Jericho let out a low whistle as he looked up, unable to mask how impressed he was. The ground floor stretched all the way up to the roof, six floors above them, where two massive chandeliers were hanging. The floors above were square, built around the central column of space.
“This is our primary Research and Development building,” said Josh, looking over his shoulder. “This is where our technology is born and tested. We have a medical facility on the top floor similar to the one you stayed in.”
The ladies behind the desk stopped working and looked up as Jericho walked past, smiling, which he did his best to ignore.
They headed for one of the elevators, and Josh pressed the button, looking up to see it descending toward them. A few moments later, it landed with a ding and the doors opened. Jericho stepped inside first, followed by Julie, and finally Josh, who pressed the button for the top floor.
“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” asked Josh, as they went up.
“No, why?” replied Jericho.
He shrugged. “Just wondered. I know some people are, and glass elevators aren’t the best if you struggle with such things…”
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“Good. We’ll get you checked out, and once we know you’re okay, we’ll discuss how we want you to help us. Now, you’re not gonna get angry and do a runner again, are you?”
Julie smiled, but Jericho frowned. “Do a runner?” he asked, not fully understanding the reference. “I won’t try to leave again, if that’s what you mean.”
“Excellent, because now the CIA knows you’re alive, we’re not just running low on time — we’re out of it.”
The doors opened again and Josh stepped out, heading left down a bright corridor, naturally lit due to the outside wall being made entirely of glass. Jericho and Julie followed, and they all walked through a large set of double doors at the far end.
Inside looked like a futuristic hospital, and expanded back and to the right, running the full length of the corridor they had just walked down. There were hospital beds surrounded by equipment — which reminded Jericho of the one he woke up in — along the left wall, with a glass partition forming a square room in the corner, filled with lab equipment. To the right of that, along the back wall was an area made up of opaque glass, with a sign that announced it was an operating theater.
In the middle of the room were various workstations with an array of computers and paperwork on them. Each was manned by a man or woman wearing a white coat and protective glasses.
Josh led them off to the right, toward the far end. A woman wearing a striped top, navy pencil skirt and heels looked up from behind a desk as they approached, moving round to greet them.
“Mr. Winters,” she said with a smile. “What can we do for you?” She glanced at Jericho, but said nothing.
Josh returned the smile. “Hey Gloria, I need you to give Mr. Stone here a once over. He underwent surgery last week to replace a damaged eye, and he took the bandages off today and experienced—”
“It hurt like hell, ma’am,” Jericho said, stepping forward.
She smiled sympathetically. “I’m sure it did,” she said. “I’m Gloria, and I’m a senior consultant for GlobaTech’s medical research division. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a closer look at your new eye…”
She turned and walked back to her desk, picking up a penlight. Without much hesitation, Jericho followed her.
“Just take a seat on the edge of the desk,” she said, looking back up.
Jericho did, and Gloria moved in front of him, leaning close and clicking the light on. He tried to relax and ignore what his instincts were telling him about being there. He found himself thinking back to earlier that morning, when Julie was doing the same thing.
“Just stare straight ahead and take some deep breaths,” she instructed.
He did, and she shined the light into his left eye, examining the reactions professionally. After a moment, she moved away again and clicked her light off, placing it on the desk before turning to face Josh.
“Okay, the good news is, the eye has taken — the surgery was a complete success, and it will function perfectly… once it’s adjusted. This, however, takes time, and the bad news is, you removed the bandages sooner than we would’ve liked. There’s some damage to the lens, as it wasn’t strong enough to deal with the light. It’s not permanent, but it will set your recovery back a couple of weeks.”
Jericho nodded. “So I’m not going to go blind, or need it removing or anything?” he asked.
Gloria smiled and shook her head. “Not at all. Think of it like it’s first thing in the morning and it’s sunny outside… You can’t open your eyes straight away, because they’ve not been used in a few hours and will be sore when the light hits them. Same thing here, except your eye hasn’t been used ever, so it’ll take a bit longer for it to get used to the natural light.” She moved around her desk, opened one of the drawers and took out an eye patch. She handed it to Jericho. “Wear this for a couple of weeks,” she said. “Then take it off every two hours for thirty minutes for the following week. Then you should be good to go.”
Jericho took it reluctantly, regarding it in his hand before looking first at Julie, then at Josh, before addressing Gloria. “Can I not just wear shades?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Even the most expensive sunglasses you can buy won’t stop enough of the UV radiation the sun emits to actually be effective. You need total blackout for two weeks, otherwise you do risk more severe, longer-lasting damage.”
Jericho looked at Josh, who shrugged back at him. “Doctor’s orders,” he said. “So suck it up. Two weeks is nothing to rock the Nick Fury look, and then you’ll be back to normal.”
Jericho frowned. “Who? Anyway, it’s easy for you to say that — you’re not the one walking around without the ability to judge distances properly. And I wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for you, violating my human rights by giving me this fucking eye without my consent.”
Gloria cleared her throat, and looked uncomfortable. “Mr. Winters, if you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll leave you to it.”
Josh smiled and nodded. “Of course, thanks for your help, Doc.”
She exchanged silent pleasantries with everyone and excused herself.
Josh waited until she was out of earshot before replying. “Technically… yeah, I suppose we did ‘violate your human rights’, as you keep putting it, and I’m sorry about that. But, no offense big guy, it’s time you cracked open a can of Man The Fuck Up juice and got over it. We’re at war, here, okay? And you are a high-ranking target on the enemy’s shit list. We did what was necessary to save your life, and we took an opportunity to do you a favor, in the hope that once you were back to your full strength, you’d maybe do something for us in return.”
Jericho took a deep breath, standing to his full height and width as he buried the flash of anger that just surfaced inside him. He didn’t always care for Josh’s tone, but he could see the man had a point. While he was still trying to piece together everything he’d been told about the last twenty-four hours, he knew enough to understand that he’d need help if he was to stay alive long-term. He was very aware of how the CIA could operate, if need be.
He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, alright? It’s been a long couple of days, and I’ve had a lot to deal with. I know you stuck your neck out for me, and I’m grateful for it.”