Page 27 of Silent Dust
The car rocketed forward, tires squealing slightly on the asphalt, as the world narrowed to that single goal: reach Ghost, find out what happened, and stop whoever was behind this. Hawk’s eyes were dark pools of fury and determination, and every nerve tingled with the brutal need to see justice done, by any means necessary.
The three men took the stairs two at a time up to the ICU on the third floor, crashing unceremoniously through the door into the hallway. Seeing the Commander at the nurse’s station with Maria, Hawk strode over; ignoring everyone else, he barked out, “SitRep?”
The Commander’s face tightened, a storm brewing behind his eyes as he motioned for the team to follow him into an empty room nearby. Once inside, he lowered his voice, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily on him. “Something went down in the room across from Flora. Ghost walked in there; he got drugged. The assailant slipped out right after Ghost went in, then headed straight for Flora’s room. That’s what Maria saw when she was at the nurse’s station.”
“Maria was delivering MRI results to the nurse’s station,” the Commander continued. “She wanted to check on Flora while she was there. Maria and the head nurse saw a ‘doctor’ heading into Flora’s room.”
Red interjected, “At 2 a.m., no legit surgeon would be making rounds in the ICU—especially not without the nurses knowing.”
The fury in Hawk’s eyes sharpened. His fists clenched involuntarily. “And doctors don’t dispense medication; nurses do.”
The Commander nodded, his expression grim. “Maria told the nurse to call security. She went to check on what the so-called doctor was up to. When she walked in, she saw this guy or gal dressed like a surgeon, injecting something into Flora’s IV.” His voice dropped, heavy with the weight of the revelation. “She yelled, but the intruder shoved her down and bolted out of the room, heading down the stairs.”
“I wanted to chase after him, but then Flora’s monitors started blaring. She began seizing, and the nurses rushed in. I had to get out of the way,” added Maria.
All the men cursed softly under their breath as the Commander continued. “They decided to put Flora into a medically induced coma to help her recover from the trauma,” he explained. “She’s been moved to an isolation unit in the ICU for her safety and to monitor her closely.”
Pacing the room, Hawk turned back to the Commander. “And Ghost? Do we know what happened?”
Maria added, “As I was coming out of Flora’s room, I saw a body on the floor across the hall. Well, I initially just saw a foot, but as I got closer, I saw Ghost and yelled for a doctor.”
Red, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, shook his head in disbelief. “This is insane. Who the hell would do something like this? We need to find that bastard.”
Zulu, always the pragmatist, chimed in. “We need to secure the area. If they got in once, they can do it again.”
The Commander shook his head, as he answered Hawk’s question about Ghost, “Not yet. The doctors are still assessing him. He was drugged, waiting on labs. He’s stable. Until we can talk to him, we don’t know what happened, but somebody got the drop on him.”
Running his hand through his hair, Hawk exclaimed, “He’s called Ghost for a reason. He gets in and out, and no one ever knows he’s been there… what the hell!” Suddenly, anotherthought crossed his mind. “What about the patient in that room? Did they see anything?”
“There wasn’t a patient in that room; it was vacant,” muttered the Commander.
Hawk rolled his eyes, frustrated by the lack of information, “Well, I doubt Ghost went chasing ghosts. OK, Red, you’re on guard duty now.” He looked at the Commander. “Can we have them bring Ghost to Flora’s room so Red can keep an eye on both?”
“I’m sure I can make that happen.”
“Red, you good?” At his nod, Hawk shoulder bumped Zulu. “Let’s get back to the house and work with Hank and Swede to scare up some leads.”
Back at Bear’s house, now being used as the Command Center, Swede stepped forward and let out a sharp whistle to get everyone’s attention. “We need to find this guy. Now!” he said, his voice cutting through the tension in the room. Swede adjusted his glasses, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he spoke. “I’ve been parsing through Flora’s mobile device, deconstructing the text threads. I’m utilizing a proprietary algorithm I developed, which should enhance the pixel density in the security footage. This should facilitate a more accurate output for the facial recognition module, allowing us to extract identifiable biometric data.”
Zulu raised an eyebrow, a smirk creeping onto his face. “So, let me get this straight, Swede. You’re saying you’re going to make the blurry ghost in the footage look less like a pixelated blob and more like a real person? Because if you can turn that digital mush into a face, I’m buying you a drink. Just don’t ask me to explain it to anyone else—I barely understood what you just said!”
Hank looked up from his phone, unfazed by Swede's techno-babble. “I just received a text from Red. Ghost had ketamine inhis system. He’s awake and in the room with Flora now. Red’ll call us once he talks to Ghost and gets the full story.”
Hawk, Zulu, and Swede all nodded, relief washing over them. “Good,” Hawk said, his voice steady. “We might get some more clues as to what the hell is going on.”
Zulu chimed in, a grin on his face. “Let’s hope Ghost remembers more than just the taste of the ketamine. Otherwise, we might need to hire a psychic.”
Swede, still focused on his screen, added, “Or maybe a data recovery specialist for his memory. But I’d prefer the psychic—at least they come with a crystal ball.”
Hank chuckled, shaking his head. “Let’s just hope we get something useful out of this. We need all the intel we can get.”
After running time zones in his head, Hawk figured it was probably mid-afternoon where Bear was, assuming he was still on the carrier. Now felt like the right time to reach out. He glanced around the room, feeling a surge of appreciation for his friends, who were already deep into their work.
“Alright, you guys keep digging, I’m gonna call Bear and give him the details,” he said, a tightness in his chest at the thought of breaking the news. About thirty minutes ago, he had checked in with Commander Michaels to see if Bear was able to take calls or if he was off the grid on a mission.
As the first light of dawn bathed the sky in gentle hues, Hawk stepped outside. He paused and let the quiet morning settle over him before he dialed Bear’s secure line.
“Bear, it’s Hawk. Can you talk now?” he asked.
