"Who are you?" Eric heard a familiar voice call through the door.
He could even hear the man's shaky breath.
Eric spoke before Raz could make any rash moves.
"Hello Doctor Silas. I am Eric Laut. You're familiar with my sister, Victoria."
Raz's mouth gaped at Eric's bluntness.
There was a moment of silence, then the gun retracted. Wary eyes peeked through the slot.
They could hear the audible gag from the other side of the door.
"How..." Eric saw regret flash across the man's eyes.
"Can we come in? Alleyways aren't the most hospitable." Eric's mirth seemed lost to the man.
Silas checked if the alley was empty of other parties. He then gave Eric and Raz another look before sliding the door open.
They were met by a man so diminutive in stature it looked he would shatter his joints if he actually shot his gun.
He wore a half mask that left only his chin visible and brown hair swaying.
Silas led them inside, bolting the solid door behind them.
The little passage, gave way to a neat and clustered space, reeking of antiseptic.
Eric's heightened senses were almost overwhelmed by the sharp scent.
Tattered operating equipment filled the room in an organised fashion, a patient's bed dominating the centre.
On the stairs to the upper floor sat a plump woman with a similar half mask on her face.
'Thank God she's not dead yet.' Eric thought, spotting Kai.
Eric's eyes danced about the room before settling on the man who watched him with subdued interest.
"How did you find us?"
Eric ignored his question, posing his own instead.
"Is Victoria still alive?"
Silas was silent for a few seconds before answering in a morose tone.
"She was, at the time I escaped."
"How long ago?" Eric spoke with none of the politeness he had shown.
"About two weeks." Silas replied.
"Where was she being held?" Eric pressed.
"Ward D. I'm not so sure anymore though." Silas said.
Eric let out a tired sigh before asking again, moving gently towards the doctor.
"Can you sleep?"
His words took Silas by surprise.
"Or have the nightmares completely taken over." Eric continued.
Silas' lips quivered. Eric watched Silas' eyes dart away from his, in search of anything but his cold stare.
"Of the unending white. Of their screams, their blood." Eric's voice grew sullen with each step he took.
Just a few inches from Silas, Eric stopped moving.
Eric clenched his fists so tightly the others feared he'd cut himself with his nails, as he spoke the last words.
"... Her cries."
Silas cocked his gun, shoving the muzzle into Eric's chest. In the same instant Raz aimed his pistol at Silas's head.
"Move and his brain gets blown out." Raz snarled. His words stopping Kai mid-step. The finality in his voice chilled her.
"What the hell do you want?" Silas' words were frantic. "Revenge?"
Eric was unimpressed.
He pushed his body harder into Silas's gun. "Are you going to open me up too?" Eric asked with a sneer.
The Doctor winced at his words.
"Although, we do want revenge, it is not on you" Eric continued, turning to the woman. "nor you. You are too small cogs in their machine and too little orchestrators of our pain."
He pulled Silas's gun down. He could feel the weak resistance the Doctor put up but he pushed past it. Eric continued speaking.
"What I do want is to offer you a chance at redemption."
Silas's already piqued interest was heightened at the mention of redemption.
He glanced between the boy and his guard before completely lowering his pistol.
"You have two minutes or someone's dying."
"Much obliged. Raz?" Eric said, his retainer dropping his weapon too.
"I know you. I know Panacea. I know the unspeakable things they are capable of and so do you. You've even participated in them." Silas audibly gulped at Eric's words.
"But unlike you, I am going to put an end to it." Eric cracked a smile as he spoke. "Starting with the base holding my sister. The source of your shame and torment."
"So you came to tell us you're committing suicide?" Kai spoke with scorn. "You could have done that without dragging us into it."
Eric scoffed. "I came to offer something you both sorely lack in your vendetta against your former employers." He turned to Kai as he spoke. "An actual plan and a way to achieve it."
"If you have a plan then why are you here?" Silas rebutted. Eric could see the doctor was sceptical, but he could also see a glint of interest in his eyes.
"Two things Doctor. Information and trackers."
Eric stumbled around Silas and headed for the only chair within the damp room.
"And you think we would help you why?" Kai asked, crossing eyes with Raz. She shivered when their gazes met.
Eric snickered at the sight.
"I offer you redemption by their destruction. I'll be entering the facility soon. And not long after, an unfortunate attack shall strike." He fell comfortably into the chair and felt his screaming joints wane. His body still protested his inelegant jump.
"At the end, only rubble will remain."
"You're actually serious?" Silas looked amused and terrified by Eric's risk filled proclamations.
"And if we refuse your offer? What if we don't want revenge?"
Eric's head snapped to the pale doctor.
"Don't want revenge?" He repeated, his voice dangerously soft. Eric didn't need to gesture to Raz. His butler's pistol was swiftly up again, this time aimed at Kai's head.
"Kai!"
Eric's gun was already pressed against Silas' skull before he realised Eric was also armed.
Silas's shocked face told Eric, the doctor hadn't even noticed when he stood.
"The choice is this," Eric said, his gaze locked on Silas. "You can help me, and earn your chance to see Panacea burn. Or you can refuse, and Raz kills your friend for her crimes before I kill you." Silas saw Eric's finger slightly tighten on his trigger. "Your guilt is simply a luxury. You both must pay for what you've done."
Silas breathed ruggedly.
Eric watched Silas's eyes fixed on the glaring Kai. The Prince knew the weight of Silas's past crushed the doctor more than his fear of death. But the thought of Kai dying would cement his decision.
When Silas lowered his head, Eric knew he had him. He nodded to Raz who also stepped away from Kai.
Then Eric holstered his weapon. The unnatural smile never left his face as he returned to his chair.
"As I was saying, I already have rudimentary information of the base, and some assets to be taken advantage of. Unfortunately not as detailed as from people who had almost complete freedom within. That's where you come in. I need plans, names, and procedures for each emergency. All to be prepared then handed to my goodman Raz."
Eric glanced at Raz and could see the awe and bubbling fear in his eyes. He only gave it a passing thought before continuing.
"And lucky me caught an IT personnel. Who's more qualified to provide that type of information than you Kai." Eric seemed genuinely delighted.
"If we give you this information and they find out," Silas said having a trembling in his voice. "They'd kill us."
Eric's face gained a look of confusion.
"Weren't they already trying to kill you?" His words were biting. And a partial lie.
In his previous life Silas had survived but that was irrelevant now.
"They won't find out, because that would mean we failed. We won't fail."
"The second thing." Eric rested his back on the sofa. "I need a tracker the scanners won't pick up." He turned to Kai, then Silas. "Implanted where they wouldn't notice during searches."
The duo were visibly irked by how much Eric was willing to court death.
"They can pick up any transmissions the moment you're in." Silas said.
Raz replied, as he knew more than Eric on the matter. "He's talking about a subdermal beacon and RFID hybrid." He leisurely holstered his gun.
"The former sends out a signal to begin retrieval while the latter lets me find him at close range." He said the last part for the sake of Eric and the Doctor.
Kai went silent for a few minutes before speaking. "The RFID implant only comes up near scanners tuned to its frequency but that can be avoided." She rubbed her fatigued eyes under the mask. "Although, the subdermal beacon largely remains unseen, once activated, it's like a siren. They'll notice within seconds."
"What about a short signal burst for me to catch from this end?" Raz asked.
"Even then, the blip would send the base into lockdown. They would know you were coming." Kai shut him down.
Eric joined the conversation. "What about disguising the signal as part of their internal systems'?"
Eric's soft words froze Kai.
She slowly turned her head till she locked eyes with him. Her gaze was intense and unmoving.
"You know..." Kai muttered with certainty. Eric didn't reply. He didn't need to.
"Kai..." Silas called, sensing where this was going. "You don't have to do this."
"He knows." She repeated to herself.