The Cure

THE BUREAU’S PRIVATE PLANE WAS ABOUT to touch down at the small airport when he got a call on his cell. The look of frustration on Tony’s face was evident as he didn’t appreciate Wilson’s patience, or the lack there of. He quickly picked up the line to give his subordinate a little scolding.

“Seriously, Wilson?” Tony started, as his annoyance evident, “Couldn’t this wait until we were on the ground and enroute to the hospital?”

“I’m afraid not,” Wilson replied, “because I think Carter is already there.”

“How do you know this?” Tony asked.

“I’m rather confident,” Wilson replied, “Unless we have second Tony Deacon working for the FBI.”

“Seriously!” Tony called out, his anger growing.

“Sorry boss,” Wilson continued, “But I have a feeling Carter is used your badge to get into the hospital.”

Tony was upset he lost his badge to begin with, but the idea that Carter was using it to rush past security was enough to make him want to punch a wall.

“The man is resourceful,” Tony said, rubbing his temple. “Don’t tell anyone he’s a fake. I don’t want to anyone to spook Carter before we get there. We’re about to land, so I’ll call you when we get to ground zero.”

“Alright,” Wilson acknowledged, “Be careful out there.”

Tony closed his phone and took a deep breath to control his growing temper. Bruce could tell he was upset.

“What’s up boss?” he inquired.

“Carter kept and is using my credentials,” Tony answered, “He used them to get past security and into the hospital.”

“How are we going to play this?” Bruce asked.

“You’re going to take the lead,” Tony answered. “That way no one gets startled and panics over having two Special Agent Deacons at the same location.”

“Alright, let’s go with that.” Bruce concurred.

Once they were on the ground, the local office had two extra agents a care waiting for them at the hangar. They quickly got into the car that was waiting for them and immediately departed for the hospital.

“How long do you think he’s been there?” Bruce said, as he pulled the car out.

“I’m not sure,” Tony answered, “But we need to get there as soon as possible before Carter gives us the slip again.”

“Hopefully we get there before his work is done,” Bruce added.

“Then step on it,” Tony ordered, “We’re going to get our man this time, and I intend to shoot anyone who tries to stop us or beat us to him.”

“Now we’re talking.” Bruce said as he pealed rubber and hit the road. It would only take them a few minutes to get into town and to the parameter that was set by the military. After Bruce got them through with his credentials, it only took them a short time to make it to the hospital where all hell was breaking loose. There was an even stronger military presence there as the entire hospital had been bagged and sealed off from the outside. No one was allowed in or out without authorization. As much as Tony respected Carter for being smart enough to use his badge to get in, he had to think it was risky to do since it would be recorded that it was used. Considering what was going on in that hospital, it appeared Carter was willing to take that risk which only backed up Wilson’s theory of him being the good doctor. It took them less than a half hour to get from the landing pad to the hospital and even less time to get through the checkpoints. They were expected so guards were not giving them much of a fuss. Once in the hospital, Bruce took the lead and asked the questions.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” Bruce said, as he flashed his credentials. “We were informed that another agent from our office is already here. Could you tell us where they are so we can consult with them?”

“Nice,” Tony whispered behind him.

“They’re in the isolated ward, treating the patients.” The nurse answered. “Is there something wrong?”

“Of course not,” Bruce answered with a smile. “We just want to check in and make sure everything is going well. Thank you for your time.”

As they were walking down the hall, Tony pointed out the hazmat suits that were just outside the ward they were heading towards.

“Let’s suit up,” Tony suggested, “It will give us the element of surprise. Nice work back there by the way.”

“No problem boss.” Bruce said as he started to get into the quarantine suit.

A few moments later, the two agents strolled into the ward that was isolated to prevent the spreading of the contagion. It looked awful the moment they walked in as many people were suffering and possibly close to death. Tony did his best to keep his composure and strolled through until he spotted someone at the end of the hall.

“I think that’s him,” Ton whispered, “But why isn’t he wearing a suit?”

“I’m not sure,” Bruce answered as they kept walking closer. “Perhaps you should hang back and let me approach him.”

“What?” Tony answered. “Why?”

“He’s saw you in Florida,” Bruce reminded him, “And he’s also been carrying around your wallet which does have a picture. If he recognizes, he’ll just start running. If I talk to him, we’ll be able to get a lot closer.”

“What do you suggest?” Tony asked.

“There’s a staircase at the end of the hallway.” Bruce replied. “Wait at the stairs and so if he manages to get past me, he’ll run right into you.”

“Good plan.” Tony concurred, “Let’s do it.”

As they approached the room, Tony turned first, planting himself on the stairwell to prevent Xavier from running. Bruce kept walking and slowly strolled up to the door where they watched Carter enter. Bruce took a deep breath, and then peeked through the small window in the door to check the room before entering. What he saw in there was quite shocking to the agent. There were three people in the room, but one of them was a man who was holding the other two at gunpoint. The gunman was holding Carter and a woman hostage as they had their hands up. As much as Bruce would love to have help busting Carter, he could easily tell the man wasn’t a member of any law enforcement agency. The silencer on the gunman’s pistol was a dead giveaway, which told Bruce this man was possibly a hired gun that was there to take Carter out. Bruce wanted to rush in there but chose to stand there at the door and waited for the right moment, which came when the gunman was distracted by a sound. Carter took advantage of this distraction first and lunged at the man, getting a hand on his gun and a fight ensued. Bruce used this opportunity to bust through the door and storm the room. He quickly used his own gun to pistol whip the unknown gunman, cracking him in the head and dropping him to the floor with a loud thud. Carter looked up at Bruce, not sure what was going on.

“Thank you,” Xavier said to him.

Bruce responded by holding up his own credentials. “Bruce Kern, FBI.”

Carter stood up and tried to show Agent Deacon’s credentials. “Well, I’m…”

“I know who you are Dr. Carter.” Bruce interrupted. “We need to talk.”

“About what exactly?” Carter then asked, willing to go along with him.

“About your cure.” Bruce answered, “Does it really work?”