Holly stood outside of the water-plant with Higgins after the successful raid. Thankfully Kristy was okay and there were no casualties other than the multitude of Gilberts. She felt things went far smoother than they could have. The escaped Merrin that was in a Monkey’s body never turned up, but Kristy and Jenny were safe and the lab was shut down, so she would call it a mission success.

  The Strike squad leader, or SSA Smith, nodded to Kristy.

  Kristy nodded back and said, “Report.”

  SSA Smith said, “Ma’am, we found and rescued a total of ten victims including a mother and daughter. They are being escorted to the temporary shelter we established and are currently being debriefed for any vital information, they will then be evaluated by a psychologist for any lasting trauma. From the research that has been sifted through so far, it seems the ‘Gilberts’ were experiment victims that Chuck considered to be failures and he instead spliced them in some way with the Hypnosites to make them fully dependent on him. Among the survivors, we rescued a Gilbert that claims to be the original. We are still unsure of the truth to his claims, but he’s being carefully questioned as we speak. The Hypnosites have been carefully locked away in plate glass containers, Chuck has been detained and he and his research are being brought to headquarters per the command of SAC Brown. My squad will be leaving the victims and the rest to you.”

  Holly found that last part strange, “Good work, SSA Smith, but when were you commanded to bring Chuck and the research back? This is my investigation and I may still have use for them.”

  SSA Smith shook his head, “I don’t have the clearance to say, Ma’am, but the decision is final. I have my orders.”

  Holly could tell by the look on his face that Smith was not going to budge. Her gut was telling her there was something deeper going on, but she would need to confront SAC Brown directly. She nodded to Smith and said, “Thank you for your work, SSA Smith, you are dismissed.”

  SSA Smith took off without another word. Within minutes, his team was packed up and choppered out with Chuck, the hypnosites that were once Gilberts, and the research from the lab.

  “Well that’s a load of crap,” Higgins said as he and Holly watched the helicopter fly off, “They swoop in, steal all the evidence, and leave you as a babysitter to a bunch of trauma victims.”

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  Holly had to agree, though she was thankful they didn’t steal Kristy and Jenny too. After what they’d been through, those two deserved some time to recover.

  “I’m going to call SAC Brown later. He owes me an explanation,” Holly said to Higgins as they walked to the tent, where Kristy was.

  Inside, Kristy was hovering over Jenny, who was speaking to the psychologist that stayed behind.

  Before Holly could approach, speakers from all over the water-plant grounds turned on and blasted Merrin’s voice at an uncomfortably loud volume.

  “Give him back! If Chuck is not returned to me in one hour, I will set off a frequency that will impact the whole town. This water-plant has been infusing broken down Hypnosites in the water supply for years and if this frequency goes off, the entire town will be affected. I don’t know what will happen to everyone who’s been drinking the water, but if you don’t return Chuck to me, we are all going to find out… Give him back!” Merrin’s recorded voice kept blasting the same message on repeat over and over again.

  “What the hell?” Higgins shouted over the recording.

  Holly’s eyes went wide as she realized the Water-plant had never been just a shell corporation to cover up the experiments. The entire water-plant was another portion of Chuck’s experiments. This was bad. This was really bad. “Higgins! We need to hurry and call the strike squad back.”

  They both exchanged a look and darted for Higgins’s squad car. Once inside, the sound was muffled enough to allow Holly to dial SAC Brown.

  “Holly, I heard the raid was a success. Good job.” SAC Brown said.

  “Sir! This is an emergency! We need Chuck brought back ASAP.” Holly said.

  “What are you talking about?” SAC Brown said.

  “This,” Holly put the phone on speaker and stepped out of the car, letting SAC Brown hear the entire message from Merrin. She got back in the car.

  “That’s not going to happen, Holly. I just got my friend back, I’m not going to let him go that easily.” SAC Brown said.

  “What? Sir, I must have misheard you. The entire town is under threat.” Holly said, confused. Was he calling Chuck his friend?

  “You misheard nothing, Holly. We’re going to let this happen. I advise that you take advantage of the next hour to evacuate anyone you care about that’s been drinking the water for a long time. Good luck.” SAC Brown said and hung up promptly.

  Holly blinked, feeling dumbfounded, then she looked at Higgins’s horror filled expression and realized that he lived in this town. Higgins had been drinking the water for years.

  Higgins seemed to realize it at the same time, “I’m screwed, aren’t I?”