Author's Note: Next chapter is the epilogue!
Chapter Ten: Endgame
Jimmy returned rapidly with Dorkus in tow. Goddard had, as security precautions, bound and gagged the alien. Jimmy's gaze was hot and unpleasant, compelling Carl to look away. Several terse moments passed. Libby and Aseefa halted, glaring at each other from across the room, and Cindy had her hand on another memo pad. She knew the situation was too dire for Jimmy to smile, but his uncharacteristic silence and coldness made her edgy. She tabled her discomfort and broke the silence.
"Where was he?" she said.
"At Sheen's house," Jimmy said. He looked through her. "Trying to finish the job."
Libby glared. "He didn't succeed, did he?"
"No," Jimmy said curtly. He looked at Nesmith, who also shuddered at the penetrating gaze. "This planet must have a holding cell for criminals. And not the Tower we were in."
"As far as I know, there isn't one," Nesmith said. "A crime of this magnitude is unheard of."
An annoying little eyeball with wings flapped incessantly by Jimmy's head. Jimmy ignored it and strode forward. "Then what's the next best place?"
Nesmith's gaze landed upon Dorkus. Another painful silence passed. Although they were two different species, they shared the same disdainful, malevolent look. Dorkus was still conscious, his eyes roving the room, and Libby growled, moving to stand before him. Aseefa had moved too, so quickly Cindy hadn't been aware she'd gone, and Carl retreated to a corner. It wasn't that he approved of Dorkus's actions, but high hostility freaked him out.
"Here will do," Nesmith said, with an eye toward the numerous torture devices.
Jimmy jerked his head. "I don't want him feeling comfortable."
"There's a prison chamber downstairs," the eyeball said quickly and Dorkus shot him an incredibly dirty look.
"Pinter," Jimmy said at Cindy's questing look. She inclined her head.
"We could always let Dorkus battle in hand to hand combat," Nesmith suggested.
"Bound and gagged," Libby grumbled.
"He has no intention of telling us what he used, does he?" Aseefa asked.
Jimmy shook his head violently. Then his gaze descended upon Pinter, who dropped in midair and flew back toward his master. Dorkus looked like he wanted to smash Pinter into a wall.
"But someone else might," Jimmy said. Pinter gulped.
"I can't betray him," Pinter protested.
"Why?" Libby said harshly. "It's not like you've got anything to gain from it."
"But-but he's my master," Pinter replied.
"I bet he hasn't treated you right a day in your life," Jimmy said. Rather than answer, Pinter backed up, ducking behind his master. His wing beats, leathery whispers, echoed in the chamber. The silence was heavy, ponderous, and Jimmy's gaze rested squarely on Pinter.
"Even if it would save Sheen's life?" Jimmy said.
"Maybe I could smack some sense into him," Libby growled.
She and Aseefa exchanged cold looks. "The right amount of force might prove beneficial."
"No," Jimmy said. He folded his arms across his chest and stared. "I have a better idea."
The silence returned and it stretched. Libby and Aseefa itched to move, both massaging their knuckles and glaring at Dorkus. Despite the fact Cindy severely doubted he'd escape unscathed, Dorkus remained cool and collected, as if this were nothing more taxing than breakfast. Carl shuffled his feet and looked Dorkus in the eye to glare. Nesmith folded his arms across his chest, Jimmy's simian mirror image.
"You're going to tell us what it is, right, Neutron?" Cindy said sharply.
"There's a smaller room in here we can use?" he asked of Nesmith, who nodded.
"We'll be right back then," Jimmy said and snatched at Pinter. Startled, the creature flew higher, only for Goddard to snag him with a butterfly net. Jimmy's glare intensified and, with Pinter slung over his back like dead game, he scanned the room, located an alcove, and walked out with Goddard at his heels.
"Should we stay here?" Carl asked anxiously.
"See if you can find the answer in the notebooks," Jimmy advised, ducking his head back in.
"What shall we do with him in the meanwhile?" Aseefa spat.
"I favor a little tough love," Libby said and smacked her fist into her palm. Jimmy, Pinter, and Goddard were gone and Libby yanked the gag out of Dorkus's mouth. Dorkus smiled.
"That thing tasted wretched," he said. He looked up at Libby, glaring at him. "You know, children don't scare me."
"Maybe we should," Libby said. Aseefa stood on Dorkus's other side.
"In my tribe, what you did merits death," Aseefa spat. "And not confessing spells the longest, most excruciating kind."
Dorkus stared past them. "Things would have gone so much easier if Sheen had died."
"He might still die!" Libby snapped. "What the hell is your problem?"
She punted him in the shins and Aseefa held up a hand.
"What? Why should I listen to you?" Libby snapped.
"I have seen this done before," Aseefa said. "Not on Zeenu, but on my home planet."
"No offense, blue girl, but I've known Sheen for a hell of a lot longer than you," she said. "And I'm not going to pussyfoot around and wait around for you to pull some crackpot theory-"
"Libbs," Cindy said warningly.
"Is this how Earth females behave when threatened?" Aseefa retorted. "You forget everything else and go straight for the attack? Don't you have any sense of finesse?"
"You think waiting for him to crack is really going to work?" Libby countered. "Roughing up might make him-"
"You know nothing," Aseefa said darkly. "You have never held a person prisoner before."
"No one's ever tried to kill my boyfriend and then showed his ugly face around the crime scene," Libby shot back.
"He's not your boyfriend," Aseefa said, moving so they were within inches of each other.
"Ladies, don't we have more important things to do?" Nesmith said. They ignored him. Carl moaned and Cindy wedged herself between them.
"The Earth girl wants this settled now," Aseefa said. "She has accused me of stealing her boyfriend."
"Damn right I have," Libby snapped. "At least we're both human."
Cindy tried to keep herself as a living block, but it was no use. Aseefa flung her aside so quickly Cindy noticed herself in motion by the time she bounced off a table. Meanwhile, Aseefa smacked Libby across the face, bowled her over, and pointed her spear at Libby's throat.
"You are lucky I do not believe in striking an unarmed opponent," she said, throwing the spear aside. Cindy breathed easier, for a fraction of a second. And then Aseefa drop kicked Libby into a corner of the lab. Libby crashed into a cabinet near the rear and Cindy jumped in front of Aseefa.
"Look, if you want to fight someone, fight me," Cindy said. "Leave Libby alone."
"You weren't dating him too, were you?" Aseefa snapped.
"Oh god no," Cindy said.
"She's dating Jimmy," Carl said and Cindy threw him a truly disgusted look. In the time it took for her to do that, Aseefa had leapt over her and seized Libby by the throat. Libby struggled, kicking and flinging wild punches. One of them glanced off Aseefa's cheekbone.
"I could kill you," Aseefa said. "Then you wouldn't have to worry about Sheen."
As one, Cindy and Nesmith rushed forward. Aseefa dumped Libby on the floor and huffed.
"If Sheen had a girlfriend, he would have told me," Aseefa said.
"Now that we've gotten that out of our system, can we please get back to the task at hand?" Nesmith pleaded.
Libby gasped and Cindy glared, knowing her best friend was outmatched but still pissed off Aseefa felt the need to prove it. Then again, if someone had staked a claim on Neutron, she'd probably have done the same thing. She remembered April and she flushed. Okay, she'd act exactly the same. That didn't mean she was going to admit it.
"Libby, are you okay?" Carl whispered.
Libby, relearning to breathe, didn't answer. Cindy glared at Aseefa, who shrugged. Stuck up little twit. Cindy was tempted to take her on as retribution, but it wouldn't solve anything. And her blood lust was nothing compared to the others. While she was always beneath the surface furious, this hadn't reached a fever pitch. And after they were done on Zeenu, they'd probably never see Aseefa again.
Aseefa, acting as if nothing had happened, snatched a book off the table and skimmed it. Cindy massaged Libby's throat and Libby spat in Aseefa's direction. The alien girl acted like it had never happened.
"As soon as Sheen wakes up," Libby vowed, "I'm gonna kill him."
Cindy smirked. She wondered how Neutron was faring.
Jimmy stared at Pinter, who was ensnared within the butterfly net. He throttled his temper and tried not to otherwise abuse the help. It probably wasn't Pinter's fault. Holding Pinter accountable for what Dorkus had done was like holding Eustace's butler accountable. He was an accessary, but he might be afraid of his master too. Obviously, there was an imbalance of power.
They were within a small, stone indentation. It couldn't rightfully be called a room when it was no bigger than a closet. The ceiling was sloped downward, barely a foot over his head; once Goddard had shut the door his brain provided the only illumination. The walls were cold, forcing Jimmy to suppress shivers, and their texture was smooth. His mouth dried out.
There was a logical, empirical way to approach this. It didn't involve emotions. He had to be rational. He inhaled deeply, exhaled, and willed himself to calm. After a sufficient amount of time had passed, he opened his eyes again and looked at Pinter.
"I'm not going to tell you anything," Pinter informed him.
"I don't expect you to," he said. Pinter sighed, relieved.
"Then why are we here?"
"How long have you been working for Dorkus?"
Startled, he blinked. "Um, well…let's see. Next Tuesday makes it ten years."
"How did you two meet?"
"He put an ad in the paper," he said. "Morally dubious cloaked alien seeks aide in the lab."
"And have you ever been his aide?" Jimmy asked.
"Once or twice, I've helped him out," he said. He puffed himself up, as much as an eyeball with wings could. "I'm very important to him."
Jimmy somehow doubted that. "And you've agreed with everything he's done."
"No…" he admitted. "But I thought I'd go along anyway. We're friends, you see. I help him, and eventually…well, he hasn't helped me out yet, but I'm sure he will."
"What did you do before you met Dorkus?" He would have paced, but there was no room. Goddard's glowing brain cast an eerie shadow upon the proceedings.
"Um, well…I don't remember. It seems like I've always been with Dorkus."
"What did he do before Sheen showed up?"
"He was the emperor's royal advisor," he answered. "He always wanted more power than that, though. And once Sheen crashed into Zeenu, Dorkus got really jealous."
"I can imagine," Jimmy said dryly. They lapsed into silence again, Jimmy determining where he wanted the conversation to head. "Would you say you feel comfortable around Dorkus?"
"He has hit me a few times, and he threatened to kill me earlier today…" Pinter winced. "He said he'd already killed someone else, but he was just joking. He jokes like that."
Jimmy kept silent. He sensed he was on the cusp of something, and if he nudged a little more, Pinter might gush information like a leaky faucet.
"He's never hurt anyone…he's hurt Sheen, but…" Pinter hesitated.
"But what?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you."
It was like dealing with a naughty child. In lieu of wringing his hands, he bounced up and down. "No, no, mustn't tell you."
Jimmy didn't speak. He stared at a patch of wall directly before him and waited.
"It's not like it was my fault."
Silence ensued. Goddard's whirling processes chipped away at it and at Pinter's guilt.
"It's not like it did any real harm. And none of his past plans worked."
Pinter flapped up and down, agitated. "I didn't want him dead."
Quietly, almost inaudible, Jimmy prompted, "So what did you do?"
"I switched the bottles," Pinter said. "He never would have noticed…and it…" He stopped and shuddered. "The master's never liked children. I remember when the emperor's son fell sick he'd always give him medicine and then leave the room."
Pinter wiped a tear away. "It was so sad when the emperor's son died."
Jimmy's throat constricted. He strayed from the obvious question and instead asked, "Was the medicine bottle the same as he gave Sheen?"
"No…" he said. "This was…different. The test animals he'd used it on all died instantly and I told the master maybe he should draw it out…but he didn't wanna listen..."
Pinter slammed into the wall. "So I…so I…I…" He trembled violently. "I shouldn't have, but…I could never understand…"
"Understand what?" Jimmy said softly.
"Why he hated Sheen!" he blurted. "I…I'm not saying I loved him, but…he never hurt anyone. Not on purpose, anyway."
Jimmy didn't speak. He wondered it too. Pinter gulped and stared at the wall.
"So…so I…I…put some water in the bottle…" he whispered. "It wasn't a lot…but it…it slowed it down…and…and I…I…mixed it with juice…so…so maybe…maybe he wouldn't…"
"You diluted it," Jimmy murmured.
"It's not my fault!" Pinter cried. "I had to! And if the master didn't notice…he wasn't going to notice…he'd be so happy once Sheen was gone, it didn't matter…"
"What was in the bottle?"
"Cherry juice, water….and datura," Pinter. "I think he called it that."
Jimmy tried not to skip in excitement. He knew what the antidote was- physostigmine salicylate. Not only that, but if they could find the right ingredients, Sheen should be conscious again in no time. He grinned at Pinter, who looked uncertain.
"You're not going to tell Dorkus I said anything, are you?" he said anxiously. "Or tell him what I did?"
"You saved Sheen's life!" Jimmy said. He beamed and Pinter hesitated.
"But I'll make the master so mad…" he said.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about what Dorkus thinks for a long time," Jimmy said.
"What makes you say that?" Pinter said fretfully.
Jimmy opened the door and let the stale air in. "Call it a hunch."