Chapter 6: The Memory Locked Away
Chapter 6: The Memory Locked Away
The drive to the safe house began in complete silence.
Rebecca Lawson insisted on using an unmarked SUV borrowed from the Public Integrity Office. Two of Daniel Cross's agents followed at a distance in a separate vehicle, while Captain Mercer was told to remain behind until further notice.
He didn't argue.
That bothered Logan.
Mercer had resisted every question.
Now, suddenly, he was willing to wait.
It felt less like cooperation...
...and more like confidence.
As though he already knew where they were going.
Eli sat beside his mother in the back seat.
He refused to let go of her hand.
Every few minutes, he looked up at her, almost afraid she might disappear if he blinked.
Mira noticed.
"I'm still here."
"I know."
"But I keep checking."
She smiled sadly.
"I would too."
Logan watched them through the rearview mirror.
For three years, he'd imagined this reunion a thousand different ways.
None of them looked like this.
Not fear.
Not scars.
Not government agents following them through downtown Charlotte.
Nearly forty minutes later, the convoy stopped outside a modest brick house hidden behind tall oak trees on the outskirts of the city.
No sign.
No official markings.
Just an ordinary suburban home.
Lawson unlocked the front door.
"This property isn't listed under any government agency."
"Only four people know it exists."
Logan looked around.
"Who are the four?"
Lawson hesitated.
"My director."
"Myself."
"The property manager."
"And..."
She glanced toward Cross.
"...him."
Cross gave a slight nod.
"For now, we're on the same side."
Logan wasn't convinced.
Inside, the house was simple but clean.
A living room.
A kitchen.
Three bedrooms.
A small medical room in what had once been a study.
Within minutes, a doctor in plain clothes arrived carrying emergency supplies.
He introduced himself simply.
"Dr. Aaron Patel."
He examined Mira gently, explaining every step before touching her.
Unlike everyone else that day...
He never rushed her.
After nearly an hour, he stepped into the hallway where Logan waited.
"How is she?"
Dr. Patel sighed.
"Physically?"
"She's weaker than I expected."
"Malnutrition."
"Old fractures."
"Repeated soft tissue injuries."
He paused.
"But those aren't what concern me most."
"What is?"
"The scars on her wrists."
Logan looked down.
"What about them?"
"They weren't caused by ordinary restraints."
"They're consistent with medical restraint systems."
"Hospitals use similar designs."
Except...
He hesitated.
"These were used for very long periods."
Logan closed his eyes.
Someone hadn't merely imprisoned his wife.
They had treated her like a laboratory subject.
That evening, after Mira finally fell asleep, Eli curled up beside her on the bed.
He refused to sleep anywhere else.
Logan quietly closed the bedroom door.
Lawson and Cross were waiting in the kitchen.
Several folders lay across the table.
Alongside them...
A laptop displaying old surveillance photographs.
Cross pointed to one image.
"This was recovered yesterday."
Logan leaned closer.
A grainy security camera still.
The black medical transport van.
Timestamp:
October 14, 2023.
The night of the fire.
Cross zoomed in.
"We enhanced the driver's side window."
The blurry image sharpened just enough to reveal a silhouette.
A man.
White coat.
Face hidden.
"But..."
Logan frowned.
"Someone else is in the passenger seat."
Cross nodded.
"There was."
Lawson enlarged the image further.
A second figure.
Head leaning against the window.
Motionless.
Long hair.
Logan's stomach turned.
"Mira."
"Most likely."
Lawson clicked to another image.
Different camera.
Same van.
Two minutes later.
This time...
A motorcycle followed several cars behind.
Its rider kept a careful distance.
Helmet.
Black jacket.
No license plate visible.
Cross crossed his arms.
"We believe he was following the van."
"Who was he?"
"We don't know."
"What happened to him?"
"We lost him."
Logan rubbed his forehead.
"So after three years..."
"We still don't know who kidnapped my wife."
Cross answered honestly.
"No."
"We know pieces."
"Not the whole picture."
Logan looked around the room.
"What pieces?"
Lawson opened another folder.
"There were twelve known disappearances over six years."
Logan looked up.
"Twelve?"
She nodded.
"Men."
"Women."
"Different ages."
"No obvious connection."
"They all vanished without explanation."
She slid a list across the table.
Only three names had photographs.
The remaining nine spaces contained only the words:
Identity Unknown
Logan's eyes stopped on the final entry.
Case 12: Unknown Female
Status:
Recovered Alive.
He looked at Lawson.
"That's Mira."
"Yes."
"But she said she wasn't Subject Twelve."
"Correct."
Lawson folded her hands.
"That's why this doesn't make sense."
Cross spoke quietly.
"We think the project changed names over time."
"Project?"
"No official title."
"Our analysts simply refer to it as..."
He hesitated.
"...Project Lazarus."
The room fell silent.
"Lazarus?"
Logan asked.
"The man who returned from the dead."
Cross nodded.
"The name seemed appropriate."
Before anyone could continue...
A scream echoed from upstairs.
"Eli!"
Logan sprinted toward the bedroom.
Lawson and Cross followed.
They burst through the door.
Eli was standing beside the bed, terrified.
Mira sat bolt upright, gasping for air.
Her eyes were open...
But she wasn't seeing the room.
"No!"
She screamed.
"Please!"
"I remembered!"
She clawed at the blankets as though trying to escape invisible hands.
Dr. Patel hurried inside.
"Mira!"
"You're safe!"
She looked straight through him.
"They know!"
"They know I remember!"
Logan grabbed her shoulders.
"Mira!"
"It's me!"
She suddenly focused on his face.
Recognition returned.
Then panic.
She seized his shirt with both hands.
"I remember the room."
"What room?"
"The last room."
Logan leaned closer.
"What did you remember?"
Her entire body shook.
"There was a little girl."
The room went completely still.
"A little girl?"
Mira nodded frantically.
"She wasn't part of the experiments."
"She was hiding."
"She saw everything."
Logan frowned.
"Who was she?"
Mira whispered three words that made Rebecca Lawson drop the folder she was holding.
"She called Mercer..."
"...Dad."
Silence crashed over the room.
Captain Douglas Mercer.
The officer who signed Mira's death certificate.
The man who claimed he'd simply investigated the fire.
Had a daughter...
Who had been inside the facility.
Lawson slowly looked toward Cross.
Cross looked back at her.
Neither needed to say it aloud.
May you like
The investigation had just changed completely.
End of Chapter 6
