by Kells, India
Folding her arms, Bea gazed out at the rolling ocean under the moonlight. “It’s a bit farfetched. And what if we find they did experiments on the memory and have some sort of serum or cure for Gabrielle’s amnesia, would you risk it?”
For the first time, he turned to face Gabrielle’s boss and friend. “Wouldn’t you risk it?”
It was now his turn to examine her profile. The woman was thinner than he remembered, and the moonlight deepened her worry lines and tiredness around her eyes. Her red spiky hair looked mussed; a sign that slept evaded her more times than she admitted to him.
He was patient. He was good at it. He waited to see if Bea would be on his side, if she would dare to hope for more than time.
Bea faced him, arching an eyebrow incredulously. “I’ll play along. What if? What if those freaks hold the solution to Gabrielle’s amnesia? Then what? We search through the bottles and test them until one works?”
“Not quite. Simon talked about a team of researchers who worked on the project on their side. Alone. If we can find those scientists, even one, we will be a step closer. It may not work, but I believe it’s a strong lead. We cannot afford to ignore it.”
Bea thought for a moment—it was clear she was considering the possibility.
“Let’s wake up, Luke. He may not like it, but if you’re right, we better get the ball rolling.”
***
Sully was happy Gabrielle’s open-spaced kitchen and living room could contain most of the two SEAL Teams Admiral Feander had called as well as Lance’s team. The three groups had collaborated on dismantling the various laboratories and gathered all they could find on the scientists who had worked on the project. Laptops and routers were lined on the kitchen table and the men were sharing information before the meeting started.
Bea was talking to the admiral who was nodding on some of her terms, shaking his head on others. Sully knew for a fact the admiral had not been happy to be sidetracked from searching for Simon. Bea hadn’t pulled any punches in convincing him. Sully suspected he owed her more than she owed him. Admiral or not, he was screwed.
The SEAL Teams called for this mission were not from his own, but he was glad to be surrounded by SEALs. It gave him strength; a sense of camaraderie he had missed so far. When the men knew they were helping his new wife, congratulations flew and his fellow SEALs teased him about being shackled and how a bachelor such as him could have been caught by a woman after all.
Sully smiled, but his head was not all downstairs with these men. Often, he glimpsed at the staircase and hoped everything was well. Luke had promised to stay with Gabrielle as he remained in the living room for the meeting.
“How is she?” Sully turned at Lance’s question. His blond friend clapped his back, a worried expression on his face.
“She’s stable. But she’s still … I don’t know how to explain it. She’s like an empty shell, looking through us as if we weren’t there.”
Lance nodded. “Can I see her? And it would give you a good excuse to see her before we begin.”
Sully’s mouth curved up. “Am I this transparent?”
Lance grinned. “Nah, nothing that everybody and the closest neighbors couldn’t see with their eyes closed.”
“Shut up!” He may have sounded angry, but Sully was grateful for his banter.
Lance laughed at his snarling friend and started climbing the stairs. Before he entered the room, Lance turned and faced Sully. “Are you sure about this? This is one hell of a risk. If we find the cure and if it works. It’s a lot of ifs, in my humble opinion, man.”
Sully always liked Lance’s straightforward way of giving another perspective, wanting it or not.
“Lance, I don’t want to think about any other possibility besides this being a success. If she doesn’t come back to me, I—” He hated it, but his throat closed up with all the emotions he had carefully kept in check.
“Sully, I’m sorry. I didn’t want … Shit. I know she’s important to you. And I think that in the same position, if you had lost the little intelligence she brought you, I would try anything to have it back, my friend.”
Sully shook his head at his swim buddy. “As I was the one gifted with intelligence in our duo, I fear how you can lead a Team on your own.”
Lance frowned. “Shut up, before I forget I cannot hit people weaker than me.”
Sully ignored his good-natured teasing and pushed the door open. The curtains were wide opened, giving a beautiful perspective of the blue waters dotted with white lace and sea foam.
Both Luke and Gabrielle were sitting on two chesterfields by the window. Luke was reading her something he didn’t recognize at first. When Luke looked up, he blushed a little.
“I was reading her Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen. Girls stuff. Oh, hello Lance. How are you?”
“Good. And you look good, too. I mean, healthy. Hope all is well.”
Luke stood up. “I’ll go grab a bite before there is nothing left. That’s something I learned from being rescued by Lance and his Team.”
Lance nodded as Luke left after closing the door. Sully didn’t ask, but he sensed something in the lingering smile of Lance and quick escape of Luke. However, he wasn’t the kind of man to be nosey. And he would reserve his curiosity for a later time, when all would be right in his own world.
He sat in front of Gabrielle, who looked at him as she always did, and took her hand before kissing her palm.
“Hey, honey. You remember Lance, my swim buddy who came to help us in Namibia? He’s the one who rescued Alie and Luke.”
Lance knelt before her and immediately Gabrielle shifted her empty gaze to him.
“Glad to see you again, Gabrielle. Well, Mrs. Thorne, I should say. I heard amazing things about you. You’re an incredible lady, exactly what this dumbass here needs.”
Sully swatted his shoulder. He was grateful Lance acted with some sense of normalcy. Too often, people tended to tiptoe and whisper around her.
“So, as I was saying, I wanted to give you a quick report about Alie. Maybe you don’t know, but she had a baby boy. The contractions started as we were escaping the bad guys. I’m not sure if I was more afraid of the delivery or the men trying to kill us. Nevertheless, Luke was able to stabilize her before we boarded a chopper and twenty minutes later, doctors took care of her. My Team and I stayed close by, all the way. We knew we weren’t out of danger yet. The baby was born as Alie’s father arrived. You know, that girl is strong. Stronger than many people I know. She cried during the delivery, but when she held her little boy in her arms, I fear any man who would try to harm him.”
Lance swallowed and looked at Sully. “She named the little boy Sullivan. Quite an honor, man. A little crazy junior in this world.”
Sully wasn’t sure about that. He had reports about Alie’s health and the baby’s, and how her family and she were sheltered in a secret location for now.
“Poor kid. Alie will have lots of trouble with him, that’s for sure.”
That made Sully grin.
Lance arched an eyebrow in agreement, and returned his attention to Gabrielle. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. We’re about to go search for that amnesia serum for you. I promise I will do everything in my power to bring it back.” Lance put his hand on hers as it rested on Sully’s palm. “I’ve known Sully for a long time, and I can affirm that he loves you, Gabrielle. He’s not playing with you. He never does. He’s straight as an arrow.” Lance grimaced. “Most of the time he’s.”
“Lance!”
His friend winked at him and slowly started to rise. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Anyway, that’s what I had to tell you, Gabrielle. If there is only one thing you can remember is Sully loves you more than life itself and he will do anything to have you back.”
Sully gasped and Lance crouched back down as if under attack, astonishment on his face.
“What? What is it?” Lance looked around, his hand reaching for his sidearm.
“Man, sh
e squeezed my hand.”
Chapter 10
All had been decided before he could even open his mouth. He wasn’t going anywhere. Shit!
Not that he would have been ecstatic to leave Gabrielle with Luke and Bea, but part of him craved some action, a pure shot of adrenaline, something concrete to do. Sully didn’t like waiting and being so powerless about the outcome of his plan. On the other hand, his wandering mind would have been a liability for the Teams. There was no place for any possibility of mistakes.
So he had been assigned, with Luke and Bea—who wasn’t much happier—to dig through the data that had been gathered so far from various known laboratory locations.
The three groups, two SEAL teams and one crew of specialists led by Lance, would each search for one of the three scientists who designed the serum for Simon. The latest information directed them all to Sweden. They would first observe and make sure they were not set up by Simon or any other person from his organization. Then, they would make a move. It was a delicate operation on foreign soil, without authorization and without proof. The admiral was able to commandeer two SEAL Teams under the promise of ‘if such a serum exists, their government would be the first to get it’. Well, close second after Gabrielle to be exact.
So until everybody was ready, Bea, Luke, and him would go through all the data for any clue, comment, or note about this cure that may help the operation.
Sully was glad Gabrielle loved a spacious home as every corner was currently stacked with boxes, files, bags, and hard drives. The papers overflowed on the table to the living room coffee table. When Gabrielle was resting, he went through each page, one by one. Bea had the task of digging through the hard drives. And Luke was whining—searching and whining to be exact.
Luke was to read any document remotely scientific or medical that could reveal information. The data was sketchy at best, but they slowly began to see a pattern emerging. When digging into the amnesia research files, a code name appeared. Fog Horn. That’s how they coded it. Once they found it, Bea’s search became easier. She started pulling out more and more details about Fog Horn, especially experimental data. They immediately relayed the information to the teams.
There was no information about its exact content … well, not yet, but it started to become interesting when they detailed how they injected the serum into the first clones. Well, the clones intended to become replacement of existing people. As per the experiments instructions, three injections of different compounds were necessary. The first one activated the nerves and cell, the second one broke the natural defenses of the mind, and the third one made the new connections. The problem was the second injection. Most of the first subjects died as their mind rejected the concept of being subjected to someone else’s or to simply let their mind surrender. That’s how the note described it.
Again, there were blanks in the notes, some missing, some so summarized it was impossible, even for Luke, to decipher or make sense of them.
They needed the brains behind the experiment. He wouldn’t risk Gabrielle’s life without a solid dose of certainty.
Again, all the data was relayed by Bea to James, to keep them abreast of any possibility.
Days passed without any definite news. On their side, they were stuck. Bea was at the stage of trying to find any hidden data in the hard drives and it made her cranky to no end. That’s when he preferred to disappear and go see Gabrielle.
Since the episode with Lance, she hadn’t made anymore unexpected movement. For a brief instant when she faintly squeezed his friend’s hand, doubt went through the door. This was proof something had changed; she would start demonstrating other signs of improvement, the fog before her eyes would lift and she would see him.
That hope got slammed in his face quickly. Two weeks passed without a single change. And even though he was optimistic, he knew the young doctor kept his hopes up without knowing if there was hope to have at all.
When not digging through endless piles of papers, Sully searched for any data about amnesia and possible theories of recovery. Some of the things he already did, some he shouldn’t have done, and others he wouldn’t even try. Some theories were contradicting each other. And when he dared suggest something to Luke, half the time the young doctor would roll his eyes and say it was crap.
The problem was he didn’t have a lifetime of memories with Gabrielle. Not yet. And their connection was based on violence and sex. Nothing he could use to jive her memory.
He was about to throw his laptop through the window when he heard a strange noise from Gabrielle’s room. Bea and Luke, who were in the kitchen, came out. Sully was dashing up the stairs and into her room to see her in the throes of what appeared to be a nightmare.
Sully didn’t hesitate and went to the bed, gathering her tightly in his arms, whispering calming words in her ears until she finally woke up and started relaxing in his hold. When he glanced down at her, tears were rolling down her face and she seemed so lost, so alone in her world.
Luke came around the bed and asked Sully, “It looks like a nightmare, doesn’t it?”
The doctor didn’t seem very pleased by the news.
“Why, a nightmare isn’t good? If she has a nightmare, it means her brain starts remembering something.” Sully was at loss.
Luke frowned, raking his fingers through his disheveled hair. “Maybe. Her subconscious may be doing just that. Unfortunately, if it awakens the mind, the one currently blank, and the brain doesn’t understand what it is seeing, it may work against us. Mess with it.”
Something beeped downstairs and Bea went to answer it.
“What do you mean mess with her mind?”
Luke sat on the bed, searching for the right words. “Imagine that Gabrielle is lost inside of her mind. She has not found the exit in this maze yet. Some data she gathers along the way—images, memories, sounds, people—each of them helping her to make the right turn and get closer to the exit. Now, imagine other images, figments of her imagination are added to the mix. How will she be able to find her way out? Separate reality from fiction?”
Sully gathered Gabrielle even tighter in his arms. He had the impression of taking three steps backward for each step forward. Instead of feeling frustrated, he felt panicked.
Relaxing in his arms, Gabrielle began to breathe peacefully. Her head rested on his chest and he closed his eyes for an instant, relishing in the scent of her hair. When he began stroking the golden curls, her arms circled his waist.
He didn’t comprehend it at first—it was Luke’s gasp that made him realize what Gabrielle had just done.
He heard Bea running back up the stairs and stopping breathless in the room.
“The teams are done waiting. They’re on the move. We’re starting phase two.”
***
Not a lot of details leaked after the news that all three teams had to act fast and take the matter into their own hands. Bea was constantly on phone calls with various people, some contacts of hers as she couldn’t yet divulge she was stateside since the police were still on her tail.
Luke was pouring over new documents found at one of the scientists’ home. Sometimes he groaned, sometimes he shouted interesting expletives, but for the most part he kept silent, focused on what he read on the papers.
Sully waited with Gabrielle, who was sitting on the sofa and staring blankly at the ocean. The sun was setting and as the hours passed, he felt restless. He tried his best to keep his mind steady and empty, but the what ifs were popping too fast in his head.
As he stood watching the horizon, Bea ended her conversation and came beside him.
“I have a bit more details about what happened. As you know, two of the teams went in Sweden, the other in France. It had been easy finding the three men, since they were not really hiding. All was going according to plan, but one of the men, the one in France, was killed as he was returning home. One shot through the head. Professional hit. Our people on site split, one going for the killer, or shooter, the
second went to the target’s apartment and gathered as much information as they could before the authorities were notified. Alerted, the two teams in Sweden decided to extract the two men, but one was killed before the team could intervene. The third one saved the last scientist at the very last moment and bundled him up in our jet.”
“How do we know he can actually replicate the serum? Maybe the only one we kept alive was the one typing the notes for the other two.”
“Well, at least we have one alive. It is one step closer than we’d been twelve hours ago, by the way.”
Sully raked his fingers through his short dark hair. “Only half answers, all the damned time. Where will they bring the guy?”
“Here. I’ve upped the security in the area. It’s pretty much open landscape, so it isn’t difficult. The man will be sedated before being brought here. He will also be scanned for any possible bugs. We’re safe.”