Roen realized that no matter what type of fieldwork he did, there was lots of waiting. After an hour-long car ride through morning traffic, they reached the hospital only to wait another thirty minutes before the dour-faced woman at the front desk called his name. There, they were escorted to the psychiatric ward holding room by a bored orderly, where they waited another twenty minutes before a young nurse in pink scrubs finally took them to Gregory’s room.
“Is this it?” Paula asked as they moved to the room labeled 3005.
Roen nodded. He moved his hand to the handle and slowly turned it. However, something stopped him from opening it. He froze, a wave of intense dread sweeping over him. Roen stood there immobile for several seconds. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
I am not sure if I can either.
Paula put her hand on his arm. “You all right?”
He didn’t answer. He kept on staring. This opened the way into a part of Tao’s past that he wasn’t ready to confront.
“Do what you have to do, Roen. I’ll stand watch outside.”
He glanced at her worried face once and then back at the door. Summoning what seemed an unnecessarily exorbitant amount of strength to finish turning the handle, he finally went inside and closed the door behind him.
Roen stood in a barren room barely larger than his closet at home. There was a small table and chair against a wall and a bed on the far end. An old looking man in a common green hospital gown sat in a wheelchair facing the wall. This must be Gregory. He made no sign that he heard Roen enter. Roen stood at the door, unsure if he should announce himself.
Moments passed; Gregory didn’t even twitch a finger. Roen had never seen a picture of him, but somehow felt an immediate kinship with him. Gregory had a faraway empty look as he stared forward. Roen grabbed the chair and scooted it closer to Gregory. The metal chair made a fingernail-to-chalkboard screeching noise as he dragged it along the tiles.
“Hello, brother,” Tao whispered in a hushed tone through Roen as he sat down.
Gregory didn’t respond.
Roen leaned over and caressed the other man on his forehead. He repeated Tao’s words the best he could, though much of it was so painful for him to say. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit as much as I liked. I see that the years haven’t been kind to you. You lost all your hair and you stopped working out.” He tried to chuckle as he spoke, but it came out as a sob. Gregory continued staring forward, still showing no signs of life. Roen bit his lips and continued. “You might not recognize me, but it’s Edward. Well, it’s not really Edward anymore, but it’s Tao. Can you hear me?”
Gregory gave no answer. A bubbling despair began to boil from Roen’s stomach and stopped short at his throat. While the man sitting before him was technically not his brother, the emotions he felt from Tao nearly overwhelmed him. A tear escaped his eye, and he found himself shaking. This was the man he was supposed to kill today. He was a Prophus agent. And now that Gregory was no longer of use to them, they wanted Roen to kill him. One day in the future, it could very well be Roen sitting here in a plain room of a psychiatric ward.
“I… I know what you’re thinking,” he managed. “I say I’m Tao, but I don’t look like Edward. Well, I have some bad news; Edward’s dead. I’m Tao’s new host. You know how it goes. The body dies, but the spirit lives on. Who would’ve thought that you’d live longer than Edward, huh? The world’s a crazy place. I’m Roen. I guess this makes us half-brothers in a way.”
Roen couldn’t stand sitting there any longer. He stood up and exhaled. Grabbing Gregory’s hand, Roen started shaking it desperately for any signs of life. The reality of the second part of the mission came crashing down on him as hard as any punch from Lin or Sonya. The very thought of euthanizing Gregory, even in this state, made Roen nauseous.
Tao sorted through his memories with Gregory and Edward. “Do you remember what happened when you felt Yol’s presence? You said it was like you just met your soul mate. Remember when I teased you about that? How I said now that you found your soul mate, you never had to leave the house again? I was proud when you joined the Prophus family. I hate what’s happened to you. That’s why I’m here, brother. The Prophus need Yol back badly. You need to wake up right now.”
His earpiece crackled and Sonya’s voice came over their secured frequency. “Paula, Roen, we need to bring you in right away! Intelligence just reported that one of the Genjix satellites altered course last night and moved over Ireland. It’s on a trajectory toward Dublin. You’ve been compromised. Secure Gregory and take him to the delta spot. Switch cars before you bring him back.”
Paula opened the door and ran in. “Did you get that, lad? Time’s up.”
Roen opened his mouth, dumbstruck. His memories of the Genjix from the night club returned as if it were yesterday. He stared at her, unsure of what to do. Paula drew her pistol. “Take the wheelchair,” she commanded. “We’re getting out of here now.”
“But I still need to check him out,” Roen protested. “They’ll think we’ve kidnapped him.”
“No time. If the Genjix have tracked us, they can take out both Yol and Tao in one attempt. We can’t let that happen. Take Gregory to the back entrance. I’ll get the car and rendezvous with you there. If anyone stops you along your way, take them out.”
Roen released the safety on his gun as Paula left the room. He put it in his jacket pocket. Nervously, he gripped the handle of the wheelchair and felt his heart racing. Roen tried to block out his fear as he pushed Gregory out the door and wheeled him down the hallway. The fact that Gregory’s life was in his hands gave him that extra amount of courage to focus on the task at hand.
The back ramp can take you to the first floor. Do not take the elevator; it might be watched.
“Was it the third or fourth door? I don’t remember. What if someone tries to stop me?”
The security guards here are armed. Talk your way through or knock them unconscious. Do not draw unless they fire first.
“Shouldn’t I shoot them before they get a chance to shoot me?”
Guards will not shoot on sight. Genjix will.
“Well, getting shot at first is a lousy way to find out.”
Shooting an innocent guard is even worse. Turn right here and take the third door on your left. Take the ramp down. There should be a double door at the far end.
Roen obeyed and pushed Gregory down the hall as fast as he could, almost tipping the wheelchair over a few times in his haste. He burst through the double doors, looking frantically for the car. They were in a large gravel lot with only a few parked cars, nowhere near enough cover. Paula was nowhere to be seen.
Gritting his teeth, he rounded the corner and came face to face with a menacing-looking man in black. Roen immediately knew it must be a Genjix agent, not so much because the man dressed like he was a card-carrying member of the assassins’ guild, but because the man was pointing an assault rifle at his face.
Roen blinked, frozen in surprise for a split second, and then dived to the side, tipping the wheelchair over and dragging Gregory down too. Bullets flew overhead, hitting the wall just behind them. Panicking, he tugged at his gun in his jacket, only to fumble as it came out. He stared in horror as the assassin lowered the rifle straight at his head.
Cut the knee. Use the gravel. An image of a gladiator fight appeared in his head. Whoever he was at the time grabbed a handful of sand.
Roen’s training kicked in every time Tao gave orders. He grabbed a fistful of gravel and threw it into the face of the Genjix agent. Then as the man was distracted, Roen kicked out and swept him at the ankle. The Genjix agent tumbled to the ground. Roen picked up his FN Five-seven and put two slugs into the man’s chest. Hands shaking, Roen let his pistol slip from his grasp and crawled over to the fallen man. His eyes were wide open and lifeless. Roen reeled backward in shock, falling onto his butt. He couldn’t tear his eyes from that blank dead stare.