Actually...
If it were purely to obtain information, Locke didn't need to consu a [Health Potion] to resurrect Jeff Martin. He could have used other thods.
This was just an excuse he made for himself. The truth was simpler: from a certain perspective, Jeff Martin had helped him.
Locke's mory had always been sharp. Initially, Jeff was just another victim to him—an innocent man killed by a copycat. Locke was furious at the imposter, but he didn't have much connection to the victim.
That changed when he saw Jeff's photograph in the Martin ho. He finally linked the face to the officer from the night of the prom—the one who had pulled him out of the car after the crash and then angrily pointed a gun at the SHIELD agents to protect him.
Before tonight, Locke rembered the act, but he hadn't known the man's na was Jeff Martin.
Now?
Locke watched the glowing liquid flow into Jeff's mouth. "You treated like one of your own because of George," Locke murmured. "And this ss started because of . I don't like owing favors. I save you, you tell who the killer is, and we're even."
He was no saint, and he had no desire to save the world. This was the first ti, and it would be the last.
Recalling the image of Jeff's wife and those three children, Locke shook his head as he visualized the grim future he had just averted.
'I really am too kind.'
Locke put away the empty vial and watched the man on the table. Suddenly, there was a faint, shallow, but unmistakably real breath.
Just then—
"Hey!"
Jason Brent appeared at the door, handgun drawn. He looked at the unconscious lab assistant on the floor, then at Locke—who was standing over Jeff's "corpse" in a suit and sunglasses. "Don't move."
Locke turned toward the sound, looking at the man who resembled Jason Statham, and let out a light chuckle.
Jason aid steadily at Locke as he walked in. "Are you the Legendary Assassin?"
Locke thought for a mont and shook his head. "My na is Peerless. But I am no assassin."
He had given himself the code na "Peerless." Just two words.
Jason's voice was low and dangerous. "Did you kill Jeff?"
Locke smiled and took a step forward.
"Don't move!"
*Bang!*
Locke's expression didn't flicker as a spark erupted near his feet.
"One more step and I shoot to kill," Jason barked.
Locke looked at him. In the next split second, golden light flashed. Jason's pupils constricted.
*Bang!*
"Ah!"
Jason's right hand snapped upward. *Clang!* A hole was punched clean through the slide of his pistol. The weapon flew from his grip, spinning across the floor.
"Shit!" Jason clutched his throbbing wrist and looked up. "Where did he go?"
The morgue was empty.
...
Monts later, a team of officers burst out of the elevator.
"Brent!"
"Jason!"
Kate rushed in, gun held in a two-handed grip. She saw Jason holding his wrist and ran over. "What happened?"
"Peerless!" Jason gritted out through the pain. "He was just here."
"What?" Kate signaled her team. They fanned out imdiately, calling for reinforcents. But despite the exits being blocked by officers, Peerless had vanished as if he'd turned into mist.
Jason hissed in pain as he picked up his gun. Looking at the hole through the tal, he realized sothing. "Jeff wasn't killed by Peerless."
Kate frowned. "He told you that?"
Jason shook his head and held up the ruined pistol. "He only said one sentence. This gun said the rest."
Kate stared at the bullet hole, her eyes narrowing.
Just then, a soft groan echoed through the room. Jason and Kate froze. They turned, looking at the exam table with expressions that suggested they were questioning reality itself.
That groan... it ca from Jeff Martin.
'Did the Assassin leave a device on Jeff to mock us?'
They shared a look and rushed to the table.
"Holy shit!"
"Fuck!"
"Jeff?"
Kate spun around, screaming with every ounce of air in her lungs. "Get a doctor! Get a doctor in here NOW!"
...
*Ring, ring, ring!*
Late at night. George, Gwen, and Helen had returned ho after parting with Locke. They were wide awake, discussing how to support Doris and the children.
As Helen lanted the cruelty of fate, George's phone shrieked.
'Kate?' George's heart hamred. He looked at his wife and daughter. 'Another case?'
He answered with a trembling voice. "Hello, Kate?"
Before he could finish, Kate's voice practically exploded through the speaker. "Jeff's not dead! George, hurry! We're on the way to New Amsterdam Hospital. Get here now!"
George was stunned. "What? Not dead? That's impossible."
Gwen and Helen shared a look. Kate's voice had been loud enough for them to hear the core ssage.
Jeff is alive?
Before they could even process it, George had leaped off the sofa. Helen followed him instantly toward the door. Gwen stayed behind to watch her three younger brothers—if Child Protective Services found out three kids under twelve were left alone, they'd have a field day.
However, that didn't stop Gwen from calling Locke.
On the other end, Locke sounded like he'd just been jolted awake. "Hello?"
"Locke!" Gwen's voice was bright with excitent. "Uncle Jeff isn't dead!"
There was a pause on the line before Locke's voice cleared up. "What? But George said..."
"I don't know the details! Mom and Dad are racing to the hospital!"
"My god, that's wonderful news," Locke said, sounding genuinely thrilled.
"Yeah," Gwen whispered. "It must be a miracle. Jeff's family are devout believers; God must have been watching over them."
'My na isn't Yahweh' Locke thought with a smile as he stood on his balcony.
Jeff Martin definitely needed the hospital. The [Health Potion] didn't co with automatic skin-whitening or scar-removal features. Its only function was to give you life when you had none and lock your health status for twenty-four hours. If you didn't receive dical treatnt to stabilize your vitals within that window, you'd just die again.
Hearing Gwen's happiness through the phone, Locke felt his own mood lift. Doing good deeds really did lead to a pleasant state of mind. He leaned back in his lounger, listening to Gwen talk about the history between the Stacys and the Martins.
...
New Amsterdam Hospital.
By the ti George, Helen, and a shell-shocked Doris arrived, the surgical corridor was packed with ard officers.
Doris looked like she was in a trance. Understandably. A few hours ago, she was told her husband was murdered. The bereavent unit had literally been at her door. Then George had knocked again to say, "Wait, he's alive."
As the elevator doors opened and she saw the "In Surgery" light and the sea of blue uniforms, the final thread of her composure snapped. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.
Chaos erupted in the hallway for a mont.
Eventually, George left Helen to look after the fainted Doris and returned to Kate and Jason. "She's okay, just overwheld. How's Jeff?"
Kate struggled to find the words. "The doctor ca out once. They're still working on him. But... he said he can't believe Jeff is still alive. His will to live is 'impossible.' George, Jeff has two bullets in his heart, and it's still stubbornly beating."
The doctor's expression had been that of a man seeing a literal dical miracle.
George blinked. Jason, standing nearby, added, "Yeah. Jeff's gonna pull through. Son of a bitch... he literally crawled his way back from Hell."
The officers in the hall who knew Jeff let out a cheer. A few nurses tried to shush them, but one look at the sheer number of ard n made them choose silence.
George focused on one thing: 'He can be saved.' But after the initial joy, confusion set in. He looked at Kate and Jason. "What exactly happened?"
Jason composed himself and recounted the encounter. "I ran into the Legendary Assassin in the morgue."
George: "..."
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