Eugene Sulke was reading when there was a knock at his door. It was just a plain old knock, so he was nervous. He got the gun Armstrong gave him and slipped off the safety. “Who is it?”
“My name is Sandra. I’m with the two doctors that arrived a little while ago. Are you Phillip Mulligan?”
Phillip Mulligan? He opened the door slowly and saw a woman, around forty-five, attractive, with light brown hair; curly, and extended down to the middle of her back. Her hazel eyes were bright, and she was dressed in a grey skirt and white blouse. There was a certain familiarity about her, but he wasn’t sure why. He could see her eyes were fixated on the gun he still carried. “Oh, I’m sorry. We’re supposed to carry it unless we hear the special knock.”
“Are you Phillip? Pamela told me you had this room?” Eugene just stared at her.
“May I come in? I promise I’m not dangerous.”
“Oh, yes, I’m sorry. Please.” He motioned for her to come in and then put the gun away.
They began talking, and Sandra mentioned Fernando. “I used to know a Fernando,” Eugene said. “He was in Joliet when I was in prison. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyway, he was my cellmate. He talked about how he lost his wife to the camp.”
“Wait! You were in Joliet prison? When?”
“A few months ago. I was let out by a man who I thought was my best friend. It turned out he just let me out so I could be tortured in this brain probe place called—”
“Hell House.”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“I’ve only just figured it out myself. I went through it. I believe I am the wife your Fernando talked about. I was in Joliet prison too. I’m still not sure for what. I believe it was for extortion, but I don’t believe that.”
Eugene grabbed a bottle of wine from his stash and poured it into a couple glasses.
“That’s what Fernando told me he was in for too. He took out a loan from his employer and couldn’t pay it back. Fernando said that’s what happened to you too. You couldn’t pay back a loan, so when you ran off they charged you with extortion. You were jailed and Fernando was sent home. Then he said that you came to him a few months later with divorce papers, and your lawyer told him he had to sign them. He only did it when you yelled at him to sign those papers. He knew you went through what he called ‘the camps’.”
“Those were images I had, but I couldn’t quite remember why I did that. My memories of Fernando were all so sweet. I know that I loved him, but then those memories were all taken away from me. All I could remember was falling in love with Jaydan Casimir, the Commandant of the Lightning Squad. The problem is that I never felt anything for him, and he’s so much older than I. I couldn’t figure out what I had seen in him until my dreams started.”
“Dreams?”
“Yes, didn’t you have them? They stuck you in Hell House too. That’s why I came here.”
“Yes, but I was rescued after three days. I have a vivid memory of that terrible brain probe. So you started to remember through dreaming about it?”
Sandy filled Eugene in on the dreams, the visions, her research; and how she came to realize that it was only the brain probe that made her think she had always loved Jaydan, and that Fernando was such a terrible husband.
“You said you didn’t remember Fernando, but then you said they made you hate him.”
“I think they made me hate him to convince him to sign the divorce papers. Then they must have taken all memory of him away. You were with him in prison. Oh, please, Phillip, tell me about him.”
They were interrupted by a loud noise, a crashing sound, and then the sound of gunfire from next door.
Sandy screamed. “What’s that?” she said in a panicked manner. “What’s happening out there?”
“I think the Hogs came back.”
She flashed a questioning look at him. “Don’t say anything more, Sandra. We must remain quiet until we get the all-clear. All the people we’re with are experts. They’ll deal with the problem.”
Eugene stood by the door, trying to listen to what was going on outside.
“Foote,” Armstrong said over the phone. “What’s happening?”
“All I know is that the Hogs drove the van around to your side, but parked it close to the building so I couldn’t see too well, and then, when me and Wrenn moved close to the edge to get a better view, we got shot at by someone near one of the parked vehicles. They missed us, but they got Bones.”
Armstrong’s heart dropped. “What’s his condition?”
“It doesn’t look good. He’s not moving.”
Armstrong hesitated, composing himself. “What was the crashing noise?”
“Four of them busted Pamela’s door down. She shot at one, but I don’t know if she killed any. They grabbed her. I don’t know her situation since they secured the broken door.”
“Try and get that sniper on the ground, will you?”
“He’s pretty well hidden, but maybe we can draw him out.”
“Stay on him.”
Chad walked to the door and opened it; then yelled out, “What are your terms?”
“Who am I talking to?” shouted a voice from the adjacent room.
“The name’s Armstrong. Is this Colderon?”
“Armstrong? I remember you,” he said with a smile. “You working with Ray O’Reilly?”
“I remember you too. We used to fight on the same side. I guessed that’s all changed.”
“Where is Piggy? I saw you shoot him.”
“He’s fine. We have him tied up. Do you want him?”
“What are your terms?”
“We give him back to you, and you leave without Pamela.”
“Can’t do that, Armstrong. I came for Sulke. Guess I got the wrong room. Here’s my terms. Give me Sulke and Piggy, and I’ll give you back Piper. We’ll leave then, and you are free to go about your business.”
“Let me think about it.”
“Think fast. You got fifteen minutes.”
Piggy had been interrogated by Dr. Schmidt. They gave him a sedative so Ray could carry him to Dr. Schmidt’s room. They had him strapped to a gurney. Before each session he was given a chemical that made him relax, and then a truth serum, but Piggy was stubborn. Schmidt was beginning to believe he really didn’t know anything, but Grifton wanted to increase the dosage and try it once more. Schmidt did so.
“What is the plan?” Dr. Schmidt said.
“I don’t know,” Piggy said, in a sleepy manner.
“Who do you want?”
“Sulke.”
The two doctors just looked at each other. It was the first positive answer they had gotten. Piggy started to drop off and Schmidt gave him a shot of adrenaline.
“What about Sulke?” Dr. Schmidt asked.
“Have to kill him.”
“Who else?”
Piggy then smiled. He looked up at Schmidt. “All of you.”
Schmidt called Armstrong and let him know what Piggy confessed. Armstrong thought a minute.
Colderon yelled out. “Five minutes.”
“All right, here’s the plan,” Armstrong said. “Ray and Cassandra—go get Piggy and start him in my direction. Then, using Piggy as a shield, duck behind my truck. The Hog outside prevents us from doing anything. Find him and shoot him. If you can’t do that, then flush him out, where Foote or Wrenn can get a bead on him. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Ray and Cassandra went to get Piggy. He was wobbly and couldn’t walk without assistance. Because of Piggy’s size, only Ray could walk him along while Cassandra kept a gun in Piggy’s back. When they got to Armstrong’s door, Chad grabbed him around the neck, holding a knife to him. He moved over to Colderon’s door. “Where’s Piper?”