Protocol 1337 (3 page)

“Thank you for letting me get some sleep. I didn’t mean to be such a bitch earlier, but I was frustrated. It's not your fault. I am just angry at the situation and not you in particular. You need help and it's my job to make sure you get that help. I’m kinda new to this direct contact with the patient idea. They didn’t prep me for this in college, and it was never mentioned in my contract.”

“Great! You think I am some kind of weakling, unable to care for myself, but I can take care of myself! I used to play high school football... Yeah... Varsity team! That’s right! I owned that shit! Just call me king ding a ling!” I throw back the sheets, and push my weak legs to the edge of the bed. I rip the IV out of my arm, and just to push the envelope a little more, lick the blood from my arm. I spin my tongue around my mouth and spit onto the floor defiantly. I thrust myself forward only to find that my bravado has no back up at all. I crash to the floor in a broken heap.

“Oh my god! Are you insane?” Eve's voice is drowning into laughter. She giggles for a bit and then helps me to my feet. I manage to stand by putting the bulk of my weight on her. The muscles in my body ache, and the burning sensation consumes my weakened frame. Eve eases me gently into a wheelchair.

“I was coming in this morning to remove that IV, but I guess you already took care of that for me. It's time to start your physical therapy. We will start with the water tank and work on your balance.” Eve gently pats me on the shoulder as she wheels me out of the room. The door opens to a hallway painted in ugly gray primer. We cruise right past lots of rooms marked with numbered placards; each door is closed and there are no windows. We soon arrive at a wrap-around desk cluttered with papers, clipboards, computer screens, and standard office equipment. It looks like a standard nurse's station at a regular hospital except the entire thing is framed in with very thick glass. There’s an access door on the right and Eve enters it leaving me alone to look around. I bet its bullet proof glass and if I had a gun, I would test that theory. I watch Eve as she walks behind the glass, and to my delight, she turns away from me. Eve bends over to pick up a loose piece of paper. She places it on the desk and picks up the phone.

I wonder if women do that intentionally? Do they realize that seeing them bent over immediately makes a man focus his attention to them? Funny part is, they get upset when they turn and realize you're staring at their rear end. Eve seems to be having a heated discussion with the person on the other end. I can't be sure because I cant hear anything behind that glass barricade. It doesn’t really make a lot of sense to have a reception desk enclosed in glass unless the idea is to keep someone or something away from whoever is sitting at that desk. Considering there is no opening to communicate with the person behind the glass tells me they didn’t expect any visitors much less care to listen to their thoughts or opinions.

This place has a very distinct odor, earthy and moist, like a cellar or basement smell. I haven’t seen a single window here and I am starting to think I am underground. Eve slams the phone down and quickly rejoins me. She pushes the wheelchair down the hall but this time at a much faster pace. We arrive at a set of double doors. She presses a large handicap button on the side and the doors swing open wide. She pushes me through and the smell of chlorine almost knocks me out. There’s a large swimming pool much like any other but the shallow end of this one is tapered. There is a slow incline from the deck to the pool on the far end. It appears to be designed to allow large objects to be lowered into the water gradually. Eve pushes me around the edge of the pool to the far shallow end, and throws a life jacket to me.

“In case you can't swim!” Eve says.

“I am actually a pretty good swimmer. My mom used to take me to the reservoir to swim while she read books in the car.” Memories rush back to me of spending countless summer days swimming around that pond. The water was very dirty; you couldn’t even see more than 6 inches below the surface. One of my friends caught Dysentery after accidentally swallowing a mouthful of water. He missed one week of school and said he shit out blood for three days. But that didn’t stop us from swimming there because it was the only reservoir of water for almost 40 miles.

Eve applies the brakes to my wheelchair and instructs me to stay put until she gets back. She walks casually behind a concrete divider. I stare at the perfectly calm water and marvel at how beautiful it is. The surface of the water is like a mirror reflecting the over-head lights causing its light to diffuse evenly across the surface. Eve emerges from behind the wall wearing a two piece black bikini. I am staring at her like a fat kid in a chocolate factory. I can't withdraw my gaze from her as she walks around the pool.

I put the life jacket on and Eve guides me into the water. My head is resting between her breasts as she drags me into deeper water. Once we reach the 4 foot mark, she lets me go. I flail my arms around and move my weak legs. My arms take hold first and I am able to tread water. It feels great to be able to do something for myself. Now my legs have something to do as well, and the whole experience gives me a feeling of accomplishment. I am alone, treading water by myself, and it's filling me with optimism. I reach down and unbuckle my life jacket.

“Wait! NO!” screams Eve. I toss the life jacket onto the deck of the pool.

“I told you I can swim, so let me swim.” I say. My arms and legs work in unison and make lap after lap around the pool. I dive down to 18 feet and then up to the surface. I swim back to the four foot range and do a dolphins leap.

“MARCO!” I scream. Eyes closed and arms out stretched, I feel the faint touch of another human being. I lunge in that direction, and find myself fully embraced by her body.

“Polo.” Eve whispers into my ear. Eve's lips meet mine and we embrace in a passionate kiss. Eve wraps her arms around me, and leans her nose against mine. We sit silently staring into each other's eyes, locked in a warm embrace. Her back is resting against the side of the pool holding me close.

“I think that’s enough exercise for one day agent Haus.” Eve says.

“Yeah, I’m starving, let's get something to eat.” I say. Eve helps me back into my wheelchair and then excuses herself to change her clothes. She wheels me towards the dining room. It is smaller than I expected, a simple room with stainless steel counter tops. A microwave, stove, fridge and dishwasher fill up space along the wall. Eve fetches two standard meals from the fridge and warms them in the microwave. A standard meal is a catered meal, prepackaged, and easily heated with a microwave. They are readily available in the dining room fridge and free to any employee. On this fine day, the menu is roast beef with Swiss, au jaus dipping sauce, and peach cobbler. Not bad at all, and a vast improvement over my usual fair of oatmeal with whole grain wheat toast.

“Finally, some real food!” I exclaim as I shovel food into my mouth. It's been so long since I have actually tasted beef that it almost makes me gag.

“Sorry to withhold you from this, but doctors orders.” Eve says sarcastically.

“Well, you can tell the good doctor that he damn near killed me with his diet choice! How am I supposed to get better being fed that soy based crap. It tasted like cardboard and only made me feel satisfied for 30 minutes. I need something with a little weight attached to it. You know like bacon, sausage, eggs, and even lasagna. Something I could eat and not crap out four hours later.” We finish our meal in relative silence. Eve collects the dishes, and sets them in the dishwasher.

“How many people work here?” I ask.

“This is the medical wing and as you can guess, not a lot. There used to be more, but as each entered into retirement they were never replaced. Gretchen and I were the last two standing, from what I learned from her. With Gretchen gone, I guess I am the last one, and then there’s you.”

“So what you're saying is, we are all alone in this huge complex? No supervision and left completely to our own vices. I like those odds. When do we start looting?” I say jokingly. Eve laughs, rolls her eyes, and then places her soft hands on my shoulders.

“Its not that simple.... I don’t know what happens on other wings, and I know we are deep underground. They have cameras all over the place, and they watch it very closely. I have never met a person outside the medical wing so I cant even confirm that there are even other wings. The only things that I know are remarks from Gretchen. They seemed innocent at the time but gave me clues to the whole base.” Eve explains.

“What about the food, how does it get here?” I ask.

“The food is delivered every day at noon I am usually sitting at the head desk when it arrives. The delivery person wears a gray jump suit. No name tag, no real means of identification. I just recognize the white insulated boxes they carry on a dolly.” Eve explains.

“No.... I never gave it a second thought. I know why I am here and they keep depositing my pay checks. “ Says Eve. As she finishes speaking, I get the feeling that Eve isn’t the kind to think too much into something as long as it's working, it's OK for her. I glance down at my fancy watch and see the digital letters reading 11:50 AM.

“Take me to the elevator, it's almost delivery time and I wanna see this with my own eyes.” I say sternly. Eve doesn’t hesitate for a moment and off we go wheeling at a brisk pace. We go down the hallway, past the desk and lots of labeled rooms, all with the doors closed. We reach our destination after a few minutes, and Eve parks my wheelchair in a wide area across from the elevator.

“No! We watch for now. That would be too obvious. We have no alibi for why we are suddenly in an elevator. Somehow I doubt they will buy our excuse of just checking things out. Not to mention we have no idea where it goes, and I am sure they have security measures installed. Like a good hunter, we stalk our prey silently and then when the moment's right, we pull the trigger.” I whisper.

“Are you kidding me? Like you know how to be a hunter! You're a computer nerd! Let me guess, you learned your stalking skills playing army video games.” Eve's words really stung. She is right. The closest thing I have ever come to stalking prey is watching wildlife documentaries.

“OK! I am not a hunter in real life but I have one; he is level 60. Look, I have spent my life hiding in the background of networks and finding open doors where there isn’t supposed to be one. Sure, I am not a decorated professional killer, but I do know one thing, and that is the best laid traps are easily untangled.” When someone sets a trap, they predict what their prey will do and devise a plan to exploit their weakness. The key to getting around it is to turn the trap back onto the trapper by doing the exact opposite of what they expect. No matter how much thought goes into something, there is always a work around. There is always an Achilles heel. The trick is finding it before your enemy realizes it.

The green arrow lights up, and the doors swing fully open. A young man wearing a gray jumpsuit is waiting with a dolly loaded with white Styrofoam containers. He walks right past us and continues on his way around the hall. Just as Eve mentioned, no name tag. He didn’t even look us in the eye as he walked past.

“Eve, you said he stocked the fridge, right?” I say.

“Yep, and hauls off expired food.” Eve says.

“I counted six containers, two were plain white. I would assume that would be the food. The problem I have is the other four containers.” I say.

“That’s for the expired food.” Eve explains.

“That doesn’t make sense either. Two containers in, four out.... More importantly, why are those four containers marked with bio-hazard stickers?”

CHAPTER THREE

The Lions Paw

I am nestled into my bed, enjoying a dream of lesbians making out and feeding me grapes when I am awoken. The door to my room slides open and director Reese enters.

“I have authorized you some new clothes, make the best of them. I also took care of placing your personal belongings into your first drawer. Get dressed and head to the break room. I have your first mission ready for you.” Reese calmly exits the room.

I open my dresser to find a black t-shirt with the words... “NUB” printed in white across the chest. I grab my khaki cargo pants, slip them on, and page Eve to get me. I slip on my new kicks, and I gotta say they are pretty slick looking. I dislike the Velcro on them but, then again, tying laces right now doesn’t seem appealing. I have regained some strength but walking unassisted for a long distance still isn’t possible. I open the top drawer of my dresser and see my personal items. The maiden of salvation stares me right in the eye! My beloved 1892 Morgan Silver Dollar.

I remember the day I found this beautiful little lady. I was 13 at the time. All of us agreed to go swimming that day at the reservoir. We all agreed since we had no cars, to meet each other halfway. Halfway was our little code word for the three way intersection of gravel that led to the reservoir. It wasn’t even close to half way, but it didn’t matter. We all knew where to go. Miklo and Melvin were my cousins, more like brothers really. We spent every summer together since as far back as I can remember. The three of us arrived at halfway to see JD waiting for us. Of course JD was the first on the scene, his house was 15 miles away and his parents always dropped him off. We always had to wait on Dereck and Kevin. They really had the short end of the stick. Our place was about four miles from halfway and their place was about eight miles away. They had to ride their bikes the full length of the journey, and we just walked. It almost timed perfectly but we usually had to wait 30 minutes or more for them to peddle up the valley road.