used to rinse tools. The hose is long gone but the frame still holds. He practices drawing water from the jug with the largest syringe, trying to keep his hands steady. The first three attempts shake too much. The fourth time he manages to pull exactly ten milliliters without air bubbles. He empties it into the basin and tries again. By the time the sun drops below the barn's roofline, he's filled and emptied the syringes forty-seven times. His hands have stopped shaking. He can draw a measured dose in under four seconds now, cap the syringe, and set it down without spilling a drop. He pours the water from the basin over his hands, scrubbing them with a brush until the skin turns pink. The chemical won't be water. It'll be thicker, more dangerous. But the motions are the same—draw, measure, cap, contain. He packs the case and carries it back to the truck. His hands still smell like the soap he used, clean enough that he can't detect anything else on them. Eighteen days left before the retirement party. He knows how to handle the tools now. The next step is getting them inside the building and close enough to the coffee bar to use them.