h4Chapter 375: More Worries/h4

    Ewan thought the current situation regarding the Grey Disease and its instigators had grown stale. Even though he felt well-rested after days of inactivity on that front, there was still an unsettling undercurrent he couldn’t quite exin.

    Something is brewing. He was sure of it. Something he wasn’t aware of–an unawareness that was making him restless.

    He knew their enemies weren’t resting—no, not after the strategic usurping of their ns by moving Athena’sb somewhere else. That move would have been thest straw to break the camel’s back—not even Morgan’s capture couldpare. Thetter had been nothing more than a pawn.

    Rhythmically, his pen tapped on the desk as he watched Spider through a video call. On-screen, his friend flipped through a few papers on a table with his left hand while holding chopsticks poised over a hexagonal carton of Chinese takeout noodles.

    Didn’t his friend ever get tired of eating this sort of food? Ewan wondered for the umpteenth time.

    The faint steam rose from the carton–which he was sure would carry the sharp tang of soy sauce–mingling with the faint background hum of Spider’s apartment fan. Coupled with his friend’s eating quality, was his strange appetite for rundown buildings and second-hand gadgets.

    Ewan was aware of the rich status of his friend, and yet...

    "So, what do you think?" He asked, breaking the silence after Spider had taken a short pause to check out his concerns. "Do you think my worry is justified?"

    Spider shrugged in response. "Possibly. Seeing as we’ve been in the game for a while—well before you quit—I’d say you might be right on the money, even though we aren’t getting any reasonable feedback from our spies. It’s like..."

    Spider frowned, carefully setting the chopsticks down on the table beside his food carton. "They’ve given up on the case. But we know these sorts of people—and we know they don’t give up until they’re six feet below ground."

    Ewan’s tired sigh was an unspoken agreement. He knew exactly what Spider meant—the kind of people with no qualms about feeding millions of innocent civilians to the grave. And for what?

    Another sigh escaped him. That was another thing gnawing at him—they still didn’t know the motive behind this disease. Was it to make money? An act of terrorism? Or just pure psychopathy?

    "So, we still have no tabs from those ced on the doctors yet?"

    Spider shook his head. "Their report is still the same. After work, the doctors just go home. At home, they banter like the twins they are, do the usual activities... The cameras in every corner of their house show nothing unusual. They seem normal, like our earlier theory about them is unfounded."

    Ewan bit his lower lip and ruffled his hair. They were missing something—a piece of the puzzle, maybe a giant one, or even just a small fragment that would make the whole picturee together.

    The doctors... There had to be some ce where they slipped away to check on things.

    And then, like a blink of an eye, the possible answer chimed in Ewan’s mind. His gaze sharpened, the realization hitting him so visibly that Spider raised a brow.

    "Did you just think of something necessary to this search?"

    Ewan nodded slowly, the wheels in his mind spinning furiously. "The hospital," he said, meeting Spider’s gaze with sudden intensity. Excitement began to filter into his voice. "If they’re not doing anything, it means they’re doing it in the hospital."

    Spider nodded, a smile perching on his lips. "You still have the hang of the business."

    "Shut up," Ewan bit out, but a faint smile tugged at his lips. If this was true...

    "Do you want me to put some men in the hospital?"

    Ewan tilted his head to the side, then shook it. "I’ll have to inform Athena, get permission from her first. She might want to handle the surveince herself—and I think she’s in a better position for that, considering her role in the hospital."

    "What about Herbert? He’d want to recruit more agents, disguised as doctors, to help your woman."

    Ewan ignored thest sentiment—and the tug in his chest it brought—focusing instead on Spider’s suggestion. "You’re right, but the old man will probably want evidence first, not wanting to jeopardize hispany. So, when we get something substantial, we can present it to him."

    He paused. "Oh, he’s going to be so mad if this checks out. I’m sure it will be enough to finally get them out of the hospital."

    Even though Herbert had helped them by moving the twins to another department, so they didn’t sh with Athena, it had barely done the trick. If anything, it might have given them the chance to secure a hidden room somewhere in the hospital for their twisted experiments.

    "You’re right."

    Ewan gave Spider a thumbs up, then quicklyposed a message to Athena:

    iHey, about the doctors.../i

    He deleted the line.

    iHey, how are you feeling now? I’m sorry—I should have warned you that the couple down the street loves to stay high... Have you taken the drugs? /i

    iWell, I’ve been talking with Spider, and we think the evil twins ?? have a spot—a room—in the hospital where they conduct their experiments. It’s the only thing that makes sense, the only thing that exins why we haven’t spotted them doing something illegal. They must have known we’d have eyes on them and changed their address—just like you. What do you think? /i

    iCan you check it out? If it’ll jeopardize your work, you can leave it to me. Spider and I can handle it behind the scenes. You’d just need to approve some new recruits into the hospital. That okay?/i

    He read the message twice before sending it off. Civil enough.

    A sigh slipped past his lips before he could stop it.

    "Trouble in paradise?"

    Ewan didn’t bother answering. He wouldn’t call the tension between him and Athena "trouble in paradise." There had never been a paradise to begin with—only fleeting whiffs of it, quickly extinguished by her profession of love for Antonio.

    The pain seized his chest again, and he grimaced. Was there no way to have his wife back in this life?

    He had promised to make sure she wasfortable in this life—and, if possible, in the next. But was there no way to have her back, not as a friend, or whatever uselessbel the world might invent next, but as his wife?

    "So, have you gotten anything on the deal between her and Herbert?" he asked, pushing away the emotions beginning to shake his heart.

    Spider shook his head. "That’s nk too. I don’t think it was documented, and the people around them aren’t talking. I guess it’s something between the two of them. I can’t even find a trail—no connection between them in the past except the case where she cured him of the Grey Disease the first time. The miracle that set the stage for her return to your city. Nothing before that."

    Ewan had long epted that Athena was the most mysterious woman he would ever meet. "And what about Rodney?"

    Spider chuckled. "He’s just a normal person, Ewan. Not much about him, not many connections. Not that there was much possibility of that, considering he’s from that small, hopeless town."

    Ewan scoffed but was relieved Rodney had been a good pick for a driver. He no longer worried about the young man’s obvious interest in Athena too—especially since the children had assured him they’d made sure Rodney got the message.

    Besides, the young man had seemed more concerned about Susan than Athena that morning while driving them. All in all, things were good on that front, he thought, taking a sip of water from the cup beside hisptop. Yes, he was pleased.

    "And what about Damian?" he continued, taking another sip before setting the cup down.

    After Susan had texted him yesterday following their therapy session—calling Damian rude and full of himself—Ewan knew the man had let his insecurities cloud his reasoning again. Still, to be sure, he’d told Spider to check him out.

    "He checks out," Spider reported. "Still in our good books. He’s managed to stay out of Kael’s attention."

    Kael.

    Ewan pressed his lower lip between his teeth, recalling the man who had taken over the gang from him—a man with the darkest green eyes Ewan had ever seen. Almost unnatural. Freakish, even. The kind of feature that made enemies uneasy.

    "Any message from him? Any sign?"

    Spider shook his head. "Everything’s cool. I haven’t heard anything from our mole either. ording to her, he’s more interested in territorial wars right now."

    Ewan wasn’t sure what to think of that. Instead, he fired off a sharp message to Damian: iapologize to Athena and Susan or face my wrath./i

    Oh yes—he’d even put aside the fact that Damian had once saved his life, removing bullets from him when no other doctor in the gang could. Damian had been so good at the job that they kept him for years—until he left, with others following him out, unwilling to trust Kael.

    Kael.

    Ewan inhaled sharply, then exhaled slowly. Would they end up turning guns on each other soon?