-7-
Laura woke up to the same sound—breathing—but now it wasn't soothing. She bolted up, clutching the blankets against herself in a defensive shield. No, no…this was all wrong…she was terrified.
She'd done something terrible. Quire would kill her for this, and the projects. Or something much worse. She guessed she'd lose the little periods of freedom she had left. Never again would there be
an opportunity to escape.
Agent Keller opened his eyes slightly, his pupils constricted. The light coming through the curtains was obviously causing him pain.
"Where am I?" he groaned.
"You have to go," Laura said, getting up. "Now." She hurried to the closet—the giant walk-in closet, filled with Quire's clothes, and the clothes he'd picked for her, and took a housecoat off one of the
hangers. Shrugged it on and tied the knot tightly.
Agent Keller was still lying in the bed, looking confused. He rubbed his eye. "Shit," he said after a moment, his voice hoarse. "Guess I had a bit too much to drink…"
Laura threw his shirt at him. "Get dressed."
He looked at it, then raised himself to his elbows.
"I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter." Laura looked around the room, picking clothes up as she spotted them. Socks, jeans, her skirt…
"Yes it does. You—you wanted to keep everything professional and I—"
"It's too late now." Laura picked up his boxers, then carried the pile over to him and dumped it in his blanket-covered lap. "Please…the sooner you are gone, the better, for all of us."
"Shit—" the Agent suddenly paled. "Your husband—"
Laura nodded.
He began pulling on his undershirt, getting it inside out the first time and looking frustrated. Laura glanced at the clock—she should be at the lab in two hours. She couldn't afford to
break her routine now, if there was to be any chance of concealing this from Quire.
…
"I'm really, really sorry." At the door. He was pulling on his jacket while watching her. Laura bit her lip.
"Stop it. Just go. Don't ever tell anyone."
Agent Keller shook his head. "Uh-uh." He hesitated. "I'm—um—I'm sorry, too, if I told you…things you didn't need to hear. I get talkative when I'm drunk, and the last few years have
been a bit rough for me."
"It's alright." Laura brushed her hair behind her ear. "I understand."
Agent Keller stopped, his hand on the doorknob. Watched her for a moment. Something about her tone. "Does Quire treat you well?"
Laura teetered, then met his eyes. That was his answer.
"What does he do to you?" His hand let go of the knob.
"Please, you need to go." Laura hesitated. "It's not safe for you to be here."
"Dr. Kinney—Laura—what does he do to you?" Agent Keller wasn't going to leave now, this much was obvious.
"I c-can't tell you," Laura stammered as he touched her shoulder. Quire would smell this on her—this treachery. Betrayal. She was pure fear—she wondered if even now he was aware
of what was happening. She knew it was impossible—he was thousands of miles away, in Hong Kong. He couldn't cover such a range.
Fear wasn't logical though.
Agent Keller glared at her.
"Tell me, or I'll take you in for questioning," he said firmly.
Laura was vaguely irritated by this threat. "That would hardly be an intelligent usage of your department's resources," she said.
"I don't want to see you get hurt. What does he do? Does he hit you? Does he—"
"Please let go. You're hurting me."
Agent Keller realized his grip on her shoulder had tightened, and he relaxed his hand. "Sorry. This is—I didn't like Quire to begin with—he came off as a dick."
"You've met him?" Laura was surprised. They hadn't interacted during Agent Keller's surveillance of the laboratories.
"Different assignment."
Laura realized there might be more to Quire's fear of S.H.I.E.L.D. than she originally thought. Maybe he knew something.
Maybe Agent Keller had direct access to someone that Quire was afraid of.
"Please…I like you, if you're in trouble, I want to help you," the Agent said, his voice a bit softer. "You seem like a strong woman. If something bad is going on—it'd have to be really bad for you to admit it."
Laura glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Wait for me." She turned and headed for the bedroom, for her clothes.
…
They were in a diner, waiting for the breakfast they'd ordered. Laura had remained tight-lipped on the way there, not trusting that her transport and car were not bugged in some mechanical way by Quire.
But they were here now—and it should be safe. She'd never, ever, ever come here before. She was sure it would be awful. But the safety was worth it.
"Tell me." Agent Keller was staring at her expectantly.
Laura hesitated. How could she even put the last few years of her life into words? There is such a thing as Overwhelming, with a capital O, in which an experience can no longer be described, shared
with other people. There is too much.
"I—I don't know where to start," she said, her voice wavering.
"At the beginning?" he suggested. He didn't know how far it went, obviously.
Laura took a few deep breaths. Her hands were shaking.
"My mother was a surrogate for the Early Start program. I was raised by S.H.I.E.L.D. I finished my training in biological engineering when I was fifteen," she said. "I was chosen to receive an upload of
ten years worth of knowledge in a simple procedure by the Stepford Cuckoos. My mentor, Dr. Reyes, was very proud of me. It was a good start."
"Sounds like," Agent Keller said, taking a sip of water.
"One other student was chosen—Quentin Quire. We did not…agree…on many viewpoints."
"Such as?"
"Quire doesn't believe that humans are worthy of respect, at any level. Even as our ancestors. He believes providing anesthesia to human test-subjects is a waste of supplies. Amongst many other areas."
Agent Keller raised his eyebrows.
" That's against policy. He could be locked away for that."
Laura smiled at him slightly, patronizingly . "That's nothing, Agent. I haven't started yet."
"I'm sorry. Continue."
They were interrupted by the food arriving. Neither touched it.
"After the training, Dr. Reyes sat down with us, and explained what our first posting would be. We were to methodically eliminate Strains 9 to 100 of the Legacy-Sapien virus, which they were afraid would
spread to mutants if not stopped in its tracks. The individual to eliminate the most strains—effectively—would be in charge of the next project, Synthesis."
"I've never heard of it." Agent Keller frowned. "I knew about the Legacy-Sapien virus strains, but—"
"Cloning, Agent Keller," Laura said directly, holding his gaze. His eyes widened slightly. "Cloning—cloning who?"
"Mutants. Yes, plural. Project Synthesis was about creating the ultimate Agents for S.H.I.E.L.D., that would allow them to completely eliminate human resistance. I did not know how low they would sink until
it was too late for me to get myself out. It was information on a need-to-know basis…I didn't realize what I was doing. I was given DNA to analyze, to decode—pieces at a time. It wasn't until I received orders
to combine these codes, these copies, and insert them into the nucleus of an egg cell, that I understood what I was doing. It is my belief, therefore, that none of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents the codes were taken
from are aware of this project either."
"You—" Agent Keller looked disgusted.
"That's right." Laura fingered the fork in front of her. "I was very upset when I realized. I tried to obtain evidence—a photograph of the zygotes, before they could be implanted in a surrogate. I waited—I
was very careful, I used my powers to avoid detection…but Quire caught me in action."
"Did Quire know what the project was about?" Agent Keller asked.
"I believe so." She looked down. "Quire is an omega level telepath who things ten million thoughts per second, and is capable of controlling crowds simultaneously. I was not aware of this then,
but I certainly am now."
"He controlled you so you wouldn't tell anyone—" Agent Keller seemed to comprehend. Laura nodded.
"And this led to more. Quire realized what he could do—that he could have whatever he wanted, simply by controlling others around him. I hadn't been aware of it—his obsession with me—but I learned
this quite quickly, as he forced his way into my life. Soon he was forcing me to do things I would rather die than do. One of these things was volunteering as the surrogate."
"Oh, my god. Laura."
Laura closed her eyes. "During this time—five months—I was not in control of my own body once. When he allowed me control again, the projects were actual, sentient beings, with consciousness. And I
found that I share a bond with them, whether I want to or not. I am their mother." She paused. "Quire—threatened me, with their lives. Threatened to make me kill them myself, in horrible ways. He's not
well—realizing he had complete control over me now, he became very open with his pastime. Quire is addicted to Hypercortisone D."
"Kick."
Laura nodded. "His addiction consumed him. He had moved in with me, and somehow managed to marry me during the period I can't remember. And now he didn't bother concealing when he was taking it.
Not only that—he converted part of the laboratory to produce the drug. He has grown quite wealthy off selling his excess, although he doesn't do it for money. If he wanted money, he could make people
give it to him. Quire believes that Kick should be available to everyone."
Agent Keller stared at the girl in the seat across from him. He saw it clearly now, she was a girl, not a woman, all professional, like the illusion she skillfully played off. She'd deflated, telling him the secret that
made her seem so aloof. And it certainly was a big secret—both he and she would be executed without question if it ever leaked out. There were so many forces at work here—S.H.I.E.L.D. keeping its project
quiet—a drug circuit that depended on Quire remaining free—oh, he knew how fanatic Kick-addicts could get.
"So—let me—" he struggled with the concept. "You've been forced to experiment on humans unethically…then mutants…then cloning mutants…were forced to carry and deliver two clones…and then separated from them?"
Laura nodded, her face pale.
"And you say Dr. Quire's insane, and he has been holding you hostage in your own home, doing—shit—to you. Not only that, but he's creating illegal drugs in the lab…and taking them?"
Laura nodded again.
Agent Keller was silent. Now he was Overwhelmed, with a capital O.
A waiter approached them, smiling, and asked if everything was okay. Laura lied and said the food was excellent, even though she hadn't tried it yet.
" Dr. Kinney—Laura—why didn't you say something to me sooner?" he asked finally, his forehead wrinkled. "Don't you trust me?"
"I trust you," Laura said, realizing that she did. "I'm afraid. Not for myself, but for the projects. For you too. He's cruel—and although he's afraid of controlling anyone who threatens his enterprises, albeit your
connection to S.H.I.E.L.D. enforcement."
"I have anti-telepathy training," Agent Keller pointed out.
"So do I. That's not enough. Quire may very well be stronger than the Stepford Cuckoos put together. I've considered this—they never controlled me, but…"
Agent Keller frowned. "That's impossible. Why don't we know about him? I've never heard of anyone like this—"
"He can make himself invisible to scanners."
"Jesus."
Silence.
Laura steeled herself—to ask for her favor. To see if he could do anything…or if she'd had a terrible lapse of judgment and doomed them all.
"Will you help me rescue the projects? I'll be alright, but—"
"Holy fuck. No, you won't be alright—all of this has to be fixed," Agent Keller said fiercely, almost startling Laura. She remembered he was a man with a uniform, although he wasn't currently wearing it.
Silence. Laura fingered her fork again, biting her lip.
"Did you name them?" he asked suddenly.
"What?" Laura hadn't expected him to speak.
"Your children. The projects. Did you give them names?"
"Oh. Yes, but only I use them." Laura smiled to herself slightly. "Everyone calls them the projects. Including Quire. He obviously doesn't view them as real mutants, just cheap imitations. Weapons in development."
"That's disgusting." Agent Keller made a face. "Laura—don't kid yourself, I won't let you stay in that mess. Quire's a psycho. You deserve better than that."
Laura was silent, her chin trembling once or twice; she didn't know what to say.
No one had told her that she deserved anything good in years.
Agent Keller hesitated, seeing this, then leaned over the table and took her hands in his. "I promise. I'll help you."
Laura nodded. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Don't thank me. I want nothing more than to help you. I like you," he said earnestly. Then he looked a bit embarrassed.
"You're leaning in your food," Laura said, to give him a distraction. She'd sensed he meant like in a sense more than friendship and casual sex.
"Oh." He leaned back and brushed eggs off his shirt. "Nice—not only have I worn this for two days now, but it's covered in food."
Laura smiled slightly.
Agent Keller rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know how I'm going to do it yet…help you…I mean, if Quire's as strong as you say…Jesus. I don't think witness protection is quite going to do the trick in this case."
"No." Laura was adamant. "If you're going to get Quire, it has to be an ambush…all at once. With multiple telepaths. You'll never catch him, otherwise."
"No doubt." Agent Keller frowned. "It's impossible to get to the Cuckoos, these days. But…there's this one guy I know that might be able to help us. His name is Synch. He used to be on my training squad…he
can copy anyone's powers, and use it better than they can. He owes me a favor—I saved his life once."
Laura was silent, tight-lipped. Not smiling anymore.
"We'd have to find a way to get him in range first, without Quire realizing. That'd be pretty hard. If we could do that…I have no doubt he could shut him down long enough for us to work."
"My children could do that," Laura said quietly.
"They're telepaths?"
"Hive mind. They contain DNA for the Stepford Cuckoos." Laura paused. "They are not trained…but they would listen to me. I believe that, although they are not capable of keeping Quire down yet—they could at least
incapacitate him long enough for you to move in."
Agent Keller nodded. "That would work. I'll go find Synch today—you get your children ready. Tell them what they need to do." Silence for a few moments.
He leaned back. "What are you going to do? When you're free?"
Laura was startled, her eyes widening. She knew the urgency—but—this had been her life for years now. And so suddenly—it might change.
"I haven't gotten that far," she admitted. "I thought—I want to be a family, with my children. Give them a life outside the cell…send them to school…see them have friends. I definitely don't want to work for
S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore."
Agent Keller grinned. "I wouldn't think so."
Laura looked at her watch. "I have to go. I can't afford to be late."
'Wait—we need to decide when this is going to happen. In case I can't contact you. When is Quire back?"
"Friday. His flight lands at ten. He will go directly to the lab." Laura pursed her lips. "What if you can't find your friend?"
"I'll think of something. Leave that to me." Agent Keller paused. "The airport's about an hour and a half away, right?"
"Yes," Laura said.
"Let's say Friday…at noon, exactly." Agent Keller said.
"Okay." Laura flagged down a waiter and asked for the bill.
