Jude shuffled into a large conference room with four large TV screens across from a table. He took his seat at the center of the table and laid down his papers. Most of them were blank, but they gave the illusion that he knew more than he really did. Taking a deep breath Jude readied himself for the worst. The board members would be video conferencing with him this morning to hear about yesterday's escape. The black bags under his eyes said everything, he hadn't slept all night.

The Board is going to be furious. How did I let this happen? What will they do if we don--. No, don't think. Clear. Breathe. My head is pounding. I really need to get his prescription worked out. Why did it change? That's beside the point. Focus. Breathe. I'm dead. No. Focus. Breathe. We can cover this up. For now. Who would do this? Who's bold enough? What this man goes to the news? They'd doubt him. It's ok. It'll be ok. They won't like it but it'll work. We've got to find these people.

As the minutes before the meeting seemed to drag by, the lights bared down on Jude causing beads of sweat to form above his brow. The smell of coffee wafted into the room through the vents and chatter filled the hallway. A few seconds before nine the screens came to life practically simultaneously. On the far left screen, a small woman with a stern look on her face came into focus. Her hair was pulled back into a military-style bun and her face was radiating a level of anger that made Jude stiffen in his seat.

Mrs. Dreher. I'm dead. So dead. Focus. Be strong. For God sake man you are the head of this facility your Mr. King. You fear nothing.

Her clothes were drab, a boring shade of brown and gray. The two center screens were of two business looking men. Both dressed in fine suits with their hair slicked back. The man on the right-center was wearing glasses and had a menacing mustache. His eyes were like black holes sucking the life out of the room. The left-center man's eyes were an ice blue that sent chills down Jude's spine. 

Liotta. Stop staring into his eyes. You'd think they were nice if you didn't know the man behind them. A murderous dictator. He even shot his own mother.  

The far right screen was mostly dark. There was only a small amount of light coming from the screen and the face of the person was not visible, only the shadow of a larger figure could be seen in a chair. Jude took in a small breath before addressing the board.

"Hello, I have prepared a statement of the events of yesterday's situation," Jude said calmly even though his heart continued to pound underneath his chest.

Breathe. Just breathe.

"Please continue." whispered the man in the dark on the far right.

"At approximately twelve o'clock in the afternoon, one of our transports was intercepted by three individuals. The individuals have not been identified and their escape vehicle has yet to be located. They escaped in an old jeep that is believed to have had false plates. The patient kidnapped was John Garvey. We set up roadblocks throughout the area and expanded our search with helicopters. We informed the police that we had a theft of a body and that we believe it will be used on the black market for its organs. We have yet to inform the family. We have also placed watch details on his wife's home and the homes of various family members. His wife is scheduled for her entrance to the Mill in a month. If Mr. Garvey attempts to make contact before his wife's entrance we'll know. We have no indication of the motive to kidnap this particular patient. Our team is working around the clock to locate the escaped patient and his help. We will resolve this issue." Jude explained to the board.

"What if the man comes forward?" asked Mrs. Dreher with her brow furrowed giving Jude a firm look of disappointment.

Jude turned without hesitation, "Ma'am, we'll claim that the pill was faulty and that the patient is a fugitive that endangers the balance of society's population. We'll ask that the public turn the man in so that the issue can be resolved."

Mrs. Dreher nodded her understanding, but her brow was still furrowed along with her lips pursed in disapproval.

The man in the dark shifted slightly before speaking softly, "This situation should have never occurred and there will be consequences. You should know that you are not above punishment. If we see fit we will set forth our own punishment for this mishap. We do not take this lightly nor should you. We are going to be watching your progress and handling of this situation closely. You should strive to correct the issue before we feel that you are no longer fit for this position." The dark figure shifted to sit back in the chair. Jude could feel the figures eyes on him like lasers scanning him for his reaction.

Remain calm. I'm screwed. 

Jude replied, "Sir, I assure you and the Board that this situation will be resolved. I will fix this."

"We all want to see you succeed and we would hate to see you Retire from the Mill early." The mustachioed man said with a dark tone, clipping the ends of his words. His eyes like black holes sucked you into their darkness and devoured the light. He played with his mustache as the board awaited a reply from Jude.

Disgusting man. Peran and his stupid mustache. Looks more like a silly villain than a man with his power. 

Clearing his throat Jude finally broke the silence "Yes, I understand Sir. I'll be working nonstop to resolve the issue."

Mrs. Dreher shuffled in her seat before leaning forward to address the Board and Jude. "Gentlemen, I feel that our employee has given all of the knowledge that he has at this present moment. It seems that he is working diligently to solve our problem. We should leave him to his work so that he is focused on the task and is fully engaged in finding the man."

Liotta and Peran grunted quietly their acceptance of her statement but were still clearly angry. The man in the shadows shifting in his chair smoothed his hand over his hair.

The man in the darkness cleared his throat and said, "Mrs. Dreher is correct. We should not keep Jude any longer. Keep us up to date."

The four screens in front of Jude faded to black as Jude released a sigh, not in relief, but to cut some of the tension still ruminating in the room. Jude sat in the room for a few moments allowing the meetings events to sink into his thoughts. 

That was a disaster. At least I'm alive. But for how long? and what about my family? I've got to fix this.  

Slowly he rose from his seat and walked towards the door. Jude stepped out of the room to see Rutherford bouncing on his toes in anticipation.

"What did they say? Are we done? What are we going to do?" Rutherford asked anxiously as he smoothed back his remaining hair.

If we were done we'd already be dead. 

"They said this needs to be fixed ASAP. We're not done as long as we can fix it. If we can't fix this soon we might not only be unemployed, we might be six feet under. We need to get to his wife maybe see if she gives up any clues. When is her one month checkup for the Pill?" replied Jude as he patted the smaller man's shoulder and began walking to his office.

Rutherford thought for a moment before he replied, "It's in a few days, sir. Do you want to send in an investigator to ask questions?"

"No, that would raise too many red flags especially if she knows anything," Jude answered shaking his head.

"Then what do you suggest Sir?" Asked Rutherford.

I know just what to do. 

Jude smiled slightly as he replied, "Let's send in a nurse we can trust. One who would never betray us."

With a look of confusion on his face, Rutherford inquired. "But who can we trust. Sir, what would we tell this nurse? Would we tell the nurse the problem? How else would we be able to question the wife?"

Laughing a little Jude replied to Rutherford's questions, "Ah, Rutherford you doubt my abilities. It's amusing right now because I have just the nurse for the job and we don't have to tell them anything."

Rutherford thought, How can we get a nurse who we could trust and how would we not tell them anything? There's no way. It can't be done. 

The more he thought about it the more confused he became and it was evident by the face he was making.

Sighing Jude said to Rutherford, "Let's go to my office and I'll explain my plan."

The two men walked down the hallway and turned the corner. After reaching the end of the next hallway Jude pushed open the door at the end of the hall that read, Jude King. The two men entered the room and as Rutherford walked into the office he scanned the room. The walls were mostly bare except for a single framed photo of Edward Livingston. There were a few bookshelves lined with books of various subjects. At the center of the room was a large oak desk with two leather chairs in front and one higher chair behind. The large window behind the desk was tinted to prevent unwanted eyes from seeing inside. The desks items were arranged in an orderly fashion with nothing out of place. Quickly picking up a piece of paper from under its bronze Phoenix paperweight, Jude scanned the note and placed into the top of the desk. Jude sat down behind the desk and motioned for Rutherford to sit as well. Rutherford squirmed in his seat feeling smaller as the chair swallowed him up.

"So, sir what's the plan?" asked Rutherford still adjusting himself in the chair.

Leaning back in his chair Mr. King smiled before speaking, "Well Rutherford, it's simple really. As you know my daughter works in our medical department."

"Yes, but surely she doesn't know what we really do here?" Rutherford asked raising an eyebrow.

Laughing heartily Jude gasped for air, "No my God man. I wasn't born yesterday. She knows as much as any other regular employee. We're a site for preparing people for their Pill day and doing autopsies for medical research. She only thinks I'm the man in charge of the Mill."

Rutherford's face grew hot with embarrassment for implying his boss would be so ignorant. He looked down at his lap in shame as he quietly responded, "I understand sir."

Jude shook his head still amused as he continued, "Now my plan is to use her because she is someone I can trust would never betray us if she were to find out. I know that you have heard the rumors about the new tech being developed."

"Yes sir, but that's only a rumor right?" asked Rutherford as he looked at his boss curiously.

"Ah, on the contrary, it's very real and very effective. It's out of the prototype stage now and we will be able to use it to help with our problem."  Jude was smiling as he placed his hands behind his head.

The two men discussed the logistics of the operation to find information from the wife. After they discussed the plan Jude turned to unlock a safe behind his desk and removed a black case placing it on the table with care. Jude entered a code popping the clasps open and turned the box to face Rutherford. Rutherford leaned forward getting a closer look at the device. His eyes grew wide as he peered down into the box. The device was encased in protective gray foam inside a small cylinder of reinforced glass.

"It's so small she'll never notice it." Said Rutherford sitting back in his chair.

Jude smiled as he moved to close the box he explained, "It's the size of a freckle and unnoticeable to the naked eye. It'll attach to her ID badge and we'll be able to hear everything that happens. The camera feature is still being worked on so we'll have to rely on the sound."

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