Broken Wings -X-
Justin

I felt like an idiot standing at gate 24 waiting for the flight to unload.
I couldn't help but wonder if limo drivers felt this stupid holding a sign
waiting a complete stranger to come up to them. I had no idea what the
operative looked like. EO had just sent me the flight number and times, but
he forgot to describe what the guy looked like. It might have been nice to
know.

Jhondie was furious with me. I had gotten the flight times, and then
deleted them before she could see a thing. Then I called out the big guns.
Mrs. Harris had told Jhondie she wasn't leaving the house, and that was
final. I'm not saying Mrs. Harris is like a lead weight wrapped in silk or
anything, but even Zack tends to cave before he even knows he's doing it.
Jhondie's gotten in some practice getting around her mother, but Mrs. Harris
was still upset about the broken leg, and when she decided Jhondie wasn't
getting involved with anything else for a while, she was going to make it
so. I wasn't complaining, but Jhondie had accused me of conspiring with her
mother (I had) and so she was angry. I was going to have to figure out how
to calm her down without apologizing. Tricky. But it was going to have to
wait. Passengers were emerging.

The first two were easy to dismiss. I didn't think EO would send a woman
with a baby, and the guy was maybe sixteen. Way too young. Hmmm...maybe that
big guy, no he went over to the blonde that was obviously happy to see him.
The man in the suit and tie...no, he went directly into the bar. Not going to
be the family, or the punk-azz looking girl, maybe the man casually dressed
in jeans...no, he was meeting up with the Asian woman.

"So we standing here all day or what?" a woman asked me. I had been
watching the passengers and she had snuck up on my left. I glanced over and
there was the punk-azz, complete with jeans and a leather jacket. Oh God,
no, there was no way she was an EO operative. She was giving me a snide
look.

"Seattle?" I questioned. Please let her get the code question wrong. "How'
s the weather in Seattle?" I asked.

"Score one for LA, she replied. "Always rains in Seattle," she continued,
giving me the correct answer as she adjusted the shoulder strap on her bag.
She sounded like a ghetto punk. There had to be more to her than I was
seeing. EO would not have sent...well, what she seemed to be, on an
assignment that was this important to him. She looked around. "So where's
Miss LAX?" she questioned. "I thought you two were like Siamese twins or
something."

"LAX is down right now," I replied, not sure what to make of her. She
needed to lose the attitude. Anyways, what was her problem with Jhondie? I
could tolerate plenty, but I was not going to deal with snide remarks about
my relationship with Jhondie. If the boss could deal with it, his
operatives better keep their opinions to themselves. "You got a problem
with just me?" I asked a little roughly.

She shrugged. "As long as you can get me where I need to go." She looked
at me expectantly.

"The car is in the garage," I said. She started sauntering off, fully
expecting me to follow her. There was something about her that reminded me
a little of Jhondie. It wasn't in looks. Seattle was pretty, but with her
dark hair and eyes and her complexion, she didn't look anything like
Jhondie. It was more in the way she walked with that confident stride. It
was very feline. With Jhondie it made sense. She had the muscular system
of a cat. With Seattle, it was probably just overconfidence and arrogance.
I hoped she would drop the attitude before we got to Dr. Lee's.

She didn't have any other luggage than her bag. Good, she wasn't planning
on staying long. I had thought about introducing her to Jhondie, but
decided against it. Jhondie would probably smack her or something. We got
into my car without another word passing between us.

I pulled out onto the freeway and finally decided that I should find out
what was going on before we got there. Dr. Lee knew we worked for Eye's
Only and he usually had no problems at all helping us whenever he could.
When EO was trying to find out what was really going on with the medicine
that was supposed to be helping with Balkan War Syndrome, Dr. Lee had helped
us prove the stuff coming to LA was bogus. He had never before been
mentioned by name. He knew we were coming and that I had no clue what it
was for. He had said that he would help however he could safely, but that
he wasn't talking to a stranger. I had no problems being there. I was just
a little worried that Jhondie might be there as well. She was sneaky enough
to pull a stunt like that. Nah, Mrs. Harris would have called me.

"What does Eye's Only want with Dr. Lee?" I asked.

"He knows someone Eye's Only needs to contact," she replied vaguely. There
had to be more to it than that. I was sure EO could find a doctor in
Seattle if he needed one. She wasn't exactly being communicative. I hoped
she was going to explain more to Dr. Lee if she really wanted his help. He
wasn't the trusting sort.

We went directly to his shop and I took Seattle through the backdoor that
went to the stairs leading to his office. His daughter was working today,
and I knew she had no clue about Eye's Only, and that Dr. Lee would like to
keep his family ignorant about some of the less than legal things he had
done for us.

He was waiting for us in his office. "Dr. Lee," I said in Mandarin Chinese,
"this is a fellow associate for Eye's Only." I switched to English.
"Seattle, this is Dr. Lee."

She smiled very sweetly. "Very nice to meet you," she said in Chinese.
That was going to make this meeting easier. No translating. Then again, I
couldn't tone down what she had to say. She better keep it professional.

"Please, sit down," Dr. Lee said, gesturing to some chairs. He sat at his
desk when we sat down. "I have been told that you need my help," he said.

Seattle looked uncomfortable that I was there, but she knew I wasn't
leaving. If she wanted Dr. Lee's cooperation, she was going to have to deal
with me. "I'm looking for your brother, Dr. Cheng Lee," she said. "There
is a very young child in Seattle that needs his help."

Dr. Lee leaned back, his face impassive. "He is a renowned audiologist,"
Dr. Lee commented, "but why his help in particular? There are many other
doctors here in America that could help a child with deafness."

"There are some unusual aspects to this case," she replied. There better be
for Eye's Only to take note of it. Dr. Lee quirked an eyebrow at her and
waited for her to continue. She wasn't getting help without him knowing
what he was in for. "We need to know what caused her deafness. There may
be some other factors involved," she added.

"Other factors?" he questioned. I knew Dr. Lee had been a neurologist in
China. This would be more of an interest to him than an audiologist.

"This child has had a gradual onset of deafness which may have its root in
unusual brain activity. We need to find out exactly how this is affecting
her and what we can do to prevent it," she said. "The child is getting
worse, and if she doesn't get help soon, she could die."

Dr. Lee looked thoughtful. "What is the cause of the unusual activity?" he
asked.

"That's what I need to discuss with your brother," she said quickly.

"If I cannot give my brother details," Dr. Lee responded coolly, "he will
not be interested in coming."

I could see the fire leap into her eyes and quickly stepped in. "Listen," I
said to her. "All of us are on the same team here. You and I both have the
same boss, and if he didn't trust both of us, you wouldn't be here now. I
know I can vouch for Dr. Lee's trustworthiness and discretion." Boy could
I. He could make a fortune with the blood samples he had gotten from
Jhondie. One cell of her blood contained the genetic code to make the
perfect soldier. "You can't expect someone to get their family involved if
they don't know what's going on."

She thought for a long moment. "She was part of a black ops genetic
program," she said coldly. "We know your brother was involved with
something similar in China. A child's life may be in danger. We need his
help."

Dr. Lee glanced at me, and we both could see a flash of panic in each other.
Black ops genetics program? That didn't hit close to home. That was in my
living room watching TV with its feet propped up on the coffee table.
Manticore. Jhondie. A little girl? Was she the child of an X series?
Another branch of Manticore maybe? Who the hell was Seattle, and how did
she know about all this?

Dr. Lee's face became impassive again. "I have not spoken with my brother
in a few months," he said. My journalistic instinct said he was lying. "He
has been very busy with a special project, but I will contact him and ask
him for a consultation. I will get back with you and let you know what he
says." It was a dismissal.

There was a knock on the door. Dr. Lee's daughter knew not to open his
office door when it was shut. "Father," she called. "I need you in the
shop."

"I will be there in a moment," he called back to her.

I stood quickly. "Thank you for your time and your help," I said. "You
know how to get a hold of me when you can."

Seattle remained seated. "So, that's it?" she snapped. "You'll do your
best while a child's life may be in danger?" She looked at Dr. Lee and then
to me. The smile was gone, abject fury in its place. "Thanks for nothing,"
she snarled, standing up. For a second she looked like she was about to
attack. In a blur, she brushed past me and through the doors. I followed
her out quickly.

"He didn't say he wasn't going to help," I reminded her. "He just needs
to..."

"He was lying," she interrupted, whipping around. Her dark eyes were almost
crackling with rage. "If he won't help, then I'll just have to find someone
who will." She spun on her heel and started walking away from the car.
Another irate female for me to deal with. Thanks boss. I still needed to
take care of her.

"Where are you going?" I called, jogging to catch up to her.

"You do not want to be around me right now," she warned. She was right
about that. "I have your cell number. Don't call me, I'll call you." With
that she continued storming down the street. And I thought Jhondie was good
at throwing a temper tantrum. Nope, I was most definitely not introducing
Seattle to Jhondie.

I knew what I was going to do. If Dr. Lee wasn't willing to help then I was
going to help Seattle out. I thought about Beetle. He was into conspiracy
theories and loved to research black ops programs. I had dismissed him as a
loon until about six months ago when he told me how there were these
genetically engineered soldiers running loose. They had escaped from a
secret government project. The man had good information from somewhere. He
was still a loon, but he was a useful loon.

I got into my car and started back to my apartment. I kept replaying the
interview in my head. I knew I needed to call Dr. Lee. If Seattle decided
to try and make him talk, then she was going to get hurt. Dr. Lee might not
look like much, but he was very strong, and well trained in martial arts.
My cell rang. It was Dr. Lee.

"I apologize for being rude earlier," he said, "but I did not want to tell
her I knew what she was talking about."

"I understand," I replied. "You haven't called Jhondie have you?"

"No," he answered. Relief. If she knew Manticore was involved, then there
would be no way of keeping her out of this. There was no way I was letting
her get involved now. If Seattle knew about Manticore, then she would know
what the barcode on Jhondie's neck meant.

"I spoke to my brother just yesterday," Dr. Lee said. "I do not wish to
discuss this over the phone." I got the hint and changed lanes, cutting off
a lady in an SUV. She honked and extended her middle finger. It was LA,
she should be used to it.

"I'll be back in a few," I said. Why was nothing simple?