Disclaimer: Ummmm….forget it
Note: Sorry it took me a while to get this one up, I finally found a little plot bunny in my closet yeah :D! Just a little FYI the lab describe below is an actually place, I've seen it out in the middle of nowhere; what they do there is beyond me, but some say things… Plus I live in NM so I should know all about this stuff, anyway umm sit back with your cookies and hot cocoa and enjoy…
The bright sunrise was almost blinding. The sky was painted in a vast array of yellows, oranges, reds, and pinks, barren sandy desert a stark contrast to the beautiful sky. A single semi truck and two BMWs drove their way along the road. Jareth had been out cold since the night before but was still safely contained in straightjacket and leg restraints that had been securely placed on him the night before. Alex, Bobby, Darien, and Claire accompanied him in the back of the semi truck. Two agents drove in the front as the rest followed the semi truck.
"So…" Darien said breaking the silence that had settled over the truck since earlier that morning. "This is fun." He stated with a small nod.
"Not as fun as sleeping." Bobby added.
"Yeah…" Darien took a deep breath "So are we there yet?"
"Fawkes!" Alex groaned, annoyed.
"What? I've kept from saying it this whole time." Darien whined.
"That's a new record." Bobby thought aloud.
Claire laughed to herself "We're almost there guys."
"Almost there as in two minuets or two hours?" Darien questioned.
Claire smiled at his growing impatience "We'll be there in about twenty minuets Darien."
"Oh…" Darien nodded at the Keeper's answer.
The small two-lane road soon turned to a sandy unpaved road. The large truck turned sharply, tires sending sand and gravel flying into the air; the two BMW's stopping at the beginning of the road to let the sand assaulting the space in front of them to die down.
"So ever been to New Mexico?" Darien inquired.
"I have…Once." Bobby answered.
Darien turned to his partner "Oh really, did you like it?"
Bobby nodded a little "It was very nice…dirty, but nice."
"Well it is a desert…" Darien stated. Alex glared at them unamused. "Why were you there?" he asked.
"I'd tell ya, but then I'd hafta kill ya." Bobby answered. Darien stared at Hobbes for a moment, wondering if his quirky partner was serious or not, then quickly turned to Alex.
"We're not there yet!" She answered cutting him off.
Darien rolled his eye's and leaned back as far as he could, resting his back against the side of the truck. "I wasn't going to ask that…" He moaned long-sufferingly. He looked towards the front of the truck and caught a glimpse of the cars behind them in the rearview mirror. "I was going to ask you since when could the Agency afford BMWs?"
"We can't, there on loan from the DOD." Alex answered still a little angry at him.
Darien turned to stare at her "The DOD? Why are they on loan from the DOD?"
"Because that's who we're taking Jareth to." She answered, this time to tired to be annoyed.
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The sandy desert road converged with a ten-foot chain link fence, paralleling it for a quarter mile before an entrance became visible ahead. The gates swung open to admit the truck without slowing, a guard having punched in the key code. A short distance from the entrance, the dirt road turned into a large paved parking lot for a one-story complex. The complex's smooth gray and black reflective walls made it seem misplaced in the midst of the barren desert landscape, tumble weeds and small brush littered the sand covered ground.
"We're slowing down…" Bobby noted as the large semi truck pulled up into the space nearest a pair of metal reinforced double doors.
"We're here." Alex stated happy the task at hand was over.
"Finally…" Darien sighed in relief as the back of the truck was opened by a group of seven men in security guard outfits and one in a lab coat. Darien and Bobby jumped from the back as Alex climbed out. "Are you sure we're in the right place? This looks like Dr. Evil's headquarters or something…"
The seven guards climbed into the truck and pulled Jareth roughly up. Darien and Bobby partially glared at the guards. One of the scientists turned to Claire as the security guards began to move Jareth. "How long has he been out Doctor?"
Claire watched as they half dragged half-carried Jareth off the truck. "Since, I called you yesterday." Claire answered hopping out of the truck.
"Good, then he should be out until we get him into containment…If you'd all follow me." He gestured towards the building and led the group inside.
"Wow…big complex." Bobby muttered as they entered the building.
"Where they get the funding?" Darien whispered to Hobbes while looking around the large building.
"Area 51" He answered as quietly as possible also looking about.
Darien froze midstep, smiled to himself, then turned to Hobbes "Area 51?"
"We're in New Mexico…"
"You believe in area 51?"
"Don't you?"
Darien laughed "I don't know, I don't think about that stuff…" Bobby shook his head at his partners disbelief. "Take me to your leader…" Fawkes declared in his best mimic of an alien voice.
Alex turned and glared at the two "Stop clowning around."
"I'm not so much of a clown as just someone with a, deeply sarcastic nature." Darien retorted flashing her a smug smile.
Alex shook her head as the guards yanked Jareth through a nearby door.
"If you four would please follow Dr. Brook I'll be escorting Mr. Godin to containment." Another doctor walked up to the group as the previous one followed the guards and Jareth through the nearby door.
"This way please." Dr. Brook walked in the opposite direction of his parting colleagues.
Darien turned and jogged to catch up to the doctor. "Hey uh, where are they taking him?" Darien asked.
"To containment. A padded cell next to an OR where will be able to create the suicide gene for his gene therapy."
"Oh." Darien nodded in mock understanding.
"Where they can help him." Alex said walking along side him.
"How long does he have?" Claire questioned as they came towards the end of the hallway.
"Oh Jareth's DNA should hold up for another three weeks or so, but he only has two days." The doctor answered.
"If his DNA is gonna hold up a couple weeks how's it he only got two days?" Hobbes questioned.
"The DOD sent in a formal request. The MDNAE project was a failure and Jareth is a liability. We aren't here to salvage it, we have until the day after tomorrow to terminate the project." The doctor opened a door "After you."
Darien shook his head and went through the doorway followed by the rest of the group. "Terminate him, you mean," he muttered under his breath.
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The guards dropped Jareth down at the end of the hallway causing him to emit a soft moan.
"Be careful. If he gets free we will be in a lot of trouble." The doctor stated coming up behind the guards. He opened a door leading to an OR room and the padded cell.
Jareth exploded into consciousness, fully alert, exquisitely deadly, and laughed at the feeble restraints that imprisoned him causing the doctor to freeze in place.
He turned slowly to see Jareth's white eye's fixed on him. "What's so funny?" He asked in a genuinely concerned voice.
"Oh just the fact that…" His voice trailed off slightly as the hallway was filled with the sound of material ripping. "This wont hold me." Jareth tore his straightjacket off and broke his leg restraints off. He had his hands around the doctor's throat. He dropped the doctor as the security guards began to try and contain him again. Hitting two off of him, and down the hallway about ten feet. He turned to the remaining five, a low growl emerging from his throat.
TBC, tomorrow, give you a little something to look forward to…
