Brothers In Arms by brodie-wan
The 4400 Center was a terrible place to try and defend. The large, glass windows, spacious classrooms, and dormitory provided little in terms of fortification. Who knew that the Center would be the location of a pivotal opening battle in the war for the future?
Shawn Farrell and Kyle sat shoulder to shoulder, leaning against the door frame at the entrance to the center. Broken glass littered the lobby as well as the concrete entry way.
Kyle's right arm hung limply at his side and small cut under his right eye oozed a tear of blood. Similarly, Shawn's mouth trickled blood and his right cheek swelled.
"Feel like healing me, now?" Kyle asked, nudging Shawn with his good elbow.
"Not yet," Shawn replied, nudging him back. "You can suffer a while longer."
Kyle pulled his knees up and wrapped his left arm around them and laid down his head. "I'm sorry, Shawn," he said into his knees. "It was all a lie. Cassie, Jordan, White Light. All lies."
Shawn heard the words, muffled as they were. He stood up with some effort, using the door handle as a support. "Nice try, Kyle, but Maia Skouris is dead. Jordan's attack, your attack, caused that to happen!"
Kyle looked up sharply, a mixture of rage and anguish masking his face. "I know! Damn it! I know!"
"Just because you made one right decision, tonight, doesn't negate everything you've done."
"Shut the up, Shawn!" Kyle said, using his anger to fuel his energy to stand. "I'm tired of your accusations! Don't you think I know what I've done? Is repentance not enough for you? Do you want my blood in exchange for hers?"
Shawn's ire was spiking as well. He swallowed hard, considering his next words. His fists were at his sides clenched to white knuckles. This was a civil war: brother and against brother. Was there room for forgiveness; especially when pain was still new?
"Well?"
Shawn's lips were pressed into and hard line and his eyes shot daggers at Kyle. He spoke softly. "Don't talk, Kyle. Just be quiet. I want to pummel you right now."
"I thought the pummeling was over," Kyle said holding out a hand in peace.
"I still have some fight that is itching to hurt you, Kyle. You have to understand that. I never regretted bringing you out of your coma. I even 'healed' you from being possessed after you killed Jordan. Granted, after Isabelle, it was you that gave me a chance to live, but that was when you went soft in the head. What the hell, Kyle? Jordan the Messiah? God on Earth? You took the word of an invisible girl and 50 year old book and turned on your family."
"Are you done? I don't need a history lesson," Kyle said, limping toward Shawn, who had moved further into the lobby. "I lived it. Forget that you hate me for the moment. What do we do now? P-positives are killing each other. Jordan's message of love has turned to a message of genocide. He wants an airborne Promicin."
That caught Shawn's attention. "Airborne?"
"Yes."
"This is way beyond kidnapping Kevin to stop his research. I knew Jordan wanted a p-positive world, but this a marked move from rhetoric and passive resistance to the possibility of mass murder."
"I can't follow Jordan down that road. But, it's not the only reason I left Promise City. The White Light book named names of those that needed to take the shot in order to bring about Paradise. My father's name is on that list. He is important to future events. We'll that's what I thought. Cassie knew things about the future that proved to be true. That's what initially hooked me. But after months in Jordan's camp, doing what needed to be done to enable to cause, Cassie's demands became more intense. She asked me to remove you as an obstacle. I wasn't sure what she was asking. Was I supposed to kill you? She played it cool and said that was not what she meant. What else could she mean? When you came for Kevin, she became intolerable and demanded you be "taken care of".
"Great," Shawn said, tiredly.
"But, the next demand sealed my desire to leave the movement. That demand played out right here only a couple of hours ago. The gun in my hand was an ornament, Shawn. A decoration. Even on this raid, I never intended to use it. When we stumbled on Dad, Diana, and Maia, Cassie was screaming maniacally in my ear to kill them. It was like she had gone insane. It was hard to see beyond her hysteria, but if she wanted Dad dead, then that conflicted with White Light, which was her entire agenda."
"Good thinking, Kyle," Shawn said, relaxing a bit and softening his stony gaze. "The pressure must have been incredible."
"I wasn't fast enough to save Maia," Kyle said, lowering his head and shaking it slowly. "She was important."
"She was," Shawn replied. "I may not like you right now, Kyle, but I still love you. You're my cousin."
"Thanks. That will have to do, huh."
"For now," Shawn said, approaching Kyle, who stood at the railing that led down to the lower social area. "What will you do, now?"
The two men stood awkwardly at the top of the stairs, still unsure what to think, do, say, or think.
"N-TAC. Go home. Talk to my dad."
"You'll need protection," Shawn said, seriously.
"Yeah, I guess I will. N-TAC should be able to do that. You never needed protection did you?"
"No, but Jordan died. When he came back, he had no reason to hurt me. He thought I would join him. When I didn't, all he could say to me was how disappointed he was."
"I was there for that, too. It seemed harsh."
"But, apparently, we aren't talking about the same Jordan anymore."
Kyle sighed, resting his weight on the low wall framing the stairs.
"You ok?" Shawn asked, catching Kyle before he collapsed to the floor. "Kyle!"
Lifting Kyle back to his feet Shawn took his cousin's hands in his. Immediately he felt the energy flow between that and noticed Kyle stiffen, before relaxing. When Shawn let go, the cut below Kyle's eye was gone, and he noticed Kyle's left arm flexing. He smiled.
"Feel better?" Shawn asked.
"I do. Thanks. Well, physically, anyway."
"Good," Shawn said, in a conciliatory tone.
"I better get going," Kyle said. "Your people are going to need you."
"Yeah, this mess just got worse. But, I'm glad to have you back, Kyle. Maybe, sometime soon, it can be like it was; like the before the abductions."
Kyle let out a short huff disbelief. "I don't think it'll ever be like those days, but I look forward to being friends again."
"Me too," Shawn said, evenly, his bearing suddenly becoming more official. "Jordan has to be stopped, Kyle. We can't allow Promicin to go airborne."
"I know. But what will it mean for the 4400 and the other P-positives?"
Shawn's face became hard again, with the weight of his next word. He hoped it could be averted, that there could be peace with the rest of humanity, but if Jordan words and actions are intensifying, the public will turn him, and by extension, those in his own camp. The word sounded heavy on his lips.
"War."