Page 100 of Victorious

It was true that the ones on ice had proved to be the most resistant, presumably because they’d been killed in the process of capture or escape.

And it was also true that Gabriel preferred to begin his work with at least a gesture of consent. To foster trust. Or at least, speed up compliance. But in the case of the EOs on Sublevel 1, exceptions must be made.

Even if, in the end, some of them could not be salvaged.

He owed it to them to try.

A good doctor learned as much from failure as from success.

It wasn’t just that they resisted intervention.

In answer to his question, Malcolm responded.

PATIENT 32 IS CONSCIOUS.

As the words appeared, the screens behind them flickered, and reordered until the center showed a sparsely furnished room. A man, sitting on the edge of a bed, head bowed over his hands as if in prayer.

Relief washed over Gabriel.

He’d been waiting for this moment since he read the EO’s dossier, and realized what a gem lay housed in EON’s morgue, waiting to be claimed.

“Excellent,” he said, starting toward the door.

Noah began to follow, but Gabriel held up a hand. “Stay here.”

His body halted, but concern showed on his face. “Sir, that one is dangerou—”

“Noah,” he admonished gently. “Do you trust me?”

The EO’s jaw tensed, almost imperceptibly, but there was no tension in the tether when he said, “Of course I do.”

“Then trust me,” he said simply. And this time when Gabriel crossed to the door, the agent let him go. As he made his way to the patient’s room, he undid his cuffs, began to roll his sleeves, a small, enduring habit, a way to tell his mind and body that it was time to get to work.

A pair of guards stood at attention in the hall outside the chamber.

From this day on, the doors would be unlocked. But he’d found, it was good to start with boundaries. It helped to make a point.

Gabriel laid his palm against the scanner, and the doors unsealed, letting him pass into the corridor that ran around what used to be the cell, and was now a simple, well-appointed room, a suite in fact, complete with a shower, a toilet, partitioned for privacy, the walls painted a docile shade of green, just like his office.

Those walls were one-directionally opaque, so that he could see in, but the patient couldn’t see out, not until Gabriel tapped the nearby screen. Which he would.

But first, he took a moment to study the figure in the room.

The way he flexed his hands, and rose, and paced, not listlessly, but as if mapping his enclosure. Gabriel had read his files. Plural. Marveled at their weight. He was surprised to find his heart beating a little faster with excitement.

He took a slow, steadying breath, then touched the wall, and spoke, his voice carried on small speakers mounted in the room.

“Hello, Eli,” he said in a warm, patient tone. “Welcome back.”

4OPPOSITION

INOW. THEN.

6 MONTHS AGO

EON

ELI woke in a room with green walls.