She thought for a moment, and then nodded. “Okay. Come into the bathroom and we’ll take a look.”
Jericho followed her in, put the toilet seat down and sat on the edge. Julie stood in front of him, pulling the cord for the light above the sink. She leaned forward, close to him — her face inches from his. He could smell her scent, and while he figured it was just the body wash from her shower, he still thought it was nice. He looked into her brown eyes as she examined his bandages, her fingertips carefully touching his forehead.
“I think we’ll be okay removing it,” she said after a few moments. “Hold still.”
Slowly, she began unraveling it from around his head, revealing more and more of his face. Instinctively, Jericho closed his eyes. He still didn’t fully understand how he could have an eyeball in his head that was made in a lab. He felt apprehensive about opening it once the bandages were off, simply because he didn’t know what to expect.
It took Julie a couple of minutes to fully remove the layers of dressing. Jericho gradually opened both eyes, and was pleasantly surprised when he found he could see normally with both of them. He blinked tentatively a few times and looked around the small bathroom. It was like it always had been — two eyes, perfect vision.
Julie took a step back, looking at him. She raised her eyebrows.
“What?” he asked, seeing the expression on her face and feeling suddenly self-conscious.
She smiled. “See for yourself,” she said, nodding to the mirror mounted on the wall over the sink.
Jericho stood and took a deep breath, turning to face the mirror and ducking slightly so he could see his face. The first thing he noticed was the laceration across his forehead, roughly six inches long. It was a thin, dark line, with small, neat stitching running the length of it. He knew that beneath the surface was a metal plate essentially holding his skull together. That in itself was a lot for anyone to wrap their head around.
Then he looked at his left eye. It wasn’t brown, like it used to be. It was a light blue. He covered his right eye with his hand, just to be sure. He could see perfectly, although it felt slightly sensitive in the light.
“Are you okay?” asked Julie.
“It’s fucking weird,” he said, shaking his head. “But yeah, I can see fine. They could’ve made it the same as my right though…” He pressed and prodded around his eye socket with absent curiosity.
“I don’t know the intricacies of growing eyeballs, but at least it’s a nice color.” She smiled at him, which he returned. “Just go easy until it properly adjusts. Maybe wear some sunglasses when you’re outside for the time being, okay? We’ll pick some up on our way out of town,” she said, walking out of the bathroom.
Jericho frowned and followed her, pausing in the doorway and leaning on the frame. “Our way out of town?”
She turned to face him, standing in front of the bed and folding her arms across her chest. She shrugged. “Well, I figure you’ll need someone close by should that stitching re-open. Besides, I don’t think there’s anything left for me at GlobaTech now. Even if I go back, they’ll fire me — or arrest me, whatever — for helping you escape.”
Jericho smiled, but didn’t get a chance to reply. The door to their room suddenly flew open, causing a loud bang as it slammed against the wall. Reacting in a split second, Jericho pushed Julie backward, and she bounced off the bed and landed on the opposite side, on the floor in front of the window.
“Stay down!” he yelled, turning to confront whoever kicked the door in.
Three men, dressed head to toe in black, rushed into the room, single file. Jericho’s military instincts took over. He quickly assessed the threat. They were all armed with silenced handguns. Their movements were sharp, which indicated they were well trained.
He didn’t need to know anything else.
He stepped toward the man in front, grabbing him by the throat with his left hand. He jabbed him hard twice in the side with his right — both blows finding the kidney, as intended. The man grunted from the impact, dropping his weapon. Jericho pushed it away, toward Julie, with his left foot as he slammed an elbow into the man’s left temple, knocking him out cold.
The part of the room near the door was quite narrow, and opened out behind Jericho to where the bed was. He wanted to keep his body between the intruders and Julie, but he was limiting the space he had to fight in as a result.
Keeping hold of the first guy, he put both hands on his chest and thrust him into the other two, momentarily knocking them off guard. Knowing he wouldn’t have time to get the gun from over by the bed, he dropped his right shoulder and charged them, forcing them both out of the room. He lost his footing as he collided with them, sprawling to the floor. As he stood back up in the corridor outside, he found himself in the middle of them. Each one had their weapon aimed at his chest.
“Jericho, we will shoot you if you don’t cooperate,” said the one on his left.
He didn’t respond. He looked back and forth between them. Each had their gun roughly three feet from him. One step in either direction, and they’d be within reach. He knew he had to act quickly.
He opted for the man on his left, who spoke, figuring he was the more senior. He stepped toward him quickly, grabbing the outstretched arm with his right hand and spinning his body so he stood in front of the guy with his back to him, facing the remaining man in black. Using both hands, he controlled the gun, firing twice and hitting the other man in the chest, causing him to flail backward and land awkwardly on the floor.
He quickly snapped the wrist he was holding, and then reached behind him and hooked his right arm under the guy’s armpit, hoisting him up and over, slamming him down to the floor in front of him. Jericho crouched down, quickly retrieving the gun, and fired twice, hitting the man with both rounds at close range in the chest.
He stood and rushed back into the hotel room, putting a bullet in the first man’s head without looking as he passed him. He dropped the gun on the bed and moved toward Julie, who was standing, rigid with shock, by the window. He placed both hands on her shoulders, leaning down to look at her.
“Julie, we have to get out of here right now, do you understand?” he said.
His voice distracted her from her distant staring, and she looked him in the eye and nodded. He bent down, picking up the first gun and handed it to her.
“Take this,” he said, clicking the safety on. “Just put it under your sweater ‘til we reach the car.”
He picked the gun up off the bed as he walked past, heading out of the door without hesitation. He held the gun out in front of him in his right hand, cupping it with his left for steadiness. He aimed it straight ahead, keeping it pointing in the direction he was looking.
“Come on,” he called behind him. “Stay close.”
Julie appeared next to him, holding the gun in both hands by the barrel, like a baseball bat. Jericho noticed it, but said nothing. If that’s how she felt comfortable holding it, so be it. It wasn’t going to go off and, in the interest of time, it ultimately didn’t matter. They just needed to get out of there, and fast.
They made it to the elevator at the end of the hall and stepped inside. Less than a minute later, they walked out into the lobby. They went left, eager to avoid any security cameras as they ran past the mini bar and out the service entrance to the parking lot at the back.