Phones rang non-stop in the CONTROL room. Papers had been taped up to the walls, scattered on the floor and crumbled up balls were overflowing from the tiny trashcan in the corner. Rutherford stood next to the long table gripping a phone next to his ear barking out orders. His face was red with anger and his remaining strands of hair stood up.

"If you don't find them then you better hope He doesn't find you," Rutherford yelled as he slammed the phone down.

The phone cracked under the force letting out a pitiful creak. Rutherford fell back into a chair with a look of desperation, he rubbed his forehead trying to wrap his mind around the situation.

How do I tell Mr. King I can't find them? The Board is going to kill us both.

Sighing, Rutherford rose out of his chair and began walking towards the door to face the music. Approaching the elevator he considered how to tell his boss that there was no sign of the escapees.

He's not going to like this. I'll have to just tell him straight out; he'll respect that more.

Bing. Rutherford began to step onto the elevator only to see his boss standing in front of him. He stood straighter as Mr. King stepped off. The elevator bounced as Mr. King came off, tapping his watch and the taller man looked down at Rutherford.

"Rutherford, just the man I was looking for. Any progress?" asked Mr. King as he began walking down the hallway.

Slouching his shoulders, Rutherford followed and responded quietly, "Sir, I'm sorry, but we've been unable to locate the escapee and there's no sign of his accomplices. They seemed to have disappeared."

Struggling to keep up, Rutherford had to jog to catch up with Mr. King. He almost tripped over an untied shoelace, causing him to pause and correct himself. He re-tucked his coffee stained shirt into his wrinkled pants and adjusted his glasses which had slid off his face due to the moisture forming around his brow. He caught up to Mr. King and ran his hand back over his sweat filled combover. He wiped the sweat away on his pants and straightened up as Mr. King turned to face him.

Shaking his finger, Mr. King responded, "This is ridiculous. I can't believe there's no sign of them. I'm working with the most incompetent group of people. Rutherford, if we don't find them you know what this means. We. Cannot. Let this get out. You understand the consequences of this? If anyone were to find out what we really do there'd be an uprising and the Board wouldn't like that. You and I won't like that."

The pair stood in the empty hallway when a creaking noise broke their silence. Ek. Ek. Ek. The pair turned to locate the source of the interruption. A blue and yellow, cleaning cart made its way down the opposite end of the hall. A man pushed the cart with his eyes closed, shaking his head and dancing with the cart. The man paused in front of a door and stepped in later emerging with a trash bag.

Mr. King walked over to the man's cart and said, "Joe, when you signed your paperwork to work here what were the regulations about lockdowns?"

The man in his blue jumpsuit bit his lip and responded, "No cleaning on this floor. Honestly, it was a mistake. I didn't think about it. I'm sorry sir."

Mr. King pursing his lips thought for a moment before replying, "Ok, be on your way."

As Joe pushed his cart around the corner Mr. King called after him, "And don't let it happen again. Or that's strike three."

Rutherford mumbled under his breath, "More like strike ten."

Mr. King turned on his heels and asked, "What was that?"

Shaking his head Rutherford fumbled with his hands and replied, "Nothing Sir."

Mr. King thought, Humph that's what I thought. Joe's not a bad person. He's just forgetful.

"That's what I thought. Now back to this situation."

"Sir, I understand and we're working to fix this situation. We're using all our resources to ensure that this doesn't get out. We've sent a team to watch his family. If anyone goes near them we'll know. We're going to find him and his little helpers," Rutherford replied calmly.

Mr. King thought to himself, I hope so or we're all in deep. No. It's going to be ok. We'll find them. Surely.

Satisfied with the response, Mr. King nodded his approval of Rutherford's plans.

"Ok Rutherford, I think that you have things under control here. I need to go and check on my daughter, but if there are any developments let me know right away."

#

Joanie gathered herself, wiping the sleep away from her eyes.

"You can come in," Joanie responded to the knocker.

Slipping behind the door, Carly stepped in with her bleach white shoes catching Jo's eye. Carly's dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her greenish blue eyes fell on Jo who was sitting in her bed stretching her arms out getting readjusted to the light. Carly was slim but well-built looking like she hit the gym every day.

She walked towards the table in the corner and asked, "Do you mind if I sit?"

Shaking her head Joanie responded, "No, not at all, make yourself at home. So, I've heard some good things about your work on the inside. Sal speaks highly of you. He said you remind him of me. So, I don't know if that's much of a compliment or not. He tends to think I'm too cautious."

"Oh, he does? That's definitely a compliment. You know he talks about you so often, I feel as if I already know you," responded Carly as she sat down.

Joanie's mind raced, He talked about me? Why? What did he say to her? Doesn't matter. Focus.

"He does?" Joanie asked in surprise rising from her bed to move to the table.

Joanie twisted her body popping her back. She rolled up her sleeves, pulling out a chair across from Carly. Plopping down into the chair yawning as she ran her hand over face still trying to wake up.

"You sound surprised. He's always going on about you and your work together. He never says much about your work, but he always says he regretted how things ended. He really admires you." Carly explained.

Joanie thought, Yeah, I'm surprised. Considering how easily he left. Thought he'd just pushed me out of his mind. Throw me out like a piece of garbage. But she said he regretted how it ended. Could he? Who cares? I don't.

"Ha, well he sure has a way of showing it. Always undermining me. Sal may not have told you much about our work, but he should know to leave it alone. Before I go off on a tangent, is there something you needed?" Joanie responded stopping herself by slapping her knees.

Taking in a breath Carly responded, "Yes, I wanted to let you know that since all of this has happened I assume that The Mill will be keeping a close eye on John's family. I'm sure you already thought of that, but since I'm on the inside I may be able to get to his wife. Since her checkup before the pill is soon The Mill will likely send in someone they trust to ensure that no outside parties have the chance to contact her. Considering my connections on the inside, I would be the most likely choice. I can send her a message for you and for John if you need me to. I know how important John is to this entire operation and I just want to help in any way I can."

Joanie nodded along as Carly spoke.

Joanie thought to herself, He talked about me? Focus. I had been wondering how to contact her. Smart kid.

"Ok, let's go talk with John and catch him up on everything," Joanie responded as she rose from her seat.

#

The cars were at a stand still with only red taillights in sight as Mr. King pulled out of the parking lot and turned left heading towards his daughter's home. He thought as he sat waiting for traffic to move of how he would handle the escapees and cover up the entire fiasco. The board was not going to be happy that one of the patients got away. He would need a solid plan of action to ease their minds.

He had a morning conference call with the board and he needed to be prepared for all their concerns. The Mill had never had such a mishap under his watch. Of course, there had been attempts, but never any successes. The entire situation was a mess for The Mill. He was putt-putting his way down the highway and decided to call his wife to tell her he would be home late.

"Kindra, Carly called in sick today. I'm going to check in on her. I'll be home a little late, love you."

"Ok, Jude I'll save you some dinner," Kindra replied.

Jude hung up the phone and lurched forward slowly, moving with the traffic.

#

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