Chapter 2 - The Boy with the Needle Marks
"Find him," Garrison said.
He was standing in the hospital's private executive lounge six hours later. The rain had cleared, leaving behind a cold, milky grey dawn over the Chicago skyline. Inside the adjacent room, Theo was sleeping peacefully under an oxygen tent, his vitals stable, his brain function declared completely uncompromised by three board-certified pediatric specialists who had been flown in on Garrison's private jet from Johns Hopkins at 3:00 AM.
Standing before Garrison was Marcus, the chief of security for Vail Global—a broad-shouldered former intelligence officer who had served Garrison for twelve years.
"We have the hospital security footage, Boss," Marcus said, placing a tablet on the glass table. "He entered through the trauma bay at 02:14. Left at 02:22. He didn't take anything. He didn't go near the pharmacy. He walked straight out onto 5th Avenue and headed south into the Industrial District."
Garrison zoomed in on the boy's face on the screen. The image was grainy, but the boy's eyes were unmistakable—wide, intelligent, intensely focused, and weighed down by an exhaustion no eleven-year-old should ever carry.
"Who is he?" Garrison asked.
"His name is Leo Vance," Marcus replied, pulling a thin physical folder from his coat. "Or at least, that was his name until four years ago. His father was Dr. David Vance."
Garrison's eyebrows drew together. "Vance? As in Vance Neurological Research?"
"The same," Marcus nodded grimly. "Four years ago, Dr. Vance was the lead researcher working on a proprietary neuro-synthetic compound for Aetheria Health—the pharmaceutical conglomerate owned by your former business partner, Richard Sterling."
Garrison's jaw tightened so hard the muscles along his cheeks turned to iron.
Richard Sterling was Dr. Sterling's elder brother—and the man who had tried to execute a hostile takeover of Vail Global's medical transport arm eighteen months ago.
"Keep talking," Garrison said softly.
"Dr. Vance discovered that Aetheria’s lead clinical trial drug was causing severe, delayed vagus nerve paralysis in pediatric test subjects," Marcus explained, pointing to a document in the folder. "He tried to blow the whistle. Three days later, Dr. Vance was killed in a hit-and-run collision outside his lab. The driver was never found. The police ruled it an accident. The mother died of cancer two years later. The grandmother took the boy, but when she died eight months ago, the city social services lost track of him."
Garrison looked at the screen—at the boy who had known exactly how to release Theo's nerve lock because he had spent his early childhood watching his brilliant father treat children damaged by Aetheria's corrupted drugs.
"He didn't just stumble into that room," Garrison murmured, a cold, terrifying clarity settling into his mind. "He saw Theo in my arms on the street because my son was suffering from the exact same symptom."
Marcus went quiet. "Boss... are you saying..."
"Theo didn't catch a sudden viral infection," Garrison growled, his voice dropping into a register that made the glass panels of the lounge vibrate. "Someone gave him that neurotoxin."
He turned slowly, looking through the glass window at his infant son sleeping peacefully inside the crib.
"Theo was nanny-cammed twenty-four hours a day," Garrison whispered. "The only person who had access to his formula yesterday afternoon was my personal assistant—the one recommended to me by Richard Sterling's staffing agency six months ago."
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Garrison turned back to Marcus, his eyes blazing with an unholy fire.
"Assemble three tactical units," Garrison ordered. "We aren't going after Sterling yet. First, we bring that boy home. If he has a single scratch on him, Marcus, I will tear this city down block by block."
