Jessica pulled into the parking lot of the assisted living home on the corner of Clairmont Road and Scott Boulevard. The building was a light gray with white trim around the window frames. It had sea-green awnings and a couple of towers in the same color.
She pushed the button to turn the car off and took a deep breath. You can do this. She eyed the building in her rearview mirror. It had been a long time since she had entered one of these, and walking back into one now was not the easiest thing mentally or emotionally.
Jessica opened the front door and stepped into a floor-to-ceiling glass cylinder that scanned for viral infection symptoms. The door closed heavily, and the sound made Jessica jump. Still not used to that. After a few seconds, Jessica heard the receptionist say, “You’re clear.” The interior glass door slid open, allowing Jessica to enter the building’s lobby, where she signed in. She was then allowed into a common area for the residents.
Zach was standing by a window, staring out into the courtyard. She could immediately see a difference in his demeanor. Usually, Zach was this ball of positive energy that couldn’t sit still if you paid him. He had a treadmill set up at his workstation to stay active while he took calls. Now, he was so still, as if he was frozen in time.
“Zach?” Jessica said as she took slow steps toward him. Jessica reached her hand out to touch his shoulder but remembered that wasn’t always a good idea in this situation and retracted her hand.
“Zach, it’s me, Jessica,” she said, her eyes searching his face. “Sorry I didn’t check on you sooner. I would have, I just didn’t know this had happened or where you were.”
Zach didn’t respond. He continued to stare out of the window.
Jessica stepped closer to the window and followed his gaze to get a better view of what was capturing Zach’s attention. The courtyard had a garden with calla lilies and other lovely flowers, and a small koi pond. A bench sat under a cherry blossom tree, which was in bloom. The beautiful pinkish-white petals gave the courtyard an elegant, serene feel.
Jessica was now standing shoulder to shoulder with Zach. She tried again. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to help you, but I’m still trying. I need you to give me something. What happened to you? Why are you here? This isn’t you.”
This was worse than she was anticipating from the recording. Jessica started to look at Zach’s face again, but movement in the courtyard caught her attention. Her eyes quickly locked onto the culprit, a doctor dressed in the requisite long white coat. He had a lean, athletic build and a freshly shaven appearance, making his brown jawline glow bronze.
“Handsome doctor,” Jessica said playfully, “but not that handsome.” She looked at Zach, who still didn’t respond. The doctor sat on the bench and crossed his legs. He interlaced his hands behind his head and reclined slightly. Something about this situation, this man’s presence, didn’t feel right, and not just because doctors so rarely seem to have leisure time during their days.
Jessica’s focus on the doctor in the courtyard was broken when she heard Zach’s breathing intensify. Just then, the doctor stood up and walked toward them as if he could hear it too.
“What’s wrong?” Jessica asked Zach. She turned to face the nurse’s station and tried to get someone’s attention.
“You see him?” Zach responded, still staring at the courtyard.
“Yes, Zach, I do,” Jessica said, thankful for the sound of his voice finally, though the tone was concerning.
“You have to save my godson,” Zach said.
Jessica had grown close to Zach over the years. She had done extensive research on the Singularity Group’s Research and Development division, of which Zach Carver was a key figure. Jessica had learned much about him. She knew that Zach was raised in the system. His parents were shot and killed by rogue militia while protesting at a Black Lives Matter rally. Zach didn’t have any other family. He bounced around different foster homes until he was fifteen. When he was caught hacking into a digital currency exchange market, he was sentenced as an adult. He met people in prison who introduced him to the Singularity Group prisoner relief work program. Leslie had a legal team petition to have him released early. The parole board agreed since Zach was caught while hacking back into the exchange to return the digital currency he had stolen. In getting to know Zach, Jessica came to know his circle. She was sure that if Zach had a godson, she would have known about it.
“What godson?” Jessica asked. “You don’t have a godson.”
“I see it all, you know? I can see everything. They thought that I was naive, but,” Zach leaned toward her and winked, “I’m not naive.” He tapped his index finger against the side of his head. “They need me. They need what I have in here.” He then waved his arm across the room. “They make me take the medicine that makes everything go foggy, but I still have my vision. I can still see everything. I see it all.” He paused and seemed to watch Jessica’s face. “What I have in here,” he said while pressing his finger against his forehead, “you have too. You can never let them have it. Never.”
“Zach,” Jessica began, “I—I.” She didn’t know what to say. “Okay. What is it they want? And what godson?”
Zach laughed, and Jessica realized that none of her questions would likely be answered now. His laughter grew louder and louder, and his body trembled. The orderlies came rushing over to restrain Zach. It took three of them to get ahold of him. Once he was on the ground, tears rolled down his cheeks, and Jessica realized there were tears on her cheeks too. The veins in Zach’s neck bulged from strain, and he screamed so loudly that his face turned purple, “Save him! Save him!”
Jessica quickly turned to look for the doctor in the courtyard and was surprised to find him on this side of the glass, staring at her. He shifted his vision from her to the restrained Zach.
“What seems to be the problem here?” the doctor asked as he approached the orderlies.
“We don’t know, Dr. Serrano,” one orderly replied. “He just got out of control after speaking to his visitor.”
Dr. Serrano knelt next to Zach and pulled out a flashlight to check his eyes. While the orderlies were concentrating on Zach, Dr. Serrano looked up at Jessica. Time stood still as Jessica locked eyes with the man. Suddenly, his eyes seemed to disappear, and his eye sockets turned black. Jessica took a deep breath and, against her better judgment, took one step closer to get a better look. Dr. Serrano tilted his head, seemingly intrigued, and smiled. He glanced down at Zach, and when he looked back up at the orderlies, his eyes had returned to the brown color they were before. Jessica watched as the doctor and the orderlies took Zach away.
Jessica stood there staring at the doors through which Zach was just taken when she heard a voice coming from her right side. “Looks like you’ve puzzled the good doctor, haven’t you?”
Jessica turned to see who was talking to her. “Pardon?”
“Oh, I just said that the doc doesn’t know what to make of you,” the old man said, grinning. “My name is George,” he said, extending his hand. George was a black man, probably in his early eighties. He was around six feet tall and had a spry, healthy look about him.
“I’m Jessica,” she said, as they shook hands.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jessica.”
Jessica looked back toward the double doors.
“Oh, he’ll take good care of your friend,” George said.
Jessica tried to nod but had trouble pulling her thoughts away from Zach.
“You’ve got the vision,” George said, more of a statement than a question.
“What did you say?” Jessica asked, her attention now fully on George.
George smiled. “You and I have a lot in common. Would you mind going for a walk with an old man? I need some exercise and walking with a beautiful young woman gets my heart going in the right direction.”
Jessica laughed, then her expression turned to a frown. “I actually can’t—”
“I know you are here to see your friend,” George said, “but I’m afraid you won’t get much more out of him. You’ve seen the most important thing that he needed to show you, or person rather.”
Jessica’s eyes drifted back down the hall, trying to see beyond the doors. What George had just said started to sink in. “Person? You mean the doctor?”
“Am I correct in thinking you’re no stranger to establishments like this?” George asked, changing the subject.
Jessica paused, deciding whether to follow this new course of conversation.
“I am, unfortunately, no stranger, and by necessity,” Jessica said.
“Someone close to you?”
“My dad,” she said, as they took a stroll.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Was he here?” George asked.
“No, in Florida.”
“Is that where you’re from?”
“No, I’ve bounced around quite a bit. But I grew up out west,” Jessica said.
“Ah, that’s lovely, a citizen of this universe.”
“What was that?
“What was what?” George asked, his head tilted.
“You said a citizen of this universe?”
George smiled. “Did I? We don’t have the time to talk about that today. That’s not what you came here to learn about anyway, now is it?”
“Well, no, but I also didn’t come here expecting to find a doctor with decaying eye sockets either. So, a girl has to prioritize.”
George laughed. “That’s fair. So you did see that, huh?”
Jessica tensed. Did I say that out loud?
“Typically only those who are in debt and those with the gift of sight see the collector in that form. You didn’t fear him, which means that you don’t have any outstanding debts. So your ability to see him means that you most likely know Ori or one of his associates.”
“How do you know Ori?” Jessica asked in surprise.
George laughed. “You’re not the only one he has recruited.” His expression became more serious. “Your friend Zach knew him personally as well.”
“Ori was recruiting Zach?”
“Something went wrong. Ori has checked in on Zach, but he’s in rough shape, as you saw.”
“Ori has been here?” Jessica asked, straightening up.
“Of course,” George said.
Jessica’s mind worked. She focused her gaze on the ground, trying to plan what she should do next.
“Now hold on.” George interrupted her train of thought. “There are a couple of things I need to tell you, and we don’t have much time.” George gave her a piece of paper. “Go to this address. He’ll find you at the park.”
Jessica opened the piece of paper. It read “951 Scott Circle tomorrow 0500.”
“Secondly,” George continued, “your friend Zach was doing the right thing. He’s caught up in something, and this road does not end here.”
Jessica searched George’s face and then nodded. “Thank you,” she said, simply.
“Excuse me, miss.” Jessica heard a voice from behind her. “What are you doing out here?”
Jessica realized that they were now in the courtyard. Jessica turned to face the woman. “I’m sorry, we’re just having a chat.”
The nurse smiled. “Bless your heart. He doesn’t get visitors, so it’s good of you to spend time with him.”
Jessica said, “George? But he’s so charming.”
“How do you know his name?” the nurse asked.
Confused, Jessica furrowed her brow. “He introduced himself to me.”
Jessica looked back at George, who was paying no attention to the exchange. His gaze was focused on the koi pond.
“In all my time here, George hasn’t said a word to anyone.”
Jessica reached in her pocket to pull out the piece of paper with the address written on it. She opened her mouth to speak but decided against it. She patted George on the arm and whispered, “Thank you. I’ll see you next time.”