Notes!
Welcome to the fourth installment of the "Blood Ties" universe!
I hope you enjoy ^^
Reading "Blood Ties", "Before Blood" and "Bad Blood" before this fic is recommended.
Blood Pact
Chapter 1
They were fragmented. Athos could see that. His team, his once strong, act-as-one unit was splitting. The divide wasn't a loud one, not one filled with raised voices or spiteful words, but rather the quiet nursing of hurt feelings and prides. He knew on some level that he had let it go on for too long. Athos should had forced an intervention when he had first noticed the fractures, because now those tiny breaks were splintering, threatening to become chasms which would be irrevocable.
It didn't look as if d'Artagnan and Aramis' friendship would ever be the same again.
Athos sighed, sweeping his gaze over the Unit 2 office. To an outsider the office looked at peace. All three of his friends, his men, looked to be hard at work at their desks. But that was the problem. Their heads were down, d'Artagnan's buried in his lap top and Aramis' and Porthos' proofreading their newest report. There was no laughter. No banter. No… Nothing.
Silence in the Unit 2 office was almost unheard of and, for their leader, worringly unnerving.
Porthos stood suddenly, muttered an excuse about needing to see Treville, and escaped the tense quiet. Athos shot a glare at the retreating back of his only ally as he left the room.
Coward…
Not that Athos could blame him. Of the four members of Unit 2 it was Porthos who was taking this fracture the hardest. Despite the man's intimidating, looming frame, he was the personification of the term "the gentle giant". With no family of his own, Porthos was one of the many people who saw the Musketeers as his family, so the rift between his brothers cut him all the deeper. It was honestly no surprise to Athos that he was withdrawing from the situation.
If possible the air got even thicker without Porthos there to dilute it. d'Artagnan glared a little too intently at his screen, Aramis fingers gripped the pages of his report so hard Athos was surprised it hadn't ripped.
The pair were just so stubborn, as bad as each other… It had been a week straight of this, a solid week of d'Artagnan falling silent as Aramis walks into the office, of Aramis clamming up around their newest team member.
It wasn't that Athos couldn't understand the pair's argument. He could. d'Artagnan felt betrayed and Aramis felt embarrassed but while they refused to swallow their pride and talk about how Aramis had missed d'Artagnan's commencement ceremony nothing would improve.
Because it had hurt their newest member. D'Artagnan had worked so hard over the year. He had been focused, diligent, and a month after his release from hospital Treville had called a meeting of the whole Garrison. It hadn't been a huge affair. Agents had gathered in the atrium, the central point between all the offices. A space had been left at the front for Unit 2, after all, d'Artagnan was theirs.
"I don't think it will come as a surprise," Treville had begun, a hand resting on d'Artagnan's shoulder, "That when Athos woke up in his hospital bed over a year ago, demanding to know what had happened to the 'kid with a man bun' in the raid following his rescue, I thought he had lost him mind."
d'Artagnan shifted uncomfortably, heat rising in his cheeks. His beginning with the Musketeers was no secret in the Garrison. At first d'Artagnan had expected to be met with resentment from the other men – after all Athos was well loved by all them. But his seal of approval went further, so at Athos' request, the rest of the musketeers had accepted him, knowledge of his past and all.
"And when he requested that I not only release him, but employ him," Treville continued, knowing rather smugly he was embarrassing both men concerned, "I almost had him sectioned."
A ripple of laughter spread throughout the agents.
"I couldn't believe what was being suggested. It seemed insanity. But I didn't see what Athos saw when he first looked at the man before us today. He saw a sharp mind, loyal spirit, and brave heart which led Athos to demand I create this apprenticeship. I will admit that I didn't see it in the beginning, but I do now."
The Captain reached down and picked up a small black box from the desk. He flipped it open, revealing the pin lapel pin which all Musketeers owned. Their society was secret, but they all had the same small Fleur de lis pin, marking them all as one in the same for those who knew the significance of the symbol.
"d'Artagnan de Lupaic," Captain Treville leant forward. He pinched together the white fabric of d'Artagnan's shirt and fastened to the pin over his heart, "It is an honour to call you a brother in arms."
A smile can't help but spread across the young man's face, the silver shining proudly out to the crowd as Treville turned him to face the rest of the room.
"Ladies and gentleman, I give you our newest Musketeer, d'Artagnan!"
The agents surrounding their Captain and their newest brother erupted, none more loudly than Porthos. A wide grin split his face as he stamped his feet and whooped. Athos clapped more reservedly, but the smile on his face was filled with a pride which burned through his chest.
As the group surged forward to congratulate him, d'Artagnan's eyes kept searching. Porthos was pulling him into a bear hug, Athos was gripping his shoulder but his gaze still roamed the room. There was a sea of faces, all smiling, all happy, but one missing.
"Where's Aramis?"
Athos sighed… It wasn't just Aramis' absence which had hurt d'Artagnan so, but his refusal to offer a reason for it. Instead of explaining himself, which likely would have smoothed the situation over, he had become defensive, shrugging off the questions with the phrase "I didn't realise I had to explain myself to you lot."
Now here they were, a week on, and the two seemed like they were at breaking point. The moved round each other, tip toeing, avoiding eye contact, waiting at for the other to disappear before they spoke.
It took all of Athos' self-control to resist hitting his head against his desk.
The worst part of this whole thing was he had no idea how to fix it.
"This is a fact finding mission," Athos stressed down his radio mic. He tapped the a few keys on his lap top, switching his camera view to the one mounted on d'Artagnan's chest, "Make sure your cams gets an eye of everything. Don't touch anything."
"So you've said," Aramis muttered into his own mic, the voice sounding muffled in Athos' ear, "Repeatedly."
Athos' muttered a curse under his breath, too low for the mic to pick up, and turned back the images on the screen.
This was not how this mission was meant to go. The plan had been to have him in the observation van, Aramis on the neighbouring roof top as look out, and Porthos and d'Artagnan on the ground in the offices. That had been the plan, before Treville had pulled Porthos to run an endurance turning session with the new batch of recruits. Athos had started to protest, but short of admitting to Treville that Unit 2 were ignoring each other like sullen teenagers, there was little he could do.
With Porthos gone they were forced to rework the plan. No one on the roof, rather Athos watching both the CCTV of the area and the goings on in the offices from the van, and d'Artagnan and Aramis inside. Athos' tone during the briefing left no room for argument. He decided he didn't care about their fight. They could act like petulant, stubborn children on their own time but they were supposed to professionals. Athos resolved just to treat them as such.
Athos switched back, checking the darkened street outside was still and deserted, before switching to his Aramis-cam.
"Intel said the bomb components are kept in the workshop in the back, behind a key padded door. d'Artagnan I assume you can take care of it?"
"Yea, give me a minute…" d'Artagnan eased the bottom panel underneath a red light on the key pad and connected his own console with a wire.
"Take you time by all means," Aramis mumbled, causing d'Artagnan to shoot a glare over his shoulder.
"Oh I'm sorry are we speaking now? I just assumed after a week of you ignoring me –"
"Ignoring you?" Aramis' voice, thick with sarcasm, dripped into Athos' ear, "You've been acting like a sanctimonious little twit."
"Aramis…" Athos growled out a warning but d'Artagnan had already taken the bait.
"Well at least I'm not under any delusions anymore. I'm sure whichever girl you were fucking was more important than watching your team member get his pin."
Aramis blanched, surprised by the venom in the younger man's words. His eyes narrowed, as if ready to strangle d'Artagnan, Athos too far away to get between them, but the group was saved by a soft beep as the door slid open.
"Will you two just get your job done," Athos ground out, feeling the beginnings of a migraine coming on, "Fight on your own time. Find some evidence of the bombs, get it on film, and get out of there."
Both men, nudged out of their argument, muttered their agreement. Athos switched back to d'Artagnan's camera as he entered the room. The picture bounced with the movement, disorientating Athos as he watched.
"Uhh… Athos?" d'Artagnan's voice sounded unsure the coms.
"What is it?"
"This-"
"-Isn't a workshop…" Aramis finished the sentence.
Athos frowned as the camera stopped bouncing. His men were right. The intel had told of a workshop area behind the private offices where dirty bombs were made. They had expected work benches, piping for casings and nails and screws for shrapnel. The room they stood had none of that. From the looks of things it was a laboratory.
"The fuck –" Athos muttered, "d'Artagnan give me a better look around, get closer."
The camera began moving again as d'Artagnan moved towards the steel work surfaces. They were clean, with various pieces of equipment you'd expect in a laboratory stacked neatly in place.
"Athos, are you seeing this?" Aramis asked. "Switch to my camera."
Athos did as he was told but the footage was hard to make out. Long thin cylinders of some kind, but the details were eaten up by the darkness.
"Can I get some light?" Athos asked.
"Here," It was d'Artagnan's voice. A moment later a torch was clicked on and shone at whatever he was meant to be looking at. Athos shifted a little closer to the screen.
"That looks like…"
"Vials… Test tubes," Aramis breathed as he looked at the tall refrigerated shelves. Each level held about 10 different test tubes, all the same size, all around two thirds filled with clear liquid, "What do the building plans say this room is meant to be?"
Athos flicked his view for a moment away from the video feed, "Three different store rooms. Internal walls separating them…"
"Well someone's done some renovations…"
Athos switched back to the live feed just in time to see Aramis pick up on of the vials in a gloved hand.
"Careful…." He warned.
Aramis ignored this superior, instead squinting at the thin white label of the test tube, "RN6X… Ring any bells, Athos?"
Athos let out a breath, "None..."
"They're all the same," d'Artagnan muttered from his crouched position, as he looked at the labels, "RN6X… There must be, what 60 vials?"
Aramis unstoppered the vial. He brought it to his nose and sniffed very slightly. It wasn't strong, perhaps a peppery undertone, but didn't dislodge any memories.
"I'll see if the med techs at the Garrison have heard of it," Athos clicked of the video, about to send an email to Lemay the lead researcher, when movement caught his eye, "Shit!"
Aramis jumped backward, almost dropping the vial, "Christ Athos don't do that! What?"
"You've got company…" Athos watched as a SUV pulled up in front of the building, "Two males, don't know if they're headed to your floor but get moving."
"Here!" Aramis passed the vial to d'Artagnan, "Take this for a sample and fill the vial up with water. I'll sort the security tapes."
Tense minutes passed and Athos firmly ignored the knot of anxiety in his stomach. The two men entered the building, where Athos lost visual. There was minimal conversation between the three teammates as they worked but within 90 seconds the CCTV tapes were wiped and the two men were taking the back stairs three at a time.
They exited through the back door, and Athos, now in the front of van, was waiting for them. The moment they slammed van door shut their leader hit the accelerator and they were off.
"So what," d'Artagnan finally broke the silence as he tugged his chest cam off, "The tip was wrong?"
"Perhaps," Athos shrugged, his eyes never leaving the road. It was a good four hour journey back to Paris and he wanted to put as much distance between them and that building as he could, "Wouldn't be the first time we've had our time wasted…"
"But the room didn't match the blue prints," Aramis noted from his spot in the back.
Athos nodded, "Also true… I suppose we'll get more answers once we get that sample back to Lemay. You have it right, d'Artagnan?"
"Right here," the young man dug in his chest pocket and pulled out a small silver canister. It was a portable sample canister, would keep whatever was in it at 3 degrees for up to 18 hours.
d'Artagnan shimmied over the backseat to join his mentor for the drive, while Aramis stayed in the back despite their being space. Athos held in a sigh. He supposed, between those two at least, little had changed.
"Go get a couple hours sleep," Athos waved the pair away. It was a little before 8am and the Garrison was just waking up. Treville would want them for debrief, but with luck not until after midday. Aramis and d'Artagnan, if they could avoid fighting for long enough, could grab a couple of hours rest in the off duty room until their commander summoned them.
Himself? Well it wouldn't be the first time he had gone without sleep. Athos would rather get the sample to Lemay sooner rather than later. The whole mission had left an odd taste in his mouth. It hadn't been a failure, not by a long shot, but it hadn't been what it had expected. They had returned to the Garrison with more questions than they had left with. Athos hated questions.
The two men, blessedly too sleepy to continue their argument, sloped off to find a corner of the Garrison to collapse as Athos headed in the opposite direction.
The medical wing was housed on the other side of the Garrison, and, to be honest, Athos rarely had reason to go. They were all part of the same team, all musketeers, but the field units tended to keep themselves apart from the research teams. There wasn't animosity but… Those in the medical wing were academics, doctors and scientists with hundreds of PHDs between them. They were smart, and that was intimidating.
Still though, they held a skill set which Athos definitely lacked. He needed their help.
Besides Andrew Lemay wasn't so bad. Of all of those in the medical wing, the British born was far more willing to talk with the field units. Sure he was very focused on his work, but, Athos supposed, so was he.
He let himself into the foreign building with his key card and headed for Lemay's lab. It might be early, but there was no way Lemay would have had a lie in when there was some mystery liquid to analyse.
Just as Athos predicted, Lemay was at his desk as he let himself through the glass doors. The man before him was perhaps a few years his senior, tall and thin with pale skin and a sleek dark hair which had a few lines of silver at the temples. His glasses were pushed up on the crown of his head, eyes pressed against a microscope.
"Morning, Lemay."
Athos' eyebrows shot up when the man jumped. He nudged his glasses down onto the bridge of his nose and pushed back from his desk.
"Athos!" Lemay smiled, "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in. How are you? Do you have that sample?"
Carefully he swung his backpack to the ground and retrieved the canister. Lemay's eyes lit up as he took it.
"I love something new to play with," Lemay took the canister and placed it into a sterile fume cabinet, "I asked around after I received your email, but no one's heard of RN6X either. Curious, however it could be fake name – or a code name…."
He slid his hands into the attached gloves and unscrewed the cap, pouring the liquid carefully into an awaiting test tube.
"And you said all the test tubes were marked the same?" Lemay asked as he worked, although didn't wait for Athos to reply as he carried on, "It's odd… Very odd... Especially with your intel being so off the mark… This could be nothing, although, if it was nothing, why not use the solution's real name..."
Athos nodded along, he had had much the same thought process on his way over.
"How long do you think, before..?"
"Hard to say I'm afraid…" Lemay's eyes never left his newest mystery, "I'll begin my tests, you will be the first to know when I find something…"
"And I thank you for that," Athos smiled, although it was missed by the man who was engrossed by his mystery. He picked up his back pack and turned for the door, "I look forward to hearing any news."
"So they did speak," Porthos' eyebrows shot up.
Athos shrugged, his hands wrapped around his mug of the strongest coffee he could find. The pair were in their office, without the other two trouble makers who appeared to still be sleeping.
"They fought," Athos corrected, "They snapped at each other. That's hardly progress…"
Porthos didn't look so sure, "They've ignored each other for the last week. Talking is talking."
"You didn't have to listen to it."
"True, but I did have those three new recruits bitching my ear off because I made them run a little bit."
Athos snorted, "I've completed your endurance training, there's nothing little about it."
"You're just getting soft I –"
However Porthos was going to defend himself was cut off the buzzing of Athos' phone against the table. His leader held up a finger and hit the accept button.
"This is Athos – Lemay, do you have news for-"
Porthos watched as his leader's face froze. He mouthed 'what?' towards him, but Athos didn't seem to notice.
"Me? N-no I didn't. I wasn't in the room, I was- Well the rest of unit 2. Aramis and d'Artagnan."
Colour drained from Athos' face, his breath feeling like it was turning to concrete in his throat.
"I sent them to get a few hours of sleep– No not home, in the off duty room- Right. Right I'll meet you there."
Athos was on his feet before the call was ended. Porthos mirrored his leader's actions, ready to follow him to wherever he led.
"What's going on?" Porthos asked as he turned as one towards the door.
"The, the liquid, it was – They are making bombs!" Athos stormed from the room. They turned forwards the stair case. The off duty was the two floors below their office space, where hopefully their two other members slept.
"But you said it wasn't a work shop-"
"It was a lab!" The words seemed to be tugged from Athos' throat, "Biochemical bombs. Our intel must have heard bomb and assumed explosives not an airborne virus!"
The penny dropped for Porthos as they made it to the stairwell. The pair took the stairs two at a time, step in step with each other.
"Tell me you guys didn't open that vial!"
"Not me, d'Artagnan did. Aramis fucking sniffed it!"
Oh hell… Porthos swore as the pair reached the correct floor and broke into a run, this was bad.
Notes:
Oh dear... Poor boys!
Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think ^^