For a second, the only sound in the room was the low hum of the vending machine.
Then Reed folded his hands and said, “Project EchoFall was a classified experimental treatment program.”
That cut through the room like a blade.
Pierce didn’t move, but he felt Charley go still beside him.
Reed continued. “Years ago, three Marines involved in Operation Storm Current came back from a mission with severe trauma. PTSD that wasn’t responding well to traditional treatment. The details of the mission itself were so tightly compartmentalized that, even within the system, only a handful of people ever saw the full picture. I was one of them.”
Pierce watched him carefully. No hesitation. No flashy dramatics. Just the steady, grim delivery of a man who knew exactly how ugly the story sounded and had long since stopped trying to soften it.
“These men were part of a MARSOC element sent into an operation that never should’ve gone the way it did. What they came home with wasn’t something regular counseling and medication could touch fast enough. They were deteriorating. Sleep deprivation, paranoia, violent reactions, dissociation, and one attempted suicide that we know of.” He paused, his jaw flexing. “They consented to EchoFall. All three of them.”
Jessica frowned. “What kind of treatment program is that?”
Reed looked at her. “An experimental trial meant to interrupt and reduce severe trauma responses through a combination of drug therapy and neurological intervention.”
Seth’s expression darkened. “Meaning?”
“Meaning it rode the line,” Reed said bluntly. “And maybe crossed it.”
The honesty of that landed harder than an excuse would have.
Pierce leaned forward, his forearms on his knees. “How does Dr. Marwood fit into this story?”
Reed nodded once. “Dr. Doug Marwood was one of the lead physicians brought in to oversee the clinical side of the trials. Whatever you may think of him right now, understand this—he wasn’t some monster in a lab coat. He believed he was helpingthem. And he was. The trials were showing positive results in all three men.”
The waiting room went quiet again. “What happened?” Charley asked. Her voice was soft.
Reed looked at her for a long moment before answering. “After a few months of positive results, all three began to show violent behavior. Almost as if they were reverting to when the trials started, possibly even worse off. Dr. Marwood was able to stabilize them. But then one night, all three men disappeared.”
“They vanished?” Pierce asked.
“Yes,” Reed answered. “To this day, I still don’t know how. Somehow, the security was compromised. By the time anyone understood what had happened, they were gone. We searched. But there was no sign of them after that.” His gaze dropped briefly, then rose again. “Until now.”
“What happened to EchoFall?” Pierce asked.
“It was shut down and never spoken about,” Reed said.
Reed looked toward Charley. “I believe Calvin returned to the foundation building because that was the last place he remembered with any certainty. Before it became what it is now, that building housed part of EchoFall’s clinical operations. If his mind has been fractured by trauma for this long, it makes sense that he’d circle back to the last place he knew.”
Charley absorbed that quietly, then said, “He was hurting.”
Reed’s face changed at that. Not much. Just enough for Pierce to catch it.
“I know,” the colonel said.
“No.” Charley shook her head. “I don’t think you do. He looked…” She searched for the words. “Haunted. Like he had been carrying all of it alone for too long and didn’t know what to do with it anymore.”
Reed sat with that for a second. “I just want to help him. I want to know what made him and the other two just up and disappear.”
Pierce watched him carefully. There was no defensiveness in the man. He didn’t try to use excuses, not to mention that Pierce could see the regret and guilt he was carrying.
Reed looked around the room. “I already spoke with the police. I’m cooperating fully. Whatever they want, they’ll get. I’m not here to obstruct anything. I want Calvin to survive this and help him if that’s still possible.”
Pierce leaned back in the chair. He felt a bit of the tension that was there when Reed first entered the room start to ease. Having Reed sit here in the hospital, not hiding, not running, and not trying to polish the ugly truth into something prettier, caused Pierce to have some respect for the man.
Pierce believed the man meant what he was saying.
