As Feng readied the syringe, the needle was only an inch from the vein, and he looked up at Alice's face. "Sometimes you talk like you're this Tomikins guy, and sometimes like yourself. You really are crazy."
"You wouldn't understand unless you were infected. Stick me."
Feng held his breath, then jammed the needle into Alice's vein. He quickly pulled back on the syringe pump, relieved to see dark red fluid fill the plastic vial. He finished, pulled out the needle, and then replaced the plastic cover. He put the whole thing in his right pocket. He put a bandage on her arm to stop the bleeding.
"Done," he said, finally taking in a huge breath like he'd just surfaced after diving for oysters.
"That blood will never see the light of day; you understand that, right? The only way you will leave this mountain is by giving it up."