*Cold durasteel turned in Evie's hand as she watched air bubbles rise through the suspension liquid. The same report every day. No major changes in Jones' condition, though consistent minor improvements continued. But nobody knew why he wouldn't wake up.
Evie had been through his effects five times since the Ageless left. That reinforced bodysuit of his was most telling. An energy bullet, fired from behind. Jones had been surrounded by people he trusted, and one had betrayed him.
This was supported further by the shield he'd worn. It hadn't been on him when he was found, but it had been nearby. Closer inspection had revealed scoring marks on the edge that hung approximately near the wound. Jones had not taken his shield from his back, so he had not anticipated an attack. He'd drawn his pistol, and fired it, but he hadn't used the shield. Reactionary.
Some lingering echoes of his emotional state remained in the fabric of the suit, but the Zero Point had done a good job muddling it, and it grew more faint with each passing loop. Still, Evie sensed his pain, confusion, betrayal... fear.
The same fear that had coiled in the air as he'd told her about Geno. So the Ageless had been right, and Geno was here. Geno was the one who had shot her husband. Geno was here, and if Jones had specifically felt betrayed... then he was masquerading as one of their allies.
Means, motive, and now opportunity. Jones had never been wholly alone. But there was an instance where he had been alone with someone...
The Visitor. He had requested Jones to stay behind for coordination. He'd also claimed Jones had run off to stabilize the Zero Point, which would be exceptionally rash. Not out of character, but a little extreme. It was not like Jones could have stabilized it with his bare hands, and he knew that.
But then again, the Visitor had been acting very strangely lately. Would that be indicative of a failing ruse? Or of stress? A lot of people were acting different lately. Venge, for one.
But the Visitor had been the only one alone with Jones.
... Wait. No. No, he hadn't.
Evie gripped the durasteel hilt, her stomach turning. There had been someone else alone with Jones.
The O.X.R. files had indicated a connection to the Imagined Order. A paramilitary operation suddenly emerges on the Island and just as suddenly vanishes, collapsing like a paper tent. Lieutenant Ripp Slade, suddenly jobless, drifts to the Reality Warriors and volunteers, proceeding to do very little of note, except becoming closely entangled with one of the core members, embedding himself quite thoroughly despite minimal actual contribution.
It sounded like what Evie herself had done. It sounded like the work of an agent building a cover.
And he had been alone with Jones when Jones was found.
A minor complication: everyone knew Ripp Slade's face, and the Visitor remained masked. Slade looked nothing like the Ageless, who was supposedly Geno's snapshot. Counterpoint: Evie had seen many people, especially high caliber evil, alter everything about themselves down to their face and mannerisms to escape Syndicate detection. If few enough people knew of him, Geno could easily fabricate an identity around a new face.
Something about the Ageless still bothered her, though. Something about him, related to the Visitor. Their personalities? Not quite... No, she would have to investigate.
And what about Venge in all of this? He adored Slade. He was hopelessly in love. If Slade was Geno, and had used Venge this whole time to get close to the Reality Warriors and to Jones... Evie feared for the progress Venge had made.
But how much of Venge now was free from Geno's influence? If it was Slade, then not much at all. If it was Visitor... there was still some hope.
Unfortunately, there was the matter of that bizarre other energy in Venge's head to consider. Was that unrelated? Or was that courtesy of Geno? Was it altering Venge? Could she really trust him?
She had never felt so alone...
Evie gazed up at Jones, trying not to be distracted by the ache in her heart. If she tried, she could fish for the memories in his mind... But that was dangerous, especially with him in such fragile condition. Any stress, particularly in the brain, could permanently disable or even kill him. He would tell her to do it, that this was too important to worry about him... but alone? Evie couldn't make that call.
So which was it? The Visitor or Ripp Slade? One of them was Geno. One of them was responsible for what happened to Jones. One of them was a traitor.
A gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present. Startled, Evie turned to find Peely giving her a sad look. The banana pointed to himself, then to the chair, and patted her shoulder with a tiny forced smile. It's my shift, go rest, he seemed to be saying.
Grateful, Evie gave Peely a peck on the peel and headed away, pausing as she noticed another presence.
The Visitor, his red-lit visor ever impassive and unblinking, stood veiled in half-shadow across the foyer. Despite the helmet, Evie could feel he was staring directly at her.
He could be Geno. That thought pounded in her head and made her nauseous. Either he was Geno, or he had been careless enough to let Jones fall into Geno's hands.
Evie allowed her disgust with the man to show on her face as she turned away from the Visitor. Easy enough to continue making it clear that she disliked and distrusted him. Not allowing any unprompted outward changes in how she behaved towards him would make it easier to hide her true suspicions.
Trust no one. Not now. Whoever is not Geno has likely fallen for his charade.
Evie would let no one close until she knew who she could trust. This one mission would eclipse all else now.*
