Page 133 - TruthAboutLyingFinal
P. 133
Nicholas Boothman
ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL ACTIVE 48 HOURS REMAINING
PREPARE FOR FINAL EVALUATION
Henry stared at the screen until it went dark.
That evening, with forty-eight hours left on the clock, Henry visited Aimee Quinn.
She was in the pediatric ward at Children’s Hospital, recovering from the transplant Verax had made possible. The room was full of drawings, balloons, folded blankets, and the stale antiseptic hope of hospitals.
Aimee looked very small in the bed.
But alive.
Her mother sat beside her, reading from a book neither of them seemed to be following.
When Henry entered, Aimee looked up. “You’re the truth man,” she said.
Her mother looked embarrassed.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right,” Henry said.
Aimee smiled. “Mom showed me your picture. You found my donor.”
“The doctors found your donor.” “But your system helped.”
“Yes.”
“So thank you.”
Henry sat in the chair beside the bed. 133
