"We're trying to block its spread," he replied.
"But the video has already been copied too many times. We remove it from platforms, and it reappears under new titles. People are sharing it in private groups. We can't stop it completely."
Michael leaned back in his chair and smiled coldly.
"We should have blown the place up right away."
Elizabeth sat in silence, staring at the table. Her face was pale. She didn't raise her eyes.
Gerard shifted his gaze to her.
"You were there too, Elizabeth. You saw what was happening. Why didn't you stop Michael when he started carving them up like cattle? We could have simply blown the place up and made sure no one survived."
Elizabeth slowly lifted her head. Exhaustion and a quiet, deep hatred filled her eyes.
"I was following orders."
Gerard slammed his palm on the table.
"Now the whole city is watching us slaughter people in a hospital! This isn't just a leak. This is a disaster!"
He stood up and began slowly pacing along the table.
"People are already calling us monsters. They're demanding an investigation. Some are already taking to the streets with signs."
"If we don't stop this now, panic will break out again and this time we won't be able to erase their memories."
Michael shrugged, still smiling.
"Then let's do what we do best. Find the ones who filmed the video and those spreading it. And then… silence the whole city."
Elizabeth looked at him with disgust.
"You're suggesting we kill even more people? After what we've already done?"
Michael turned to her with a cold smile.
"Do you have a better suggestion? Or are you going to whine about morality again?"
Gerard stopped abruptly and looked at everyone at once.
"Enough."
"We're not going to kill the entire city. That's stupid. We'll do what we've always done — take control of the information."
"Everyone who has seen the video needs to be found and… persuaded to stay silent. Make them forget."
He looked at Elizabeth.
"You will help erase the memories of those we find. Wipe everything connected to us."
"As you command," Elizabeth said.
Gerard returned to his chair and sat down.
"And one more thing. Find Ethan and his group. They are the cause of all this. If we kill them now, at least some of the problems will disappear."
Michael smiled wider.
"With pleasure."
Gerard looked at each of them in turn.
"This is not a request. It's an order."
Gerard slowly leaned back in his chair, placing his palms on the polished tabletop. He swept his gaze over everyone present, as if weighing each one.
"We have exactly forty-eight hours," he said quietly.
"In that time, you will find the rat, the one who leaked the video, if he's still alive."
He paused, letting the words hang in the air.
"Elizabeth, Michael. Even if you have to burn down half the committee."
Elizabeth sat motionless. She didn't raise her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was cold:
"Understood."
Michael, on the contrary, leaned back in his chair with a light, almost lazy smile.
"What if it was you who leaked the recording, Gerard?" he asked suddenly, his voice carrying open provocation.
"To organize a purge and get rid of those who've become too independent. You want to show everyone who the real master is here."
A dead silence fell over the room.
Gideon and the other committee members froze. Even the air seemed to grow heavier.
Gerard slowly turned his head toward Michael. There was no anger on his face, only a cold, almost serpentine smile.
"An interesting thought, Michael," Gerard said softly, almost affectionately.
"You've always been so suspicious. It's one of the qualities I value in you. But allow me to remind you of one simple thing."
He leaned forward slightly, and his smile grew even colder.
"If I wanted a purge, I wouldn't have bothered filming anything in the hospital. I would simply give the order. And everyone who needed to disappear would vanish in a single night."
He paused, looking Michael straight in the eyes.
"So no, Michael, it wasn't me. But if you keep asking such questions… I might start thinking that you did it."
Michael didn't look away. The smile on his lips widened, now completely devoid of warmth.
"Just checking all possibilities," he replied calmly.
"As you taught us."
Gerard nodded, still smiling.
"I'll remind you, forty-eight hours. Find the rat, Ethan, and his little gang. And bring me their heads. Or at least what's left of them."
He rose from the table, signaling that the meeting was over.
"That's all!"
Elizabeth stood up first. She left the office silently, without looking at anyone. Michael lingered for a second. He gave Gerard a long, heavy look, then turned and left as well.
The door closed behind them with a heavy, resounding click.
Gerard remained alone.
He walked over to the window and stared for a long time at the night city below. The first groups of people with signs and phones were already gathering there. Somewhere in the distance, sirens wailed.
"Forty-eight hours," he whispered to himself.
"And then… everything will return to its rightful place."
"Find them."
•••
Richard Hale's black SUV turned off the main road onto a narrow, broken dirt track. The headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating only the rusted skeletons of old cars, fences overgrown with bushes, and crooked signs with long-faded lettering.
The abandoned industrial district on the very edge of the city had long since become a dead zone, a place where even patrol cars didn't go.