Chapter 2

''Tell me anythingyou can about this device - or your brother's way of thinking - that might shed light on this, please!'' Rudy told Graham.

''I never could quite understand how Grant's mind worked. He was egocentric to the 'n'th degree - which is why I'm certain his victims were programmed to only respond to his voice. I can't even begin to mimic him, after so many years apart! My best guess is that whoever this victim number '03' is, they'll continue trying to carry out whatever their last command was - over and over - until they're found, stopped...or killed.''

''He could've hit anyone...anywhere...'' Rudy said with horror. ''He seemed to focus mainly on our staff here at the hospital though, and the Security detail.'' He told Graham about Michael's compound and how it had worked on all of the subjects/victims they'd managed to find. They'd all been rounded up mostly by the blank looks on their faces, but obviously someone had been missed - or the subject was outside the boundaries of National Medical. Either way, Oscar would have to be notified immediately.

''Your arm is healing nicely,'' Michael told Steve. ''Even better than we'd hoped. A few weeks in this lighter cast - a month at the most - and you should be good as new. Or at least, ready to exercise it again and get it good as new.'' He had noticed the shiny new rings that Steve and Jaime were sporting, but just like everyone else he would wait for the couple themselves to bring it up...which was driving Jaime crazy.

Are they blind? she wondered. They'd just finished examining, x-raying and re-casting Steve's left arm! Surely they'd noticed the ring! It was bold, shiny...and there!

''Rudy's tied up in the lab and won't be able to join us on the track,'' Michael told them both, ''but let's head out there and get started. You'll both take a warm-up at a comfortable jog. Then Steve - I want you to do the next lap at a nice, easy run. Nothing bionically-paced; just run. And if you feel any pain at all, I want you to slow to a walk and head straight in. Jaime - you'll go full-out until I stop you.'' He pretended not to notice that Jaime had stuck out her tongue as he ushered them both outside.

Oscar had come to National Medical to watch Jaime work out, to assess her (physical) readiness to return to work...or to be trained for the job. Instead, he found himself urgently summoned to Rudy's lab. Rudy and Graham filled him in on what they'd discovered...and Oscar's face paled at the thought.

''Will the device's control eventually just wear off?'' Oscar wondered hopefully.

''I doubt it,'' Graham told him. ''I'm sure my brother programmed plenty of fail-safes into those chips. But I've found no tracking system - no way to find the individual victims - so the device must not depend on their locations in order to work effectively. Once he assumed control of their minds, he hadthem...no matter where they went. And I'm going to assume they went exactly where he told them to go.''

''What if you remove the power pack - which would disable the device, I assume - and then destroy the whole thing?'' Oscar suggested. ''Just crush it to pieces?''

Graham shook his head. ''You'd still be left with a victim out there somewhere, stuck on their last command until the voice they've been programmed to obey tells them differently. Doctor Wells filled me in on the 'concussive compound' developed by Doctor Marchetti and that would certainly work - if you can find the victim.''

Mark Conrad did make it out to the track, just as Jaime took off at full-speed. Michael nodded to him, his eyes on the stopwatch and his patients. ''So I'd imagine if they told anyone beforehand, it would've been you,'' Michael said quietly (making sure Jaime was on the far side and couldn't hear him). ''I saw the rings. Are they real...an early April Fools joke...or just an exercise in 'what if'?''

''They haven't told me anything either,'' Mark answered, ''but I'm pretty sure they're real.''

''I'm glad,'' Michael said, meaning it. ''They're good for each other.''

''I just hope they didn't jump the gun...'' Mark replied. ''I know they were planning a wedding anyhow, but just a couple of days ago they both assured me they weren't going to...do this. Yes, I'm happy for them. At the same time, I'm scared to death that their issues could surface at any time and tear them apart. They've come a very long way in terms of progress with me, but they aren't to the Finish Line yet. Not by a long shot.''

''This has nothing to do with whether they were ready for an early wedding or not," Michael said, thinking out loud, ''and I agree it's better for bothof them to have each other to lean on...but if one of them has a flashback, could they possibly trigger the other?''

''They know how to pull each other out of an episode - and they know how to stop one for themselves - but you just hit the nail square on the head, my friend. Worst case scenario, yes; that absolutely could happen...''

'03' stood in his assigned place at National Medical, 'maintaining the appearance of normalcy' as instructed. His regularly-assigned weapon was in its proper place and the rear of his waistband (hidden by his jacket) held a tranquilizer gun. He was ready to carry out his orders.