Chapter Seven

Josh slammed the clipboard down on the desk and ran his fingers through his hair with a frustrated sigh. The man was still refusing to talk and the hours were ticking by quickly. Pretty soon morning would come and the team would file in, sending him on his way to do God know what else to the man.

He tried not to be angry with him, tried to put himself into his shoes and understand how, after all he had been through, the thought of trusting anyone would be impossible, but he needed that mans trust to help him and he needed it now. He paced the office searching through his mind over how he could convince the man he was telling the truth, but only found himself more frustrated as nothing came to mind. He checked his watch, a quarter till three, and left the office walking down the hall, pushing open the door as he stepped into the lab, and flipped the light switch on looking around for anything that could help him.

Spotting a file placed neatly on the counter top next to a small black box he walked closer to it and opened the box pulling out a syringe full of liquid, examining it as he opened the file. Inside were notes of medications mixed that he assumed filled the syringe and pulled out the stool sitting down to read the handwriting at the bottom of the page.

Possible side affects: memory loss, nausea, vomiting, muscle spasms

loss of bowls, chest pains........

Josh stopped reading, unable to continue on, and stood from the stool, moving to the sink near by, injecting the fluid down the drain. He had to replace the mixture with something less harmful and he had to work quickly to get it done before the team arrived. He opened the cabinets searching through bottle after bottle reading the labels before finally finding the perfect combination to replace in the syringe so the liquid would look the same and any indication of swapping would go unnoticed.

Taking the two bottles he had chosen back to the counter, he combined the medication and filled the syringe, carefully wiping away his finger prints and replaced it back into the black box closing the folder and made sure everything was neatly in place before turning out the lights and leaving the room exactly as he had entered. The most the medication would do would be to make the man extremely sleepy, but Josh figured that would be exactly what he needed at this point, plenty of sleep.

Walking to the small lounge a few doors down, he retrieved his dinner from the fridge and made his way back down the hallway to the experiments room opening the door and stepping inside.

"I have some food. I know they don't really feed you in here, so I thought you might like to have it."

He placed the brown bag on the bed next to where the man sat, and stepped back positioning the chair against the wall, sitting down to watch the man in front of him. If he wasn't going to talk, then Josh would, hoping the man would give in and respond.

"It's a ham sandwich in case you want to know. Shaved ham, piled high with a slice of cheese on top and bottom and a little bit of mustard. There's also some chips, a snickers bar, and a coke to wash all of it down with."

The man remained immobile, keeping his eyes on him and Josh crossed his legs, folding his arms across his chest, and continued to talk.

"I found the injections you were scheduled to receive when the team arrives and I did a little altercations. You'll be extremely sleepy and maybe a little numb, but it's nothing compared to the way you would have felt after what they had planned to give you. Also......"

The man watched as Josh continued to babble but tuned him out as he slowly let his eyes travel to the bag that sat next to him. He was hungry, extremely hungry, and the worst that Josh could have done was to lace the food with some sort of medication, but the man seemed honest and more and more he was begining to gain his trust in him. His stomach let out a loud grumble and he reached for the bag, snatching it into his lap as though someone would take it away from him, and dumped the contents onto the bed next to him eyeing the food. He picked the sandwich up first, pulling it from the plastic it had been wrapped in, and took a bite, swirling it around in his mouth as he chewed, savoring the flavor before swallowing and closed his eyes to take another bite.

Josh had stopped talking the moment the man picked up the bag, and watched him eat as though it was his last meal and he was trying to remember ever moment of it, and let his hands fall to his lap as he began to relax. He seemed to have forgotten that Josh was in the room as he finished off the sandwich and grabbed the bag of chips and the candy bar opening both of them, undecided on which to eat first, and Josh sighed, letting his thoughts wander away to how he was going to get the poor soul out of there.

They would have to be careful, very careful, for if any member of the team caught on to what he was planning Josh knew without a doubt that he too would be sitting in the very spot the man before him was. He had discovered the team of men were very sneaky and very powerful and Josh could be wiped from the face of the earth with no signs of foul play whatsoever, and the head "Godfather" as Josh liked to refer to him as, already had taken a disliking to him and questioned his every move.

"Why do you want to help me?"

Josh quickly broke from his thoughts, unsure that he had really heard the man speak, and stared at him as the man opened the coke, waiting to see if he would speak again.

"You wanted me to talk, so answer my question....why do you want to help me?"

He raised the drink to his lips, taking a long slow gulp, as Josh stammered, almost falling from his chair as he straightened up, trying to form a sentence.

"I um....they um...."

The man lowered the can from his lips and cleared his throat pushing away the raspyness of his voice from having not used it in so long, and brought the can back to his lips taking another long drink as he finished it off.

"I um....I read your files and couldn't believe the things they were doing to you. It's inhuman. I got into the medical field to help people, not hurt them. What they are doing is illegal and if I can get you away from here safely then....."

"They're watching you know? Every move we make they see, they will catch you."

Josh shivered at the coldness of the mans voice and suddenly felt uneasy being alone with him and wishing he had brought his tranquilizer gun. Maybe those files were right, maybe this man, this experiment was mental, and maybe he had just put himself in more danger than he had realised. Glancing over his shoulder, he checked to see how close he was to the door, and shifted in his seat, preparing to run should the situation call for it.

"I've altered the video tapes of your room. They won't know or hear what I have discussed with you. If you would just give me some information then I can start planning..."

"What are you going to do with me once you get me out?"

"Help you."

Josh watched as the mans eyes filled with unshed tears and felt the lump form in his throat at the whispered words that barely ghost across the room.

"That's what they said."

His heart felt heavy, and he stood from the chair, moving across the room slowly so as not to alarm him, and sat down on the edge of the bed shaking his head to the man watching him.

"I am not like them. I promise you I am going to do everything in my power to help you, but you have to be willing to help me."

The man stood from the bed, walking a small circle in front of Josh, rubbing at the hair on his chin, before looking back to him with a nod.

"Ok. I'll answer anything you want to know, just get me out of here."

Josh sighed an explosion of relief and laughed as he patted the bed next to him.

"Then have a seat, we've only got a few hours before they arrive."

@2004lancesharmony