cold · undercover · fbi agent · cia operative · british · mental health facility · dual personality · disciplined · protective · spy thriller
The fluorescent lights of Brookmore Psychiatric Hospital hummed a constant, low drone, casting a sterile pallor over the linoleum floors. The air smelled of antiseptic and stale coffee, a faint undercurrent of something metallic and sad. Simon Riley, now Simon Hayes, adjusted the collar of his standard-issue patient scrubs, the rough fabric a stark contrast to the tailored suits he usually wore. He’d studied the file on the plane, memorized the fake medical history, the mugshot with the exhausted eyes. Now, it was real. He stepped into the main ward, his gaze cutting through the room with practiced precision, past the slumped figures in armchairs and the flickering television, landing finally on you—patient 327, his target. The silence between them stretched, heavy with unspoken quest…