Cleo Hart: Intelligence by Default

Emergency

I sat quietly by a tall, old tree, my helmet by my side, reading an Iain Banks novel and chewing on gum. The phone buzzed as Dr. Tom sent me yet another text reminding me of our fourth arranged psychoanalysis appointment, none of which I had attended. I deleted the text and returned to my book. Another text buzzed through, followed by another, followed by a phone call, and then nothing. Eight full minutes of peace. Then buzz, buzz, buzz. I rolled my eyes and reluctantly picked up the call. 

"Hello?" 

"Hi Cleo, it's Dr. Tom here... I don't know if you're in an area of low signal or-"

"Full bars."

"Right well... You missed your session an hour ago but fortunately I have an opening for half an hour's time."

"Great, See you there." 

"Uh, Cleo..." He sounded uncomfortable, "I have a message from a superior, name's Alec Forn... He says you can either come of your own accord or he'll have you escorted."

I gritt my teeth as my hand hovered to the small square shape under the skin of my arm where the tracking chip had been inserted.

"Of course, I'll be there in twenty minutes." I hung up, groaning and flinging the phone into the grass, before standing up grudgingly, gathering my things and trudging through the field towards the main block. I observed a man leaning against a lamp post, attempting to look casual but glancing up at me every few second. A few metres beyond was a woman sat at a bench doing her make-up with a mirror, a mirror which was directed at me. I snarled and walked faster, obviously I wasn't trusted to show up. My phone started vibrating in my pocket again and I pulled it out to find an unknown caller ID.

"Hello?" I frowned, still walking.

"This is Nurse Lewis at the private hospital. Something's happened, you need to come down right away."

I stopped dead, my mind shutting down into autopilot. 

It was as if I had stepped back from my body. The landscape in front of me rippled confusingly, making me feel small and dizzy. The sounds of the birds and the wind were muffled, but pushed hard on my eardrums making them hiss, hurting my head and jumbling my thoughts. 

"Hello?" My phone echoed in my hand. I fumbled it back in a pocket and tried to breathe. The two agents, by the lamp post and on the bench, had looked up and were moving forwards. I stared down at my feet, wondering what I was meant to be doing. I started with a single step, then another, then another, and then... I ran.

My body jerked as my feet hit the hard ground. I was blind save for mismatch blotches swirling in my vision, so I ran in the direction I vaguely remembered coming from, hoping to find my bike. Solid footsteps were coming closer and closer towards me from behind, persistent, and they had their orders. I found my bike with the helmet slung over one handle, and sprang myself into position, twisting the handle so viciously that the acceleration almost made me lose my balance. Swerving from the campus, I set turned left for the hospital. My mind wailed Luke over and over and over again, circulating the same thought, the same image, painful, horrifying image of him, eyes staring into space, but seeing nothing. I groaned frustratedly and my heart pumping so hard that it shook my body, making it harder and harder to think.

-

I got to the hospital shaking in a cold sweat, my nails dug into my palms as I stumbled up to the door.
Alec stood with a sandy blonde haired, relatively young man in a sharp, blue suit, who was clasping his hands together so ferociously that they could have been glued together. 

I swallowed. "Where's Luke?"

I started walking towards the corridor, my pace getting quicker every step.

"Cleo," Alec started, coughing a little, "It's... Christ how do I put this? It's Jason. He had a blood clot in his heart and he went into cardiac arrest. That's when you got a call."

"Jason.." I said, edging over to a chair to sit down. Luke was okay. My mind processed this first, Luke was okay. Is Jason-

"Is Jason alright?" I stood and began walking again.

"Cleo please sit down."

Panic rose through my stomach into my throat. 

"Is he okay?" I walked faster now, observing two agents flanking me.

"Please sit down Cleo." A voice came from next to Alec. I glanced at the man in the blue suit, who's hands were no longer clasped together, but still looked tense. "I am Dr. Tom-"

"Fuck off Dr. Tom." My gaze landed on Alec again. "Tell me now. Is Jason okay?"

There was a pause. "He passed away Cleo, I'm sorry."

No.

I fell to my knees, grabbing the back of my head and blocking my ears. Trying to pick apart what I'd just heard. I felt nothing, heard nothing, said nothing. This isn't real, I told myself. This isn't real this isn't real this isn't real this isn't real. A voice in my head spoke up, "But it is kinda real though."

I stood, my fists clenched and heart pumping. Dr. Tom strolled towards me, looking annoyingly composed.

"Where is he?" 

Everyone glanced at each other, before Dr. Tom started trying to sweet talk me. I looked from Alec to three agents at one corridor, there were none posted at the other. Taking a few shallow breaths, I made a run for the guarded corridor, knowing that Jason must be down there. I brushed past Alec and through the reception, but as I ran through the open doors of the corridor, an agent caught on of my arms, followed by him wrapping his arms around my waist and tugging me away. I screamed and kicked blindly, fighting back to the corridor with every drop of strength left in me, before something kicked in and I punched the guy in the balls, kicking him in the face to knock him out. The two other agents grabbed me, each using one hand on a shoulder and the other on an arm. I lashed out, trying to use my legs to kick, but the angle was wrong and I couldn't think straight enough to figure out a way to flip myself, so I sunk my teeth into the closest thing I could find, an armour clad bicep. There was a yelp before the grip of the agents' strengthened, and I was dragged across the reception to a chair, where a nurse walked hesitantly towards me with a needle.

"Don't you fucking dare." I spat, thrashing against everyone and everything. I screamed and cried and struggled in a blur, hardly feeling the needle thrust messily into my neck, but feeling half thankful at the bliss of unconsciousness, because I had no idea how I was meant to survive with pretty much my only friend, dead.