Chapter 4: The Encounter
     The five recently arrived thugs fired just as Wade, Rose, Sam, and Elizabeth were taking cover.  As fast as she could, Rose focused herself on the bullets.  Several of the shots hit the side of the van behind her, but most of them deflected sharply in midair and swarmed into a tight ball five feet in front of Rose.  They quickly slowed to a stop and fell to the ground.  While the goons rearmed, Wade quickly scanned the area to make sure the rest of the team was safe.
     He saw Elizabeth lying on the ground with three neat holes in her torso.
     “Sam!  She’s down, she’s down!  Quick, get in there!”
     Sam turned slightly.  He could feel that Elizabeth was somewhere behind him, and he could tell that she wasn’t moving.  Somewhere deep in his mind, a switch flipped.
     He ran towards the five assailants, his blades extended.  The cane flew from man to man removing heads and limbs with every swing.  Within seconds, the five men had been reduced to thirty struggling pieces and five piles of shredded clothing.  He ran back to where Elizabeth lay and ran his hand along her cheek.
     “Are you all right?  Are you all right?  Come on, say something!”
     “Yes, I’m fine, Sam.  I’m all right.”
     “Oh, thank God!”  He reached out and held her in his arms.  “Oh, thank God, Katie.  I was afraid I’d lost you.  Are you hurt at all, Katie?  Can you move your arms and legs?”
     “Elizabeth,” she said.
     “What?”
     She looked at him with a furrowed brow.  “My name is Elizabeth.”
     He was confused for a moment, then a sudden moment of realization came over his face.
     She looked at him one more time.  “Who’s Katie?”
     He put his hand on his forehead.  When he took it away again, Elizabeth could see that something was different about him.  Quickly, he passed his hand over her torso, closing the bullet holes.  He then got up and walked back towards the van.
     “Sam?” said Rose.  “Are you all right?”
     “We’ve got to leave.  More of them are bound to be on their way.  Come on, let’s go.”  He walked back on board the van and headed back to the dorm area.
     Elizabeth headed back to the van.  By the door, Wade and Rose were standing with each other staring at the pavement.  Rose had her hand over her mouth in shock, as if she had seen something she had never hoped to see again.
     “Guys?” said Elizabeth.  “What just happened there?”
     “Oh, God,” whispered Rose.  
     “Who is Katie?”
     “She’s – We’ll tell you on the way.  He is right, we have to get back to headquarters.  Get in.”
     They all piled back into the van.  Sam was sulking in the back, and Steve was sitting at his desk, perplexed.  “What happened out there?  Are you all okay?”
     “Physically, yes,” said Rose.
     “What do you mean, physically?  Is Sam okay?”
     “Elizabeth took a few rounds.  The suit saved her, but Sam…He called her Katie.”
     “Oh no,” said Steve.  
     “Guys, who is Katie?”
     “Dr. Peyton, please, we’ll talk later,” said Wade.  “Steve, get us moving.  Head south as fast as you can.  I’ll get us back to headquarters.”  Steve and Wade moved into the cab, and the van lurched forward.  
     The mobile laboratory sped out of Alexandria and into the desert.  Soon, there wasn’t a living soul within miles.  When Steve was satisfied that they were far away from prying eyes, he stopped the van in the middle of the highway.  Wade extended his hand towards the windshield, and a large doorway opened up in the middle of the road.  Steve drove the van through a short zone of white and into a large garage, where the van once again pulled to a stop.  As soon as the door was open, Sam rushed out of the van and headed hastily for his room.  Elizabeth and the others walked into a sitting room.  Elizabeth looked at the others expecting answers, but they just stared at the coffee table, with brief occasional glances at each other.
     “So?” she said.  “Can someone please tell me what’s going on?  What’s the matter with Sam, and who is Katie?”
     “Katie’s his wife,” said Wade.
     Steve lifted his face out of his hands and looked Elizabeth squarely in the eye.
     “His late wife.”