by R Arundel
Matthew’s progress is slow, but he is closer to the grate.
He looks at his watch—he has 7 minutes. The regular watch face seems to have disappeared, and only the countdown timer is displayed. Matthew watches the tenths of a second tick by quickly. The three repeating beeps have switched to a continuous tone. It is annoying. Sweat drips from his forehead. The room is ninety-two degrees.
He is only three feet from the grate, but the grate has been newly installed. The bricks around it have no irregularities, so he has no footholds. Matthew’s body weakens. He can go no higher. Matthew desperately searches for something to grasp to allow him to get a little higher. His watch now sounds like a siren for a fire. He looks at the watch and the countdown timer flashes 0:00:00. Sweat pours from his forehead. He feels it when it drips down his neck and chest. It is so hot that his hands are sweating.
He loses his footing and falls hard to the floor. He is on the ground. Bruised, but nothing is broken. Matthew’s face has become loose, and he can feel it separating. It burns. He is surprised because he hasn’t had any feeling in the face, not until now. He frantically tries to find an opening in the room. Matthew is now growing weak. Things begin to dim. He slumps in a corner. His last thoughts are about Francesca. She was waiting for him at the airport. Who knew he was coming back by airport? The full red lips fill his mind before he passes out.
The hiss of the steam continues, mixing with the sound of his watch emitting the steady piercing siren.
***
Kofi shows Liam some of the new modifications to Alice. The advances in robotics that Kofi pioneered will allow him to create a new company. He will soon begin manufacturing surgical robots. Alice will be the prototype for the next generation robotic surgical suite.
Liam asks, “Did you create Alice’s personality?”
“It really was not my goal. I wanted to give her the capability to use data, analyze data, and then take steps on her own. The idea was to have her solve problems and make operative decisions even before the surgeon was aware there was a problem. The funny thing I notice is she seems now to have a type of intelligence. I’m sure she can learn and reason. I think she even has a personality.”
Alice says, “Matthew is in trouble.”
“What’s wrong?” asks Kofi.
“I have been monitoring his watch; he is at a temperature of ninety-four degrees.”
“Where is he?” says Liam.
“He is in an abandoned iron foundry not far from here, the factory used to make metal castings. It has not been operating for the last seven years. He is trapped in a room. He was moving up a wall, most likely trying to escape. The rate of rise of the temperature indicates someone is heating the room. My guess is steam. Matthew is not moving. He needs help now!”
Kofi runs into a small storage closet and grabs two large black duffel bags. “Let’s go.”
Liam and Kofi reach the foundry and race into the building. Alice guides them to the room.
Kofi shakes the door. “The door is solid iron. We can’t get in.”
He opens a duffel bag and takes out a gun. He looks at the lock and feels the door. Liam steps away. Kofi fires one shot, and the door opens.
The room is like a furnace with steam billowing out of a metal grate. It takes them a few seconds to see Matthew because he is slumped in the corner of the room. The heat is oppressive.
“No respiration.” Liam then checks for a pulse. “No pulse.”
Kofi unzips the duffel bag and takes out a clear face mask that covers Matthew’s face completely. At the bottom of the mask are two tubes. Kofi hooks the tubes up to a small machine. Liam watches yellow fluid enter the mask and flow through tiny tubes. When the fluid enters, it is yellow. It circulates through the mask and then leaves, a bright red color. Kofi has created a cooling device for just such an emergency. Kofi does not wait to see the mask work. He sticks a needle into Matthew’s arm and sets up an IV. He takes out another bag and hooks up some green fluids. The fluids flow into Matthew’s body quickly. Kofi then takes out a strip of six paper circles, rips off the adhesive backings, and puts them on Mathew’s chest. The cardiac monitoring machine comes to life. Liam looks at the screen intently. The line is flat. Liam and Kofi both look at each other. Kofi then pulls what looks like a fire extinguisher from the duffel bag. He pulls the pin and begins spraying a fine mist. The mist fills the room, chilling the air. Even though the steam continues to pour from the vent, the room cools. Kofi picks up Matthew’s hand to look at his watch: seventy-five degrees. The watch stops beeping.
Liam breaks the silence. “We got to get out of here. This was a trap. This area is monitored. They will be sending someone to finish the job, and they’ll get a nice bonus if they can get all three of us. Matthew is dead. We need to leave now.”
“We can’t. I need to cool him and get some of the neurotubule connections re-established. If we get a cardiac tracing, we’ll know some are re-established.”
A small blip is heard and the monitor picks up a heartbeat. A steady beep, beep, beep echoes in the room. Kofi then pulls out a metal tray. He pushes a button and it expands into a stretcher. It is light and portable. In no time they wheel Matthew to the car.
***
Alice has the operating table ready. She has brought up Matthew’s real face in the titanium canister. It is on the operating room table ready to be transplanted. Sarah waits at the anesthetic machine. Alice gives Sarah real time updates.
“Kofi and Liam are at the scene. They have Matthew and have lowered the temperature in the room.”
“Is Matthew alive?” says Sarah.
No answer.
“He’s dead?” says Sarah.
Finally, after a long silence, Alice responds. “They are leaving the building. Matthew is on a stretcher. Status unknown.”
Kofi bursts into the room and puts Matthew on the operating table. Liam takes up his position as the surgical assistant. Within no time Kofi has retransplanted Matthew’s face. When it is over, they all stand silently around the operating room table watching Matthew.
Sarah says, “I didn’t give him much of anything, but he’ll be out for the night.”
Kofi says, “I gave him much more Steriazol. The transplanted vessels were all blocked.”
The donor face looks like a black and purple swollen mass of mottled tissue. The veins are fat, like sausages filled with dark blue blood. A thin yellow liquid oozes from the skin. It smells like rotten meat and is barely recognizable as a face. It lays on a white sheet on the table.
Kofi breaks the silence. “I manually cleaned all the major vessels on the recipient side that I could. Matthew’s face is perfect, but I can’t say it will heal. We’ll just have to see.”
Sarah still looks at the mottled face on the table. “What was his real name?”
“Ivan Tranck—I talked to his parents for a long time before I harvested his face. They are good people.”
“His face may save countless lives.”
“When this is all over, I’m going to call them, let them know how important their son was. He was hit by a drunk driver. They’ll appreciate it.”
“By using his face, you made sense out of a senseless tragedy.”
Liam asks, “Will Matthew make it?”
“I think we got to him in time. He’s young, so let’s hope.”
“Is there anything more to do?”
“No.”
Kofi does not want to tell them the truth. Not right now, it is too raw. The vessels are connected. But can he say that the blood vessels to the face are all working? Will they heal normally? Will Matthew have any neurological deficits? The truth is no one has done what Kofi did tonight.
Kofi says, “Let’s all get some rest.”
***
The machines monitoring Matthew overnight show surprisingly good vital signs. Matthew opens his eyes and sees Sarah at his side.
Sarah smiles. “I think it’s time for you to stay in the safe house.”
; “It’s my life. I choose how I live.”
Sarah laughs. “You do listen to what I say.”
Matthew smiles. “I’m okay.”
Sarah caresses his head. “You look good.”
Alice says, “His blood pressure and cardiac status are normal.”
Kofi walks over. Liam follows behind.
Kofi says, “Our man has awoken.”
“I feel good, Kofi. Thanks.”
“For what?”
“When the heat started melting the face, I knew it was over. Unless you could get to me.”
Liam says, “You did good, Matthew.”
Kofi takes out some cards with different colors. He goes through a very detailed examination of Matthew’s color vision.
Sarah whispers to Alice, “Why the detailed color vision test?”
Alice replies quietly so only Sarah can hear. “The retina is very sensitive to loss of blood supply. If there is any permanent damage, it will show up as loss of color vision.”
Kofi says, “Color vision perfect!”
“Then why do you look so unhappy?” says Liam.
“We cannot do a full face transplant on him again. Ever.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“The last attack on Matthew was a clear attempt to eliminate him,” says Kofi.
Liam agrees. “There is no doubt that this last go-round was serious.”
Alice is rapidly checking facts and making calculations. Matthew is alert but still weak. His face has healed without scars.
Liam says, “The hunter became the hunted.”
“Exactly, I was stupid. I thought I was following her but she was leading me into the trap.”
“They were smart,” says Kofi.
“I am sorry I put you guys through all this. Alice, thanks, I understand you alerted the team.”
“Flowers on my birthday would be nice.”
“You got it. And chocolates,” says Matthew.
“Just flowers. I’m watching my weight.”
Kofi says, “Matthew, your face transplant days are over. Say goodbye to Steven Jardine.”
“Can I ever get another face?”
Even though Matthew asks, he knows he would not want another face.
“No, the damage to your neurotubules was too great. Your natural face is fine, but no more face transplants for you.”
Matthew will miss his alter ego, Steven Jardine. By putting on the face of Steven Jardine, he was able to look inside Matthew MacAulay. Kofi takes off a panel in the front of Alice and begins to work on some upgrades. The circuit boards and wires are like a maze. Liam looks at the lines of wire and circuitry. The way they interact with Alice, he almost forgot she is a robot. Kofi is busy adding modules to Alice. Matthew realizes she is a supercomputer as he watches Kofi working away.
Liam says, “We now have clearly become a danger. Whoever is behind this has made the calculation that we are a real threat to allowing them to achieve their ultimate goal.”
Kofi says, “This last attempt was crude and hasty. It lacked some of the finesse and planning we have come to expect from this individual. They’re under pressure. Look at the team they put together for Sarah’s kidnapping. These guys were low-level thugs, not his usual professionals.”
Matthew says, “Things may be unraveling for this person.”
Liam says, “That’s the only reason it failed.”
“Let’s not forget my work.”
“You’re right, Alice, without you it would have succeeded.”
Matthew asks, “So what do we do now?”
Sarah says, “We don’t back down. Not after the things we’ve been through.”
Kofi says, “I agree. We push ahead.”
Matthew releases the breath he’s been holding. “We are all on the same page. We now need to take extreme precautions.”
Sarah says, “I don’t think they have any idea about Kofi’s involvement, and that’s good. Certainly Alice is nowhere on their radar.”
Liam says, “We can use that to our advantage.”
Matthew says, “Kofi, continue keeping up your schedule.”
“I think I’m going to spend some time on my island. I need to decompress.”
“That’s perfect, you’ll be out of sight.”
Sarah says, “All roads lead to Karakatura. That is where Michael is—that is where we blow this thing wide open. Matthew and I should be able to get to Karakatura in relative safety.”
Liam says, “I’m a little worried.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, I like to worry.”
“Do you think Cooper is behind this?” says Kofi.
Matthew laughs. “Jason Cooper, mastermind?”
Alice says, “That is a distinct possibility. Quentin Taylor or Jason Cooper.”
Liam asks, “What have you found out about them?”
“Quentin Taylor, the Secretary of Defense. He seems to check out, as does Cooper, but the person we are looking for, I am convinced, will check out. He or she is too smart. Their bank accounts, friends, movements, they will all check out.”
Matthew says, “So what you’re saying, Alice, is you have no idea who is behind this?”
“That is correct. The only thing I know for certain is I know nothing.”
Sarah says, “Socrates, isn’t it?”
“Sorry I can’t be of more help. I’m monitoring the intel and analysts. They are getting multiple sources pointing to an attack on the homeland. Nonspecific, but enough that the president may need to take some action. And by the way, the statement to which you refer is nowhere to be found in Plato’s Socrates.”
Matthew says, “I doubt it’s Cooper.”
Alice says, “He is getting married.”
“I know.”
Alice, “He’s marrying Celerie Brindsmore.”
“I know.”
Sarah turns to Liam. “You need to go underground. No more contacts.”
“I agree. You’ve done your part, Liam, and then some.”
“Not yet, this thing may be solved right here in the USA. I’m heading back to New York tonight to make the final preparations for your trip to Karakatura. Matthew and Sarah, you’ll be going back next week.”
Kofi says, “Good idea, you can’t all travel together.”
Matthew says, “Good, I have some business to take care of before we leave for Karakatura.”
“Don’t even think of visiting your mom.”
“I wouldn’t dream of doing something as reckless as that.”
Kofi says, “So we’ll meet back here after Matthew and Sarah get back from Karakatura.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Matthew has no trouble avoiding the night staff or slipping into the hospital unnoticed. It is late, but Ryan isn’t sleeping.
“Doc MacAulay,” says Ryan.
Ryan does not seem surprised to see Matthew or concerned at the late hour. Even in the dim light, Matthew can see Ryan has changed. The wounds to his legs and arms are healed. The stark white triangular bandage on his face is still present. But his eyes have changed the most. They hold a look of hopelessness Matthew has never seen before. He realizes he has not seen Ryan in a long time.
Matthew asks, “How you doing, my friend?”
“I think I should be asking you that under the circumstances.” Ryan gives a half-hearted smile.
“Don’t believe everything you read.”
“Quite honestly, I’m not sure who’s in a worse situation, Doc, me or you.”
“No question, it’s me. You’re looking pretty good. Don’t worry about me. All’s good. I thought I’d drop in to visit an old friend.”
“I need it. I’m low right now, Doc. Real low.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You name it, I got it. The question is not what’s wrong, it’s easier to answer what’s right. Nothing.”
“That doesn’t sound like Ryan Smith.”
“I got money troubles—lost the house. Woman troubles—A
ly’s left me, took the kids. I got no face. No job. I’m finished.”
“Give it some time. Things have a way of sorting themselves out.”
“They’re saying you murdered those people.”
“What do you think?”
“I know you didn’t do it. I’m sorry I asked you that. I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore. I’m gonna get a piece of plastic for my face.”
“I’m really sorry they suspended the transplant program.”
“Dr. Lambert took your place. He recommended the face prosthesis.”
“He’s a fine surgeon; you’re in good hands.”
“They just made him university president.”
“Really?”
“I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m finished. It’s over.”
“Far from it, man.”
“Family. Country. Honor. That was everything. They just seem like words now. Empty. Hollow. What was it all for?”
“Family. Country. Honor. It’s what this country was founded on, Ryan. It’s what makes this country great. It’s everything. All our laws. All our freedoms. Every person who lives in this country owes you. You have paid a big price. We. Owe. You. We know it. If we don’t show our gratitude, it’s because we sometimes forget. Not because we don’t remember. So know this, Ryan Smith. You are valued. You are valued, my friend. You are everything that is good, everything that is right.”
“There’s nothing left for me. Aly’s gone. Kids are gone. There’s nothing.”
“I remember my buddy who served. He always said the first thing you learned was never leave a comrade behind.”
“Never leave a comrade behind.”
“You served with dignity, with honor. I’m not going to leave you behind.”