He woke up on a rough surface.
He slowly sat up and looked around.
A road?
He frowned.
Beside him was a brown envelope.
Jonathan reached for it, but something wet trickled down his face. He touched his cheek and brought his hand into view.
Blood.
His eyes widened.
The last thing he remembered was being in Rodney's home office. Going through files. Looking at maps.
So how had he ended up here?
And why was he covered in blood?
"Be careful what you wish for."
For days, he had been wondering why he was in Rodney's body and what Rodney's real purpose had been.
Now he wasn't so sure he wanted the answer.
Jonathan tried to stand.
A sharp pain shot through his leg.
"Ah!"
He immediately dropped back down.
His eyes travelled to his left leg.
Blood.
A lot of blood.
He'd been shot.
But he couldn't remember when.
Or how.
Or why.
Panic began creeping into his chest.
Then he heard voices.
"Oh Mr. Vanguard! Come out, come out wherever you are!"
Someone laughed.
"We already shot your leg. It's not like you can run very far."
Jonathan's heart pounded.
"Let's finish this."
He quickly limped behind a large van parked at the side of the road and crouched down.
The footsteps grew closer.
"Dunlop won't be happy if we don't finish the job."
Another man chuckled.
"I mean, can you blame him? I'd want someone dead too if they were carrying evidence against me."
Evidence?
Jonathan looked down at the brown envelope in his hands.
The voices were getting closer.
Too close.
Thinking quickly, he picked up a pebble and threw it across the street.
A car alarm suddenly exploded into life.
The two men cursed and ran toward the sound.
Jonathan used the opportunity to escape.
Every step sent pain through his body.
Then a black car screeched to a halt in front of him.
A man stepped out.
"Well damn."
He looked Jonathan up and down.
"You look terrible."
Before Jonathan could reply, the man grabbed his arm and helped him into the passenger seat.
The moment the door shut, gunshots rang out.
Jonathan ducked.
The man only laughed.
"Relax. The car's bulletproof."
The engine roared to life and they sped away.
The driver glanced at him.
"Dunlop really wants you dead."
"No shit."
The man smirked.
Then his eyes landed on the envelope.
"Please tell me you got it."
Jonathan lifted it slightly.
"You mean this?"
Relief immediately washed over the man's face.
"Oh thank God."
He took the envelope and tossed it onto the back seat.
"That should be enough to put him away for life."
Jonathan frowned.
Something felt wrong.
The man's voice sounded distant.
Like he was underwater.
The road outside began to blur.
The driver's face became harder to focus on.
Jonathan rubbed his eyes.
"Wait..."
The man looked at him.
"Who's Dunlop?"
The driver laughed.
Then slowly stopped.
His expression changed.
"What?"
"Who's Dunlop?" Jonathan repeated.
The man stared at him.
The world around them flickered.
For a brief second, Jonathan could have sworn the driver's face wasn't a face at all.
Just a blur.
Like a photograph that had been smudged.
"Rodney..." the man said quietly.
"What's wrong with you?"
A bright light suddenly appeared ahead of them.
Too bright.
Too close.
The driver turned.
"Rodney, watch—"
CRASH!
The impact was deafening.
The car flipped.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Glass shattered.
Metal screamed.
The world spun violently around him.
Then everything went black.
Jonathan gasped and sat upright.
Pain shot through his head.
A hand immediately pushed him back onto the bed.
"Easy there, Master Rodney."
James.
"You've been unconscious for almost two days."