Shattered: Episode 3: Exit Wounds

Shattered:
Exit Wounds
Part 3
by Toni Walker

Phoenix had easily extracted Scarlett from the infirmary with the help of his good friend, Nadia Kassoff who guided them via an untraceable earpiece communicator called a com-link. Nadia had discovered some intel that would help him track down Faith Fairchild and prove to Abraham Moses that he was not guilty of killing her.

The man they had to track down was named Cameron Cash. He was Julian Black's previous security advisor before he was gunned down by some Council minions for his disloyalty to the top dog.

It was lucky that this man was being kept in a security wing not too far from where Phoenix had extracted his sister only a few hours earlier. Maybe if they could make this man talk, he could tell them where Black was holding Faith hostage, because Phoenix was sure that she was being held somewhere inside the Black Compound.

Dark clothing or camouflage did nothing to disguise their appearances since the people of the infirmary walked around in the daylight wearing mostly white lab coats. Both Phoenix and his sister had donned similar get ups in order to blend in a bit better with their surroundings. But they still wanted to be careful while they traipsed around the security floor. There was no telling who they would come across.

An orderly suddenly walked by as they peeked out the maintenance door. He passed by without seeing either of them. They both breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like they were going to get lucky this time. Phoenix Gray ventured forward, came to the end of the hallway, then disappeared around the corner.

"You lead a charmed life, Ms. Gray," a disembodied female voice said through the com-link.

"Clean living does it every time," she responded.

Phoenix and Scarlett rushed toward the elevator holding their gear. Quickly and quietly they strapped themselves into the harnesses and forced the silver doors open. Scarlett shot a grappling hook up the shaft using a modified mini bow. It caught on the bottom of the elevator car waiting on the top floor.

"Ladies first," Phoenix said gesturing forward.

She placed a motorized device onto the rope and clamped it in place. All she had to do was hold on while it propelled her upward. Phoenix soon followed.

"It's the last door on the left," the voice told them as they slipped onto the sixth floor unseen. "Remember, we need this man's intel if we ever want to bring Julian Black to justice for his part in Faith's kidnapping and your mother's murder."

"Cash should be a piece of cake," Phoenix said. "I hear he keeps a very detailed journal."

"We prefer first-hand accounts," the female voice told them.

Scarlett and Phoenix spanned the last few feet to Cameron Cash's door. What they found inside wasn't exactly what they were hoping for. Cameron's body was face down on the carpet and a huge red spot stained the floor beneath him.

"I think you're going to have to rethink that whole first-hand account idea, Nadia."

"Why's that?" the young controller asked.

"The only way we're going to get any intel out of him is if we call up John Edward," Scarlett said.

"What?" Nadia's voice gasped from the other end of the com-link.

"John Edward. You know. He talks to dead people."

"You American's and your unusual slang," Nadia commented. "Now what are we going to do?"

Before Phoenix or Scarlett could find a proper place to hide, a woman entered the room. Her red hair shouted out to them as she said, "Cam, they didn't have coffee, but the nurse said you could have...."

Her gasp was audible when she noticed Cameron's body on the floor.

"Oh, my God! What have you done?"

Roanna Ambrose turned to face the people who had killed her lover. Who she found wasn't who she was expecting. "Phoenix? Scarlett?"

Scarlett was shocked into silence. But Phoenix had no trouble muttering the only word that came into his mind.

"Mother?"

***

Nadia Kassoff took off her earpiece and congratulated herself with a Russian cigarette. She had spent many years establishing an identity inside the Knights Foundation and she wasn't going to ruin it now by revealing her true motives.

She was sure this would keep Phoenix and Scarlett busy while Julian set up the plan to extract the Gray child he wanted to contain. Soon they would bring back the Paris identity. And that identity would be alive and well inside Scarlett Gray.