The chill he felt as he entered the underground passageway had more to do with his body's reaction to being in that place again than it had to do with any physical discomfort. The memory of that horrible night- when he almost died, when he lost Parker, it all came back to him in a rush as he stepped over the threshold to the basement.
He secured the rucksack and followed the path he'd memorized. There was no time to waste. The clock display on his visor registered 25:28. He quickened his pace and within three minutes, he'd found the sealed metal door that lead to the Hasting's tunnels. He applied a hasty smattering of conducting gel and strategically placed a few electro-charges. With little more than a relatively quiet gust of air, he gained his access. Alec inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly- it was time for the hard work to begin.
"Man, that light is bright!"
That was his first thought as his eyes registered the painful overexposure of waking up after several days of total oblivion. It was his first conscious thought before he realized he was bandaged from head to foot and hooked up to an impressive assortment of beeping, whizzing, whirring, humming machines.
Coherence was slow but in the few minutes it took for his fog to lift, the whirlwind of thoughts slammed into him with the force of Eliot's fist. He remembered the black tunnel and he remembered the pain that felt as though it would tear him in two…and he remembered Parker's still, lifeless eyes.
His breathing sped up and he could hear the alerting beep of one of the machines.
"Where's Parker," his frantic thoughts screamed as his eyes darted left and right but no words left his throat and his head wouldn't move. He was intubated and held firmly in place by his bandages.
Movement to his right caught his attention.
"It's okay Sir. Don't move. You're safe and you'll be okay."
He couldn't see the woman because she wasn't in his line of sight, but her voice was reassuring. It reminded him of his Nana. That small comfort was enough to make him slightly less panicked.
He felt the woman's warm fingers gently squeeze his hand and he tried to squeeze back. The effort alone weakened him and he felt sadness settle over him like a second skin. He wondered how he'd survived and how he ended up at a hospital. He was alone. He was battered and beaten and less than he was. His thoughts went to the rest of the team- Nate and Sophie and Eliot; his family. He wondered what happened to them; if they were safe. He wondered when he'd be able to find them.
Then he thought of Parker and tears rolled freely out the corners of his eyes.
His mind returned to a day that they'd recently spent together. That day she didn't think of casing banks or galleries, she just enjoyed walking and talking with him. Their conversation consisted mostly of Parker's strange observations about people and places but it was a wonderful summer's day and they were walking down the main street of a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, together. They were among regular people going about their regular day and Alec cherished it because he hadn't felt regular in a very long time. Parker wore a beautiful blue dress because Sophie made her, and she left her hair hanging loose so when the wind picked it up, it would dance. Her cheeks were flushed from the warmth and her eyes sparkled when they caught the sun. And when the soft breezes spun around her she would look like something magical and free.
That evening she linked her arm with his and chatted about the sunset and how the colors reminded her of paintings that she'd 'collected' and how the artwork didn't do it justice. She told him thank you when he walked her to her room and smiled at him as she said they had to do it again. And then she punched him playfully on his arm because anything else would have been un-Parker.
As he lay in that hospital bed he didn't know how or if he'd ever be physically healed but in that moment he couldn't imagine ever loving anyone ever again.
Alec's steps were light and fast. He rounded a corner and was nearly seen by a guard who was doing an early perimeter sweep. The time on the visor read 23:05. It was time for a preemptive strike. He didn't want to attract any attention that early but, his time was waning and he couldn't wait the guard out. He reached inside his jacket and pulled loose a small pen-sized device and pointed it at the guard. A tiny red light beamed on the man's chest and when Alec squeezed the lever the guard collapsed instantly, alive by out cold.
Alec saw the small black plug in the man's ear and inspiration spurred him over to the man's side. He slowly passed the pen device over the man's ear and waited for confirmation.
"Communication device online," Lulu's automated voice assurered before Alec stepped over the man and headed toward the kitchens. With the comm link established he would be able to hear everything they said. The time on the visor said 21:47. He was still making good time but he there was still a lot to do and time was moving fast.
He entered the basement stairwell that lead to the kitchen area and a sudden rush of anxiety momentarily crippled him as images flashed into his head; images of the team entering Hastings Institute, the blue flashing light that began to spin as the security sensors went off, running into the stairwell just as the guard fired several rounds at him, his handful of blood as he realized he'd been shot…Parker's face.
He stopped for a second to steady himself. He anticipated some sort of reaction as he returned to Hastings but the pain felt as fresh as if it had all happened the day before. He wondered if avoiding his grief for three years had been a wise decision.
His hand holder, Sylvia stayed with him that night and for many nights after. He learned that she was a Comfort Volunteer at the hospital. She spoke like his Nana but that's where the similarity ended. Sylvia was the gentlest woman he'd ever known. She looked like Mrs. Claus and she had the sweetest disposition. It was as though he was sent his own personal angel to help him heal.
He didn't tell her his real name and he didn't correct her when she told him she thought he'd been hit by a car. He thought the less she knew about him the neater the entire thing would be. She made him eat his vegetables and snuck gummy frogs into the hospital to reward him for pushing himself in physical therapy. She didn't know that the real reason he pushed himself so hard was so that he would be able to hasten his return to Hastings Institute and get answers.
He stayed in the physical therapy room working out long after everyone else had left. His regimen was so grueling that within three months of being dumped on the hospital's front step, he was once again walking on his own, after the doctors told him he would most likely never even stand on his own again. The nurses called it a miracle. Alec called it the ultimate con. He convinced his body that he was well and ready to leave.
Sylvia would often tell him she'd never seen anyone with the drive he had. She kept asking him how he remained so focused and he would simply tell her, "There are things to do Syl." Then he would smile his brilliant smile and she would smile back at him and shake her head and say no more. He couldn't tell her about the pair of hazel eyes that always awaited him when he rested.
His left lung would stay damaged but his three broken ribs, perforated spleen, and the other injuries were repaired and he was able to leave the hospital far earlier than anyone projected. He had to leave Sylvia too. Their goodbye was bittersweet. She felt like the last remnant of humanity that he had left. Everything else about his life felt cold and devoid of color and light, but he had to let her go. There were things to do.
He left the city almost as soon as he left the hospital. He relocated to one of his safe houses and there he continued his recuperation and planned his revenge. The anger consumed him but the sadness nearly sent him insane.
He used all the resources available to find the team or even to figure out what happened to them after they were discovered at Hastings but there were dead ends everywhere he looked. To his mind chances were slim that Nate, Sophie and Eliot were still alive but if they were, they had dropped off of the grid.
19:00. His visor flashed and a soft toned alarm brought him back to the present.