So I did what I had to do.
I went into her head.
I twisted it all up, wrung it all out, and then smoothed it all over.
Her. Cure.
I am the cure.
Because Merc isn’t the last functioning Company-trained PSYOPS agent left in the world.
He’s not even Company, but even if he were, he is no me.
I’m am the last fully-sanctioned, fully-trained Company PSYOPS left in this world.
Me.
And Wendy Gale really is sweet, beautiful, perfect, and whole. She is everlasting, transcendent, exceptional, and extraordinary. She is remarkable, exquisite, priceless, and sublime. She is flawless, marvelous, divine, and sensational. She is heavenly, powerful, glorious, and delightful.
She is lovely.
She is majestic.
She is gorgeous.
And she is… miserable.
She is a piece of gorgeous misery and I cannot bear it.
“Not gonna answer me?”
I snap back to the present and find Adam waiting on an answer.
“That’s fine,” Adam says. “I already know why you’re here.”
“Look.” I huff. “I did my best, OK? She killed him, Adam. She was the one who killed him. And no one knew what to do with her. No one but me. Me, Adam. Me. So they let her go. They let her just get in that fucking truck and drive. And do you know where I found her?” I feel like I might cry. So I pause and take a deep breath, then swallow hard and continue. “She left a message for me on the board. It was just one message. And I was eleven hours late in seeing it because I wasn’t thinking clearly. I didn’t look. I should’ve, I get that. But I didn’t. And I can’t change it. I found her at my house, Adam. Standing in my sunflower field. She was a mess. A fuckin’ mess. She knew she killed him, but there was a war going on in her mind. She was crazy. You have to understand, right? You know what it’s like. Haven’t you ever found Indie like this? So yeah, I did it. I went inside her head and rearranged things and—”
“Hold. The fuck. On.” Adam holds up his hand and just stares at me. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“What?”
“What are you talking about? Are you telling me that you… what? PSYOPed Wendy?”
“What?”
“Is that what you just said?”
“You said you already knew why I was here.”
“I thought you were here...” It takes him a moment, but then he lets out a long breath and closes his eyes. “You’re here for Carter.”
I snap out of my crazed and desperate rant and focus. “Wait. Why did you think I was here?”
“Because you’re my missing dead brother, dude.”
“What?”
There is a long silence as each of us takes our time coming to terms with what the other just said. And then, before we can discuss it further, everyone is back.
Wendy appears with Indie and Maggie, the three of them laughing like normal girls.
Merc and Sasha appear with McKay, also looking settled and, if not happy, at the very least at ease.
Even Nathan appears. He jokes around with Wendy like this is just some planned family reunion.
Adam and I just stand there, facing each other.
So many questions running through our minds.
And then, because we are who we are, we say nothing.