Emily rushed forward.
"He's not stable!"
Whitaker turned.
"Doctor Carter, stay back."
Emily ignored him.
"I'm a physician. If his oxygen levels are dropping, he needs immediate assessment."
Lawson stepped in front of her.
"Dr. Carter, you're not authorized to treat this patient."
Emily stared at him.
"Then why is he lying in a hospital bed?"
Nobody answered.
Marcus looked at the security officers.
"Move away from him."
One officer tightened his grip on his weapon.
"Don't approach."
Rex suddenly barked.
The sound filled the corridor.
The security officer flinched.
Marcus took advantage of the distraction.
He moved forward, pulled the hospital bed toward the wall, and placed himself between Christopher and the armed personnel.
"Emily! Check his breathing!"
Emily rushed to the bedside.
Whitaker shouted.
"Stop them!"
But Christopher suddenly grabbed Marcus's wrist.
His grip was weak, but deliberate.
He looked directly into his younger brother's eyes.
"Don't..."
Marcus leaned closer.
"What?"
Christopher swallowed.
"Don't trust..."
His eyes moved toward Whitaker.
"...the uniform."
Then his hand fell away.
The monitor continued beeping.
Emily began checking his pulse.
"He's conscious. I need a medical team immediately!"
Marcus looked at Whitaker.
"You've got ten seconds to get your people out of this room."
Whitaker's expression hardened.
"You're making a serious mistake."
Marcus stepped closer.
"No, Colonel. I made a mistake six years ago."
He glanced at Christopher.
"I believed you."
The escape
Emily called for an emergency medical team.
Whitaker ordered the security officers to seize the recording device.
Marcus refused.
One officer grabbed his arm.
Marcus twisted free, but another stepped in and blocked the corridor.
Rex lunged forward.
He didn't bite.
Instead, he placed himself between Marcus and the officers, barking so aggressively that the security personnel instinctively backed away.
"Control your dog!" Whitaker shouted.
Marcus held up one hand.
"Rex! Heel!"
The German Shepherd immediately returned to his side.
That obedience made Whitaker even more uncomfortable.
He stared at the dog.
"Where did you train him?"
Marcus looked at him.
"With my brother."
Whitaker's expression changed.
Before he could respond, Emily noticed something on Christopher's wrist.
A hospital identification band.
She leaned closer.
"Marcus."
"What?"
"Look at this."
The band contained a patient number.
But the name printed on it was not Christopher Cole.
It read:
JOHN DOE — PATIENT 417.
Emily looked toward Marcus.
"He's been registered under a false identity."
Marcus felt his stomach tighten.
"How long?"
She examined the date.
"Six years."
Marcus slowly turned toward Lawson.
"You told everyone he died."
Lawson looked away.
Whitaker stepped forward.
"Enough. This conversation is over."
He gestured to the security officers.
"Take the recording."
The officers advanced.
Then a loud voice came from the opposite end of the corridor.
"EVERYBODY FREEZE!"
A hospital security supervisor appeared with two uniformed city police officers.
Behind them stood an older military medical officer wearing a decorated uniform.
"Colonel Whitaker," the older man said.
Whitaker turned.
His expression changed immediately.
"General."
General Samuel Brooks walked forward.
He was sixty-one, with silver hair and a stern expression.
He looked at Marcus.
Then at Christopher.
Finally, he turned toward Whitaker.
"Would you care to explain why armed security personnel are surrounding a military veteran in a civilian hospital?"
Whitaker straightened.
"General, this is a classified matter."
"Then explain why a civilian doctor is being prevented from treating a patient."
Whitaker said nothing.
Brooks looked at the medical team.
"Treat the patient. Immediately."
Emily nodded and began giving instructions.
The medical staff moved Christopher into the nearest treatment room.
Marcus followed.
But Whitaker stepped into his path.
"Sergeant Cole, you are not authorized to leave with that recording."
Marcus looked at him.
"You're right."
He placed the device in his pocket.
"I'm authorized to do something much more important."
"What?"