Alright, Here I am again guys :] Been a bit of a head ache but I'm back. What headache pray tell? Well, for one thing, these were a couple of people who commented last chapter that kinda just made me hit my head on a desk. I had thought that I made it pretty clear that Alex had wrapped his arm around Desmond and then carried him like a handbag/barrel. I know it was a little thing, but it still bugged me. I was expecting to have mix ups in the timeline from Prototype. Sometimes it amazes me what confuses people XD; Side note, I do like to answer questions so if you are confused, feel free to ask. I don't mind explaining and if I get enough ofthe same questions, then I know I did something wrong XD;

Another huge thank you to my beta, CleverDucky. She really does help me out XD

And without further delay, Chapter 6!

It turned out that Alex had been staying at the hospital for the past four days. Desmond asked and asked why he would be staying here, but he never got an answer. It was later in the afternoon and Alex had run off into some other room. What did that leave Desmond to do with his free time? Explore, of course. He started with opening some of the doors in the main hall he was in. He found that most of them were locked. The last door he tried though was open. It led to another long hallway with more doors for Desmond to enter. Again, most were locked for some reason and again, the last one he tried was open. This process continued for about ten minutes until the door Desmond opened led to a room with a single man in it. There was a cadaver on one of the 5 tables the man was working with and places behind him to store other bodies. It was an autopsy room. The older black gentleman raised his head to see who had walked into the room.

"You aren't who I expected to walk through that door. Might I ask who you are?"

"Name's Desmond Miles. You are?"

"My apologies. I'm Dr. Bradley Ragland. I was a pathologist at this hospital." Desmond gave a nod in acknowledgement.

"So, Dr. Ragland, you wouldn't happen to know a guy named Alex Mercer, would you?" Dr. Ragland looked thoroughly surprised when Desmond mentioned Alex. "…Did I say something wrong?" Ragland shook off his shocked face, replacing it with a slight smile.

"No, no you didn't. I do know him, as a matter of fact." Desmond smiled slightly.

"That's awesome. Do you know where he might have gone? I lost him after I walked into the building."

"Alex should be with his sister in room 157." Desmond's eyes widened a little and his smile disappeared. That would explain why she stopped visiting for a bit…

"Why is Dana here?" He saw Ragland hesitate slightly before answering.

"She became ill. Alex brought her here so that she might cover." Desmond knew in his gut there was more too it but didn't press it. He nodded to the good doctor.

"I'll go find him then. Thanks, Doc." He turned to leave the room, leaving Ragland to continue what he was doing before. Desmond looked at the numbering of the doors when he was back out in the main hall. "309… Definitely not anywhere near here…" Desmond started to back track, looking for the desired door.

246…224…

Desmond was now back where he started. He tried the door that, supposedly, led to the hallway he needed. He was happy to find it was not locked. He walked through the door and down the hall, mentally reading off the numbers.

191…172…157.

He stopped in front of the door, noticing it was slightly ajar. He took a in a breath and gently pushed the door open, last thing he wanted to do was alarm Alex. The door opened all the way with no sound, revealing a rather touching scene.

Alex was standing over Dana, gently running his index finger down her cheek. Desmond also noticed that his stance was off; he didn't look so angry or guarded. In fact, he looked rather depressed. Alex's head turned slightly toward Desmond, obviously indicating he knew he was there. Desmond kept his distance.

"What's wrong with her?" Alex's head moved back to Dana's still figure.

"The Virus…" Alex's words sounded so heavy, so absolute. Desmond couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. Desmond lowered his head a bit. He had no right to be there.

"I'll, uh, I'll leave you two alone." Desmond turned to head for the exit. He wasn't going to leave but he really needed some fresh air. He opened the front doors and stepped outside, taking in a much needed breath. Why had something like that had to happen to someone as nice as Dana? Hell, he didn't even know what would happen to her now. He sighed and walked a little further away from the front doors. The site around him wasn't too bad, hardly any sign of the infection was present here. Desmond looked back at the front doors, debating whether he should go back in or not. In his internal debate, he didn't notice the Blackwatch soldier coming up behind him. The soldier slammed the butt of his gun into the back of Desmond's head, knocking him out instantly.

…

…

…

Desmond awoke with a major headache. He groaned a little, trying to open his eyes only to be met with an intense light. He rolled his aching head back, blinking to get his eyes to focus. He was on edge; he needed to get out of... where ever he was. He moved a little bit, only to find he was bound to a chair, a very uncomfortable chair.

"So you must be the Abstergo escapee. We had a hard time tracking you down." Desmond froze. He didn't recognize the voice, but he knew this guy was not a friend. Desmond looked for the owner of said voice and found a hardened looking man. He has a single gray stripe in his black hair. He was also in some sort of military uniform, though from what branch, Desmond had no idea.

The man circled around Desmond, slowly as if he was a vulture waiting to feast upon its prey. Desmond had a hard time seeing where this guy way because of the blinding light shining down on him.

"Apparently I wasn't trying hard enough, you still found me. So, who-ever-you-are, are you just going to put me back in Abstergo or what? " Desmond's irritation started to show through. He really didn't want to listen to some bastard right now. The man smiled.

"No, and I am Captain Robert Cross. We'll give you back to our dear friend Dr. Warren Vidic after you help us catch ZEUS."

"Zeus? What, you mean like the Greek god?" Captain Cross chuckled slightly.

"No. He's currently the most wanted man in America. ZEUS is just a codename. His name as you know him is Alex Mercer." He crossed his arms in an amused manner.

"So what makes you think I can even remotely help you catch him let alone want to help?" Desmond liked this idea less and less.

"You'll help because you'll be the bait and that means you don't get a choice. I'm sure he's already found out and is on his way."

"And why in the world are you so sure?"

"Because you've faced him, been with him and you aren't dead." Captain Cross shrugged and uncrossed his arms. Desmond really wanted to correct Cross but decided against it. Who knows what Captain Cross would do if he knew the reason Desmond was still alive was because Alex couldn't consume him. A loud 'thump' sounded above them. "Speak of the devil, there he is now. A little sooner than I had hoped but what can you do?"

The part of the ceiling on the far side of the room started to crack, threatening to cave in. Desmond moved against his restraints, hoping to loosen them. He unfortunately found that no matter how much he struggled, he was trapped. The ceiling buckled more before it completely crumbled. Alex jumped down from the new hole, landing with a sort of predatory grace. He stood up completely and took a stance that clearly showed he was not amused.

"So it was you, Cross." Alex started to walk toward Captain Cross, probably with the full intent of bashing his head in. Cross pulled out a handgun and that worried Desmond.

"Had to get your attention somehow, ZEUS, and using this guy seemed like the best idea at the time."

"And for all you know I just decided to come and finish our previous fight. For all you know, I don't know this guy."

"Ah, but you see, I knew you knew this fellow. A good handful of my men saw you parading around Manhattan, holding him like a handbag." Desmond winced at that. He hardly wanted to be called a handbag. Cross continued.

"I knew that this guy meant something to you because he was still around. Why else would you keep some one alive?" Cross pointed his handgun to Desmond. The knot of panic started to form in the pit of his gut.

"I do feel bad about this but he might have secrets that you do not need to know." Cross did briefly turn his head to face Desmond.

"I am sorry about this, but I can't let him gain any extra information." Captain Cross turned his attention back to Alex right after he shot Desmond three times in the torso. Desmond shook a little from the shock of being shot before looking down at his newly acquired injuries. Blood started to spill from the three holes, causing his white sweatshirt to slow take on a new crimson color. The pain hadn't even registered yet because his mind was too busy trying to process what had just happened. He was so stunned that he missed any other words exchanged between Cross and Alex. Now they were just fighting, to the death, it seemed. Pain started to blossom in Desmond's chest and gut, throwing another wrench in his thought process.

"So this is it. I'm just going to sit here and bleed to death." Desmond lolled his head, hoping that it would somehow relieve the pain he was now suffering from. His blood was still pouring out, but it was hard to tell when the surrounding area was soaked with the stuff. The pain had become so bad that now it just felt numb. Desmond started to feel tired, lightheaded. His brain struggled to keep awake and tried to stay awake by focusing on the fight, which Alex was apparently winning. Desmond's limbs felt like lead and he was feeling more unfocused than before. The last thing Desmond remembered was Alex giving a fatal blow to Cross before his world faded into a vast nothingness.