I frown. “Yeah.”
“Why?” he asks, his voice laced with scientific curiosity.
Sisk throws her hands in the air. “What do you mean why? Have you heard a single word I’ve been saying?”
“No,” Murtaugh says calmly, ignoring her completely. “I mean biologically.” He leans forward, studying me like I’m a fascinating new species of insect. “You heal.”
Lou looks between us, his face scrunched up in confusion. “You heal? What, like, you cut yourself and it just… goes away? Like a lizard?”
“Yes,” Murtaugh says, his gaze locked on me. “The procedure wouldn’t hold. Not with your healing ability. In a normal subject, you’d expect post-operative inflammation and tissue granulation to last for at least a week before the vas deferens could even begin to form a proper occlusive scar. Then you’d need another two weeks to verify azoospermia through testing. But with your accelerated cellular regeneration, the severed tissues would likely re-anastomose within hours. At best, it would’ve worked for a day.”
Sisk and I look at each other. The realization hits us both at the exact same time.
“Shit.”
Lou slowly lowers the container.
“And now you’ve got the piercings…” He squints between us, a slow, dawning comprehension on his face.
Everyone stares at him.
“What?” Lou says defensively. “Everyone knows those piercings go right through rubber. I’m just saying?—”
Sisk glares. “I take the shot. It’s fine. It’s worked for years. I haven’t had a period since. I don’t ovulate anymore.”
“But the mark just appeared,” Murtaugh says.
“And?” I ask.
Murtaugh hesitates, choosing his words with care. “Jaxwell… you need to talk to your grandfather.”
My head snaps up. “Why the fuck would I do that?”
“I don’t know the full details,” he admits, holding his hands up. “But there’s history between your family and The Pit. The mark showing up now? That’s not coincidence.” He spreads his hands. “I think your family knows more than you’ve been told. We need real information before we can make the best plan.”
“Plan?” The word stops me cold. “What plan?”
Sisk looks at me, her eyes dead serious. “To keep you from killing one of us next time.”
Matt grins from his spot against the wall. “Or all of us.”
I stare at them. “Are you all out of your damn minds?”
“Jax,” Sisk starts carefully. “You’re…” She searches for the word, her eyes flicking to the broken cuffs on the floor.
“Out of control,” Viper says flatly from her corner. I’d already forgotten she was there, the damn leech.
“I’ll say,” Lou adds, nodding like he’s an expert on my psyche.
Sisk sighs, rubbing her temples. “We need to do something about it.”
I shake my head, a disbelieving laugh escaping my throat. “This is insane.”
“Well,” Matt says, taking a swig of his beer, “so was you lifting me off the ground like a rag doll.”
“Which,” Lou adds, pointing a finger at me, “I would still like to process emotionally.”
Viper leans back against the wall. “So we’re skipping the ‘kill Jax’ plan, then?”
