Page 47 of Hollow State

Darwin rolled Wynn into the gap between two chairs on the west side of the table near the front and set the brake. He stood behind her in case this conversation rattled him to the point that he needed to pace.

That often happened during war room meetings that involved the entire team.

"I appreciate everyone meeting with me." Quinn set the coffee down on the table. "At about one this morning, I found out a John Doe had been admitted to Vancouver General. The man was found wearing tactical gear, not far from where the enhanced soldiers ambushed us on the side of the road. My division was involved in the investigation, and once I clocked in, I made my way to the hospital."

Coulter pushed his mug aside.

Darwin gripped the handles of the wheelchair.

"Are you officially on the case?" Neve asked.

"There isn't an officer right now that isn't," Quinn said. "What you need to know is that this man they found had been shot in the face and in the shoulder. He was alive, but his vitals were all over the place."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Darwin muttered.

"I shot a guy right in the nose." Wynn glanced over her shoulder. "But he dropped fast and hard."

"Dropping doesn't mean they're dead." Gideon tapped his fingers across a keyboard. "What else do you know?"

Quinn put both hands on the back of the chair in front of him. "He died shortly after he arrived at the hospital. We don't have a name. The hospital still has tests to run, questions to answer, and an autopsy to perform. The government wants to keep this quiet, but my office, specifically Chief Superintendent Burn out of Surrey, wants to raise some hell."

"Why?" Coulter asked. "So many unknowns. I'd think you'd want some intel first."

"That's what my boss says, and I agree," Quinn said. "But this is a hot case, and Darwin's name is being dropped left and right."

"Of course it is." Darwin took off his glasses and tossed them on the table. If he didn't, he'd be cleaning them on and off for the entire meeting. "Here's the thing. You get shot in the face at close range, you're not stumbling a few kilometers to the road. Not without help. That man had the chemical kind of help. But what we also know is if the bullet hadn't killed him, eventually, that chemical would have."

"And the hospital has a few blood samples full of it," Kane added.

"Exactly." Darwin threaded his fingers through his hair and paced the length of the table. "That's a problem for both me and Finch."

"I'm sure Finch's hands are clean on this, too," Neve said. "He's never had his fingerprints attached to anything."

"That's true," Coulter said. "But Darwin is one man who doesn't have the means. His assets have been frozen. It's not like he has massive connections. How do you explain all these things that have happened and tie them back to one man who, and I say this with love, doesn’t have a lot of power."

"You make a valid point." Neve leaned back in her chair. "One of Finch's men is lying in a public hospital in the middle of Vancouver with a coroner's file attached to him." Neve turned her hand over on the table. "Finch can't make that disappear."

"But Finch can make it mean something else. Then the question becomes, how does he tie the soldier back to Darwin before we find a different narrative," Quinn said.

"Finch has proven time and again he's really good at that." Scout leaned back and folded her arms.

"Which is why I need to stop being the problem and start being the solution." Darwin paused at the head of the table. "I know a lot of people at Vancouver General. Who were the doctors that worked on the victim?"

"A dude by the name of Liam Ash," Quinn said. "He's supposed to be the best trauma doc and diagnostic physician in all of Canada."

"They don't come any more qualified than Liam." Darwin pulled out a chair, sat down, and ran his hands up and down his legs. Having Liam on the case changed things drastically. Liam didn't like to be pushed or bullied. He was a methodical thinker. He took things slowly and hated it when anyone outside the profession told him what to do or how to do it. That just made him dig his heels in and tell whoever it was to fuck off.

One of the many things Darwin respected about Liam.

"You know him?" Scout asked.

"We went to medical school and did our residency together." Darwin shifted his gaze toward Wynn. "He's also married to my ex-wife."

"That's interesting." Wynn lowered her chin. "Is he the one who…"

"No." Darwin reached for his glasses, deciding they might as well be clean. "Liam knew Sarah when we were married, but barely. They didn't start dating until ten years ago. They've been married for eight and have two kids."

"That's nice for them," Coulter said. "But we've gotten sidetracked, and what I want to know is whether this someone Quinn can approach since he’ll have access to the hospital? I mean, how well do you know Liam?"