Being sick sucked.

Roni was bored out of his mind, and lying in bed all day was getting on his nerves. The trouble was that walking around unaided was still a no-no. Hell, even going to the bathroom required leaning on Sylvia or one of the nurses for support.

He vehemently refused a catheter, which meant no intravenous either.

His pneumonia was viral, so there wasn’t much the hot little doctor could do with medications other than fever reducers.

It still bugged the hell out of him that he was younger than the hot-looking doctor’s grown son. He had to remember that looks were deceptive as far as immortals went, and some of these people were ancient.

Anandur, who was a major goofball, was fucking one thousand years old. How was it possible?

Roni got the biological explanation, but that was just a small part of the equation. The amount of information the guy must’ve absorbed over his long life should have made him a genius. But he wasn’t. Mentally, he was just an ordinary dude who acted like any twenty-something-year-old.

Well, not exactly. There were a few tales.

Like, forget politically correct. The way the guy talked, every other sentence had something that would offend an average millennial.

And his jokes. Come on, Anandur needed major help in that department. He was almost as bad as Barty.

Fuck. He hoped the guy was okay. Barty was either worried sick or spitting mad and cursing Roni with every vile thing he could think of.

Both Barty and Jerome would get in shitloads of trouble because of him. Mostly Jerome. Barty had done his part in guarding Roni, but Jerome had abandoned his post. No one would believe him that he’d somehow gotten hypnotized.

Guilt was an unfamiliar and unpleasant sensation.

What he wouldn’t have given for a laptop right now. There was nothing that could take Roni’s mind off life’s stinky nuggets like a good hacking session that required his total concentration.

“I brought you soup.” Sylvia entered his room with a tray.

“I don’t want soup.”

“Well, tough, Mr. Grumpy, soup is what you get. Bridget said you need plenty of liquids.”

Sylvia pressed the foot pedal, lifting the back of his bed to a sitting position. “Open wide.” She brought a spoon to his mouth.

He shook his head.

“Do you want a catheter?”

“No.”

“Then open up.”

Resistance was futile.

Sylvia smiled. “That’s a good boy. Now let’s try another.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

She fed him another spoonful, and another until the bowl was empty.

“All done. See? It wasn’t so bad.”

Roni grunted in response.

The soup wasn’t bad, he was just sick and tired of hospitals, and of bland food, and of nothing to do.

“I need a laptop. Can you get me one?”

Sylvia put the bowl on the tray and hopped on the bed to sit next to him. “I have to ask around who has a laptop to spare.”

“Don’t you have one?”

“I do. At home. I don’t live here.”

He glanced at the soup. “Then where did you get that from?” As far as he knew, he was the only occupant of the clinic, and it had no dedicated food service.

“Nathalie, Andrew’s wife made it. She sends her love and apologizes for not coming to visit. It’s because of the baby. She and Andrew can’t get infected, but they are afraid of an airborne virus clinging to their clothes and then attacking little baby Phoenix.”

Roni frowned. “When is that baby going to turn immortal?”

Sylvia shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said while looking away.

He knew exactly why she felt uncomfortable. Did she think he was stupid and wouldn't figure it out?

In case he didn’t transition, which seemed most likely at the moment, Sylvia didn’t want him to know more than he already did. Fewer memories to wipe away.

“Did anyone talk to Kian about me?” At least they’d finally told him the name of the guy who was in charge of Roni’s future. He was sick of calling him the big boss, or the dude on top.

“I’m sure someone did. But we are all waiting to see what happens. If you transition, then there is nothing to talk about.”

“Bridget said that the pneumonia might be the reason I’m not transitioning. My body needs to get healthy first.” Chances were the doctor was just being nice and trying to give him hope. It made sense, though. Like the way certain diseases stalled the onset of puberty.

“She is absolutely right.”

Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Roni called out in his sick guy’s barely there voice. But for the immortals it should be enough.

“The room is soundproofed. I’ll go see who it is.” Sylvia hopped down and went to open the door.

“William. What are you doing here?”

“I came to see my new partner.”

Partner?

The clan’s famous science genius was calling Roni a partner? That must’ve meant that they’d decided to let him stay no matter what.

“Sure, come in.” Sylvia moved aside to let William in.

He was tall, though not as tall as Anandur, more like Andrew’s height. But he didn’t look so good. The dark circles under his eyes were so deep, even his glasses couldn’t hide them.

“Hi, Roni, I’m William.” He offered Roni a hand.

Roni shook it. “Usually my handshake is more manly than the limp noodle I can offer you now.”

“No worries. How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.”

William pulled up a chair and put it next to Roni’s bed. “Yeah, me too. Had trouble sleeping lately.”

“I can see that.”

William looked up at Sylvia who was leaning against the wall. “I’m sorry. Did I take your chair?” He started to get up.

“No, keep it. I usually sit on Roni’s bed.”

“Oh.” William dropped his butt back and pushed his glasses up his nose. “So I hear you have some mad skills?”

“I do.”

“I have a job for you.”

Roni felt like William had just thrown him a lifeline. “Yes, thank you. I’m going insane with nothing to do.”

William smiled. “You came in last night, and it’s not even midday yet. Do you always work around the clock?”

“Any moment I can.”

“Same here.”

Roni liked the guy. A kindred spirit. “High five, dude.”

William obliged him, lifting a palm up and holding it close to Roni’s so he didn’t have to lift his own too high to reach it.

“What’s the job?”

“Hacking into surveillance cameras.”

“Child’s play.”

“Hundreds of them. Spread over fifty square miles of densely populated urban area.”

“Still child’s play, but time-consuming.”

“Right. Time that I don’t have because I have another project I need to take care of. Anandur suggested I check with you. Are you up to it in your current state?”

“Yes, yes, and yes. Where do I work?”

“Wait a moment.” Sylvia pushed off the wall and came to sit on Roni’s bed. “You’re so sick I have to spoon feed you. And you think you can work?”

“My body is weak. Not my brain.”

“You need your hands to type on the keyboard.”

“I can manage that.”

She shook her head. “Not unless Bridget says it’s okay. Even Kian can’t go over her head where her patients are involved.”

“Then call her in.”

Sylvia turned to William. “Can’t it wait a few days until Roni feels better?”

William sighed. “Did you read about the string of murders?”

“Of course. They think it’s some satanic cult.”

“We think it’s an immortal male gone insane. Not one of ours, Onegus checked everyone’s alibi. It’s either a Doomer or an unaffiliated immortal. We have to help catch him. Every day that passes without us doing anything could mean another victim’s life.”

Well, that put things in a different perspective. Roni’s mind went to work.

Sylvia looked like she wanted to say something, then shook her head and got off the bed. “Let me find Bridget.” She turned to William. “Should I tell her what’s at stake? Or do you want to do it?”

“Makes no difference to me.”

“Then I’ll tell her.”

“Thank you.”

When Sylvia left the room, Roni asked the most pertinent question. “Tell me about your equipment. I need to know what I got to work with.”

William’s face brightened with the first real smile since he’d gotten there. “You’re in for a real treat, Roni. I have the best setup in the world.”

“I highly doubt it. Until yesterday, I worked with the finest setup the government of the United States of America can put together. I’m sure it’s the best in the world. You can’t possibly have anything even remotely as powerful.”

“You’ll be singing a different tune once I tell you what I got.”