Those Hollow Lies

Losing Control

08/07/09 – sometime after lunch.

Roz had been gone for a couple of days already and this place seemed so different without her. The intensity had decreased the second it was discovered that she had left The Quarter for the time being and the agents weren’t slacking, but they were a little less frantic in their work. I tried to bring back the level of authority and cold menace that Roz brought each time she walked through the secret building, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t mimic that attitude.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. The worry had set in the moment I had opened my eyes to see that she wasn’t in the space beside me. Instead I was greeted by crumpled sheets and an empty bedroom. That night had been incredible and far beyond anything I had ever imagined, but I wanted to slap myself for being such a heavy sleeper. If I wasn’t then I might have heard a rustle, sensed the bed moving or just had the chance to say goodbye before she slipped away with the morning sunlight. I had even called out her name hopefully, just in case she was still hidden in the bathroom, but I knew even before I shouted her name that I wouldn’t get a response.

There had been no contact, just like she had said. I didn’t know if she had a phone with her and any trace I tried came up with nothing. Whenever I was working in the office I kept the twenty-four hour news channel playing quietly, my ears listening for anything that might have screamed Roz. One or two headlines caught my attention, but the sloppiness of the execution quickly helped me to shrug it off. Anything Roz did in this world was perfect and it would only go detected if she wished it to be that way.

It wasn’t like I had the time to really think about Roz and what she might be doing, but those thoughts still crept into my mind on a regular basis. Joe was due to be released from the hospital tomorrow, which meant that today was my last chance to see him until, well, there was no guaranteed date just yet. I feared for him, too. I knew the man was capable of taking care of himself, but he was better with computers than he was with the fast paced fighting. He was stuck in a horrible position and it was one we could only help him escape from and there was very little time left in which we could do it. I didn’t want to let Roz down, but I also didn’t want to let Joe down. He had done so much for me and he deserved his own shot at happiness.

Everyone was reluctant to let him go back to prison and I knew a good number of agents were tempted to just start a fight in the middle of the hospital to keep Joe safe and out of their reach, but it was a foolish plan. He wasn’t in some special hospital and there were innocent people recovering within those walls, too. I didn’t like it any more than they did, but releasing Joe back into federal custody was the only option we had until Roz informed us otherwise. I trusted her opinion; she wouldn’t do anything to compromise Joe’s safety unless she had no other choice. He meant a lot to her, even if she didn’t admit it in so many words.

“Agent Duvall? We’ve just received a message from the hospital; your presence is required there.” I was hopeless at remembering the names of half of the agents who worked here, but I recognised this blonde haired man as one of the technicians who spent hours at the monitoring stations.

“Alright, thanks for letting me know.” I didn’t know why they would need me at the hospital, but my mind instantly assumed that Joe would have a message or something for me to pass onto his family.

On the way to the hospital I didn’t sense that there could be anything wrong, or even get that strong feeling in my gut that something bad was going to happen. In fact, I sang along with the car radio and then parked the car in the spot where I remembered Roz parking it once before. Even the hospital didn’t seem like anything too out of the ordinary. I slipped into the doctor’s coat and grabbed an empty chart and made my way through to where Joe’s room was. It was Underground Agents on the door, so I discreetly went through the motions for the security cameras and then slipped into the room.