Pat, Dr. Blake, Dana, and several other members of The Fleece staff and crew were in the large control center of the complex. The doors came open swiftly and in marched Linda, with a full head of steam. After having just left Rob and the conversation she had with him, she was ready to pry the truth from Pat's bald head.
She walked right up to Pat, who's back was to her, and stopped just short of charging right into his backside.
"I want answers NOW!"
Linda was breathing heavily, her hair wild and unkempt. Sweat had formed on her chest as she glared at the man turning to face her.
"Ah, Mrs. Trent. How can I be of service to you today?", Pat spoke, ending his statement with his patented smile.
"Stop smiling at me! I've had enough of your bull! I want to know why my husband is in the state he is in? Why have you dragged us to this place? Why are you allowing that...that thing to reside in my husband's body? Why aren't you giving us the answers you promised when we first got here."
"Mrs. Trent, I can assure you that you have been dragged nowhere with malicious intent. We even brought your children to you, as I recall, who are still present in this facility, safe and sound. And I am sure you are aware that your own husband crashed into the wall, over there...," Pat pointed to the wall Jay had hit with his head, "...of which we had absolutely no control over. Frankly, we're lucky he didn't kill himself, thus leading to the position of our unwelcomed visitor occupying your husband's body. As for answers, I've given you all I know."
"That is a LIE!"
"I'm not lying to you, Mrs. Trent."
"He's not, Linda," said Dr. Blake, from behind Linda.
Linda turned and looked at him, astounded by his response.
"You can't be serious?" she replied.
"I know it sounds crazy, but while you have been distracted by your husband's series of unfortunate events, I've been trying to research all of this. Pat has been helping me by offering whatever information he knows. He's been very forthcoming in that regard."
"How can you say that, you idiot?! You may have PhD after your name, but you have no common sense."
"And I think you're responding overly emotionally to everything."
"Lady and gentleman, let's not do this", said Pat, coming up beside both Linda and Dr. Blake, putting his hands on each of their shoulders.
"I think you're both responding with overly emotional reactions."
"I've seen some of the stuff The Fleece is involved with, while you've been busy, Mrs. Trent. Hear me out here."
Dr. Blake walked over to a console as Linda and Pat looked on. She was going to hear about this, but her mind had already decided on her next "reaction," as Dr. Blake had put it.
"They have all the same data we have from Jay's scans at Crimson. They show a minute, almost unseeable, development inside your husband's brain. It looks like a tumor."
Linda relaxed her posture a bit, "A tumor?"
"Yes! It looks like one, but it has none of the characteristics of any tumor I have ever seen. That appears to be where this 'shifting' is occurring between your husband and this Rob character."
"But why is it there?"
Pat interjected, "Because some thing or some one put it there."
Linda looked at Pat.
"That's right, Linda. It could be the key to stopping all of this. It might even be why your husband dove into the wall the way he did. Perhaps he felt it somehow and was trying to...to...short it out or something", said Dr. Blake.
"Short it out? You're talking like it's a remote control or something", said Linda.
"Interesting analogy, Mrs. Trent. That could be exactly what it is", said Pat.
"Someone..." Linda paused momentarily before continuing, "...or some THING is controlling my husband. But why? For how long? Why now? Why him? He's just a nurse. We're just a normal family, what purpose would it serve to bring this on him and his family, and tear their lives apart at the seams?"
"The only way we'll find out is to go in and look at it", said Dr. Blake.
Linda couldn't believe what she had just heard.
"Go...in? You mean surgery? BRAIN surgery on my husband?"
Dr. Blake nodded at Linda's question.
"Well, I will never give my consent for that."
"Jay already did", interjected Pat again.
Linda looked at him.
"Over my dead body. No one is touching my husband's brain, especially when he's not even in his own body."
"We don't know for sure that the man sitting in that room isn't your husband, Mrs. Trent", said Pat.
"You most certainly do. I DO! I can look in his eyes and see it!"
"Perhaps."
"Perhaps nothing! You know that's a different man in there. A man that doesn't trust you any more than I do."
Now Pat's smile faded.
"You've talked to him?" Pat asked.
"Yes, I have! He can be very interesting to speak to."
"And you really believe anything he talks to you about, Mrs. Trent?"
"I'd believe someone that is as confused as I am before I would you. You're not as forthcoming as he is. He feels like I do that you're not telling us the truth or the whole truth. That's why I am here now, to find out why. Plain and simple, why are you lying to us?"
Pat stood there for a second, staring at Mrs. Trent. He was not smiling. He was stone-faced, a complete blank stare. It was as if he was staring through Linda rather than at her. Finally, after many moments passed, Pat was about to speak.
"Because it's necessary."
Linda took a step back. Does he actually admit he's lying now?
"Pat! We have a situation", said one of the controllers.
Pat looked over at them. The controller had leaned back from the console and was pointing to the screen. There, Rob in Jay's body was unconscious. The body was limp, with the head tilted back over the back of the chair. It was apparent that Rob was gone. But Jay had not shown up yet.
Pat scrambled an emergency medical team, including Dr. Blake and Dana. Linda charged through the door with them.
All Linda could think was that the injury when Jay crashed into the wall had ruptured something in his brain and potentially killed her husband. If that were the case, Jay would be dead, and any connection to Rob could be lost forever. All seemed like horribly bad things to consider. She wanted answers for what was happening, and seeing Rob's world might present her with what she needed. But, getting there would be the tricky part and she had no idea how.
As she ran down the corridor back to where Jay's body rested, one of the medical team turned around and grabbed her quickly. They immediately stuck a gun-like object up to her arm and injected her with something. Pat had also stopped to witness the injection.
Linda was stunned by all of this, but within a few seconds, she was becoming lightheaded and practically fainted. The medical staff member grabbed her and guided her to the ground. As she began to lose consciousness, Pat leaned in so she could see his face still.
"Pleasant dreams, Mrs. Trent. Good-bye."
With that, Pat turned and proceeded to the interrogation room.
Linda looked over at the medical staff member. The staff member was female, she could see their eyes, with a mask covering their mouth and nose. But the eyes let her know a woman was tending to her. As the light faded Linda wondered what had she been given. Was it a poison? She wondered why Pat had said "good-bye." Was she about to die? Why though? Then Linda's mind began to drift away. She could feel herself slipping away into complete unconsciousness.
Before her eyes closed and everything went dark, the medical staff member pulled down her mask to address Linda. The staff member smiled at her and spoke one soft phrase.
"Good luck."
The voice sounded familiar, in Linda's slowly slipping mindset. But the face was unmistakable to her. The medical staff member was Britton. All Linda could think, her one last thought, how is she alive and why did she say good luck?
