THE PARALLAX PROTOCOL

The Missing Judge

The back door swung in the wind.

James stood on the porch, staring at the empty driveway. Andrew's car was gone. No tire tracks. No note. No explanation.

He walked back inside and woke David first.

"Your uncle is gone."

David sat up instantly, his hand reaching for his gun. "What?"

"Car's gone. Back door was open. I didn't hear anything."

David checked his phone. No messages. No calls. He tried Andrew's number. Voicemail.

"Something's wrong," David said. "My uncle wouldn't leave without telling me. Not after everything that happened."

Harper stirred on the couch. "What's going on?"

James showed her the text from Claire. She read it, her face going pale.

"The hacker has a pretty face," Harper repeated. "That could be anyone."

"It could be Steven," David said.

"It could be you."

David's jaw tightened. "I've been fighting the protocol for five years. I lost my career, my friends, almost my sanity. Why would I betray us now?"

"Maybe you wouldn't. But someone did."

James looked at Steven, still unconscious on the other couch. His face was swollen, his breathing labored. He didn't look like a traitor.

"Wake him up," James said.

David shook Steven's shoulder. "Steven. Wake up."

Steven groaned. His eyes fluttered open. "What happened?"

"Andrew is gone. Someone in this room has been feeding information to Ellsworth. Was it you?"

Steven's good eye widened. "No. I swear. Mary was the one who told them about the base. She was with Ellsworth the whole time."

"How do we know you're not lying?"

"Because I'm the one who got beaten half to death. If I was working for Ellsworth, why would his men do this to me?"

James considered this. It was a good point. But not definitive.

"Claire's message said the traitor has been feeding information for months. That means someone knew about the base before Mary ever got involved."

Harper stood up. "We're all suspects. Including me. So let's stop pointing fingers and start thinking."

She walked to the window and peered through the blinds.

"Andrew knew about the cabin. He brought us here. If he was the traitor, he would have led Ellsworth's men straight to us. But no one has come. That means either Andrew isn't the traitor, or he's waiting for the right moment."

"Or he's been taken," David said. "Ellsworth's men could have grabbed him on the road."

"Then why didn't they grab us?"

No one had an answer.

James's phone buzzed. Claire again.

Andrew just showed up at the hospital. He's meeting with Ellsworth. I'm watching from the waiting room.

James showed the others.

"Your uncle walked into Mercy Hospital voluntarily," Harper said. "That doesn't look like a kidnapping."

David stared at the message. "Maybe he's trying to negotiate. Maybe he's trying to get Claire released."

"Or maybe he's the traitor."

David shook his head. "No. I've known Andrew my whole life. He's not capable of this."

"People are capable of a lot when they're scared."

James typed back to Claire: Stay hidden. Don't approach him. We're coming.

"James, no," Harper said. "We can't go back to Chicago. It's too dangerous."

"Claire is there. Andrew is there. Michael is there. I'm not leaving them."

"We'll find another way."

"There is no other way. Ellsworth has won every round because we've been reacting. It's time to go on offense."

---

The drive back to Chicago took four hours.

David drove. James sat in the passenger seat, watching the trees give way to suburbs, then to city streets. Harper stayed in the back with Steven, who was still weak but conscious.

They parked three blocks from Mercy Hospital.

Claire met them in a coffee shop across the street. Her face was pale, her hands shaking.

"Andrew went in two hours ago. He hasn't come out."

"Did you see who he met with?"

"Ellsworth. And Evelyn. They were waiting for him in the lobby. They walked him to the elevator together."

James felt a cold knot form in his stomach. "Did he look like a prisoner?"

"No. He looked... calm. Like he expected to be there."

David slammed his fist on the table. "I can't believe this. My own uncle."

"David, we don't know what's happening," Harper said.

"We know he walked into Mercy Hospital without telling us. We know he's meeting with Ellsworth. We know he disappeared from the cabin in the middle of the night. What more do you need?"

"Evidence."

Claire reached into her briefcase and pulled out a folder. "I found something in Andrew's study before I left. Hidden behind his law books."

She opened the folder.

Inside were photographs. Andrew Bennett, shaking hands with Dr. Mark Ellsworth. Andrew Bennett, sitting in a meeting with Colonel James Morrison. Andrew Bennett, signing documents that looked like financial records.

"Your uncle has been working with Ellsworth for years," Claire said. "He's not a victim. He's a partner."

David stared at the photographs. His face was unreadable.

"How long?"

"The documents date back eight years. Right around the time Mom was treated at Mercy."

David closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were cold.

"Andrew was the one who referred Mom to the protocol. He convinced her to trust Ellsworth. He told us it was for her anxiety. He lied to all of us."

"Why would he do that?"

"Money. Power. Protection. Andrew was a judge. He had connections. Ellsworth needed someone on the inside to keep the investigations away."

James thought about the files in Ellsworth's office. The notes. The signatures. The way the program had operated for years without detection.

"Andrew wasn't just a partner," James said. "He was the shield. Every time someone got close to the truth, Andrew made sure the investigations went nowhere."

Claire nodded. "That's why he 'retired' early. Not because he was tired. Because Ellsworth wanted him focused on the program full time."

David stood up. "I'm going in."

"David, no—"

"He's my uncle. I need to hear it from him."

"He'll have you arrested the moment you walk through the doors."

"Then I'll take that risk."

James stood up too. "I'm coming with you."

"This isn't your fight."

"Yes, it is. Your uncle helped erase my father. He helped erase me. He's been lying to all of us for years. I deserve to look him in the eye."

---

The lobby of Mercy Hospital was quiet.

The night shift had just started. A few people sat in the waiting area, reading magazines or staring at their phones. A security guard stood by the elevator, his eyes scanning the room.

James and David walked in together.

The guard recognized them immediately. His hand moved toward his radio.

"Don't," David said. "We're here to see Andrew Bennett. He's a guest of Dr. Ellsworth."

The guard hesitated.

"Call Ellsworth. Tell him David Bennett is here to see his uncle. I guarantee he'll want to talk."

The guard picked up the phone.

Two minutes later, the elevator doors opened. A nurse stepped out and gestured for them to follow.

They rode the elevator to the basement level.

The corridors were the same as before—gray walls, gray floors, buzzing lights. James remembered running through these halls, desperate to escape.

The nurse led them to a door marked PRIVATE — AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. She swiped her card and entered a code.

The door opened.

Andrew Bennett sat in a leather chair, a cup of coffee in his hands. Dr. Ellsworth stood behind him, his hand on Andrew's shoulder.

Evelyn was there too, standing by the window.

"David," Andrew said. "I was wondering when you'd come."

David walked toward his uncle. His hands were clenched into fists.

"Why?"

Andrew set down his coffee. "Because it was the right thing to do."

"You sent Mom to this place. You let them erase her memories. You watched her become a hollow shell of herself, and you did nothing."

"I did everything I could. Your mother was suffering. The protocol gave her peace."

"It didn't give her peace. It killed her."

Andrew's expression flickered. "The procedure had complications. No one could have predicted—"

"Ellsworth could have predicted it. He'd already killed four Subjects before Mom. You knew that. You signed off on it."

Ellsworth stepped forward. "David, your uncle is not the villain you think he is. He was trying to help your mother. We all were."

"Stay out of this," David said. "I'm talking to my uncle."

Ellsworth raised his hands in surrender. "As you wish."

Andrew stood up. He walked to the window and stared out at the dark city.

"You're right, David. I knew about the deaths. I knew about the risks. I signed the documents anyway."

"Why?"

"Because your mother was in pain. Every day, every hour, every minute. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't eat. She couldn't look at me without crying. The protocol was her only hope."

"And when it failed?"

Andrew turned around. His eyes were wet.

"Then I had to live with the consequences. Just like I've lived with them every day for the past eight years."

David took a step closer. "You could have exposed Ellsworth. You could have saved other families from going through the same thing."

"And lost everything? My pension. My reputation. My freedom. Ellsworth would have destroyed me."

"So you chose yourself over Mom."

Andrew didn't answer.

David turned to Ellsworth. "Where is Michael Harrison?"

Ellsworth smiled. "Mr. Harrison is resting comfortably. His treatment is proceeding as planned."

"I want to see him."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. Mr. Harrison is under sedation. Visitors aren't permitted."

James stepped forward. "Then let me see him."

Evelyn moved from the window. "James, please. Don't make this harder."

"Harder for who? You?"

"For everyone. Including yourself."

James looked at his wife. At the woman who had lied to him for twelve years.

"Where is Michael?"

"James—"

"Where?"

Evelyn sighed. She looked at Ellsworth, who nodded.

"Third floor. Room 312. But you won't be able to talk to him. He's unconscious."

James walked toward the door.

"James," Evelyn said. "If you walk out that door, you're making a choice. There's no coming back from it."

"I made my choice twelve years ago. You just didn't let me know it."

---

Room 312 was at the end of a long corridor.

James walked alone. David stayed behind to confront Andrew. Harper was outside with Steven and Claire.

The door to 312 was closed. A small window allowed him to see inside.

Michael lay on a bed, an IV in his arm, monitors beeping softly. His face was peaceful. He looked like he was sleeping.

But James knew better.

He tried the door. Locked.

He looked through the window again. Michael's chest rose and fell. Rose and fell. The rhythm of a man who had no idea that his memories were being stripped away.

"James."

He turned.

Evelyn stood behind him. She held a key card.

"Let me in."

"Not until you listen."

"I've been listening for twenty-four hours. I've heard enough."

Evelyn stepped closer. "Your father didn't die because of the protocol. He died because he refused to accept help. He fought the medication. He fought the treatment. He fought everyone who tried to save him."

"And you think I'm the same?"

"I think you're stubborn. I think you're angry. I think you're making decisions based on emotion instead of logic. And I think you're going to get yourself killed."

James grabbed the key card from her hand. He unlocked the door and walked inside.

Michael's room was cold. Sterile. The machines beeped in a steady rhythm.

James sat beside the bed.

"Michael. It's James. I don't know if you can hear me. But I need you to fight. I need you to remember. Not the affair. Not Sophia. I need you to remember us. The late nights. The stupid jokes. The time you talked me into buying that piece of junk car that broke down on the way to your wedding."

He took Michael's hand.

"I'm going to get you out of here. I don't know how yet. But I promise you, Michael. I'm not leaving without you."

Michael's fingers twitched.

James looked up. Michael's eyes were open.

"James?" His voice was a whisper.

"Yeah. I'm here."

"Something's wrong. I can't... I can't remember..."

"Don't try to remember. Just rest. I'm going to get you out."

Michael's grip tightened. "Evelyn. She's... she's not..."

"I know."

"She's not who she says she is."

James squeezed his hand. "I know."

The door opened. Evelyn stood in the doorway.

"Time's up."

James stood. He looked at Michael one last time.

"I'll be back."

He walked past Evelyn without looking at her.

---

In the hallway, David was waiting.

"Andrew confessed," David said. "He's agreed to testify against Ellsworth. In exchange for immunity."

"And Ellsworth?"

"Ellsworth is lawyering up. He knows the walls are closing in."

James looked back at Michael's room. "We need to get Michael out of here. Tonight."

"How?"

"Same way we got in. We walk through the front door and carry him out."

David smiled. It was a grim smile.

"I like the way you think."