AN: Hey, just taking a moment to say thanks for the reviews. They mean a lot.
Well, here's the first chapter of 2013. hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 10
Hal was livid by the end of the recounting, to say the least. His eyes burned with it and his face was set harder than stone. His fists were clenched so hard that his nails were beginning to draw blood and the only reason he hadn't completely destroyed the room and rampaged after Clayton and every one of his men was because Mike was holding him in place, Lourdes covering his mouth with her hand to since his first attempt to rage and scream.
Never in his entire life had he felt like this. Not even when the Skitters killed his mother and harnessed his brother. Even with every atrocious act they had committed, despite how he thought it was impossible to hate a being any more than he did them, his animosity towards the Skitters didn't even come close to what he'd gained for Clayton.
HOW DARE HE! The same lineran through his head again and again, his body growing rigid in Mike's arms. Clayton's group wasn't only human, but had been comrades in arms. They'd fought together, shared the unspeakable pain the aliens had cursed upon them! And yet here he was, not only abandoning his brethren, but betraying the most innocent and vulnerable members of his own kind to the very creatures that ripped the world to shreds simply to save their own hides! Hal agreed with Ben wholeheartedly for the first time he could remember. These people truly were the worst kind of scum you could ever imagine. There was no excuse or forgiveness for what they'd done. Not even Lourdes seemed to think that they were capable of atonement. No one risked the lives of children, no matter what. ESPECIALLY his brothers!
"So you honestly think Pope will help?" Mike asked, bearing a very noticeable amount of doubt as he loosened his hold on Hal, slightly more confident that he wouldn't break and take off on a murderous tirade. Not that Hal thought that it wasn't a highly appealing idea. "I never really had any interaction with him, but I do know that he's the last person decent people should trust."
"Until you want him to do something dirty and spiteful in the name of revenge." Ben stated, unnerving everyone else in the room as a smirk crossed his face. Those who hadn't known him before the invasion found it quite disturbing to see a smirk cross his usually innocent face at all and even his brothers hadn't ever seen one that looked so...savage before. It was too animalistic, too keen for battle. "You can always count on a dishonest man to be dishonest."
"Maybe so, but let's plan this so Pope's only a beneficial addition, not a requirement." Mike decided. He was in no way convinced. "So you planned to leave at midnight. That's fine. But let's bear in mind that there are ten people here who know how to use a firearm and they'll chase us. At least two are forever on watch."
"I found the room where they keep their ammunition." Jimmy piped up from his place on the bed, staring up hopefully. It was safe to say that the boy really wanted to contribute, though, having worked alongside Jimmy and seeing just how determined he was to prove himself, that wasn't a surprise to Hal. "We could sneak in and loot it? Maybe not the guns, but we could hide the bullets in our pockets. That way they only have one mag each and we have plenty to spare."
"That's a good idea and it'll give us an advantage if we get stuck in a fire fight, but the objective is to get away without that happening." Was Mike's response, finally letting go of Hal completely. "Our best bet is to get as far away as possible before they notice we're gone."
"But to do that, we'd have to take out the guards a mere minute before we leave." Hal muttered curtly, turning a heated look out the window. "The other traitors step outside or up on the balcony with them too frequently. Too much of a gap between dealing with them and getting a group of thirty something kids running into the forest and the plan is screwed."
"The one taking the guards out would need a couple minutes to catch up too." Lourdes muttered, surprising the fighters amongst them with her contribution. "They'd have to get through the house and out the door quickly and would probably draw attention doing it. Assuming of course that the scuffle with the guards doesn't become loud and draw attention to what we're doing in the first place."
"All true." Mike sighed, looking from Lourdes to Hal questioningly. "Any ideas on how to get around it?"
"Besides a bottle of chloroform miraculously showing up in our hands? No." Hal grunted, shaking his head. This was just getting more and more difficult. How many flaws can you find in one plan?
"I could do it." That caught their attention. Everyone present followed the soft voice right to Ben, each one baring their own degree of shock, confusion and worry. Hal's was especially strong.
"What the hell? How do you think you can handle it? Or that I would let you risk yourself like that?" He cried, walking right up to the rising blond only to freeze as he looked into his face. If the savage smirk was unnerving before, it was nothing to the cold green ice he was staring into now. It was enough to send shivers down his spine. There was nothing of his old, nerdy brother or his new bright nature in them. If he could see anything past the frigid ice, it was a deadly fierceness that no one Hal had ever met could match. It was terrifying.
"I can move faster than most can react to and I can take out the guards with one shot. Plus, getting down onto the ground will take me two seconds when it'll take you two minutes. And I can do it all without a gun. I'm the best option we've got. That's why you'll let me."
His voice was as cold as his eyes and beared enough force to level a building. And to make it worse, he couldn't find anything to use to shoot his plan down. He didn't know the full extent of Ben's abilities, but from what he'd seen and heard already, he was sure Ben was right. All he had on his side was that he was supposed to be keeping his brothers safe, but saying no to Ben's plan may very well put him and Matt in even more danger, not to mention everyone else. He was not prepared for this. Hell, his father wasn't ready for this and even Lourdes looked as if she was seeing the impossible. Ben was supposed to be an overly obedient kid who could barely manage to get a question about the weather out to most people, not some cold as ice warrior demanding his place in battle. It was safe to say that Ben was willing to do this with or without his support. Looking to Lourdes for help proved futile, she only shook her head at Hal's imploring gaze. That settled it, the only person who could stop Ben from taking this on without coming up with a better plan was Tom and unfortunately, he wasn't there.
"I guess that's settled then." Mike stated, sparing Hal an apologetic look before moving on. "Ben will take care of the guards while we guide the kids into the forest. This will still probably draw enough attention to ourselves for Clayton to follow us, but once the kids are in the trees, Lourdes and Jimmy will lead them back the way we came. Hal and I will hang back a little and prepare for anyone who manages to catch up with us, with help from Pope if he shows up. But now we need to set ourselves up before all that."
"So what are we going to do?" Jimmy asked, standing stiffly right beside Ben. Hal snorted at that. The message was clear, if Ben could join in, then so was he.
"Lourdes found Eli Russell's jacket. I'll use it to confront Clayton and make him think I joined him. Considering that he asked for me to come specifically, I think that's what he wants anyway." He stated before pointing to Hal. "You will need to distract that girl, Tessa. Everyone's noticed how she's searching for your attention and we don't need her finding out anything."
"You want me to go somewhere and flirt with her?" Hal cried a little too loudly, earning the indignant teen a round of shushing from everyone in the room.
"You don't need to flirt, there are plenty of other ways to keep her distracted." Lourdes snapped, a very put out look crossing her usually sweet face. "Just don't act hostile. Yet."
"That's not the...you seriously want me to..." He couldn't string anything together, his exasperation completely overriding his brain.
"What he means to say is that this isn't gonna work well." Matt broke in, startling the others. Besides Ben, who he had yet to let go of, the others had completely forgotten he was even there. "Unless he's playing arrogant, he can't act at all. They had to make him a tree in his last school play. No one else did, they all got to move and talk."
"Then act like your God's gift to women or something. You did it all the time before the invasion anyway." Ben responded smartly with a roll of his eyes, finally breaking the frosty look and making Matt giggle. That little outburst was classic Ben, the way he'd always spoken to Hal in one of their arguments. Even Hal had to huff to hide how happy that actually made him, if only for an instant. He hadn't realised just how much he missed Ben's old attitude.
"Fine, fine, if it keeps her from stumbling on our little secret, I'll go be my usual, cocky-ass self and chat up a snoopy girl. If I must." He added with an overly dramatic sigh. "Curse my good looks and irresistible nature."
"Yeah, yeah, poor Hal, how do you ever manage to survive with all those girls throwing themselves at your feet?" Jimmy drawled, before giving Ben a smirk. "Was he always such a show pony?"
"No, he was worse." Ben stated, getting an indignant squawk from one brother and a loud laugh from the other.
"Hey, don't start or tell everyone about-"
"Can we get back to business please?" Mike butted in, immediately leaving Hal ducking his head in a mix of shame and self-directed irritation. This was no time for messing around. Jimmy was young and not very experienced and his brothers weren't even fighters, so them getting a little sidetracked was a bit more acceptable, but he was basically his father's shadow. The situation was dire, he should have known better than to indulge in sibling banter right now.
"Right. So what else is there to do?" He asked, looking up apologetically at Mike. Some of the tension disappeared as he did. Mike showed no signs of irritation. Truthfully, he almost looked a little nostalgic. But that was understandable. Every family went through frequent bouts of banter and playful teasing, Mike no doubt used to do it all the time with his wife and son. Hal had a feeling that he'd give anything to have Rick open up enough to play like that again.
"While you and I are distracting the nosiest members of Sanctuary, Lourdes will stay here." He answered, turning to the young medic. "Make sure this room stays clear for us and that everyone's stuff is packed up. We need to be able to leave here in a hurry, but we don't want to worry the kids until the moment that we go."
"Oh, the easy job. no problem." Lourdes shrugged as if it was no big deal. However, Hal couldn't help but notice a slightly off tone in her voice or how her body was slightly rigid and had to stop himself from gasping as he realised that Lourdes was actually a little disappointed. If he wasn't mistaken, she wanted to help more actively too. Now that was weird, Lourdes was usually quite happy with her position in the regiment. It was with great curiosity that he wondered what had changed.
"And that leaves their armoury." Mike stated, filling Hal with dread as he followed Mike's gaze. It landed on the both of the teenagers before them. "Jimmy, take Ben and clean it out. It'll be a good test of Ben's abilities. Practice stealth and discretion, make sure as few people see you as possible and make sure those who do don't grow suspicious."
"Mike that's risky! If they get caught-"
"Then Ben wins most likely to take out whoever catches them without alerting the rest of the house." Mike interrupted firmly, shooting Hal right down and into staring grumpily at the floor. However, he did look up as he felt Mike's hand rest comfortingly on his shoulder. "This will also give him practice in hit and run. Something that could prove useful for tonight, give him more of a chance when the real danger begins."
"Don't worry Hal, we'll be fine." Jimmy stated as Ben nodded in agreement. Staring at the two of them, Hal wasn't sure what he saw more in them, their excitement or their determination. Ben in particular look like he wasn't sure to be very serious or happy. He seemed to decide to be both, though happiness took over when he turned to his new partner. Not for the first time, he couldn't help but wonder why Jimmy had such an interesting effect on Ben. He had an inkling, but he wasn't sure it was right.
"Ok. Just be careful, alright?" Hal sighed, conceding defeat. It wasn't like him pondering or arguing about Ben would do anything at this point and he was already in danger anyway. So, he'd just hope that this new bad-ass persona and Jimmy would be enough to keep him unharmed until he got back to the school, where keeping Ben out of the line of fire would be his Dad's problem.
"Don't worry so much. I'll be fine." Ben smiled, taking a step toward him. "Just let me." He added softly, imploringly, surprising Hal. Dark brown eyes gazed into pleading green in wonder as the words ran through his head again and again. Maybe he wasn't as wrong about his understanding about Ben's mind after all. For all the coldness and bravado he had before, he was still asking for permission now. And to be honest that felt much stranger to Hal, to have that kind of power over Ben. If he really wanted to, he actually could stop Ben from doing any of it. Well, most of it, after their conversation that morning and the intense determination he'd shown only a few minutes ago, he was guaranteed to rebel and do something, but the point was that Hal could seriously limit what Ben did. And Ben had never allowed that before. Honestly, it didn't feel right to be able to control him like that anymore, though the old, pre-invasion Hal would have loved it. He didn't want it like that. So, as much as he was sure he was going to regret it, he nodded his head and said the very words he now knew Ben was desperate to hear. "You can do it Ben. But if you don't end up at the school safe and sound after all of this, I'm am going to kill you."
"Great. Then I know you'll track me down if something goes wrong." Ben retorted smartly, though the thankful grin on his face cancelled out the effect.
"What about me?" Matt cried, pouting with his arms crossed over his chest as the guys moved towards the door. "I wanna help too!"
"You can help Lourdes here." Hal said firmly, giving his baby brother a look of finality that actually managed to cut off Matt's complaint before it left his lips. There was no way he was risking both his brothers like this. No way in hell.
"And you can help store away the ammo when the boys come back." Lourdes added softly as she let a hand trail over his head similarly to how she ruffled Ben's hair. It didn't have the same affect by a long shot, but the gesture still made his pout weaken, if only by a little.
"Hal and I'll head out first. Make sure we're all good." Mike ordered, getting a nod from Hal before turning to the other boys. "You two wait a few minutes before leaving and do everything you can to avoid attention. Try to be back here within half an hour everyone. We'll sort through any new developments before rounding up the kids for bed."
"Not a problem." Hal nodded as he headed for the door. Stopping right before he reached it, he held himself completely still and groomed his expression into his usual, arrogant smirk. Half an hour with a girl he didn't think was too bad forty minutes ago. He could do that. If it helped to save his brothers.