The Boy in the Gray Hoodie

38...

38...

James stepped away from the control panel, flicking off the speakers. Roy was on the floor, already passed out. He'd wake up in a few hours with the worst headache he'd ever experienced in his life, but he'd be alive.

            Of course, it was more advantageous at this point to make him think he was dying. That way, when he came to, he would be more grateful. Grateful that James had let him live, that he wasn't dead, that maybe someday, he could get out again and find his precious Lisa.

            But James had no intention of ever letting Roy see Lisa again. Just the few days that they had spent together had caused enough trouble to last him the next ten years. And that's how long he would keep working with Roy, or longer, until his research was complete. Until he could take everything he had learned from Geist and do something even better—the thing he had wanted to do all along. Help people. Heal them. Save them.

            All the things he had sacrificed for that purpose were made meaningful if, and only if, his time with Roy was well spent. At this point, James was starting to wonder if all this hardship and stress had any real value. He was no longer sure about the cost, or whether or not Roy was more trouble than he was worth.

            Out of all the subjects, Roy was the one who had shown the most progress. That meant that no matter how infuriating the boy became, James had to make use of him in every way possible. Even if he had to put up with disobedience and teenage hormones.

            Not only that, but other than Roy, there was only one other subject of the project still alive, and that was Lisa. Although he had refrained from thinking of her that way until now. It hadn't been conducive to her development to consider her anything other than his daughter. Of course, now it didn't matter.

            James adjusted the collar of his flannel shirt as he watched the video feed from the hallway in the sub-basement. Lisa and Pamela hadn't emerged from the research center as of yet. He didn't need to wonder what they were doing in there.

            James had no problem admitting how intelligent Lisa could be when she put her mind to work. He was sure she was in there trying to figure everything out about Roy, trying to make sense of all the things she had learned the day before. But if she kept searching she was bound to discover more than just Roy's past; she'd find out the truth about her own as well. He just wasn't sure he wanted that to happen. The last thing James needed was another whining, miserable child on his hands.

            The doors to the lab slid open and he stepped out into the hallway, heading toward the elevators. His shoes made a muffled, metallic 'thud' against the grated floor tiles as he walked. The rhythm of his limping gate agitated him. His leg still hadn't healed all the way from the crash. James figured he must have fractured the bone, or sprained it at the very least since the pain had persisted this long. But he would take care of it later.

            Right now, he needed to get to the research center, before either of his guests decided to hunt down paperwork that would reveal more sensitive information about Lisa. Although he doubted they would get that far. After all, the file cabinets in the research center were locked. And James was the only one there with a key.

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            When James entered the room, he saw paperwork everywhere. Files and documents were spread out all over the floor—hardcopies of his research from the project. The look in Lisa's eyes when she confronted him told him all that he needed to know.